Daily Hot Stove Wrap Up 12/10

Damon still makes ladies hearts stop, that's gotta count for something

Quote of the Day

"I liked being home last season with my kids. But I'm in shape and if I could play, I would.  We'll see what happens. I still think I have something left if I am used the right way." 

-- Free Agent Outfielder Johnny Damon who believes he still has something left in the tank and still makes women swoon in the stands.   

A lot, lot, lot has happened over the weekend in baseball as apparently free agents and GMs are getting all the business done now that they didn't get done over a relatively quiet Winter Meetings last week.  Since I'm sure most of you were sleeping, drinking, or watching football this weekend (in my case, all three), you'll love this Monday morning's edition of the Hot Stove Wrap Up.

Today Dan Haren, Brandon McCarthy and Zack Greinke have new teams, the Rangers trade a long time member and why are the Royals selling their farm system?  We'll find out right now, enjoy!

• P Dan Haren is going to be a National for a one-year, $13 million contract.  That's old news.  What is new-news is that literally NO ONE thought that he would end up there. None of the MLB Trade Rumors writers predicted that the righty would end up in DC.  But sure enough he's there.  If Haren can stay healthy, he can still be an effective pitcher, but that question is a huge "if."  

• The Diamondbacks signed P Brandon McCarthy to a two-year, $15.5 million contract late on Friday.    McCarthy now makes the D-Backs rotation scary-deep with Travor Cahill, Ian Kennedy and Wade Miley.  If he can recover from a scary line-drive-to-the-head he suffered back in September, look out for the D-Backs.  Of course not everyone comes back the same from shots like that (paging Matt Clement?) but here's hoping McCarthy does well.  Oh and his Twitter is hilarious.   

• No seriously, Brandon McCarthy's Twitter is hilarious, and if you're not following him, you suck.  I mean, look at his account:

• If you can't read the headline, it says: "I pitch baseballs.  I love Liverpool and LSU football.  Those are different footballs but I'm not explaining the difference. My wife says to say that I'm married."  Now that's a funny guy!  

• So yeah, if you're not following him on Twitter you suck.  If you think Twitter is for idiots, you also suck, because where do you think we get half this stuff for Hot Stove Updates?  If you think Twitter is a waste of time, you don't suck.  In fact, you may be smarter than all of us.    

• The Dodgers finally did it.  And by "it" I mean they signed Zack Greinke to a contract.  Greinke may not even have to move out of his swanky LA Apartment but he may want to upgrade as he just got a big pay raise, signing a six-year contract worth $145 million which would be the largest contract ever given to a right-handed pitcher.  Expect the free agent pitching dominoes to fall quickly.  

• Ryan Ludwick will stay with the Reds, finally, ending a good week of negotiations and re-negotiations by agreeing to a two-year, $15 million contract.  This should end any rumors of Josh Hamilton going to the Reds, which wasn't really a rumor but you never know in the baseball off-season.

• Ryan Dempster isn't any closer to signing, reportedly turning down two year deals from both the Royals and Red Sox for more money than anyone reading this will make in their life.  The kicker?  He really wants a three year deal.  Expect more waiting while the teams renegotiate their offers.  

• Other BIG, BIG, news from the weekend see Michael Young traded to the Phillies for RHP Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla.  The 36-year-old Young was the Rangers all-time leader in games played, hits, doubles and triples and probably other obscure stats (e.g. all time game winning triples hit in All-Star games by a Ranger?). 

• Young waived his no-trade clause and the Phillies will pick up most of his salary.  Better him than Placido Polanco at the hot corner, right?   

• Mark Reynolds has agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Cleveland Indians to man first base.  That means the Tribe can look to Lonnie Chiselhall to fill in at third base.  Expect Reynolds to continue to act as a poor man's (or should I say, poor team's) Adam Dunn by knocking 30-40 home runs and probably leading the league in strikeouts.  

• Who knew that Magic Johnson likes to spend money on baseball?  Just hours after the club signed Greinke, they sign Korean southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu to a $36 million dollar contract.  the 25-year-old Ryu dominated the Korean league, which most scouts rank about the same level as AA.  We'll see how this goes...  

• Who would have thought the Royals of all teams were the ones trading prospects?  Last nights blockbuster deal sent perhaps baseball's top prospect Wil Myers, their top pitching prospect in Jake Odorizzi, and minor leaguers Mike Montgomery and and Patrick Leonard to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis.  

• While Shields and Davis may be the only recognizable names to casual baseball fans, this was like, a big big trade.  My gut reaction?  I think the Royals gave up a lot.  I saw a headline that read: "Royal trade farm system for 31-year-old pitcher."  I can't really blame the Royals for wanting to compete now (heck, I was a Tigers fan through the 90s and early 2000s) but still, that's a lot of talent.   

• I don't have the time (or desire) to write a big recap on this one (maybe Wade or Tommy can tackle that), but a great article comes from SB Nation and you can find it hyperlinked here along with other recaps. 

• In an effort to keep up with the Royals, the Tigers have signed backup catcher Brayan Pena to a one-year contract.  If sarcasm was a font, it would be highlighted all over that last sentence and this one.  NOTE: seriously, I've searched all over Google for the terms of the contract and can't find one before I realized back-up catcher signings don't merit this much of my free time.  I'm guessing.

That's the Hot Stove that covered all of the weekend action, and there was a lot of it.  This week, big stories to follow:  Will R.A. Dickey stays with the Mets?  Can Josh Hamilton finally get a deal done with the Rangers?  And will Kevin Youkilis betray Boston by going to the Bronx?  My prediction to these three questions?  Yes, yes, and yes.  But they may not happen this coming week.  

Have a good rest of your Monday baseball freaks.  See ya tomorrow!