Kuzul

Three days.That's all the time that remains between now and opening day for the Toronto Blue Jays.And with all the wheeling and dealing that was done this past offseason by GM Alex Anthopoulos, the 2013 edition of the Blue Jays barely looks anything like the 2012 team that took the field day-in, day-out.With significant changes made to the team's starting rotation, starting infield, starting outfield, as well as bullpen, the Jays are almost a brand new team, ready to compete.Yet how will all the new faces fare in their first season in Toronto? All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.comBegin Slideshow

Whether or not you like the moves that the Seattle Mariners made this offseason, you must applaud the effort that the front office put into making the M's a better team.When signing Josh Hamilton didn't happen, GM Jack Zduriencik turned to the trade market to acquire the necessary hitters to improve the Mariners lineup in Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse.He also attempted to bring Justin Upton to Seattle, but that deal fell through when Upton refused to make the move to the Pacific Northwest, exercising his no-trade clause (instead, he ended up with his brother in Atlanta).Zduriencik was also smart enough to realize that moves like signing Michael Bourn just weren't worth the cost associated with making that type of move (though the M's may still end up signing the veteran leadoff man).But just how good is this Mariners squad?Are Morse and Morales enough to turn this team into a ...

What an offseason it's been for the Seattle Mariners and their fans.From being in hot pursuit of superstar free agent Josh Hamilton to contemplating a potential signing of leadoff man Michael Bourn, the Mariners have looked to make moves all offseason.Eventually GM Jack Zduriencik was able to bring in a few bats via trade in Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse.With the Mariners signing Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse for just the 2013 season, Seattle could lose one or both of its new acquisitions this offseason.Seattle hopes at least one of them will be willing to re-sign at some point during the season. Of course, Seattle will have to fork over the necessary contract, and one or both players will have to produce.Either way, here are a few free agents the Seattle Mariners may look to sign next offseason. Michael Morse, OFThe most likely option for the Seattle Mariners is the newly ...

What a long way the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation has come this offseason.Three fifths of the projected rotation for 2013 has been acquired via trade.Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle were brought to Toronto along with Jose Reyes back in mid-November, while reigning NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey was acquired from the New York Mets a few weeks ago.Combined, the three starters bring seven All-Star appearances, four gold gloves and a Cy Young award to Toronto.Throw in starters Brandon Morrow, who posted an impressive ERA of 2.96 and WHIP of 1.12 in 21 starts this past season, and Ricky Romero, who before a disastrous 2012 campaign had thrown for at least 200 innings in the previous two seasons, and you've got a pretty formidable five-man rotation.The team also has a few more starters ready to step in should one of their starting five ...

With fewer than 100 days remaining until opening day 2013, the Seattle Mariners still seem to be looking for ways to improve their team.After trading for Kendrys Morales just before Christmas, rumors began swirling about whether the Mariners would deal their young first baseman Justin Smoak.Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe mentions the Balitmore Orioles as one team interested in Smoak's services, while Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun opines that a Smoak-for-Brian Matusz swap could work out well for both teams.Would it be worth it for Seattle, though?On a positive note, Matusz would fill one of the open spots in the starting rotation, and he is a southpaw, which would help replace the void left by trading Jason Vargas.Matusz, however, has struggled his entire career at the major league level and hasn't really shown any signs of turning the corner.Only once has Matusz managed to pitch 100 innings in ...

The 2013 offseason has been relatively busy for the Chicago Cubs.Despite the fact that the Cubs are still in a rebuilding phase, they went out and signed starting pitchers Scott Baker (h/t ESPN Chicago) and Edwin Jackson (h/t ESPN Chicago).Scott Baker will be looking to bounce back in Chicago after missing some of 2011 and all of 2012 with an injury.Edwin Jackson was brought in to help round out Chicago's rotation and eat up some innings for the next four years.Now, general manager Jed Hoyer would be smart to go out and sign Shaun Marcum.But why?They've already signed two starting pitchers this offseason and Marcum probably won't help carry them to the postseason this year.He would, however, provide another stable arm to help improve Chicago's starting rotation.Marcum has posted an ERA of 3.70 or lower in each of his past four seasons (spanning from 2008-2012, as Marcum did not play ...

With an offseason that has already rocketed the Toronto Blue Jays to the top of the baseball world, would anyone really be surprised if general manager Alex Anthopoulos was to pull off another move?According to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta Braves are interested in recently-acquired Blue Jays second baseman/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio:  #Braves are still involved in multiple trade talks, two of their targets believed to be Bonifacio and Fowler— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) December 12, 2012  While this news broke before the acquisition of Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, that trade should not really impact the moving of Bonifacio is both the Braves and Jays are still interested in striking a deal.But would moving the 27-year-old speedster be the right move for Toronto?Absolutely not.Despite the fact that some believe he is only a bench player, with Maicer Izturis being the lead candidate to start at second base, I am ...

It's Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. and rumors continue to swirl, all while free agents are scooped up off the market (see Dan Haren to Washington via USA Today).One of this winter's top targets is outfielder Shane Victorino, who has as many as seven suitors according to Jon Heyman of cbssports.com.Of those seven teams, almost half of them reside in the AL East division (those being the Tampa Bay Rays, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees).All three of these teams are either contenders or a few pieces from being contenders, and the Yankees and Red Sox have the money to spend (though both teams are saying they're going to be slightly more conservative than they have been in years past).With the Rays recently losing B.J. Upton to the Braves, the Red Sox having major holes in their outfield and the Yankees having lost ...

The blockbuster trade. The signing of Melky Cabrera. The announcement that former skipper John Gibbons was returning to manage the Toronto Blue Jays once again (anyone else excited about pulling out those old pullover rain jackets?).Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has wasted no time in crossing items off his offseason shopping list.He shouldn't stop just yet though.Right now, the fifth spot in the Blue Jays rotation is a major question mark.Who knows if Dustin McGowan will ever come back? Drew Hutchison had Tommy John this past season and J.A. Happ hasn't had much success since his rookie campaign in Philadelphia.Enter Brandon McCarthy.The 29-year-old California native has just come off two incredibly successful seasons with the Oakland Athletics and is currently a free agent.While he will spend much of the offseason recuperating from an injury he suffered in September, when he took a line drive to the head, McCarthy has recently ...

Starting pitching. A left fielder. A leadoff man.All three of those things were of the utmost importance for the Toronto Blue Jays heading into the 2012 offseason.All three of those needs have since been filled by Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, and not in any small way. The Jays splurged in a blockbuster deal with the Miami Marlins and then proceeded to sign left fielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year $16 million contract.With those deals alone, the Jays are set to compete in baseball's toughest division.Could there be something else in the works?At the moment, there is still another position that could use a major upgrade: designated hitter.As it stands now, the Jays, in all likelihood, would be using Adam Lind or Edwin Encarnacion as DH, with the other handling first base duties.Could the Jays make a push to sign Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli?The move would make sense for ...