Horsehide Chronicles

Cheaters never prosper, Mom and Dad always said. Boy, were they wrong.

The Detroit Tigers were linked to seemingly every "proven closer" under the sun last winter. In the end, general manager Dave Dombrowski moved to acquire none of them.

The closer search is on again this winter. This time, however, it sounds like Dombrowski sees a guy he actually likes: Brian Wilson.

New York Yankees catchers made for a living, breathing definition of the term "pushover" in 2013. Combined, they managed just a .289 on-base percentage and 26 extra-base hits.

Thanks to the club's latest signing, however, the position can now be considered upgraded.

While a pair of trades dominated this week's news in Major League Baseball's offseason, there have been some intriguing, under-the-radar signings to this point too. Clearly, though, the open market has yet to really get rolling. Before that happens, it's worth checking in to see what kind of bang teams are getting for their buck. 

There's a player on the free-agent market who has a history at a premium position, is coming off a season in which he hit over .300 and is still in multiyear contract territory at 31 years of age.

You'd think that this guy would be one of the biggest no-brainers for a big contract. Instead, he's probably the hardest guy to figure of anybody out there in the free-agent waters.

Of the free-agent signings thus far, there are certainly a couple that could turn out to be bargains. If Josh Johnson (San Diego Padres) and Chris Young (New York Mets) return to form, they'll be well worth the one-year deals at the cost of $8 million and $7.25 million, respectively.

Same for David Murphy, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Indians, and LaTroy Hawkins, who will cost the Colorado Rockies no more than $2.5 million to at least start the season as their closer.

Three weeks removed from the end of the World Series. Not even two weeks removed from the general managers meetings. Winter meetings still on the horizon.

Such is the precise location of Major League Baseball's offseason. It's still more or less in the "getting to know you" phase.

It may not be as big or impactful of a trade as Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler was from earlier in the week, but the swap between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels does leave plenty to dissect and discuss.

Baseball isn't played on spreadsheets, but to an extent, it can be evaluated on them.

Free agency is just one aspect in which knowing the numbers can be a way for teams to make better decisions and even find the occasional value signing.

If you see Miguel Cabrera and Andrew McCutchen walking around, they might be comporting themselves a little differently. Chest puffed out. Semi-smug grin. Bouncy steps.

If so, well, who can blame them? Awards tend to do that to people.