Opinion

The New York Mets have one of the best center fielders in all of baseball. He is an amazing five-tool outfielder who consistently puts up great numbers. He is a real pro.

Ever since Carlos Beltran came to the Mets, I think that he has been underappreciated.  He has just recently been named to Sports Illustrated's all-decade team, as the starting center fielder.

I was born in 1975 and have been a Cincinnati Reds fan ever since. For the majority of my life, the shortstop position has basically been manned by two people: Dave Concepcion and Barry Larkin.

Since Larkin's final season in 2004, the Reds have been unable to find stability at the position. It appears that the latest person to get a chance to play shortstop on a regular basis is Paul Janish.

The news that 33-year-old left-hander Randy Wolf has signed a three-year deal with Milwaukee worth $29.75 million broke this morning.

ESPN's Buster Olney cited a Major League Baseball source close to the team and player. And so Milwaukee made one of the first more significant pitcher free agent signings this offseason.

With rumors swirling throughout the baseball world at this year's Winter Meetings, the biggest move so far has been the three team trade between the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks.

It is rumored the Yankees will receive Curtis Granderson, the Tigers will receive Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson, and the Diamondbacks would receive Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. 

The trade featured two big time prospects.

(Originally posted on 4SportBoston.com )

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What an interesting week this has been for Braves fans and front office exec's.

Rarely do the two of those entities go hand-in-hand, but this time around there is no doubt it applies.

Rafael Soriano shocked GM Frank Wren and other higher-up's by accepting arbitration and Wren was quick to announce that Soriano will be traded "well before opening day."

Considering Wren and the rest of Major League Baseball's top executives are in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings there is a reasonable expectation a deal could be done within the next 48 hours or so.

By now, everyone has heard that the Yankees made a three-way deal with the Tigers and Diamondbacks to acquire centerfielder Curtis Granderson for 2010.

This deal almost ensures the Yankees have found their new permanent fixture in centerfield, and it could mean Melky Cabrera might be on the trading block now.

With this trade, you also have to wonder if the Yankees will be big players for Roy Halladay like they were rumored to be.

Yesterday I received a text from a friend who wrote: "Inexcusable if the Pads non-tender Correia."

That was the first time I had heard any discussion about non-tendering Correia, and frankly, I was a bit surprised.  However, my immediate reaction was not one of anger, but instead, as I usually do, I tried to defend the possible action.

I wrote back: "Well...some guys are getting more in arbitration now than on the market, so it might make sense...[plus] its Correia we're talking about-at best he's an average pitcher."

I must admit: When it snowed last week in Houston, I thought something had happened.

You know, hell had frozen over because the Houston Astros of the Drayton McLane Era were finally on the road to making great baseball decisions and building a team that will be taking champagne showers in a few years.

Gone would be the heartaches of 1980, of Bob Knepper running out of gas in Game Six of the 1986 NLCS, and of Houston's flat performance in the 2005 World Series.

False alarm, apparently.

At first glance, it seems like the Yankees get the best part of today's three-team trade because of Curtis Granderson's name, experience, and All-Star potential.  Let's look at this trade from each team's perspective a little closer:

New York Yankees

Yankees receive 28-year-old Curtis Granderson.