Rod Barajas

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy this offseason, locking up several players already and in the hunt for even more.

General manager Ned Colletti has been aggressive following a disappointing fourth-place finish for the Dodgers in the NL West. The team, picked by many to win the division, managed only an 80-82 record and was never really in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Colletti is determined to change that, building a roster around young studs Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

The Red Sox are kicking the proverbial tires on veteran backstop Rod Barajas, according to FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi and MLBTradeRumors.com.

While the Red Sox reportedly made a bid to retain Victor Martinez behind the dish for at least the next couple seasons, they lost him to a more aggressive Detroit Tigers' organization early last Wednesday.

Now that catcher Victor Martinez is gone, where do Red Sox fans turn?

Who is going to be behind the plate next season. Will it be Varitek, Saltalamacchia....Kevin Cash?

These (okay, so hopefully not Kevin Cash) are all possible choices for the Red Sox in 2011. One thing has to be said, though: the market is incredibly short for catchers. If you want a grade A catcher, he's got to come up through the farm system, plain and simple.

I humbly present five possible catching scenarios that could happen for the '11 Sox.

According to the team website, the Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to veterans Vicente Padilla, Rod Barajas and Scott Podsednik, making them unrestricted free agents.

However, declining to offer a player arbitration is not a signal that the team is ready to move on. Multiple media outlets have reported the Dodgers remain in talks with all three players. General Manager Ned Colletti has mentioned several times that he is still very interested in resigning Padilla to fill out the remainder of the rotation.

Many words may be used to characterize the ups and downs of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2010 season, but from the standpoint of the fans, the best fitting description would be nothing short of "disappointing."

Normally, most teams who don't achieve the goals and ambitions that were set in spring training have the entire offseason to rebuild and regain focus, but in the case of the Dodgers, there are numerous off-field situations that seemingly need resolving before the team can move forward.

Every spring, it is the same scenario. As the leaves bud into a beautiful, green bloom and thoughts of spring renew hopes of glory, there comes a revitalization of interest from each fan.

It was announced today that the Los Angeles Dodgers have claimed Rod Barajas off waivers from the New York Mets.

It appears that the Dodgers will be sending cash considerations to the Mets in exchange for Barajas.

This move reflects the directions that these two teams are heading. The Mets get out paying Barajas the rest of his salary and are receiving money in return.

The New York Mets recently put Rod Barajas on waivers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers picked him up today.

The Dodgers are getting a great player. Barajas is a fantastic clubhouse guy who handles the pitching staff extremely well. While he may not be the best hitter, he does hit home runs occasionally. 

Last offseason, the Mets were in dire need of a catcher. They focused on Bengie Molina, and I was upset about that. I really wanted Barajas on the Mets, and I got my wish. 

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On the New York Daily News' website, they had a poll asking whose fault it was that Mets' season has spiraled out of control. They gave you four options:

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I was watching this team play baseball yesterday in what was a must-win game for the Mets. They knew how big these next six games were going to be. They needed to show in last night's game that they were ready to do anything to win and that they would not go down without a fight. But they didn't do that.