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Another day means another player has been signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The latest move by Arizona was signing 29-year-old right-handed starter Brandon McCarthy to a two-year, $15.5 million contract, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.

The former White Sox and Rangers pitcher found a home and a fresh start to his career in 2011 with the Oakland Athletics. He was the Opening Day starter for the A’s in 2012 and finished with an 8-6 record with a 3.24 ERA.

Of course he also had one of the scariest injuries of the 2012 season. As reported by Bill Shaikin for the Los Angeles Times, McCarthy had his skull fractured after a line drive by Los Angeles Angels infielder Erick Aybar struck him on the head.

Along with the fracture, he had an epidural hemmorhage and a brain contusion, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com)

Now he has recovered and will join his former Oakland teammate Trevor Cahill in Arizona. McCarthy will be the the fourth starter behind Cahill, Wade Miley and Ian Kennedy.

McCarthy helps give the Diamondbacks terrific depth in the starting rotation. And perhaps the signing will set up a blockbuster deal.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports believes that the signing of McCarthy and the recovery of pitcher Daniel Hudson from Tommy John surgery could put the Diamondbacks in a position where they can trade starting pitching.

Top prospects Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs or Patrick Corbin could be included in a deal with Justin Upton in a potential blockbuster move.

Yet there could be holes in a blockbuster deal; perhaps the signing of McCarthy to the deep pitching staff could be the final push to trigger a big trade.

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Infielder Stephen Drew is testing the free agency waters.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the New York Yankees are interested in the former Arizona Diamondback and Oakland Athletic.

The 30-year-old shortstop might no longer be an solid offensive player. He might have missed a lot of time over the past few seasons due to ankle injuries. True, he is not a long term solution, but he could be a solid fit for the Yankees.

According to the Twitter feed of ESPN’s Buster Olney, Stephen Drew has no interest in being a “super utility guy.” Drew wants to have an everyday job.

The Yankees will be offering him exactly that. In fact, he would have more chances to play every day in New York than in many of the other potential landing spots.

The idea that Drew would be a temporary stopgap or super sub would only be true if one assumes that Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez will be back at full strength.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Alex Rodriguez might not even be ready by July. At age 37, he is mainly needed for his bat rather than his glove.

According to Paul White of USA Today, Derek Jeter is struggling to make it to opening day, and at age 38, he is well beyond the age that even Hall of Fame players are regular shortstops.

By 38, Cal Ripken was a part-time third baseman, and Ozzie Smith was playing his second to last season as a full-time player. By that age, Robin Yount was retired, and none of these Hall of Famers were coming off of ankle surgery.

There is no reason to assume that either Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter will play even 90 games in the field in 2013.

A job in the Bronx would be a full-time one for Drew, and the Yankees should sign an everyday infielder to insert into the lineup for 162 games next season.

There is no chance manager Joe Girardi will be able to pencil in Jeter and Rodriguez for most of the games.

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According to R.J. White of CBSSports.com, the Arizona Diamondbacks are willing to listen to trade offers involving their phenom pitching prospect, Trevor Bauer. This would be a potentially risky move for the Diamondbacks.

Trading young pitching can haunt teams longer than you can say John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander. Just last year, the Diamondbacks dealt Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook in the deal for Trevor Cahill.

But for an impact player, dealing a prospect could be the right move—or, perhaps, the “Wright” move.

New York Mets star David Wright is going to be a free agent after the 2013 season. According to Marc Carig of Newsday.com, the Mets and Wright have begun contract discussions but have not been talking about numbers yet.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, it would behoove the Mets to get more for Wright than they got for departing free agent Jose Reyes last year. They got top prospect Zack Wheeler from the Giants for Carlos Beltran. 

The Mets have a ways to go before they are a pennant contender again, but perhaps a combination of Wheeler, Bauer and Matt Harvey could be a foundation for their future.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks could be in a rare position to be able to trade from a strength of young pitching. Cahill, Ian Kennedy and Wade Miley are all solid starters. Patrick Corbin has talent, Daniel Hudson should be back and Tyler Skaggs is another excellent pitcher.

All will be 28 years old or younger next year.

Dealing Bauer would not leave the Diamondbacks without youth in their staff.

Plus, according to Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com, Bauer didn’t exactly endear himself with the team after his call-up by acting like he didn’t need to make adjustments.

Bauer went 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 130 innings in the minor leagues in 2012.

The Diamondbacks have offense, but a glaring hole at third base.

Trading for an elite talent like Wright, holding on to Justin Upton and still having MLB-tested pitching in their 20s could give the Diamondbacks a chance to get back to the postseason for the next few years.

That might be worth Trevor Bauer.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks are going into 2013 with no shortage of solid young pitching.

Trevor Cahill, Ian Kennedy and Wade Miley are all reliable and will be 28 years old or younger next year. Daniel Hudson, Josh Collmenter and Patrick Corbin are also young and with ability.

And Tyler Skaggs and Trevor Bauer are two excellent starting prospects.

If the Arizona Fall League is any measuring stick, then Chase Anderson might be adding his name to the list.

According to Don Ketchum of MLB.com, Anderson was named the Arizona Fall League’s Pitcher of the Week during the third week of play.

While playing for the Salt River Rafters, he struck out eight in as many innings, throwing to a 0.75 WHIP and holding hitters to a .167 average.

The former University of Oklahoma pitcher is a native Texan who, according to Ketchum in another MLB.com article, emulated Nolan Ryan and Josh Beckett.

His solid start in the minor leagues was derailed by elbow issues in 2011. But at age 24 he came back with a good showing in Double-A Mobile and now the Arizona Fall League.

He was held to less than five innings a start as he recovered last year but will be healthy going into next season.

According to Ketchum, his Fall League manager Matt Williams sees him as a major leaguer with a mix of pitches including his curve and cutter.

If he makes it through Double-A and Triple-A, the Diamondbacks could have an embarrassment of riches in their pitching department. And no doubt that would suit Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson just fine.

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The Oakland Athletics are re-signing Bartolo Colon to a $3 million contract. He was suspended for 50 games earlier this year after testing positive for testosterone. And all of that seems to be in the rearview mirror for Oakland management.

According to the AP’s Janie McCauley, Oakland general manager Billy Beane feels that Colon is “cost effective and good.”

Colon has been pitching in winter ball—and that was all Beane needed to know, as the A’s need pitching depth to retain their American League West title.

The team is bringing back Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, Travis Blackley, A.J. Griffin, Dan Straily and Brett Anderson. Grant Balfour and Ryan Cook are also coming back.

Why not bring back Colon, who threw 152.1 innings, averaging 6.1 innings per start? Obviously, the Athletics are not squeamish about bringing back a suspended player.

He lost nearly half a million dollars in salary last year and will be suspended the first five games of the 2013 season.

When he comes back, the Oakland team that will go into the season will have the deepest staff in the American League West. Throw in the addition of Chris Young and the possibility of dealing an outfielder for infield depth, and the A’s might have already done everything they need to do for their defense without making a major move.

Is that worth a cheap contract to a former Cy Young winner with a PED problem? Billy Beane says yes. And he hasn’t been wrong yet.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks once acquired Dan Haren from an AL West team based in California, and it worked out well for them. They have a chance to do it again and they should.

Haren was an All-Star with postseason experience when the Diamondbacks traded a package of minor leaguers to the Oakland Athletics for him. They surrendered Brett Anderson and Carlos Gonzalez in the deal.

He did not miss a beat when he arrived in the desert. He continued to make the All-Star team and was a Cy Young contender.

As the Diamondbacks fell out of contention in 2010, he was traded, along with his contract extension, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Joe Saunders was the main player in the deal. But the Diamondbacks also acquired young pitcher Patrick Corbin and another starting prospect Tyler Skaggs, who has become one of the best arms in Arizona’s system.

The Diamondbacks are going into 2013 with a very young and talented rotation. Trevor Cahill, Ian Kennedy and Wade Miley make up a solid under-30 core. Corbin, Skaggs and Trevor Bauer could develop into terrific starters soon.

But the Diamondbacks could use a veteran pitcher in the rotation to help ease in the young pitchers and give the squad the depth needed to compete with the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

With Haren available, he could fit the bill perfectly. The Angels are all but certain to buy out Haren’s $15.5 million option to make him a free agent.

While he is no longer a Cy Young contender and 2012 was his first full season in the majors where he failed to pitch 200 innings, he still has tremendous value.

He would be as good of a No. 3 or 4 starter as there would be in the National League. Plus, his place in the rotation would allow the Diamondbacks the luxury of not rushing Bauer or Skaggs.

With the trade for Heath Bell and picking up J.J. Putz, the Diamondbacks are hoping their bullpen will be a deep one. Bringing in Haren would make rotation one of the best in baseball.

With pitching depth the key to championships this decade, a reunion between Haren and Arizona makes more and more sense.

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The Houston Astros made one of their first moves in the offseason leading to their migration to the American League. According to R. J. White of CBSSports.com, Che-Hsuan Lin, an outfielder in the Red Sox organization, will be heading to Houston via waivers.

It was not long ago that Che-Hsuan Lin was considered to be a top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization. The 24-year-old native of Hwa-Lian Taiwan signed with Boston as an 18-year-old star on the Junior World Championship team. In 2008, he was named the MVP of the Futures Game.

Before the 2010 season, Jim Callis of Baseball America listed Lin as having the best strike zone discipline and the best outfield arm in the Red Sox organization.

By 2012, he made it all the way to the majors and showed off his defense. His diving catch on May 23rd against the Orioles was described by John Tomasse of the Boston Herald as “a game saver.”

He only played in a handful of games for Boston. Then, in October, the Red Sox claimed Sandy Rosario off waivers from the Miami Marlins and Lin was the odd man out from the 40-man roster.

So now Lin will be getting a chance to compete on a very young Astros club. Outfielders J. D. Martinez, Justin Maxwell, Fernando Martinez and Jordan Schafer might have the inside track for starting jobs in Houston. But none of those players played like All Stars last year.

The Astros could have stumbled across a solid player who could give their outfield much needed depth. It wasn’t that long ago that Lin starred in the Futures Game. Maybe his future is now.

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Ervin Santana has probably pitched his last game as a member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has had an enigmatic career in Southern California, going back and forth between brilliance and horrible starts.

The Royals should take a chance with him.

Santana arrived in the majors with the 2005 Angels. He won 12 games, but pitched to a high 4.65 ERA and had a mediocre 91 ERA+. But in the deciding Game 5 of the Division Series against the Yankees, Santana relieved an injured Bartolo Colon and went 5.1 innings for the win.

Over his eight seasons with the Halos he had some terrific seasons and some terrible seasons.

He finished sixth in the Cy Young voting in 2008. Then in 2009 he saw his ERA balloon to 5.03 and he lost his spot in the playoff rotation. But that same year, he threw a complete game shutout to clinch the division.

He improved in 2010 but had a down year the next, despite throwing a no-hitter on July 27, 2011.

In 2012, his ERA sored to 5.16 and he let up more home runs than anyone in the league. But he also could reach back and throw a one-hitter against Arizona on June 16.

The Angels are almost certain to not pick up his $13 million option, and he will be a free agent. He probably will not make top dollar but rather would be wanting to prove himself worthy of another big deal.

The Royals could probably get him for an affordable one-year deal. As the Royals wait for the Jake Odorizzis and Kyle Zimmers of the world to develop, Santana, who will be 30 next season, could be the ideal stopgap.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland would be given the job of harnessing his obviously tremendous amount of talent into one solid year. The Royals would get a good starter and help develop the rest of the staff and bullpen. And if Kansas City does not contend, they would have a good trade chip down the stretch.

And Santana could turn one terrific well timed season, into a lucrative multi-year deal for a team desperate for pitching.

It could be the ideal situation for the Royals to buy low and Santana to eventually sell high.

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Oakland Atheltics General Manager Billy Beane got into the act of big trades before the World Series even got started. He stepped into the middle of the Miami Marlins trying to dump Heath Bell and walked away with Chris Young in exchange for virtually nothing.

Re-energized by the Division Title and possibly by Moneyball being on BlueRay, Billy Beane is looking to make the defending American League West Champions even better in 2013.

The Young trade has given the A’s a surplus of talented outfielders. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Billy Beane has no intention of trading Josh Reddick, Coco Crisp, Seth Smith, Yoenis Cespedes or Young.

But of course he will deal one of them, because there are too many teams that could use a solid outfielder and Beane is too clever to say something like “Man, I got to get rid of at least one of these guys. Let’s hear some offers.”

Coco Crisp seems like the most likely player to be moved due to his contract. But according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Billy Beane seems to want Crisp in Oakland. “Everybody knows how important this guy is to this team,” Beane said of Crisp, adding he “is a personal favorite of mine.”

Reddick or Smith could be used in a trade for either bullpen depth of a starting infielder.

But why not Cespedes? If the objective of a trade is to get the maximum value in return, Cespedes would be the most attractive trade chip.

The Cuban defector, who had a star rookie year in Oakland, will be 27 years old next season. He is a right-handed slugger with some speed and a flair for the dramatic.

He his .292 with an OPS of .861, 23 homers and 82 RBI in 129 games his rookie year. He also stole 16 bags.

Most contenders would covet a bat like that, especially one that will be under contract for the next three seasons at a total of $28 million.

But there are some red flags. He has some wrist issues as well as hand and hamstring problems and is not a very good defensive center fielder.

That being said, his trade value is at its peak right now. And last year Beane showed the advantage of making a potentially risky trade of a young player.

In 2011, the A’s looked like they were building around young pitchers like Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey and Trevor Cahill. Bailey was 27, Gonzalez was 25 and Cahill was only 23. It looked like a solid pitching foundation.

Beane instead traded all three when teams were willing to give up more for them. In the process he acquired Ryan Cook, Tommy Milone, Derek Norris, Jarrod Parker and Josh Reddick, among other minor leaguers.

The A’s would have depth in the outfield and might pick up the infielder and reliever to give them the team that would repeat as Division Champions for Cespedes.

He might never be worth more than he is now. It would be worth hearing at least what the offers are.

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If Alex Rodriguez is indeed traded to the Miami Marlins, as Keith Olbermann wrote in his blog, then the Yankees will not be getting Heath Bell back to help off set the costs.

The Miami Marlins sent their beleaguered closer and free agent bust Heath Bell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three way trade that also involved the Oakland Athletics.

According to the Twitter feed of Sun Sentinel reporter Juan C. Rodriguez, the Marlins will pick up the tab of $8 million of his remaining $21 million contract.

Bell was one of the celebrated free agents brought to Miami for what was supposed to be their glorious entry to being a big market club with a high payroll and a brand new stadium. No doubt they had images of Bell leaping in the air as the closer of the World Series.

Instead it was a match made in hell. He clashed frequently with manager Ozzie Guillen. According to ESPN.com, Bell said on 560 AM’s The Dan Sileo Show towards the end of the season that “it is hard to respect a guy that doesn’t tell you the truth or doesn’t tell you face to face.”

That may be true. But Bell could have made Guillen’s job easier if he pitched better. He only saved 19 games while posting a 5.09 ERA in 63 2/3 innings. He was consistently removed from the closer role and turned the ninth inning into a horror show in South Florida.

He had to be dealt. And now he will settle in Arizona and the Marlins will continue to shed high priced players less than a year after becoming a big time player.

In exchange the Marlins will acquire minor league shortstop Yordy Cabrera, who played in the Oakland organization’s California League team in Stockton last season.

According to scoutingbook.com, the 22-year-old Cabrera is a shortstop with potential power who is projected to be a third baseman.

So far his numbers have not shown him being a reliable power source. But right now he is a name for the future. The main part of this deal was not to bring in Cabrera but to rid the Marlins of Bell.

Essentially the Marlins have continued to cut bait from this terribly disappointing season. The Heath Bell nightmare has ended. Who knows what the Yordy Cabrera era will bring.

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