Kuzul

As we head into the 2011 MLB season, there is still a chance for there to be some serious player movement as several big-name players have been rumored to be available on the market.

Some of these players are fragile and a liability to play few games this season, others are headed for free agency next offseason and others are simply unhappy at their current location.

Here are the top players at each position in baseball who have either been put on the trading block now, are being mentioned in various trade rumors or whom I expect to be trade bait at midseason.

For the record, I expect Albert Pujols to last past the trade deadline so he’s not on this list.

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We’ve all heard about Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford signing with the Red Sox.

We’ve all heard about Zack Greinke being traded to the Brewers.

We’ve all yawned about Derek Jeter re-signing with the Yankees.

We all weren’t surprised when the Braves went after a top second baseman in Dan Uggla.

But this list commemorates the moves that have been made so far this offseason that largely went unnoticed or didn’t reap the round of applause they so deserved.

These players aren’t superstars, but they will help their teams a lot more than most people think.

Here are the 10 most underrated moves of MLB’s offseason so far.

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With all the dollars and little sense being thrown around in baseball these days, it’s hard to fathom that a top player is playing at bargain price for a team.

Like youngsters Jason Heyward or Mike Stanton, or closers like Neftali Feliz and Andrew Bailey. Not to mention two top starting pitchers in the game.

But it does happen, and the teams that find themselves with a star player for chump change have good chances of making the playoffs, if not the World Series.

A lot of these players will eventually get paid down the road, but for now they are baseball’s greatest bargains.

Here are the top 25 underpaid players in the baseball.

Note: The minimum salary for a player in Major League Baseball is $400,000.

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Things are seriously heating up in baseball’s offseason recently, as a number of big signings have been made, including Cliff Lee to the Philadelphia Phillies.

It appears teams are starting to become more eager in assembling their rosters, and finding out whether they can re-sign some players or need to look on the market.

Carl Pavano and Adrian Beltre are some big names on the market, and there are plenty more that are starting to gain interest.

You’ll find the latest on the top current MLB free agents here as well as trades and trade rumors.

After losing out on Cliff Lee, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, who will the New York Yankees pursue next?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With rumors swirling around Cliff Lee (will he stay in Texas, will he go?), it’s not all doom and gloom for the New York Yankees if they don’t land him. Especially when you have millions and millions of dollars to shove in players’ faces.

With that in mind, Here are the Top 10 players that the Yankees could potentially overpay to get what they want (in order of likelihood).

Who Are the Yankees Going to Overpay Next?

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Going into the 2011 season, the Boston Red Sox need to add a power bat. That’s stating the obvious, but how will they do it?

Victor Martinez has since left to sign a four-year, $50 million contract with Detroit. That leaves Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a catcher who has never had a full season in the big leagues, to run the team.

Although Boston has said they feel comfortable giving him the job to start off in 2011, there’s something about me that doubts this.

Thus, I have a couple catchers on here for Boston to go after.

I also feel they are weak in center field with Mike Cameron as the starter. Thus, I have some outfielders to go after.

This is collectively a mixture of signings and trades Boston could make to help fill in its weak spots in the offseason.

Here are 10 Moves That Could Improve the Boston Red Sox Offense.

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Boy, what a task this was! There have been so many dollars and little sense thrown around in baseball in the last 25 years, it was difficult to narrow it all down to just 25!

But after numerous hours of research and head-scratching, I present to you all the 25 Worst Free Agent Signings in the Last 25 Years.

Disclaimer: This list is based on a combination of money spent for the player, the production that ensued (or didn’t), and whether the entire contract was picked up by the team (some players that were traded had their contracts forwarded to another team, thus taking a little sting out of the burden the original team had to carry).

In short, how much the player hurt the organization was the main determinant.

You may realize Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Brown aren’t on this list, despite their giant contracts. This is because they were largely dominant during the extent of their contracts (Brown had some injury problems, but in four of the five years he was with LA he had a 3.00 ERA or lower-his last two years were picked up by the Yankees when he was traded).

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As we get closer to Nov. 15—the day the NL Rookie of the Year award is given out—there are two leading candidates: San Francisco‘s Buster Posey and Atlanta‘s Jason Heyward.

Despite a great year by Heyward, Buster Posey should win the award.

First off, the San Francisco Giants would have never made it to the playoffs without Posey, whose promotion as a starter on June 30 gave the then-struggling Giants a serious shot in the arm.

After getting swept by their bitter rival the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 30, the Giants proceeded to go 20-8 in July, highlighted by Posey’s first month as a starting catcher, in which he batted .417 with seven homers, 24 RBI and 20 runs in just 103 at-bats. Not to mention a 21-game hitting streak, which tied a San Francisco Giants rookie record set by Willie McCovey.

When Posey entered the starting lineup, the Giants were in fourth place in the NL West, 5.5 games out of first. After just one month of Posey at the helm, the Giants were in second place, 1.5 games out of first, and had the third-best winning percentage in the National League. The Giants went on to go 52-33 since Posey’s promotion.

Secondly, Posey—in just his first full year mind you—managed to take over as catcher seamlessly after Bengie Molina’s departure and helped guide what was probably the best pitching staff in San Francisco’s 52-year history. He quickly gained the talented pitching staff’s trust and his cannon of an arm became known around the league.

What he did as a rookie calling the game could be the No. 1 reason he deserves the ROY in 2010. Rarely in baseball’s history has there been a rookie catcher who commanded a game the way Posey did. Let’s not forget he’s still only 23 years old.

Third, the stats don’t lie. Although Heyward had more RBI and runs (72 and 83 respectively) in 2010, he had 114 more at-bats than Posey and was a starter from day one for the Braves.

Posey hit the same amount of home runs (18) and batted .305 to Heyward’s .277. He also managed to collect only five less RBI than Heyward despite his fewer at-bats. Posey hit his 18th home run in San Francisco’s division-clinching 3-0 win over San Diego in the final game of the season.

Both players were stellar with runners in scoring position, with Posey barely edging out Heyward, hitting .312 to Heyward’s .306. Posey had a higher OPS (on-base plus slugging), .862 to .849. Posey also only struck out 55 times the entire year, to Heyward’s 128—a testament to how disciplined he was. Rarely did he look over-matched.

There’s no doubt Heyward had a great year and will be a prominent player for years to come, but if Posey doesn’t win the award this year, it would surely be a mistake.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I called my buddy, let’s call him Michael, after Game 2 of the World Series. I figured he would be in a bar in San Francisco watching the Giants game. 

Upon calling, a random stranger picked up the phone. I heard screaming, I heard joy, and far in the distance, I heard Michael screaming “Ya! Go Giants!”

That epitomized what the first two games in San Francisco have been for Giants fans: a big party.

The Giants beat the Rangers 9-0 Thursday in Game 2, completing a homestand in which they outscored the Rangers 20-7. In two games. Yeah, I didn’t see that coming either.

Here is the San Francisco Giants report card for Game 2.

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I can remember not long ago when a certain Giants fan voted against SF in the NLCS against the Phillies.

This Giants fan had lost his way, dazzled by the stats, highlights and in-depth commentary that pervaded his home before the series, all leading him to believe his beloved Giants would fight a good fight but ultimately crumble before the mighty two-time defending NL champs.

But the Giants didn’t lose. They didn’t crumble. In fact, they won four games to two, with the final win coming inexplicably in Philly against Roy Oswalt—who had dominated them in Game 2—and with their most unpredictable starter, Jonathan Sanchez, basically imploding.

That is when this Giants fan realized this team is bigger than any stats, bigger than anything on paper, and that talent alone wasn’t carrying this team—destiny was.

What this team has done this season has been remarkable, a team of castoffs many cast off as lucky to be in the playoffs, lucky to have the privilege of facing the powerful Phillies.

But this Giants fan knows better now—and he will be damned if he picks the Texas Rangers over the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.

Thus, here are 10 Reasons SF Will Win the Ring.

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