Kuzul

MLB Trade Rumors continue to swirl as the Hot Stove heats up during the annual Winter Meetings.

The talk of the meetings was obviously the mega-contract Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals, but there have been other rumors as well.

In the last two days, the Blue Jays shipped off their best starter in Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee for a prospect, and the Padres finally unloaded first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Boston for a bounty of prospects.

There are more big names who have been named in trade rumors, so here are some of the bigger names that could be moved.

Begin Slideshow

Free agency is a fickle beast in that money doesn’t always constitute the quality level of any given player. More often than not, teams fork over hefty coin simply based on a player’s prior experience and what the agent “sells” the buying team into thinking.

Take, for example, starting pitcher Cliff Lee. His track record over the past two years arguably suggests he is worth over $100 million—arguably! But what about all those players who are better buys than Lee. Isn’t that where the true value rests?

It may be a trite question to ask but I thought it a great topic to discuss, so let’s take a look at who I have come up with. I will take a look at pitchers as well as some position players to widen the gamut.

So sit back and enjoy and please be sure to leave your nominee below in the comment section.

Begin Slideshow

Trades are a funny thing.

They are a part of every sport, and the one common characteristic that can describe their nature is their inherent volatility. Trades can be a savior to teams, bringing them to the pinnacle of success. Or they can be the perpetual oppressor, blamed by fans for years of struggle and hardship. Sometimes, the same trade can be viewed either way, depending on the point of view of the fan.

No sport has such a voluminous history of transactions as America’s pastime, so it’s no surprise that deciding which were the absolute worst was no small task.

Think I have anything out of place or that I haven’t included a trade that deserved to be on here? Let me know.

Begin Slideshow

Cliff Lee is a free agent, and that means the team that flashes the most cash will have the advantage in the arms race.

Lee most likely enjoys Texas, unfortunately, us fans don’t really get a lot of the Rangers during the typical MLB season.

As a casual observer of the game, I choose to take a glance at the 10 places in which Lee would look best. Of course, we are taking into account exposure, market and fan base.

Begin Slideshow

The 2010 MLB season provided a few teams that finished well above expectations..

Who would have guessed that the San Diego Padres would be on pace to make the playoffs all the way up to the last game of the season?

Who would have guessed that the Cincinnati Reds, a team that hadn’t made the playoffs in 15 years, would hold off the mighty St. Louis Cardinals for supremacy in the N.L Central?

And of course, there is the Rangers and Giants. Who would have thought that two average teams in ’09 would defeat the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees?

This is good news for teams around the league. A young scrappy team with a veteran manager could thrive in 2011. Or how about a team with a bunch of talented young pitching? Picking up a few free agents could be what gets a team over the hump.

Here are 10 teams that could break through in 2011.

Begin Slideshow

The Baseball Hall of Fame’s Veteran’s Committee will vote on Dec. 5 to select any players, executives or other baseball personnel who have contributed sufficiently to the game since 1973 to merit induction. As it happens, 1973 was the year George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees. Though Steinbrenner died in July, his son Hal remains chairman of the Yankees today.

Steinbrenner thus seems well-situated to become the 13th person in history elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame principally as an owner. His Yankee teams won seven World Series titles and Steinbrenner notably did whatever he could (and often more) to push for ever greater success.

Yet, many note also that Steinbrenner’s transgressions begin to balance out his positive contributions. Twice, he was forced out of MLB altogether, only to find his way back in. Steinbrenner is one of the most polarizing figures of the last 50 years in Major League Baseball, but as far as owners go, few have ever had such an impact or been so visible.

Here are the top 25 owners in MLB history, ranked according to a proprietary system explained in detail on the next slide.

Begin Slideshow

Over the last four weeks, Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists have released the results of our mock vote for every significant MLB award, from Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers to Rookies of the Year and Cy Youngs.

Yesterday, we reached the apex of our American League awards with the announcement of Josh Hamilton as our AL MVP. Today, our series comes to a close with our choice for the National League Most Valuable Player.

This time, the top 10 vote-getters are featured here, with commentary from the writers who chose them. The full list of results—featuring 41 players who were picked on our ballots—is after the No. 1 pick.

Thank you to all the writers who voted and contributed commentary. I hope it’s been as fun for all of you to read these as it’s been for me to write them. If you missed one of the previous 15 slideshows, the full list with links is at the end.

So read on, see how we did, and be sure to tell us what we got wrong!

Begin Slideshow

Every offseason the free-agent class is headlined by a small group of big-name players. In 2008, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira were the big names. Last year, it was probably John Lackey. In 2010, Cliff Lee is undoubtedly the biggest fish in a very, very small pond.

The problem is, players of this ilk command huge salaries and usually end up on big-market teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets. The most interesting part of free agency is to be found when one looks past the big names at bargain players—those whom people had forgotten about.

Even when looking at the underrated players on the market, this year’s free-agent class is still poor.

Not to kill the suspense but, no, Cliff Lee will not be appearing on this list.

Begin Slideshow

Every year after following all of the off-season trades, baseball fans and managers are always on the lookout for specific individuals who will wind up being impact players.

They could be prospects, rookies or even a player who has been seemingly on the slide the last couple of years, all thanks to some new digs and a new approach in mechanics.

I’d like to take a look at some players who I feel could make an impact in 2011. As always, if there is a player who you think should be mentioned, leave a comment below, and perhaps why you feel they could be an impact player in 2011.

Begin Slideshow

Roy Halladay effectively killed whatever drama might have been attached to the announcement of the 2010 National League Cy Young Award winner.

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies’ ace ran away with the thing once Josh Johnson got shelved while Ubaldo Jimenez and Adam Wainwright blinked in the second half of the season.

The Florida Marlin didn’t miss too many games and neither the Colorado Rockie, nor the better of the two St. Louis Cardinal untouchables struggled badly or for very long, but Halladay simply gave the other horses no margin for error:

33 GS, 250.2 IP, 21-10, 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 7.30 K/BB, .245/.271/.373

Further sweetening the pot were Doc’s league-leading nine complete games, league-leading four shutouts, the perfect game and the no-hitter in his playoff debut (though that one didn’t happen in time for the voting).

How’s that for your first year with a new club?

The second “Year of the Pitcher” gave us brilliance from those mentioned along with Tim Hudson, Roy Oswalt and Mat Latos, but none was as blinding as Roy Halladay.

However, as good as the burly right-hander’s campaign was, it still wasn’t quite dandy enough to crack this petrified nut. Without further ado, here are the top 15 NL Cy Youngs in the history of the award.

Enjoy.

Begin Slideshow