MLB Weekly

New York Yankees: It is sure to be an interesting offseason for the Yankees and there have already been some rumors that the Yankees are more likely to sign Manny Ramirez than Mark Teixeira. This is definitely a surprise in some ways, because Mark Teixeira is younger than Manny and better in the field. However, it would be a bigger commitment to sign Teixeira because you'd have to give him more years and money than Manny. The Yankees may only want to give out one long term contract this offseason and may prefer to give that long term contract to C.C. Sabathia.

There would be a lot of pluses to adding Manny for the Yankees and the biggest one would probably be that it would take A LOT of pressure off of A-Rod. You could bat Manny 4th behind A-Rod in the 3 hole and A-Rod would probably see a lot of good pitches to hit. I don’t like the idea of Manny in the outfield if I'm the Yankees and I’m sure he would cause some problems every once in a while, but the guy can flat out rake the baseball and you are pretty much guaranteed to have a top notch offense if you add him. This would also take pressure off the pitching staff in some ways. In my opinion, since Manny is suspect in the field, if you add Manny you let him DH. Keep Xavier Nady in right and Johnny Damon in left. The Yankees could then probably get away with plugging Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner in CF now that they would have Manny’s big bat in the lineup. There have also been rumors that the Yankees might be targeting Mike Cameron to play CF if the Brewers decline his option. Then I think they should trade Hideki Matsui for the best pitching they can get, whether a back end starter or a reliever, or maybe possibly even a decent first base option.

The Yankees also have to like the idea of a motivated Manny trying to beat the Red Sox. You could be talking MVP season right there with Manny motivated to stick it to his former team. Who knows maybe he'd even help A-Rod relax a little bit. The question is how many years would you want to give him, because at some point he's going to decline, so is it worth it for the Yankees to give him 4 years when they might only get two great ones? There is also a question of whether is it better for them to sign Mark Teixeira since he is a younger player.

In other Yankees news, it's looking more likely that Andy Pettitte will return next season for the Yankees and that Mike Mussina will be retiring.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox top priority this offseason is to trade pitcher Javier Vazquez. They are looking for either a second baseman or third baseman in return for Vazquez and Chone Figgins and Brian Roberts have been two names that have come up in possible trades. I don't see it making much sense for the Orioles to trade for Vazquez, but it might not be a bad move for the Angels. However, I think the White Sox could probably get more for Vazquez from a National League team. The White Sox also declined the $16.5 million option on Ken Griffey, JR. No surprise there, because Griffey is definitely not worth that kind of money anymore. It's possible that Griffey might end up back with the Seattle Mariners.

Jake Peavy: The Padres have been trying hard to find a compatible team to trade Jake Peavy too. There were a lot of rumors that Peavy was going to be traded to the Braves, but the Braves do not want to trade top prospect Tommy Hanson and the Padres seem to want him in any Peavy related deal they make with the Braves. The latest rumors have the Padres talking to the Cubs and Dodgers. I can't possibly see the Padres trading Peavy to the Dodgers since they are in the same division and I'm not sure the Dodgers need help with their pitching anyway. They'd probably be better off re-signing Derek Lowe or maybe even trading for Javier Vazquez who would probably be a lot easier to acquire. The Cubs interest in Peavy could be due to the face that Ryan Dempster has said that he is going to test the open market before he decides if he is going to re-sign with the Cubs.

Other MLB News:

- The Red Sox are going to pursue Mark Teixeira pretty hard this offseason and if they are able to sign him would move Kevin Youkilis to third base. The Yankees will also be pursuing Teixeira, but seem hesitant to lock him into a 6 to 8 year contract. The Red Sox have also exercised their option on pitcher Tim Wakefield.

- The Texas Rangers are looking to trade some of their depth at catcher and are looking for pitching help in return. The Rangers have Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Max Ramirez, and Taylor Teagarden at catcher. They are planning on having Teagarden start for them next season, but would also move him if the right deal came along. The Giants, Red Sox, Brewers, Reds, and Tigers are teams that seem to be interested in acquiring a catcher. The Rangers have been interested in Giants pitcher Matt Cain for a few years now.

- Jim Edmonds plans to play next season. I'm not sure where Edmonds will end up, because he has slowed down a lot in CF and is probably not an every day player at this point. He might be a decent option for the Rays as a part time DH/RF.

- The Baltimore Orioles have been looking for a SS since they traded Miguel Tejada last season and they have been discussing Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal, and Edgar Renteria as possibilities. I'm not sure any of these guys are a good fit for the Orioles, because they are not really long term options and the Orioles aren't a team that is ready to compete right now. A trade for J.J. Hardy or Khalil Greene might make more sense for the Orioles.

- The White Sox top priority this offseason is to trade pitcher Javier Vazquez. They are looking for either a second baseman or third baseman in return for Vazquez and Chone Figgins and Brian Roberts have been two names that have come up in possible trades.

- The Mets picked up Carlos Delgado's $12 million option. Delgado looked to be toast at the beginning of the season, but managed to hit .271 with 38 home runs and 115 RBI. The Mets also signed Fernando Tatis and are looking for a closer in the offseason.

- The Marlins traded 1B Mike Jacobs to the Royals for P Leo Nunez. Jacobs hit 32 home runs this season, but also stuck out 119 times and had an OBP of just .299.

- The Detroit Tigers declined the option on SS Edgar Renteria. Renteria, who will now be a free agent, hit .270 with 10 HR and 55 RBI this season. There have also been rumors that the Tigers might have to trade Magglio Ordonez because of payroll concerns.

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