(Many of the Deals in the works will have to wait to fall through
I until Kosume Fukudome makes his Decision)

12/9/07


--Dexter Sports

It has been a Slow week around Major League Baseball, beyond the big landing of Dontrelle Willis, and Miguel Cabrera in the AL Central. Johan Santana remains a Twin, Barry Bonds is still a cheat, and a lot of teams are yet to make moves. After these meetings, I cant see Santana moving anywhere, unless Omar Minaya pulls something out for the Mets. The Twins want Jose Reyes, but we all know he will stay in New York. With Andruw Jones landing with Torre and the Dodgers, look for other center fielders to start falling where they may. Rowand could end up back with the Phillies, though i think he we land in a small market, since most big market clubs have covered their center field woes. Look for the Twins to swoop in as well as the Orioles to throw in deals. Where Rowand lands should all depend on what Coco Crisp decides. If he is willing to be the 4th outfielder, he will make 4.5 mil on the bench. Teams that seem interested in Crisp: the White Sox, Rangers, Padres and yet again the orioles. I wouldn't be suprised to see the nationals grab a center fielder in the near feature as well

In the Erik Bedard chase, things seem to be heating up between Cincinnati and Baltimore. The Reds have put a deal together that doesn't include Jay Bruce, the Minor League Player of the year in 2007. The deal would include Homer Bailey, Joel Votto and a prospect. The Orioles are high on 21 year old Joel Cueto, but might have to sacrifice for something of less value. Other Suitors for Bedard seem to be the Mets and possibly the Yankees. The wanting of Oakland's Dan Haron and Joe Blanton have seemed to cool, but look for talks to pick up again. It doesn't seem that the Yankees are content with Pettite, Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina and either Joba Chamberlain, Kei Igawa or Chris Britton.

The Brewers are at it again. After signing David Riske and bringing in Solomon Torres, The Brewers agreed in principle to a one year deal with 2003 Cy Young award winner Eric Gagne. The only question is if Gagne will be the 2003 closer or the 2007 set up man with the Red Sox. Most think that David Riske and Derrick Turnbow will be used as setup men in the 8th while the combo of Matt Wise, Solomon Torres and Guillermo Mota will be used in the sixth and seventh. Many think with all the bullpen help brought in, the Brewers are looking to put Manny Parra or Claudio Vargas into a package to obtain a third baseman. With Brandon Inge now on the market, the brewers seem suitable but will most likely go after a cheaper answer. I would think that Pedro Feliz is a good fit, but nothing has been speculated about the free agent. Though Inge carries a hefty deal, some teams might be interested if the tigers pick up some of his contract. The Pirates, Giants, Nationals, Orioles among others might be interested. Inge could be used as a super utility player, but wants to be an everyday starter. His best luck would be in San Fransisco. The Tigers could pick up the contract of Ray Durham to cover and trade him for prospects. The Pirates also might be interested if they can dump the contract of Matt Morris.

The Padres are in a mix of Interesting Moves. The team has brought back Milton Bradley, and is in talks with Mike Cameron. It seems they are going to wait it out for Japanese Outfielder Kosume Fukodome to make the decision on whether to play in the U.S. or Japan. The Outfielder could pull 10- 15 million a year from either the Cubs or Padres among others interested. The Padres have also contacted Geoff Jenkins, but will most likely hold off until word from Fukodome. Other teams that are interested seem to be the Rays, Rangers, A's and possibly the Red Sox. He would fill for Bobby Keilty.

Thats all for now: Stay Tuned for more!