Blues swap defensemen with Maple Leafs

The St. Louis Blues trade defenseman Roman Polak to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, and the 94th pick in the 2014 NHL draft (Ville Husso). Husso, turned out to be the pick. He was ranked number one for European goalies. Polak was drafted by the Blues in the 2004 NHL draft in the 6th round, overall he was picked 180th. Since Polak's rookie season in 2006-2007, he's played 424 games, with 13 goals, 66 assists, and 79 points in eight seasons and is a minus 7. He's played in 25 playoff games, only has 2 assists, and is a minus 11 in the playoffs.

As for Gunnarsson what does he bring to the Blues? He can control the puck better than Polak can. Both are pretty much similar types of players, except Gunnarsson fits Ken Hitchcock's system on the Blues. Gunnarsson was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 2007 NHL draft in the 7th round, overall he was picked 194th. His rookie season came in 2009-2010, that year he played in 43 games and scored 3 goals, with 12 assists for 15 points. He lead the Leafs in the plus/minus department with a plus 8.
He was paired with Dion Phaneuf for the Leafs top paring. He looked good making up for Phanuef's mistakes. Last season on a bad Maple Leafs team he finished as a plus 12.

In his career his played five seasons in the NHL so far and has played 304 games, with 15 goals, 71 assists, and 86 points, and is a plus 14. He's played 7 career playoff games, with 1 assist and is a minus 7. 

People liked Polak a lot, they'll tend to like Gunnarsson if they give him a chance. Polak made hits and got lots of blocked shots, well guess what? Last season lets compare both Polak had 130 blocked shots, and 151 hits. As for Gunnarsson, he had 176 blocked shots and 166 hits. It's a win-win for both teams if you look at it. Gunnarsson fits Hitchcock's style better, and controls the puck better. The Blues improved their game. That's one improvement into making this team better than last years team so far. Will Jordan Leopold be traded? I could see the Blues trading him to clear cap space and find someone who could fill Polak's role with maybe less playing time in free agency. Both Polak and Gunnarsson are about the same age.

Twins land free agent 1B/DH Kendrys Morales

The Minnesota Twins have signed first basemen/designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $7.5 million for the rest of the 2014 season. Morales played for the Seattle Mariners in 2013, after the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim traded him to Seattle in December 2012. He's played seven seasons in the MLB, after making his debut on May 23,2006. It would be nine seasons, but he injured himself on a walk-off grand slam in 2010 and missed all of the 2011 season recovering from his injury.

Morales' best season came in 2009, when he played 152, hitting .306, 173 hits, 43 doubles, 86 runs scored, 2 triples, 34 home runs, and 108 rbi's. In 2013, for the Mariners, he had his best season since 2009. He hit .277, with 23 home runs, and 80 rbi's.

His career stats are: 620 games played, 622 hits, 130 doubles, 280 runs scored, 4 triples, 4 stolen bases, 345 rbi's, and a career batting average of .280.

I like the move a lot for the Twins, they seem to be playing a lot better than people excepted them right now coming into the season. They get a power bat in their line up in Morales, who is capable of driving in runs.

Brian Elliott re-signs with Blues

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed goalie Brian Elliot to a three-year contract. The deal is worth $7.5 million in his new contract. Elliott 29,
would have become a free agent on July 1st. He signed with the Blues as a a free agent back in July, 2011. At the time he almost found himself out of the NHL. He was able to re-find his career with the Blues, beating out former Blues goalie Ben Bishop for the back up behind then goalie Jaroslav Halak (now with the New York Islanders). Bishop did better in camp than Elliott, but the Blues chose Elliott because he had more NHL experience.

Elliott went to the NHL All-Star game in 2012. He also won the Jennings Trophy from the 2011-2012 season, that award goes to the goalies who's team has the fewest goals scored against them. So, Halak won that with Elliott.

Before joining the Blues, Elliott played for the Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche. As a Blues goalie, Elliott is 55-24-7, and is tied for second for most shutouts in franchise history with 16. His career stats over his seven year career in the NHL are: 245 games played, 116 wins, 77 losses, 23 overtime losses, and 28 shutouts. Over that time his saver percentage is .910 and his goals against is 2.48. Elliott has come along way after going 15-27-9 with 1 shutout in the 2010-2011 season between the Senators and Avalanche.

I like the move a lot by the Blues. The Blues now know who their goalies will be for next season, Jake Allen and Brian Elliott. Allen should be the no.1 overtime, but both will share time first.

Cardinals sign shortstop Aledmys Diaz

The St. Louis Cardinals have been wanting to expand their market into Cuba and Asia. Well, on Sunday afternoon they did just that by signing Cuban free agent shortstop Aledmys Diaz.  Diaz, 23, gets a four-year contract. The deal looks like it's worth $15-$20 million, even though there's no official word on the terms of the contract.

Lots of MLB teams scouted Diaz, who was suspended for a year after he lied about his age. In his last season in Cuba, he hit .315 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 270 at bats. There are teams who think that Diaz is better off playing second base. Diaz, views himself as a shortstop, but he can also play second base and third base. One of the things teams have liked about him most is the power that he is capable of producing when he's in a line-up. There are some mixed reports about his defense. That's one reason why there are teams who think he's better off playing second base in the long run. I guess the Cardinals will find out where he fits better. The Cardinals seem to do well with players who can play multi-positions.

In signing Diaz, the Cardinals get infield depth and maybe a starting shortstop for the future. He'll start out in the minors in 2014 and work his way up the the MLB. As of right now it looks like he'll be at double A Springfield or triple A Memphis. He'll be in Cardinals camp on Monday in Jupiter, FL. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny plans to get him in games right away to see where he is. The signing looks like it could be a win-win for both Diaz and the Cardinals.

Matt Carpenter lands six-year extension with Cardinals

The Cardinals have signed third-baseman Matt Carpenter to a six-year extension. Carpenter's new deal is worth $52 million and includes an option for the 2020 season. The option is for the 2020 season is worth $18.5 million.The deal buys out the first two years of free agency for Carpenter, and gets rid of all three of his arbitration years. Carpenter, 28, has played three seasons in the MLB. He's improved himself as a player since being draft by the Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft.

Last season, Carpenter had a break out year for himself. He played in 157 games and hit .318 in 2013, with 126 runs scored, 199 hits, 55 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs, and 78 rbi's. The 55 doubles broke a record for a left-handed batter in franchise history that was held by Stan Musial. The record had been 53 doubles by Musial in the 1953 season. Carpenter ended up an All-Star for the first time in 2013, and won a Silver Slugger Award (which goes to the best offensive players at each position in both the American League and National League). It marked the first time in Cardinals history that a second baseman won a Silver Slugger Award. He also finished fourth in NL MVP voting.

So far in Carpenter's thee year career his stats are: 278 games played, .937 at bats, 306 batting average, 170 runs, 287 hits, 78 doubles, 12 triples, 17 home runs, 124 rbi's, and 4 stolen bases.

The deal for Carpenter looks like it could end up being a bargain for the Cardinals. A lot of that depends if Carpenter can improve from 2013 or put up almost same numbers that he did. I think he will be able to improve those stats from 2013. Good move by the Cardinals. I wouldn't be shocked if next in line for an extension is either Shelby Miller, Micheal Wacha, or Trevor Rosenthal.

Blues make splash for playoff push, land Ryan Miller and Steve Ott

The St. Louis Blues wanted to improve their team going into the playoffs, two of their weak spots were with starting goal-tending and grit. And on Friday evening, the Blues were able to do both in one trade. They traded goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, along with a first-round pick in 2015 and a third-round pick in 2016 to the Buffalo Sabers for goalie Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott.

Miller and Ott could both become free agents after the 2013-2014 season. Miller,33, had played his whole career in Buffalo. until being traded today. In the 2009-2010 season, Ryan Miller won the Vezina Trophy. That award goes to the best goaltender in the NHL. That season, Miller played 69 games and went 41-18-4, with 5 shutouts, and a goals against of 2.22. He's played for team USA two times in the Olympics.

In Miller's twelve years in the NHL, his stats are: 540 games played, 284 wins, 186 losses, 56 (tie/overtime loss), 28 shutouts, 2.60 goals against, .916 save percentage, and 9 assists. His career playoff record is 25-22. Right now Miller, for the 2013-2014 season is 15-22-3. He did the best he could playing behind one of the worst defense's in the NHL. So, coming to the Blues should help improve that record. That's knowing that he's still good and the Blues have a great defense playing in front of him.

Could Ryan Miller end up staying a Blue beyond the season and not just be a rental? Time will tell, but he should be able to help the Blues a lot. He's good at playing the puck, which is something Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak aren't that good at doing.

As for Steve Ott, 31, this is his second time being traded in his career. Ott, started his NHL career for the Dallas Stars in the 2002-2003 season. He was traded by the Stars in July, 2012 to the Buffalo Sabers for center Derek Roy (current Blues player this season). Ott can score some, but he's more known for his hard work and toughness. His best season came back in 2009-2010, when he scored 22. In his elven years in the NHL, his stats are: 673 games played, 103 goals, 161 assists, 264 points, 28 power play goals, 1,318 pentalty minutes, and is a minus 35. Right now Ott has 9 goals, 11 assists, and 20 points in 59 games.

Could Ott remain a Blue after the season? There could be a chance that he does re-sign with the Blues long-term. A lot of that is because he knows Blues GM Doug Armstrong and head coach Ken Hitchcock really well. Ott's best friend is current Blues teammate and former Dallas Stars teammate Brenden Morrow.

I wouldn't want to be one of those teams playing the Blues who has given the Blues trouble in the past couple of playoffs. A lot of that is because of the Blues capability, if they all play up to the level that they can play at, and teams gets two players in both Steve Ott and Maxim Lapierre who are good at getting under players skins. They both are the type of player who you like to have when their on your side, but can't stand when their playing against you. Morrow is that type of player also, but can score more. 

As for me, I like this trade a lot for the Blues. It helps them improve a lot, I thought that if Miller was traded the Sabers would get maybe Dmitrij Jaskin or Ty Rattie. Without the Blues giving one of them up, this trade looks like a big steal for GM Doug Armstrong. For the Sabers part, they needed the draft picks when they're rebuilding their team. And there's already word that both Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart might not be Sabers for long.

Orioles make splash, land Ubaldo Jimenez

There still are some top free agents looking for homes, and the Baltimore Orioles landed one of those top free agents who hadn't been signed yet in starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez gets a four-year contract, that's worth $50 million. Jimenez, 30, has been in the MLB since September 2006, when he was called up by the Colorado Rockies. He spent all of his seasons with the Rockies until July, 2011 when he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Alex White, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride, and pitcher Drew Pomeranz.

Jimenez was an All-Star in 2010 while with the Rockies, and pitched their first no hitter in franchise history. In Baltimore, Jimenez joins a starting rotation that includes up and coming star Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, and Miguel Gonzalez. That also includes top pitching prospects in the waiting Kevin Gausman, Zach Britton, Dylan Bundy, and T. J. McFarland.

After being traded to the Indians, Jimenez didn't do that well for them. He looked lost on the Indians and struggled with control. I kind of wonder if he liked it in Colorado too much, and had trouble fully adjusting to being on a new team and in a new city. But in 2013, he seemed re-find his career going 13-9 in 32 starts, 194 strikeouts, while pitching 182.2 innings, with an era of 3.30. His 2013 season was his best on since 2010, when he went 19-8 with an era of 2.88.

Jimenez has played eight seasons in the MLB over those eight seasons, his career record is: 82-75, 212 games, 211 starts, 3.92 era, 1,172 strikeouts, 1275.2 innings pitched, and a whip of 1.35.

It looks like it will be a win-win for the Orioles and Jimenez. They needed a pitcher in their rotation who can help give them innings. Jimenez may not be a CY Young candidate like he was in his early days on the Rockies, but he can still help win games. And pitch in big games if needed. He should be able to help the younger starting pitchers on the Orioles.

Now he'll just need to live up to his contract. Are the Orioles done making moves? I think we'll find out during spring training, if they are done making moves in the offseason. Since there still are two top hitters on the free agent market in Nelson Cruz and Kendry Morales.