Thanks to an overabundance of catchers in their organization, the Rangers were able to move catcher Gerald Laird to the Tigers in exchange for two pitching prospects.

The move frees up some money for the Rangers, with Laird expected to make around $3 million in salary arbitration.

According to ESPN.com, the Rangers acquired right-handers Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo from the Tigers.

Moscoso, 25, was 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 21 games at Class A Lakeland and Double-A Erie last season. Melo, 17, played in the Dominican Republic's summer league.

According to ESPN.com, the White Sox and Braves have worked out a trade that would send Javier Vazquez to the Braves in exchange for three players.

Vazquez, along with reliever Boone Logan, are headed to Atlanta today to complete physicals.

In return, the Braves would be sending Jo-Jo Reyes, Brett Lillibridge, and another prospect, currently not named.

Vazquez, 32, was 12-16 last season for the White Sox with a 4.67 ERA in 33 starts. He struck out 200 batters in 208 1/3 innings.

Logan, a left-handed reliever, was 4-4 with a 5.70 ERA and had a 2-3 record in 55 appearances.

Reyes was 3-11 with a 5.81 ERA last season for the Braves.

Lillibridge (infielder) appeared in 90 games at Triple-A Richmond in the Braves organization. He hit .220 with four home runs and 39 RBIs.

Atlanta, Georgia
By Chris Lima
River Avenue Staff Writer


The AL Central leading Chicago White Sox acquired Reds' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., adding a bit of offense to their lineup. It's not currently known where or how Griffey will play in this lineup, but it was a huge addition to their lineup.

The Manny Ramirez saga is officially finally over in Boston, a last minute trade involving the Dodgers and the Pirates rid Beantown of their perpetual whiner.

The Dodgers received Manny from the BoSox and send third
outfielder Brendon Moss from the Red Sox, in exchange for left fielder Jason Bay.

The Bay trade is a bonus for the Red Sox; addition by prevention. The Tampa Bay Rays were holding talks with the Pirates, attempting to move Bay into Tropicana Field. The request from the Pirates was a bit high, and Tampa Bay quickly fell out of favor.

Ramirez is reunited with former BoSox teammate, Nomar Garciaparra, and joins former rival manager Joe Torre in what looks to be an extremely

The Yankees made a significant improvement to their lineup by adding Pudge Rodriguez and shipping Farnsworth over to Detroit. They also added former Bucs Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to help solidify their outfield and rotation, respectively. baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates. The Pirates also received RHP Craig Hansen and crowded Dodger outfield (Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, Andre Either, and Andruw Jones).

As reported by ESPN's Buster Olney, the Yankees aqcuired catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers for Kyle Farnesworth:

The New York Yankees have found a replacement for Jorge Posada.

New York acquired catcher Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers on Wednesday for right-handed pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

The deal was first reported by ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Rodriguez, who is in the option year of the $50 million contract he signed with the Tigers in 2004, waived his no-trade clause to join the Yankees, sources told ESPN.com.

"He's hitting over .290 I believe and he's been hot so we're looking forward to having him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after New York's 13-3 rout of the Orioles on Wednesday.

Rodriguez is batting .295 this season with five home runs and 32 RBIs in 82 games. In 18 seasons with the Rangers, Marlins and Tigers, he's hit .302 with 293 homers and 1,214 RBIs.

A 14-time All-Star, Rodriguez won the American League MVP award in 1999 and for years was known as the best defensive catcher in the game. He earned Gold Gloves in 13 seasons.

"He's been a great player for a long time and I remember the battles we had in Texas. He's been a world champion," said Girardi, who was a member of the Yankees during playoff battles with the Rangers in the 90s.

In his lone season in Florida in 2003, Rodriguez helped lead the Marlins to a World Series victory over the Yankees.

Farnsworth, who is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA this season, played for the Tigers in 2005.

"Another team wants me. That's the way I look at it," he said. " They [the Tigers] know my reputation. They know what type of person I am."

Posada, a five-time All-Star catcher, announced he would have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on Monday. He had the surgery on Wednesday, and the rehab time is about six months. Posada has struggled with shoulder pain for most of the season, limiting his ability to throw out baserunners and cutting down his playing time behind the plate.

On the disabled list for the second time this year, Posada was trying to rehabilitate his shoulder enough to come back as a designated hitter or first baseman this season. But after the Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady in a trade with Pittsburgh on Saturday, they determined it was best for Posada to have surgery now, general manager Brian Cashman said Monday.

Anything you can do, I can do better. This sentiment running rampant in the NL Central Division as the Cubs picked up A's ace Rich Harden in a six player deal.

The trade comes only a few days after the Brewers picked up linebacker CC Sabathia in a trade with the Cleveland Indians.

Chicago also picked up Chad Gaudin while jettisoning right hander Sean Gallagher and outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson.

Spring training is right around the corner and here's a look at some early February activity around the league;

The Phillies are looking into signing Kris Benson to a one year deal, according to MLB.com. While remaining quiet about the possibility of adding Benson into the rotation, the Phillies have scouted him on two different occasions, liking what they saw in the 33 year old right hander.

The reigning National League Champion Rockies signed Scott Podsednik and Victor Zambrano to minor league deals and invited them to spring training.

The Detroit Tigers have pulled off a minor trade with the Rangers to add depth to their farm system, acquiring right-handed pitcher Armando Galarraga from Texas in exchange for outfielder Michael Hernandez.

Remember me? Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press reports that Randy Keisler will be in line to compete for a shot at cracking the Twins Rotation.

The Pirates avoided arbitration with Freddie Sanchez, giving him a new deal that could net him up to $19 million for three seasons.

Pending everyone passing a physical and Johan Santana agreeing to a contract extension, the New York Mets may have pulled off one of the biggest upsets this offseason.
Santana had just about done everything except try on a Yankees or Red Sox uniform, until the dark horses of the NL East came charging back with an offer that, apparently, the Minnesota Twins felt comfortable enough to deal the game's best pitcher. The Mets will send Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey to Minnesota in exchange for the coveted left handed strikeout artist.
However, the deal isn't exactly "signed, sealed, or delivered". According to ESPN: "Santana has a full no-trade clause and can veto the deal unless he gets a contract extension, and it's expected that the Mets and Santana will begin negotiating as soon as possible. New York and Santana have until 5 p.m. ET Friday to reach an agreement".

If we may step outside of the objective journalist point of view for a few seconds:

"What the hell where the Minnesota Twins thinking? They got screwed over big time. The Yankees and Red Sox offers were far and away better than anything the Mets could have come up with. Humber is not even considered Major League talent by a majority of Major League officials and Carlos Gomez is borderline at best (right now). Sure he was flashy for the Mets last season, but that was with limited at-bats. It'll be interesting to see how he pans out for the length of an entire season. At least with the Yankees offer, they would have been getting a proven outfielder in Melky. The Twins had initially asked for Jose Reyes, and the Mets refused. So now they settle for less? From the team that rejected a counteroffer?"

Whew, glad to get that off our chest. While its not our primary goal to stand on a soapbox and give our opinion (we'd like to think our selves as a news source, not a biased slanted blogcommunist) this situation all but presented itself in a gift basket.

Apparently we're not the only ones that feel the Twins got fleeced. According to MLB.com:
"At a seemingly reasonable price -- swift outfielder Carlos Gomez and young pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra -- the Mets have satisfied the Twins. Now, they have until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to satisfy Santana, who, armed with a no-trade clause potentially as effective as his world-class changeup, can veto the trade if the Mets don't make him happy."

ESPN.com is reporting that Oakland left fielder Nick Swisher has been dealt to the Chicago White Sox for three minor league prospects.

And not a second after I placed my order for a green and yellow Swisher jersey.

The A's receive hurlers Gio Gonzalez and Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.
Is it just us, or does this Gonzalez trade fodder for the ChiSox? How many more times can they deal the same guy back and forth between teams?
It's a sad day for Oakland fans, the Swisher trade signals another round of rebuilding for the A's. Coupled with the Haren trade a few weeks ago, GM Billy Beane looks to be working his Moneyball magic.

Now that the parties are over and the New Year hangover is gone (for most of us), let's take a moment to relive some sports "highlights" of yester-year. Sure, most sites like ESPN and MLB.com will hit you with highlights from the 2007 season, but here at 108 Red Stitches, we prefer to go back a little deeper.

Browsing around Baseball America's archived trade history list, we stumbled on this beauty of a headline:

Astro's Win Astacio Sweepsteaks

Wow.

Scott Earlton goes to the Rockies, and the Astros pull one over the Rockies eyes.

Here's another one of our favorites:

Tiger, Padres Add Possible Regulars

Just in case you didn't click the link, that would be OF Gene Kingsdale and C Mike Rivera.

That's the type of trade that makes a GM famous.

Giants Come Away With Prized Starter Ponson

Hehehe.....

Happy New Year!
108 Red Stitches Writers.