MVN: Most Valuable Network

It's hard to believe that baseball's offseason is nearly over, but pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just over a month.  A struggling economy and penny-pinching GMs have led to a somewhat slow offseason, but that doesn't mean good deals were made.  With all the publicity the Yankees' spending spree is getting this winter, it's easy to lose track of some of the better deals that flew under the radar.  Here are 10 smart transactions (made at a sensible cost) that you may have forgotten about.

10. Jeremy Affeldt to the Giants -- signed for 2 years, $8 million
The first free agent signing of the offseason wasn't very glamorous, but it's turned out to be one of the better (read: sensible) signings of the offseason.  Affeldt may not light the world on fire, but he's a very solid lefty reliever that will make San Francisco's bullpen better.  Give credit to Brian Sabean for going out and filling his needs early, and getting the guy he wanted for a reasonable price.  There have certainly been worse deals handed out to relievers similar to Affeldt in recent years.

9. Ramon Ramirez to the Red Sox -- traded from Royals for Coco Crisp
Coco Crisp never seemed to be a popular player in Boston, and for good reason -- after coming over from Cleveland, he never really showed the offensive potential he did for the Tribe.  He was largely a disappointment until last season, where he performed well enough to actually gain a bit of trade value.  Theo Epstein was finally able to move the centerfielder early in the offseason, sending him to Kansas City for reliever Ramon Ramirez.  Ramirez will give the Red Sox another solid bullpen arm in 2009, coming off a very effective 2008 for the Royals in which he struck out 70 in 71 innings.  This was a very good trade for the Red Sox, getting rid of a player they didn't seem to want and getting a valuable asset in return.

8. Nick Swisher to the Yankees -- traded from Yankees for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, and Jhonny Nunez
Before the Yankees spent a fortune in free agency, they actually picked up a nice buy low candidate in Nick Swisher.  Once Billy Beane's crown jewel, Swisher struggled last season after getting traded to Chicago, hitting just .219/.332/.410 for the White Sox.  While the batting average was low -- even by Swisher's standards -- the walk rate was still encouraging.  If Swisher can get a few more balls to fall in for hits, he should be back to hitting in his usual .250-.260 range, especially playing at Yankee Stadium.  All the Yankees had to give up to get him was Betemit and a pair of mid-level pitching prospects -- a far cry from the price Kenny Williams paid for him a year earlier (the lesson here being that you never, ever deal with Billy Beane).

7. Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Nationals -- traded from Marlins for Emilio Bonifacio and 2 low-level prospects
With another batch of players reaching their arbitration years, the Marlins found themselves conducting a bit of a mini-firesale.  The Nationals reaped the benefits, bringing in a talented pair of players for a very cheap price.  Bonifacio was the main player heading back to Florida, and nothing about him screams "impact player" -- if he's lucky, he'll be a Juan Pierre type.  He'll steal a bunch of bases, but won't get on base consistently enough to be all that valuable.  Olsen and Willingham make the Nationals a better club in 2009, giving them a solid left-handed pitcher and another solid outfield bat with an above-average OBP.  That's not to say that either player comes without baggage -- Olsen displayed a bit of an atittude problem with Florida, and Willingham has been bit by the injury bug recently.  If they can get solid contributions from both players, however, this will go down as an excellent deal for the Nats.

6. Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets -- 3 years, $37 million
I'm generally against giving big money to closers, and like I said a few days ago, Rodriguez likely isn't worth the money he's going to be making.  However, this signing lands on this list for a couple reasons.  For one, the Mets absolutely needed to do something, and signing Rodriguez was absolutely a no-brain decision.  Secondly, Rodriguez came a lot cheaper than everyone originally thought he would.  Heading into the offseason, K-Rod was demanding at least 5 years and $75 million, which was a ridiculous demand even before the economy tanked.  The Mets were able to lock him down for three years and just over $10 million a year -- a very reasonable deal.  

5. Brad Penny to the Red Sox -- 1 year, $5 million (plus incentives)
It's not official just quite yet, but even Penny is confirming that he's reached a deal with Boston.  All reports seem to indicated that Penny's deal with be worth roughly $5 million and will include a variety of incentives that could bump the salary up to $8 million.  Simply put, I love this deal.  When Penny is on, he pitches like an ace, giving this deal enormous "low risk, high reward" potential.  The fact that he would likely slide into the back of Boston's rotation is scary, considering teams like Milwaukee likely would have loved to have him as one of their top two pitchers.

4. Kerry Wood to the Indians -- 2 years, $20.5 million
It's going to be weird seeing Wood in anything but Cubby pinstripes, but the impending sale of the Cubs may have tied Jim Hendry's hands in dealing with Wood.  Cleveland capitalized, jumping in early on the bidding and ultimately locking him up while other teams were dealing with Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes.  Wood is definitely an injury risk, but he was healthy for most of 2008, only being slowed down by a blister problem mid-year.  Working exclusively out of the bullpen, Wood was able to go all out, and struck out 84 batters in 66 innings as a result.  It looks like Cleveland finally has a dependable closer, and they're not tying themselves down with a long-term contract in the process.  Even better?  They don't have to forfeit any of their draft picks for Wood, since the Cubs declined arbitration to the Type A free agent, fearing he might end up taking it.

3. Mark DeRosa to the Indians -- traded from Cubs for 3 minor league pitchers
It definitely looks like the Indians are the major beneficiary of the Cubs' sudden money problems, first getting Kerry Wood without coughing up draft picks, and then trading for DeRosa in a straight salary dump last week.  Cleveland gave up pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub in the deal, which definitely seems to be a disappointing haul from the Cubs' perspective (none of the three are considered one of Cleveland's top prospects, although it seems like Stevens could be a relief option for the Cubs in '09).  The 33-year old DeRosa is likely coming off a career year in which he hit .285/.376/.481 along with 21 HR and 87 RBI for the Cubs, but even if he regresses he should be a solid offensive presence for the Tribe.  It seems odd that the Cubs would accept such an underwhelming package for one of their best all-around players (especially when you consider his defensive versatility), but it seems as though this move was made to clear room for a future Milton Bradley signing.  I get the feeling the Indians aren't about to complain.

2. Brian Fuentes to the Angels -- 2 years, $17.5 million
I wrote about this signing a few days ago.  Getting Fuentes for this price is a steal when you look at his numbers and realize just how similar he's been to Francisco Rodriguez recently.  On paper, it seems like the Angels' bullpen won't skip a beat, and LA(A) absolutely made the right decision by not overpaying for saves.  Fuentes should enjoy the transition from hitter-friendly Coors Field to hitter-neutral Angels Stadium, and the Angels should enjoy more 1-2-3 9th innings.  It's a good move for all involved.

1. Matt Holliday to A's -- traded from Rockies for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, and Huston Street
The Fuentes signing is probably the best free agent acquisition so far, but Oakland trading for Matt Holliday is the best move anyone has made this offseason.  Holliday instantly gives the A's a middle-of-the-order presence that they lacked in 2008, and Billy Beane barely had to give up anything to get him.  For all the talk about what the Rockies were demanding in return, the end result was somewhat disappointing -- Street suddenly lost much of his effectiveness in 2008, Smith had a knack for giving up home runs and walks (despite playing in a spacious stadium like the Coliseum), and Gonzalez struggled offensively in his first pro season.  If Street can bounce back (in Coors, not likely) and Gonzalez can live up to his old super-prospect billing (without taking a walk, not likely), this may end up being a solid deal for both sides.  But as it stands now, Billy Beane got one hell of a steal without giving up much of anything.  Sure, Holliday is likely bolting from Oakland after 2009, but he'll leave as a Type A free agent, the A's will offer him arbitration, and collect the two draft picks for him next winter.  Again, the lesson here?  Never, ever, deal with Billy Beane.