Teams Make Additions to Ring in the New Year

The Angels have found their man whom they hope will replace the single season saves leader Fransisco Rodriguez; and that man just happens to hail from Colorado.

The Angels agreed to a two year deal with 33 year old left handed closer Brian Fuentes (1-5, 30 saves in 34 chances, 2.73 ER).

According to ESPN.com Fuentes will earn $8.5 million for 2009 and $9 million for 2010. The contract includes a $9 million vesting option for 2011, based on games finished, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The Chicago Cubs continued to tweak their roster, trading away fan favorite Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub.

DeRosa fills the Indian's void over at the hot corner, and allows them to keep their young middle infield intact (GM Mark Shapiro considered moving shortstop Jhonny Peralta to third and Asdrubal Cabrera from second to short.)

The Cubs are also considering a trade for the Rockies Luis Vizcaino in exchange for Jason Marquis. According to ESPN; The 30-year-old Marquis was 11-9 for Chicago last season, with a 4.53 ERA in 167 innings while Vizcaino, 34, struggled in his first season in Colorado, pitching to a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings.

The Baltimore Orioles signed left handed starter Mark Hendrickson to a one year deal. The Orioles only have Jeremy Guthrie slated in their rotation, as Daniel Cabrera signed on with the Washington Nationals.

Rumor Mill:

The Mets may have made an offer to free agent starter Derek Lowe.

Mets and Dodgers talking trade? Andrew Jones could be wearing blue and orange next season.

Dodgers are looking to get their offseason shoping list Dunn.

The Rangers added three arms into the mix for bullpen help.

Aaron Miles is set to replace DeRosa.

Offseason Rumblings and Grumblings: Nov 11th

Yesterday was an unusually busy day in baseball, with some big names being shipped out of town, and a face of a franchise being let go.

Oakland and Colorado agreed in principle to trade Matt Holliday (.321, 25HR, 88RBI) for A's starter Greg Smith (7-16, 4.16 era), closer Huston Street, and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Holliday moving to Oakland is a Fantasy Baseball owner's worst nightmare; shifting from hitter friendly Coors Field to a pitcher's dream in Oakland. ESPN.com projected Holliday's stats, based on the change in venue:

Category In Colorado In Oakland
Avg. .321 .311
HR 25 24
RBI 88 75
OPS .947 .921

The Washington Nationals acquired catcher Josh Willingham and left handed starter Scott Olsen from Florida in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers.

The traded begs to ask the question "How much did Florida cut off in payroll with this move?"

Acquiring Bonifacio might indicate that Dan Ulga just became available to teams interested in trading for him.

Finally, San Diego withdrew their contract offer to longtime franchise face Trevor Hoffman, all but severering ties with their old closer. They were believed to had offered Hoffman $4 million (Hoffman earned $7 million last season).

Now with Hoffman on the market, the closer free agent pool gets a little deeper this offseason. The All-Time leader in saves will join Fransisco Rodriquez and Brian Fuentes in the search for a new team.