AmateurGm.com

The chase for the elusive defensive and offensive star catcher is a constant issue for most teams. Usually a GM doesn’t have a choice and elects to take the defensive back stop. This offseason there will be some interesting options on the table. The first name that jumps off this list is Mike Napoli. He has a reputation of being a poor defensive backstop. Mike Scioscia, a good defensive catcher in his own day, had the option of holding onto Napoli when he was with the Angels back in 2010. Scioscia cited Napoli’s durability and injury history as a main source for choosing to go a different direction. There is no argument that when healthy Napoli is a top tier [...]

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• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Free Agents, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays
• Tagged as A.J. Pierzynski, Brian McCann, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Iannetta, David Ross, Humberto Quintero, Jeff Mathis, Miguel Olivo, Mike Napoli, Ronny Paulino, Russell Martin, Wil Nieves, Yorvit Torrealba

The 2013 third base free agent class has some potential compared some of the other infield positions. David Wright’s contract option will be picked up without question. Chipper Jones has been adamant that he will retire at the end of the season. I don’t see him going back on this and if he did he would never sign anywhere other than Atlanta. Kevin Youkilis on the other hand is intriguing. He is having a subpar season hitting only .239 in 301 at bats. He had a falling out with Bobby Valentine and the Red Sox earlier in the season prompting Kenny Williams of the White Sox to swoop in and scoop him up. His numbers have improved some with the [...]

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• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Free Agents, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies
• Tagged as Brandon Inge, Chipper Jones, David Wright, Geoff Blum, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Machado, Mark Reynolds, Miguel Cairo, Placido Polanco, Scott Rolen, Todd Fraizer

The second base position is a mixed bag. You have a select few players like Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler, Chase Utley who are at the top of the class and then there is the rest of the pack. Second base has taken a hit in the last few seasons. The demand for high production is either not there or the supply is severly lacking. I believe that the supply is severly lacking as evidence by this coming free agent class. The list of free agent second basemen below have contracts that expire and/or have six years of major league baseball service required to become free agents prior to the 2013 season. * – player whose currently has an option for [...]

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• Category: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays
• Tagged as Chase Utley, Freddy Sanchez, Ian Kinsler, Jeff Baker, Jeff Keppinger, Orlando Hudson, Robinson Cano, Skip Schumaker

Baseball is like no other sport in terms of its fans embracing their favorite teams young talent making an impact in the big leagues. Already in this brief season, Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves and Ike Davis of the New York Mets have sent their teams fans into a frenzy over their successful debuts. Later this year, we should see even more highly anticipated debuts as such names as Stephen Strasburg, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Smoak, and Starlin Castro are expected to make the jump to the big leagues. I am just like most baseball fans and love to see young talent succeed in the big leagues and with that I decided to compile a list of the top 25 [...]

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• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals
• Tagged as Adam Jones, Alcides Escobar, Andrew McCutchen, Aroldis Chapman, Asdrubal Cabrera, Austin Jackson, Billy Butler, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Coghlan, Chris Davis, Colby Rasmus, Cristian Guzman, Curtis Granderson, Delmon Young, Dexter Fowler, Elvis Andrus, Evan Longoria, Everth Cabrera, Gordon Beckham, Ian Desmond, Ike Davis, Jason Heyward, Jay Bruce, Julio Borbon, Justin Smoak, Justin Upton, Kyle Blanks, Matt Wieters, Pablo Sandoval, Reid Brignac, Sean Rodriguez, Starlin Castro, Stephen Strasburg, Tyler Colvin

The American League Central Division has always been an enigma. There never seems to be a dominant team that can run away with the division title. The Twins put together a consistent product but they aren’t guaranteed to win every year like the Yankees. The Royals are trying to keep their heads above water and the Indians are going through a swoon after being highly competitive for a number of years. So who among these teams has the best rotation for the asking price? Minnesota Twins: The Twinkees are always competitive. They have a very regimented process to move their minor leaguers up to the majors, requiring them to complete specific tasks and to do them consistently. Their owner, James [...]

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• Category: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Teams
• Tagged as Aaron Laffey, Armando Galarraga, Brian Bannister, Brian Duensing, Carl Pavano, Carlos Carrasco, Daniel Hudson, David Huff, Dontrelle Willis, Fausto Carmona, Francisco Liriano, Freddy Garcia, Gavin Floyd, Gil Meche, Jake Peavy, Jake Westbrook, James Pohlad, Jeremy Bonderman, Jeremy Sowers, John Danks, Justin Masterson, Justin Verlander, kenny williams, Kevin Slowey, Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Manny Acta, Mark Buehrle, Max Scherzer, Nate Robertson, Nick Blackburn, Rick Porcello, Robinson Tejeda, Ron Gardenhire, Scott Baker, Zack Greinke

The Detroit Tigers and free agent Johnny Damon agreed to a 1 year $8 million dollar deal today.  Damon who has spent the majority of this off season on the sidelines due to his contract demands finally settled for patrolling left field in Motown this season. Damon had originally been seeking a 2 year $14 million dollar deal and wanted to return to the Bronx, but Brian Cashman went another direction and signed outfielder Randy Winn to replace Damon. There was quite a bit of confusion as to what was actually offered to Damon by the Yankees. Scott Boras said that the Yankees never submitted a formal offer to his client.The Chicago White Sox were actually rumored to be involved [...]

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• Category: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Free Agents, New York Yankees, Teams
• Tagged as Brian Cashman, Jeremy Bonderman, Johnny Damon, kenny williams, Magglio Ordonez, Nate Robertson, Randy Winn, Scott Boras

The Houston Astros have extended their general manager Ed Wade for another 2 years. The announcement was made today at their Orlando spring training complex when the pitchers and catchers officially reported. Wade was hired back in September of 2007. Wade is in his 34th season in professional baseball. Prior to his stint with the Astros, he served as the Philadelphia Phillies GM from 1998-2005 and then spent two seasons (2006-07) as a scout for the San Diego Padres. Owner Drayton McLane had a glowing review of Wade’s tenure so far: “Ed is an outstanding baseball man. He’s organized and has surrounded himself with a good, solid staff. Much of the work Ed did in Philadelphia had a lot to [...]

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• Category: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Teams
• Tagged as Drayton McLane, Ed Wade

After taking a look at some potential breakout candidates from both leagues, I want to shift gears a little and take a look at some potential bounceback candidates from each league. Bounceback candidates are players that are poised to rebound from unsuccessful 2009 seasons due to injuries or lack of production. Today, I want to take a look at some candidates from the American League. Daisuke Matsuzaka (RHP) Boston Red Sox – Last season was a miserable season for the former Japanese ace. Matsuzaka revealed this off season that he hid a groin injury, that he sustained in the World Baseball Classic, from the Red Sox last season. To compensate for his groin injury, Matsuzaka’s mechanics were altered which led [...]

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• Category: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Fantasy, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Texas Rangers
• Tagged as B.J. Upton, Ben Sheets, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Grady Sizemore, Jake Peavy, Josh Hamilton

With the football season now in completion, the sports world is starting to turn its attention back to the great game of baseball. This week has seen the return of fantasy baseball as many sites are rolling out leagues for the 2010 campaign. Now is a great time to start getting prepared for your drafts and trying to get that extra edge on your fellow league members. In the first part of our fantasy preview, I want to take a look at some potential breakout candidates from the American League. Last season had its fair share of breakout performances in the AL with such names as Zack Greinke, Kendry Morales, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Ben Zobrist making great strides [...]

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• Category: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Fantasy, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Toronto Blue Jays
• Tagged as Aaron Hill, Adam Jones, Adam Lind, Ben Zobrist, Billy Butler, Franklin Gutierrez, Gordon Beckham, Kendry Morales, Matt Wieters, Zack Greinke

The Cincinatti Reds have signed journeyman shortstop Orlando Cabrera to a one year deal worth $3 million with an option for the 2011 season. This signing is a great improvement for the Reds who have had trouble having a consistent offensive attack. Cabrera will be an excellent table setter for the Red legs this season. The consensus seems to be that Cabrera will hit second. The Reds will enjoy having his consistant .280 average in place for Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen to drive in. This does regulate Paul Janish who is known for his glove to the bench but Cabrera’s glove is nothing to worry about and his offense is easily better. Janish will be [...]

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• Category: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Free Agents, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants
• Tagged as Barry Bonds, brandon phillips, Dusty Baker, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Orlando Cabrera, Paul Janish, Scott Rolen, Walt Jockety