[NYY #23]

Spring Training kicks off today, and I wanted to report on a very busy offseason in Carolina before we get underway. We didn't make any major trades, but had a lot of activity, and it felt like I had to work extra hard to do anything this offseason. I do feel good about our additions though, and hopefully they'll work out.

We started the offseason by bringing aboard Assistant General Manager Rick Woods, who is 49 and has a fair reputation. Our top target this year was CF Shusaku Kato, but he didn't have any interest in playing for my manager. After his performance last year I wasn't going to make a change to accommodate a free agent, especially an international free agent who hasn't played in the majors.

We tried to clear off some spots on the 40 man roster, but lost SP Norberto Gomez, SP Roy Grant, and reliever Jamal White to the Phillies. I'm not really too upset about losing any of them, but good luck in Philadelphia.

Our first acquisition was 25 year old third baseman Ramon Galindo. He struggled last year in Chicago hitting just .230, but the previous four seasons he had a WAR of 6.8, 4.0, 5.4, and 6.0. He signed a four year $29.5 million contract. If he can go back to being a .300 hitter with a .400 on-base percentage I'll be very happy.

We also signed utility infielder Mike Greenawalt to a one year $984,000 contract, along with a quartet of pitchers to minor league contracts - Cy Chambers, Matt Whittier, Joe Brooks, and James Collins.

We didn't break the bank for our next acquisition, but signed 1B Francisco Carranza to a four year $14.8 million contract. He's hit between .250-.300 during his career with between 19 and 36 home runs. He came over from Cuba, and is the power hitter I was looking for. That ended trade discussions with four teams for four different sluggers, but the appeal of not giving up a package full of prospects held extra appeal, even though he's a first baseman.

Next we signed 29 year old starting pitcher Cole Patterson to a one year contract. He was 8-10 with a 3.98 ERA last year with Seattle and will provide some depth in case of injury for $984K.

We also added 39 year old veteran Joe Sparks to the bullpen. Last year he was 5-2 with a save and 3.62 ERA. He's popular in the clubhouse, in the stands, and I've already heard from my players they are excited he's joining the team. He's worth taking a $5 million chance, especially because just two years ago he was 7-4 with 41 saves and a 1.97 ERA.

Then finally we added 33 year old Bob Kirby on a two year contract for $8 million per season. He's had a long record of success in the bullpen, and went a different direction after failing to land another outfielder. I actually opted out after a long bidding war. Kirby cost half as much as the price I bowed out at, and that leaves us with about $20 million in budget room.

Then two final pieces of information -

1) Vicente Cano signed a two year $13 million contract with the Rockies. We had some discussions with Cano, and he was willing to sign with Carolina again. I chose to pass though, because I'm worried about his durability, and I'd rather watch him from afar, especially because he's going to the National League

2) No player was elected to the Hall of Fame this year, but I'm still rooting for Rich Harden

3B Will Middlebrooks 73.4 (2nd year)
SP Rich Harden 66.2 (4th year)
CL Al Alburquerque 64.2 (3rd year)
SP Madison Bumgarner 63.8 (4th year)
C Buster Posey 57.3 (3rd year)
3B Evan Longoria 49.5 (4th year)
CL Craig Kimbrel 49.1 (2nd year)
SP Brett Anderson 34.8 (1st year)
CL Sean Doolittle 15.4 (2nd year)
C Wilin Rosario 7.8 (4th year)
1B Mike McKeehan 6.1 (1st year)
SP Brandon Beachy 5.8 (1st year)
SP Dontrelle Willis 5.8 (4th year)
CL Aroldis Chapman 4.1 (2nd year) Dropped
CL Cory Gearrin 3.1 (4th year) Dropped
SP Marc Rzepczynski 1.0 (1st year) Dropped
CL Ryan Cook 0.7 (1st year) Dropped