CarterHud

             The Boston Red Sox have signed OF J.D. Martinez to a five year, $110 million deal.

             This trade could mean that either Jackie Bradley or Hanley Ramirez gets traded. If Martinez plays outfield it\’ll be Bradley, but more preferably, he\’ll play DH, with Ramirez going. 110 million is a lot less than his original price tag, so it now seems like a bargain for them.

              Martinez, 30, hit .303, with 45 homers and 104 RBIs in 489 Plate Appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers in 2017. In his MLB career for the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Houston Astros, Martinez has a batting average of .285 with 152 HRs and 476 RBIs in 3118 Plate Appearances.

              The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Michal Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional third round pick in 2018. The condition is that the Hawks get the third round pick of either the Capitals or Toronto Maple Leafs, depending on which pick is higher in the draft.

                For the Capitals, they get an NHL defenseman, something their entire division needs. Also, Kempny is a rental, so the price for him was lower. It\’s a bargain that would be nice if it works out for them.

               Kempny, 27, has a goal and six assists for seven points in 31 games for Chicago this year. In his NHL career, all for the Blackhawks, Kempny has scored three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 81 games.

                For the Blackhawks, they are actually non-competitive this year, and are sellers. Brent Seabrook is the main guy who could be traded, but Kempny, who\’s a pending free agent, works out as a trade chip as well.

                 I think this an even trade, like most trades that are one player for one pick. It depends on who the Blackhawks draft with their new pick.

                   The San Diego Padres have made their big splash, signing 1B Eric Hosmer to an eight year, $144 million deal. The deal includes an opt-out after the 5th year.

                    The Padres have a pretty lackluster offense. It\’s led by Wil Myers, but the rest isn\’t that good. Hosmer is now that guy that will lead the offense. He\’s also a really good defender. The deal is very big, and it\’s Scott Boras at work once again, but we\’ll see how it works out.

                     Hosmer, 28, had a .318 batting average, 25 homers and 94 RBIs in 671 Plate Appearances for the Kansas City Royals in 2017. In his MLB career, all for the Royals, Hosmer has a batting average of .284, with 127 homers, 566 RBIs and 60 stolen bases in 4393 Plate Appearances.

                The Minnesota Twins have acquired RHP Jake Odorizzi from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for SS Jermaine Palacios.

                 For the Twins, they\’ve been looking for a number one starter to go along with Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios all offseason. Odorizzi is really a number two, but it\’s a nice fall-back plan after missing out on Yu Darvish, who went to the Cubs. The only give up Palacios, their 24th best prospect, for two years of control of Odorizzi.

                 Odorizzi, 27, had a 4.14 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 143.1 innings for the Rays in 2017. In his MLB career for the Rays and Kansas City Royals, Odorizzi has a 3.83 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 643 strikeouts in 705.1 innings.

                 For the Rays, they are in their rebuilding process. They even traded face-of-the-franchise Evan Longoria to San Fransisco. They might decide to hold on to ace Chris Archer, who\’s stated on Twitter he doesn\’t want to leave Tampa. But, trading Odorizzi makes more sense. He has just two more years left on his contract, including this year (the other one, next year he\’ll be arb eligible. They get Palacios, a Single-A player who can be an MLB player, or a nobody. Only time will tell.

                  Palacios, 21, has a .290 batting average, 17 homers, 161 RBIs and 46 stolen bases in 1303 Plate Appearances.

                  I think the Twins win this deal. They get an MLB starting pitcher for a Single-A player. Of course, they win for now.

           The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired 1B C.J. Cron from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a player to be named later. Plus, they\’ve DFA\’d all-star OF Corey Dickerson.

           Soooooooo….. This is surprising. Dickerson was the starting LF in the 2017 all-star game, and now he\’s being DFA\’d. Well, he did hit just .241 after the break, and was much better in the first half. The Rays are going to lose Logan Morrison, as he is a free agent, so they had a hole at 1st. Cron fills that hole. I don\’t really understand the Dickerson move, but I guess we\’ll find out eventually.

           Dickerson, 28, had a .282 batting average, 27 homers and 62 RBIs in 629 Plate Appearances for the Rays in 2017. In his MLB career for the Rays and Colorado Rockies, Dickerson has a .280 batting average, 90 homers and 256 RBIs in 2102 Plate Appearances.

           Cron, 28, had a .248 batting average, 16 homers and 56 RBIs in 373 Plate Appearances in 2017. In his MLB career, all for the Angels, Cron has a batting average of .262, 59 homers and 213 RBIs in 1475 Plate Appearances. 

            For the Angels, they are now a step closer to opening a DH spot for DH/SP Shohei Otani. They will probably get a low-level prospect for him, but they open up a spot for their new star. It\’s not a horrible deal, looking at the trade market.