Hot Stove: 12/14

Record of the Day

Most career doubles by an Angel: Garret Anderson, 489 (1994-2008).

Garret Anderson played 17 years in the major leagues, hitting 522 doubles for the Angels, Braves and Dodgers. Of those, 489 of his doubles came for the Angels, whom he played for for 15 years from 1994-2008. In 2002, for the World Championship team, he set a career high with 56 doubles in 158 games. It was the only time he would club 50 in a season, but he would reach 40 on three other occasions. 

Free Agent Signings

Phillies agreed to terms with Dontrelle Willis (1-6, 5.00 ERA, .271 BAA, 2012 age: 30) on a one year deal worth under $1 million.

Red Sox signed Kelly Shoppach (11 HR, 22 RBI, .176 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 32) to a one year, $1.35 million deal.

Shoppach, who was traded from the Red Sox after just nine games for Boston in the Coco Crisp deal, made most of his fame in a strong 2008 for the Indians. That year, he broke out with 21 home runs and a .261 average in 112 games. He has played mediocrely since, averaging just over nine home runs a year since. Over his seven years, he hit 59 home runs with a .224 average in 460 games. He looks to see time splitting catching duties with Ryan Lavarnway and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. 

Trades

Brewers traded Casey McGehee (13 HR, 67 RBI, .223 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 29) to the Pirates for Jose Veras (2-4, 3.80 ERA, .206 BAA, 1 save, 2012 age: 31).

It turns out McGehee won't move to first. The power hitting infielder has been sent off to Pittsburgh for a reliever, where he should hit in the middle of the order. One interesting thing to note is McGehee has now played for three teams in his major league career: the Cubs, the Brewers, and now, the Pirates. Who else do we know that played for those three. That's right. Casey McGehee's replacement at third base in Milwaukee, Aramis Ramirez, began his career with the Pirates, moved to the Cubs, and now has agreed to terms with the Brewers. Just an interesting coincidence. McGehee is a proven major league hitter who hit some rough patches last year, especially over his final eleven games, where he was 2-34 (.059 AVG). One does not have to travel very far back in time to see when Casey was successful. In 2010, McGehee set career highs with 23 home runs and 104 RBI while also batting .285 in 157 games. His rookie 2009 went well, too, as he hit 16 home runs and batted .301 in 116 games. His production dropped considerably in 2011 after his strong couple of years. In 2011, he hit 13 home runs and batted just .223 in 155 games. Over his four-year career, he has hit 52 home runs, knocked in 242, and batted .265 in 437 games. 

The Brewers acquired veteran reliever Jose Veras from the Pirates, who has played for four teams in three years. He can add a fifth with the Brewers for a fourth year. In his first full season in 2008, he was 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA and strong .239 BAA in 60 games out of the Yankees 'pen. After a rough 2009 split between the Yanks and Indians, Veras rebounded with a 3.75 ERA and .188 BAA in 48 games for the Marlins in 2010. He was moved to the Bucs in 2011, where he posted a 3.80 ERA and .206 BAA in 79 games. Though he is sometimes unhittable, his command has eluded him at times, as he has walked 132 batters in 247 1/3 innings. Over his six-year career, he is 14-13 with a 4.11 ERA and .213 BAA in 255 games.

Other News

After the non-tender deadline passed, a few new players became free agents. Those notable are Joe Saunders, Jeff Keppinger, Luke Scott and Ronny Paulino.

For those who used to watch John Rocker pitch for the Braves, Indians, Rangers, and/or Devil Rays, he just admitted to steroid use. 

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Teams followed in this email: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman