Hot Stove: 12/14

A quick note.
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History of Baseball: 1894
National League Champions: Baltimore Orioles (89-39, .695 WPCT).
The 1894 season saw both a historical first and a last within two months.  On May 30th, Boston's Bobby Lowe became the first player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, a feat that would only be accomplished one more time in the Dead Ball Era.  Lowe still holds the historical footnote as holding the least career home runs (71) among players who hit four in one game (Pat Seerey is second with 86).  On July 10th, Louisville's Jerry Denny played his final game, becoming the final player ever to play gloveless.  From then on, every player would wear a glove.  Denny had spent much of his career in the 1880's with Providence, when most players went without gloves, and he merely refused to wear one.  In a surprising season for Baltimore, the Orioles managed to claw their way from an eighth place finish in 1893 to the National League Championship in 1894, finishing 89-39, three games ahead of the New York Giants (88-44).  Baltimore and New York met in the first annual Temple Cup, which would act as an unofficial World Series of sorts.  New York ended up sweeping the series 4-0.  Boston's Hugh Duffy ended up putting up an incredible season, earning the Triple Crown by hitting 18 home runs, driving in 145, and batting .440 to lead the Beaneaters to an 83-49 record.  Duffy's incredible .440 average actually set a major league record that still stands today.  In addition, his offensive prowess meant that Philadelphia's Sam Thompson, who batted .407, also set a record for the highest second place average in history.  Philadelphia's Ed Delahanty placed the highest third place mark at .407, and another Phillie, Billy Hamilton, batted .404, making 1894 the only season in history with four .400 hitters.   A few additional hitters also had great seasons.  Boston's Bobby Lowe, who had the four homer game, knocked 17 home runs while batting .346 with 115 RBI.  Bill Joyce of Washington batted .355 with 17 home runs, and Cincinnati's Bug Holliday hit 13 home runs while batting .372.  On the mound, New York's Amos Rusie was no doubt the best pitcher in baseball, going 36-13 with a 2.78 ERA and 195 strikeouts, earning the pitchers' Triple Crown.  Rusie ran away with the ERA title, as teammate Jouett Meekin finished second at 3.70.  Meekin also led the majors with a 1.41 WHIP, to this day the highest mark ever to lead a league.  1894 witnessed the deaths of two great players.  On March 3rd, 36 year old Ned Williamson, who had played from 1878-1890, mainly with the White Stockings and held the single season record with 27 home runs, died of tuberculosis and dropsy.  In addition, King Kelly, who played from 1878-1893 and was noted as one of the leagues greatest innovators who invented the hit and run, passed away at 36 due to pneumonia.  Kelly would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.  

News
The Mariners and Yankees have made the Robinson Cano and Jacoby Ellsbury deals official.

Trades
Marlins traded Logan Morrison (6 HR, 36 RBI, .242 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 26) to the Mariners for Carter Capps (3-3, 5.49 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 2014 age: 23).

Free Agent Signings
Royals agreed to terms with Omar Infante (10 HR, 51 RBI, .318 AVG, 5 SB, 2014 age: 32) on a four year, $30 million deal ($7.5 million per season).
Rays agreed to terms to resign James Loney (13 HR, 75 RBI, .299 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 30) to a three year, $21 million deal ($7 million per season).
Rockies signed Justin Morneau (17 HR, 77 RBI, .259 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 33) to a two year, $12.5 million deal ($6.25 million per season).
Giants agreed to terms with Michael Morse (13 HR, 27 RBI, .215 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 32) on a one year, $6 million deal.
Tigers signed Joba Chamberlain (2-1, 4.93 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 1 SV, 2014 age: 28) to a one year, $2.5 million deal.
Pirates signed Edinson Volquez (9-12, 5.71 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 2014 age: 30-31) to a one year, $5 million deal.
Twins agreed to terms with Jason Kubel (5 HR, 32 RBI, .216 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 32) on a minor league deal.
Pirates resigned Clint Barmes (5 HR, 23 RBI, .211 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 35) to a one year, $2 million deal.
Indians signed David Adams (2 HR, 13 RBI, .193 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 27) to a one year deal.
Indians resigned Tyler Cloyd (2-7, 6.56 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 2014 age: 27) to a minor league deal.
Indians resigned Matt Carson (1 HR, 3 RBI, .636 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 32-33) to a minor league deal.

With this big splash, the Royals brought in one of the top remaining offensive free agents in Omar Infante.  He joins Kansas City as a consistent, top of the lineup guy to replace Chris Getz at second base.  The Royals haven't had a full time second baseman since Alberto Callaspo appeared in 146 games at second base in 2009.  Since then, they've had a combination of Chris Getz, Miguel Tejada, Mike Aviles, Yuniesky Betancourt, Johnny Giavotella, and Elliot Johnson.  Bringing on Infante was a great move for the Royals, as it gives them stability at a key position for four years.  None of Infante's numbers jump out, but he provides a consistent, dependable bat and glove.  In addition to his 748 career games second base, he's also appeared in 225 games at shortstop, 107 at third base, and 101 in the outfield.  He's played every position at the major league level except pitcher, catcher, and first base.  His versatility will be valuable as well, should a player like shortstop Alcides Escobar or third baseman Mike Moustakas go down with injury, Infante could move over to that position.  He joins for the affordable price of $30 million, which is helpful for a small market team like Kansas City.  At the plate, he proves to be a low strikeout, high average guy.  In 2010, when he made his only All Star appearance, he batted .321 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases in 134 games for the Braves.  Though he only played in only 118 games last year, he still batted .318 with ten home runs for the Tigers.  For his career he has 74 home runs, 69 stolen bases, and a .279 average in 1209 games for the Tigers (2002-2007, 2012-2013), Braves (2008-2010), and Marlins (2011-2012).  He is 5-16 (.313 AVG) in five career World Series games.  

The Rays signed something they liked in James Loney, so they resigned the first baseman for three years.  He's a guy who has been a starting player his whole career and has always shown potential to be an All Star, but it seems that Loney has always been just short of breaking into stardom.   He broke out with his best season in 2007, when he batted .331 with 15 home runs in just 96 games as a 23 year old rookie, but never built on it.  He hit 13 home runs and drove in 90 runs in both 2008 and 2009, batting .289 and .281, respectively.  He's put up numbers just like that ever since, rendering him a valuable but overlooked player.  Last year, his first season with Tampa Bay, he posted his highest average since his big 2007 campaign, checking in at .299 while also hitting 13 home runs.  For his career, he has 86 home runs, 534 RBI, a .285 average, and 208 doubles in 1084 games for the Dodgers (2006-2012), Red Sox (2012), and Rays (2013).  He's a dynamite postseason contributor holding a .354 average (28-79) and three home runs in 22 career postseason games.  

Power hitter Justin Morneau will get a fresh start in Colorado.  After winning the 2006 AL MVP Award, he posted great seasons in Minnesota until a 2010 concussion disrupted his career.  He's struggled to regain form, and Colorado is the perfect place for a hitter to go to get back on top.  It worked with fellow Twin Michael Cuddyer.  Morneau has never played a single game at Coors Field, despite totaling over 1300 games for his career.  The British Columbia native's best season was 2006, when he hit 34 home runs, drove in 130, and batted .321 en route to his AL MVP.  He continued to mash through the 2010 season, when he was batting .345 with 18 home runs in 81 games before a concussion shut him down for the remainder of the season.  He came back in 2011 but batted just .227 with four home runs in 69 games.  Returning in 2012, he hit 19 home runs but still batted only .267.  Last year, split between the Twins and Pirates, he hit .259 with 17 home runs.  For his career, he has 221 home runs, 863 RBI, and a .277 average in 1303 games for the Twins (2003-2013) and Pirates (2013).  He holds a .302 career postseason average with two home runs in 13 games.

Waiver Claims
Cubs claimed Liam Hendriks (1-3, 6.85 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 2014 age: 25) off waivers from the Twins.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
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. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman