Hot Stove: 12/21

A quick note.
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History of Baseball: 1896
NL Champion: Baltimore Orioles (90-39, .698 WPCT).
For the 1896 season, the Brooklyn Grooms again changed their name, this time resorting back to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.  On April 27th, Rogers Hornsby, who would become arguably the greatest second baseman of all time, was born in the small town of Winters, Texas, which then had a population under 200.  The 1896 season would be the finale for Dan Brouthers, a four time NL batting champion and a one time AA batting champion, who batted .342 with 106 home runs over his 18 year career from 1879-1896.  Brouthers would appear in two more games in 1904, then be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.  On July 13th, the Phillies' Ed Delahanty became the second player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, following Bobby Lowe's feat from 1894.  Two of Big Ed's four home runs were inside the parkers, making him to this day the only player to knock an inside the parker as part of a four homer game.  The Baltimore Orioles ended up running away with the National League title for the third straight season, finishing 90-39, 9.5 games ahead of the second place Cleveland Spiders (80-48).   Also for the third straight season, the Louisville Colonels finished in last, going 38-93, 53 games behind the Orioles.  The Orioles, being the league champions, reached the Temple Cup as the first seed for the third straight season, squaring off against the Spiders, who reached the Temple Cup as the second seed for the second straight season.  The rematch of the 1895 cup saw a four game sweep by the Orioles, as Baltimore claimed its first Temple Cup.  For the third straight season, two players batted over .400.  Cleveland's Jesse Burkett batted .410 to lead the majors, followed by Baltimore's Hughie Jennings at .401.  Interestingly, Jennings' 121 RBI are still to this day the most ever by a player who did not hit a home run.  Ed Delahanty likely had the best offensive season of any player, hitting 13 home runs, driving in 126 (both of which led the league), and batting .397 with 37 stolen bases in 123 games for the Phillies.  New York's Bill Joyce tied Delahanty with 13 home runs.  On the mound, Boston's Kid Nichols proved to out pitch Cy Young.  Nichols went 30-14 with a 2.84 ERA, missing the pitchers' Triple Crown in just strikeouts.  Cy Young, who was 28-15 with a 3.24 ERA, wasn't Cleveland's only great pitcher, as Nig Cuppy went 25-14 with a 3.12 ERA and a league leading 1.29 WHIP.  Aside from Nichols, Pittsburgh's Frank Killen also won 30 games.  Though Young wasn't baseball's best pitcher, he did lead baseball with 140 strikeouts, as well as with three saves (though nobody cared about saves in 1896).

News
Third baseman Kevin Youkilis has signed a one year deal with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan.
The Orioles' potential deal with Grant Balfour fell through due to issues with his physical.
Diamondbacks signed Brad Ziegler to a two year, $10.5 million extension ($5.25 million per season).
Orioles' reliever Troy Patton has been suspended for 25 games due to his use of amphetamines.

Trades
Twins traded Ryan Doumit (14 HR, 55 RBI, .247 AVG, 2014 age: 33) to the Braves for minor leaguer Sean Gilmartin (4-8, 5.06 ERA, 1.43 WHIP at Rookie, Class A, and AAA, 2014 age: 24).
Indians traded Drew Stubbs (10 HR, 45 RBI, .233 AVG, 17 SB, 2014 age: 29) to the Rockies for Josh Outman (3-0, 4.33 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 2014 age: 29).
Rockies traded Jonathan Herrera (1 HR, 16 RBI, .292 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 29) to the Red Sox for Franklin Morales (2-2, 4.62 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 2014 age: 28) and minor leaguer Chris Martin (5-3, 2.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 5 SV at AA and AAA, 2014 age: 28).
Nationals traded Corey Brown (1 HR, 1 RBI, .167 AVG, 1 SB, 2014 age: 28) to the A's for cash considerations.
Padres traded Jesus Guzman (9 HR, 35 RBI, .226 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 29-30) to the Astros for Ryan Jackson (0-7 in 7 at bats, 2014 age: 26).

In my opinion, the biggest trade to occur since the last blog is the Ryan Doumit deal.  It was a very important trade for the Braves, who needed an new catcher in the wake of Brian McCann's departure.  Before Doumit's arrival, the playoff contending team was left with Gerald Laird (1 HR, 13 RBI, .281 AVG) as the top catcher.  Doumit is a power bat as well as one of the more underrated players in baseball.  He's spent his whole career with the Pirates (before they were good) and Twins (after they were good), meaning he hasn't gotten a lot of press coverage.  In fact, the best team he ever played on in his nine year career was the 2011 Pirates, who went 72-90 and finished fourth in the NL Central, so he will undoubtedly be experiencing something new with the perpetually winning Braves.  Doumit's best season came in 2008, when he hit 15 home runs and batted .318 in 116 games for the last place Pirates (67-95).  He also batted .303 with eight home runs in 77 games for the 2011 Pirates, the only team he ever played with that won more than 70 games.  In 2012, with the last place Twins (66-96), he experienced a power outburst, hitting 18 home runs, driving in 75, and batting .275 in 134 games.  Last year, he hit 14 home runs and batted .247 in 135 games (a career high) with the Twins (66-96 again).  For his career, he has 99 home runs, 396 RBI, and a .268 average in 880 games.
In return, the Twins got pitching prospect Sean Gilmartin.  Personally, I believe the Braves won this deal.  The Twins traded Doumit to clear room for the newly signed Kurt Suzuki, but all they got was a mediocre AAA pitcher.  Gilmartin, 23, went 3-8 with a 5.74 ERA in 17 starts for AAA Gwinnett last year.  Minnesota will want to look back to 2012, when he was 6-10 with a 3.84 ERA in 27 starts for AA Mississippi and AAA Gwinnett.  The lefty could possibly compete for a spot in the Twins rotation in 2014, but will likely spend the season with AAA Rochester.  For his minor league career, he is 12-20 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 54 games (53 starts).

Drew Stubbs has always been an interesting player.  He's your prototypical leadoff guy, except for one glaring issue: he can't get on base.  Stubbs has good power and steals a ton of bases, but he strikes out in about one third of his at bats or, for his career, 30% of his plate appearances.  The Rockies added him to their already crowded outfield that includes Brandon Barnes, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, and Michael Cuddyer.  In addition, Corey Dickerson and Charlie Culberson, both outfielders, appear to be major league ready.  This is why, if they wanted to replace Dexter Fowler in the lineup (traded to Houston), they should have added an infielder, probably a second baseman, rather than an outfielder.  With the crowded outfield, Stubbs will likely play center field, while CarGo mans left and Cuddyer plays right.  Some combination of Blackmon, Dickerson, Culberson, and Barnes will act as backups.  Stubbs had his best season in 2010, when he batted .255 with 22 home runs, 77 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 150 games for the Reds.  In 2011, he stole 40 bases, but batted just .243 with 15 home runs and 205 strikeouts (up from 168 in 2010).  In 2012, his average dropped significantly, down to .213, as he hit 14 home runs and stole 30 bases while striking out 166 times.  Though he batted only .233 last year with 10 home runs and 17 stolen bases, it was an important season for him as he dropped his strikeouts down to 141, the first time in his career in which he has struck out less than once per game (he played 146 games).  For his career, the Texan has 69 home runs, 223 RBI, and a .239 average with 127 stolen bases in 632 games.  
In order to downsize the number of lefties in the bullpen, Colorado sent Josh Outman over to Cleveland.  Outman, a converted starter, saw his job taken by the signing of Boone Logan, so he was sent to the Indians to work with Nick Hagadone, the Tribe's only left hander.  Though Outman struggles against right handers, he is very effective when it comes to getting lefties out.  Last year, despite righties batting .347, lefties hit just .198 against him.  The same was true in 2012: righties hit .347, and lefties hit .197.  In 2011, righties hit .299 and lefties hit .217.  He should be very effective as a left handed specialist.  Last year, his first full season as a reliever, he went 3-0 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 61 appearances.  For his career, he is 12-11 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 121 games (32 starts).

Free Agent Signings
Twins agreed to terms with Kurt Suzuki (5 HR, 32 RBI, .232 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 30) on a one year, $2.75 million deal.
Yankees agreed to terms with Matt Thornton (0-4, 3.74 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 2014 age: 37) on a two year, $7 million deal ($3.5 million per season).
Indians signed John Axford (7-7, 4.02 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 2014 age: 31) to a one year, $4.5 million deal.
Astros signed Matt Albers (3-1, 3.14 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 2014 age: 31) to a one year, $2.45 million deal.
Phillies signed Roberto Hernandez (6-13, 4.89 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 1 SV, 2014 age: 33) to a one year, $4.5 million deal.
Diamondbacks resigned Eric Chavez (9 HR, 44 RBI, .281 AVG, 1 SB, 2014 age: 36) to a one year, $3.5 million deal.
Mariners resigned Franklin Gutierrez (10 HR, 24 RBI, .248 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 31) to a one year, $1 million deal.
Reds signed Chien-Ming Wang (1-2, 7.67 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 2014 age: 34) to a minor league deal.
Phillies signed Sean O'Sullivan (0-2, 3.96 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 2014 age: 26) to a minor league deal.
Rangers signed Kensuke Tanaka (0 HR, 2 RBI, .267 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 33) to a minor league deal.
Pirates signed Michael Martinez (0 HR, 3 RBI, .175 AVG, 1 SB, 2014 age: 31) to a minor league deal.
Pirates signed Travis Ishikawa (0 HR, 1 RBI, .105 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 30) to a minor league deal.
Rangers signed Justin Germano (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 2014 age: 31) to a minor league  deal.
Phillies signed Lou Marson (0-3 in 3 at bats, 2014 age: 27-28) to a minor league deal.

The signing of Kurt Suzuki is very good for the Twins.  He can act as a bridge between Joe Mauer, who is moving to first base, and Josmil Pinto, the Twins' catcher of the future.  Suzuki, a seven year veteran, can also act as a mentor to Pinto while splitting catching duties with him, much like what he did with Wilson Ramos in DC.  Also, the Twins are just deep enough so that if Suzuki or Pinto goes down with an injury, they can call up Chris Herrmann or Eric Fryer, both of which are major league ready but should start the season at AAA Rochester.  Suzuki is an extremely good defensive catcher with a bat.  His best year was 2009, when he hit 15 home runs, drove in 88, and batted .274 in 147 games for the A's.  He also hit 13 home runs in 2010 and 14 in 2011 before seeing his offensive numbers drop in 2012.  Splitting time between the A's and Nationals, he hit just six home runs and batted .235 in 118 games.  Last year, again splitting time between Oakland and Washington, he hit just five home runs and batted .232 in 94 games.  For his carer, he has 67 home runs, 359 RBI, and a .253 average with 152 doubles in 840 games.

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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