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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/nationworld/sns-ap-bbo-winter-meetings,0,5557296.story
Big deals: Gillick elected to Hall, Werth gets $126M pact from Nationals, Gonzalez to Red Sox.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — For Pat Gillick, this was truly a big deal.
The longtime general manager whose trades helped teams win three World Series championships was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday by the Veterans Committee.
"It's over the hill," the 73-year-old Gillick said at baseball's winter meetings. "I loved going to work every day."
Former players' union head Marvin Miller fell one vote short. George Steinbrenner finished far behind — "some people thought it's too early," Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, a member of the committee, said of the late New York Yankees owner.
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It was shaping up as a busy day all over baseball.
The Boston Red Sox completed their trade for slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, sending minor league right-hander Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes and a player to be named to San Diego.
San Diego general manager Jed Hoyer, who previously worked for the Red Sox under GM Theo Epstein, said the Padres were sure they wouldn't have been able to sign Gonzalez after 2011. Rather than risk waiting for a deal next summer, Hoyer decided to make a move now.
"There's plenty of examples of trades at the deadline where a team didn't get nearly what they thought they'd get simply because the market didn't develop or because of injuries," Hoyer said. "With that in mind, I felt like this was the right time to do it."
The Milwaukee Brewers improved their rotation, reaching a deal to get right-hander Shaun Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays for Canadian infield prospect Brett Lawrie.
A person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press that the deal was set. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been officially announced at baseball's winter meetings.
Marcum started for the Blue Jays on opening day last season and went 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA. The pitcher turns 29 next week and missed the entire 2009 season after having Tommy John surgery.
The Baltimore Orioles were active, too, nearing a deal to get first baseman Mark Reynolds from Arizona. Reynolds has averaged nearly 35 homers for the last three years — he's also struck out over 200 times in each of those seasons.
Free agents Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford figure to draw lots of attention later this week.
The last-place Washington Nationals made the first huge deal at this Disney resort, reaching agreement with All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth on a $126 million, seven-year contract Sunday.
"To just spend money wildly on people is not the point. What we're going to do is create an atmosphere ... of winning," Werth said on a conference call.
Werth hit .296 with 27 home runs, an NL-leading 46 doubles, 85 RBIs and a career-best 106 runs last season. He parlayed that into a deal astounding for its sheer size — both in terms of dollars and years.
"It's a long time and a lot of money," New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson quipped. "I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/nationworld/sns-ap-bbo-winter-meetings,0,5557296.story
Big deals: Gillick elected to Hall, Werth gets $126M pact from Nationals, Gonzalez to Red Sox.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — For Pat Gillick, this was truly a big deal.
The longtime general manager whose trades helped teams win three World Series championships was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday by the Veterans Committee.
"It's over the hill," the 73-year-old Gillick said at baseball's winter meetings. "I loved going to work every day."
Former players' union head Marvin Miller fell one vote short. George Steinbrenner finished far behind — "some people thought it's too early," Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, a member of the committee, said of the late New York Yankees owner.
Sign up for our new Varsity Sports newsletter and get high school sports updates delivered right to your inbox.
It was shaping up as a busy day all over baseball.
The Boston Red Sox completed their trade for slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, sending minor league right-hander Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes and a player to be named to San Diego.
San Diego general manager Jed Hoyer, who previously worked for the Red Sox under GM Theo Epstein, said the Padres were sure they wouldn't have been able to sign Gonzalez after 2011. Rather than risk waiting for a deal next summer, Hoyer decided to make a move now.
"There's plenty of examples of trades at the deadline where a team didn't get nearly what they thought they'd get simply because the market didn't develop or because of injuries," Hoyer said. "With that in mind, I felt like this was the right time to do it."
The Milwaukee Brewers improved their rotation, reaching a deal to get right-hander Shaun Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays for Canadian infield prospect Brett Lawrie.
A person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press that the deal was set. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been officially announced at baseball's winter meetings.
Marcum started for the Blue Jays on opening day last season and went 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA. The pitcher turns 29 next week and missed the entire 2009 season after having Tommy John surgery.
The Baltimore Orioles were active, too, nearing a deal to get first baseman Mark Reynolds from Arizona. Reynolds has averaged nearly 35 homers for the last three years — he's also struck out over 200 times in each of those seasons.
Free agents Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford figure to draw lots of attention later this week.
The last-place Washington Nationals made the first huge deal at this Disney resort, reaching agreement with All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth on a $126 million, seven-year contract Sunday.
"To just spend money wildly on people is not the point. What we're going to do is create an atmosphere ... of winning," Werth said on a conference call.
Werth hit .296 with 27 home runs, an NL-leading 46 doubles, 85 RBIs and a career-best 106 runs last season. He parlayed that into a deal astounding for its sheer size — both in terms of dollars and years.
"It's a long time and a lot of money," New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson quipped. "I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington."
