And So It Begins...

Deal of the Day

The Yankees made their first move of the offseason in terms of relief pitching today when they signed right-hander Jose Veras of the Dominican Winter League (and formerly of the Texas Rangers minor league system). He reportedly traveled to Tampa on Monday to meet with executives and take his physical. The twenty-five year old currently leads the Dominican league in saves and has allowed two runs in his first twelve innings with the Escogido Lions. He is looking forward to coming to New York and helping set the table for Mariano Rivera.

And Around the Majors...

-Looks like Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell are headed to Boston. Florida Marlins officials apparently got in touch with the Yankees regarding a possible trade, but the Marlins were reportedly interested in Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang, and quite frankly, the Yankees would have been extremely foolish to even consider such a deal. For once, the team isn't looking for starting pitching to begin with, and what would they do with Mike Lowell when they've got Alex Rodriguez at third? The move does, however, make sense for the Red Sox, although they did have to give up Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and Jesus Delgado, and I wouldn't be surprised if this deal comes back to haunt them.

-David Ortiz said in a press conference that Manny Ramirez would not be a Boston Red Sox player next season. I suspect David Ortiz is heartbroken, not only because he and Manny were close friends, but because there's no way Big Papi's getting any pitches to hit when he steps up in a big spot anymore. Two words for you as a Yankee fan: Thank God!

-The Mets met with Billy Wagner and have offered him a contract

-On Tuesday the Cleveland Indians spoke to B.J. Ryan about replacing Bob Wickman as their closer.

And that's all the interesting news that's out there today. Hopefully this off-season will start heating up and we'll have more important people than Jose Veras to discuss!

Thanks for reading!

*Lara Marie