M.O.A.D.

Holy Friolies!!!! Today is the mother of all deal days! Big Names! Big Price Tags! This has by far eclipsed anything done at the winter meetings. Lets' get down to it.

Firstly, I'm excited and thrilled to report the Red Sox appear to have agreed to terms with SP John Lackey. The deal is worth $85M over 5 years which is significantly less than the expected $100M I thought Lackey would get. This move should make the Red Sox arguably the deepest pitching staff in the majors. Another bonus is it comes off of the pesky Angels, who always seem to meet the Sox in the opening round of the playoffs most seasons. The Sox would be giving up another draft pick to the Angels which would bump the Jays pick down for picking up Marco Scutaro. The team is having trouble negotiating with Josh Beckett, so this cushions the blow in the event, he elects free agency next season. Lackey was 11-8 with a 3.83ERA in the regular season and 1-1 with a 3.12ERA in the postseason. The Red Sox can now concentrate on getting an OF. Rumor has it Mike Cameron (who sure as hell is no Jason Bay) is in the mix.

The next biggest news is the 3 team swap including pitchers Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay. The Phillies before the trade are trying to lock up Halladay. The Phils get Halladay and two prospects from the M's. The M's get Cliff Lee. The Jays get Phillies catcher prospect Travis D'Arnuad and another to be named(OF Michael Taylor maybe?), and Seattle pitching prospect Phillipe Aumont. SP/RP J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton took physicals as well as other desired prospect Domonic Brown, who could be part of the deal. This is a bad deal for Philly, who depleted their talent to acquire Lee and now they want to do it again? Happ is going to be better than serviceable in the years to come. The Jays are looking towards the future and suppose these prospects don't produce? I looked at the numbers and these guys are all nowhere near the majors yet. How much longer will Toronto wait?!? Seattle makes off with immediate return.

The Angels have reached an agreement with DH/OF Hideki Matsui. It's a 1yr/ $6.5M deal which is far less than the $77M they doled out for Vlad Guerrero. Vlad's days are over if this deal goes through. Can Matsui play the OF if need be? This is an almost $7M dollar pay-cut from his previous Yankees contract. The Angels are said to be looking to the possibility of acquiring SP Derek Lowe from the Braves.

The Brewers re-signed 3B Craig Counsell at $2.1M plus $500K in incentives for one year. The deal is a steal for the Brewers looking at Counsell's salivating numbers last season (.285, 4 HRs, 39RBIs, 61 runs in 130 games).

The Nats brought back SP Scott Olsen to a 1yr/$1M deal with incentives that could make it up to $5M if he makes x number of starts. Olsen struggled last season before getting injured (2-4; 6.03ERA).

The Mets have offered SP Kelvim Escobar a minor league deal. Escobar is looking to work out of the bullpen for the preservation of his shoulder. No terms to report.

News and Notes:

The Astros, D-Backs, Pirates, and Cardinals all want a piece of 2B Kelly Johnson. My guess is the Cardinals or Astros get him.

The Nationals, Cardinals, Rangers, Rockies and Marlins have set their eyes on Matt Capps. I expect the Cards or Nats to get him unless he gets the multi-year deal he's looking for and is willing to be a set-up man for the other clubs.

Jason Michaels will be back next year in an Astros uni. Claudio Vargas is returning to the Brewers as well.

The Blue Jays signed C Ramon Castro to a 1yr/$1M deal.

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