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Two Signings
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Fox reports Pat Burrell agreed to a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays:
The Rays, filling their need for a power hitter, are close to signing free-agent Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16 million contract, according to major-league sources.
Burrell, 32, will serve as the team's designated hitter. The Rays, nearing their payroll limit, could use some combination of Ben Zobrist, Gabe Gross and Fernando Perez in right field.
It's a great signing for the Rays. Burrell is taking a pay cut here (his former deal was six years, $50 million), yet his OPS+ was consistently in the 120s for the last four years. He brings another great on-base average to the Rays, who keep moving away from the hacker model they used for so many years. Pat's big draw back in Philly was his defense, and that won't be a problem at designated hitter. I'm very surprised they got him for so little money, if indeed that number is correct. That's not good news for Abreu, Dunn and Manny Ramirez.
Hat tip, BallHype.
There are reports that Milton Bradley is close to a three-year, $30 million deal with the Cubs. Bradley, in a short season in 2008 was a legitimate MVP candidate, posting a .436 OBA and a .563 slugging percentage. For his career, he's not quite as good a hitter as Pat Burrell, but he can still play the outfield. Since Jim Edmonds was unlikely to repeat his 2008 batting stats, the Cubs now have a very solid outfield with Soriano, Bradley and Fukudome for frankly a very good price. It looks like teams are starting to grab the bargains.
Hat tip to River Ave. Blues, who makes the case the Yankees were right not to offer arbitration to Abreu, because if he accepted he would have been overpaid.
