During this past week we have seen a plethora of signings throughout Major League Baseball. Top free agent Outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. who is coming off a career year, cashed in with a five year contract worth $50 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Evidently, the days of not signing with a rival team are over after Matthews Jr. defected from Texas for the halos.
Outfielders who have found new homes include: Speed stir Juan Pierre who signed a five year deal worth $44 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frank Catalanotto who will return for a second stint with the Texas Rangers after signing a three year contract and veteran Moises Alou who is headed to Flushing to play left field for the New York Mets after signing a one year deal.
Around the infield we saw all star Nomar Garciaparra re-sign with the Dodgers for two more seasons. This was an excellent decision by Dodger management to commit to Nomar for two more years even though he is coming off many nagging injuries that sidelined him for portions of last season. Alex Gonzalez, formerly of the Red Sox's signed a three year contract with the Reds to become their new starting Shortstop. Gonzalez might not be the best with the bat, but is very potent defensively.
Left handed reliever Jamie Walker who was intrical in the success of the Tigers this past season signed a three year deal with the Orioles. If Baltimore wants to be competitive in the Al East
next year, they will need great pitching and they made a great leap forward in achieving their goal by signing a top of the line relief pitcher.
