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Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation explains why yesterday's three-team deal filled needs for all involved: Three-way trade leaves everyone happy, fulfilled - Baseball Nation
Everybody got what they needed in this deal. Which isn't to say it will look perfectly balanced in a year or two or six. But I'll bet all three GM's woke up really happy Wednesday morning.
R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus discusses the decline of one, Drew Stubbs: Baseball Prospectus | Painting the Black: Stubbs in Reverse
Declining in back-to-back seasons without injury during your perceived prime seasons is typically a bad sign. Stubbs’ aforementioned flaws and lack of adjustments does not portent a successful turnaround. Making matters worse is how Stubbs’ poor play seems caused by himself, more so than his opponents on the mound. Now that Stubbs is with a new team, it might be time to rethink his commitment to selling out for power.
Eno Sarris of FanGraphs analyzes the Yankees signing of Kevin Youkillis: Kevin Youkilis: Impermanent, Imperfect Yankee | FanGraphs Baseball
This might all sound like luke-warm praise, but it’s hard to find a guy with patience, better than league-average power, and a league-average strikeout rate that will play third base, let alone one that will do so on a one-year contract. Only six third baseman managed the feat last season, and none of them were even free agents.
Joe Posnanski of Sports on Earth makes sense of Dayton Moore's current plan: Royals GM Dayton Moore makes his play to win now. | SportsonEarth.com : Joe Posnanski Article
He built what is acknowledged to be the best farm system in the game. No, he made this trade because he thinks the Royals are finally ready to take the next step. He has been Royals GM for six and a half years. It's been bumpy. Every mistake sets you back. Every bad break costs you time. But here we are, and the Royals DO enter 2013 with a potentially dominant bullpen, a legitimate rotation and enough young every day players to be excited about. Maybe they aren't ready to win. But, Moore has decided, they have to try.