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I'm taking off for the motherland today, spending a long weekend in Cleveland. Sorry to leave you all with such a dearth of baseball news, but such is February baseball. On to the links!
Indians news
The greatest draft in Indians history | Indians Baseball Insider (Jeff Ellis) - In a piece that's sure to win Chuck's approval, Ellis takes a retrospective look at the 1989 draft. After some early misses, the Tribe landed Brian Giles and Jim Thome in later rounds. Any draft that produces a future Hall of Famer is a great draft, but I think GOAT is a bit of hyperbolic.
Catching up with Charles Nagy | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? (Steve Eby) - Eby sits down for a chat with the Tribe's newest staff member and unsung member of the 90's Tribe dynasty. Nagy seems genuinely excited to be back with the Tribe in some capacity.
Around the league
Fernando Rodney signs with Seattle | Twitter (Jonah Keri) - Two years, $14 million with incentives. Fangraphs has a detailed analysis of the signing and its affect on the Mariners' situation at closer. Apparently, much of Rodney's success can be attributed to throwing to Jose Molina, Jose Lobaton, and, to a lesser extent, Chris Gimenez.
Mariners cautiously optimistic about signing Cruz | NBC Sport (D.J. Short) - Apparently Seattle doesn't plan to stop at Rodney, continuing to purue Nelson Cruz. I'd say the Mariners are going for broke, but they have a long way to go before that happens.
Marlins sign Carlos Marmol | CBS Sports (Dayn Perry) - A major league contract, per Jon Heyman. The Marlins will look to use him as their closer in 2014.
Cardinals ink Pat Neshak | NBC Sports (D.J. Short) - It's just a minor league contract, which shows how much I've been paying attention to Neshak's career. I remember when he was one of the best relievers in the AL.
Charting the MLB's litigious offseason | Fangraphs (Wendy Thurm) - Fangraphs with a handy roundup of all the ongoing legal action in and around MLB.
What teams will surprise in 2014? | Sports on Earth (Matthew Kory) - Kory names the Royals in addition to the Angels, Giants, and Blue Jays as teams to watch for in 2014. Kory figures KC is a "solid" team with "few holes," and that they could compete for a wild card spot. Maybe he's on to something, since the Royals think Eric Hosmer is only "scratching the surface" of his talent. Don't show Hammy this article. He may have to see the doctor for something that has lasted longer than four hours.