The Week in Transactions: Howie Kendrick stays in LA, Blue Jays take a chance on Gavin Floyd

Tribe Moves

Nothing. Moving on....

Selected MLB Moves

February 4

San Diego Padres signed RHP Fernando Rodney to a one-year, $2M contract ($2.0M 2017 team option)

Rodney's 2015 peripherals still look decent enough to cut it as a back-end reliever, with the exception of home runs; he allowed 9 homers in 62.2 innings for the Mariners and Cubs last year, which equals his total HR given up from 2011-2014. Maybe that's a fluke, or maybe that's a sign that he's done. Regardless, a $2M major-league deal seems a fair deal for both player and team.

San Diego Padres traded RHP Odrisamer Despaigne to the Baltimore Orioles for RHP Jean Cosme

Despaigne signed with the Padres after defecting from Cuba in 2014, and after a promising rookie year, fell off the table in 2015. The 29-year-old should get a shot at the Baltimore rotation, but if he doesn't make it, still can be sent to the minors. Meanwhile Cosme looks like the prototypical teenage live arm who could turn into something in 4 years or never be heard from again.

Los Angeles Dodgers signed 2B Howie Kendrick to a two-year, $20M contract

Kendrick had a couple things going against him this winter, the biggest of which was that he had rejected the Dodgers' Qualifying Offer, which meant that whoever signed him would be giving up a high draft pick. The other thing that may have scared off teams was his defense, which took a nosedive in 2015. That could just be an aberration, but Kendrick is already in his early 30s.

In hindsight, Kendrick should have taken the QO and entered the market again next year, but who's to say that he wouldn't end up in the same situation, with another QO hanging over his head and a year older? A case like this does expose a weakness in the QO system, and while I don't think there is a need to scrap it entirely, some provisions need to be added to it so that older (but still good) free agents aren't stuck in limbo when they finally get their chance to test the market. I would at the very least add a provision that players can't receive a QO two years in a row, or even twice in a longer period of time. That way a player who's on the fence about whether to accept an offer or not would know that he'd be clear of the QO  the following winter if he chose to accept that one-year deal.

February 5

Toronto Blue Jays signed RHP Gavin Floyd to a one-year, $1M contract

The deal includes bonuses for staying for on the active roster (aka staying healthy).

Floyd returned to the lineup ahead of schedule for the Indians, and at least out of the bullpen looked very good. Obviously both team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins know just about everything there is to know about Floyd's recent history, and with the Jays needing starting pitching, it would have been a shock if Floyd had signed anywhere else.