The Week in Transactions: Rangers sign Ian Desmond

Tribe Moves

Nothing. Moving on....

Selected MLB Moves

February 29

Texas Rangers signed SS/OF(?) Ian Desmond to a one year $8M contract; placed RHP Tanner Scheppers on the 60-day Disabled List (left knee).

Both sides of this deal really surprised me. The Rangers, who on paper don't need a shortstop gave up their 2016 first-round pick (which would have been the 19th overall pick) to sign Desmond, and Desmond who in the worst way needs to rebuild his value for next season, may end up playing more in the outfield than shortstop. Maybe it work out for Desmond, who will be playing his home games in homer-happy Arlington, and who may end being a defensive plus in the outfield.

With the Desmond signing, the 2016 MLB draft order is set, as he was the last of the QO free agents to sign. The Indians will select 14th in the first round, with their second round selection being #55 overall.

Scheppers will miss the first half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.

March 1

Seattle Mariners signed OF Guillermo Heredia to a one-year $507,500 contract; placed C Jesus Sucre on the 60-day Disabled List (broken right leg)

Heredia, who is 25, hasn't played professional ball since the 2013-2014 season in Cuba, and has been available to sign since last summer. His calling card is his defense, but he'll likely start the year in the minors to get his bat on track.

Sucre will in all likelihood miss the entire season after suffering a broken fibula in a Venezuelan Winter League game. He was going to have a shot to make the club as the team's backup catcher.

AL Central Roster Preview: Kansas City Royals

During the month of March, I'm going to also take a look at the projected rosters of the other AL Central teams. We'll start with the defending champions.

Embiggened Version

First reaction after looking up the contract information: holy cow, the Royals like mutual options! Eight players have them at the end of their deals, including Alex Gordon, Edinson Volquez, and Luke Hochevar. Second reaction: the Kansas City roster is going to look a lot different in two years, as a huge part of their current core will be (or could be) free agents after the 2017 season. Hosmer, Escobar, Moustakas, Cain, and Dyson could all be free agents in the same offseason.

But in the meantime, the Indians will see the largely the same team that they did a year ago. The starting rotation is the area that has seen the most changes, with James Shields leaving and Ian Kennedy signed this offseason. There is some competition for the final spot in the rotation, but I don't see them choosing Kris Medlen over Danny Duffy.The bullpen on paper looks as good as ever, with former Royal Joakim Soria back with the team.

Of the projected bench bunch, Christian Colon and Paulo Orlando are the two that could play significant roles this year: Colon may end up supplanting Omar Infante as the everyday second baseman, and Orlando may see some regular playing time early in the year as Jarrod Dyson is out of action with an oblique strain.

Latest Tribe 40-man roster

Embiggened version

Google Docs version

No actual changes this week, though I have tweaked a couple things. First, I corrected Collin Cowgill's name (two Ls in his first name instead of one) - sorry, Collin! And I reduced the Indians' payment to Chris Johnson by the major-league minimum, as the Miami Marlins will be paying that portion of his contract.