The inevitable happened on Dec. 5 when the Florida Marlins announced they had agreed to terms with free agent Jose Reyes of the New York Mets on a six-year contract reportedly worth $106 million. It was a decent Christmas present for Reyes, but many Mets fans feel their team lost one of baseball’s best players for nothing but a couple of draft picks. In fact, without Reyes at shortstop, there’s not much for Mets fans to get excited about next season unless the club pulls off a major trade or is able to sign one or two pretty good free agents.

Reports said that Reyes’ deal also includes an option for a possible seventh year at $22 million. However, there isn’t a no-trade clause in the contract. The 28-year-old had his best season yet as he won the National League batting title with a .337 average and hit 16 triples in 126 games. In nine seasons with the Mets he averaged .292, stole 370 bases and scored 740 runs.

Florida’s original offer was $90 million, but after they bumped it up by $16 million there was no way New York was going to match it. It was believed the Mets would have gone as high as $80 million over five years. However, manager Sandy Alderson said the club didn’t make a formal offer to Reyes and they’re looking to cut their payroll to about $100 million from $130 million due to financial problems which include a loss of $70 million.

So far, the Marlins have been spending their money like there’s no tomorrow. They also locked up free agent reliever Heath Bell from San Diego on a three-year $27 million deal and are aiming for more top-name players such as Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, and Prince Fielder. In addition, they’ve spent about $600 million on new ball yard in downtown Miami. The signing of Reyes could possibly influence Pujols’ decision.

With the new contract and an average yearly salary of $17.7 million, Reyes becomes the third-highest paid shortstop in MLB baseball history behind Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million) and Derek Jeter ($18.9 million). Rodriguez later moved to third base after being traded to the Yankees. Marlins fans might think the money’s well spent, but the key to the deal is if Reyes staying healthy. In the last three seasons he’s only averaged 98 games played.

Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission looks like it’s going to be investigating the way the new Marlins retractable-roof stadium was financed. But the club said that won’t curb their spending in the off season and the signing of Bell and Reyes has proved that. These signings and the new stadium could help sell some season tickets in this slow economy. The possibility of making the playoffs has also increased with the addition of a second wild card team next season. With Reyes gone, Ruben Tejada may take over as the Mets’ shortstop next season.

It looks like it’s case closed for the Toronto Blue Jays as they finally landed a relief pitcher for next season. The Jays announced on Dec. 6 that they had received right-handed reliever Sergio Santos from the Chicago White Sox in a deal that saw Minor League pitcher Nestor Molina head to the Windy City. Santos had a decent year with Chicago by saving 30 games in 36 opportunities and posting an ERA of 3.55 to go along with a won-loss record of 4-5. He also struck out 92 batters in 63.1 innings.

Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays general manger, said finding a closer was one of his top missions during the off season since his club blew 25 saves in 2011, tied for the worst in the American League. He said it was hard trading Molina, but didn’t really have a choice because the team definitely needs some help in the bullpen. He added that there were some heated debates in the organization regarding the trade, but felt in the long run the move makes sense.

Anthopoulos has already handed the closer’s job to Santos by saying the ninth inning belongs to him. The deal was made at the winter meetings in Dallas when the Jays and White Sox got together to discuss potential deals. Anthopoulos asked about Santos since he had appealed to them ever since signing a three-year deal with Chicago in October which will pay him $7.5 million for the next three years. He also has three option years which are worth $22.75 million in total. However, each one of those years would cost just $750,000 to buy out. The GM said it’s hard to find quality closers who are under contract for that many years.

Molina was one of Toronto’s top prospects who played with Double-A New Hampshire and Class A Dunedin last season. His fastball is about 92 mph tops and has a good changeup and slider. However, scouts feel that the splitter is his best pitch, but are divided on whether he’ll be a starting pitcher or reliever for the White Sox organization. The Blue Jays used him as a starter and he had an ERA of 2.21 last year with a record of 12-3 and pitched 130 1/3 innings.

The trade was risky for both clubs since the White Sox traded away somebody who had a very affordable contract and could turn into an elite reliever. The Blue Jays on the other hand have lost one of their best Minor League arms in the deal. It’ll probably be a few years before the winner and loser of the trade can be judged. But the Jays get the immediate bullpen help that they so sorely need.

Right-handed reliever Frank Francisco was the Jays save leader last season with 17. Toronto offered him salary arbitration, but Anthopoulos figures he’ll probably turn it down and sign elsewhere during the off season. Without him, the Jays would have had a huge gap in their bullpen. Field manager John Farrell said he’s very happy the team was able to acquire the 28-year-old Santos since he could possibly be with the team for the next six seasons, but was sad to see Molina go.

Apparently, a quarter-billion-dollar contract to play a game you love is just too tempting to turn down. Just ask Albert Pujols. The free agent first baseman said adios to the World-Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and packed his bags for the west coast where he’ll spend the next 10 years with the Los Angeles Angels.

He’ll also be collecting pay checks totalling $254 million in the process. He can’t start spending his money yet though since he still has to pass a physical. The contract is the second-highest in MLB history after Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year $275 million deal with the Yankees.

The three-time National League MVP was also being courted by the Florida Marlins, but many fans and experts figured Pujols would re-sign with St. Louis, where’s he’s spent his entire 11-year career. The Cardinals offered him a 10-year deal as well, but it’s unsure how much it was for.

The Marlins signed Jose Reyes from the New York Mets and reliever Heath Bell from San Diego a few days before Pujols agreed to terms with the Angels on Dec. 8. They then spent more money by signing left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle from the Chicago White Sox. Those three contracts cost Florida a cool $191 million and they didn’t have much left to pursue Pujols with.

Pujols has enjoyed an excellent career so far and his .617 slugging percentage is fourth best in MLB history. Only Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig are ahead of him. However, the 31-year-old suffered his worst season personally in 2011, but the Cardinals’ World Series overshadowed his numbers, which have declined in each of his past three seasons.

He still managed to belt 37 home runs in 2011 and added 99 RBI while batting for a .299 average. He’s hit at least 30 home runs in each of his 11 seasons and became the third player to hit three in a World Series game this season. It’s likely that Pujols will now be used as a designated hitter by the Angels most of the time now that he’s in the American League.

His last contract, which he signed in 2004, paid him $100 million over seven years. However, with his bonuses and options he made $112.55 million in eight seasons. Las year, Pujols was offered an extension by St. Louis that would have seen him receive a small percentage of the club, but he turned it down when spring training began.

Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels, said he’s excited as it’s a monumental day for the club’s fans since the team also signed free agent left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson from the Texas Rangers to a $77.5 million contract.

Seattle Mariners prospect Greg Halman was killed in a Rotterdam apartment on Nov. 21. Dutch police believed he may have been stabbed to death by his own brother over an argument about loud music. The 24-year-old outfielder’s younger brother was arrested after the murder. Halman, a native of the Netherlands, played in 35 games with Seattle last season and returned home to Holland for the off season. Reports said that police arrived at the home in the early hours of the morning and found Halman bleeding heavily after being knifed, but weren’t able to revive him.

The Mariners’ brass paid condolences to the player’s family and said it was a tragic loss, as Halman had been with the organization for the past eight years and had grown into a fine person and skilful baseball player. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig also released a statement to the press regarding Halman’s death and said the whole baseball world is in mourning.

Halman played for Holland in the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and participated in the MLB’s European grassroots clinics earlier in the month. The Mariners signed him as a free agent in 2004 and in 2008 he was named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year. He had played parts of the last two seasons with Seattle and helped Holland win the European Baseball Championship in 2007, allowing the nation to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Halman was just the ninth Dutch player to make it to the Major Leagues and his nation’s baseball association was also shocked by the slaying. Halman made 87 plate appearances with Seattle last season and hit for a .230 batting average. He also managed two home runs along with six RBI, seven runs scored, five stole bases and 20 hits. His big break came when centerfielder Michael Saunders was struggling early in the season and Halman was called up from the minors for 35 games. He was then sent back to Tacoma in August to play out the remainder of the season.

It was believed that Halman might have cracked the club’s starting lineup next season in left or center field. In total, Halman appeared in 44 games with Seattle, making his debut on Sept. 23, 2010. He hit 33 home runs and 80 RBI with Tacoma in 2010 in the Triple A Pacific Coast League. This season he had a .299 batting average with Tacoma in 40 games with three home runs, 15 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Unlike the NBA and NFL, Major League Baseball and its players came to a pretty quick agreement on their new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides signed a five-year labor deal on Nov. 22 that will see baseball initiate blood testing to fight against human growth hormone (HGH). It will also expand the MLB playoffs to 10 clubs by the 2013 season. Team owners are hoping that a competitive balance can be achieved in the league with the new contract.

There are several interesting aspects of the new deal. For instance, players are expected to play in the annual All Star game and will only be excused from duty if they’re injured or for some other acceptable reason. The use of instant video replay is going to be expanded and will now include decisions on the foul lines and traps. Players, coaches, managers, and umpires won’t be allowed to use any type of smokeless tobacco items or have them in their uniforms while they’re being interviewed on television.

In addition, ball players that are arrested for DWI have to undergo mandatory evaluation and Rawlings will become the official supplier of the league’s batting helmets by 2013. If a player tests positive for HGH he will receive a suspension of 50 games, which is the same punishment as testing positive for any type of performance-enhancing drug. This was one of the biggest issues of the agreement according to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who said it’s in the best interests of the game.

Random blood testing on HGH is set to happen in spring training as well as the off-season. However, the two sides didn’t come to an agreement that will see random blood testing taking place during the baseball season. The players’ union boss Michael Weiner said the players don’t have a problem with the random testing, but they have the right to appeal if any positive tests are found.

The two sides are hoping to come to some sort of agreement in the near future regarding in-season random testing, but the players’ union doesn’t want it to interfere with the health and safety of its members since they play almost every day between February and October. Weiner said the current test can only reveal HGH in a player’s blood from between 48 and 72 hours. He added that the majority of players are for the testing because they want to be competing on a level field where nobody has an illegal advantage.

Two more teams will be added to the current playoff system and this change could come as early as next season. This will see 10 out of 30 MLB clubs make it to the postseason. The owners will decide in January if the playoffs will be altered next year or in 2013. The two wild card clubs in each league will face off in a playoff game with the winners advancing to the division series. Also, the Houston Astros will move to the AL West in 2013 from the NL Central. This will give the American and National leagues three divisions of five teams each.

The league’s payroll luxury tax kicks in at $178 million for the next two years and will be implemented when the payroll reaches $189 million between 2014 and 2016. A player’s minimum salary will be $500,000 in 2014 with cost-of-living expenses added in 2015 and 2016. Small-market teams will receive extra amateur draft selections which can also be used in trades.

In 2013 the compensation system for free agency will be revised. Teams will have to offer its free agents the average salary of the league’s 125 top contracts, which at the moment would be about $12.5 million, before they are eligible to receive draft picks as compensation if the player signs elsewhere. Starting next summer, teams that sign amateur players from international leagues such as the Venezuela and the Dominican Republic will have to pay a luxury tax on any signings over $2.9 million.

Unfortunately, the kidnapping of professional athletes and their family members isn’t anything new in Latin America. The latest case involves Venezuelan native Wilson Ramos of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals. The catcher was kidnapped at gunpoint on Nov. 9 outside of his parents’ home by four men.

The 24-year-old Ramos had a fine rookie season by hitting 15 home runs and 52 RBI while batting for a .267 average.  He’s no superstar, but Venezuelans know where his family lives in the city of Valencia and know that he makes pretty good money at his profession. He went home for the winter to play ball to prepare himself for next season.

The good news in the case so far is that the stolen vehicle used in the kidnapping was found, but the bad news was there wasn’t any demands received from the kidnappers in the hours following the abduction. It’s a case of déjà vu for some Venezuelans because of the past incidents involving Major League players who jail from there.

Criminals usually go for the wealthiest native players they can find in an attempt to extort money from them. They become well known in their native land and everybody knows who they are and what they’re worth financially. Back in 2009 Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba saw his son and two other family members kidnapped Venezuela. Fortunately they were released soon after a ransom of $1 million was demanded, but not paid.

A year earlier, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, was held up at gunpoint and had his watch, wallet, and car stolen. After the ordeal he said he was thankful he wasn’t harmed because material things are easy to replace while life and limbs aren’t. one of the most famous abductions came in 2005 when Ugueth Urbina, who was then pitching with the Detroit Tigers, found out that his mother had been kidnapped. She was eventually saved by Venezuelan police after a shootout with the kidnappers.

Some of the Venezuelan players have their own security teams in place and will travel with bodyguards while installing high-tech security measures in their homes. Many local players go home to Venezuela to play winter ball because the money’s pretty good and the quality of play is high. Quite a few Americans go down there to improve their games or as a means to revive their flagging careers.

Pitcher Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants played there last year and his fine play earned him a minor-league deal. He also played in Venezuela six years earlier. He said he felt pretty safe due to the team’s security measures and his own awareness. He said he ate most of his meals in a mall close to his hotel and it was full of security people. But he added that he usually went with a couple of other people and rarely on his own.

Ryan Tatusko, a minor leaguer with the Nationals, is also pitching in Venezuela this winter and he said the team provides foreign players with 24-hour guarded housing and makes sure they’re driven by trusted drivers. They also take charter flights and are offered security whenever they’re not playing as well as in the team’s dugout. However, native Venezuelans aren’t offered the same type of security and obviously they aren’t being protected well enough.

The World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals will be starting a new era next season without 67-year-old manager Tony La Russa as he announced his retirement from the club on Oct. 31. La Russa is going out on a high note after managing for 33 years in the big leagues with the last 16 of them being with the Cardinals.

He leaves with the third-most MLB wins as a manger and three World Series titles, two of them with St. Louis, and will likely be honored for it one day by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He becomes the ninth manager to win the championship three times and the first one to achieve it in three different decades.

La Russa said there wasn’t really one major reason for calling it quits just days after winning the World Series, but it was just a combination of things and he felt the time was right to step down. He said he actually made up his mind to retire back in August when it looked like the Cardinals wouldn’t be able to make the playoffs. However, he said the team’s position at that time didn’t have any bearing on his decision.

He told GM John Mozeliak it at that time, but didn’t tell his players and coaching staff until two days after the World Series, following the team’s celebration and parade. He said that’ he’s looking forward to the future and trying something a little different, but admitted that he didn’t have a new job lined up. He said he doesn’t expect to remain in the Cardinals organization, but could still remain in baseball in some capacity. Mozeliak said he’s got a list of possible replacements for La Russa, but declined to mention any names.

Looking back on La Russa’s career in St. Louis, he earned the most wins in franchise history with 1,408 season victories over his 16 seasons. He took the Cardinals to the playoffs in nine of those years and won three pennants and two World Series. Overall in the Major Leagues, La Russa won 2,728 games, which puts him third on the all-time list behind Connie Mack with 3,731 wins and John McGraw with 2,763. In total games managed, only Mack, who managed for a total of 53 years, ranks ahead of La Russa’s 5,097.

His 33 years on the job place him in a second-place tie for longevity with McGraw. He’s the only manager in history to win more than one pennant in both the AL and NL and the second manger to win a World Series in both leagues. La Russa’s 70 playoff wins are the second most in history. After managing for so long it’s obvious that LaRussa also lost his share of games and his 2,365 defeats are the second most in history.

La Russa only needed to win 36 more games to pass McGraw on the all-time wins list. But he said he didn’t want to continue managing just to achieve personal gain even though he and the team had a mutual contract option in place for next season. La Russa’s first managerial job came back in 1979 when he joined the Chicago White Sox. He then moved to the Oakland Athletics in 1986 and won a World Series with them in 1989. He joined St. Louis in 1996.

It’s always an honor to win an award, but it’s usually more meaningful when your fellow players are doing the voting. This is why Detroit starting pitcher Justin Verlander must be feeling pretty good about himself. He was recently announced as Major League Baseball’s player of the year for 2011 as well as the American League’s most outstanding pitcher in the Players Choice Awards.

Center fielder Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees was named the AL’s outstanding player while center fielder Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers won honor in the National League. Verlander said the award is more special to him since it’s voted on by his peers, including his teammates and opponents.

Verlander had an excellent season with 24 victories, 250 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.40, all tops in the AL. His triple-crown winning performance for the most wins, best ERA and most strikeouts was the first in the AL since 2006 when Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins achieved it. He also becomes the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 to take home the Player of the Year Award.

James Shields of the Tampa Bay Rays and Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels were also nominated for the AL’s pitching award while Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox and Granderson were up for the league’s player of the year trophy. Granderson said it was an honor winning his award especially considering the excellent players in the league this season.

Michael Young, designated hitter for the Texas Rangers, won the Marvin Miller Man of The Year Award for his charity work off of the diamond. Young has won the award twice now in the past four years. Young and Cristina Barbosa, his wife, are actively involved in charity work in the Dallas area and recently opened a foundation in support of children’s health.

In addition, Young has been nominated three years in a row for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is for community involvement and sportsmanship. Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals were also nominated for the Marvin Miller award.

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel was named the NL’s outstanding rookie. He beat out fellow nominees starting pitcher Vance Worley of the Philadelphia Phillies and Freddie Freeman, his Braves teammate. Kimbrel set a rookie record with 46 saves this season.

In the AL, first baseman Mark Trumbo of the Angels took the top rookie honors over Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals and Jeremy Hellickson of Tampa Bay. Triple-crown winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers took the outstanding pitcher award in the NL. The left-hander recorded 21 wins, 248 strikeouts and had an ERA of 2.28. Roy Halladay of the Phillies and Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks also earned nominations.

Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox won the Comeback Player of the Year award for the AL while outfielder Lance Berkman of the Cardinals took the honor in the NL.  Berkman had a .248 average in 2010 when he hit 14 homers and added 58 RBIs. He batted .301 this season and belted 31 homers along with 94 RBIs. Ellsbury only played in 18 games last year and batted .192. he rebounded this year with a .321 average.

Frank McCourt, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has finally agreed to sell the MLB franchise after months of arguing with the league over the future of the team. The Dodgers and MLB announced on Nov 1 that the club and its media rights will be sold via a  court-supervised process which will be managed by the Blackstone Group LP. There hasn’t been any time frame or deadline placed on the sale and it’s unclear if it will affect the Dodgers ability to attract and sign any free agents. It’s been rumored that they’re after Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder.

McCourt ran into financial problems when his marriage to Jamie McCourt, who is the club’s former president, started to disintegrate. He eventually filed for bankruptcy and ended up in court with MLB over the ownership. McCourt wanted to sell the team’s media rights to Fox broadcasting as a way to dig his way out of bankruptcy, but MLB wouldn’t agree to it. The league then asked a judge to order the franchise be sold and accused McCourt of using close to $200 million of Dodgers money for his personal use.

McCourt came to the decision that selling the club would be the best solution for all concerned and he emailed all of the team’s employees to let them know. It seems his $130 million settlement with his ex-wife might have had something to do with it. Before the settlement Jamie McCourt argued that she owned half of the franchise. The couple originally paid $421 million for the team back in 2004 when they bought it from Fox. It’s now believed the franchise may be worth as much as $1 billion.

Many Dodgers fans might be glad at the announcement since McCourt was basically a Boston real estate developer who didn’t really know much about baseball. When he first took over he got rid of some personnel and several people quit the team due to the way he started to run the club. General manager Dan Evans was let go and replaced by Paul DePodesta and McCourt’s wife was named as the Dodgers’ president.

The team made the playoffs four times in eight seasons under McCourt’s ownership and won the National League West Division three times. They were then beaten twice in the league championship series by the Philadelphia Phillies. Many fans figured they were just a player or two away from a World Series title, something they haven’t won since 1988, but also felt McCourt didn’t want to spend the money to sign a couple of top players.

Fans were also angered that McCourt hiked ticket prices several times during his tenure while keeping the team payroll at about $100 million. It was also reported that the McCourts were living it up in their mansion while fans were faced with higher priced tickets. The couple were also deferring some of the players’ salaries and were seemingly going into debt. Money had to be borrowed from Fox during this year’s spring training so McCourt could meet the payroll.

MLB took over the club’s daily operations soon after the season started and by June McCourt has filed for bankruptcy. He’s fought with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig ever since and attendance started to drop at Dodger Stadium. The fans might start to come back next season, but the team will need to re-sign Gold Glove winners Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, and Matt Kemp to stay competitive.

MLB wants to have a new owner in place well before opening day and it’ll be interesting to see who steps up to the plate with an offer.

It didn’t really matter what happened in game seven of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals nothing was going to beat the highs and lows of game six. In fact that game alone made this year’s Series an instant classic. The emotional roller coaster that players, managers, owners, and fans were taken on during the 10-9 come-from-behind victory by St. Louis in the sixth game may never be matched.

But while the game was one of the most exciting you’ll ever see it featured baseball at its best and worst. To casual fans, the offensive display in that game was highly entertaining and exactly what they want to see, lots of runs and shifts in momentum. However for the purists, the display in game six and the Series in general was simply offensive due to the numerous mistakes made by players and managers throughout the seven-game set.

To them, the pitching and fielding were brutal and the only redeeming qualities were produced by the hitters. For example, the Rangers walked in four runs in their 6-2 loss in the final game and simply blew the previous game with shoddy play. But while this may be true from a technical standpoint, the reason fans will never forget game six is because of the unpredictability of it as well as the disbelief it produced among fans.

Nobody’s going to remember a well-pitched 2-1 game-six win, but nobody will ever forget the 10-9 come-from-behind 11-inning soap opera. It might not have been baseball at its best, but it was still baseball’s finest hour in many years since it captivated millions of viewers across the world. And that’s what sports are supposed to do.

I’m sure those who like to wager on baseball games must have bet the house on the Cardinals to take game seven. It was obvious the World Series was never in the cards for the Rangers after coming within one pitch of winning it the night before. St. Louis had all of the momentum on their side along with fate. Their 11^th World Series win now ranks them second all time behind the New York Yankees who are a long way out in front with 27 championships.

St. Louis played four elimination-facing games in the postseason and became the fifth wild card team to take the championship. They were 10.5 games out of the race in late August, but their never-say-die attitude saw them not only make the playoffs, but win it all. There were numerous stand-out players on the Cardinals during the playoff push, but David Freese stood out and captured the World Series MVP award.

Freese batted .348 in the World Series with five of his eight hits being for extra bases. In the entire postseason he belted five home runs and a record 21 RBI in 18 games with a .397 batting average. He also won the MVP award for the League Championship Series, becoming the sixth player in history to do so.

For the Rangers, it was the second straight year they’ve lost in the Fall Classic, but they can’t really blame anybody but themselves.  They went 46 games without losing two in a row and then dropped the last two of their season. The franchise is still without a World Series championship despite making it to the final the past two years.