over Nick Swisher.

and leaving Joba in the ROTATION

Sending him down is smart. The Os won’t contend this year they’re better off controlling him in 2014/15 (or whatever year it is) than having him for 2 extra months this year.

The same could be said for the Price move, but the big difference is that the Rays are expected to contend in the toughest division in baseball. They have pretty deep starting pitching, but this type of move actually could affect a pennant race that comes down to a game or two. If their 5th starter blows up, the Rays won’t wait too long and he’ll be back in the bigs.

I know most consider this a dumb move, but I rather liked it: bringing up Andrus this year. Allowed the Rangers to move Young to 3B where he won’t be as much of a defensive liability, and allows Blalock to play DH and only sparingly play the field, to keep him healthy. Also, if Smoak can fast track to the majors, they can move Davis to DH and either put Blalock on the bench as a good bench bat or trade him for maybe a decent RP arm.

Seattle signing Josh Fields and not letting him go back into the draft so they could get another pick this year. I have said it several times before, I still think there is a chance that Seattle gets Strasburg in the draft, and not having to spend money on two first rounders (the reason I think Washington will have to pass on him) will allow them to sign him.

Washington bringing up Jordan Zimmermann this season. I liked the kid more than most did on the Community Poll. I think with the favorable home park and the high GB% that he can do well. Will never be more than a weak 2 or a great 3 I don’t think, but he should still be a solid pitcher for years to come.

Cubs NOT re-signing Kerry Wood. Sooner or later the wheels are going to fall off again. It was time for them to go their separate ways.

Braves not trading the farm to get Jake Peavy. I think Yunel Escobar is an underrated SS, plus they would have to have given up either Shafer or Heyward and maybe Hanson as well. Smart non-move by the Braves (even if accidental). Hanson will likely be called up about the time Wieters and Price are. And I like Lowe this year and next more than Peavy anyways. Also, trading Flowers to get Vazquez wasn’t too awful a move since 1B are one of the easier positions to fill (I am guessing they expect Flowers to move there) and they have Freeman coming up to take Kotchman’s spot in a few years.

Oakland re-signing Giambi instead of relying on Barton. Both would likely put up similar BA/OBP lines, but Giambi gives you much more power.

manning 1B for the big league club, and Kyle Blanks ready to tear up AAA, the Padres were especially conservative with newly drafted 1B Alan Dykstra (Low-A).

- Obviously, the Dave Roberts signing was a bad move in 2007, but cutting bait this spring with him was a very good move, even though they still have to pay him $6M. It was time to move on.

- I thought picking up Perdomo in the Rule 5 draft from the Cardinals was a decent move and the team gave him a chance to make the squad, but he fizzled out and he didn’t make the club. Veteran Brandon Medders was signed to minor league free agent deal and took that spot and has looked good so far. that’s a small move that could really pay off towards solidifying the bullpen.

- I also liked putting rookie Joe Martinez on the roster as the long reliever instead of other candidates like Ramon Ortiz. Unfortunately, Joe was hit by a Mike Cameron line drive in the head yesterday and was put on the DL with at least a concussion today. We all hope he will be fine and back with the club in no time. Trevor Miller has been called up from AAA to take his spot. Like Medders, Miller is a veteran reliever who signed as a minor league free agent and he had a good spring and hopefully will contribute to making the bullpen better.

- Signing Randy Johnson for $10M/1 year. that’s kinda a lot, but it is a solid addition that won’t effect future payroll. It also provides a veteran presence for young guys like Cain, Sanchez and even Lincecum to learn from.

- The Affeldt and Howry signings this offseason were solid moves to shore up the bullpen. Even though it seems that both are a bit overpaid due to how the market turned out, they were signed early to 1 and 2 year deals, respectively. They aren’t grossly overpaid and won’t hurt the payroll in the long run. I like the moves.

- trading Jack Taschner. yeah, they got Ronnie Paulino for about 5 minutes before flipping him to the Marlins for a minor league bullpen arm, but Jack in SF had run its course and at least the team got something for him.