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IN THIS ISSUE

American League

National League

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
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Signed UTL-S Emilio Bonifacio to a one-year deal worth $3 million with a club option worth $4 million. [1/5]

How Robin Ventura and the White Sox intend to use Bonifacio is up in the air, which is sort of the point. Bonifacio's best attribute, better even than his speed, is his defensive versatility. That he can play across the diamond without embarrassing himself makes him employable. Of course there is a catch: the more Bonifacio plays, the less you'll like him due to his shortcomings at the plate. So while he could enter the season as the everyday second baseman, or as a platoon third baseman, he'll probably end the season where he belongs, in a super-utility role. —R.J. Anderson

Emilio Bonifacio

If Bonifacio starts at second base, this is a more confident up arrow. But right now it looks like there is a chance that Bonifacio fills a utility role with Carlos Sanchez or Micah Johnson winning the second base job. The unproven duo at second base is no sure thing to stick though, meaning Bonifacio could see extended time at the keystone even if he is not the starter on opening day. Being the utility player on the White Sox has other perks for Bonifacio too. The ballpark helps; he could also see some platoon time against lefties spelling Gillaspie at third base, and the White Sox current outfield is interesting, but certainly not durable. There are pretty much no guaranteed at-bats for Bonifacio currently, but there are enough routes for him to get there that he may even be a bargain this year (just do not bank on a repeat of April 2014).

Carlos Sanchez and Mycah Johnson

The Bonifacio signing definitely hurts the two rookies’ values, but it does not completely eliminate their value yet. Either Sanchez or Johnson could still win the second base job, but now their chances are less and even if one does, they will not be afforded as long a leash as was afforded pre-Bonifacio. —Jeff Quinton

DETROIT TIGERS
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Signed LHP Tom Gorzelanny to a one-year deal worth $1 million; designated RHP Luke Putkonen for assignment. [1/6]

Gorzelanny returned in June from offseason shoulder surgery, and looked fine over 23 relief innings with the Brewers. It was the first time since 2009 he hadn't started a game in the majors, but you have to think that'll be a regular occurrence heading forward. Although Gorzelanny has the body to start, his splits and fastball-slider approach have suggested his future is in relief, perhaps as a left-handed specialist. That would be an acceptable outcome given the trivial cost.

MINNESOTA TWINS
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Signed RHP Blaine Boyer to a minor-league deal. [1/7]

You're excused if you missed Boyer's 32-game run with the Padres last season, his first big-league stint since 2011. Yet Boyer deserves a mention because he posted a 3.6 strikeout-to-walk rate and grew one of the worst beards in the majors. His fastball sits from 92-to-94 mph and at times his slider is a quality offering. He has more control than command and won't ascend beyond middle relief, but don't be surprised if you miss him appearing in a similar amount of games with the Twins.

NEW YORK YANKEES
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Signed INF-L Stephen Drew to a one-year deal worth $5 million with incentives that could bring the total value to $6.5 million. [1/6]

Unlike Kendrys Morales, the market didn't give Drew the benefit of the doubt. And so he takes a cheap, one-year deal to return to the Yankees, with whom he finished 2014. The plan here seems to involve using Drew as the most-days second baseman, with Jose Pirela getting a look against lefties. (Rob Refsnyder, meanwhile, figures to begin the season in the minors.) There's no room for the Yankees to lose in this deal. Either Drew returns to his old ways and this is a bargain, or he's dumped in the summer after giving the youngsters a chance to further develop.

The inverse is true for Drew, who needs a good performance to preserve his future prospects. Just how likely is a bounce-back effort? Conjuring historical comparisons for Drew is a tricky business, since only so many players go from a well-above-average offensive season to a well-below-average season. So to increase the sample pool, we chose to ignore positions. From there, we searched for players who tallied at least 200 plate appearances in three consecutive seasons, and whose True Average dropped from .280-plus in year one to the low-.200s in year two.

Even with acknowledging the survivor and selection biases in play, as well as the fact that not every situation is the same, the results should encourage Yankees fans. Of the 16 players who qualified, 12 of them returned to a True Average that would've been slightly below-average or better at second base. The exceptions were Casey McGehee in 2012, Jeff Keppinger in 2009, Brian Jordan in 2005, and Joe McEwing in 2003. McGehee and Keppinger each had solid seasons thereafter (McGehee last year, Keppinger in 2010 and 2012), while Jordan was in his late 30s and at the tail-end of his career, and McEwing never had Drew's pedigree.

What does all of this mean? Not that Drew is a given to rebound, but that history suggests there's a better chance of it than you might suspect.—R.J. Anderson

Stephen Drew

Drew could have landed in a spot that would have made him unrosterable in 99 percent of leagues, but landing with the Yankees and their shortage of second base options make him worth a buck or two in AL-only leagues. He will play second base against righties and would probably start at short against righties should Didi Gregorius struggle. I am not getting excited about Drew at Yankee Stadium, but it certainly does not hurt.

Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela

With the addition of Drew, it looks like neither Refsnyder nor Pirela will start the season with the major league club. The upside (for society) is that Refsnyder is not an aesthetically pleasing name. —Jeff Quinton

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
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Signed INF-S Nick Punto to a minor-league deal. [1/7]

Punto joins organization no. 5 since leaving the Twins following the 2010 season. What was true of him then—can't hit, can field—remains true now, making him little more than an extra infielder. Presumably the D'Backs will shop incumbent utility man Cliff Pennington and his $3.28 million salary in the coming weeks, a move that would create room for Punto on the roster and save money on the margins. The Chip Hale connection to Punto will get mentioned if/when that happens, but it's worth noting that Hale spent as much time around Pennington in Oakland as he did Punto. Maybe Hale is playing favorites; probably not.

ATLANTA BRAVES
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Signed LHP Josh Outman to a one-year deal worth $925,000 with nearly $500,000 available in incentives; designated SS-R Tyler Pastornicky for assignment. [1/7]

John Hart continues to remake Atlanta's bullpen, positioning the Braves to carry five relievers on the Opening Day roster who were acquired during the winter. Outman is the latest addition. A left-handed specialist through and through, Outman has held same-handed batters to a .210 True Average over the past three seasons thanks to a slider-heavy approach. The Braves have a few other southpaws who could crack a big-league bullpen, including James Russell and Luis Avilan, so keep them in mind when you see teams are searching for left-handed relief as camp approaches.

NEW YORK METS
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Signed RHP Buddy Carlyle to a minor-league deal. [1/5]

Carlyle, 37 years old, threw 31 quietly effective innings last season for the Mets. The key to his success? Outstanding control, as he walked fewer than two batters per nine innings. And the key to his control? A fastball-heavy approach, which saw him use his cut-, two-, and four-seam fastballs more than 95 percent of the time. Carlyle is unlikely to repeat his success heading forward—he's signing a minor-league deal in January for a reason—but he's an okay candidate as a low-leverage arm if you're taking the piker's approach to building a bullpen.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
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Signed RHP Aaron Harang to a one-year deal worth $5 million. [1/5]

A sensible deal for the Phillies and one that ensures Harang will continue his tour of the National League East. Harang didn't reinvent himself last season despite throwing more than 200 solid innings with the Braves, but he reaffirmed his status as a tolerable back-end option. Given the price—a million more than the winter's minimum for a healthy vet starter—the Phillies seem to have modest expectations. In all likelihood, Ruben Amaro's dream scenario involves Harang mimicking Roberto Hernandez's 2014: eating innings and keeping up appearances until a contender comes calling. —R.J. Anderson

Aaron Harang

This is really not a great spot for the veteran innings eater that Harang has become. The Phillies will be bad, which hurts his win upside. The park is not great, which will hurt his ratios. If the combination of regression and Citizens Bank Park’s hitter friendliness pushes Harang’s ratios back into unfavorableness, then Harang will hurt your team no matter how deep the league. Fortunately, he will be pitching in the National League East, which does not sport the finest offensive squads at the moment. While I think his increased sinker use will help him tightrope fantasy usefulness, the risk is great enough (in severity more than likelihood) that I will be avoiding Harang. —Jeff Quinton

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bhacking
1/08
The Blue Jays thought Emilio Bonifacio was a second basemen 2 springs ago. Watching spring training and the first few weeks of the season the conclusion is clear that he is not.
oldbopper
1/09
I agree with you 100%. The first weekend series against Boston in 2013 was the worst performance I have ever seen and I felt it helped poison a Blue Jays team that thought it was a contender.
sbnirish77
1/09
I wish the Yankees had signed Bonifacio at $ 4mil instead of Stephen Drew at $ 5mil. Derek Jeter had a better chance to return to form than Drew.

Actually they should have kept Prado at 2B, told Arod to get his %^$ to 3B and earn his money and forgot Headley.

Instead they keep making one bad decision after another.

Now they have the carcass of Drew at 2B (of which they had a front row seat to see last year), another weak bat at SS, need two platoon partners for both (and one of these will be Brendan Ryan?), have two 1Bs, and guaranteed that ARODs $25 mil bat will block a host of other possible DH candidates.

Good luck managing that bench when looking for a PH in the late innings.

Good luck working with that bench