I am glad it is not my team on either one of them, but I think the Red Sox felt like they had to do something. I will say with Ramirez if he is going to play left field, it doesn't get much easier than Fenway Park.

I'd lean toward the "felt disrespected" angle. When the discussions (from "insiders") continually harped on his weight, his ability to play full seasons, his seeming lack of power, or when he'd have to be moved to the AL, he dutifully played the good soldier role, but I suspect it bothered him.

Ramirez deal 4/$88M with $22M option.

Im pretty hammered right now.

The Blue Jays have struck a deal to acquire third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Athletics, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Infielder Brett Lawrie, righty Kendall Graveman, and shortstop Franklin Barreto are part of the package going back. .

While we wait for the rest of this deal to shake out, the fact that it has franchise-changing implications is apparent on its face. Donaldson, 28, and Lawrie, 24, have each been viewed as cornerstone third basemen for their respective clubs.

Donaldson is, of course, the best piece moving in this swap. A late bloomer, he had emerged as one of the game’s most valuable players over the last two seasons. Collectively, he has slashed .277/.363/.477 with 53 home runs and 13 stolen bases over 1,262 plate appearances since the start of 2013. With stellar defense included, Donaldson has racked up 15.4 rWAR and 14.1 fWAR in that span.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

4 years for a 34 year old roided up DH. Have fun with that.

One of the more successful 1st round picks of the Hendry era. Of course, paying no dividends for the club that drafted him.

He was traded 5 years before he would make it in the bigs for Rich Harden in a year where they were going to the playoffs. Cant really criticize that.

4 years for a 34 year old roided up DH. Have fun with that.

The Astros first began targeting Evan Gattis last summer. And when they asked about Gattis again early in the offseason, the Braves came back with an interesting response, according to major-league sources:

Maybe, if you take B.J. Upton, too.

The talks were wide-ranging, but the Braves asked for center fielder Dexter Fowler and a pitching prospect at one point and also inquired about catcher Carlos Corporan, sources said.

...

Upton's money, though, proved an insurmountable obstacle in the Astros' talks with the Braves. The Astros did not want to increase payroll by such a large amount at a time when they are looking to upgrade the left side of their infield and spend big on a free-agent reliever such as David Robertson or Andrew Miller.

Braves non-tender Beachy and Medlen. Cubs should get in on that.

So....how about a potential staff of all or some of Arietta, Jason Hammel, Medlen, Beachy, Travis Wood and Hendricks?

I don't see how this could go wrong!

Everth Cabrera non-tendered by Padres. Good player on the field.