Big Trades in Major League Baseball's Offseason This Year

The new major league baseball season is almost upon us and as the MLB's best return to spring training in the south, and baseball fever begins to spread slowly across the limits of American cities leading up to April, it's a good time to stop and look at what's changed in the offseason and who stands to benefit the most from those changes.

Baseball's offseason is always a busy time. The winter meetings are filled with trades, free agent signings and fans everywhere hoping this is the year their team makes the move for the big name player who will turn everything around. The MLB is huge, full of hundreds of players and millions of fans, and those winter months can mean life or death to an MLB franchise.

First off, there was that Randy Johnson trade back in January. Who would have thought after all the hullabaloo about getting him in the first place, the Yankees would be so keen to deal away the Big Unit. Well, a mediocre performance for three years will make the Yankees get rid of anyone, so I'm not surprised, but he's back on his World Series ring winning team and the Yankees actually didn't get a whole lot for him. It remains to be seen if he's just getting old and ready to retire or if the stress of playing for New York was too much for him, but Randy Johnson's got a couple more years left at least to prove himself.

Jeff Conine went to the Reds for some minor leaguers. The Reds are getting a proven First Baseman and a great hitting option, something they could use in their injury plagued lineup. For a team that is as much of a tossup as the Reds are every year for playoff contention, it's no surprise that bringing in a veteran to help at first base is a good move.

The Mariners traded for Jose Vidro to replace their two year old vacancy at Designated Hitter. The injury beleaguered former NL slugger might stand a chance of putting himself back together in a DH position, having once hit over .300. The opportunity is good for him, but the Mariners have a bad habit of putting too much money and time into possibly good investments instead of sure things.