Deals could benefit Rockies

There have a bunch of seemingly minor deals over the last couple of days, but some of them could have impacts in both fantasy and real baseball.
-- The Rockies gave up just LHP Josh Outman and middle infielder Jonathan Herrera to get OF Drew Stubbs from the Indians and LHP Franklin Morales and inconsequential minor league RHP Chris Martin from the Red Sox. It wasn't too long ago that Stubbs was a viable center fielder, with plenty of homers and a few homers. Someone in Colorado must like Morales, entering his second stint with the Rockies. Outman has shown some promise in years past, but hasn't extended his encouraging numbers over a full season.
-- In another trade, the Braves required versatile C/OF/1B Ryan Doumit for at least bench strength from the Twins for minor league LHP Sean Gilmartin.
-- The Astros, finally showing some creativity and ability to identify sleepers by trading SS Ryan Jackson, recently acquired on waivers from the Cardinals, to the Padres for 1B/OF Jesus Guzman. He is expected to compete for Houston's first base job but even more likely could be at least a right-handed-hitting DH. Guzman has a bat; Jackson has a glove. In the Texas League, Guzman was a far more impressive performer than Jackson. The downside is that Guzman arrived late in the majors and won't have a very long shelf life. But the Astros didn't have Jackson long enough to miss him and essentially acquired a needed bat for nothing.
-- Another good move, countering some of the Mariners' earlier off-season deals, was resigning OF Franklin Gutierrez. He was injured this season, but if he's physically able he could recapture center field, play some right, be a fourth outfielder/DH or at the very least be a defensive replacement for the lumbering players who could end up in Seattle's outfield. Gutierrez is hardly an automatic out at the plate. The loser in the off-season wheeling and dealing seems to be Dustin Ackley. For his sake, he may be able to escape the Mariners and become a viable 2B/OF somewhere else with a fresh start. He's young enough that he should have some value that could bring back a useful player in a trade.
-- The Padres also reportedly signed RHP Joaquin Benoit for $14 million over the next two seasons, pending a physical.
-- The Diamondbacks reportedly have agreed to resign 1B/3B Eric Chavez for a year.
-- The Royals traded OF David Lough to the Orioles for DH/3B Danny Valencia. This is a lefty batter (Lough) for righty trade. Valencia has more power; Lough is far superior defensively.
-- The Orioles' reported signing of RHP Grant Balfour for 2 years and $14 million makes it a de facto trade of closers after the Athletics acquired RHP Jim Johnson from Baltimore. The O's could be gambling that 2B Jemile Weeks, obtained in the Johnson trade, can be a useful major leaguer. I have my doubts but if he succeeds that could be a bonus.
-- In other news, Rays SS Tim Beckham, a former No. 1 draft pick, underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in a knee. That means he wouldn't be back until somewhere between June and August. I predict that you'll soon hear he'll be ready at the All-Star break, a magical time when so many players seem to heal. And as the break keeps growing, that becomes even more possible.
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Hockey. I seem to be stuck on 63 1/2 points and in third place. I'll pick up a point or so in one category and drop one in another area. The main thing is that I have to avoid continued wrong decisions on goalies. I'm down to six points total in the three goalie categories. Even an average showing in those areas would add 10 1/2 points and put me in second place on most days. Plus/minus also remains a problem. I seem to be taking one step forward and two back.
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Basketball. Through Wednesday, I had a slim 4-3-1 lead this week. Maintaining that would get me up to .500 at last, but I might have to do better to avoid dropping into eighth overall in the 10-team league. There's plenty of room and not a very long way to go to reach the top. Because so many teams are close, it becomes more important to make the right choices and especially to make lineup changes on time.

So much for calm before the meetings

I take back what I wrote about teams' being likely to coast into the winter meetings. Now I'm wondering whether there will be any deals left to make.
The Athletics clearly are leaving nothing to chance to alleviate their long dry spell in playoff series, epitomized by Derek Jeter and Jeremy Giambi.
After signing free-agent LHP Scott Kamir to a reported 2-year, $22-million contract, Oakland
-- Traded surplus 2B Jemile Weeks and a player to be named to the Orioles for RHP Jim Johnson, the major league leader in saves each of the last two seasons.
-- As insurance or at least a setup man, acquired RHP Luke Gregerson from the Padres for OF Seth Smith.
-- Dealt young OF Michael Choice and infielder Chris Bostick to the division-rival Rangers for OF Craig Gentry and Quadruple-A RHP Josh Lindblom.
Before I go further, let me interpret what this means for the A's.
Their pitching, top to bottom, could be the best in baseball next season. This is an organization that hasn't made spectacular moves in recent years, but has added incrementally for great improvement. The 2013 season could have been called "Moneyball II"; the coming year could be "Moneyball III."
$11 million a year for Kazmir might seem steep, but he made a major comeback for the Indians this year, and was even better than his 10-9 record down the stretch -- 7-5 with a 3.06 ERA in his last 18 starts. He'll be starting home games in a better pitchers' park.
Can Kazmir, a multi-year All-Star, head a rotation? Possibly, or Oakland might strike paydirt with a young pitcher such as RHPs Sonny Gray, Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Daniel Straily or LHPs Tommy Milone or Brett Anderson. Parker and Griffin were very tough in the latter stages of 2013, much better than I would have anticipated after seeing them in Double-A. Anderson could be bait in still another trade -- for infield defense? even more bullpen help? left-handed power?
At 30, Kazmir should be more mature than he was in his early 20s. His arrival most likely means that 40-year-old RHP Bartolo Colon, an 18-game winner in '13, is free to sign elsewhere as a free agent.
The dependence on young starting pitcher also could blow up in the Athletics' faces. But I don't think so in this case.
Gentry, who can fly, would bring improved defense in a park with a large outfield. He could play center field, or left field -- with OF Yoenis Cespedes available as a DH.
Probably more to come later tonight, after I'm finished with Bobcats-Mavericks.