Baseball winter meetings open in Las Vegas
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LAS VEGAS -- Baseball’s annual winter meetings opened here this morning, but a handful of teams didn’t wait until sun-up to get busy.
The Detroit Tigers, in need of depth behind the plate, completed a trade with the Texas Rangers for catcher Gerarld Laird, a Westminster native. The 29-year-old Laird hit .276 with four homers and 41 RBIs in 95 games last season. And the Angels won’t be sad to see him leave the division, because Laird’s six homers and 22 RBIs lifetime against them are the most he has against any team.
The deal, in which Texas acquired double-A pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and 17-year-old pitching prospect Carlos Melo, is expected to be among the first moves formally announced today. Not that other teams aren’t trying. The Yankees met Sunday with representatives for Milwaukee’s CC Sabathia, the most coveted pitcher on the free-agent market. The left-hander is likely to command a deal somewhere in the area of $150 million for six years, which would be a record for pitchers. Sabathia was in Las Vegas for last Saturday’s Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight.
The Mets were also working late Sunday, meeting with former Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets are without a closer, and Rodriguez, who had a record 62 saves last season, is the top reliever on the free-agent market.
-- Kevin Baxter