Even though this is a Dodgers website, it's always good to keep an eye on the rest of the division. In case you've been missing out, here's various notes about the rest of the NL West.
Diamondbacks - They made a good deal yesterday and one that left me scratching my head. The good was acquiring RH Dan Haren. The bad was trading away closer Jose Valverde in the same day. Despite giving up 6 minor leaguers, getting Haren is a huge plus since they can put him with Brandon Webb and make a sick 1-2 punch. If they can get anything out of Randy Johnson, then look out. I really don't understand that Valverde trade, though. He was 47-54 in saves last year, which would seem pretty darn good to me. There must be something negative about him I'm not aware of, so maybe they did the right thing. But when Brandon Lyon and Tony Pena are your main replacement options, that's not exactly going to scare the other team to the showers.
Giants - They got rid of Barry Bonds, which is the right thing to do. Then they signed OF Aaron Roward to a 5 year/$60 million deal. Anyone who pays even the slightest attention to Rowand knows that he plays his ass off every game, so it's a good signing. He was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner for the first time last year (great timing). The Giants were dangling Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain out there, but did not have to give them up. If they did trade one of those guys, they would have been even dumber that I thought. But they didn't. Getting Rowand and keeping the kids is a nice start, but they still have a long ways to go before they can compete in the West again.
Padres - They've made three veteran acquisitions and resigned their main gun. First of all, they took care of business by resigning Cy Young winner Jake Peavy to a 3 year/$52 million extension. Very smart move. He's there until at least 2012, and has an option for 2013. He and Chris Young are another great combo. They signed 2B Tadahito Iguchi, who can easily replace Marcus Giles, who sucked out loud last year. They also nabbed LH starter Randy Wolf. Wolf was having a decent season with the Dodgers last year, but once again ran into shoulder problems that would shut him down after 18 starts. Finally, they just traded for OF Jim Edmonds, who's been playing since Carter was president. But, with Mike Cameron not coming back, it's a pretty good trade. Can he stay healthy?
Rockies - The NL champions have not had much activity this offseason. They lost 2B Kaz Matsui to the Astros, which will hurt. He really seemed to enjoy playing in Colorado, and was great at the top of the lineup. Playing in Houston won't be any different for him. They extended RH Aaron Cook for 3 years/$30 million. He had a 4.12 ERA in 25 starts last year, which is good for Colorado. Other minor tidbits are that they got C Yorvit Torrealba and RH Matt Herges back. They made the World Series last year, so it's not like they needed to make major moves.
More updates in the future if anything major happens.
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