Casual Fan's MLB Offseason Roundup

I think of myself as a decent fan of Major League Baseball. Yet, every spring I embarrassingly find myself puzzled as to how I could miss a fairly notable veteran has changed teams. Maybe I focus too much on other sports (Football, Basketball), but whatever the cause is, I'm here to help others avoid this feeling. Let's take a look at a few noteworthy offseason moves you may have missed.

Let's start off with a couple of acquisitions made by the Arizona Diamondbacks. They acquired Mark Trumbo back in December, via a three-team trade. Despite Trumbo's mediocre average (.250 for his career), the move makes sense for Arizona because of the pop he can offer their lineup. In his three full MLB seasons, Trumbo has averaged over 30 HRs per year, with a low mark of 29. The Diamondbacks had one player hit 15 or more last season.

They also signed veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo to a fairly sizeable two-year, $23.5 million dollar contract just a few days ago. Arroyo provides veteran leadership, and durability (never once placed on the DL in the bigs) for the D-Backs. This is a move I'm betting most people missed as it didn't get much national attention. Likely because outlets like ESPN have so many other stories on their dockets (Super Bowl fallout, Winter Olympics, a weekend full of basketball, etc.).

Sticking with the theme of veteran pitchers coming to the NL West, a move that may have been overlooked was the Giants signing three-time All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson. San Francisco has us hoping he can recover from the ankle injury that sidelined him at the end of last season. Hudson has never posted an ERA at or above 4 and has won over 15 games in each of his last three full seasons. He's a good signing by the Giants, because there is almost no way he produces less than Barry Zito, the guy he's replacing.

This past offseason Rafael Furcal quietly signed a one-year deal with the Miami Marlins after missing all of 2013. A do-it-all type of middle infielder Furcal has done one thing consistently his whole career, and that's win. He's reached the playoffs in 9 of his first 13 MLB seasons. He could provide a young Marlins team (as if there exists any other kind) with some much needed leadership in the clubhouse.

Heath Bell, formerly known as a stout closer for the Padres and the guy who slid at the 2011 All-Star game. The Rays acquired the veteran reliever through a three-team trade. Although he likely won't close for them, he could be a very useful 7th or 8th inning guy. Bell did have over 40 saves three consecutive years in San Diego, so the talent is there, or at least it was.

Lastly, there's Dexter Fowler, who was traded to Houston this winter. Still fairly young (27), but a veteran in my book seeing as how he's been a fixture in Colorado's outfield since Obama's inauguration. Fowler seems to be forever trapped as someone known for his potential because of modest numbers and freakish athleticism. He's still a solid offensive contributor and covers a ton of ground in the outfield. The biggest reason for this trade flying under the radar, however, is because one of the teams involved is the Astros. Houston over the past three seasons has accrued over 320 loses, and in the process have become completely irrelevant sans the occasional joke at their expense.

This is not to say that these are the only offseason transactions of note. Clearly, the Cano's of the world matter, but most everyone who has had internet access over the past three months is aware of his change in address. These are the guys whose offseason headlines failed to garner headlines outside their local news markets. Hopefully this post helps some people avoid being negatively judged by their baseball-loving fans for not keeping up with hot-stove news this winter.