Los Angeles Dodgers sign Eugenio Velez, Godzilla comes to the Bay Area, Cliff Lee signs with Philadelphia Phillies

The Dodgers have reached an agreement with former Giants utility man Eugenio Velez to a minor league deal. Velez, 28, was non-tendered earlier in the month and was given numerous opportunities to succeed over the years. His career statistics are found here.

Although he occasionally sparked the Giants with his lightning speed and quick bat , his head spasms, defensive mishaps, and over-aggressive plate appearances posed a problem. One such occurrence cost the Giants an extra-inning game against Philadelphia early in 2010, where he dropped a Wilson Valdez fly ball.
That video can be found here. Also, check out this classic Eugenio moment where he lost track of how many outs there were. Don't forget when he got hit on the head by a foul ball.


Good luck with the Eugenio relationship, Dodgers. Still, I really liked him for some reason.


In other news, the A's finally got the potent bat they were looking for. According to Mlbtraderumors.com, the A's signed Hideki Matsui for a one-year $4.25 million dollar contract. Matsui, 36, hit .274 with 21 home runs last year with the angels. Not to mention, he has played postseason baseball with the Yankees, hitting a career .312 with 10 career home runs. He would serve primarily as the DH. Hopefully for the A's, he has a Frank Thomas-like impact on the team.


The A's have also been talking to Rich Harden, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Harden appears to have better offers elsewhere. The A's are also talking to Justin Duchscherer.

In a surprising twist of events, Cliff Lee has signed with the Phillies for five years at 120 million. The Yankees and Rangers reportedly offered more money, according to Mlbtraderumors.com, but Lee preferred to play in a city he liked for less money, a rarity for athletes today. Damon Bruce of KNBR speculates that this will happen only ten times in a lifetime, and I have to agree with him. Money trumps location overwhelmingly. Just look at Carl Crawford for example. At least the Cliff Lee rumors can now be silenced.

Lastly, CSN Bay Area reported that World Series MVP Edgar Renteria was offered a 1 million dollar one-year contract by the Giants, but has not responded. Even Renteria's agent had a hard time getting a hold of Renteria. Although, from what I read and heard from Mlbtraderumors.com, Renteria is leaning toward re-signing with the Giants as a backup shortstop. If the Giants can get this done, it would be a solid low-risk move that would put experience back on the bench.

Next, I will be continuing my NL West preview with the Colorado Rockies. Will they have what it takes to win the West in 2011? Also, I will have something fun posted as well. Until then, the host stove is sizzling. 

Picture attribution: StormXor

XZU7UBCXKTUD