| Authored by Andrew Perna - 21st July, 2011 - 1:52 pm
 Signings and trades are often graded just hours after they are completed. We here at RealGM are often guilty of premature analysis, but in a course correction we will go division-by-division and re-grade the biggest offseason additions from each team.
Boston
The Red Sox acquire Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres in December and sign him to a seven-year, $154 million deal in mid-April
The Red Sox sent pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and outfielder Reymond Fuentes to San Diego for the slugging first baseman. At this point, a little more than a half-season into his tenure, Gonzalez has been an overwhelming success. Kelly, Rizzo and Fuentes could all become above-average Major Leaguers and the Sox would still seemingly come out on top.
The $154 million deal signed by Gonzalez has a slightly lower average value ($22 million) than the contract Mark Teixeira received from the Yankees prior to the 2009 season ($22.5 million). He was seeking a deal in that realm and certainty got his wish. Boston is thrilled that he is outplayed his New York counterpart as well.
All the first baseman has done since arriving in Boston is hit the ball. His average has been north of .300 since April 28 and he is leading the AL in average (.342) and RBI (77). He ranks third among AL position players in WAR (4.7) and has been nearly as valuable defensively as with a bat in his hand. An MVP season would be a nice footnote to what the Red Sox hope is a World Series victory.
Re-Grade for Red Sox: A+
The Red Sox sign Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million deal
The seven-year deal Crawford signed with Boston is worth $12 million less overall (or $1.7 million annually) than that of Gonzalez and his value to the team this season has been nearly microscopic in comparison
He will turn 30 in just a few weeks and the Red Sox are sleeping soundly knowing that he has at least three to four years left in his prime as a multifaceted force. In the first half, however, Crawford was a disappointment. He is hitting .243/.275/.384 with six home runs and 31 RBI. He is just 8-for-12 in stolen base attempts.
His OBP (.275) is lower than his average has been in seven of the last eight seasons. He hit just .155 in April, but brought his average up by hitting .304 in May. Of his 64 hits, only 21 have been for extra bases. Imagine how unbeatable Boston would be if Crawford was having even an average season.
Re-Grade for Red Sox: B-
New York
The Yankees sign Derek Jeter to a three-year, $51 million contract with an $8 million player option for 2014
Due to outside factors that pop up when a player leads a team to five World Series titles, the Yankees overpaid to re-sign Jeter and avoid a public relations explosion had they allowed him to seriously consider signing with another team.
Jeter took exception to the way the talks were handled, but he has not exactly quieted doubters with his play this season. He is hitting a career-low .268/.328/.348 for the Yankees and missed time with a calf injury that allowed bench player Eduardo Nunez to shine.
The shortstop hit .349 in 1999, one point higher than his slugging percentage (.348). He has hit better since surpassing 3,000 hits for his career and the Yankees cannot complain about the money made on all the Jeter memorabilia that is being pumped in the Tri-State area.
Re-Grade for Yankees: C-
The Yankees sign Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million contract
This could go down as the worst baseball decision made this past winter. New York general manager Brian Cashman famously did not want to offer Soriano the contract and he has been vindicated thus far.
Soriano has pitched just 15 innings for the Yankees in 2011 due to ineffectiveness and injury. The right-hander has allowed nine runs in 16 appearances, giving him a 5.40 ERA and nine holds. In his previous six seasons, Soriano had posted an ERA of 3.00 or less. New York thought they were getting the reliever that notched 45 saves for Tampa Bay and posted a 1.73 ERA in 64 games last season.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are playing Dave Robertson approximately $500,000 to be even better than Soriano was for the Rays in 2010.
Re-Grade for Yankees: D+
The Yankees sign pitchers Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to minor-league contracts
New York took flyers on Colon and Garcia and even if they are largely ineffective over the remainder of the season the Yankees will have more than recouped their investments. Colon is making a mere $900,000, while Garcia is earning a little more at $1.5 million for the season.
Colon has made 13 starts for New York, going 6-5 with a very good 3.47 ERA. He has 79 strikeouts against just 24 walks and opponents are hitting .251 when he is on the mound. His last outing (July 14) was horrendous, but the former Cy Young winner (2005) has eight quality starts.
Garcia is 7-7 with a 3.43 ERA in 16 starts for the Yankees. He has a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio and has allowed the same number of hits as innings pitched (97). The right-hander has allowed more than three runs just four times, which is what the high-powered Yankees want from a starting pitcher.
Re-Grade for Yankees: A
Tampa Bay
The Rays sign Kyle Farnsworth to a one-year, $2.6 million deal
Farnsworth, 35, is having the best season of his career after inking a one-year deal with Tampa Bay to help fill the void left behind by Rafael Soriano. The reliever has a career-high 18 saves, a career-low 1.89 ERA and a 3.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Meanwhile, Soriano is making approximately $9 million more this season in New York.
Re-Grade for Rays: A
The Rays sign Johnny Damon to a one-year, $5.25 million deal
Tampa Bay has gotten decent production from Damon, who is producing similarly to what he did with the Tigers and Yankees in the last two years. His power numbers are down a bit, but he is hitting .275/.322/.420 and will approach 20 home runs and 80 RBI. He would be a bargain for a rival like New York or Boston, but is still a nice piece for Tampa Bay.
Re-Grade for Rays: B+
The Rays sign Manny Ramirez to a one-year, $2 million contract
Ramirez played in just five games for Tampa Bay before abruptly retiring when news broke that he was facing a lengthy drug-related suspension. He hit just .059 with a single RBI and four strikeouts in 17 at-bats. The Rays have two factors in their favor on this one. They had no way of knowing Ramirez would retire a week into the season and even at his age, 39, there is no way he would have hit poorly over the entire season.
Re-Grade for Rays: Incomplete
Toronto
The Blue Jays sign Jose Bautista to a five-year, $65 million contract extension
Bautista is making just $8 million in the first year of his new deal and Toronto is getting a $20-plus million dollar slugger. He ranks first in the AL in home runs, walks, slugging and OPS. The outfielder/third baseman is second in batting average and runs scored.
Adrian Gonzalez is standing in the way, but Bautista is a legitimate threat to the Triple Crown. Many are still waiting for his hot season-and-a-half to end, but opposing pitchers will tell you that there is no conclusion in sight.
Re-Grade for Blue Jays: A+
The Blue Jays acquire Rajai Davis from the Athletics for a pair of pitching prospects
Toronto thought the cost was low for a potential top-shelf leadoff hitter and while it was, Davis has struggled at the plate. With 25 stolen bases, he has the speed you want in a table-setter, but his OBP (.261) leaves much to be desired.
After hitting .284 and .305 with Oakland in each of the last two seasons, he is simply not getting on base enough to be productive for the Blue Jays. He hit .295 in May (with a .339 OBP), but just .163 in June while getting on base just 17% of the time.
Re-Grade for Blue Jays: C+
Baltimore
The Orioles acquire J.J. Hardy from the Twins for a pair of pitching prospects
Hardy has been an upgrade for Baltimore at shortstop as he is enjoying arguably the best season of his career. He is hitting .278/.335/.490 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI in just 65 games. Hardy exploded in June, hitting .362/.409/.686 with nine homers and 19 RBI in 105 at-bats.
Clearly happy with the trade, the Orioles gave Hardy a three-year, $22 million contract extension over the weekend. He has been a great defensive player for Baltimore as well, providing nice value not only this season but over the next few years as well.
Re-Grade for Orioles: A
The Orioles acquire Mark Reynolds from the Diamondbacks for relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio
Looking for sluggers, Baltimore dealt pitching for Reynolds, a known all-or-nothing swinger. He has been exactly that in 2011 with 20 home runs, but 103 strikeouts and a .223 batting average. He is walking at a greater rate than he did in Arizona, giving him an OBP of .339 despite his horrible average.
It is hard to say exactly what role Hernandez would have played for Baltimore this season. He made 41 appearances (including eight starts) for the Orioles with a 4.31 ERA and a tad less than a strikeout per inning in 2010.
He has been closing games for Arizona this month because of injury and has six saves in as many opportunities without allowing a single run.
Re-Grade for Orioles: B
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