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The defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals have filled their need for a lefthander in their bullpen. 

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak announced Thursday that the club has signed free-agent left-handed pitcher J.C. Romero to a one-year contract.  Romero has spent parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball.

Romero, 35, had his best season in 2007 as a member of the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.  Pitching in a combined 74 games, Romero allowed just 12 earned runs in 56 1/3 innings (1.92 ERA). 

The Cardinals have opted to not re-sign veteran Arthur Rhodes, which leaves Marc Rzepczynski as the lone-lefty in the bullpen. 

The Romero signing is one of three made by the Cardinals in the past week.  Shortstop Rafael Furcal and utility-man Skip Schumaker both received two-year contracts.  This comes after the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols in free-agency to the Anaheim Angels.

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The Royals were in dire need of a utility infielder.  They did not have to look far to find one.

Yuniesky Betancourt and the Royals agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with incentives.  If Betancourt can become a full-time player, he could be paid $2.5 million next season.

Betancourt, 29, spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Royals.  In that time, he batted .253 with 20 home runs and 105 RBIs in 222 games played.  Betancourt spent that time as a shortstop and has only seen nine games at second base in his seven-year career.

Alcides Escobar is slated to be the Royals’ starting shortstop in 2012, as manager Ned Yost reportedly plans to play him 150-plus games in the position.  Johnny Giavotella and Chris Getz will be battling for the second base position in training camp.  According to Royals General Manager Dayton Moore, Betancourt has a better opportunity to overtake the starting role at second base, despite his inexperience at the position.

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The Minnesota Twins are looking to improve their dismal starting rotation numbers in 2012.

Last season, the Twins starters combined to post the third-worst ERA (4.64), while also striking out just 617 batters in 961 innings-pitched.

The Twins have outsourced to fix this problem, signing veteran right-hander Jason Marquis to a one-year, $3 million contract. 

Marquis, 33, posted an 8-5 record with a 3.95 ERA as a member of the Washington Nationals last season.  He was then sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30, where he was 0-1, posting a 9.53 ERA in just three starts.  Marquis missed the last month and a half of the 2011 season with a broken right fibula after being hit by a line drive. 

Marquis was a National League All-Star in 2009 as a member of the Colorado Rockies.  His best season came in 2004 when he posted a 15-7 record and recorded a 3.71 ERA as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Claude Giroux is proving that concussions do not have a set timetable for return.  For some players, problems with concussions have spanned throughout multiple seasons.

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins has missed 68 games – and counting – with a concussion.  David Perron of the St. Louis Blues recently missed 97 games with a concussion issue.  It seems that Giroux will miss just four games.

Reports suggest that Giroux will be back in the lineup tonight in Dallas.

Giroux has been sidelined since December 10 after colliding with teammate Wayne Simmonds.  When Giroux missed his first game, he was the league’s leading scorer with 39 points.  Currently, he is tied for first with Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Phil Kessel (Toronto) and Henrik Sedin (Vancouver).

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Deryk Engelland may not have received a charging penalty during the game but NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan may be assessing punishment nonetheless.

In the Penguins’ 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night, Engelland delivered a crushing blow to Chicago Blackhawks rookie Marcus Krueger at the 8:55 mark of the first period.  While Krueger was entering the Penguins’ zone, Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis wrapped him up at the blue line.  Engelland approached Krueger from his right and hit him near the boards.  Engelland led with his forearm, knocking Krueger to the ice.  Despite the monstrous collision, Krueger bounced right back up as Engelland fought with Krueger’s teammate, John Scott.  Engelland was assessed a major penalty for fighting while Scott received a 5:00 major for fighting, a 2:00 fight-instigator minor and a game misconduct. 

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The Avalanche have completed a total overhaul in the goaltending department.

Earlier today, the Avalanche traded their first-round draft pick in 2012 and their second-round pick in either 2012 or 2013 to Washington for goaltender Semyon Varlamov.  Now, J.S. Giguere has decided to head to the Mile High City.

The Avalanche’s decisions have also forced former back-up goalie Peter Budaj to sign with the Montreal Canadiens and former starting goalie Brian Elliott to sign with the St. Louis Blues.

Giguere is likely to be the top-guy in Colorado next season.  He posted an 11-11-4 record as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, recording a 2.87 GAA and a .900 save percentage.  He was held to just 33 games played due to a groin injury.

Continue reading "Colorado Avalanche Sign Jean-Sebastien Giguere"

A recent Stanley Cup Champion has been brought in to Dallas.

The contract is reportedly for 2 years, $7 million ($3.5M cap-hit).

Michael Ryder, who had 8 goals, 9 assists and 17 points in 25 games during the Bruins Championship playoff-run, signed a two-year deal worth $3.5 million per season. 

Ryder, 31, scored 18 goals, 23 assists and 41 points in 79 games played for Boston last season.  It was announced Thursday that the Bruins decided to let Ryder walk as a free-agent, which in turn made him a highly sought-after free-agent this summer. 

The Stars were 17th in the NHL in goals-scored last season.  Ryder will not help this rank too much, but he will be a strong pick-up for other reasons.  He adds speed and determination to the lineup, as well as the all-important Stanley Cup experience.  He will grind into the boards and work out loose pucks.  He will probably fit on a second line with Jamie Benn.

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In what may go down as one of the most underrated signings today, the Penguins have brought in right-winger Steve Sullivan.

Sullivan, 36, signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract.  The speedy winger contributed 10 goals, 12 assists and 22 points in 44 games last season for the Nashville Predators.  While he has lost a bit of his scoring touch (he once scored 34 goals for the Blackhawks in 2000-01 during the dead-puck era), Sullivan still can get the job done.  Keep in mind that the Predators are a defense-first team; it’s a completely different philosophy in Pittsburgh.

Last season, the Penguins had to rely on Chris Kunitz (23G-25—48) and Tyler Kennedy (21-24—45) late last season due to star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going down with injuries.  The Penguins have always been strong up the middle, but the lack of depth on the wings has hindered them from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in the past few seasons. 

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The most generic name in sports is officially a Phoenix Coyote.

Mike Smith, who played for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, will be given a shot at being a #1 goaltender this coming season. 

Ilya Bryzgalov, former starting goalie for the Coyotes, had a high asking-price that Phoenix could not meet.  They shipped his rights to Philadelphia and re-signed back-up goalie Jason LaBarbera to a two-year, $2.5 million contract.

Rumors are that LaBarbera will be given a chance to be the top guy next season, but Mike Smith was brought in as a possible split-starter.  The contract is reportedly a two-year deal that will pay him $4 million ($2M cap-hit).

Smith posted a 13-6-1 record last season with Tampa Bay, recording a 2.90 GAA and a .899 save percentage.  Smith had his best season in 2006-07 as a member of the Dallas Stars, posting a 12-9-0 record with a 2.23 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

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It’s already been a busy day for the Florida Panthers.

Heading into hour #2 of the first day of free-agency, the Panthers have already locked up Jose Theodore, Scottie Upshall and Ed Jovanovski.

Jovanovski, who’s deal is reportedly for four years and will pay him $16.4 million in that time ($4.125M cap-hit), has played for the Phoenix Coyotes for the past five seasons, will return to the team that drafted him 17 years ago. 

Jovanovski, 35, adds a veteran presence to a young Florida blue line.  The team recently added Brian Campbell at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, so Jovanovski is yet another veteran that this team needed. 

The 6’3” 221 lb. defenseman will add a big shot from the blue line as well as a tough bag of knuckles in front of his net.  In 50 games last season, Jovanovski had 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points and 39 penalty minutes. 

Continue reading "Florida Panthers Sign Ed Jovanovski"