Major League Baseball

NL West making quick offseason moves

Published Dec. 2, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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When the 2010 season came to an end, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti quickly went to work on 2011. He met with left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly, a potential free agent the Dodgers added for the stretch run, the day after the final game. He contacted Hiroki Kuroda, another potential free agent, within the first week of the offseason to make sure both knew the Dodgers needed them for 2011.

"At the end of the season we had two bona fide starting pitchers, Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw,’’ said Colletti. "When you looked at the free-agent market there was not going to be an abundance of choices, so we struck quick.’’

Not only did they get Kuroda signed to a one-year, $12 million deal, and work out a three-year, $33 million deal with Lilly, but they also lured right-hander Jon Garland, who spent 2010 in San Diego, on a one-year deal that has a $5 million guarantee with incentives worth $3.5 million, all pegged to innings pitched (beginning at 150 innings).

Earlier this week, Colletti landed free agent infielder Juan Uribe, shelling out $21 million over three years to fill the need at second base. And there's talk the Dodgers might even take a stab at a couple clients of agent Scott Boras for backup roles — outfielder Johnny Damon and catcher Jason Varitek.

All of this, and the winter meetings don't even start until next week.

"After the year we had, we knew we were going to be busy,’’ said Colletti. "We are in a division where nobody can afford to sit back and watch.’’

The NL West is arguably the most underappreciated of Major League Baseball's six divisions.

With Atlanta, then Philadelphia, providing runs of postseason success, the NL East has gained most of the notoriety in the National League, and St. Louis' ongoing success, combined with the futility of the Chicago Cubs, has created a focus on the NL Central.

The NL West, meanwhile, has become a victim of balance in terms of publicity.

In the last 10 years, the NL West is the only division in the big leagues in which every team has made at least two postseason appearances. And its members have enjoyed postseason success.

The last three NLCS have featured Philadelphia, a four-time NL East champion, against a member of the NL West — the Dodgers in both 2008 and 2009 and the Giants in 2010.

"You look at our division and it's probably as (even) as any in baseball,’’ said San Diego general manager Jed Hoyer.

The parity is built around pitching.

"San Francisco has the best pitching staff in baseball and we’re probably in the top three of four,’’ said Hoyer. "The Rockies, if you make adjustments for their park, also are among the top pitching staffs in the game. It's why you are always looking for a way to improve.’’

The Padres' big concern is adding offensive protection for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Their big in-season move in 2010 was to bring in outfielder Ryan Ludwick from St. Louis, and their first significant move of this offseason was sending relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica to Florida for outfielder Cameron Maybin, who turns 24 the first week of the 2011 season.

"We feel we still have depth in our bullpen, but the position we were in at the end of last year was we didn't have a shortstop, second baseman and center field. It's hard to play good baseball without strength up the middle. With Maybin, we feel we are stronger up the middle, and at his age we feel he has an upside beyond next year.’’

The Giants and Rockies big moves so far were to retain key players. San Francisco re-signed first baseman Aubrey Huff, matching the two-year, $22 million offer he had received from another team. And after losing Uribe to the Dodgers, Giants general manager Brian Sabean quickly signed Miguel Tejada to a one-year deal.

The Rockies, meanwhile, shook up the baseball world by signing Troy Tulowitzki to a seven-year extension that added $134 million to the $23.5 million he was already guaranteed for the next three years. The move with the most immediate impact was retaining lefty Jorge De La Rosa, who's guaranteed $33 million over the next three years, although he can opt out after the 2012 season. De La Rosa was offered longer and richer deals from both Pittsburgh and Washington, and also had an offer similar to the one he received from the Rockies on the table in San Diego.

The Rockies still want to add another bullpen arm and two right-handed bats who can provide protection at catcher, first base, third base and the corner outfield spots.

"This is the most competitive division in baseball, and the teams feel they have to move on,’’ Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd said. "The Dodgers have had a great winter, already. Arizona is the one team that hasn't done much, but Kevin Towers (the new general manager) will. You know that. He's always looking for ways to make something happen.’’

It is, said Towers, the only way to survive the NL West.

"I've been in this division 15 years,’’ said Towers, former general manager in San Diego, "and you never hear much talk about the teams out here, but you look at the number of teams we have that have advanced in the postseason.

"It's not one or two teams dominating. We have a volatile division from year to year. It's a division where a team can finish fourth one season and win it all the next.’’

So far, Towers' biggest move in Arizona has been the acquisition of lefty Zach Duke from Pittsburgh. He, however, has the attention of other general managers by letting it be known he'd move outfielder Justin Upton, among others.

"We have to change some things after losing 90 games two years in a row,’’ Towers said. "Our ballclub underachieved. When you look at our core players and a good young rotation, you know it's not going to take a lot to be better. We need to shore up our bullpen and add some depth to the bench.’’

OVERHEARD

• Jeff Francis, who underwent shoulder surgery early in the 2009 season and wasn't fully recovered in 2010, has been offered a chance to return to the Rockies, but it would be on a minor-league deal. The New York Mets have emerged as a strong contender for Francis, who they have offered a big-league contract and a legit shot at a spot in the rotation.

• While the Mets have been paring the payroll for their scouts, new general manager Sandy Alderson was able to come up with more than $1 million a year to lure assistant general manager Paul DePodesta away from San Diego. What's more, DePodesta's being allowed to continue to live in La Jolla.

• Long-time advance scout Bob Johnson, who most recently was with the Mets after spending time with Oakland and Texas, has replaced Bobby Wine as the advance man in Atlanta.

• Towers has signed third baseman Sean Burroughs to a minor-league deal. Burroughs, son of former AL MVP Jeff Burroughs and a first-round draft choice of the Padres in 1998 when he was the seventh player selected overall, has been out of pro ball since appearing in four games at Triple-A Tacoma in 2007.

• Garland said teams were reluctant to give him a multi-year deal even though he's worked 190-plus innings each of the last nine seasons because of the results of an MRI taken of his right shoulder. Garland's preference was to pitch for the Dodgers, who addressed the shoulder issue with the extensive incentive package based on innings pitched.

FINAL THOUGHT

The Rockies' decision to lock up shortstop Troy Tulowitzki through 2010, even though he could not have become a free agent until after the 2014 season, was a statement from the organization that it'll step up to keep home-grown talent, if the player wants to stay. The deal with Tulowitzki came while the Rockies ran into a dead end trying to get a long-term deal done with outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, whose agent, Scott Boras, rarely approves a deal that gives up any years of free agency.

Key for the Rockies is the new deal doesn't impact the Rockies' projected payroll until 2015 because it added six years onto the three years plus an option that Tulowitzki had remaining on his previous contract. What's more, Tulowitzki's the only player under contract to the Rockies beginning in 2014.

The Rockies also are banking on continued revenue growth, which has them projecting a payroll of around $120 million by 2015, which means Tulowitzki, at $20 million, would only account for one-sixth of the total payroll.

Tulowitzki, meanwhile, not only gained security, but he already was committed to the Rockies over the next four years and will average $20 million a year in the six additional years in the new contract. He also had seen the way contract uncertainty impacted former teammates, such as Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe.