Some Minor Early Season Moves

The 2009 MLB season has not been short on excitement or surprises but a few things are remaining constant in the early months. The Blue Jays are still leading the charge in the AL East and the Yankees are still sputtering. The Marlins are continuing to be young team on the rise and all stars like Johan Santana are not disappointing. While there seems to be constant excitement on the field there have also been a few minor changes this past week in terms of personnel and players. Here is a quick look back on the week that was and moves that were made throughout the AL and the NL.

The Oakland Athletics are widely known as a low budget team that is always willing to make changes to better their club. While they do not make big moves or sign expensive free agents they are consistently competitive thanks to their minor additions. The club made another such edition this past week by acquiring infielder Adam Kennedy from the Tampa Bay Rays. Kennedy was once the ALCS MVP in 2002 with the LA Angels but since then has been unable to repeat such a performance. He is a 10 year veteran in the league and is known for his scrappy and gutsy play. He should bring a new heir to the team and help them push through some extra runs.

In another minor trade the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs struck a deal exchanging utility player Ryan Freel for outfielder Joey Gathright. The Cubs have been decimated by injuries and Freel should be able to help fill the void. He is a speedy veteran that has the ability to play practically any position in the field from 2B to CF. With players like Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and others out with injuries, Freel can step in immediately and play a number of positions on the team.

In Gathright the Orioles get an underachieving player that was expected to become an all star. For years it was predicted that he would become a steady 20-20 player at the very least but he has been unable to come into his own. He is batting a meager .214 so far on the season and really has not done a lot to garner any playing team. However it is a good move for the Orioles as he does have potential. If he could find a way to harness his talent and play up to the level he is capable of then this trade could be quite a steal for a rebuilding team.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have already made a coaching change after struggling out of the gate early in the season. The team announce that they had hired former catcher A.J Hinch as the new bench boss after earlier dismissing Bob Melvin. To say the least this is a very unconventional move as Hinch has no experience and it may be hard to take over a team mid season. However Hinch is known for his leadership abilities and could demand the best from his players if all goes well. With that being said this is not a normal move for a team that is struggling. In most cases the team would opt for a coach with at least some experience before throwing him into the fire.