Greg Colbrunn will join former Diamondback bench coach and new Seattle manager, Bob Melvin in Seattle. Early in the new year, Colbrunn signed a two-year, $3.6M contract with the Mariners. While this insures that Seattle will lose their first round draft pick, I like the acquisition.

Colbrunn has always possessed significant power potential and over the past three years he's demonstrated improved plate discipline. In addition to providing the Mariners with a cornerman off the bench and occasionally taking a turn as the DH, Colbrunn will likely start at third against most left-handed pitchers. Last season, he hit .368 with a .414 OBP and .667 SLG on 43 H, 14 2B, and 7 HR with a 10:8 BB:K in 117 AB against lefties.

While Jeff Cirillo's platoon split favored southpaws last season, his bat didn't make nearly as much noise as Colbrunn's, and the difference cannot be entirely attributed to the difference in the two players' home parks. Colbrunn will almost certainly be hard pressed to match last year's numbers in the pitcher-friendly environment of Safeco Field. However, I don't expect his BA or OBP to drop too far, as he hits a fair complement of ground balls and has sufficient speed to beat them out. My main concern is that the 33-year-old Colbrunn has been a bit fragile the last few years.

Norm Charlton, who we discussed when the Mariners offered him arbitration in early December, signed a minor league deal with the club a little over a week later, so they don't appear to have been burned for a large sum. I still doubt his ability to contribute to Seattle.

Charlton should report with the rest of the Mariners' pitchers and catchers on February 10th. Seattle has received permission to start camp almost a week earlier than most teams, as they'll be opening the season with Oakland in Tokyo, Japan, on March 25-26 almost a week before the rest of the majors celebrate Opening Day. The A's do not intend to start camp early.

I don't have a large problem with opening the season overseas, though it is a tiring ordeal for the players. However, I feel MLB has already succeeded in bringing baseball into the hearts of the Asian market. The Cubs and Mets opened the 2000 season in Japan. If baseball truly wants to be global, they should open a season in Europe. I realize the player pool isn't as promising, but the potential fans shouldn't be written off. I don't see a good opening in Africa quite yet, but a compromise would be Australia, which has a strong baseball program that should be encouraged.

Meanwhile, Desi Relaford, who the Mariners non-tendered, signed a two-year, $1.8M contract with the Royals. Relaford offers Kansas City a flexible infielder with moderate speed and power skills. While he's not maintained the plate discipline growth he displayed in 2000, he could rediscover those skills and have another breakout year at any time.

Relaford should open the season as the team's starting shortstop, as Angel Berroa absolutely needs more time in AAA before he's ready for the majors. His poor regular season might have been affected by injury, but he also failed to perform well in the Dominican Winter League, hitting only .159 with a .233 OBP and .232 SLG on 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, and 1 HR with an 8:27 BB:K and 2/2 SB% in 82 AB. Normally I wouldn't put much weight on winter league stats, but combined with his AAA performance, I have no doubt he needs more time in the minors. Unfortunately, the Royals don't appear convinced yet.

Kansas City also signed Albie Lopez to a one-year, $1.5M contract. Lopez gives the Royals a much-needed anchor for their rotation. While I have concerns about how he will respond after a season away from starting, especially considering the unfriendly park, Lopez compiled strong numbers in relief last year. The 31-year-old's performances shouldn't be much worse than his starting in the past, when he was an acceptable innings eater. I think they likely could have found more bang for their buck on the free agent market and probably need to pick up an additional starter, but this still looks like a sensible acquisition. Lopez reportedly can earn an additional $500,000 in incentives.

The Royals have signed several players to minor league contracts, including RHP Buddy Carlyle, RHP Nate Field, RHP Brian Rose, C-R Mike DiFelice, MI-R Luis Ordaz, and MI-S Elvis Pena. Cincinnati drafted Carlyle out of high school in the second round of the 1996 draft and traded him to the Padres for Marc Kroon in 1998. Carlyle demonstrated promising skills as a starter in the minors, but he experienced control problems in the majors and after the 2000 season San Diego sold him to Japan. His control problems do not appear to have improved overseas, so he shouldn't win a job with Kansas City's major league team out of Spring Training. However, the 25-year-old should be able to make a few spot starts if needed.

Field first signed with the Expos as a nondrafted free agent out of Fort Hays State University in 1998. After Montreal released him prior to the 2000 season, he signed with a team in the independent Northern League. The Royals purchased his contract from that team mid-season, but last year they tried to send him through waivers, and he was claimed by the Yankees. The 27-year-old reliever's control problems should keep him out of the majors again in 2003.

Boston drafted Rose out of high school in the third round of the 1994 draft. He remained in the Red Sox organization until mid-2000 when they traded him to the Rockies, who traded him to the Mets less than a year later. New York attempted to send him through waivers within the month, giving the Devil Rays a chance to claim him. After gaining free agency before the 2002 season, the 26-year-old chose to spend this past year in an independent league, where he pitched primarily in relief after years of starting. The move to the pen appears to have cleared up most of his control problems, making him a candidate for the Royals pen.

I expect DiFelice to go into Spring Training at least in competition for the back-up catcher position in Kansas City, and at the moment he doesn't appear to have any rivals for the job. The 33-year-old has little plate discipline and only marginal power, so the Royals should certainly continue to search for alternatives.

Ordaz signed a minor league deal with the Cubs prior to the 2002 season after two years in the Royals system. However, Kansas City grabbed him back via waivers in April. The 27-year-old middle infielder has little plate discipline and only offers moderate speed skills. Nevertheless, I expect the Royals to call him up at least once during 2003. Pena shares Ordaz's lack of strike zone judgment, but the 26-year-old offers marginally better speed skills.