Philadelphia signed IF-R Placido Polanco to a one-year, $3.95M contract yesterday. Polanco, who was in his third off-season of arbitration eligibility, formally requested $4.5M while the Phillies offered $3.4M on January 20th. However, the two parties decided to settle at the midpoint rather than submit to the arbitration hearing scheduled for February 17th.

Polanco enters the season as Philadelphia's starting second baseman, however he's also comfortable playing third or short if forces inside the organization dictate that he's more useful in one of those roles. The 28-year-old possesses modest power, though as he's a groundball hitter, I don't expect to see much growth in that area. I am intrigued by the improvement in his walk rate last season. After hovering below a .05 walk rate for the last few years, Polanco posted a .085 in 2003. I also found his 14/16 SB% interesting, particularly in light of the fact that he posted an 8/8 SB% in June. Minor maladies limited his attempts over the rest of the season, but those marks indicate that he has the skills to be a proficient baserunner.

Philadelphia signed RHP Kevin Millwood to a one-year, $11M contract earlier in the week. While eligible for free agency, Millwood chose to accept the Phillies' offer of arbitration after last season. When the two sides formally exchanged salary numbers in January in preparation for a salary arbitration hearing, Millwood requested $12.5M while the Phillies offered $10M. This compromise reportedly includes bonus opportunities, including unspecified amounts for making the All-Star team and winning the Cy Young Award. Meanwhile, Philadelphia plans to continue pursuing a multi-year contract with Millwood.

Millwood worked to improve his physical conditioning this off-season in order to help him maintain excellence throughout the season. Last year, his strikeout rate dropped as the season progressed, and the 29-year-old hopes that the changes in his off-season routine will alleviate that problem. His solid control allows him to pitch effectively even without a multitude of strikeouts, but the Phillies are paying for the dominance he demonstrated over the first couple months of the season.

Elsewhere in the division, CI-R Todd Zeile signed a one-year, $1M contract with the Mets. The contract reportedly provides for $500,000 in plate appearance bonuses. Overall, the deal seems somewhat rich for a player clearly winding down his career. The 38-year-old will serve as a back-up at the infield corners.

The Mets also signed RHP James Baldwin, RHP Ricky Bottalico, RHP Scott Erickson, and OF-R Shane Spencer to minor league deals. Baldwin reportedly will receive a one-year, $500,000 contract if he's added to the 40-man roster with the ability to earn an additional $500,000 in bonuses. The 32-year-old will join the competition for the Mets' fifth starter position. As a flyball pitcher, Baldwin struggles with his homer rate, but the real obstacle to his claiming a job in the majors again is the mundane nature of the remainder of his skills.

Bottalico spent most of last season with Arizona's AAA Pacific Coast League team at Tucson, discovering a bone bruise in his shoulder after the season. He's supposedly healthy now and will compete for a job in the Mets' bullpen. New York possesses the defense to limit Baldwin's hit rate, compensating for the extra baserunners he allows due to his walk problems. However, his homer troubles still could stand in the way of him pitching effectively. The 34-year-old shouldn't be allowed to take a roster spot away from one of the Mets' younger relief options.

Erickson enters spring training as the favorite to claim a job as the Mets' fifth starter. The 35-year-old missed all of last season due to severe shoulder injuries, and while he underwent surgery in March of 2003 not all of the damage was repairable. Erickson's never possessed a particularly solid skill set, so a strong performance in 2004 would be a surprise.

Spencer should break camp with the Mets, and I expect him to receive substantial playing time in their outfield. The 31-year-old possesses decent plate discipline and modest power. If New York finds a place on the roster for OF-L Karim Garcia, Spencer could serve as his platoon partner. While Spencer's platoon split isn't that large, he does favor left-handed pitching somewhat and Garcia greatly favored right-handed pitching in 2003.

In late January, the Mets dealt LHP Jamie Cerda to Kansas City for RHP Shawn Sedlacek. While he's pitched effectively at AAA, Cerda struggled with control problems during his opportunities in the majors with the Mets. Hopefully the change of scenery will allow him to apply his skills at the major league level, as the 25-year-old easily could break camp as the Royals only left-handed reliever provided LHP Jeremy Affeldt finally conquers his blister problems and remains in the rotation. New York had little need of Cerda with lefties John Franco and Mike Stanton on their roster.

Sedlacek displayed potential as a starter at AAA in 2002, but his skills didn't hold up over his major league opportunity. When he struggled at AAA in 2003, the Royals moved him to relief. Given the Mets' starting prospects, Sedlacek's shortest path back to the majors is as a reliever. The 27-year-old isn't likely to find a place in the pen early in the season, but a strong performance at AAA could earn him a call-up as an injury replacement later in the year.