It's pretty defensive, but overall it sounds like a decent plan. I'd love to see the whole, real thing.

One interesting anecdote:

Melvin said the Brewers made a very serious offer to the Blue Jays in December for ace right-hander Roy Halladay, who had no-trade rights and preferred a club that spends Spring Training in Florida. The Phillies, his eventual destination, train in Clearwater, near Halladay's home.

"We made as good an offer as anybody. He wouldn't come," Melvin said. "We went out on a limb and offered pretty good players for Roy Halliday. It came down to [the fact] that he had his choice of where he wanted to go. Philly had the advantage on him. So the talent pool that we get to pick from sometimes is smaller than other teams."

No word on who is making room for him. Could this be the end of the road for Soup?

"Astros OF Jason Bourgeois has been designated for assignment to make room for Brett Myers on the 40-man roster."

"In a sit-down with reporters at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday, Brewers manager Ken Macha identified only two 'locks' for next year's starting rotation: Right-hander Yovani Gallardo, of course, but also left-hander Manny Parra, who was 11-11 with a 6.36 ERA in an inconsistent 2009."

"The Dodgers have 3-4 teams interested in $$ Juan Pierre and a 3-team deal is being explored to get L.A. a bad-contract starter in return."

Soup is pretty much the definition of "bad-contract starter," and Juan Pierre might be an interesting addition to the team, in addition to freeing up Hart (or Gamel) for a potential trade.

A Braun / Gomez / Pierre outfield would be pretty decent defensively, too.

[Edit by TheJay] LF Gillespie was at Nashville. RHP Mercedes was at Brevard County.

(from the Onion)