Plugging Away At The Player Reports

As mentioned previously, we’re in a slow stretch here… typical of this time of year, but still a bit painful.

I know the casual fans are dying for new on if/when/whether Adam LaRoche will re-sign, a drama which is playing out elsewhere in MLB — most notably in St. Louis, where Kyle Lohse must wonder if he’s a convertible in an Alaskan used-car lot. For those confused by the bad metaphor, Lohse is one of a handful of free agents, along with LaRoche, who received a qualifying offer that requires the signing team to lose a draft pick and a share of their 2013 Draft bonus purse.

Confused? Well, there’s a reason why front offices can have more law degrees than baseball pedigrees. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold outlines the added cost of signing such a free agent, which might explain this tortoise fight.

As the headline says, I’ve finished the final two essays — DSL Guys and M*A*S*H — and have done what I can (sans the prospect books for the guys I haven’t seen) for the catchers, first basemen, LHPs, and RHPs.