Around The Majors- Monday

Awards, Detroit keeping up with the Jonses, a move that would change the free agent landscape, and much more today on ATM.

-Dustin Pedroia won the ALROY in a landslide win with 132 points. The Red Sox 2nd baseman batted .317 with a .380 OBP and was the catalyst in the postseason that allowed Boston to roll to a world title. Rays OF Delmon Young came in second, and surprise Royals starter Brian Bannister came in 3rd.
-Ryan Braun batted .324 with 34 jacks and 97 driven in, and that was all after May 25. Wow. He barely edged out Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki by 2 points to win the NLROY. Tulo set the rookie record for NL shorstops with 24 homers and also drove in 91. In any other year, Tulowitzki would have won it running away, but Braun had such amazing stats in such a short amount of time. The time may have been the determining factor, because Tulowitzki's fielding numbers were far superior.
-According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Tigers and Cubs alleviated problems in the Outfield with a trade this afternoon. The Tigers needed an outfielder and acquired Jacque Jones from Chicago in exchange for utility player Omar Infante. Jones will likely start in Left Field instead of a possible platoon of Marcus Thams and Ryan Rayburn. The Cubbies had a logjam in the outfield, and Infante will be someone good off the bench in a similar role that Mark DeRosa had with the team. Infante is a contact hitter who can play 2nd, 3rd, short, and the outfield. The trade filled needs for both clubs.
-Speaking of filling needs, the Tigers did that in a big way when they resigned closer Todd Jones to a 1 year deal worth 7 million. Jones became even more of a priority for GM Dave Dombrowski when young setup man Joel Zumaya went down with a shoulder injury that will sideline him for at least the first half of the 2008 season. Along with Fernando Rodney, Jones was a must resign for this team.
-Jorge Posada will likely reup with the Yankees, which leaves other teams in search of a catcher with little to rummage through. The Mets may have to resign Paul Lo Duca, or could go after Colorado backstop Yorvit Torrealba or Pirates Catcher Ronny Paulino.
-"When I spoke to Omar, he told me, `Be prepared to be the third baseman in 2008. That's what I took from it and that's the way I'm going about it." David Wright's statement today will likely quell A-Rod rumors for the time being.
-The free agent frenzy will begin at midnight tonight, expect the best coverage here at the SOS family of blogs.