Winter Meetings Start off with a BANG!

Flying Squirrels owner and GM Adam Anson had pledged this would be a busy offseason, and on the first morning of the winter meetings, that pledge came to fruition. The roster of the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic will look dramatically different headed into the draft than it did prior to the meetings. Three deals were announced this morning, with Anson quoted as saying "Two more deals are imminent...big ones."

The three deals announced were as follows:

In the first small move, the Squirrels have agreed to send SPer Scott Kazmir to the Michigan Miracles. This move was primarily to rid the team of a contract they never wanted to take on in the first place. "Kaz was taken on in a trade that netted us several key contributors last year. This move will allow us to be more flexible and gets Kaz in a better situation and on a team that made it clear they wanted him," stated Anson. The Squirrels netted the Miracles final draft pick in the swap (22.6).

Next, the Squirrels will be sending their fourth round draft pick (pick 4.12) to the Atlantic Surge for OFer Bobby Abreu. Abreu brings a good stick with moderate power and speed to the table. With a weak OF class in the upcoming draft, Anson felt this was a deal he couldn't pass up. "Bobby brings a veteran presence to our clubhouse and will be a solid contributor to the team in the upcoming season. Our front office felt that in the 4th round, we wouldn't be able to obtain a player with Bobby's all around game, so this was a move we had to make."

The final of the first three trades sees promising young OFer Drew Stubbs headed to the Olivet Killer Eagles along with the Squirrels third round pick (3.12) in exchange for SPer Francisco Liriano and the Eagles' fourth round pick (4.10). "We can't say enough about what Drew Stubbs meant to this team," said Anson, "but when you have the opportunity to add an ace like Liriano, you have to be willing to make some concessions. We're all in hopes that this will take some pressure off of Becks to be that No. 1 and let him focus on being the dominant pitcher he can be." If Beckett can return to form, the move would give the Squirrels a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

The other two deals should be announced later in the meetings, possibly as early as this afternoon, but speculation and heavy rumor have Mark Teixeira headed out of Republic and Justin Mourneau coming in...stay tuned.