by Joshua Zambrano

Created on: December 23, 2010   Last Updated: December 28, 2010

So, who were the major finds in baseball's recent Winter Meetings?  Some of baseball's biggest names were up for grabs, as the Winter Meetings set the stage for 2011's soon-to-be winners and losers.  The four-day Winter Meetings, lasting from Monday, December 6th to Thursday, December 9th, help set the stage for the upcoming 2011 season.  Some of the major players involved were:

1. CARL CRAWFORD

One of Major League Baseball's premier leadoff hitters, outfielder Carl Crawford, signed December 8th with the Boston Red Sox to a 7-year deal reported to be worth $142 million.  Like Lee, Crawford (28) is a four-time All-Star, who additionally won both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 2010.  After his signing, the long-time Tampa Bay Ray treated the 150 staff employees of his former organization to an arranged barbecue meal at Tropicana Field.  Nice to see a player appreciate the staff behind the scenes.

2. MARK REYNOLDS

In what could prove one of the offseason's biggest moves, the Baltimore Orioles quietly ripped off the Arizona Diamondbacks, trading no-name prospects David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio for one of baseball's most promising young stars.  The Orioles' newest acquisition, Reynolds (26) has hit 28-44 HRs in each of the last 3 seasons (2008-2010).  The young 3rd baseman has already compiled 121 HRs and 346 RBI in his 4 seasons, but is coming off a disappointing 2010 season in which he hit just .198/.320/.433, with 32 HRs and 85 RBI.

3. ADRIAN GONZALEZ

The signing of Crawford followed on the heels of another big-name acquisition by Boston's Theo Epstein, the pick-up of slugging 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez for prospects Casey Kelley, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and Eric Patterson.  Gonzalez (28) has made 3 straight All-Star appearances, collected 2 Gold Gloves, and finished in the MVP balloting each year over the past 4 seasons (2007-2010) while hitting 30-40 HRs and 99-119 RBI in each of those years.  Gonzalez, who is slated to make $6.3 million in 2011, his last year, has verbally agreed to not negotiate more money next offseason should top free agent Albert Pujols opt for free agency, and set his asking price at roughly 7 years, $154 million in order to achieve a long-term deal with the Sox.

4. PAUL KONERKO

On December 8th, the White Sox agreed to terms with 1B slugger and team captain Paul Konerko.  The new contract, reportedly worth $37.5 million over 3 years, is sure to make Sox

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