Tim Wakefield, Red Sox

John Lackey, who went 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 27 games last season, has signed a five year deal with Boston worth 82.5 million to be precise. Something keeps telling me that his fantasy value will increase far beyond what it's worth, but at least I won't be drafting him earlier than the 4th round or so.

The veteran knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, has signed a deal that will extend his tenure in Boston for two more seasons. The 65 MPH knuckleball is still awkward enough to fool batters, but Wakefield may now be used as a situational long reliever because the young Clay Bucholtz will most likely be entering the 5th slot in Boston's rotation.

This off season has also come with a wealth of closing pitching. Billy Wagner, who contemplated retirement early on, signed a one year deal with the Atlanta Braves. After making his return from Tommy John surgery, Wagner posted a 1.72 ERA in 17 appearances.

Closer Mike Gonzalez signs with the Baltimore Orioles and he's had his share of injuries too. Matt Capps goes to Washington; Capps struggled mightily with Pittsburgh last season after posting an ERA of 5.80.

Jose Velderde agrees to terms with the Detroit Tigers after pitching effectively with Houston where he put up a 2.33 ERA while striking out 56 in 54 innings pitched.

Veteran reliever Octavio Dotel signs with the rebuilding Pirates and will assume the closing role for the first time since 2007. Dotel regained his previous stuff after going 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA for the Chicago White Sox in 2009.

Starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who returned to the mound in September after having Tommy John surgery, went 2–1 with a 3.61 ERA in 7 games started for the Braves last season. Atlanta has resigned him on a three year deal and I would invest in his performance as well.

The Angels reached an agreement with starting pitcher Joel Peneiro for two years, which was wise, because Carlos Silva has made GMs think twice about signing pitchers with “pin-point control” long term, unless of course we were talking about Greg Maddux in his prime.

The mediocre Doug Davis, who's had an ERA above 4.00 since 2006, has signed a one year deal with the Milwalkee as has the crafty southpaw, Randy Wolf, who signed a three year deal after going 11 – 7 with a 3.23 ERA and 160 Ks.

Jon Garland, who's also had an ERA above 4.00 since 2006, signed a one year deal with the San Diego Padres, and the Washington Nationals signed Jason Marquis, who went 15-13 with an ERA of 4.04 while pitching at Coors field.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees re-signed Andy Pettite, whose stellar performance in Game 6 defeated current free agent Pedro Martinez and the Phillies back in November.

The Oakland Athletics have made quite a few moves as they resigned Justin Duchscherer, who spent time on the DL last season, but finished with an honorable 2.54 ERA in 22 games.

Ben Sheets, a fantasy gamble, who missed all of last year, has also signed with Oakland. Speaking of gambles, Texas inked Rich Harden to a one year deal, and there seems to be something very Mark Prior about Rich Harden.

It might be the Cincinnati Reds who made the biggest gamble of all, because they gave a six year deal to the Cuban prodigy Arlodis Chapman, the top rated prospect, who can hit 102 on the radar gun: but will he ever find that 'pin-point' control someday?