Jeff Francis Re-signs, Matthews Jr. heading to a rival

Canadian Jeff Francis has re-signed with the Colorado Rockies for another four years. He throws his fastball in the low-90's with pristine command. His curveball can also be nasty and he throws it all with a quick and easy motion. Francis needs to build endurance and continue to work on the consistency of his secondary pitches. Pitching in hitter-friendly Coors field last season, Francis went 13-11 with a respectable 4.16 ERA.

The other major signing saw Gary Matthews Jr. bolt from the Texas Rangers to the rival LA Angels. It's his power that has kept him in the league thus far. Though he's a free swinger, he knows when to take a pitch. Strange for a power hitter, he tends to have trouble making consistent contact against power pitchers. He could stand to hit better with runners in scoring position. This should be a good pick-up by the Angels, who would like to see Guerrero see more hittable pitches.