I'm going to ponder DeRosa

Yes, that's a pun.

It's hard to argue with the trade for DeRosa. I mean, it's really, really hard to argue with it.

Now, in my pipe dream fantasy, the trade was the first part of a bigger move, a move that sends DeRosa and some young pitching to San Diego for Jake Peavy. After all, DeRosa was a big part of the talks between the Cubs and the Padres. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm much more comfortable having unknown quantities in our infield than I am in our rotation, as I think we can piece together good defense if need be.

I also figured Kelly Shoppach would be a good start for a trade to get Peavy, too. I know people love Kelly Shoppach, but the bottom line is that his trade value is never going to be higher and we have decent depth at catcher in the minors. That said, I'm afraid that Garko's inconsistent offense last season makes keeping Shoppach something of a necessity this year, so he can fill in for Martinez when Victor has to move over to first.

And I was also keen on getting Brian Roberts from Baltimore. Yes, it would have force major changes to the infield, but it also would have allowed Sizemore to move down in the order, something that would have given us more coverage in the middle of the line-up if Travis Hafner is a bust. Granted, that's assuming Wedge and Shapiro ever, ever realize it's time to move Grady down.

But let's live in the now and look at the reality of the situation.

Mark DeRosa's average from last year is better than anyone else on our roster from last year (Peralta led the team with a .276 avg.) He'd be tied for third in home runs (with Shoppach). He'd be fourth in RBI, just two behind Peralta. And he'd be second in runs scored, just 1 behind Peralta. In other words, that's some heavy duty offense we're adding to the team.

Putting DeRosa at third gives us a consistent bat there. Leaving Jhonny at short gives us a consistent bat there. And we now have at least three players battling for the starting job at second (Cabrera, Barfield, and Valbuena). With the flexibility of the Garko/Martinez/Shoppach platoon at first and behind the plate, our offense should be, at the very least, solid.

The question, of course, is whether or not Wes Hodges, after a single season at AAA (where he's never played) could grow enough to win the starting job at third in 2010, as we'll be right back where we started.

My big concern now is the rotation. Here's why:

Cliff Lee -- No one expects him to pitch like he did in '08, but something close to that is going to be needed in an American League filled with teams with multiple aces

Fausto Carmona -- just as we need the '08 Lee, we need the '07 Carmona. Let's hope last season was a result of his injury.

Anthony Reyes -- Can he stay healthy? Can he pitch like he did at the end of last year? Can he be consistent?

Scott Lewis -- Can HE pitch like he did at the end of last year for an entire year?

Aaron Laffey -- Can he turn the corner and pitch well for an entire year?

Jeremy Sowers -- Can he return to his first season form and maintain that for a year?

Zach Jackson -- Can he get past the one bad inning that always seems to bring him down?

David Huff -- Is he ready for the majors?

Jake Westbrook -- Will he come back at full strength by mid-season?

That's a lot of questions for an essential part of a team. I'll admit, it's nice to have 8 (and a half, if you count Westbrook) guys for just five spots, but still.

Spring training is going to be very interesting.