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The National League had a number of big offseason moves this year, even though the biggest news came out of the American League with the Yankees signing 500 billion dollars worth of players. That said, the National League will certainly have some new faces in new places. How will it affect the teams, and those teams around them? Lets take a look at the five signings in the National League that will have the biggest impact.

1. The Mets and their bullpen just got a whole lot better, though that was an easy task. The last couple of years the Mets bullpen nearly singlehandedly ruined two fantastic years in New York. This season, they signed arguably the most prolific reliever in baseball with the signing of K-rod, Francisco Rodriguez. He should be a huge upgrade from the problems of last year, but just in case, they also traded for former Mariner JJ Putz. Putz is about as solid as relievers get in baseball. The Mets look a whole lot different in the eighth and ninth innings now. How that helps against the Phillies remains to be seen.

2. Though it did not get much press, the Dodgers resigning of shortstop Rafael Furcal is huge. With Furcal in the lineup, the Dodgers are a completely different team. They suddenly become a high scoring machine that can drop runs on anybody. Without him, they still got by thanks to a monster year from Manny after coming over from Boston. This season, however, Manny is no sure bet to be in Dodger blue, though the Dodgers seem to think he will be. Either way, the resigning of Furcal is huge for the Dodgers on offense and defense.

3. The signing of Milton Bradley by the Chicago Cubs has some folks scratching their heads. For one, Bradley is a constant injury machine. He stays hurt. Last year, he stayed healthy only because he was a DH. This year, he returns to the field in the National League and the high probability that he will again be injured. Add to that the fact that he is sometimes moody and a bad locker room guy and one has to wonder why the Cubs payed him 30 million dollars. One reason is because when Bradley is not hurt, he is an absolute force at the plate. The Cubs rolled the dice big with this one.

4. The Phillies rode a rollercoaster this offseason with all of the potential arbitration hearings and so forth. Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, etc.. How in the world did they find the time to pull a magic rabbit out of their proverbial hats? The Phillies made a very deft and impressive move in left field during the offseason. For years, the Phillies have dealt with the low batting averages, and strikeouts of the power hitting Pat Burrell. Also, left field has been a bit of an adventure in recent years. The Phillies solved all those problems by sending Burrell off to the Rays, and replacing him with Mr. Steady, Raul Ibanez. Ibanez is a great fielder, and is just as productive at the plate as Burrell minus the strikeouts and average woes. Ibanez is not quite the home run threat that Burrell is, but he still gets his share. Expect around 25 home runs from this under the radar star.

5. The San Francisco Giants finally made a media splash without the name Barry Bonds headlining the copy. They signed the long and lean Randy Johnson to a one year deal for 8 million dollars. What makes this effective for the Giants is that he is added to an already impressive Giants pitching staff. The Giants must have liked what they saw from Johnson last year as he posted solid numbers with the Diamondbacks. In spite of his age of 45 years, and 4000+ innings, Johnson is still a difference maker on any team he signs with.