Mariners Hot Stove Chatter

I'm going with Clement based on former "stuff" and how cheap he will come.

With all of the bargain starters out there on the market, this may be an off-season Kevin Towers is remembered for. Matt Clement & Brett Tomko are two potential low-risk, high-reward signings the Padres are capable of making for '08 to solidify their #4 & 5 SP's. Towers could get them with the SD discount and there's a chance that both will post solid seasons in '08 in Petco. Tomko already proved he could in September.

Along with acquiring a CF and possibly a 2B, Kevin Towers has the capability to plug some key holes to keep the Padres as a contender against the Rockies, D-Backs and Dodgers next year.

Along with signing Tomko & Clement, I'd give 2B to Matt Antonelli, trade for Coco Crisp and sign Milton Bradley to share LF with Hairston & Lane. If not Crisp, KT should bring in Rowand or bring back Cameron for CF.

PS.
Can't wait for the Needs & Luxuries for the Pads.

awesome, i was looking forward to the padres outlook this year!

Braves should trade Salty for Colon. Yunel Escobar will hit .400

Colon at $9m is crazy. Anything above $3m-$4m w/ incentives is risky.

As an Angels fan I was hoping that we could resign him on the cheap. No way would I want my team dishing out $9m for guy that I'm not sure will ever pitch again.

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the compliment. Even if it is a preface to your own write-up blowing my quick blurb out of the water.

As far as Colon goes, I see him as the #1 bargain and ending up with an NL Central team that doesn't have PP as it's initials. Colon's presence on any of the other 5 teams gives them a solid push to take the NL Central.

I agree with Colon being the biggest "potential" bargain of the starting pitchers (I mean the guy was the BEST PITCHER IN THE AL IN 2005!). However, he is never going to get his body into good shape and at 35/36 he can't do that and expect to stay at the top of his game. When you are 31 or 32, carrying an extra 50lb's is not going to kill your performance. But when you are 36 and have been through shoulder surgery and you're still 50lb's overweight its a totally different story. I would not even consider him a bargain at $3mil because I say the chances of him staying healthy for more than 15 starts is about 0%...

Colon hasn't been right for the past 2 years. He has had exactly one good year out of the past 4. As DonCoburleone pointed out, he also doesn't have the body type that ages well.

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Colon is healthy in 2008. That is a big leap of faith since he has only pitched 150 innings in the past 2 years. Anyway, we'll just assume ...

If you take the past 2 years Colon has put up a 5.88 ERA with a WHIP of 1.56. Those are astonishing numbers that don't belong anywhere near a legitimate baseball rotation (even in the NL Central). If you factor in improved health for 08 you could optimistically hope for an ERA around 5.00. IMO, a guy with a 5.00 ERA doesn't deserve a guaranteed $9m contract.

Now, add back in the injury risk. His value plummets even further.

Again, as an Angels fan, I would like the team to offer him a $3m guaranteed deal with options that bring it up to $9m-$11m. If he doesn't like that I would love for him to sign with some sucker AL team for the $9m that is rumored in this post.

Chase Headley is a better 3B trade option for the Red Sox with Crisp. If J.D. Drew rebounds and gives them production near to what Lowell gave them this year, then they can afford to take a chance on a stud prospect like Headley at 3B.

Am I missing some sort of imaginary production that makes people think Brett Tomko is anything but a low risk/very low reward player?

Tomko is appealing because he can throw hard, has good control, and eats innings. He seems quite capable of 180 innings of 4.50 ball which costs $8MM these days. If he signs for $4-5MM that makes him a bargain.

Exactly. Johan was a better pitcher than Bartolo by about a mile in 2005. He just didn't have the most overrated statistic for pitchers in baseball, wins.

Ridiculous.

I see Colon as the biggest BUST of 2008 to be honest with you. The guy and his Krispy Kreme diet is done.

I still think that Clement is the best bet.

I like Randy Wolf as the sleeper guy that will have a good season this year.

Brett Tomko could be valuable if the MLB allowed a new AZ expansion team and that team incorporated the grand canyon into its new stadium. But, he's still better than Jeff Weaver.

I'm leaning toward Colon being 2008's version of Jason Schmidt.

"Brett Tomko played for the cards for a season or two, I can't remember, but it was a season or two too long. He was AWFUL. I can't imagine he's gotten any better."

For his one season with the Cardinals, Tomko gave you 13 W's and 200+ IP, granted it was with a 5+ ERA. However, for the 3 years since, his ERA has ranged in the 4's, so yes, technically he has gotten better.

Tomko seems a lock to sign with the Padres and if so, he'll become a solid #5 for them. Basically, he'll do what Boomer couldn't do this year.

WestCoast

Stop talking about Chase Headley. Seriously, he is not starting ANYWHERE next year. He hasn't played above A+ yet, you really think he could play in the majors. He didn't even kill A+. An .815 OPS is nothing amazing for a 22 year old at that level. THe Sox would be better off moving Youks to 3rd and playing Chris Carter if they wanted to go the prosepct route. It is retarded to think Headley could make an impact this year and he probably wont next year. Talk to me in 2010 and maybe i'll agree with you.

"He hasn't played above A+ yet,"

A 1.000 ops over 400 ab's at AA, but thanks for trying.

I love looking things up.

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=6402

I can't possibly see him as the starting third basemen at Fenway next year, but its not a retarded idea.

Wow, thats weird. I was loking him up and FI and they didn't have his 07's for some reason. My mistake i was looking at his '06 numbers.

Now that i stand correct. I stick with what i said with talk to me in a year. Apprently that year happened in a matter of minutes so alright maybe he could play for us.

Tomko? Seriously? Why? Because he throws hard?

He's never shown the ability to turn his arm into a #1 starter or anything close to the sort.

He may throw 95 but he gets less swing and misses at his fastball than guys who throw 84. Just watch him pitch. And it's not like this guy is a 27 year old who might develop late, he is what he is already.