Perrotto's Latest: Top 20 Remaining Free Agents

No Oliver perez? That list is a joke.

varitek is on the same sinking boat as pudge. if pudge goes nowhere, neither will varitek. the red sox will end up with montero or salty, the only way varitek comes back with the red sox now (or any team for that matter) is if he signs a 1 years 3 million dollar deal

Awesome postseason so far...it wil be very interesting to see how everything shakes out as spring training approaces.

SkiBolton,

It's sorted by WARP3... I agree it seems odd to have Odalis Perez on there over Oliver Perez, but Odalis actually had a better WARP (4.0) than Oliver (3.4) in 2008.

Personally, I think Oliver Perez is about as overrated as they come in MLB today, but I do agree - I found it surprising to not see him on the list.

Wiggy back to the Astros? No Perez or Garland?

It's the Yankees and their whatever money can buy payroll...Anything can happen. I would hate to face a lineup that would consist of:
Damon
Jeter
Tex
A-Rod
Manny
Cano
Nady/Swisher
Posada
Melky
Especially when they also have the pitching to win 1 run ballgames. Other than Melky, every guy has a chance of hitting .300 and will see better pitches b/c of who is batting behind them.

Forget my last post i didnt realize it was sorted by WARP, which is a pretty reliable stat.

i'm excited about this new chapter in baseball history where players who are way past their prime are involuntarily retired. Piazza, Pudge, Tek, Anderson etc. were all solid in their days, but I'm glad teams have adopted the new approach of going with younger, cheaper guys to fill DH type roles. There's no need to get mediocre production out of an aging star when a Minor leaguer can put up comparable numbers for much less $.

Oliver Perez = not that good of a pitcher. League average. Very eratic. Not sure why any team would waste a draft pick plus 3/$30M (or more) on him.

Braves fan, most experts, or even most baseball people in general, feel protection is very overrated.

i'm excited about this new chapter in baseball history where players who are way past their prime are involuntarily retired. Piazza, Pudge, Tek, Anderson etc. were all solid in their days, but I'm glad teams have adopted the new approach of going with younger, cheaper guys to fill DH type roles. There's no need to get mediocre production out of an aging star when a Minor leaguer can put up comparable numbers for much less $.

Posted by: murphballs5 | January 11, 2009 at 02:34 PM

It is good to see AL teams using their DH to it's maximum potential: Great hitters instead of old hitters at the end of their careers.

I would like the Rays to sign Juan Cruz/Will Ohman/Joe Beimel/Dennys Reyes and hold Percival at gun point, forcing him to retire. That would be awesome.

The retirement would be voluntary- surely there is a team that would be willing to pay the league minimum for a veteran. It's their egos that are getting in the way.

It's Nix/Getz, I doubt Lillibridge will be factor, at least I sincerely hope not. I could see a Durham return though.

I have a feeling though that KW will sign 2 of these 3 following older guys: Pedro, Vizquel, I-Rod.

The guy I really want is Hudson but there are many reasons that wont happen.

1) We will lose the pick
2) He is still out of our price range
3) Rays love Aki
4) Finally, we love to build from within, watch Brignac play 2B in AAA all of 2009

RaysFan-

No, I don't think Brignac plays 2B. You don't move a good defensive SS to 2B, you just don't.

What you will see is Aybar grooming to be the full time 2B, possibly spelling Aki at the position once in a while in '09, with Aki possibly traded after the '09 offseason (option picked up, then traded). I don't think the Rays have a love affair with Aki.

Brignac will be the starting SS in AAA, and if he's ready after the '09 season, Bartlett will be traded.

But then this is me trying to read Friedman's mind, and I don't have much of ESP powers.

There was a day when aging players realized that it was over and just voluntarily hung it up. Today, the money is so excessive that players who, in their heart know it's time to go, decide to try to milk one more year out of the system. You can't blame them but the economic downturn came at a bad time for these "hanger-on-ers".

I agree with redhawk, I like that Reds lineup. even though it is lefty heavy in the middle, both Abreu and Votto have good splits against LH pitching. It also puts high OBP guys in Abreu and Votto in front of Bruce, hopefully giving him a chance to drive in more runs.

You can't argue with a 6-8 of Phillips, Encarnacion, Hernandez. Could be a very dangerous linuep in GABP. Now if the pitching staff can just hold up.

im curious, why had Pudge's stock fallen so far so fast? i just gleamed at his numbers from last year, and they look pretty decent. is he just asking for too much money at his age?

Well the Braves are slightly better than they were a week ago but still a lot of work to do.

1) Sign either Lowe (no more than 3 years) or Sheets (no more than 2 years).
2) Sign Dunn to a 1 year deal with a team option if possible
3) Sign Juan Cruz

If they do those 3 things, I think we at least have a shot. With Lowe/Vazquez/Jurrjens/Kawakami and then either Morton (or Campillo) we have a solid rotation. No 1 but 3 possible 2's and a wild card in Kawakami who will more than likely be better than your league average 4 (as would Morton in my opinion).

Then our pen would have Campillo (spot starter), Reyes (long relief/mopup), Acosta, Boyer, Boone, Soriano, Cruz and Gonzalez. I'd like to have another lefty but I don't think I'd like 3 in the pen (even though there aren't any in the rotation so maybe it wouldn't be a horrible idea). Perhaps Soriano or Cruz could close instead letting Gonzalez be our primary lefty with Boone taking a role similar to a LOGGY.

Lineup is still weak but Dunn adds a serious power/OBP thread in the middle of the lineup. The lineup is very lefty heavy but it's the best option at this point unless we can trade pitching + a spare OF for Swisher or Nady but that seems unlikely.

Funny how the person writing this article totally glossed over the fact that the Nats management specifically said they werent going after any big name FA's.

I really, REALLY want the A's to sign Adam Dunn. Giambi+Holliday are only here for one year, sign Dunn up for long term power. He can play both corners and 1B and guarantees 35+ HR. Its a real weird offseason where the most dangerous hitters are undervalued, you would think 900+ OPS guys like Dunn would be getting 5 /100 deals but instead they are going to be going on the cheap.

I cant stop thinking about how deadly a lineup with Holliday-Dunn-Giambi-Cust would be.....

With Abreu:
Reds 08 vs 09
C: Ross vs Hernandez:Hernandez
1B:Votto one year older
2B:Phillips again
SS:Kepp vs Hair/Gonzo:Hairston
3B:EE again
LF:Dunn vs Abreu:Abreu
CF:Patterson vs Taveras:Taveras
RF:Griffey Jr. vs Bruce:Bruce
Walt could slowly have had a great offseason if he tops it off with an Abreu signing. If the pitching staff does what it's expected to, they could legitimately be considered the 2nd best team in the Central.

Grizzlyfox,

Abreu would be a great pickup and should mash in GAB.

You have to wonder if Jocketty would do it. I mean, what GM would make signing Taveras a priority and then go after Abreu? Yes, they can run, but other than that they're completely different kinds of players.

Grizzlyfox-

I think the 2nd best team in the central is possible, but not likely. And Dunn will be more productive than Abreu next season.

I think we just gotta get Manny and trade nady and swisher to the giants for winn and alderson so we can just own the sox.

C. Posada, Bard: POSADA
1B. Texeira, Youkilis: TEX!
2B. Pedroia, Cano: Pedroia
3B. Rodriguez, Lowell: A-ROD
SS. Jeter, Lowrie: JETER
LF. Damon, Bay: Bay, but very close
CF. Winn, Ellsbury: WINN, and jackson long term over Ellsubry
RF. Drew, Swisher: Tie. swish isn't a sure thing to hit the dl, but he also hit .219 last year.
DH. Manny, Ortiz: MANNY. just look the his dodgers stats to see how good he can be.

And we all know the rotation of sabathia, a.j., wang, joba and hughes is going to be unreal.

thats four aces and a number two.

wow. you sicken me. i hate you.

Certainly throwing the "ace" label around easily. Burnett is not an ace, Wang is not an ace, Joba hasn't proven he can be an ace all season long and it's sort of laughable that you just assume Hughes will put up league average #2 numbers. Your lineup is sick but it should be when you spend 200 mill a year on your team but you are grossly over exaggerating your rotation.

CC = ace
Burnett = solid #2, even he says he isn't an ace and doesn't want that responsibility
Joba = solid #2 with potential to be a #1
Wang = I think solid #3 but I wouldn't argue if you think he is a 2
Hughes = a complete wild card

I dont see know why they list the Astros for Ty Wiggington or Andy Pettitte. They signed Aaron Boone to replace wiggington, and they wont go for pettitte, if they cannot sign Wiggy for 7 million which he gives more "bang for the buck" then pettitte who will put up a 4+ ERA, which you will get a 4-5 era from backe for cheaper

Dodgers need to get Manny signed, and sign Andy Pettitte. I do not understand why we are looking at guys like Braden Looper and Randy Wolf (both more likely to throw less than 150 than over 200) and Jon Garland (a guy who wouldn't be a great addition, let alone a veteran addition), and not at a guy like Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte fits the Dodgers' rotation perfectly, is a lefty, can mentor Kershaw a little, is familiar with a lot of the Dodgers' coaching staff, would all but guarantee us 200IP, and would be moving to the NL West where he could find good success.

Plus he wouldn't be much more expensive than Jon Garland anyways.

I still would like to see the Yanks get someone better for CF than Gardner or Melky. I wouldn't mind seeing Edmonds as a stopgap for a year, for a very cheap price.

Edmunds will probably retire anyway. No shame in leaving on a high note. He had a pretty good comeback season with Chicago, but he's getting old. As for Lowe, is there any actual fact behind the Cubs being a suitor for him? If they can't manage to lure Peavy, a rotation of Zambrano,Lilly,Harden,Dempster and Lowe would be pretty intimidating.

Everyone said AJ Burnett was an ACE before he signed with the Yankees, now that he is with them his stock dropped to being a #2-3 type pitcher? I dont think so. When this guy is healthy he has some of the best stuff in baseball. Its funny when he was going to sign with the Braves he was considered their ACE and last year many were saying if Halladay went down he could step in and be the ACE but now that he's a Yankee he isn't? Doesn't make sense to me. AJ Burnett has some of the nastiest stuff i have ever seen and his potential with the Yankees is through the roof. I think he is an ACE if healthy.

Eric Hinske gets no love. It's sad that the guy can't buy a break even after the season he had last year for Tampa Bay. There should be a bench gig/platoon situation out there for him.

Rolling{Night}Hawk{09}

Having great stuff does not make you a Ace. He never posted a Ace season, now that hes a Yankee why would you think hes going to that?

Neither Burnett or Lowe is an Ace, but at least Lowe has been consistent over the past 3 years.

Burnett won 18 games and had an ERA over 4.00 with just a 2.6:1 K:BB ratio...

Aside from his K-rate, Burnett put up a similar season to someone like Nick Blackburn.

He's not an ace. Never has been. He might have ace stuff, but he doesn't throw the ball over the plate consistently enough or stay healthy enough to ever show that potential.

Burnett's probably the most overrated free agent this offseason (along with Oliver Perez).

The Yankees would've been better off saving money and signing Sheets to a two-year deal. Same injury risk, younger, less money, much better pitcher.

The reason people were calling Burnett an Ace, is the fact that he would have been deemed an "Ace" if he signed with the Braves. The guy is a great pitcher, when he wants to be or when healthy, but he's not an Ace yet. When I think of past Ace pitchers, I think of Maddux, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Orel Hershiser, Roger "Inject Me" Clemens, guys who were consider some of the best of all time.

@YankeeDynasty
okay so you take Posada coming off an arm injury that cost him most of 2007. Okay Josh Bard aint no Joe Mauer but if the soxs dont resign or go get another contract then we can deal with JB.

At first base how can you say that Tek is so much better then the Person who finished Thrid in the MVP Votes last year its not true Youk is a very good ball player

Pedroia is a blow out canidate over Cano.

A-Rod on paper is steps ahead but if he goes down which is possible with anyone who do they have

Jeter is like a 1000 year vet and J-Low is a rookie i think Lowrie given an entire year could be better then Jeter. Dont get me wrong Jeter will prob be better but im say there is that chance.

Bay over Damon hands down Bay is younger fast better fielder better arm and he is quicker

Winn??? over Jacoby You wont get winn and you will be stuck with Nick Swisher in Centerfield. That is a Push

As is right field with Drew-Matsui

Your DH will prob be Nady and ill take Ortiz over him 8 out of 10 Times.

So its a little closer then you thing there dont start crowning them champs just yet