Bad Contract Swap Meet

Derek Lowe for Eric Byrnes

Jose Guillen for Dontrelle Willis

Just throwing some out there. I don't really expect many if any of these contracts on the list to be moved but its great to have them all listed in one place.

The difference between the Orioles of a few years ago and the Orioles under Andy Macphail...

The Orioles are not featured on this list but would have been featured many times a few years ago.

A sign that things have certainly changed in Baltimore. Whether that translates to winning or not remains to be seen.

I know Im in the minority but I will glady take Juan Pierre on the Braves any day of the week. I just plain like what he brings to the team. It may not be power but speed and obp out of the lead off spot would be nice.

How about Bradley for Matthews Jr. Angles need a RF if they don't bring back Vlad and if they do then that would be a good DH RF combo with Vlad and Bradley. The Cubs get rid of that virus and get a good defensive right fielder who can get on base and round off the bottom of the cubs lineup.

aaron miles isn't listed?!?!?!?!?!?!?! i know he's only got one year and 2.5 MM left but... he's pointless to have on the roster! for the cubbies, i would trade bradley for pierre in a heartbeat. pierre was successful as a cub and a great teammate/hard worker. i do understand bradley was on the dodgers before however, and im sure most of you recall him throwing the ball bag on the field lol. prolly wouldn't work out, but i would love to see it.

No Luis Castillo???

@TheAntiRecruiter

If they are cut the team is still obligated to pay their remaining contract value and the player is free to sign with another team. I do believe if the player released signs with another team the new team must pay him the league minimum 400K and the old team is relieved of that yearly 400K. I know, big deal right but its a little bit back.

and btw...how does Papi's deal signify a bad contract?

Pierre for Castillo would be a coup for the Dodgers, but I don't see it happening since Castillo rebounded this year and only has a year left.

I think Rowand for GMJ could work. The Giants get essentially a Randy Winn replacement with more power and lose a year of commitment, while the Angels can plug Roward in RF. The only issue is that the Angels would probably have too many RHB.

Pierre for Young might not be a bad idea, especially if the Rangers lose Byrd and if Young agrees to play the only defensive position he was ever any good at, 2B. Pierre's speed would be coveted by Washington and he could probably hit for a touch more power in Arlington. Well, 1 HR a year would be better than 1 in 3 years. The exchange is obviously that Young's deal is longer and for more money, but I think the Dodgers can get value out of it.

How is Fransisco Cordero a worse contract than Lowe?? Cordero was great last year. Lowe was mediocre at best. Is his a bad contract based on his team's payroll? He makes a lot of $, but he was better than some closers making more (K-rod).

Gary Matthews to Houston for Carlos Lee. Houston saves $32m in payroll and unloads a good hitter that ought to be a DH. Angels save money in this deal - Vlad, who made $15m this year, leaves and so does Matthews at $11.5m. That's $26.5m in savings and you take on $18m. He can rotate through DH and Left Field. Maybe I'm smoking crack but the pieces fit.

*or should for that matter.

Why is Jeff Francis on the list? He's a pretty decent pitcher, he just got hurt and the team has rotational depth. Still, he will be expected to assume a spot this coming season.

Some of these deals are SO bad, Suppan and Silva are getting some serious cash and might end up being 10M long relievers. Maybe Dave Duncan can fix Silva, but I don't know if anyone can fix him at this point. He might be a servicable 5th starter in the NL.

I might be crazy, but V. Wells afor Zito almost makes too much sense for both teams. Am I wrong?

Carlos Silva fun fact:

I was just looking at his stats, and in the 2005 season, he walked 9 batters in 188 innings!!! That has to be the lowest walks for at least 180 innings, never seen anything like that before.

Any of these contracts that are one year are not in the same class as the other, I don't care how much money. Farnsworth, for example. He shouldn't be on this list. Yes, $5M is a lot for him, but it's one year, then he's gone. Vernon Wells, for example, is a 5 year commitment. Totally different situation.

I think you have to cut Harang some slack. He pitches for one of the worst teams in history right now and was actually pretty good until almost mid august. If he played for someone in contention i think he would come alive, he is an absolute strikeout animal (even though i think he did have an under performing year)

There's not Cardinals on the list, but I think maybe Lohse should be.

I was thinking the same thing on the Carlos Lee for Derek Lowe idea. Braves might be able to find the little bit of extra money.

I like the Lowe for Pierre. Gives the Braves a CF, moves McLouth to a corner spot, and frees up a lot of money with Lowe's contract today ($5mil) and the next 2 years ($6.5 in '11)(Pierre/Lowe off books in '12 $15mil). Diaz/Pierre/McLouth in the OF. Allows you to spend on another OF/RP.

LA gets much needed pitching/Vet pitcher and trades away an expendable OF. LA also frees up $12mil Jason Schmidt off the books.
Kershaw
Billingsley
Lowe
Kuroda
Garland(Opt $10mil, AZ on hook for buyout)/Wolf(re-sign)

But is LA willing to spend the money on the difference between the two? Owner is in a Divorce (ie Padres' situation last year). To bad they couldn't throw Kelly Johnson in the deal for something. Dogers lose Belliard/Hudson to FA if not re-signed

Some of those listed aren't really 'bad' contracts, they are just big, and perhaps questionable, contracts. But it is good to see the list of possibilities.

Moyer is actually up to $7.5M in 2010 after hitting incentives.

And can Ibanez's contract still qualify? He'll be paid $5M more in '10 and '11 each than he was in '09 (his age 38 and 39 seasons), and could have an abdominal tear.

I'd like to see Seattle call Detroit with a Silva for Carlos Guillen proposal. Silva may be a #5 horse and feel more comfortable in the AL Central. Guillen can't play much D anymore but he could have some veteran, switch-hitting leadership off the bench. M's lose only $1 million in 2 years there and their abundance of pitching allows for them to use it towards their bench.

I'd actually rather see the Mariners swap Silva for Bradley. Milton'd make a solid OF4/DH, and as a switch-hitter would work out okay in Safeco. You can even count on his injuries to give Mike Sweeney some additional ABs.

This is predicated upon the Cubs needing an SP. Silva would be a horse, and in the NL would probably put up acceptable numbers. It's really a case of the circumstances favor the swap for both players... my only question is whether the Cubs need the SP or not, I honestly don't know.

No way do they want to bring in Bradley to their finally sane clubhouse! He's got the talent they need but absolutely no patience, focus or social skills.

What about Carlos Lee for Milton Bradley? Maybe its too much one sided of a trade. But Lee tears up wrigley.

Carlos Lee? Seriously? Dude is a hitting machine, how the hell can having him locked up for three years 55 mil be a bad deal? Thats about 18 mil a year, consider that Jason Bay and Holliday are gonna get about 15 or more a year for 5 years, and Lee has better numbers. If the stros' wanna give the Bravos Lee for Lowe I would do it in a heartbeat, hell I would do Lee for Vasquez!

As an M's fan the how to get rid of Carlos Silva is priority #1. Would love Milton Bradley as he would also fill the DH role, we would just have to bring back Griffey to tickle him like he did to Ichiro. Who knew that is what the clubhouse needed. Another option would be Tigers...I would really like Bonderman to come back to his Washington roots...how about Silva for Dontrelle Willis and Bonderman. M's pay 24.5 to Silva's 25, but, they eat it all in 1 year versus 2. I doubt the Tigers do it, but, maybe the M's throw them Luke French back with an apology note for Washburn pitching so poorly.

Pdog thats a hell of an idea that might work for both teams. Especially if you can get the Dodgers to throw in a little cash. Maybe wishful thinking. Bringing back Cameron will eat up most of the little cash that's left to spend.

''Carlos Lee? Seriously? Dude is a hitting machine, how the hell can having him locked up for three years 55 mil be a bad deal? Thats about 18 mil a year, consider that Jason Bay and Holliday are gonna get about 15 or more a year for 5 years, and Lee has better numbers. If the stros' wanna give the Bravos Lee for Lowe I would do it in a heartbeat, hell I would do Lee for Vasquez!''

Yeah, seriously. Carlos Lee does not have a particularly bad contract. Of all those $100 million contracts (Soriano, Wells, Helton, etc.), he is probably one of the best ones. The guy has 99+ RBIs 7 years in a row, and aside from one crappy year in Milwaukee he has hit .286 or better each year in that time span.

Give me a break with this Gary Matthews or Derek Lowe for Lee crap. Lee has been one of the better power hitters in baseball for quite some time. He's coming off a .300/26/102 in a year in which he was pretty quiet for half the year.

Carlos Lee is an awful defender in left field but I'd take him for Lowe in a heart beat too. I think he has a no trade clause, and I don't know if he would want to be traded to Atlanta.

How about Garry Matthews, and Peter Bourjos for Derek Lowe? Two bad contracts, and it would solve the Lackey vacant spot. D. Lowe had a bad year, but he can bounce back like his done in the past

Alfonso Soriano for Derek Lowe?

Tommy--He can be traded after next season (if I remember correctly), but that is the only year he doesn't have one, but will be a 10-5 player so he can veto any trade after that too.

As for the defense part. He is bad, but LF at MMP isn't exactly a huge place to roam for a LF, and Bourn in CF helps out a ton and can help cover much of the ground that Lee can't. I'll take Lee's bad D, with his good bat any day of the week with Bourn in CF.

Where do you get Lee making 18 per year for the next 5 seasons, when his contract is only for 3 more years?

"Lowe for Lee--The Astros do need some SP, but why would they take a guy that is coming off a poor season for a guy that just drove in 100 runs again?"

This is more about the fact that Carlos Lee is overrated by HR/RBI numbers, than the fact that Lowe is still that good.

RBI's are relatively worthless, especially when you have guys like Berkman, Tejada, and Pence batting around you, and Lowe was actually fairly solid last season, he just wasn't really a $15M pitcher.

The ERA wasn't pretty, but his 4.00 FIP and 4.18 xFIP are still fairly solid, the major issue is that Lowe has seen a major decline in his ability to miss bats, his contact rates skyrocketed this year.

Meanwhile, Lee is a good power hitter, but not only did he show a decline in his power production in 2009 (his first ISO below .209 since 2001), but he doesn't have particularly good on-base skills, he needs to hit his way on base most of the time. And we haven't even gotten into his below-average defense, which is tolerable, but not as much for a hitter of his quality who's making $18M per season.

Lee and Lowe are fine players, but if the choice was Lee through 2012 at $18.5M per season, or Lowe through 2012 at $15M per season, I would take the reliable sinkerballer.

Miles's $2.7M is really a silly inclusion when you have Magglio listed as an Honorable Mention.

Who hangs up? Zito/Rowand for Soriano/Bradley. Difference is roughly $5M.

"Who hangs up? Zito/Rowand for Soriano/Bradley. Difference is roughly $5M."

San Fran. Only and idiot would think Soriano and Bradley in the same outfield is a good idea.

I would just like to say that I love this post.

Why is Cordero up there? a 2.16 era and only giving up 2 home runs in 68 appearances is great! Castillo could be up there, but had a good year on a terrible team...Perez is untradeable at this point.

Any of these players half-decent at 2B for a trade with the Dodgers?

Juan Pierre for Luis Castillo is an idea I've heard floated...

Posted by: dodgersdan | October 28, 2009 at 12:08 PM"

I would rather trade Luis Castillo for a pitcher or 1B....If we sign Matt Holliday for LF, Beltran in CF and Francoeur in RF, we have no need for Pierre and his weak arm and I would not want him to sit on the bench as he can still start....

Mets offer Castillo, Murphy and Havens for James Loney and a prospect...do you hang up?...you have a serviceable second baseman with a good OBP....the potential of a great hitter and defender in Murphy and a promising prospect in Havens....and we will pay some of his Castillo's salary...and mets get their 1B of the future...

"Thank you...Young might be making a little more than he should be, but he doesnt even belong in the same category as most of these players.

He still produces on offense, is solid on defense, and is an unbelievable teammate"

Young definitely produced offensively in 2009, his .385 wOBA was the second-best of his career, but its a change from his consistent decline from 2005 to 2008, reflected in his wOBA's: .389, .352, .341, and .331 in 2008 before bouncing back this year.

Given that he's VERY below-average defensively at shortstop, and below-average at third base as well, you're probably giving him too much credit.

He's definitely one of the most overpaid players in the game. The big difference is that he's still a good player, while that's questionable when you're talking about guys like Wells, Soriano, Matthews and Perez.

A really really Healthy Manny.

"Bradley and Soriano for a bag of balls?"

That's a really lopsided deal for whoever is giving up the bag of balls.

"Mets offer Castillo, Murphy and Havens for James Loney and a prospect...do you hang up?"

Yeah, the Dodgers hang up.

They aren't going to deal Loney in order to pay Castillo $12M, add Murphy (who they don't really need), and Havens, who would end up being the third best shortstop prospect in their system, behind Dee Gordon and Ivan DeJesus Jr.

Not even going into the mystery injury last year, Silva has been about as bad a pitcher as a pitcher can get.

Anyone who has visions of The Cubs or Cards taking him off the M's hands, and giving an actual living, breathing player in exchange is not being realistic.

His numbers prior to being horrible were alright, but even if he matched them in his first two Ms years he'd be on this list.
Funny, the Bavasi was facing at the time was:
Gil Meche for 5/55
or Silva for 4/48

"That's fair...how about we replace Loney with Billingsly and a prospect and give you Pelfrey and 2 prospects..."

Are the two prospects like, Flores and Niese?

Billingsley is on another level compared to Pelfrey, and Castillo just doesn't have positive value on the trade market.

I just don't think that scenario is realistic on any level, the Dodgers aren't going to move Billingsley, especially for a Pelfrey-based package.

• carlos silva for oliver perez
money's even and pitching with his buddy johan helps silva, safeco helps ollie

• wells for zito makes some sense but one thing jays have is lefties

• ortiz, papelbon, lowell and drew for maggs, inge, bonderman and granderson

• dice roll: chavez for dontrelle

• pierre for byrnes

• sarge jr for uncle miltie

Posted by: crash | October 28, 2009 at 03:18 PM

Never in a million years would I take Carlos Silva....I would rather deal with Milton Bradley and his crazy ass

@ Crash

Why would the Dodgers want to trade one extra OF (Pierre) for another (Byrnes)?

"I would throw in Niese...we also have a promising pitcher in Michael Antonini...I think the mets minor league system is a tad underrated...granted we are not as stocked as your team or Boston for example...but we have some good players down there...."

My teams, the Cubs and Sox, don't have better farm systems than the Mets, although the Cubs' system is in a similar position.

And I think that the Mets' farm system is pretty good, it's just that most of the talent is in the lower levels. Their best guys, guys like Davis, Mejia, Flores, Marte, and Havens, aren't that close to being MLB-ready, a lot of their guys are projection at this point.

My teams, the Cubs and Sox, don't have better farm systems than the Mets, although the Cubs' system is in a similar position.

And I think that the Mets' farm system is pretty good, it's just that most of the talent is in the lower levels. Their best guys, guys like Davis, Mejia, Flores, Marte, and Havens, aren't that close to being MLB-ready, a lot of their guys are projection at this point.

Posted by: scribbletone | October 28, 2009 at 03:44 PM

I agree...the mets do have the potential for a top ten farm system...you also have Holt, Antonini, Moviel. Thole and of course F-Mart who is still a young guy with a high ceiling