Some more links for the evening…
- Chad Jennings of LoHud.com provides an extensive breakdown of the Yankees' potential outfield options.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says his team will decide in the near future "if we have a bullet to use what would we use it on," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Pirates are the leaders for D.J. Carrasco, who is being pursued by three other teams. In a separate tweet, Price adds that the Mets plan to scout Carlos Delgado this weekend in Puerto Rico.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that Josh Johnson is definitely not switching agents any time soon. Matt Sosnick represents the big righty.
- Justin Sablich lists the best remaining free agents for the New York Times.
- Chien-Ming Wang is telling friends he's prepared to move on from the Yankees, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham says Wang should be ready to join an MLB rotation in May.
- David Aardsma could come close to tripling his 2009 salary of $419K, according to MLB.com's Jim Street. The reliever is one of five arbitration-eligible Mariners
- MLB.com's Dick Kaegel tweets that Noel Arguelles passed his physical with the Royals, making official the five-year $7MM deal he agreed to earlier in the offseason.
- Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune says Russell Branyan's likely not returning to Seattle now that the Mariners are poised to add Casey Kotchman.
- Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog hears from people connected to the Mets that they are interested in John Smoltz. The NL East is all over Smoltz – the Phils and Nats have interest, too.
I’m surprised Bill Hall has trade value at all. I’m reminded of when the Sox were trying to shed Lugo. Is his defense really worth it? I was under the impression that the Sox could use internal (AAA) options for defensive replacements.
A couple of points:
1) His value is somewhat bolstered by the money coming from the Brewers via the Mariners.
2) He really is a good 25th man (which is what the Sox will use him as) who can play half the infield and the outfield.
3) He did have a few great seasons which makes his trade value more than a AAA replacement.
4) Alternate replacements are Tug Hulett, Nate Spears, and Angel Sanchez… which would you rather.
Kotchman had a low value. The fact that we got a B prospect and a defensive replacement for him seems fine to me.
He’s basically our new Kotchman, who can play more than first base. That’s how I look at it anyway..
I must say I’m a little lukewarm on both Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall. Their 2009 offensive lines are very average to below average based on their positions. Hall only hit .225 in 2008 and then only .201 in 2009. Hall should not be in a major league lineup. Why do the Red Sox want this guy?? For the money they are shelling out to Beltre, he better improve upon his .266 average of 2008 and his .265 average of 2009. Take out his obvious fluke year of 2004 and Beltre’s numbers in LA and Seattle are very unimpressive. Offensively, I think Beltre is a downgrade from Lowell. Defensively, however, Beltre is a major upgrade. Which would you rather have on your team manning 3rd and an OF spot:JASON BAY & MIKE LOWELL or MIKE CAMERON & ADRIAN BELTRE??I would go with the first pair.
Well, the Sox are saving about 60 million in long term money by taking Beltre and Cameron rather than Bay. Using BA is also about the worst way to justify a players worth. Cameron OPSed around 800 last year and played a premium position very very well. Beltre although not as premium a position played third extremely well also, and he always has had some pop. I loved the Sox’ additions this winter with the exception of the Lackey deal which screams short-sightedness, one thing I could never see Theo doing.
You’re right there are a myriad of other reasons why Bill Hall and Adrian Beltre suck as well I was just making a small example. Want more??Hall: 37 homers last 3 seasons combined, On-base percentage .258 last year, sub .600 OPS, declining defense 34 Errors last 3 seasons, can’t steal a base if he tried and so on and so forth. He shouldn’t be playing for a major league team.Beltre: Power non-existent last season, outside of 04 his highest HR total was 26 (including all years in LA and Seattle), OBP is a career .325 (which includes his .388 anomalous 2004 season), strikes out a TON (5 seasons with 100+ K’s), and consistently very low OPS #’s for a “power” guy. Is that better?
explain again why bill halls bad numbers even matter?
kotchman may have gotten better stats, but he would have been used just as infrequently as hall will be, which means for both of them that their overall stats are actually not a big deal. So when you look at it at a very basic level, we traded an exceptional defensive backup first baseman for bill hall, who plays a bunch of positions, can play just well enough to spot a couple of games here and there, plus cash to pay for hall and even another catching prospect. Sounds like a great deal for the Sox. Plus Beltre is going to surprise you. I won’t quote stats or even give a reason or anything. I just think Beltre will thrive in Boston.
I agree that Beltre will have an impressive season. Getting out of Seattle will help, no matter how you look at it. Beltre should turn it around just like how Lowell did when he arrived. Just my opinion.
too bad he’s only thrived 1 season, 2004. Even with being in a huge park in seattle that should have no bearing on many offensive stats such as batting average and on-base percentage which are much less than desirable for his position. Yeah he may hit more homers next year but his other numbers shouldn’t dramtically go up just cuz he’s playing in Boston and if you think this will happen you are going to be disappointed.
I agree w/ you about Beltre, I think the RedSox got the two most over-rated players in this years market w/ Beltre being the most over-rated, but I am ok w/ the deal due to it being for one year. The deal itself is a steal however the player isn’t what he’s hyped up to be IMO.
Lackey is a decent pitcher however grossly overpaid and I’m not sure he would’ve found that deal anywhere else but who knows. To earn over $16M as a pitcher you should be an Ace in my opinion and Lackey isn’t an Ace by a long shot. If they plan on locking up Beckett which I assume they will that leaves Bucholtz as the number 4 or 5 if Dice-K picks it back up. I just think it’s way too much dedicated to the rotation long term especially since Lester will be getting some Monster raises in the next couple years while still arb eligible. I feel they didn’t think the Lackey signing thru completely and acted very quickly when it wasn’t necessary
Oh but Bill Hall… he is flat out awful, they musta gotten some salary relief in that trade otherwise it makes no sense. Kotchman at least has a tiny bit of value.
Not to be rude or anything, but I clicked like by accident. Who said Hall was going to be a full time player?
I’m surprise the Mets keep cjecking on Delgado and not Brayan. He had a good season and I don’t think stadium could scare him coming from Safeco.
That’s exactly why they’re not going after him. He had one good season, where as Delgado’s had many. Also, Branyan’s got a back problem, and everyone knows the Mets do not need another injured, or injury prone, player.
Exactly. I like Branyan, but he’s asking for to much and he’s got to much of an injury history. I’d love to see Delgado batting in the 6th hole.
But isn’t Delgado the one coming off an hip surgery. Besides players can ask for what ever they want, but the market really determines their price. Brayan will have to drop his price.
Delgado has a much smaller injury history then Branyan. Branyan has been injured almost every year of his career. Honestly, I’d love either one on a 1 year / 5 mil or less with incentives and an option.
I agree people have short memories about Delgado lately.. The guy is only one season removed from 13 consecutive seasons of 24+ HR’s and only two of the 13 were below 32. In ’08 Delgado still mashed hitting 38 bombs. Not expecting him to come back and some people labeling him a has been isn’t just IMO. I wouldn’t bet against Delgado and although the Mets season seemed like an eternity it was still just one season ago he killed it and was in regular form.
Don’t be. It may just be my impression but while the Mets said all the diplomatic things after last season ended, they quietly displayed a kind of predisposition towards bringing Delgado back all along. From what I see there have been very few reports of the team taking anything more than a passing interest in any of the other available FA 1B, while reports of “possible” interest in Delgado have surfaced again and again, and it started way before winter ball. I think the Mets just have Delgado as their preferred candidate, as much for his upside (assuming he doesn’t suffer another injury) as for his presumably low cost. Personally, I am not sure I love this because at his age I think there is a big risk, but perhaps having Murphy in the house lowers the team’s concern.
Wang is going to pitch for Torre again.
Agreed.
I’m surprised teams haven’t really made serious offers to Wang yet. He’s a decent high reward guy if a team takes a chance on him. Wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Phillies uniform, assuming he can use his sinker to keep the ball down.
I believe teams are waiting for the other high risk/reward type players to sign. (Namely Sheets, Bedard and Chapman)
While I believe the Red Sox have downgraded offensively, the addition of Lackey makes their overall offseason grade out pretty well. The AL East should once again be a 2-horse race with the Sox and Yanks. As it stands right now, the Yankees have to be the clear favorites due to their additions and minimal subtractions.
losing 2 guys that produced nearly 200 rbi’s between the 2 isnt minimal subtractions..but yeah they did replace them. overall their definitly a better team. might be a 110 game winner if Vasquez continues into 2010 like he did in 2009..then again that was a career year but we will just have to see.
Yeah, basically the Yanks are hoping for a full healthy season of A-Rod (30/100 in a shortened season is a good sign, if anything) to help mitigate some of the loss from Matsui and Damon. Granderson is very capable, and if Nick Johnson can stay healthy, he can only create more RBI situations for the guys behind him. All in all, if things work out, you probably won’t see the Yanks score all that much less than they did last year.
I love Kotchman but how the hell did Boston get anything of value for him?
You think Bill Hall has value?
“Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Pirates are the leaders for D.J. Carrasco, who is being pursued by three other teams.”
Would love the Cubs to target him for that remaining BP spot Hendry seems intent on filling off the market. He’s one of the best of the remaining options, and the cost doesnt sound as if it will be that bad if the Rats are leading the way. But the 2.93 BB/9 the last two seasons means he probably doesnt walk nearly enough hitters to interest ‘ol Jimmy Boy
Donkey Donnelly is another low risk and high reward guy that Hendry could get for dirt cheap and would like to see him pursue.
Wang will do so good when he is in NL
Wang will do so good when he is in NL
Smoltz is going to the dodgers no doubt about it. Hands down
If I’m Cashman, I’m signing Reed Johnson and let him outplay Gardner in Spring Training and give him the starting job in LF.
One bullet to use eh…..
I’d go with felipe lopez… He replaces the versatility we lost in derosa, won’t cost a draft pick, and is an excellent switch hitter with an .310ish average that could go up batting second ahead of pujols and holliday
I’d also think valverde is a good choice
Forget tejada..his asking price is way too high, plays crap defense, and grounds into like 25 DP’s
delgado hit a homerun tonight against caguas or ponce i dont remembered(im from pr)
I’m thinkin the ‘one bullet’ should be used on a starting pitcher… Jarrod Washburn perhaps?
too expensive
If we had one bullet left, I hope we sign Felipe Lopez with it then. Lets face it, im not sold on Freese playing 3rd everyday. Not to mention, Brendan Ryan gets injured often, so having Lopez on the team would give us insurance if Ryan gets injured or Freese struggles. I would love to see the Cardinals sign Lopez and then sign one of Ryan Church (replaces Ankiel, left handed bat off the bench), John Smoltz (can start if the idea of an inhouse player getting the last rotation spot fails OR can move to bullpen), or Octavio Dotel (can close on occasion if Franklin struggles). If we can land 2 of these 4 guys, the Cardinals would be in a great situation this season.
Use the bullet on Borass..
Ahh…so tempting! But ultimately, what goes around…
😉
what does Smoltz want to be a starter or reliever?
He’s open to both.
Will Cashman just see if Reed Johnson is healthy and sign him already. Just stay away from the likes of Marcus Thames, horrible AVG, OBP, while not even a .800 OPS player in his career.
Its easy Brett Gardner and Reed Johnson in a platoon in LF and as #9 hitters will provide terrific defense, while still knowing how to handle the bat in a platoon over the season.
“Yeah, basically the Yanks are hoping for a full healthy season of A-Rod (30/100 in a shortened season is a good sign, if anything) to help mitigate some of the loss from Matsui and Damon. Granderson is very capable, and if Nick Johnson can stay healthy, he can only create more RBI situations for the guys behind him. All in all, if things work out, you probably won’t see the Yanks score all that much less than they did last year”That’s the thing about the loss of Matsui and Damon, the Yankees will have* Arod back for an entire season hitting behind Tex, I mean Teixeira hit 39 HR and 122 RBI while getting off to a horrible start, people wondered if he could handle NYC, etc and Arod had as you mentioned 30 HR and 100 RBI, while missing 38 games to start the year. Next season both of these guys could each put up 40+ HR’s and 120+ RBI’s over the full season. I mean certainly give Arod 38 more games and he could have driven in 10 more HR and 20 RBI’s or pretty close to it, especially if Jeter and Johnson are on base at the .400+ OBP they had last season. While Damon and Matsui had close to career years in slugging and OPS, you can’t at 36 expect them to duplcate that again next season. There is going to be some regression to their career averages, especially given their ages, one would think at least. * Granderson and Johnson all had below career years in slugging and OPS, and are 29 and 32 next season so much more likely to improve greatly next season based on their career numbers in those areas. Those combination of things such as Arod for a full season, Granderson and Johnson most likely to improve upon last season’s performances easily in this lineup, and as lefy hitters coming to Yankee Stadium, Posada hopefully playing more than 111 games where he still had 22 HR and 81 RBI, along with Vazquez added to the back of the staff when last season it was essentially Joba as the 4 when Wang got hurt after being brutal, all sets the Yankees up for another run in 2010 barring injuries of course.
If Smoltz signs with the Mets or Phillies.. oh god. I’d hate to see him get shelled, but he’ll get shelled.
i think it might be kinda cool if he sign with mets/phils/nats/marlins..then he can face the Braves and kick their asses for kicking him to the curb.
That’s an interesting point, and I could see Smoltz having a positive effect on the majority of the pitching staff. However, in the case of Pérez, from what I have observed, his pattern is to respond positively to a new coach or mentor for a while (during which many declare him “cured” and start predicting big things from him), only to return to his uncontrolled ways sooner or later. I am afraid that putting him on the right track in any kind of lasting way is beyond the abilities of mere mortals.
Maybe he can be the oitching coach in a couple years. Unlikely, but I’d love to see it.
“Texiera always gets off to slow starts and Nick Johnson has been on the decline since returning from his terrible injury in 2006. His OBP is still high but his power is all but dissapearing”
Thus the benefit of having Arod back for the entire season, when Tex gets off to his slow starts, Arod is at least there to bring home those runners, last season early on the Yankees used Posada, Matsui, Swisher all in the #4 spot behind Tex when he got off to a slow start and that lineup wasn’t fooling anyone early on with that situation going on, every day early on Girardi would rotate one of those guys in and out of the cleanup spot to get something going.
I for one look forward to seeing how Tex and Arod hit as a 3-4 combination over the course of next season together, with Jeter on base at .406 and Johnson at .426, those two sluggers will have lots of RBI chances facing a bunch of tired pitchers considering Jeter had the 2nd most hits in the majors, 3rd best average and 10th best OPB, Johnson saw the 3rd most pitches per at bat in the majors, 7th most walks and 3rd highest OBP in baseball.
As to Nick Johnson the last thing anyone expects from him is Homers, if he hits 15 I would consider that fine, what the Yankees want from him in that 2 hole is to do what he does best, continue to show excellent plate discipline, take lots of pitches, work the count and get on base a whole lot behind Jeter and in front of Tex and Arod, walks and singles will suffice with the hitters surrounding him to hit the homers.
Well its all give and take, just by the nature of Johnson getting on base so often there will be more double plays, but there could also be more 2 or 3 run homers from the guys behind him as well.
I think Tex might actually get off to a hot start next season, the biggest difference is having Arod for the whole year behind him in the order, the pressure is less when you have back to back dominant run producers like that. Kind of like when Boston had Ramirez and Ortiz a few years ago, if one didn’t get you the other one would at some point.