Links from around baseball..
- David Lennon of Newsday ran down his predictions for the top free agents on this winter's market. Lennon sees Josh Hamilton landing with the Brewers on a five-year deal and B.J. Upton getting a six-year pact from the Phillies. Of course, MLBTR readers can put themselves in the mix for great prizes in our second annual free agent prediction contest.
- The Indians should follow the example of the Athletics and overhaul their team this offseason, opines ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider sub. req'd). Olney suggests that Cleveland can start the fire sale by trading shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a team such as the A's, Mariners, Red Sox, or Yankees.
- Speaking of the Tribe, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer looks at how a tight financial situation and bad trades combined to hurt the Indians in recent years.
- MLBTR has learned that Orioles left-hander Zach Phillips has rejected his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk and elected free agency. Phillips, 26, posted a 3.17 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 42 Triple-A outings last season.
- The Cardinals may pursue short-term fixes at both shortstop and second base rather than entrust their depth to organizational players such as Pete Kozma, Ryan Jackson, or Kolten Wong, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Rockies could decide on their new manager early this week, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Bench coach Tom Runnells, veteran slugger Jason Giambi, former Rockies shortstop Walt Weiss, and current Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams make up the club's final four of candidates.
- Scott Boras takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to chat with FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi about the offseason and how new television revenue will fuel spending over the next few months.
- While strong numbers during a contract year may benefit free agents, teams aren't guaranteed to see a repeat performance from their new investments the following season, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
The Yankees and Mariners both already have shortstops (who are the complete opposite). I don’t have Insider, so I assume he mentions Jeter’s ankle in there and perhaps not being able to play the field. And of course Brendan Ryan who has the batting skills of a pitcher, but is easily the best defensive SS in baseball.
Watch NY keep Jeter around until after 2014, then go all in after Elvis Andrus and an attempt to get another franchise SS, regardless of whether or not Jeter wants to continue playing.
As good as Andrus is on defense and on the bases, he’s not going to get a lot of money due to a subpar bat. Career OPS+ of only 84, and career OPS of .695
Don’t expect mega bucks for him
With two years before Andrus reaches free agency, it’s way too early to make that stance. He’s going to be a very young free agent, and a key position with advanced metrics saying he’s one of the 5 most valuable SS. I don’t think Boras is going to have much problem getting him 100m+. For instance I think he’s going to be a far more attractive (i.e. costly) free agent than Bourn is this year.
Fair points. I also did forget he was a Boras client.
I just don’t see the Yankees going out and getting someone to replace Jeter. I just don’t think they would throw him under the bus like that and shift him, to where? RF?
Indians fire sale. Yeah, that’ll fill the seats in The Jake. Do-Nothing Dolans need to sell the team and get out of Ohio. Our generation’s Ted Stepien.
Why not have a file sale? its not like we can move down in the rankings in terms of attendance. I do agree though. The Dolans need to move on. They haven’t done anything to help the franchise since buying it. On that note, so does Shapiro and Antonetti.
Dolans as a whole should get out of sports ownership.
6 years for Upton? It better be 6/54 then.
People need to get REALISTIC. There is absolutely no way that Hamilton is a Brewer next year. The team just doesn’t have that kind of money to throw around.
I’d like to see the Braves jump in the mix for BJ Upton. He could be a
steady part of the middle of the lineup for years to come. Plus if the
could get Victorino to play left and bat leadoff, their outfield would
be set.
They can have him if that’s the price.
-the rest of MLB
Really?
I don’t know why he is viewed so high. His .298 obp this year is simply atrocious.
if the Indians are in fire sell, asdrubal to the padres makes sense
Francona isn’t going to go along with any firesale.He has to have his entourage of veterans and be competitive to keep him interested. Cleveland hired one of the worst people if they intend to go thru a rebuilding process and attempt to develop younger players. Francona will be trying to use veterans when younger players should be getting the majority of playing time.
Francona knew what he was getting himself into, and I’m sure during the interviewing process the very topic of rebuilding and going young was discussed.
I hope so. If they end up trading say… Masterson? I see doom myself, unless they get back an equivelent best SP for that team, or can figure out what is wrong with Jimanez.
Hopefully? With Francona onboard he can help work with the coaching staff and just get Masterson to drop his arm angle back down some so his nasty sinking FB regains the sink it once had, tho not drop it to the degree he had with Boston. Masterson has solid #2 capability, but will probably need hard pushing/reminding from coaching all during his career with regards to his mechanics to retain that status.
He really should become a 2 pitch starter also.. He gets that angle down exactly right and can “hold” it? Just use that nasty sinking FB, then use his change and work with those 2 only.
The Cardinals have nice young middle infield depth with Kozma, Jackson, and Wong. Thye already have the capable competition under team control in Rafael Furcal, Skip Schumaker, Matt Carpenter, and Daniel Descalso. I could see them adding another middle infielder on the cheap but they seem pretty solid at the position if you ask me.
Furcal might be out for the season if he has surgery. Kozma has never hit in the minors, something like a .230 career minor league avg. If Furcal does have surgery I would think the Cards bring in someone on a 1 year deal to play SS.
That’s not a very strong group. Depth are all those guys are. Between Wong and Carpenter they might be able to come out with an every day 2B. There is a big need for a SS, though. Kozma is not a long-term answer.
Stephen Drew seems like a good fit.
I read the article of David Lennon and, swisher to the padres actually makes sense with the dimension changes
White Sox should try to get Asdrubal to play 3B…they have some young Starters that could be a match.
And what would that accomplish. SS usually tend to cost way more to acquire than a 3B of similiar offensive ability, so that would be value thrown away.
I can’t see any way Hamilton ends up with the Brewers. They’re not going to spend $20 mil+ on anyone.
5 yr/20 mil has been offered to every top free agent (Sabathia, Prince, Greinke) that has left Milwaukee. If Hamilton’s price falls to that, they will probably offer the same thing to Hamilton.
Yes, but on the other hand, there is likely at least one crazy team that will make an offer that far exceeds that. I would figure the Nats make an outrageous offer to either Hamilton or Bourn.
All the talk about Hamilton to the Brewers is basically with the understanding that his price falls to around the 5 yr/ 100-110 million range, and/or he wants to be with people he’s comfortable with (Narron brothers). If someone is willing to blow him away with the 6-7 yrs/ 150-175 million or whatever, then go right ahead. The Brewers sure as heck won’t go anywhere near that high.
Hamilton wants 7 yrs/$175 mil, but he’ll sign with any team that includes a 6th year on any offers. That’s figuring at least 2-3 crazy teams willing to risk 5 years on Josh.
2 yrs $18 mill for Delmon Young? That’s crazy talk
That’s not so crazy when you look at his age, production in 2012, and his salary from last season. It might be hard to believe, but Young just turned 27 in September. Countless hitters have had breakout seasons at the age of 27 and the best could be yet to come with Young. He only cashed in for $6.75 mil in ’12 and a raise to $9 mil for ’13 & ’14 isn’t far out of line. It might be a little steep of a raise for somebody who hasn’t put together back-to-back 150-game seasons since ’07 & ’08, but he showed in ’12 that he could produce by posting his second best career season in a potent lineup. I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but if a team signs Young to a 2-year, $18 mil deal they could be getting quite a bargain. I’d be willing to see my O’s snag him at that number. He can’t be expected to be a centerpiece of a lineup, but I’d like him as a 6-hole hitter cleaning up behind the big sluggers.
But he has absolutely no plate discipline. For the past 2 years you are looking at a .300 obp and about 15 hr power. He could always turn it around, but in all likelihood he won’t. You would be paying $9M a year for someone who is near the bottom of the league for LFers offensively, and his defense must not be that good because detroit has been using him at dh.
Asdrubal probably isn’t the greatest fit in Oakland, but he makes sense considering their serious lack there. AC is a horrible fielder and putting out and Oakland starting rotation with a clumsy shortstop is not the greatest idea. With how much money he’ll make he’s a decent bargain at best but certainly an upgrade over Rosales (lol). Wouldn’t give up much: maybe Griffin and Taylor.
how bout cabrera to the cards?
Wow, glancing at Lannan’s free agent forecast… Nick Swisher signing for 4/48m with San Diego? O’kay. Lorache getting the ‘Carlos Delgado’ (4/68m contract).
First, if anybody offers Hamilton a 6-year deal, it could be 2 years longer than any other deal on the table. There’s no doubt he’s productive when he’s in the lineup, but his fragile body doesn’t warrant a deal that long. Second, the O’s would be better off upgrading at 2B or in the starting rotation before they shell out a 9-figure deal for a 31-year old LF who only has two seasons where he’s played more than 135 games in his career. Finally, why would Upton sign a 6-year deal for an average salary that’s more than $1.6 million less than the 2012 qualifying offer amount?
I agree that Hamilton on a 6 year deal would be a horrible move for the O’s (or any team). A 4 year deal, I can see many teams having interest in.
Most players are generally happy to take less money for the guaranteed security of a long term contract….