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Archives for November 2006

Frank Catalanotto signs with Rangers

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Three years for $13 million.  Not crazy in this market, not crazy at all.  The key to Catalanotto is that he is just about worthless versus lefties.  He managed a great .300/.376/.439 in 432 ABs last year for Toronto, but he was savagely platooned: only 38 of those ABs were against lefties.  That’s smart of John Gibbons: only about 10% of Cat’s ABs in the last six years have been against southpaws, and he’s scratched out a .243/.327/.346 line vs. LHP in that time.

With those splits, Catalanotto would be a nice platoon partner for Nelson Cruz, but that still leaves the Rangers two outfielders short.  Brian Anderson would be a nice fit in center, but that still leaves the outfield rather thin; a recovered Brad Wilkerson, Victor Diaz, and Freddy Guzman are other in-house options.  Only Wilkerson even has a shot at providing league-average offense, and that assume his skills come back with his health.  Then again, if any team can manage a weak offensive outfield, it’s the one with Mark Teixiera, Hank Blalock, and Michael Young in the infield.

By Jeff Sackmann

Gotham Baseball: Rockies Want Milledge?

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One oif the more interesting things I heard in this week’s follow up calls after the GM Meetings was the Colorado Rockies’ interest in Lastings Milledge. 

Though I keep hearing from those inside and outside of the team’s inner circle that Milledge is still a player they expect to blossom in New York, I can’t help but think that the Mets are focused on moving forward…without Lastings.

Another very interesting tidbit was a rumor of the Tigers and Reds talking Adam Dunn

Go nuts, folks

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Alfonso Soriano.  Eight years.  $135 million.  Chicago Cubs.   Rosenthal has the scoop, though he doesn’t explicitly say that the Cubs are going to give him that money, just that that’s what he’s after.

As a Brewers fan, I’m thrilled that Hendry is blowing his wad on Sori.  Could be a great Cubs offense for a couple of years, but that can’t leave a whole lot to patch other holes.

UPDATE: It’s a little more official, and a little more expensive.

By Jeff Sackmann

Speier and Stanton close to finding new homes

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The big news this morning is that the Angels are close to a four-year deal with Justin Speier, who is very possibly the best reliever on the market this year.  Tim predicted that Speier would get a three-year deal worth $17M–my guess is that the money per year is right, just with that extra year, for a total of $21-$22M or so.

Speier was a possible closer for many teams, so it’s something of a surprise that the team that ponied up for him already has a great closer and a solid setup man in Frankie Rodriguez and Scot Shields.  It’s not cheap, and it’ll certainly be more expensive once Frankie gets deep into his arbitration years, but LA could have the best 1-2-3 bullpen punch in baseball for a couple of years.

The market for relievers wasn’t pretty in the first place; now the best guys out there are, uh, Danys Baez and David Weathers?  The price was already high for Scott Linebrink; it just went up again.

One of the possibilities for Boston (who was presumed to be a suitor for Speier) is Joe Borowski, who sounds more than generically interested in the Red Sox.  And who wouldn’t be?  Short of every fanboy’s dream of Roger Clemens pitching the ninth inning, Borowski could end up closing games in Boston.

Yesterday I said nice things about the Reds signing of Alex Gonzalez.  Today I can’t be so kind to Wayne Krivsky.  Apparently he’s about to sign Mike Stanton to a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third.   Stanton turns 40 in June.  He had a nice run in San Francisco last year, but let’s face it: the guy hasn’t put up a good full season for two years.  Sure, he might be worth more than the $1M he got for last year, but a vesting option for 2009?  I guess that if you’re worried David Weathers won’t come back, there’s only one choice: get older.

By Jeff Sackmann

Assorted updates: Alou, Hudson, Garland, Okajima

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Earlier today, we found a report that Moises Alou was about to sign with the Mets.  Now Rosenthal is saying that it could be a two-year deal.  With Carlos Gomez right behind Lastings Milledge, putting two established vets in the outfield through 2008 would seem to make Milledge expendable. 

Yesterday, Phil Rogers speculated that Mark Buehrle could be headed to Texas.  Rosenthal says it’s Jon Garland, and hints (as Rogers did) that John Danks and Brian Anderson could be part of the package, especially if the deal gets bigger.

And, Buster Olney is reporting chatter about Tim Hudson heading to the Orioles.  If, as Olney speculates, the return could include Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn, it would seem to be ideal for Atlanta: free up payroll for Tom Glavine, and get another (cheap) potentially decent starter in the deal as well.

And here’s something out of nowhere: Hideki Okajima, a lefty reliever, may be coming to the states.  Okajima, a longtime Yomiuri Giant and recently a Nippon Ham Fighter, had a great 2006 but a mediocre ’05.  Sounds like your typical middle-bullpen fodder.

By Jeff Sackmann

Alex Gonzlez about to sign with Cinci

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Three years, $14 million for Alex Gonzalez, via Gammons.  Depending on what you think of A-Gon’s defense, that might be a good deal.  Gonzalez doesn’t get a love of love from traditional statheads since his career OBP is a mere .292, but the bar is pretty low for shortstops.

He’ll be 30 next year, so there’s no reason to expect a major fall-off; Baseball Prospectus has his wins above replacement (WARP) at 3.2, 3.5, and 2.7 in the last three years.  If you figure he’s good for 3 wins, that’s less than $2M per win–a great, great deal in this market.  That’s based on BP’s fielding metrics, which have Alex as below average with the glove.  If you believe, as the Reds seem to, that he’s above average, it’s even better still.

Then again, it’s not quite as good a deal as Felipe Lopez will be for the Nationals in arbitration.  Felipe made $2.7M last year and will get a sizable raise, but he’s been worth over 5 wins each of the last two years.  I’m sure Gary Majewski will be worth it.

By Jeff Sackmann

Angels Pursuing Andruw Jones Trade?

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According to Halos Heaven, the Braves hope to send Andruw Jones to the Angels for Ervin Santana and Nick Adenhart.  Of course, Andruw would have to be amenable to this deal to make it work.

Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein wrote, "Adenhart has come all the way back from Tommy John surgery to establish himself as one of the top righthanders in the minors."  Among right-handed starters, Goldstein ranked Adenhart behind only Homer Bailey and Philip Hughes.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times (subscription required) says the Angels have made an offer to Alfonso Soriano and have interest in J.D. Drew.  Mike DiGiovanna speculates that Drew could command a four-year, $56MMish deal.

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