Padres Interested In Bonds
Ken Rosenthal just keeps churnin’ ’em out, and I keep passin’ ’em along. This is a good one: the Padres are interested in Barry Bonds for left field. In 493 plate appearances Bonds had the best OBP in baseball this year at .454.
While one might think PETCO could diminish Bonds’s power, Bill James says otherwise in his latest handbook. After bringing in the fences a little bit, PETCO played very differently for left-handed power hitters in 2006. While left-handed HRs were deflated by 38% over 2004-05, they were inflated by 51% in 2006. I think Bonds would do just fine.
Phils Sign Wes Helms
Yet another third baseman is off the market, as the Phillies acted quickly today to sign Wes Helms to a two-year deal with a club option for the third. Ken Rosenthal scooped another one. Helms is guaranteed $5.5MM for 2007-08.
Helms will be 31 next season. He was a full-timer for the Brewers in ’03, hitting .261/.330/.450 in 476 ABs. He’s faced a disproportionate amount of lefties in his career, as he hits them significantly better.
Helms probably can’t hit as well as the average NL 3B (.826 OPS). Defensively, he’s got a strong arm but his footwork doesn’t impress.
O’s Close On Jamie Walker
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Orioles are close to signing southpaw reliever Jamie Walker to a three-year, $10MM pact. Walker has been solid since coming to the Tigers in 2002.
Should the Orioles close the deal, the White Sox and Tigers will have to look elsewhere for top-notch lefty relievers. Alan Embree, Steve Kline, Darren Oliver, and Mike Stanton may be the best options.
Here’s my 2007 Team Outlook for Baltimore. They’ll probably add more relief help, a starter, and some 1B/LF types. They snagged one possibility today. The O’s would have to increase payroll past $80MM to make it work.
Mussina Back With Yankees
Looks like Mike Mussina has agreed to a 2-year, $22.5 million contract with the Yankees. No big surprise here: there was never much talk that he could’ve been going elsewhere. That gives the Yankees a projected rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Randy Johnson, Mussina, and some combination of free agents (Gil Meche? a White Sox starter via trade?) and Carl Pavano, Humberto Sanchez, Darrell Rasner, and Jeff Karstens. And, of course, the possibility of Philip Hughes.
By Jeff Sackmann
More Matsuzaka
No hot rumors here, but I wanted to point everyone toward my latest article on The Hardball Times about Daisuke Matsuzaka. One of the things I looked at was the impact that the Red Sox bid could have on the free-agent market, particularly Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt. It’s interesting that the team that won the bidding wasn’t one of those that was strongly going after Zito–in other words, the Red Sox set a staggeringly high market price for an ace pitcher, but by winning the bid, didn’t shrink the market for Barry.
I also noticed that the high-end starting pitching market is just as strong as it was last year, despite all the talk of this being a "weak" market. I mean, who would you rather choose from: Zito, Schmidt, and Pettitte, or Burnett, Millwood, and Loiaza? Take a look at Tim’s Top 50 list from last offseason; it’s eye-opening.
Also, I was interviewed for a segment this morning on NPR’s morning edition. It’s aimed toward a general audience who hasn’t been following the Matsuzaka sweepstakes for months (or even days), but if you think it’s cool that a blogger managed to get their voice on NPR right after Peter Gammons (I sure do!), you can check that out here.
By Jeff Sackmann
Mets Acquire Ben Johnson
The Mets and Padres made an interesting trade today, with the Pads sending outfielder Ben Johnson and reliever Jon Adkins to New York for relievers Heath Bell and Royce Ring.
Johnson, 25, is a possible platoon candidate in the outfield for the Mets in 2007. He can play all three outfield positions and is a good athlete, featuring power and speed. While he mashed during his first stint in Triple A in '05, he didn't impress at the same level this year. Back in 2002, Johnson was the Padres' second choice for a prospect in the Carlos Hernandez trade after Albert Pujols.
Adkins was the return to the White Sox for Ray Durham back in July of '02. He's got a 4.63 ERA in 134 big league innings of relief.
The Mets acquired Ring, a 26 year-old southpaw, for Roberto Alomar back in 2003. Historically, Ring has always been difficult to hit. He posted a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings between Triple A and the Majors this year.
Bell is a 29 year-old righty. He's been dominant in Triple A but has struggled with the Mets for the past two seasons. Even so, he showed very good command as a Met.
Cubs Looking At Meche
According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000, the Cubs have inked backup catcher Henry Blanco to a two-year, $5MM deal. Gil Meche could be the next player the team signs.
I like Jim Hendry’s aggression…but is Larry Rothschild really the guy who’s going to fix Meche?
While I have you – Cubs fans may want to check out my Mark DeRosa projection over at AllCubs.com.
Which Pitcher Do You Prefer?
Here’s a fun exercise over at Bucco Blog: looking at just these graphs, with no research, which pitcher would you prefer and what premium would you pay him compared to the other two?
Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments and Jake will reveal the pitchers later on.
Lugo A Center Field Option?
For teams looking for a player via free agency who can serve as both a center fielder and leadoff man, there are four options. You can sign Kenny Lofton, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Pierre, or Dave Roberts.
But if you’re not into aging speedsters, the OBP/defense-challenged, or the guy coming off a career year, you can get a little creative. Aside from a huge commitment to J.D. Drew, who might or might not hold up in center field, you could ask Julio Lugo to be your center fielder.
That’s an option the Cubs are considering if they fail to sign Alfonso Soriano. Lugo’s agent, Jeff Borris, knows that his client is much more valuable if he’s seen as an option at SS, CF, or 2B. Lugo was headed towards a career year of his own until he was dealt to the Dodgers, where his role was unclear.
2007 Free Agent Market: Third Basemen
With the Cubs signing both Mark DeRosa and Aramis Ramirez, and the D-Rays winning the rights to Akinori Iwamura, the free agent market for third basemen is shrinking. Check it out.
There are basically six viable candidates, and that’s if we include questionable third base defenders like Garciaparra, Huff, Hillenbrand, Rich Aurilia, and Helms. The demand for Mike Lowell, Morgan Ensberg, and Joe Crede should be strong.