We’re one week closer to Spring Training, and we saw the pitching market trim down quickly over the past seven days, as the three top starters remaining are now off the market (though not all for the same reason). Let’s recap:
- I was in the camp that thought Ben Sheets could have a productive 2009 and come as a bargain to a team like the Rangers. And I was wrong. Sheets will undergo elbow surgery that will put him on the shelf until at least July, and possibly for the entire season.
- The Mets and Oliver Perez agreed to terms on a three-year, $36MM deal. I’m not much of a Perez fan, so I feel they overpaid. Ollie’s got tremendous upside, and is perfectly capable of making a believer out of me, but he’s yet to show enough consistency to warrant that kind of money in my eyes.
- Perez’s 2008 wasn’t much different than Randy Wolf’s, yet Wolf signed for a fraction of Ollie’s price: one year, $5MM with the Dodgers. Wolf can earn up to $3MM more with incentives. I like this value for LA.
- The Dodgers tried to have an even bigger week, but their one-year, $25MM offer to Manny Ramirez was rejected. This is the second failed attempt to bring Manny back for the Dodgers. Will they go to three years?
- There’s been a lot of talk about the status of Joe Crede. The Twins and Giants are both after his services, but the Giants were the first to make an offer. My personal prediction is that he’ll end up in Minnesota, which means there’s about an 85% chance he’ll be in San Fran by the end of the week.
- Speaking of the Twins, they signed Luis Ayala to a one-year, $1.3MM deal with $575K in incentives. Ayala’s been solid his whole career until 2008. Nice low-risk value. Twins fans also had to be happy to hear Scott Baker say he’d like to stay in Minnesota.
- The Orioles signed Ty Wigginton to a two-year, $6MM contract. Great signing for the O’s. Wigginton is versatile, a solid bat, and can fill in at either 1B or 3B for them in 2010 once Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff are gone. Great value and great flexibility in this deal from Baltimore. The Orioles also acquired Rich Hill for a player to be named later.
- Adam Dunn has an offer from the Nationals, but has been sitting on it for awhile. There’s not much of a market for the corner OF/1B/DH types. Even if Washington isn’t his first choice, the likelihood of him playing there seems to be increasing.
- The D’Backs signed Tom Gordon to a one-year deal worth $500K guaranteed and $2.5MM with incentives. Nice investment for Arizona.
- Tim had an interesting post, listing players who are out of options for the 2009 season.
- Those wondering why the comments section has changed, here’s Tim’s explanation. Also, remember to keep things respectful in the comments section. Insults toward other commenters and making derogatory marks about players, teams, etc. shouldn’t be taking place. Thanks!
