Some Marlins tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Joe Frisaro..
- Hank Blalock may be an option for the Marlins as they seek a left-handed bat off the bench, tweets Frisaro. Up until this point, the Indians were the only known suitor for the 29-year-old's services.
- Frisaro also reports (via Twitter) that Florida has no interest in signing Carlos Delgado and still has no interest in Russell Branyan. Yesterday we learned that the Marlins spoke to Delgado's agent, though the veteran slugger is said to be seeking more money and playing time. There were rumblings of Florida's interest in Branyan, but Frisaro learned last week that the club has not spoken to him.
why arent the orioles going for branyan? 1 year contract with a club option and he could hit 5th behind miggy! i feel like the orioles can at least compete everyday with a power bat and another starter…perhaps and extra bullpen arm. roberts, jones, markakis, tejeda, branyan, reimold, weiters, atkins, and izturis isnt a bad line-up. trade scott and guthrie for a real number 2 or 3 starter and bridge the gap for the youngsters.
Felipe Lopez isn’t the only one who should fire his agent. Branyan had a 1+1 deal on the table from Seattle but was convinced (somehow) he could get 3yr./$20-30M in this market? After having a completely crap second half partially (at least) due to a bad back that may still be a problem he wasn’t going to get a multi-year deal from anyone. If I had to guess, he’s looking at a 1 year deal and a couple million bucks now. And thats probably for a platooning roll.
Russ and his agent really screwed the pooch on this one.
why arent the orioles going for branyan? 1 year contract with a club option and he could hit 5th behind miggy! i feel like the orioles can at least compete everyday with a power bat and another starter…perhaps and extra bullpen arm. roberts, jones, markakis, tejeda, branyan, reimold, weiters, atkins, and izturis isnt a bad line-up. trade scott and guthrie for a real number 2 or 3 starter and bridge the gap for the youngsters.
If only Blalock could have gotten his OBP up a little. That’s what is keeping him a FA.
It’d certainly help him, but let us not forget his previous injury problems – Russell Branyan had quite the high OBP last year, it seems teams are staying away from the power/no position guys this year.
Branyan had a 1.8 UZR and a 2.4 UZR/150 in 2009 as a full time first baseman. And having watched him a ton on defense this last year, he really wasn’t a bad defender. He held his own.
Its the injury that is keeping teams away. Herniated discs are no joke. And his complete collapse after the All-Star break (.193/.274/.414) reminded people a bit too much of the Russell Branyan that everyone thought he’d be in 2009. In other words, they are chalking up his great first half as the outlier and his bad second half to his more realistic skill set. That + bad back = VERY risky.
But that injury effects how teams think of him defensively. Even being solid, after a serious injury, team’s don’t look at him as a 1B.
I think its Suzysman who always has a detailed post about Branyan, but he sold me on 2009 being like every other year for him.
For fun, isolate HRs from the PA of some players. For instance, Branyan hit HR in 6% of his PA last season and posted lines of 179/.304/.250/.554 (including IBB) in the other 94% of his PA.
So do that for the 3 year averages and career marks of some similar players on the market
Branyan
.178/.296/.235/.531 with 6% HR rate (3-year avg)
.178/.290/.237/.527 with 6% HR rate (career)
Jacobs
.206/.270/.270/.540 with 5% HR rate (3-year)
.213/.279/.283/.556 with 5% HR rate (career)
Delgado
.226/.315/.289/.604 with 4% HR rate (3-year)
.230/.348/.306/.654 with 6% HR rate (career)
Blalock
.222/.279/.304/.583 with 5% HR rate (3-year)
.236/.301/.304/.605 with 4% HR rate (career)
Average Hitter last 3
.235/.316/.309/.625
Average First-baseman
.231/.336/.313/.649
That is likely the reason Branyan is not getting offers – his game is 100% tied to his ability to hit HR. When not hitting a HR, he is worthless with horrific non-HR lines (in the bottom 7% in the game last season with all the middle infielders and catchers you would expect). When coupled with the Back which puts his fielding in question, you have a player that is 100% HR and nothing else.
Oh, and yeah, it is me :) The illogical hype the guy has gotten has been driving me nuts the entire 2 years its been building up, lol. He has hot streaks driven mainly by HR spurts – a common occurrence for any hitter. When he isnt in a HR streak though, his hitting ability is just horrific. Really, if you are certain Branyan wont hit a HR off a specific pitcher or in a specific park or just because he woke up groggy or something – well, in that situation you might as well pinch hit for him with Aaron Miles; you’ll have a better chance for success.
Haha, I knew it! Yea, I remember seeing your posts about Branyan and completely agreeing with them.
I’m not about to say he isn’t worth a roster spot – when Branyan goes on that “streak” he tends to have every year, he is a very valuable player. I think though, if some team were to give him full-playing time at say, DH (thus he could avoid injury) they’d be severely disappointed over the course of a full season.
lol, what can I say? When only one person is really willing to stand up and tell the truth, that person becomes memorable I guess :)
But I am with the league – he isnt worth a roster spot unless its an emergency situation. 8 years and something like 15 team changes has shown what clubs really think about him in that aspect, and that took place when he was able to cover third. And really, what value would he bring to a roster? Like you said, you will end up disappointed playing him daily. But you cant pinch hit with him unless you are willing to pray for a HR and accept defeat otherwise; and it isnt like he provides defensive ability or flexibility. You can have him as platoon with a kid maybe, but as soon as the young player starts getting into a groove you will want to pull Branyan and he becomes a wasted 25-man spot.
I dont see anyway around his best role being 4A filler on a team hoping to win without a ton of depth – similar to the expected role for Jacobs with the Mets. On the club if it has injuries, in Triple-A under the ideal situation.