Some links for Tuesday evening…
- In an appearance on Jim Bowden's XM-175 radio show, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman said the team never made an offer to Hideki Matsui, and that their offer to Johnny Damon was conditional (link goes to Twitter).
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that the Brewers have agreed to terms with four of their pre-arbitration eligible players.
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News mentions that the contracts of Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin are not guaranteed. The Yanks could cut them in Spring Training and would only be required to pay them 30-45 days of termination pay.
- Luis Castillo spoke about all of the offseason trade rumors he was involved in, writes MLB.com's Marty Noble.
- A Mets' official told Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News that the team would like to sign a lefty reliever like Joe Beimel, as long as the pitcher was willing to accept a contract worth about $1MM for just one year.
- The Astros signed Felipe Paulino to a one-year deal that will pay him $415K if he makes the big league roster, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter). Paulino is likely to be arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two next season.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Diamondbacks and Mark Reynolds have agreed to negotiate a contract extension until Opening Day, though talks will cease after that. Heyman spoke to some executives who think Prince Fielder's two-year, $18MM deal could be used as a comparison.
- ESPN's Buster Olney hears from officials involved in the Felipe Lopez bidding that they think the free agent infielder is likely to end up back in St. Louis (link goes to Twitter).
- Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi is joining ESPN as a television analyst, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
- Now that the Rod Barajas deal is official, the order for the 2010 draft is set. The Blue Jays, Barajas' former team, hold ten of the first 126 picks.
Wow, 10 of the first 126 picks. Great chance for the Blue Jays to nab some real talent, plus all of the prospects they’ve acquired over the past season, PLUS the already good young players they have. Blue Jays are gonna be good in the future.
Too bad they play in the AL east.
Yeah, because the Rays suck hardcore right?
Playing against some of the toughest teams can make young players perform better than some expect, forcing them to improve to compete.
Plus with the $16-million vaulted for signing the draftees in 2010, it’s gonna be a good day to be a Jays fan.
Not too shabby at all. For what it’s worth, the Angels have 5 of the top 50.
How the mighty have fallen J.P., your the reason the Jays system is an absolute embarrassment. I hope you enjoy your new Career as a TV guy cause you were never good at the other thing.
I think he’ll do an excellent job as an analyst. Probably his true calling…
So the Nats are going to get Strasburg AND Harper?
And interested to see who the Jays nab.
I’d take Christian Colon with number 11.
he might go higher than that
Astros
I’d be happy with Felipe back in St. Louis. I am extremely happy that the Cardinals have 6 picks in the first four rounds.
Oh yeah..because the farm REALLY needed it.
Though I do like Virgil hilljr (6th round) & Adams(22th or 23th round) of last years draft.
We still have great players in our minor leagues. Darryl Jones for example, I think will be great.
But, We do need to replenish. We have 1 player in the Top 100 Prospects, That’s Shelby Miller, I haven’t even seen him pitch, So I can’t say much about him, but from what i hear, He’s a Keeper.
I suppose ESPN is trying to make a collection of the worst Ex-GMs in the history of broadcasting.
Should make for some hilarious television.
Yeah, J.P.’s best work will probably be on the big screen.
2007: Marc W Rzepczynski(5th round), Brett A Cecil (1st round)
2006: Travis Snider
2005: Ricardo Romero
2004: David K Purcey, Adam Lind (3 round)
2003: Aaron Hill, Shawn Marcum……………(Cecil, Rzep, Romero, Purcey, Marcum, McGowan, Morrow are the rotation candidates…all that young pitching could give them a chance in coming years to actually compete in AL East….)
2002: Nobody significant
2001: Gabe Gross….ehhhhh
2000: Dustin McGowan
1999: Alex Rios
1998:Felipe Lopez
1997: Vernon Wells
1996: Billy Koch
1995: Roy Halladay
1994: Nobody significant
1993: Chris Carpenter
1992: Signed Kelvim Escobar as a FA, Shannon Stewart
1991: Shawn Green
Ol’ J.P. had some great drafts…..the pieces just never fell in place at the right times. You can’t fault him for being able to evaluate talent. That list above more than proves that. Please refute the talent he and his organization brought in……
Some bad money deals….YES….but an eye for talent YES.
The Blue Jays really know how to scout talent & draft. Without that there’s no way they would have as many AL East titles in the past 20 years as they do now.
I was hoping that all the chatter about the Cardinals not signing a shortstop, standing pat, being set on offense, etc…was nothing more than posturing to keep the price on Lopez low.
There isn’t a team that is a better fit for what Lopez brings.
The Yankees should trade Sergio Mitre for Waldis Joaquin.
Why would the Giants ever trade a talented young power reliever like Joaquin for Mitre?
xFIP likes Mitre a lot more than FIP and tERA, but he’s pitched 51 innings in the past two years and he’s consistently underperformed his xFIP numbers. He’s not a bad option for someone as a fifth starter or spot guy, but he’s simply not the type of piece that you trade young, controllable talent for, at least when that talent is already capable of contributing in the majors.
“A Mets’ official told Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News that the team would like to sign a lefty reliever like Joe Beimel, as long as they’d be willing to accept a contract worth about $1MM for just one year.”
Forget the rotation, that team needs a LOOGY!
actually, Joe Beimel is a really good relief pitcher. The rotation is still going to be horrible as you said but Joe Beimel is something right?
Yeah, looking over his stats it does look like he has been used outside the Loogy definition.
That said, he is a career low-leverage guy and I cant imagine he will help the Mets needs much at all. Of course, the lack of a rotation could lead to plenty of mop-up situations for him at least
Suzysman, I don’t think there is anyway the Mets could get worse. He will at the very least, pitch 60 games of sub 4.00 ERA Baseball.
He couldn’t do any better on your Cubs right?
Like I said, he is a low-pressure reliever. So what if he posts a sub-4 ERA in 60 games that dont mean anything because they are already decided? He cant hurt really, but it doesnt mean he would really help much either.
Well what if he posts that sub 4 ERA when he pitches 60 games (just say 40 innings assuming he is a lefty specialist) and posts something like a 170 avg against lefties and is the Kiko Calero of 2009? I mean what if he does pitch in the under pressure situations? I mean “your not competing” but you still have to get some relief pitchers to mop up those dreadful starts that your starters throw. 1MM for Joe Beimel is not throwing a lot of money out there, and you and I wouldn’t be the only ones to agree that this wouldn’t bring the Mets home a world series trophy. But it would just take some pressure off the starters, Jerry Manuel, and may even just turn out to be a good signing for the Mets. Also Suzysman, you and I have never actually agreed on anything, so what do you say?
I say you nitpick everything said waaaay too much, and are over-eager to get into long going-nowhere arguments over nothing where you dont have anything but your feelings to back them up.
But if you really want to talk about Beimel we will – here:
4.66, 4.77, 8.34, 5.55, 4.65, 4.65, 4.77, 4.94,
Those are his career xFIP marks. And so you know, they are horrific for a reliever. He might slightly outproduce them (ignore 06/08, they are HR/LOB/BAbip flukes) on his way to providing a 4.0 range ERA, but he should be expected to be right around that 4.0 just the same. And so you know, the average reliever holds a 4.0 ERA while the average full-time reliever generally holds a 3.50 range ERA. Yeah, he is average overall and fairly below average for 40+ inning guys. He doesnt help anyone any more then any other random reliever out there really.
Then you couple it with the fact that he doesnt pitch in high leverage games and you have a below average full-time reliever who poses no advantage to carry on the roster. So again, how exactly will this help much?
So whoo-hoo, he might help as much as Pat Misch did last season. To that I ask, why not just use Misch, save the million dollars and instead use it towards fixing one of the other many holes?
I dont see the point of targeting him, I dont see how he will help them, and I know for a fact he isnt a very good reliever because of the stats he has provided in all his low-leverage situations. But if you want to feel this is somehow a good target, knock yourself out I guess. If illogical minor non-upgrades is all it takes to have you thinking a team is headed in the right direction, then let me tell you – you will love the Mets club they are about to field!
1 trip to the World Series doesn’t change anything. Come to think of it neither does only having 3 rings. YANKEES.
^^In response to DarthVader87
I’m wondering about Boras now. Everyone was saying what an awful off-season he has had …
Did Damon really get screwed? We had heard that the Yanks offered 2/$14m and taking a 1/$8m probably isn’t as good but now we have Cashman stating that there were conditions on the offer. Without knowing what those conditions are, Damon very well might have got the best deal available when he did the 1/$8m deal with the Tigers.
And what about Lopez? Here we had a guy who Boras was obviously dragging down. Turns out a new agent is making much of a change. Sure, he will sign soon (since ST is right around the corner). However, his eventual signing says nothing about the effectiveness of Boras’ representation. Time will tell, but Lopez’s biggest problem wasn’t his agent. Teams are sticking it to him for being a quitter and a problem. I think everyone has seen the Sheffield, Bradley, Guillen show and decided that upside isn’t worth the potential headaches.
He was never a problem in Cincy. Days after his release from the Nationals he was signed by the Cards. He signed a deal prior to Chirtsmas with the DBacks last season, one of the first middle infielders to do so. And the Brewers were eventually willing to give up two intriguing prospects to add him mid-season. Now the Cards are rumored to want him back a second time. There is zero evidence of what you claim. And the only problem he ever had was with a Nats team that insisted on carrying 8 middle relievers, 4 of which were starter capable, and outright refused to release or trade him. They also wouldnt trade any of the other players, asking for the moon everytime anyone asked about Belliard or Guzman especially.
The problem for Lopez this season comes in two things – 1) The market for middle infielders was extreme. There were no top-shelf guys but like 20 lower-tier guys with pretty different skill sets and price tags. Once the 3 or so starting jobs were filled it was just a matter of how low the remaining guys would go on their demands to either meet the low salaries mid-market teams could afford or accept a bench role with a deep team on a cheaper deal. Players holding out were going to get burned, it was extremly obvious very early on. 2) Boras has a track record of asking for pretty hefty contracts for his players when they are off big years like the one Lopez saw in 09. He fired him, so its clear Lopez isnt happy about the way he handled negotiations.
Lopez and Orlando Hudson were just this seasons Hudson, and the Twins represented the last club with a starter spot up for grabs which could only go to one of the two. He priced himself out of the early jobs and because of it teams found other alternatives leaving him little to no options in the end. Now he will sign late, likely eventually taking the spot of the slatted starter in StLouis (displacing any of Shumaker, Ryan or Freese) in SanDiego (displacing Eckstein or pushing Headley to the OF) or in Cleveland (displacing Valbuena or replacing Peralta if he is dealt)
Do we have any evidence that he priced himself out of the market? I haven’t read anything along the lines that Boras received offers but turned them down. What we have is a bunch of speculation that Lopez was getting the cold shoulder because of the way Boras handled him. My point is that even without Boras teams aren’t jumping on the guy.
You can excuse his poor attitude in Washington all you want but the fact is he quit. When you make your living on being a competitive team player this is inexcusable, regardless of the situation.
Finally, the market has changed. Bad attitude guys are out. A year ago the Cubs gave Bradley a 3/30 deal. This year they traded him away for a guy sporting an ERA over 6. Jose Guillen was the subject of much trade speculation last year after signing a FA contract just 12 months earlier. Yet, he too was deemed worthless. Even Sheffield and his 820 OPS isn’t getting a sniff in the off-season.
Those guys all have other issues in addition to attitude problems but so does Lopez. Exactly two of his years have been above average. When you couple a spotty track record with a bad attitude the results are going to be financially disappointing.
“Do we have any evidence that he priced himself out of the market?”
Based off prior evidence, yeah. Its a more logical thing to speculate then the “no one whats him” speculation you claim which has been debunked by 3 teams that did want him the last year and a half.
“My point is that even without Boras teams aren’t jumping on the guy.”
He fired him what, a week ago? And after every single other middle infield alternative (meaning almost every open position) was gone? Yet you expect offers to start pooring in?
“You can excuse his poor attitude in Washington all you want but the fact is he quit.”
and there is zero evidence that anyone holds it against him. StL wanted him instantly, and now wants him back. Arizona wanted him almost instantly last offseason, and Milwaukee wanted him mid way last season when they had visions of a run. San Diego and two other clubs (on top of StL) want him now just for unknown roles.
You are taking speculation, putting it in a bubble and then trying to justify it.
I can not believe I am saying this, but thanks. I as a Cardinal Fan owe you for a lot of facts.
I think the big thing to look at here, is that if teams did in fact shy away from him because of character issues, then maybe there may have been an overreaction by the baseball world to bad character guys.
Lopez is clearly an exceptional talent who on multiple extended occasions has harnessed it. I think that what may have happened, was that Boras and Lopez were looking at Lopez’s situation without the character issues, while other teams overcompensated for their concerns about messing up the clubhouse by making offers that didn’t match up with his statistical track record.
In the end, I think it’s a combination of both things. If it weren’t for the character issues, Lopez might have gotten the offer that he was looking for. But at the same time, if Boras had properly weighed the game’s perception of Lopez, then he would’ve recognized that Lopez was never going to get that offer.
Possible as well. But remember, there were so few starters jobs to begin with and plenty of starters on the market – something Boras has not handled well previously.
In the end we really have no clue. Reputation could have been a part of it or it could have had nothing to do with any of it (like it didnt the offseason prior). In the end there are plausible explanations which can both include and exclude it and all we know for sure is that the media has focused solely on it while ignoring the other aspects completely leading to a bunch of people making way too big of a deal over something that might not be a factor at all.
The Yankees never made an offer to Matsui the MVP? You know why? Because he was taking steroids along with most of their players. The same thing with Damon. The reason why they won the WS is because their players were juicing.
that’s silly. There’s no evidence of that and no reason to believe that.
That really is an ignorant thing to say.
I would like to just take the time to thank Dave Dombrowski for Curtis Granderson, 🙂
After all the guy is a much, much better player outside of Comerica his entire career
2006 Home – .249 AVG, .326 OBP, .389 SLG, .715 OPS, 7 HR, 33 RBI
2006 Away – .271 AVG, .343 OBP, .485 SLG, .828 OPS, 12 HR, 35 RBI
2007 Home – .286 AVG, .351 OBP, .512 SLG, .863 OPS, 10 HR, 36 RBI
2007 Away – .318 AVG, .370 OBP, .592 SLG, .962 OPS, 13 HR, 38 RBI
2008 Home – .277 AVG, .361 OBP, .493 SLG, .854 OPS, 11 HR, 35 RBI
2008 Away – .283 AVG, .368 OBP, .495 SLG, .863 OPS, 11 HR, 31 RBI
2009 Home – .230 AVG, .307 OBP, .388 SLG, .695 OPS, 10 HR, 34 RBI
2009 Away – .267 AVG, .345 OBP, .516 SLG, .861 OPS, 20 HR, 37 RBI
Career Home – .260 AVG, .336 OBP, .445 SLG, .781 OPS, 38 HR, 138 RBI
Career Away – .284 AVG, 356 OBP, .522 SLG, 878 OPS, 56 HR, 141 RBI
We are talking about a guy outside of Comerica who gains
+24 points on his AVG
+20 points on his OBP
+77 points on his SLG
+97 points on his OPS
Take that into account, combined with the fact that he is left handed, coming to Yankee Stadium and will be in this lineup, all at 29 years of age. It will be one of the best offseason pickups, book it.
Those career numbers tell you Curtis Granderson is an even better player away from Comerica Park bar none, coming to Yankee Stadium that can only help to improve his production.
In Detroit he was a leadoff batter in those seasons, in New York he will be lower down in the middle of the order, where he is a much better fit and was miscast as a leadoff hitter in Detroit.
Thanks a lot Detroit and Dave Dombrowski once again, you can have Damon. 🙂
Hill & Lind were some notable snags of JPs time