In today's blog post at ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes about White Sox pitcher Sergio Santos, who made the transition from being a flamed-out shortstop prospect to a hard throwing relief candidate. Santos was part of the Troy Glaus–Orlando Hudson swap back in 2005, but moved to the mound in 2008 after hitting .226/.268/.332 in over 1,500 Triple-A plate appearances. Santos is out of options, so he'll have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors.
Here's some other hot stove topics Olney touched on…
- Some baseball people said that conversations leading to trades haven't really started yet. "I'd say that'll happen in another week or so, like clockwork," said one scout. "Everybody wants to get a sense of their own team and their own needs, and who they're going to move, before they start talking trade."
- Gary Sheffield did not want to settle for a pinch-hitting role, and the feeling was that he did not want to be sent to the minors. Olney doesn't think it would be a surprise if he waited until mid-season to sign, Pedro Martinez-style, but it also wouldn't be a surprise if he never played again.
Gary Sheffield is dreaming if he thinks he’s going to get a starting OF job like he wants.
Someone will sign him. Teams get desperate. Players get hurt. That’s what he’s waiting for. He doesn’t have to play. Moneywise he’s set for life. I look around the leagues and there’s a lot of bad outfielders. Swisher, Damon, Abreu, Drew, Manny and on and on. Sheff can play the field as well as them. And he can hit.
The same JD Drew that posted the 2nd highest UZR of all right fielders in 2009?
Someone will sign him. Teams get desperate. Players get hurt. That’s what he’s waiting for.He doesn’t have to play. I look around the leagues and there’s a lot of bad outfielders out there. Swisher, Damon, Abreu, Drew, Manny and on and on. Sheff can play defense as well as them. And he can hit.
Someone wil sign him. Teams get desperate. Players get hurt. That’s what he’s waiting for. And if you sign him you don’t have to give up another player. There’s a lot of bad outfielders out there. I’m sure he’s in better shape so he can play the field. And he can hit.
If Drew was the 2nd best rightfielder in all of baseball in ’09 then something is wrong with UZR.
Or it just means he’s not among the worst.
Or it just means he’s not among the worst.
Just for the fun of it …
If you’re using UZR/150, JD Drew is the best right fielder with 15.7 UZR/150.
It’s harder to hit just being a DH. Mentally. That is what I have heard all DH’s say. To get the most out of a hitter it would be better to play the field some days and dh some days.
I watched Sheffield play last year on the Mets. Most all of his pinch hit appearances came at the very beginning. Then as he was playing everyday and getting regular at-bats he was hitting very well. And his fielding was fine. It was a noticeable improvement over Dan Murphy’s fielding. In fact Gary Sheffield was playing so well that Manuel couldn’t afford to take him out of the lineup. Then after the All-Star break the reason why he hurt his leg was because he was not in shape. Now I’ve heard him say he has “lost 15 pounds, his legs feel great and he can run all day.” His talent is still there, he brings veteran leadership and I believe could help some team like the White Sox, Giants, maybe the Braves get off to a good start.
Everyone this time of year has “lost 15 pounds and their legs feel great”.
‘Tis the season for wishful thinking.
Nowhere on this earth is Sheffield a better fielder than JD drew.. That’s insane