After recapping the most recent news on some remaining free agent starting pitchers yesterday, let's focus on the bats today. Here are the latest updates on a few of the notable unsigned position players:
- Jermaine Dye: Dye had the Mariners on his wish list, but Seattle didn't have much interest in the 36-year-old. Another team out west, the Giants, also had no interest in signing Dye. Washington was in the mix for the right-handed slugger at one point, though they've since backed off. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks Dye will sign somewhere soon, and an American League club where Dye could DH would make sense. Like Jarrod Washburn though, he'll likely need to reduce his asking price.
- Gary Sheffield: Cafardo also believes Sheffield should sign soon, and tweeted that the veteran had "something on the table" a couple weeks ago. The Nationals also had discussions with Sheff, but the club seems happy with their current selection of outfielders for now. Even though he's 41, Sheffield could have value to a National League team as a pinch-hitter and part-time player, like he did for the Mets last year (.276/.372/.451 in 312 PAs).
- Carlos Delgado: Delgado might end up being the offensive equivalent of Pedro Martinez: a hired gun that could contribute to a contending team in the second half of the season. The Mets were considered a possibility prior to their promotion of Ike Davis. Before Delgado catches on with any club, the 37-year-old will have to show that he's fully healthy following his second hip surgery in February.
- Joe Crede: Considering Crede is a Scott Boras client, it's somewhat surprising that we've heard next to nothing regarding his status. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported in early March that Crede was hitting and throwing while he waited for an offer, but there has been very little news since then. Crede has homered 32 times over the past two seasons and plays an above-average third base, so it may be health questions that are keeping him on the free agent market. As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested earlier this month, a healthy Crede "could become an attractive mid-season option for risk-taking GMs."
- Elijah Dukes: Shortly after Dukes' surprising release by the Nationals, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted that a few teams were interested in the 25-year-old. Since then though, we haven't heard anything concrete. Perhaps clubs are still hesitant to invest in Dukes, given his off-field history.
- Rocco Baldelli: There was some speculation earlier in April that Baldelli could be an option for the Rays if they gave up on Pat Burrell, since Baldelli has been working out at Tropicana Field and wants to play. Burrell has played better since that point, hitting .275/.318/.500 in his last 11 games, silencing those rumors somewhat. For the time being, Baldelli will continue to serve as a special assistant for the Rays.
Check out our full list of available hitters here.
— Seattle needs Dye in the worst way. Unfortunately, they have 2 other DH’s already (Griffey and Sweeney) and an OF that should be a DH (Bradley).
— Crede needs to sign a pure incentive deal that pays him for games played. If healthy he is at least a LA player that offers some depth/insurance/defensive replacement value. A team would be crazy though to guarantee the guy anything.
— Baldelli is just like Crede. Not a bad guy to have but the deal has to be a pay to play type structure.
— Dukes is a mystery. I wonder if teams finally get it that some players, despite their on the field contributions, simply are not worth taking on.
I’m pretty sure the Mets aren’t going to consider Delgado. Ike Davis has 1B covered
and im pretty sure that is what Luke said above already…
He must’ve edited it, because that was not there yesterday. Or else i would’ve never mentioned it. Even the people below me mentioned it
gotcha…sneaky
Delgado would be a great addition to the Blue Jays, esp if they are still in the hunt, it would be a great story.
As far as the Mets, so long as Davis IS STILL raking, I would say no, there is no fit…but lets remember that baseball is a game of adjustments, so lets see how pitchers adjust to Davis and look for holes in his game. If Davis slumps badly and Delgado is out there…it wouldnt hurt to try him, a hot Delgado can almost single-handedly carry a team. That being said, I really have enjoyed watching Ike play…but I also remembered enjoying Daniel Murphy play too..so I am cautiously optimistic, Davis seems to know when to pull and when to go the other way, which makes him alot harder to pitch to than Murphy who was pretty much an opposite-fields hitter…once pitchers started busting him inside, he had a difficult time adjusting. Since pitchers so rarely come inside, ( since most lefties are pull hitters ), murph was rocking in the beginning. It totally makes sense why now. If he can learn to adjust to the pitcher, pitch by pitch, he can be a .300 hitter too…but unless the NL adopts the DH ( crosses fingers ), he probably will be shipped out soon
I give it about 3-4 weeks of Mark Kotsay not doing anything but grounding into double plays and hitting right at guys for Kenny, not ozzie(ozzie is too stubborn to get rid of a guy he like) but Kenny wants to win. So i give it 3-4 weeks of Kotsays being nothing more than bad and Dye gets a call. I honestly think the only team he will lower his money for is the whitesox, he is in love with them for some reason