On this date in 1998, the Angels signed Francisco Rodriguez as an international free agent. K-Rod, as he would later be nicknamed, saved 208 games in his dominant seven-year stint with the Angels, striking out 587 batters in 451.2 innings. Now a member of the Mets, Rodriguez is on the disqualified list after a Citi Field altercation led to a season-ending injury and lots of time in court. Here are today's links…
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he may start talking with the team's free agents before they're allowed to start negotiating with other clubs.
- Ryan Church told Andrew Pentis of MLB.com that he’d like to return to the Diamondbacks in 2011. The outfielder is a non-tender candidate after a lackluster season.
- David Ortiz told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he won't feel as comfortable next season if he's not on a multi-year deal. Big Papi has been hinting at an extension for a while, but the Red Sox can simply exercise his $12.5MM option if they'd prefer not to commit to Ortiz beyond 2011.
- Jim Thome told Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he’s planning on playing again in 2011. If the Twins win it all, however, Thome says he would be tempted to retire.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com predicts (on Twitter) that Adrian Beltre will end up with the Angels and Jayson Werth will end up on the Red Sox.
C’mon Thome, what’s better than a WS Title?
A WS Title and 600 hr… you have to come back.
A WS title, and hitting his 600th HR in game 7 of it?
Granted, he’s probably not going to get a ton of AB’s in the next 10 games here, but it wouldn’t be unbelievable for him to crack 11 more over 29 possible games (assuming Twins play max. games in every post-season series)…
I wouldn’t bet on it happening, but it’s not so completely outrageous that it’s not a little bit exciting to think about…
post season hr’s don’t count toward your total
If we get Werth, I wonder what happens with our already large surplus of outfielders? Anyone possible trade bait? Or are we just going to wait it out another year until Cameron and Drew come off the books?
More than likely Ellsbury becomes bait to find a third baseman or solid reliever, Cameron becomes starting center fielder, and Kalish starts in AAA and is called up the second Cameron gets injured.
lol, it’s funny that everyone is kind of expecting Cameron to get hurt next year. Ohhhh Theo how you love elderly players…
I know it’s within the division, but if i was Anthopolous I would be all over Ellsbury like white on rice
Bait implies that there’s a fish willing to bite.
there will be; in 2010 he was injured. but one year ago at this time he was completing a year where he was playing CF, hitting leadoff with a .355 OBP for a team with postseason expectations and as much pressure locally as you’re going to find in the game, leading baseball in steals with 70, hitting .301, scoring nearly 100 runs, with nearly 200 hits.
This year was an injury plagued season no doubt; he was hurt, misdiagnosed causing him to miss more time and then when he came back was hurt again.
I personally would think that someone would look at a combination of 2009’s great performance and 2010’s injury filled season and realize that, if healthy, this guy is going to be a great player for a long time.
He’s a natural athlete with unbelievable speed and above avg defensive skills..
there will be a fish willing to bite.
I see him more as Juan Pierre than great.
There have been a few references lately to Cameron becoming a 4th OF next year, albeit an expensive one. If he shows he is healthy and still has range and pop in his bat, there’s probably a team the Sox could find to take him.
An alternative would be to showcase Ellsbury and then move him when his value is up, with Kalish and Cameron splitting CF and 4th OF for the remainder of ’10.
Hey, depending on the outfielder (not J.D. Drew) the Phillies will need someone to replace Werth. Ellisbury could come here to bat leadoff, and we could always move Victorino back to RF.
I think Jimmy Rollins days as a leadoff hitter may be over. He has had too many leg injuries this year.
The Phillies won’t need someone to replace Werth…Domonic Brown, anyone? If the Phils let Werth walk, he’s the reason. If an outfielder is brought in in the off season, it will be to platoon with Ibanez, but he’s played well in the last few months, so I don’t think that Amaro will spend too much time worrying about him.
The Angels getting Beltre makes some sense. But why would the Sox go after Werth? Yes he’s better than most of their current crop of outfielders, but they already paying 3 to be starters. And I would be afraid about signing Werth anyway. He’s looking for big bucks, yet only had 1 really good year worthy of those dollars. He’s a complimentary player, not a guy that can carry a team.
No way Thome walks away considering the season he is putting up
The question is, what AL team doesn’t have a DH, and will thereby be able to give Thome AB’s?
He said his big deciding factor in coming to MN this year wasn’t the money, but rather the pledge from Gardy that “All my players play”, combined with the chance to win.
Assuming, then, that he wants 1) to get AB’s, and 2) to play for a contender, it becomes a pretty short list of suitors.
NYY/TEX/ANA/BOS have a DH, Chicago has cast him off… that really leaves MN-DET-OAK-TB as the real candidates who could give him AB’s and have a chance to compete deep into September. And I’ll throw in Cleveland as a dark-horse, just so he can get 600 and retire with the team he started.
To have Thome in New Yankee Stadium with the short RF, or to have him in Fenway with his solid opp. field power would be very interesting. Plus he’d be with a contender for sure. There have been rumblings that Thome could replace Ortiz, and Berkman/Johnson haven’t been all the great in NY. Just saying for argument sake.
That scenario makes my heart sad.
Thome is too pure of a player to imagine being dirtied by those locations. He has never been a mega-market guy and never looked or felt right in LA. Cle-phi-chw-mn… Blue collar teams and markets fit him well.
I meant to hit “reply”…. Philadelphia is one of the premiere markets in baseball with outstanding obligations to pay two individuals $20+mm per season (Halladay, Howard). Moreover, they have a payroll well over $100mm. The market is much more like Boston and New York than Cleveland in terms of payroll, attendance, and clientele at the games. Chicago is also such a large market that it fields two teams…
I agree… And the minnesota market is right at the 100m mark too. But that’s why I used “mega-market” and not “big market”. I still think of philly and the south side as “blue collar” (perhaps wrongly)…
If the Rays weren’t dumping payroll, I’d see him going there.
I imgiane Thome wouldnt ask for that much if he is guarnteed at bats
I dont think hes looking for any more abs than hes got with the twins this year. He knows hes old and cant play every day Gardenhire has used him perfectly and he loves the organization if he plays next year it will be in a twins uniform.
Good point. AB’s are a factor, but he really wants to be platooned at DH. More PA’s than a pinch hitter and less than full time starter.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Angels to go after Werth, given their desire to move Rivera and DH Abreu? They have a shortage of outfielders.
Boston has a surplus of outfielders, and zero options at third. Wouldn’t they want to retain Beltre over acquiring another outfielder?
“Boston has a surplus of outfielders, and zero options at third. Wouldn’t they want to retain Beltre over acquiring another outfielder?”
^^^Ding, ding, ding
If the Red Sox allow Beltre to walk and sign Werth for more money I’ll be puzzled. Even if they are set on Cameron being the 4th outfielder the have Ellsbury, Drew and both Kalish & Reddick who are probably ready to start. If they wanted to give Kalish and Reddick more time and keep Cameron on the bench, I think they should go after Beltran. He wouldn’t cost much in baseball talent, and the Mets would probably pick up some salary. You wouldn’t have to commit long term, you get him for a contract year, essentially he would be in Beltre’s position this year. As for Beltre, if they don’t sign him their best internal option at third would be Jed Lowrie. I think Lowrie is a nice player, but he has an extensive injury history and he’s not even close to Beltre’s level.
Oviously you haven’t seen Beltran play lately or been following the Mets too closely.
Beltran is at maybe 75%, he’s starting to hit a bit more, but he cannot go deep or come in quickly for a bloop. The Jury is still out on his full recovery. And as far as the Mets picking up some of his money in order to move him, forget that. Luis Castillo earns $6MM and he lost his job, didn’t really play much since August and they refused to eat any of the contract, so he just took up a roster spot. Beltran makes $18MM a year, don’t think the Mets will eat even half of that unless the get Ellsbury in return. Only a lunatic would make that trade.
Ortiz- I won’t be comfortable….Does that translate to I’ll tank the year if you don’t extend me? Fine, decline the option and let him fend for himself on the open market or give him two years at 6 mil.
Don’t put too much stock in Heyman’s estimate on where Beltre and Werth go. Heyman’s mouth moves when Boras speaks. Boras is the agent for both. This is just a negotiation tactic to get the bidding up when the time comes. I think it is commonly known Beltre’s season this year is his contract year aberration and whoever signs him needs to be ready for the five year Seattle stats. Though Boras does seem to hypnotize GM’s into thinking every player is Babe Ruth or Cy Young.
I would go further than that. He’s actually complaining about being paid $12.5MM and it’s not even a guaranteed salary? Yeah, the Sox should go to him and say “we are your best option. we’ve made you rich. we’ve stuck by you. you don’t have to take the $12.5MM. saves us money. but if you don’t want that and would prefer a multi year deal than you’re gonna have to take that deal on our terms- 2 years/$10MM.”
That’s right. I don’t think Ortiz is worth even half his current salary on the open market and if he forces the sox into declining the option, he should get precisely what he deserves.
your Ortiz comment is the only one I’ve heard that makes the slightest sense! He isn’t worth 12mil and I suspect he might not be worth half that next year. But at worse make it two years for the amount of his option sounds reasonable. He can’t field and sometimes he can’t hit! Or offer incentives with 6 mil as the base… Don’t mind paying him if he hits..
So does this officially mean that the Angels have given up on Wood? I haven’t watched too many angels games this year, does anyone have any insight as to why he’s flopped so badly as a prospect, for a while he was considered to be a cant miss, blue chipper.
Werth just got a little less desirable when he signed with Boras last week, especially with Boras making comparisons to Matt Holliday already. Is either Boston or Anaheim going to shell out $120ish million for 7 years of Werth? I dont know. I would think Anaheim would be quicker with that big money than ‘small market’ Boston would be. Werth has excelled by hitting next to Ryan Howard. Neither Boston or Anaheim have a Ryan Howard so you could probably expect a decline from him immediately.
Beltre is a scary signing. Every contract year he turns it on and then he reverts back to a .260 hitter. He will still give you 25ish homers a year but he wont be the same guy he was this year or who he was in 04 with the Dodgers.
Really? So Werth would decline in Boston without Ryan Howard? What does Ryan Howard do for Werth that Kevin Youkilis couldn’t do? Last time I checked, Youkilis is the better all around hitter. The only thing Howard has on Youkilis is home runs, and I don’t see how the helps Werth more than Youkilis getting on base would.
Youkilis is a great hitter but he doesnt strike fear into anybody and nobody is afraid to pitch to him. Ask David Ortiz how it went once Manny was gone in the lineup and replaced by Youkilis.
Manny batted behind ortiz. Werth bats behind Howard. What you are actually arguing right now is that Werth helps Howard stats. For Phillies fans I hope thats not true, because Howard is grossly overpaid enough as it is, they don’t need him declining quicker because Werth left.
Ask any knowledgeable Yankees fan if they fear Youkilis.
Yeah, I don’t quite agree with the Matt Holliday comparisons for Werth. Sure, he is a better defender, but he’s not the offensive threat that Holliday is. He’s good, and possibly Jason Bay good, but not for over $100 million. But you have to expect Boras to try.
Speaking of K-Rod at the top of the post, I wonder if the Dodgers and Mets would consider a Broxton for K-Rod trade. Mets would probably have to throw in money but it gives both relievers a new team, and puts K-Rod back in Southern California.
NO WERTH!!!!!
$120ish million for 7 years of Werth?”
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Try cutting that price in half. I’d do 4/60. If Boras wants more I’d give him an opt out clause like he had with Arod. KC has talked about not picking up DeJesus ‘s option and I consider trading for him which would give the RS a vet OF for one season to let Kalish and Reddick mature.
Werth is a difficult personality to make your highest paid player. As long as he has privacy he’s ok but he brings nothing to a franchise in terms of promotion.
Kalish is going to have next year in AAA. He will take over for Drew when his contract is up.
no Beltre for the Angels, Crawford for the Angels.