The Athletics exercised Mark Ellis' 2011 option, and declined their option for Eric Chavez, according to the team. The A's chose to pay Ellis $6MM next year instead of buying him out for $500K and they chose Chavez's $3MM buyout over his $12.5MM salary. Oakland picked up Coco Crisp's $5.5MM option earlier today.
Ellis, 33, batted .291/.358/.381 in 492 plate appearances in 2010. He posted an above-average UZR/150 for the seventh consecutive season and made just three errors on defense. If Ellis had turned down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere, the A's would have obtained a supplementary round pick as compensation for losing a Type B free agent.
Chavez, a former fixture with Oakland, has had five stints on the DL over the last four years and has appeared in just 64 games since 2008. He had five surgeries between September 2007 and June 2009.
Ellis is a good defensive 2B, and produced a 3.2WAR 2010. Although he is due to regress in 2011, it is a good bet to expect Ellis to be worth at least 6M next season. Smart move!
Will the Yankees sign Chavez and move A-Rod to SS?
Yes. Without question. Take it to the bank.
That’s probably one of the top 5 worst predictions of the offseason
Nah man. It’s 100% happening. Chavy’s gonna hit 50 HR to that short porch in right field and win another Gold Glove. I’m seeing something like a .315/.400/.625 line from him.
Wow! The only thing remotely similar to that happening would be making A-Rod a 31M DH in 2011 (Highly unlikely), resigning Jeter (There isn’t another FA SS in his league), and signing FA Adrian Beltre to man 3B to a multi-year deal.
I assume this is a joke, but if it isn’t, you sir, have no business talking about baseball.
They are also planning to sign Kyle Farnsworth as closer so that they can move Mariano Rivera to a setup role.
It’s too bad Chavez had all his injuries.
sad to see chavy go, but it was over due. He was a hell of a ballplayer and a great guy to the fans of oakland for many years. I’ll never forget being at game 3 of the ALDS against the twins, and watching him hit an absolute bomb to right field. Hopefully he can be an infield coach for us, because he was a great great defensive 3B.
sad to see chavy go, but it was over due. He was a hell of a ballplayer and a great guy to the fans of oakland for many years. I’ll never forget being at game 3 of the ALDS against the twins, and watching him hit an absolute bomb to right field. Hopefully he can be an infield coach for us, because he was a great great defensive 3B.
Good move! The 3.2 WAR was thanks in large part to Ellis’ defense, which, although he’s known for it, was an improvement from 2009 according to his UZR. Granted, it is true he’s due to regress, especially because his BABIP was 28 points higher than his career avg of .293. Either way, it gives the A;s an opportunity to transition Eric Sogard into Ellis’ successor, and perhaps mold Ellis into a veteran utility option for the following years. That of course would mean that A’s wouldn’t try to see if Ellis could make Type A status next year and yield some legit compensation in return. It would be nice to see him retire in Green & Gold though.
Chavez is done, the guy is pretty close to being a cripple.
Both were certainties. It’ll be interesting to see which of Oakland’s farm-level 2b step up and develop this year.
Should be Cardenas, but he’s struggled in two promotions to Triple-A so far. Still, he’s absolutely raked at Double-A. Maybe a full season in the PCL will be good for him. He’s only 23 still.
He keeps crapping his pants when he gets to the PCL. He gets there, and every time he posts a .500 OPS then goes down to double-A and hits .400. I think at this point, Eric Sogard is the lead candidate for the next A’s 2B when Ellis is done. He’s hit at every level, posting a .294/.380/.414 line in 441 minor league games – strikingly similar to what Ellis did in the minors. Not only that, his patience is Daric Barton-esque. Sogard walks 1.13 times per every strikeout, while Barton posted a 1.16 in the minors. Furthermore, he’s a defensive specialist…if you can’t tell, I’m pretty high on him.
He didn’t hit overly well in his first trip to Double-A either, although granted that was a smaller sample than what he’s now amassed at Triple-A. He’s had some pretty low BABIPs at Triple-A (by his standards anyway), although that could also just be due to a lack of line drives and solid contact against superior pitching (which would account for the drops in his slugging/ISO).
Either way, he’s only 23, and if he has a strong half-season to open 2011, he could regain a more favorable status. Sogard’s walks are nice, and but he’s a year older and his overall lack of offense compared to Cardenas when Adrian’s hitting well would have me more excited about Cardenas.
They’ve both got some upside to be decent major leaguers though… never a bad problem to have two guys who can get you excited, especially at a premium position. They might not be all-stars in the making, but a solid regular at second base is never a bad thing.
It will most likely be Jemile Weeks. Ellis might get an extension though so it could be another couple of years before the A’s make a switch at 2nd.
It will most likely be Jemile Weeks. Forst said they might extend Ellis though so it might be a few years before the A’s make a switch at 2nd.
Both were certainties. It’ll be interesting to see which of Oakland’s farm-level 2b step up and develop this year.
chavez could have been great maybe even one of the bests. Truly a sad end to a disappointing career.
He hasn’t retired yet. He said he’s going to try to catch on elsewhere…even though he shouldn’t