Headlines

  • Lance McCullers Jr. Headed For MRI After Experiencing Setback
  • D-backs GM Mike Hazen On Trade Deadline Needs
  • Jacob deGrom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Yankees To Place Aaron Judge On Injured List
  • Blue Jays Option Alek Manoah
  • Reds Promote Elly De La Cruz
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Can Teams Find Love On Valentine’s Day?

By Howard Megdal | February 14, 2011 at 9:05am CDT

That big red day on our calendars has arrived. For some of us, the night will be filled with various distractions to keep our minds from the inescable fact that we are alone in the world. For those of us who are attached, the day can serve as a payment in advance to our spouse, in exchange for the inescable time vacuum to come the moment pitchers and catchers report.

But while we are forced by television show theme episodes and huge pharmacy candy displays to consider the health of our romatic lives, baseball teams have proven to be a surprisingly unsentimental lot. Few transactions occur on February 14th each season- teams have made the incredible decision to sign or trade for players based on need, instead of sprinkling roses across the infield grass to let prospective free agents know that they are, indeed, The One.

For those teams that did in recent years: were they able to find love? Let's take a look.

Last Valentine's Day, not a single transaction occurred. But back in 2009, the Mets signed Livan Hernandez, clearly choosing a partner they knew would stick by them, through good innings and bad. For a while, it appeared a love connection had formed. Hernandez won the fifth-starter spot that spring, and posted a respectable 4.04 ERA through June 28th. But things fell apart quickly after that, with Hernandez putting up an 8.71 ERA in his next eight starts. The Mets told Hernandez they wanted to see other starters, and Livan headed south to the Nationals, where he found a new home. He even came back to face the Mets in April of 2010, pitching seven shutout innings against his former flame. Awkward!

The Mets were also involved with two of the four Valentine's Day signings in 2008: reliever Ricardo Rincon and outfielder Ben Johnson. The team proceeded to stand Johnson up, keeping him in the minors, while Rincon turned out to be a four-inning September fling. 2008's other two Valentine's Day signings, Kent Mercker to the Reds and David Newhan to the Astros, met with some limited success. But King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson it wasn't.

To find a couple that outperformed the critics, you'd have to go back to 2007, when the Red Sox gave J.D. Drew a five year, $70MM contract on Valentine's Day. (Matchmaker Scott Boras brought them together, though it is unclear if he used the phrase "Kismet!") While some thought it wouldn't last, the Red Sox are entering the final season of Drew's contract, and have to be pretty satisfied with the results so far. Drew has given them an OPS+ of 120 over four seasons and 2,093 plate appearances – a solid record of both performance and durability. Here's hoping Theo Epstein sends Drew flowers today.

But it would be downright coldhearted to overlook the other connection that day in 2007, between the Washington Nationals and Dmitri "More to Love" Young. Brought in merely to compete for the first base job, Young seized it and never looked back, hitting .340 by the All-Star break to earn a selection, and finishing up with a season line of .320/.378/.491. Smitten, the Nationals signed him to a two-year, $10MM contract extension. However, the affair turned as one-sided as the coupling between Lisa Simpson and Ralph Wiggum, with Young playing in just 50 games in 2008 and none in 2009.

Still, who are we to judge this brief flame in our nation's capital? So whatever your intentions, may all of your Valentine's Days be as successful as Dmitri Young's 2007.

 

 

Share 3 Retweet 11 Send via email0

Uncategorized

Rangers Could Explore Alternate Trades For Young
Main
Sabathia’s Competition
View Comments (11)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Ross Ritchie

    12 years ago

    I know I can’t. D:

    Reply
    • Infield Fly

      12 years ago

      Ey, I’m celebrating anyway ’cause I got love for the Mets & Jays. Hopefully someday they’ll show me some love back…say…before I die, for example…

      Reply
  2. Todd Smith

    12 years ago

    Can’t believe the Yankees haven’t signed Dmitri Young yet this offseason. Seems like their kind of player.

    Reply
    • Matt

      12 years ago

      Expensive, shaky with health, obese, would sign a minor league contract, and can maybe pitch?

      Actually that sounds a lot like Yankees these days. I’m looking at you, C.C.

      Reply
  3. Chuck345

    12 years ago

    “While some thought it wouldn’t last, the Red Sox are entering the final season of Drew’s contract, and have to be pretty satisfied with the results so far.”

    I’m not so sure about this based on the multiple social interactions I’ve had with Red Sox fans.

    Reply
    • FrankTheFunkasaurusRex

      12 years ago

      “I’m not so sure about this based on the multiple social interactions I’ve had with RED SOX FANS.”

      Oh.

      Reply
    • andrewyf

      12 years ago

      Averaging about 131 games a year is hardly a measure of ‘durability’.

      Reply
  4. jasonphill

    12 years ago

    This post is downright creepy. Love-and-baseball metaphors don’t seem to gel well, for some reason. Eww!!

    Reply
  5. heliosphan

    12 years ago

    I bet Dmitri Young can still hit, I’m surprised nobody has taken a flier on him.

    Reply
  6. Matt

    12 years ago

    Wow, this article was a hilarious read. Thanks for posting it.

    Reply
  7. fivebeesforaquarter

    12 years ago

    Ralph Wiggum and Lisa Simpson? What an obscure Simpsons reference! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Lance McCullers Jr. Headed For MRI After Experiencing Setback

    D-backs GM Mike Hazen On Trade Deadline Needs

    Jacob deGrom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Yankees To Place Aaron Judge On Injured List

    Blue Jays Option Alek Manoah

    Reds Promote Elly De La Cruz

    Red Sox Designate Raimel Tapia For Assignment

    Mets Designate Tomas Nido For Assignment, Activate Omar Narvaez

    MLB Hires Albert Pujols As Special Assistant

    Guardians Designate Zach Plesac For Assignment

    Diamondbacks Extend Torey Lovullo Through 2024

    Red Sox Place Chris Sale On Injured List With Shoulder Inflammation

    Reds Disinclined To Trade Jonathan India

    Yankees Activate Stanton, Donaldson, Kahnle; Rodon Transferred To 60-Day IL

    Tigers Place Riley Greene On Injured List Due To Stress Reaction In Fibula

    Braves Select AJ Smith-Shawver, Designate Lucas Luetge

    Orioles Sign Aaron Hicks, Place Cedric Mullins On IL

    Brewers Designate Luke Voit For Assignment

    White Sox To Activate Liam Hendriks From Injured List

    Royals Release Hunter Dozier

    Recent

    Mariners Sign Didi Gregorius To Minor League Deal

    Blue Jays Outright Zach Thompson

    Red Sox To Designate Matt Dermody For Assignment

    Phillies, Drew Hutchison Agree To Minor League Deal

    Tigers Release Jermaine Palacios, Jace Fry

    Lance McCullers Jr. Headed For MRI After Experiencing Setback

    Injury Notes: Cron, Polanco, Alvarado, Bohm

    Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, #7: Tigers Land A Closer For Castellanos

    Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, #8: Nationals Get Everyday Outfielder For Jon Lester

    Red Sox Select Matt Dermody

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Shohei Ohtani Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version