Here are some items of note for Feb. 3, 2011, the day on which former AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Fred Lynn turned 59.
- The Indians are interested in free-agent righty Kevin Millwood, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer, but not at the current asking price of one year, $4-5MM. Cleveland is among the handful of potential Millwood suitors enumerated by Ben Nicholson-Smith earlier on Thursday. The Yankees are part of the group, too, and it stands to reason that Andy Pettitte's retirement might strengthen their interest, writes Chris Bahr of the Sporting News.
- The Red Sox's interest in trading for Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is telling because it indicates there is a belief among baseball executives and talent evaluators that Bautista's monstrous 54-homer campaign in 2010 was not a fluke, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The Red Sox eventually got their man when they signed free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford, so Bautista-to-Boston is obviously off, notes Morosi, but it bodes well for Bautista in his final season before hitting free agency.
- Brewers reliever LaTroy Hawkins said that his surgically repaired shoulder feels good and that he'll compete for a spot in Milwaukee's bullpen, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Hawkins signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal with Milwaukee prior to last season but pitched in just 18 games before being lost to an injured labrum and rotator cuff. Hawkins has a guaranteed contract, so the Brewers will surely want him to be at full strength and pitching well, but it bears watching how they handle him if he struggles with injury and/or ineffectiveness.
Are we that Boston-centric that it bodes well for a player simply because the Red Sox are interested?
Are you that Boston-centric that any time the Red Sox are mentioned you believe the media is giving them special treatment?
Could it not be possible since a rival GM made an offer for a player with a surprising breakout that other teams as well may think the surprising breakout was not a fluke? No, no, you’re right, it must be that pesky east coast bias.
i hate boston, but dude, lets get real
ur just jealous!
Yes. Yes we are.
It doesn’t matter how much you like or hate the Red Sox, the Red Sox are one of the better runs teams in baseball, that is a fact. So if they are interested it shows that some smart people are buying Bautista which is good for his value.
If it was the Royals interested in trading for Bautista it wouldn’t get the same attention because well, the Royals.. Jeff Francoeur… you know…
I agree, Matt- the article states that simply because Boston is interested, “executives and evaluators” have fallen in line with that opinion…..bit of a stretch, IMO- and I’m a Jays fan.
Good luck to ANY exec (and arbitrator! LOL) who can determine whether Bautista is for real, at this point. He could be the biggest fluke in MLB history- and T.O. doesn’t need another Vernon Wells contract, if he is.
LaTroy is one of my favorite pitchers in baseball. I just spoke to Jim Breen a few days ago, and apparently Hawkins might not be at full strehgth until april or may. However, imagine a healthy Hawkins, Braddock, and Axford? wow.
Really? He’s one of your favorites? He’s nothing really special. Not that interesting either. Do you go out for a beer with him every weekend?
Nothing wrong with that of course. Just curious as to if there is a special reason for him being one of your favorites
I don’t go out for a beer with him every weekend. Usually just on tuesdays.
Awesome1 I hang out with Brian Wilson and Rafael Soriano on Fridays. Pretty good stuff.
Can you at least tell them I said hi? Tell Brian I said “Let’s rage!”
I like to start bar fights with F-Rod (I mean K-Rod…)
Chair tossing with Frank Francisco on Fridays!!@!
Former top prospect turned into an effective reliever with a long career. You could do worse.
I’m not debating that. I was just curious as to why he was his favorite is all.
OOOH! Latoya Hawkins! My favorite punching bag. Glen Allen Hill says HI, BTW.
I’m sure that with Pettitte gone the Yanks pretty much have to get this guy. He may not prove to have much more of an upside that the already signed Garcia and Colon, but he pitched 190 innings last year, and has been a workhorse for a long time now. Garcia and Colon have been dealing with arm issues for years now, and the Yanks would be lucky to get a hundred innings from either of them.
Or both combined….
If any team had a choice would choose a guy who can hit 50 homers than steal 50 bases.
Crawford is a good player but when Bautista is in the batter’s box he is already in scoring position.
where would u put youk, dh platoon with papi??? i dont think so…
Drew doesn’t need to play. Bautista is better in Right anyway.
I’d like to see him try to play right field in Fenway Park for 81 games. Drew is really underrated, you know…
I agree. I get tired of people calling J.D., Nancy all the time, and saying he cant man his position, where he in facts does it very well.
They call him Nancy because he is always complaining something hurts, if he has a bruise or a hang nail he recommends he goes on the 15 DL. It has nothing to do with his fielding, or the fact he is mediocre at the plate.
True on the D, but his other nick name isn’t J.D.L Drew for nothing.
As a Dodgers fan, I hate JD Drew. So he may be good. But I don’t want him.
One costs an expensive contract, the other would cost probably the same number of prospects that it took to get Gonzalez plus an expensive contract to hold onto him for more than one year. Add to that one is considered a top defender and the other considered a lousy defender.
Just saying, decision not exactly black and white.
Bautista’s really not a bad RF-er, and his arm is ridiculous
Lousy defender? uzr should be takin with a grain of salt. He’s better then a lousy defender, average range at least with a plus plus arm.
If the Jays are out of it by the AS break, I’m sure they will get a nice return for him. Paging RAJr.
I’m sure reaggins would be happy to give up trout for bautistsa
Angels have a lot of outfielders/DH types but sounds like a good trade.
I agree. Next year if hit 30 to 35 homeruns, he going to get paid better than Jason Werth. Because he a better player than Werth. I don’t think the Blue Jays are going to be able to keep him.
He may not be the best defender at any one position but he can also play 3B, 1b or rf.
That’s very helpful to any team.
Not able to keep him? why because there payroll is as low as its been in a while with an owner who will potentially go up to 100-150 without blinking? its very possible they extend him , which they should if he puts up another 30+ hr season… its not like the Jays have any great outfield prospects in the wings at the moment.
I highly doubt he surpasses Werth’s deal if he hits 35 home runs next season…
Agreed. Production offensively and defensively gets you paid more than versatility. Werth had a 5 WAR season from being an all around player (UZR was down in 2010). If Bautista hit 35 home runs in 2010 and the rest of his offensive stats were adjusted accordingly, I doubt he’d even be a 5 WAR player.
Before someone tries to use the “he had a .233 BABIP” argument, BABIP drops when you hit more fly balls.
I’m a Jays fan so it’s not like I’m biased against him, but some times you gotta tell it like it is. If he puts up another .950+ OPS and OPS+ of 140+ and gets his UZR back to average, then I can see someone offering a Werth-like contract if he hits free agency.
he can play any position besides C. he was even working out at SS in ST 2009 (although he wouldn’t be very good there). he played some CF for the jays, and i thought he looked fine there. he has played 2B in the past as well, with other teams, IIRC.
Just give him Vernon Wells’ money and they can keep him, don’t be foolish.
Why does the fact the Red Sox wanted to trade for Bautista “bode well” for him? He’s not a free agent until AFTER 2011 when we will know what kind of hitter he really is. Nobody’s giving him an extension before the season starts.
You cant rule out Jay’s giving an extension untill he finally goes to arb.
I sense that Bautista’s all-pull power would play extremely well in Fenway. He could easily hit 40 HRs and potentially set a record for doubles because of the Green Monster.
i actually think he’d do worse there. His HR are mostly linedrive-like with a low trajectory. I don’t think as much balls would clear the monster
Well home run numbers would definitely decrease in Fenway but I’d venture a guess that his slugging percentage would be something similar. Line drives that would have been caught near the wall would be a double in Fenway. Just speculation.
We heard Tony Armas would become Ralph Kiner in Boston, and although he had a couple great Homer and RBI seasons in Fenway, he only hit .218 his first year there and the Doubles and Home Runs balls that would be caught in most parks never materialized. He hit .260 the next couple years. and was released at 33 after his 4th year there. It takes a disciplined hitter not to change his swing when he moves into Fenway. One year does not a career make, but Bautista looks more and more like the real thing the more I see him. He could be in for a monster payday after a big walk year.
59 AB, 7 HR at Fenway the last 2 seasons. His only other hits were 8 singles though. Probably hit 50 HR but definitely no doubles record.
Wow, the Red Sox made a push for Bautista.
Ran a little quick-and-dirty study on Bautista in my new blog. Re-posted here:
And now for a chart looking at the career of the aforementioned Jose Bautista, which may prove that his incredible power of 2010 was real, previously lurking in the shadows of a flawed approach at the plate. In the world of three true outcomes (K, BB, HR), many often associate power and strikeouts to the all-or-nothing approach. Swing through the ball, or peel the leather right off. Let’s focus on just strikeouts and homers, looking at how Bautista fared in each since his first season with regular playing time, 2006.
Year AB HR K HR % K% HR%+K%
2006 400 16 110 4% 27.5% 31.5%
2007 532 15 101 2.8% 19% 21.8%
2008 370 15 91 4.1% 24.6% 28.6%
2009 336 13 85 3.9% 25.3% 29.2%
2010 569 54 116 9.5% 20.4% 29.9%
Totals 2207 113 503 5.1% 22.8% 27.9%
Yes – the homers of 2010 stick out, but in this chart, Bautista’s outlier year was not 2010, but 2007, when he took a more cautious approach to hitting and made ‘in-play’ contact 78.2% of the time, instead of his usual range down between 71.4-68.5%. Last year was as good as it was for Bautista not because he turned doubles into home runs (a common occurrence for young, developing sluggers), but rather, that he turned strikeouts into souvenirs. How often does that happen? I don’t know, but if there is the demand, I can do similar studies to others who have rapidly increased their home run totals year over year.
Most Dominicans have had experience with PED’s at some point. A third of their top 17yo’s were prevented from signing MLB teams for testing positive in ”10. I’m not saying Bautista currently is taking anything but I think it’s silly to assume he is and always has been clean.
That said I buy into his swing improvement. The fact that apparently none of his HR’s went to the Op. field is telling. He was also playing with a hernia last season.
The RS could still be interested at the deadline or more likely after the season. They need rh power and are losing Drew/Ortiz. If he gets to Nov. FA I think a lot of teams will want a guy in his prime with like a .990 OPS and some versatility.
Less than ten of his HR were cheap. One opposite field. One inside the park. And a couple that Bo Jackson might have robbed.
If there is some PED out there that is better than the testing, then Jose Bautista wouldn’t be the only one using. I do think some of the pitching numbers were out of line last year, and seeing Manny get caught masking but not caught using was very curious. The problem is still very widespread if a “journeyman” can suddenly put up a year like ARod was putting up when he was busted. Either way, Bautista had a very impressive season and will likely prove many doubters wrong in 2011.
I don’t think Bautista’s 54-homer campaign in 2010 was a fluke either, he is going to become a household name in the next couple seasons and likely sign a ridiculous contract.