The Twins signed Joe Crede two years ago today in the hopes that he could replicate or improve upon the numbers he posted in 2008, when he made the All-Star team. Crede battled injuries and clubbed 15 homers in 90 games for Minnesota that year, but he hasn't played in the majors since. Crede remains a free agent after deciding not to report to Rockies camp. Here are today's links…
- In a piece for ESPN.com, MLBTR's own Howard Megdal points out that Mets starter Mike Pelfrey has been far more consistent than anyone gives him credit for.
- MLBPA leader Michael Weiner said the union would be open to a player owning a share of a team, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). The possibility came up when the Cardinals discussed an extension with Albert Pujols.
- Weiner says he expects to make progress on the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement during Spring Training, according to Tim Reynolds of the AP (via the Miami Herald). Baseball's current agreement expires this offseason.
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post explains how Livan Hernandez and Nationals GM Mike Rizzo negotiated the right-hander's current contract.
- Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit told Dick Scanlon of the Detroit Free Press that he signed early because the Tigers made him a strong offer ($16.5MM) and he couldn't justify waiting around. "I didn't want to make a mistake of being too greedy and trying to wait and wait, get myself in a hole and wait to the last minute," Benoit said.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner that he expects better things from Carlos Lee in 2011 and that last year was an "aberration" for the outfielder.
Benoit also gave some additional reasons for signing early including the fact that he enjoys Detroit, thinks the Tigers can contend, and they offered JOAQUIN BENOIT $16.5 MILLION TO THROW A BASEBALL.
for 180 innings, don’t forget. over three years
that is, $17 million for less than 200 innings. total. combined. over a three year period
The Livan negotiation must have been the fastest ever. Really funny story: Fangraphs said he was worth $12MM, he wrote $1M on a napkin, Rizzo shook his hand, agent raged but couldn’t do anything.
Great story as a baseball fan. Hate it as a Braves fan though, that soft-tossing prick refused to give up any runs against the Braves.
Love Livo
Question: Would it end up being a precedent-setter if the Cardinals gave Pujols an ownership stake in the team or would it simply be viewed as Pujols being the exception?
It certainly wouldn’t be something that the owners would want to do on a regular basis, but for a player like Pujols who is both the best in the game currently, and a guy who’s been with St. Louis his whole career, it might be the only way for a team like St. Louis to keep a player like him.
Every previous action in history can be taken as a kind of precedent if you want to see it that way. In a day in age where a player’s loyalty to a specific team is microscopic, I don’t think Pujols is going to burst the baseball galaxy if he ends up with a share of the team.
day and age*
I can see this starting only based on a “loyal” player though, but could it set precedent that would even go further? Is this something you could see turning into a part of bargaining even on the free agent market for a star player hitting free agency? Could you see small and mid-market teams (maybe even large market, although I’d be shocked if the Cubs, Red Sox or Yankees ever gave up equity as valuable as they are) giving up small equity stakes to top-tier free agents to bring them in?
it would probably set a precedent for players of pujols’ caliber, yes
in other words we should expect to hear a lot about it again in about 40 years or so
Would’ve liked to read that ESPN article about Pelfrey but it’s one of them damn subscription based articles.
It would have been interesting to see how Howard found him to be “the most consistant pitcher in the Majors.” The only thing he’s consistant at is a 5.0 K/9 rate
and hitting bats.
*shudders*
The article basically says Pelfrey is the most consistently mediocre pitcher in baseball and uses his xFIP for his argument, and the fact his K rate, line drive rate, ground ball rate and fly ball rate all stay pretty consistent as well.
This is basically the paragraph that sums it up:
Pelfrey’s overall xFIP of 4.49 over this three-year span is 37th of the 44 pitchers with at least 550 innings pitched. Interestingly, many others in the consistency race also rank low, with Saunders (41st), Blackburn (39th) and Hernandez (42nd) all checking in near the bottom of the list. Only Shields (19th) and Dempster (15th) cracked the top half, with Lilly at 24th. Part of the problem with the word “consistent” is that it’s often misused in the sports world. Most people use “consistent” as a synonym for “consistently good.” All it really means is that you maintain the same level, whether it’s good, bad or, in Pelfrey’s case, mediocre.
I’m all for my tigers over spending on talent rather than try to bargain with sub par players, but the Benoit deal had me a little pissed off.
I know all of the “why’s” that lead to his signing but even if the Tigers had offered 10-12 million over 3(or even 4 possibly) seasons, they still would have been the highest bidder. They could have gotten him for much less than they actually paid. There wasn’t another team in the league that would have offered him half of what he got due to health concerns and a lack of constancy in his career numbers.
I know I might take some heat for this, but I liked the Benoit signing. Yeah, DET overpaid for him, he’s injury prone, he’s only had two good seasons, and he’s up there in age. But his peripherals last year blow me away. He allowed just 30 hits in 60.1 IP, and opponents slugged just .265 against him. Plus, he punched out 11.1 batters per 9.
If a deal with a player pushed the MLB to go to salary caps, one could possibly make the argument that doing sets a precedent to title that player as the greatest ever, one who completely altered the game of baseball from the ground up.
That’s something no deal or player has done to my knowledge.
Very good piece on Livan, one of the most interesting players in the league. Last year was pretty awesome for him and he and the Nats have my support as they attempt to turn things around.