Jack Of All Trades: My Birthday Edition
As someone who shares a birthday with Michael Jordan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Paris Hilton, the talents I bring to the table should be obvious. Yet I look to those baseball players born on my birthday constantly for affirmation and for ammunition in my ongoing effort to convince my wife that my birthday team will beat her birthday team, a battle she consistently meets with what I can only assume is an affect of indifference.
I turned 31 on Thursday, February 17, and thought it would be a good time to once again check out my zodiac compatriots. Alas, no one new has emerged since Brian Bruney, who stumbled through the 2010 season. But it also led me to wonder – are teams better off trading for players born on my birthday, or trading them away?
As mentioned before, Bruney doesn't present a strong case. Dealt by the Yankees to the Nationals for Jamie Hoffmann in the winter of 2009, Bruney pitched to a 7.64 ERA over 17.2 innings in 2010 before getting uncermoniously dumped in May. Hoffman, whom the Nationals had acquired in the Rule 5 draft from the Dodgers, was eventually returned by the Yankees to the Dodgers, where he still threatens to break through as a fifth outfielder. In other words, strike one.
Josh Willingham, born exactly one year before me, makes a better case for my people. Acquired by Washington with Scott Olsen from Florida for Jake Smolinski, P.J. Dean and Emilio Bonifacio, Willingham gave the Nats a pair of solid offensive seasons, with a 127 OPS+ in 2009, a 129 OPS+ in 2010. The Athletics traded for him this winter, giving up Corey Brown and promising young pitcher Henry Rodriguez of the close rivals, the Fightin' February Twenty-Fifths. The jury's still out on this one.
Going further back in time, the February 17th connection had a feel-good story in Roger Craig, born on that date in 1930. After a pair of seasons with the Mets in 1962 and 1963, campaigns in which Craig pitched reasonably well, but piled up a combined 46 losses, the Cardinals acquired him for pitcher Bill Wakefield and outfielder George Altman.
While Wakefield was mediocre and Altman was well below that, Craig had a magnificent season in St. Louis, pitching to a 118 ERA+ and even striking out nine over five scoreless innings in the World Series. He is a monument to the best a February 17 trade can work out. His transaction a year later, along with Charlie James to Cincinnati for Bob Purkey, ended with little value on either side. Purkey was born in, of all months, July.
As for the most famous February 17 baseball baby: that would be Wally Pipp back in 1893, who was never traded, only sold. One can imagine the Yankees were able to drive up his price only so far following the 1925 season in which Lou Gehrig established himself, making idle threats about keeping Pipp for another 48 years, then installing him at Designated Hitter. We learn little from Pipp's example in terms of trade value, but it reminds me of an important lesson: never take Tim up on an offer to take the day off. We February 17ths are easily replaced.
Details On Albert Pujols’ Negotiations With St. Louis
The Cardinals did not extend Albert Pujols by Wednesday's deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of creativity. The team was open to outside-the-box deals with the slugger, though talks have now been tabled until after the season. Here are the details on some of the deals the team proposed:
- Pujols will likely sign a deal worth at least $25MM per season, as Tom Verducci of SI.com points out. A source close to Pujols tells Verducci that the first baseman isn't about the money. "He has enough and his charitable work is amazing. He has flown doctors and dentists to the Dominican to give kids there access to health care. But he is someone with intense pride. He has worked hard to turn himself into the best hitter in baseball and he's earned the right to be treated that way in negotiations. It's not about greed with Albert. I think it's pride."
- The Cards offered a deal that was "slightly better" than Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
- Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that the Cardinals offered Pujols a nine-year extension worth more than $200MM and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported Wednesday that they offered Pujols a deal worth roughly $19-21MM per season.
- Pujols was interested in owning part of the Cardinals and the team explored the possibility, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Players cannot "directly or indirectly, own stock or have any financial interest in the ownership or earnings of any Major League Club," unless the Commissioner approves the agreement, but Bud Selig could be open to allowing such an arrangement between Pujols and the Cardinals.
- Goold lists some players, including former Cardinals great Rogers Hornsby and current Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who have gone on to own teams.
Rays Sign Joe Inglett
The Rays signed Joe Inglett to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced. The 32-year-old, who was non-tendered by Milwaukee in December, will provide the Rays with depth on the infield and in the outfield.
Inglett appeared in 102 games for the Brewers last year, hitting .254/.331/.401 and playing second base, left field and right field. He has also played shortstop, third base and center field over the course of his five-year MLB career. The left-handed hitter has a .286/.345/.397 line in the majors, so he's a potential source of OBP off of manager Joe Maddon's bench.
Elliot Johnson, Felipe Lopez and Casey Kotchman will also be battling for spots on the Rays' bench. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times first reported the Inglett signing.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Moyer, Cabrera, O’s, Maholm
Two years ago today, the final piece of Shea Stadium was demolished. The Mets called the ballpark home from 1964, the team's third year of existence, through 2008. Shea housed the World Champion Mets in 1969 and 1986, and at one time or another was inhabited by the Yankees (1974-1975), the New York Jets (1967-1983), and Pope John Paul II (Oct. 1979).
Here is the best the blogosphere had to offer over the last week…
- Bugs and Cranks interviewed Jamie Moyer.
- Phoul Ballz spoke to Nick Hernandez, the Brewers first round pick in 1978, about his son Nick, a Phillies prospect.
- Beyond The Box Score interviewed Baseball America's Conor Glassey about this summer's amateur draft.
- Bless You Boys posted an honest reaction to Miguel Cabrera's poor decisions.
- River Ave. Blues remembers the Gary Sheffield era in the Bronx.
- Royals Review explores the success and failure rates of Baseball America's top 100 prospects through the years.
- Camden Crazies looks at how much the AL East hurts the Orioles.
- South Side Sox wonders if Paul Konerko can do it again.
- Pirates Prospects tries to figure out what Paul Maholm is worth.
- Nick's Twins Blog explores Minnesota's backup plan for Justin Morneau, who is coming back from a concussion.
- The Friarhood breaks down the Padres' rebuilt bullpen.
- The Baseball Opinion looks back at the trade that sent Tim Hudson to the Braves.
- Mariner Log does the same with the deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Rangers.
- The Process Report wonders if Brandon Allen is of interest to the Rays.
- Rays The Roof grades Tampa Bay's offseason.
- Cracked Bell Sports ranks the ten best moves the Phillies never made.
- D'Backs Central muses about Arizona's reported interest in Michael Young.
- Cubs Billy Goat Blog sifts through the Spring Training noise.
- Yankeeist provides a 110-year retrospective on Yankees Spring Training.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness needs some help figuring out what kind of games are being played in the Dodgers bullpen.
- Wahoo Blues has some fun and compares current Indians players to characters from Major League.
- Midwest Sports Fans shows you a recent conversation between Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.
- Last, but certainly not least, DRays Bay lets you choose your own adventure on Joe Maddon's big night.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
Epstein On Crawford, Papelbon, Gonzalez
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Dennis & Callahan on WEEI that the Red Sox are vulnerable in certain areas, even after a successful offseason. Here's the latest from Epstein, including details on the team's pursuit of its new left fielder…
- Epstein prefers to integrate young players onto the Major League roster with minimal fanfare. Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, for example, came up through Boston’s system and are now top starters.
- Epstein identified starting pitching depth as a possible area of weakness for the Red Sox. Boston has Tim Wakefield, Felix Doubront and Alfredo Aceves plus its starting five, but doesn’t necessarily have MLB-ready starters in the minors.
- Catching depth is another one of the team’s “areas of vulnerability,” Epstein says.
- The Red Sox didn’t expect Carl Crawford to want to sign with them, but soon realized that he wanted to stay in the AL East. It took lots of research on Boston’s part to determine its level of interest in the left fielder. “We covered him as if we were privately investigating him,” Epstein said. “We had a scout on him literally the last three, four months of the season at the ballpark, away from the ballpark.”
- The Red Sox never expected to sign Crawford as swiftly as they did, despite their strong interest in him.
- Epstein explained Boston’s approach to extensions for arbitration eligible players: “Our philosophy, which is actually a policy in writing, is if we’re going to sign arbitration-eligible players long term, we have to get one free agent year and we have to get an option for the club. Because we’re giving the player certainty. We need to be able get some of those prime years back in exchange. That makes it a fair bargain."
- It's a near-certainty that Jonathan Papelbon, who never signed an extension with Boston, will reach free agency after the season.
- Epstein says there’s “no real timetable” for an Adrian Gonzalez extension.
21 Extensions For Arbitration Eligible Players
When a panel of arbitrators decides between Hunter Pence's $6.9MM asking price and the Astros' $5.15MM offer today or Monday, all of the 160-plus arbitration eligible players in baseball will have contracts for 2011. About one eighth of them – 21 – have agreed to multiyear extensions, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows.
The diverse group of extension recipients included both reigning MVPs (Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto) and the 2010 MLB home run champion (Jose Bautista). Only six of the 21 extensions came from the American League and the Blue Jays were the lone AL team to extend two arbitration eligible players (Bautista and Rajai Davis).
The Cubs (Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol), Rockies (Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom) and Reds (Votto, Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto) all extended multiple players in the Senior Circuit*.
Bautista ($64MM) signed for the most guaranteed money, followed by Dan Uggla ($62MM) and Jay Bruce ($51MM). Bruce (six years) signed for the most years, followed by Uggla and Bautista, who both signed for five.
No arbitration eligible catchers signed extensions (Geovany Soto was one potential candidate), but the other positions were well-represented. Five starting pitchers, four relief pitchers, four outfielders, three second basemen, two shortstops, two first basemen and Bautista, a third baseman/outfielder, composed the group of 21 recipients.
Extension season is far from over, though. Nine players signed extensions between this date in 2010 and Opening Day, so we could still see a number of deals in Spring Training. Pre-arbitration eligible pitchers such as Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill will be among the names to watch once Pence signs and all of the year's arbitration eligibles are under contract.
*Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki were not arbitration eligible this offseason, though they signed extensions.
Jim Edmonds Retires
Jim Edmonds has retired, the Cardinals have announced (on Twitter). The 40-year-old, who agreed to a minor league deal with St. Louis earlier in the month, is still bothered by his right Achilles, so his playing days are over.
Edmonds retires with a .284/.376/.527 line and 393 career homers. The eight-time Gold Glover and four-time All-Star played for the Cardinals, Angels, Padres, Reds, Cubs and Brewers over the course of a career that began in 1993. An elite hitter in his prime, Edmonds was also a standout defender who became known for highlight reel catches in center field.
The 17-year veteran spent eight seasons with the Cardinals from 2000-07. He hit .285/.393/.555 for the Cards and was a member of the 2006 World Champions. After missing the 2009 season, Edmonds returned last year and posted a .276/.342/.504 line for the Reds and Brewers, adding 11 homers and 23 doubles.
Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported Edmonds' decision.
Orioles Sign Vladimir Guerrero
The Orioles signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year, the team announced. The SFX client will earn $8MM in total: $5MM this year and $3MM in deferred payments, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Zrebiec reports that Guerrero will get the $3MM several years from now.
It had been reported that the slugger was seeking a deal in the $8MM range while the O's were offering just $4.5MM for 2011. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail appeared to be willing to let Guerrero go elsewhere, but it seems that the front office had a change of heart. Guerrero is the latest move for the O's, who signed Derrek Lee, Kevin Gregg, and Justin Duchscherer and traded for Mark Reynolds this offseason.
In 2010, the veteran belted 29 homers while hitting .300/.345/.496 in 152 games for the Rangers. Texas had some interest in retaining Guerrero last month but with Michael Young and Mike Napoli in the fold there wasn't a need for the nine-time All-Star.
Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com first reported the agreement.
West Notes: Padilla, Teagarden, Owings, Moseley
Here are some items of note from clubs out on the West Coast …
- The Dodgers don't yet have a plan for right-hander Vicente Padilla, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Padilla, last year's Opening Day starter, could (again) start, close or be a long-reliever, depending on injuries. Padilla's base salary reflects that, Hernandez writes. His base salary is for $2MM, but he can earn an additional $8MM in incentives for starting or $6.8MM for relieving.
- The Rangers once again are well-stocked with catchers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, but this year, as opposed to previous years, they have a clear-cut starter in Yorvit Torrealba. Still, they have three other useful backstops in Matt Treanor, Mike Napoli and Taylor Teagarden, but because Treanor has a Major League deal and Napoli is a strong hitter and versatile defender, Teagarden, who still has minor league options, appears to be the odd man out.
- The Diamondbacks are experimenting with finding some more at-bats this spring for roster hopeful Micah Owings, writes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Owings, a right-handed pitcher, is in camp on a minor league deal and is vying for the long-relief job out of the bullpen, but he could improve his chances of breaking camp with the club because he can be used as a pinch-hitter and perhaps even as a first baseman, on occasion.
- Padres right-hander Dustin Moseley, who signed a Major League deal with San Diego in December, will pitch out of the bullpen if he doesn't crack the starting rotation, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. Generally regarded as a swing man, Moseley chose the Friars over a handful of other suitors for the chance to win a starting job.
Make Or Break Year: Aramis Ramirez
Despite posting outstanding numbers at the hot corner for one of baseball's best-known franchises, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez always seemed to fly a little bit under the radar. Indeed, in a six-year span from 2004-09, Ramirez posted a studly triple-slash line of .303/.368/.551, but he never finished inside the top 10 of NL MVP voting. Durability was a bit of a concern during that time, as he averaged 131 games per season, but his injuries were typically of the nagging variety rather than debilitating.
In 2009, though, Ramirez suffered a dislocated shoulder midseason, missing most of May and all of June that year, but he returned in the second half and posted his usually solid offensive numbers. It all pointed toward Ramirez being his usual self in 2010, but it didn't happen that way.
A-Ram got off to a positively miserable start in April and May 2010, posting a .162/.227/.269 through those two months, and though he rebounded from there — going white-hot during July, in particular — his numbers at season's end still weren't pretty at .241/.294/.452, let alone up to his usually excellent career averages of .282/.340/.499.
Was it age catching up to the 32-year-old slugger? Injuries? A combination?
On the plus side for A-Ram, he bounced back markedly from his horrid April and May in 2010. On the down side, though, he is another year older, and he doesn't necessarily look like the most limber of athletes.
How Ramirez will contine to age is anyone's guess, but 2011 could go a long way toward projecting how he'll finish out his career. It's the last year of a five-year extension he signed with the Cubs prior to 2007, and it includes a $16MM club option for 2012 with a $2MM buyout.
Ramirez probably doesn't have much room for decline this season with respect to the chances of the Cubs picking up that pricey option, as it'd be hard to justify paying a third baseman that much money after two down years as he heads into his age-34 campaign. On the flip side, if he returns to his old form in 2011, the option could very well be exercised, and he'll again be facing a Make or Break Year in 2012.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.