Sunday afternoon linkage..
- Brandon Inge clears waivers at 1pm CST and the A's are the frontrunner to sign him, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- The Brewers are tenth in payroll this season, but that won't be the case for the club every year, owner Mark Attanasio told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal also spoke to GM Doug Melvin, who sounded skittish about doling out five- and six-year deals as a small-market club.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times wonders if the Red Sox's Carl Crawford could be a fit with the Dodgers. If Boston were willing to pay off part of his $142MM contract and accepted some decent pitching in return, he believes there could be a match between the two teams.
- More from Shaikin, who writes that the Angels could opt-out of their stadium deal in 2016 and potentially move right down the street from the Dodgers. The Dodgers could not challenge such a move on the grounds of traditional territorial rights like the Giants are blocking the A's from moving to San Jose.
- For Japanese imports such as Hiroki Kuroda and Yu Darvish, the major leagues represent a significant change, writes Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger.
I’d gladly accept some quality pitching for Carl Crawford.
I don’t know why the A’s are the front runners to get Inge. A’s stadium is not a hitters park. However, OPACY is and if there is a team that signs him, they should be signing him because his defense is still good and not looking to see if he can find his bat.
Crawford to LA? He hasn’t done well in Boston, what happens if he taps out in LA. I don’t like the odds at all! Plus, they are paying Juan Rivera 5 or 6 million. Forget about it!
Angels looking to opt out eh, I saw that the Cardinals seem to be selling out their games these days. I don’t see that happening with the Angels. The Angels and Reds must do their banking at the same bank. The biggest benefit of banking there is that it has a “Money Tree” that replenishes every 24 hrs. Heaven knows both teams need every penny that comes off that tree to pay the bills! :p
Wei Yi Chen should be added to the list (Kuroda and Darvis) that dude is awesome and costed a lot less then those two!
The A’s need defense at 3rd and any hitting they get is better than they have. Donaldson is a catcher playing 3rd, made 3 errors in 9 games and was only 3-32 before being sent to AAA. Hughes made 3 errors in 3 games and is 3-20 with 3 singles so far. Inge is an upgrade and fits perfectly with the A’s.
Beane wanted Middlebrooks in the worst way during the offseason, probably why Boston didn’t end up with any of Oakland’s SP he was attempting to move.
Inge a couple of years ago could make up for his poor bat (other than some power) with his nice glove, but realize he is not gooed with patience at the plate and what little power he even has now will evaporate at Oakland. Not even sure trying to get the lead gloved Reynolds from Baltimore and then having them pay most of his remaining 8m wouldn’t be better. His power would play up almost anywhere and give the A’s a power threat.
Crawford for Kershaw straightup.
I’d ask for Kershaw and Kemp or no deal.
Only if they throw in Lackey!
Kemp AND Kershaw for Crawford? Are you high?
No, sarcastic.
“Blue Bomb”? God i hope you’re not a Dodgers fan.
The Crawford to LA thing is kind of interesting (mostly because it’s coming from an LA writer and not a Boston writer). I wonder how much money Boston would have to eat and what kind of return they would get for him.
eat 75 mil. you get eolvaldi and peterson
At the deadline this year Crawford will be owed $123.6M, so I doubt the Sox would send $75M unless they get a quality major leaguer. I could see them sending him for Eovaldi and Pederson, but they wouldn’t be sending that much of his remaining contract with him.
If they expect one of our top bats and a MLB ready starter who has #3 potential, they are gonna eat a LOT of money
Crawford’s value is low right now because of his poor performance last year, and the injury this year, but 5 1/2 years of a guy who has been a top 20 player in the game over the past decade, for less than $50M dollars (less than $9M per year) is worth a lot. If the Sox were to send, say, $50M (leaving the Dodgers with $73.6M over 5.5 years or about $13M per year) it would still be a great deal for a player of Crawford’s talent, and would have to be worth two guys who, as far as I can tell, aren’t top 100 prospects.
Edit: Eovaldi is #96 on Baseball America’s top 100, but he isn’t on Goldsteins’ or Law’s lists, and Pederson isn’t on any of the lists.
You said it yourself. He had a bad year last year, and is hurt for an unknown amount of time this year. Then he has FIVE YEARS LEFT. Furthermore, remember that most feel the last two years of his contract are going to be horrible because of what we are talking about, age+injury+speed. So it could be closer to only 3 truly positive years, assuming he can come back and be healthy.
Also, the Dodgers have gone through an aging, speedy LF before in Juan Pierre. Was Crawford a top 20 player a season ago? Yes, he was. But he is also paid like one, and his main skill is one that does not age well. I’m not sure the Dodgers would want to even commit 13M a year to a player that is not in a positive part of his career when there could be other options that are could provide more value.
The whole “speedy guys don’t age well” myth has been disproved more than once, and guys only have to put up about 2.5 Wins to be worth $13M per year (barely above average). Crawford might be paid like a top 20 player by the Red Sox, but if the Dodgers get him for $13M per year they are only paying him like a decent regular, not anything even close to a start player (for reference – Jeff Francoeur was worth $13M last year, and by the time Crawford’s deal ends contract values will have inflated, so he wont even have to be as good as Francoeur was last year to be worth the $13M).
This is simply an academic argument about whether it would be worth it or not though because it’s really unlikely to ever actually happen.
Crawford for Uribe.
there is absolutely no way boston rids itself of crawford’s contract. even if he shows he can be productive again, why would anybody in their right mind pay the remainder of a MONSTER contract for a player with limited power and inevitably declining speed? they would have to assume such a large portion to move him that they might as well keep him and see what they can get out of him. i love carl crawford (healthy), but i hate that contract. with that said, if there is any GM willing to trade prospects for a declining player, it is ned colletti.
It is very unlikely to ever happen, but I think there would be pretty good reason to do it if they could get a team to take even half of his contract. With the new incentives to get under the luxury tax, the other possibilities for the outfield (who may not be as good as Crawford overall, but would probably fit the construction of the team better), and the flexibility it would give them (monetarily) to fix other problems (pitching), I think it could make a lot of sense.
I can’t see the Dodgers taking on someone like Crawford.
Although I doubt the Phillies will let him go, I see them going after Victorino if he is still available. Same thing goes for Josh Hamilton.
The definately need to get a bat(s) at 1B/3B/LF next year if not sooner.
I see the Dodgers trying to sign Hamilton, Napoli, and Hamels this offseason, and then making an aggressive push for Wright after next year.
I would love to see LA trade for Morales or Trumbo to play 1B, but there’s no way the Angels would trade him to the Dodgers, so they’d have to get another team involved to get him (like the Rangers/Jays did for Napoli).
Any chance that if the A’s are still stuck in Oakland in four years, and the Angels do decide to vacate Anaheim for somewhere in Los Angeles proper, that the A’s immediately move to Orange County? Other than the city of San Jose, who loses in this deal?
the As. They have no fans in Southern CA IMO. There are two teams already down here, Id be surprised that any of the fans are As fans unless they are from that area
But wouldn’t the 2.7 million people in Anaheim and the surrounding OC area be so pissed off at the Angels for abandoning them that they would support the A’s instead, especially if they are moderately competitive by that point?
maybe? Remember though, the Angels and As are “rivals”, so getting a fan base to just go 180 is a little difficult. Those fans may go to the games every once in a while just to go to a game, but if the Angels are close enough(Even LA is only 30 minutes from OC if there isn’t traffic), these fans are going to stick with their team, I would think.
Ok, I’ll concede that point. But if we are working on the premise that the A’s are successfully blocked from going to San Jose, are they better off staying in Oakland, moving to the empty Anaheim, or moving somewhere else (Sacramento, perhaps)?
I really don’t think the Angels would move to LA, firstly. I know it was just an idea thrown around, but I don’t think it would happen. Assuming Anaheim is either not open or they just decide it wouldn’t be a good idea, I think the Sacramento idea is a good thought. I hadn’t thought of it honestly, but it could happen. Remember, the Kings deal just feel through and we don’t know what will happen with them. I think the As staying up North would be good for their fans, and would get away from the San Fran market and maybe give them a chance to win some fans
If the Halos do move, will they become the Los Angeles Angels of Los Angeles?
No. In an attempt to keep the Orange County fans they will become “The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles”
Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Lakers, Clippers, and a future Football team all in one place? Enjoy your traffic.
I can’t see the Dodgers being into Crawford. Why take on that contract when you have Kershaw and Ethier to take care of and another $160 mil into Kemp?
I personally like the Dodgers the way they are. Fix the 1st and 3rd base situation and our team is good to go. Move Rivera to the bench, or have him platoon with Sands next year in LF and maybe try to go for Wright and Trumbo. Doubtful, but sounds a lot better then getting Crawford.