Ian Kinsler and the Rangers have been working hard to hammer out a contract extension but so far the two sides have yet to reach agreement. Here’s more on the second baseman and other items out of Arlington..
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com’s (via Twitter) gut feeling is that second baseman Ian Kinsler and the Rangers will work out a long-term deal. Earlier this week the two sides were working towards a new deal that would guarantee Kinsler’s 2013 option at $10MM and add five seasons at about $14MM per year.
- In a piece for ESPN Insider (sub. req’d) Christopher Cwik of Fangraphs writes that Josh Hamilton’s move to center field could cost him millions on the open market. Hamilton will hit free agency along with a group of other defensively-talented players at the position including Michael Bourn, Shane Victorino, and B.J. Upton.
- It has taken the Rangers about six years of commitment to transform into a pitching-first organization but they’ve pulled it off, writes Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. “We were known as an offensive organization,” club president and CEO Nolan Ryan said. “We chose to put at least as much emphasis on pitching as we did hitting…We were committed to becoming the most balanced organization we could be.”
that doesn’t make any sense. being capable in CF is never a downside. a team can always move him to/pursue him as a corner.
I think they just mean he’s more of an injury risk there.
I fail to see how Hamilton moving to centre, the most defensively demanding of the 3 outfield positions, could hurt his value. Worst case scenario, he signs with a club to play LF or RF and would still get the big bucks. Being able to play more positions shouldn’t hurt his next contract at all.
I think Cwik’s point is a bit absurd (I can’t read the article since I don’t have Insider). Unless Hamilton severely injures himself in center this year, I feel as though most teams would have interest in him primarily as a corner outfielder.
(this was supposed to be a reply to Chris Bosh…) I guess I was a bit slow on my post, but I concur. The only way his value drops is if he suffers a catastrophic injury as a result of playing center.
Hamilton being less valuable because he’s playing centerfield? Really?!
Hamilton > Bourn
Hamilton > Victorino
Hamilton > Upton
its actually funny because its really not even close.
I really don’t know how some of these writers have jobs. If i actually paid for insider and read a story like that I would throw my laptop out the window.
I read that and did throw my laptop out the window. Luckily, I live on the 1st floor of my apartment.
thats insane. Showing versatility doesn’t cost people money, it makes people money.
I was going to post a comment about this Cwik guy, but I would just be repeating everyone else. That’s about the most asenine prediction I have ever heard.
And here I thought the people from Fangraphs were SMART.
He makes it sound like they’re trying to move Hamilton to first base.
The people from fangraphs are just stat heads. They only perceive the game from the standpoint of statistical value. Even with that said, I still don’t know how anyone could defend the point that a defensive first position like CF could hurt the value of a player with Hamlton’s offensive abilities. And its not even like he can’t play CF well.
Statistical value is the only unbiased opinion you will ever get on a player. This specific article just surprised me with its redundancy. I support fangraphs 100%.
What may have cost Hamilton millions of dollars was his alcohol relapse during this past off-season. Not so much the position change.