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Barry Bonds

Royals Seeking Offensive Upgrade?

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Did you know that the Royals have yet to score more than six runs in a game this season? I didn’t, either, before I came across Bradford Doolittle’s piece in the Kansas City Star. While the team has seen some quality performances from the pitching staff, their offense is in a rut. Lucky for them, there are two guys waiting by the phone right now who could provide instant upgrades: Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds.

Thomas could definitely fit into the picture. Ross Gload is okay, but certainly not a lock as a regular. The only problem here is that if you replace Gload with Thomas, you have to move Billy Butler out to first base. Yeah, there are more disastrous spots for him out there — I recall Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein telling a less than flattering story of Butler’s outfield skills. He can’t be much worse than Jason Giambi out there, so it’s worth a shot.

The crazy thing is that Bonds could fit in, too. The only obstacle is Jose Guillen’s contract. The newly-signed right fielder is hitting .173/.205/.307, while  having the most at bats on the team. I know the season is young, but this can become a problem. It’s not like Guillen was a superstar coming in. It’s just that there’s no way the Royals can rid themselves of him — that is, even if they wanted to.

But if Dayton Moore slid Mark Teahen back to right and signed Bonds, he might be creating a decent situation. Bonds can’t play left all the time, but when he can’t, you can get Joey Gathright to play out there (with David DeJesus manning CF full-time). Bonds can DH to give Thomas days off. And Gload can fill in for Butler when needed.

No, it’s not an ideal solution. You’d be bringing in one defensive liability in Bonds, and creating another one by signing Thomas. However, if the Royals think they can compete this year, they’re going to need an offensive upgrade. Nabbing Frank Thomas seems like a logical move, then.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog. You can email me rumors here.

Bonds Continues To Wait

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What’s up with Barry Bonds?  Not a whole lot.  The New York Times’ Jack Curry dug up what he could by talking to a few associates of Bonds.  Curry found that Bonds is working out at home and staying in shape, but not hitting.  Curry is on board with the speculation that an opportunity for Bonds might open up if a DH on a contender goes down.

This morning, David Chalk made a case for the Rays to sign Bonds.  He can’t find a reason why they shouldn’t.

Despite Tiger Woes, Bonds Not An Option

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John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle addresses the possibility of adding Barry Bonds to a Tigers team with a struggling offense out of the gate.  The team is currently 2-9 with a league-low 33 runs scored.

GM Dave Dombrowski responded to concerns raised about the offensive production thus far with his best Alfred E. Neuman impersonation, saying, "What!  Me worry?"

"If we hit the same all year, I’d be the most surprised I’ve ever been in my career," he said.  On signing Bonds, Dombrowski replied, "Our everyday lineup is set.  It’s not even a situation with us."

All this hand wringing over the offense, while understandable, seems misdirected.  The real concern has to be the pitching staff.  As Shea points out, the starting staff had just one quality start in the team’s first nine games.  With or without adding the recently DFA’d Kyle Snyder, Detroit should be much more concerned about solidifying its rotation and relief corps.  That offense is going to produce.  But pinning all hopes on it while neglecting the team’s arms could lead to a lot of disappointed fans.

Posted by Matt Birt

Baseball Blogs Weigh In

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Bunch of random topics so let’s just get to it and see what it being said in the Blogosphere…

  • Big League Stew talks to Bless You Boys about the idea of Barry Bonds signing with the Tigers. BYB argues against signing Bonds noting that the Tigers already have a bunch of slow players (base cloggers?) and what they really need is some more speed in the lineup…Although we keep hearing about collusion and have not heard any numbers bandied about, Bonds has always made it very clear how much he values the almighty dollar. Does anybody else think that Bonds would already be in uniform if he had come out said he would play 2008 for $3-5MM plus incentives? The baggage is what it is, but teams might find it easier to deal with it at a price Bonds is not likely to accept.
  • Rockin’ The Red takes a look at the five Cardinals that are most likely to be traded during the season…Chris Duncan is an interesting name on the list. With all the outfielders that the Cards have, Duncan is a solid bat that is likely to be a Super-2 at the end of the year.
  • The Yankees: Minors to Majors looks at the pending free agents for the Yankees and concludes that there is plenty of compensation picks to be had giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign a high-end free agent like C.C. Sabathia…Of course, that is assuming the Yankees would let something like draft pick compensation stand in the way of signing a free agent. Not likely.
  • Wrigleyville23 has had enough of the Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs media reports…Who?
  • The Bronx Zoo would love to see Nick Johnson back in a Yankees’ uniform but notes that Dmitri Young may not be a dependable replacement for the Nats.
  • Mets Fever notes that eight players have moved among the Brewers, Mets and Nats since this offseason…Let’s just say that the Brewers did not get the best of that "three-way trade".
  • One writer at DRays Bay is hoping the Rays and M’s can re-engage talks for Edwin Jackson…The M’s may be interested once again after being two-hit by Jackson yesterday, but maybe the price just went up.
  • One name that kept popping up recently as a possible trade piece in the near future was Rich Harden. Well, Harden has once again found himself on the DL and Athletics Nation is not taking it well.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez

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Time to round up today’s linkage.

Don’t Count Bonds Out

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Last we checked, Barry Bonds was determined not to retire.  Rangers beat writer Jim Reeves has this to say about the basher:

"Fact is, if the Rangers are somehow a surprise contender by midseason and Bonds is still out there… let me just suggest that the Bonds issue might well be revisited again by the powers that be at The Ballpark in Arlington."

Reeves is not advocating the signing.  In fact, he’s urging Rangers owner Tom Hicks not to bend when he responded to the question of signing Bonds with a vehement, "No way" that put this rumor to sleep almost a month ago.  However, Rangers Manager Ron Washington is vocally in favor of bringing Bonds on board. 

"’I’d do it,’ Washington said. ’I would. I’m a Barry Bonds fan. I’ve always been a Barry Bonds fan… He’s going to help you win a lot of ballgames. That’s what it’s all about … He has his own attitude, but that don’t bother me,’ Washington said. ’The bottom line is what does he do for us between the lines?’"

By Nat Boyle

Stark’s Latest: Bonds, Howard, Vargas

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings up; let’s take a look.

  • Stark surveyed execs from three teams about why Barry Bonds remains unemployed.  They provided the answers you’d expect, and collusion isn’t one of them.  One of the team officials believes a major injury to one of the 14 DHs could very well result in a Bonds signing.  Related note: Gary Sheffield just tore a tendon in his finger.  Meanwhile, Joel Sherman speculates that Bonds would be a nice match with the Blue Jays.
  • There are signs that Ryan Howard wants an unprecedented contract – he won’t be using Miguel Cabrera as his model.  A trade before he reaches free agency (after the 2010 season) seems likely.
  • Stark says the Mets are eyeing Claudio Vargas but would want him to work at Triple A for a while first.  They’re not showing interest in available guys like David Wells, Jeff Weaver, or Robinson Tejeda.  David Lennon of Newsday counters by saying the Mets do have interest in Tejeda, though nothing is close.

No Bonds For Seattle

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One of the teams for which Barry Bonds makes the most sense is the Mariners.  By shifting around various players, they could definitely use his bat at left field and DH.  As a team with its sights set on ’08, the Mariners probably can’t afford to use Jose Vidro as their designated hitter.

Nonetheless, Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln emphatically stated today that the Mariners will not sign Bonds under any circumstances at any time.  Looks like it’s Vidro for ’08 (and perhaps ’09 if his option vests).  PECOTA sees Vidro hitting .281/.346/.372 this year.

Bonds Vows Not To Retire

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Curious why Barry Bonds, he of the .480 OBP and undeniable baggage, doesn’t have a job yet?  So is the Players Association; Donald Fehr and Co. will examine whether there has been collusion against Bonds this winter.  It’s just part of an annual free agent market review by the union, so this isn’t a huge deal.

It’s tough to analyze Bonds’ situation without inside information.  Perhaps certain clubs did look into signing him, but found his price prohibitive.  Other teams may be focused on bringing in good clubhouse guys.  Others may not have DH or left field vacancies. 

Bonds’ agent says he could be ready in two weeks; he vowed directly to MLB.com that he will not retire.  It’s not like Opening Day is some magical date after which Bonds cannot sign.  Injuries happen, teams get desperate, and maybe Bonds will drop his price under $5MM.  He mentioned on the MLB.com phone call that he’ll come back in July if necessary.

Gammons’ Latest: Bailey, Crisp, Giants

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ESPN’s Peter Gammons posted to his blog yesterday; let’s take a look.

  • More negative vibes around the Reds’ Homer Bailey.  His apparent availability seems odd given his talent.  Bailey was described by an evaluator friend of Buster Olney as "someone who thinks he’s got it all figured out."
  • Gammons likes the fit of Barry Bonds in Seattle, but sees Jeff Clement as the team’s DH in the event that Richie Sexson starts to repeat his ’07.
  • The A’s still like Coco Crisp, but the Red Sox want young catching and/or pitching that the A’s would prefer to keep.  Susan Slusser wrote on Saturday that talks between the two clubs had revived.
  • Giants scouts are apparently handing out a list to other teams with almost a dozen available players (basically all the veterans).  The Giants currently have nine pitchers vying for three bullpen spots.
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