Lots of signings
Adam Eaton is going to the Phillies for $24M over three years. It’s an interesting harbinger of the contracts to come–that isn’t far out of line of all the $21/3 contracts that have been signed in the last couple of years. Eaton is a bit of an injury risk, I suppose, but there’s nothing else keeping his value down. Aside from the obvious cases–Barry Zito, Andy Pettitte, and Jason Schmidt–the only pitchers on the market who may get bigger deals that Eaton are Gil Meche and Ted Lilly. It would be fascinating if the market for pitching remained as people predicted, while the market for hitters exploded.
David Dellucci signed a similarly sane deal to go to Cleveland: he’s getting $11.5M over three years. Given Casey Blake‘s versatility, Eric Wedge can play the hot hand with a number of players, including Dellucci, Blake, Jason Michaels, Shin-Soo Choo, and Ryan Garko.
It looks like it’ll be Gregg Zaun, and not Rod Barajas, who serves as the Blue Jays catcher next year. Apparently the Barajas talks hit a snag, and Zaun stepped right back in. That means Barajas may be headed to one of Zaun’s earlier targets: San Francisco, or a backup job in New York or Boston.
Speaking of catchers, I’m sure you’re all relieved to know that Chad Moeller found a job for 2007. He got a major-league deal to join the Cincinnati Reds, which is Wayne Krivsky’s way of saying, "Jason LaRue, you suck!" Interesting how Brewers backup catchers stick around in the division: if Gary Bennett stays with the Cardinals, two of the worst backup catchers in baseball will be former Brewers in the NL Central.
By Jeff Sackmann
Drew, Roberts, Aurilla, and Dunn
SI reported yesterday that the Red Sox are close to signing JD Drew.
Are sign’s of desperation starting to appear? Gregg Zaun‘s agent has been in ‘consistent’ contact with Cashman and Julio Lugo has already talked to the Cubs and agreed to play CF.
Speaking of Zaun, Mercury News is reporting that Zaun’s agent is having ‘consistent’ contact with the Giants, that the Giants are close to signing Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia, and that they haven’t closed the door on re-signing Pedro Feliz or second baseman Ray Durham.
I hope Zaun’s agent gets paid by the hour.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that all the market value craziness might benefit the Pirates. When pigs fly, you say?
Anyway, the article mentions that the Pirates front office had considered acquiring Adam Dunn. That tidbit sent Pirate bloggers into overdrive —
Honest Wagner said that if the Pirates got Dunn he ‘would become the team’s best or second-best hitter‘, I suppose forgetting that Sanchez and Bay were on the same roster. At Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke Pirate blog, Pat said Dunn ‘would look awfully nice protecting Jason Bay’, but possibly forgetting Dunn NEEDS protection – he doesn’t offer much, especially playing at PNC Park.
My take? I said the same thing I said back at the July trade deadline in 2006 – we don’t need a $10m Adam Dunn to whiff all year for us. What did you expect me to say? hehe
Dan Perry at Fox Sports talks about how the Cardinals have a great deal of work to do now to compete in 2007.
Humbly I report that a list has finally come out that does not include anyone from Pittsburgh – The Goggle Gang by Bill Madden at the New York Daily News.
And yes Jeff, the Brewers getting rid of Davis for Estrada was a great move – I agree.
By Jake at Bucco Blog
Kansas City Star: Zaun To Return To KC?
Ah, finally a legitimate Royals rumor. I know there are some Royals fans out there. Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals may have an interest in bringing back catcher Gregg Zaun.
The Royals acquired Zaun from the Tigers via trade in March of 2000. He hit quite well for them in limited duty but wasn’t retained when he hit free agency. Zaun will be representing himself this winter and may seek a three-year, $9MM deal.
Blue Jays Trade Rumors
There’s no doubt that the Blue Jays will need to address their pitching staff if they want to make the playoffs, as I detailed in this post. Today I’ve got a source giving us the latest buzz coming out of Toronto.
The Jays have approximately $2-4 million in the budget to compensate their deadline acquisitions. J.P. Ricciardi knows he’ll need more salary room than that, so look for Shea Hillenbrand ($5.8MM) or Eric Hinske ($4.3MM) to change addresses before the deadline. Hillenbrand has an .821 OPS, pretty much average for a corner infielder. Hinske stands at .887 thanks to a strong walk rate and a career high slugging percentage. Hinske has faced righties 80% of the time this year, so that’s given his stats a boost.
Gregg Zaun, in calling out his teammates’ lack of leadership, may have punched his ticket out of town. Zaun’s .908 OPS is 7th among catchers with at least 125 ABs. He makes a million bucks this year, so sending him to a team like the Rockies could clear a little payroll.
When manager John Gibbons brought in Brandon League a couple days ago to protect Roy Halladay‘s two-run lead, League was being showcased for a trade. Two home runs later the game was tied and League’s value went down.
Poor decision-making and several other factors may lead to Gibbons’s replacement this winter. Gibbons’s support of George W. Bush and his team’s perceived lack of intensity are issues. Bench coach Ernie Whitt has been mentioned as the likely replacement.