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Moises Alou

Mets and Marlins trade minor league arms

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The Mets traded Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom, both RHPs, to Florida for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick, both LHPs.  Here’s a link; apparently the announcement is coming at 6pm EST. Vargas is the most MLB-ready of the bunch: he had a nifty half-season in 2005, but wasn’t able to repeat in ’06.  He’ll provide rotation insurance for New York of the Oliver Perez variety.

Owens is probably the guy with the biggest potential impact: in 40 Double-A innings, he struck out seventy-four.  He’s got some control problems, too, but adjusting for park and translating his stats to MLB numbers, that gives him an OPS against of .456.  OPS!  He could be a good one.  Lindstrom and Bostick are in there to even out the deal; Lindstrom is mostly roster filler at this point–he had a good year between A+ and AA, but he’s 26.  Bostick is 23, but still has only pitched a few innings above Double-A.

Also just in: the Moises Alou deal is one year, $7.5 million with a club option for 2008.

By Jeff Sackmann

Assorted updates: Alou, Hudson, Garland, Okajima

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Earlier today, we found a report that Moises Alou was about to sign with the Mets.  Now Rosenthal is saying that it could be a two-year deal.  With Carlos Gomez right behind Lastings Milledge, putting two established vets in the outfield through 2008 would seem to make Milledge expendable. 

Yesterday, Phil Rogers speculated that Mark Buehrle could be headed to Texas.  Rosenthal says it’s Jon Garland, and hints (as Rogers did) that John Danks and Brian Anderson could be part of the package, especially if the deal gets bigger.

And, Buster Olney is reporting chatter about Tim Hudson heading to the Orioles.  If, as Olney speculates, the return could include Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn, it would seem to be ideal for Atlanta: free up payroll for Tom Glavine, and get another (cheap) potentially decent starter in the deal as well.

And here’s something out of nowhere: Hideki Okajima, a lefty reliever, may be coming to the states.  Okajima, a longtime Yomiuri Giant and recently a Nippon Ham Fighter, had a great 2006 but a mediocre ’05.  Sounds like your typical middle-bullpen fodder.

By Jeff Sackmann

Moises Alou To Return In 2007

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Nothing groundbreaking here, but worth a mention.  I have it from a reputable Giants source that Moises Alou fully intends to play in 2007.  I think this was the general vibe anyway, but I hadn’t heard it concretely.

I wrote about Alou at length here.  He’d be a great fit for several AL teams if he could be convinced to DH.

2007 MLB Free Agents: Moises Alou

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I’ve recommending that about ten teams should look into signing Moises Alou this winter.  I think all of the praise for him warrants a closer look.

Alou will enter his age 40 season in 2007.  All sorts of injuries limited him to just 221 games with the Giants for the life of his two-year, $13.25MM contract.  Despite making only 378 PAs this year, Alou was the 9th best RF in the game according to VORP.  He played left field in ’05, and his offensive output ranked 6th at the position.

The Fielding Bible described Alou’s work in left as adequate, as his speed, range, and arm do not impress.  I can only imagine what they’d say about his work in right field, a tougher position.

It seems clear that Alou would benefit from designated hitting.  It’d be his first time with an AL team.  Alou’s .571 slugging percentage in 2006 was best among all free agent hitters with 300 PAs, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano included.  The beauty of Alou is that his deal would probably be for just one year.  Low risk, high reward, just like Frank Thomas was entering this season.

Almost any AL team could make use of Alou at DH.  The only teams I’d rule out for sure are the White Sox, Devil Rays, and Royals.  The latter two because they’re not a few pieces away from contending, and the Sox because Thome can’t move to first.  It follows that the Red Sox and Indians are unlikely suitors, as Hafner and Ortiz are pretty well entrenched at DH.  I’d still leave those two in the mix as Ortiz and Hafner could still be used at first.

If we take those five teams out we have the Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers, Twins, Angels, A’s, Mariners, and Rangers.  I’ve yet to find whether Alou has made any indication on whether he intends to play in 2007; maybe some Giants fans can help out. 

On a mildly related note, here is Matt Cain’s face on a tortilla.

Mets Could Still Add Alou

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According to Jon Heyman at Sports Illustrated, some Mets officials still hope to trade for Moises Alou even with Shawn Green already in the fold.  An independent source of mine has verified that given Cliff Floyd’s inability to stay healthy, the Mets would still like to add Alou.

Alou has spent plenty of time in his career at both outfield corner positions.  He’s playing right field for the Giants right now more out of necessity, as his defense can be ugly at age 40.  He’ll be a free agent after this season, and still mashes when he’s on the field.  He’s hitting .292/.350/.522 this season in 247 ABs.  Alou has dealt with a myriad of injuries this season, and would make a great candidate to play in the AL for the first time in his career next season.  He’s making $6MM this year.

San Francisco is five games out after last night’s win and have won seven of their last nine.

Carroll: Red Sox Looking At Craig Wilson, Geoff Jenkins, Moises Alou

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In his latest update, Will Carroll tell us:

"The Sox are also looking for cheap outfield help as a backup in case tests on Trot Nixon come up with a poor result. There are several names in play, including Craig Wilson, Geoff Jenkins, and Moises Alou. The question here will be price and fit. The Sox, even if Nixon is out for the year, could go with Gabe Kapler and Wily Mo Pena if the price is too high on an acquisition."

My hunch is that the BoSox go with the latter solution, but I’m surprised how little action there has been on Alou.

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