Uncategorized News & Rumors

A reader suggested we take a look at notable free agent compensation draft picks.  Today we’ll look at first-round picks that one team lost to another for signing a Type A free agent.  We’ll look at notable supplemental picks later this week.

• 2000: Braves pick Adam Wainwright as compensation for D’Backs signing Russ Springer.
• 2001: Mets pick Aaron Heilman for Rockies signing Mike Hampton.
• 2001: Orioles pick Mike Fontenot for Yankees signing Mike Mussina.
• 2001: A’s pick Jeremy Bonderman for Mets signing Kevin Appier.
• 2002: A’s pick Nick Swisher for Red Sox signing Johnny Damon.
• 2002: A’s pick Joe Blanton for Yankees signing Jason Giambi.
• 2003: D’Backs pick Conor Jackson for Mariners signing Greg Colbrunn.
• 2004: Twins pick Glen Perkins for Mariners signing Eddie Guardado.
• 2004: Yankees pick Phil Hughes for Astros signing Andy Pettitte.
• 2004: Dodgers pick Blake DeWitt for Yankees signing Paul Quantrill.
• 2005: Red Sox pick Jacoby Ellsbury for Angels signing Orlando Cabrera.
• 2005: Cardinals pick Colby Rasmus for Red Sox signing Edgar Renteria.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman ranks his top 44 free agents, with predictions for the first ten or so.  The boldest: Francisco Rodriguez to the Rangers.

Congratulations to the Phillies on winning the World Series.  Now the offseason officially begins.  Players may file for free agency, and teams have an exclusive 15-day period to negotiate and sign them.  On November 14th, free agents can negotiate and sign with any team.

Check out Cot’s Baseball Contracts for a list of other important dates.

I have a beta version of MLB Trade Rumors Mobile ready for viewing.  Here’s the URL:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.mobi

Try it on your cell phone, and let me know what you think in the comments!

Would you like to write for MLB Trade Rumors?  We are planning to bring one new person aboard to cover the Saturday morning shift.  This is a paid position.  Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Knowledge of all 30 baseball teams, no discernible bias toward your favorite.
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Several players refused outright assignments to Triple A recently, electing free agency.  Let me know if I missed anyone of note.

• Jolbert Cabrera played second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and right field for the Reds this year.  He’ll be 36 in December; he hit .252/.310/.400 in 126 plate appearances.  He spent time in Japan a few years back.
• Dave Borkowski, 31, tossed 36 innings of relief for the Astros with a 7.50 ERA.  Home runs were a problem this year.
• Jose Castillo, 27, hit .246/.292/.376 in 455 plate appearances with the Giants and Astros.  He played second base, shortstop, third base, and right field this year.

Just for fun – let’s say you’re a GM with a ton of money to spend and a quality farm system.  You want to build the best 2009 team possible.  What would it look like?  Here’s my take:

C – Gerald Laird
1B – Mark Teixeira
2B – Orlando Hudson
SS – Rafael Furcal
3B – Adrian Beltre
LF – Manny Ramirez
CF – Marlon Byrd
RF – Matt Holliday
DH – Aubrey Huff

SP – C.C. Sabathia
SP – Jake Peavy
SP – Derek Lowe
SP – A.J. Burnett
SP – Ryan Dempster

RP – Francisco Rodriguez
RP – Brian Fuentes
RP – Huston Street

I’m hoping the infield defense would make up for the outfield.  I’d have to trade for Laird, Beltre, Byrd, Holliday, Huff, Peavy, and Street.  Does any team have the young players to pull that off?  After that I’d have to spend $180MM on ten free agents…to cover their 2009 salaries alone.

Let’s see your dream teams in the comments…all free agents are fair game, plus players who have been mentioned in legitimate trade rumors.

I am a big fan of John Dewan’s plus/minus system for evaluating defense.  Read how it works – the system is logical and easy to understand, though the numbers require intense labor to compile.

Plus/minus stats for the current year are available at Bill James Online (sign up for $3 a month), and I’ve been tossing them around occasionally here at MLBTR.  I’m sure they’ll continue to come up with regard to this winter’s free agent class.  For instance Mark Ellis rates a +25 at second base, meaning he made 25 more plays than the average second baseman this year.

Free agent plus/minus leaders at each position:

• First base: Mark Teixeira, +24
• Second base: Mark Ellis, +25
• Shortstop: Cesar Izturis, +17
• Third base: Joe Crede, +13
• Left field: Jay Payton, +3
• Center field: Corey Patterson, +8
• Right field: Brian Giles, +20, Brad Wilkerson, +4

Like Cork Gaines, I am annoyed by the lazy suggestion that the 2008 Rays owe all of their success to first-round draft picks.  To further Cork’s research, I decided to determine which of the ten playoff teams/contenders were built with first-round picks.

I tallied up each team’s Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP) for players that were drafted in the first round by that team or acquired via trade for first-rounders.  The results:

• The Mets have gotten 30.9 wins (above replacement) this year due to first round picks.  David Wright, Mike Pelfrey, and Aaron Heilman were Mets first-rounders.  Johan Santana, Brian Schneider, and Ryan Church were acquired using first-round picks Philip Humber and Lastings Milledge.
• Brewers – 29.9 wins.  They drafted Ryan Braun, Ben Sheets, Prince Fielder, and Rickie Weeks in the first round.  The Crew added C.C. Sabathia via first-rounder Matt LaPorta.
• Phillies – 26.9 wins.  They drafted Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell, and Brett Myers.  They also used Adrian Cardenas to get Joe Blanton.
• Rays – 23.2 wins.  The Rays have gotten significant contributions from B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria.  They also added Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett for first-rounder Delmon Young.
• Twins – 18.2 wins.  They drafted Joe Mauer, Denard Span, Glen Perkins, and Michael Cuddyer.
• Angels – 16.7 wins.  They drafted Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, and used Casey Kotchman to get Mark Teixeira.
• The Red Sox, White Sox, and Cubs do not owe much of their ’08 success to their own first-round picks (less than 10 wins).  Jacoby Ellsbury and Kerry Wood are the significant first-rounders here.
• You can download my spreadsheet with info by team here.  Please let me know if you find any errors or omissions.

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