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Adam Dunn’s Option is Exercised
The Cincinnati Reds decided today to keep their biggest offensive threat, Adam Dunn. Although Dunn is a complete defensive liability, he is an on-base machine and provides the most power on the team. His $13 million option for 2008 was a relative no-brainer, even though he continues to hit for a relatively low average.
But what does this say for the Reds outfield in 2008? The team already has Ken Griffey Jr. in right field, Josh Hamilton or Ryan Freel in center, and Dunn in left. But the Reds also have who many believe is the top prospect in baseball, Jay Bruce, major league ready. The young slick-hitting first baseman Joey Votto is also stopping Dunn from moving to first base.
Since this was the first season that Ken Griffey Jr. played in over 128 games since 2000, his value is unlikely to get much higher. Could he be on his way out of town?
Many teams could be interested in Griffey if he is placed on the trade market. He does have 10-5 protection and so he can basically call the shots when he the team looks to trade him. Three teams have been rumored as destinations for him though.
- The Chicago Cubs have been noted has having a desire for a left-handed hitting right-fielder and they might have enough pitching to meet the Reds’ desires.
- The Atlanta Braves have been mentioned many times over the years as a destination. He would have to shift back to center though, increasing his injury risk. The Braves would also have to increase payroll significantly as well. Even though Andruw Jones’ salary will come off the books, raises to some of the team’s players will take up that gap.
- The third most mentioned team is his original team, the Seattle Mariners. But with Ichiro Suzuki and prospect Adam Jones basically set in the outfield, they would need to push Raul Ibanez to the DH spot and Jose Vidro to the bench.
A-Rod opting out already made this off-season start to look wild, but what the Reds do about their glut of outfielders will be ever more interesting.
Trade Bait: Renteria is now a Tiger
The Detroit Tigers made the first splash of the off-season today as they acquired shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Atlanta Braves for a couple of prospects. The slick-fielding .291 lifetime hitter was traded for right-hander Jair Jurrjens and centerfielder Gorkys Hernandez.
Renteria, a better fielder than Carlos Guillen, will take over short and allow the sore-legged Guillen to move to first base. The move not only improves the overall defense of the infield, but it solves the first base hole that has existed for the past few seasons.
In Jair Jurrjens the Braves get a, as Kevin Goldstein said, a pitcher that “…throws a low 90s fastball, decent slider, and deceptive changeup.” Although others were speculating that the Braves would scoop up Nate Robertson in the trade, Jurrjens is younger and will be cheaper for more years than Robertson. The move will give the Braves more fiscal flexibility over the next few seasons and ensure that they will have at least one Curacao native on the team still with Andruw Jones likely to leave via free agency.
Hernandez is a centerfielder with great upside. Although he may never reach the power potential that scouts think he’ll develop, Gorkys is blazingly fast. In a couple years he could provide the Braves with good defense in the outfield and a decent leadoff bat with speed that hasn’t been seen in that spot since Rafael Furcal. His acquisition could make the outfield picture somewhat cloudy in a couple years as Jeff Francoeur is already in right, Brandon Jones is poised to take over left, Brent Lillibridge may move to centerfield, and prospect Jordan Schafer.
Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski pulled off this trade with the new Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren. Overall, this trade looks pretty good for both sides as the Tigers improve their infield defense and add a good hitting shortstop, while the Braves solve their shortstop problem, add a cheap starter and improve their farm system that was hit hard in the Mark Teixeira trade.
This is a pretty significant trade as it takes a major shortstop off the weak trade and free agent market. Yet the Tigers and the Braves were able to keep from announcing it until after the World Series….”cough, cough”.
A-Rod Opts Out
It is supposedly official. Alex Rodriguez will opt out of his record breaking contract and become a free agent. Uber agent Scott Boras let it be known that Alex Rodriguez was available during Game 4 of the World Series.
The Yankees General Manger Brian Cashman has let it be known that there will be no negotiating with the Yankees if A-Rod opts out of his contract. If he will stick with that, then the list of suitors for A-Rod will be relatively small. Also, you can then count the Yankees in on the Mike Lowell sweepstakes as they would probably be interested in signing their former prospect.
Can A-Rod get more out on the open market than what the Yankees were supposedly offering him to stay and extend his contract? It will be interesting to see who could pony up the cash.
But way to go Boras, way to take center stage during the last game of the World Series to pronounce your client will opt out of his contract. You couldn’t wait until after the Series was over could you? Other teams are waiting to reveal new managers and make other newsworthy moves to not take any attention away from the World Series.
Nice Boras…..nice.
Will A-Rod Get an Offer?
If you frequent this site, you will notice that I tend to note rumors from MLB Trade Rumors. MLBTR is often where I get some of my inspiration when there is little out there that I wish to discuss.
Once again, Tim Dierks has put up another juicy rumor for me to do some discussion on. In this article, he talks of Buster Olney’s article that states that the Yankees may be about to offer Alex Rodriguez a momentous contract extension. The extension would tack on five additional years onto A-Rod’s current contract that runs through 2010.
It’s the fiscal figures that are striking though. He’s set to pull in an additional $230 million over the next eight years if the proposed contract is true.
The good thing about this deal for the Yankees would supposedly be that they would still be able to get the annual subsidy from the Rangers for the 2008-2010 seasons. But after that, all of the approximately $30 million per year would come out of the Yankee’s pockets.
But an extension that long makes you wonder:
Would he be worth $30 million over the last few seasons? It should be noted that he will be 40 when this proposed contract ends.
Will this contract have another out-clause for A-Rod in a two-to-three years?
What if he injures his shoulder and must move over to first base at some point? What if he suffers the same knee injuries that Barry Bonds suffered and was regulated to the DH?
Must be nice to have the YES Network.
Ugly Trade Rumor
As I peruse through the baseball rumor websites I almost regularly see trade talks about possibly THE most dominant left-handed starters in the game, Johan Santana. But one trade suggestion that I regularly see involves the New York Yankees trading with the Twins for his services.
Johan is a game-changer. He regularly is at, or near the top of the strikeout list each year. He also is regularly one of the leaders in wins, even with an offense with hitters like Nick Punto and Lew Ford getting 400+ at-bats each year.
But the many of rumors swirling around New York have the Yankees getting him usually for Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy, and one other player. Many times that other player is either Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, or a prospect. MLBTR discusses it multiple times, with the most recent being here.
If the Twins pull off any sort of trade with the Yankees that involves Cabrera and Kennedy as two-thirds of the package, I will personally fire new Twins GM Bill Smith.
Scouts, baseball analysts, and even those with a little bit of common sense know that Melky Cabrera is not an everyday player. He’s a fourth outfielder at best. An ugly Twins offense would be even worse!
I have also read multiple reports from various sources, including Baseball America, that state that Ian Kennedy is likely to be a 4th or 5th starter in the majors.
Not a good return, even if you throw in Wang or Cano. Both players are now arbitration eligible and are likely to receive decent increases each of the next three seasons, not what a small market team is looking for.
But this is only the start of the Santana watch. The hot stove will get very heated this winter with all the rumors about him.
ALCS Game 7 Musings
The final game of this season’s ALCS was shaping up to be a memorable one….at least for the first six and a half innings.
But the Red Sox’ rookie scrapper ripped one over the Green Monster and broke the game open. Dustin Pedroia then went on to knock three more in a short time later. In the post-game news conference one reporter summed it up as a microcosm of his season. He struggled early in the postseason, but Dustin has now turned it on and has started raking at the top of the order. The sparkplug started the offense over the past three games, leading the Sox to outscore the Indians 30-5 over that stretch.
The Green Monster also played a major role in the series. Kenny Lofton looked completely lost in left field when it came to playing balls off the wall. As much crap as Manny Ramirez gets for his lackluster defense, he plays the wall like a master. Most of the time he is nearly in the right position to take the rebound off the wall, winging it in towards second base. Sometimes it holds potential doubles to singles, or like tonight, he throws runners out at second (although Kenny Lofton was safe). Yet when they talk to him after the game do they talk about how he played that ball? No. You could tell Manny was perturbed with the line of questioning.
Also, a major amount of the talk surrounding the game was about Joel Skinner’s call in the seventh inning to hold Kenny Lofton at third. Even after the game, talk surrounded that call. Terry Francona even said that the wall that the ball caromed off of creates a blind spot. Skinner was forced to make a decision within a split second with a speedy Kenny Lofton on the way. The game ended with an 11-2 score, get over it.
Finally, one last thing, Jonathan Papelbon is nuts. Really…..he’s nuts!
Could Giants Trade Cain or Lincecom?
Recently, I read an article written by Glenn Dickey of The Examiner. In it, Dickey was campaigning for the Giants to trade on of their young talented arms. In it he listed off Matt Cain’s great pitching statistics, comparing them to his record (7-16). Dickey discussed, essentially, how the offense needs a major influx of talent and that the only way to do it would be to trade Cain or Tim Lincecum for that influx.
This of course led me to think, “…..wha???” He also talks about how the game has changed and that it is mainly an offensive game anymore. The Rockies got to the World Series this season, not mainly on their bats, but on their gloves. They had a record-setting defense this season. The Red Sox just tied up the ALCS tonight because of two stellar performances from Josh Beckett and a gutsy performance from Curt Schilling. Sure, the Red Sox knocked in plenty of runs tonight, but if the league average number of runs were scored by them, they still would have won.
Trading one of these two major talents would not turn this team’s woeful offense around. Letting Barry Bonds go was the best thing this team could do. He was playing in fewer games over the past few seasons and his salary could be spread amongst a couple other players to improve the team. Pedro Feliz was more of an offensive hole than many think with an OPS of only .708. Unfortunately, age has caught up to the once great Ray Durham and Omar Vizquel as well. Brian Sabean has made some bad choices over the past few years and it is now showing.
But there is hope. Kevin Fransden was handed the second base job late in the season (too late) and hit well (.270 AVG after break, .370 in September, where he got many of his at-bats). Rich Aurilia isn’t that that good anymore, but he had a better OPS than Feliz. Signing someone like Scott Hatteberg to play first base isn’t a blockbuster, but he wouldn’t demand a long contract and he gets on base very well still. This is a team that needs to rebuild and he will give the team some time to find a long-term replacement.
There’s one pitcher that could be traded though. Sure, Noah Lowry wouldn’t bring back much, but there has been a rumor of Lowry for Edgar Rentaria of the Atlanta Braves. If they could lure the Braves into putting Willy Aybar into the trade, then they will be solidifying their shortstop position and have some nearly ready talent for the hot corner. Also along the trade route, the Giants could also get a young first baseman. Sure the Giants don’t have much to offer, but there’s some young players that may not be playing too well but have enough upside that they could be a solid, cheap aquisition. Hitters like Dan Johnson or Ryan Sheally have decent (not great) upside that could be had cheaply and can man the position until something better comes along.
Yes, the Giants are in a world of hurt, but trading away one of your two best players is no answer.
(No, Barry Zito isn’t one of their two best players)
Drew Shows Emotion?
In the first inning of tonight’s ALCS game I witnessed something amazing. J.D. Drew showed some emotion! After he hit a first-inning grand slam, he did a small fist-pump as he was rounding second base.
That was the single thing that stood out for me during the game. Not that the Red Sox scored 12 runs. Not that Curt Schilling was solid through seven innings. Not that Fausto Carmona was lit up after winning so many games during the season. It was that J.D. Drew actually showed that he cared about the outcome of the game. As ESPN columnist Bill Simmons wrote, Drew “has all the talent in the world. He just doesn’t care.”
But he is finally showing some of the hitting prowess that the Red Sox signed him for. In all, he had five of the Red Sox RBI for the night and may have may have quieted the Red Sox Nation’s ire toward him for the ugly regular season he had.
The Great GM Turnover
What is going on? Have all the good General Managers decided to quit to start a golf league together? Major names in the business have left their positions. Names like Walt Jocketty (Cardinals), Terry Ryan (Twins), John Schuerholz (Braves), and now Bill Stoneman (Angels) have all led great careers at their positions. That doesn’t even include the lesser known GMs that have lost (or will loose) their positions. Just when you think you’ve seen the last major GM step down, you’re bedazzled by yet another.
One thing is for certain though. We should see a major amount of activity over the next year or two. Many of these GMs will probably try to make moves to mold their new teams into their own vision. The good farm systems of the Twins, Braves, and Angels may be in jeopardy as well if the new GMs do not perform well.
Well, one thing is for sure, I’ll have plenty to discuss as these new GMs either make sweeping moves that make them a star like their predecessors, or bonehead moves that leave their teams in ruin.
And the Award Goes To
Every year the Major League Baseball awards come out and I typically have a problem with at least one of the awards. Hence I am starting the inaugural Baseball Opinion Awards. After each season I will review the candidates and hand out various awards including, but not limited to; Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Minor League Player of the Year.
This year’s award winners are:
NL Player of the Year
Matt Holliday – Although Prince Fielder had an absolute breakout season, pounding 50 home runs, the award should go to Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holiday. Not only did Holiday lead the league in hits, he also won two thirds of the triple crown as he lead the NL in batting average (.340) and RBIs (137). Topping it all off, he led the the Rockies to the playoffs with his slide to home plate (even though he missed and no one ever talks of it) against the Padres.
AL Player of the Year
Alex Rodriguez – Can this even be contested by any other player? A-Rod was on fire this year…and still took some heat occasionally in New York. That’s New York. Alex also grabbed 2/3 of the triple crown as he lead the AL with home runs (54) and RBIs (156). There’s not much else you can say about A-Rod that hasn’t been already said.
NL Pitcher of the Year
Jake Peavy – Jake was the clear cut winner of this award. He won the National League pitching triple crown this season with the most wins (19), strikeouts (240), and ERA (2.54). Peavy was flat out the most dominant pitcher in the majors, not just the National League.
AL Pitcher of the Year
Josh Beckett – Josh had a an amazing year for the Red Sox. His top statistic, leading the majors in wins, is a major factor in the Cy young race. However, he didn’t have as good of statistics of some other pitchers, specifically John Lackey and C. C. Sabathia. Considering that he out-dueled both pitchers in the playoffs, he deserves this award.
NL Rookie of the Year
Troy Tulowitzki – This was one of the tougher ones. Ryan Braun had a terrific, near MVP, type year statistically. He slapped up great numbers, even though he wasn’t even called up until late May. But his defense was atrocious. Troy not only had one of the best rookie years offensively for a shortstop ever, he was a major reason why the Rockies only had a record low 68 errors during the season.
AL Rookie of the Year
Dustin Pedroia – Even though he had a horrible March and April (.182 batting average), the Red Sox stuck with Dustin and it paid off. He only had one month after that with a batting average of under .300 (.299 in July). He went on to not only have a .317 average for the season, but an amazing .380 on-base percentage.
Minor League Player of the Year
Jay Bruce – Bruce tore up three levels of the minor leagues this season. He started at Single-A, but ended in Triple-A, hitting below .300 at any level. Bruce also ripped 26 home runs and 46 doubles, the latter number a sign of more power to come. Bruce ended the season with a.319 average overall with a .962 OPS, but still needs to cut down on his strikeouts. Some are comparing him to a young Larry Walker, but Larry was better on the base paths. Either way, Bruce is a true talent.
