While it may seem early to start talking about the 2010 season, the free agency news is starting to role in and some have already signed.
Current reports are that the Mariners are about to sign Chone Figgins as their new 3B from the Angels. That would mean completely rebuilt left side of the infield with the earlier resigning of Jack Wilson at SS.
Awwww, we’ll miss Figgy in LA. Dang.
Figgins would be an awesome signing for the Ms. He’s a great player, fits their team and needs, and they can afford it.
I’m still pumped about the Twins landing Hardy. Provided that the pumpkin he turned into last year isn’t his skills falling off a cliff.
Also amusing: Detroit being in such a horrific financial bind that they’re shopping Granderson. Central is the Twins’ to lose.
Looking forward to seeing the Rangers play this year. They have some serious young talent. With the Angels losing significant parts of their core, I like Texas as the AL West favorites.
PS: Fuck the Yankees.
The Mets so far have re-signed Alex Cora and added 28 year old backup/tutor Chris Coste. This is what Coste had to say a few days before signing:
After telling CSNPhilly.com that he “will always be a Phillie,” Coste said he had been hesitant to sign with Philadelphia’s arch-rival.
“It was the Mets,” Coste said, according to the site. “It’s the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept [the contract], but had to think about it for a few days.”
Color me unimpressed.
What need does he fit?
He’s not a run producer, he’s a fast OBP guy. Not that this particular skill doesn’t make him valuable to all teams, but don’t the M’s have enough people getting on base and too few people driving them in?
I mean, Ichiro! gets a single, maybe he steals. Figgins walks or gets a single and drives him in. Then what? More 3-2 losses?
Dammit Sarkus, you stole my thread.
Red Sox rebuilding year coming up. Sigh.
What?!?!? How is it a rebuilding year? The only major player they might lose is Bay, who can be replaced with Holliday. (They’ve also acquired Hermida as backup/insurance, although he’s admittedly a big question mark.) They’ve solidified at shortstop by signing Scutaro. I don’t see any major holes in the lineup, and the pitching staff should be excellent (Lester, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Buchholz etc. with Bard/Okajima setting up Papelbon). They are also kicking the tires on Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, and Lackey.
I can’t see any reason, barring injuries or a bunch of disaster years happening at the same time, that they can’t win 90+ games again and contend for a playoff spot. If that’s rebuilding, I’ll take it.
There are LOTS of questions in the pitching staff. It could be excellent, but it could be a big problem. But the bigger issue is the power outage in the lineup.
What are these LOTS of questions? Most teams would kill to have two consistent pitchers (Lester, Beckett).
Even the Yankees have Sabathia and a whole lotta “hmm, maybe.” As in, who knows what AJ Burnett will show up on any given day, or will Petite return, and will he still be average, and is Chamberlain a head case, should Hughes be a starter or reliever, or what happens if Rivera is revealed to actually be human.
But the bigger issue is the power outage in the lineup.
Offense may be an issue if they lose Bay and can’t replace him with Holliday or some other slugger. Then there’s the question of Lowell and his hip, which could move Youkilis back to 3B. Then they’d need a 1B.
Scutaro adds some OBP and offense to a black hole for the last five years, so that’s a plus.
Ortiz may not suck as much as he sucked at the start of 09, though I wouldn’t bank on it. He may be Giambi 2.0, but that could mean .240/.350/.450 for a DH, which wouldn’t be the worst numbers in the world.
They still definately need more run producers, but they weren’t going to fill that need at 3B anyway. And the M’s did need more guys to get on base. Ichiro was the only guy with over a .350 OBP last year. Branyan (gone) was #2, then Gutierrez, then a few guys around .300.
It’s an upgrade over Beltre in pretty much every area but run production.
True, but the back of the rotation is largely unproven or maddeningly inconsistent (Buchholz and Matsuzaka, respectively,) and the bullpen has seemed on a downward slide the last two years. Bard may rejuvenate it, but Papelbon is a bit of a question mark. But I agree that pitching is hardly the pressing issue for the Sox.
Offense may be an issue if they lose Bay and can’t replace him with Holliday or some other slugger. Then there’s the question of Lowell and his hip, which could move Youkilis back to 3B. Then they’d need a 1B.
I think they probably will lose Bay, but we’ll see. If they can get Holliday that’d be great.
Scutaro adds some OBP and offense to a black hole for the last five years, so that’s a plus.
We’ve heard variations on this statement for the past 5 years or so, with a different name leading it. Renteria really looked good too, before we signed him.
Ortiz may not suck as much as he sucked at the start of 09, though I wouldn’t bank on it. He may be Giambi 2.0, but that could mean .240/.350/.450 for a DH, which wouldn’t be the worst numbers in the world.
I’m of the opinion that Ortiz is done. I’ll be very happy to be proven wrong, though.
Scutaro isn’t going to come close to his 2009. Not a bad player, but 2 years for a 37-year-old? Questionable.
Ortiz at “33” is probably done, yeah. Still, Boston’s got a heck of a team. No reason to call it a rebuilding year quite yet. What’s the word on Lowrie…he had that season-ending injury but he sure did mash the hell out of the minors before then.
Steve: “Run production” is, IMO, a somewhat misused term. There are plenty of ways to generate runs, from knocking doubles to stealing bases, but the most important one is to not make outs. Figgins is very good at not making outs. Thus, he’ll produce runs. He doesn’t have a ton of power, no, but there’s not a lot of non-corner-outfield power to be had in FA this year and it’ll be really expensive even if you do go that route. Adding players with different but still valuable skillsets is a pretty valid strategy if you ask me.
Figgins’ ability to play multiple positions is of course useful as well.
Seattle isn’t going to compete on its offense regardless, and Figgins would make their defense as good as it was with Beltre – and he’s the only guy that can come close to Beltre’s work with the glove.
Anyway, we’ll see what actually happens. Mostly I’m just jealous because I’d freaking kill for either of them.
Which is why it’s 2 years for a 34-year old, which is a perfectly reasonable length.
What’s the word on Lowrie…he had that season-ending injury but he sure did mash the hell out of the minors before then.
I don’t think they believe he’ll hit in the majors (they have some pretty serious defensive metric work going on there, so it’s possible they don’t dig his defense either). It doesn’t seem like he’s had much of a chance, but he had one of those lingering wrist injuries people never seem to recover from.
Adding players with different but still valuable skillsets is a pretty valid strategy if you ask me.
My point is that they weren’t adding a player with a different skillset; they already have a singles hitter. They should be looking for guys who can drive the ball to the gaps.
Not that I don’t think Figgins is a good choice for any team, but I’d think the Mariners need him less than others. At some point you’re going to need someone to hit a three-run dinger or bases-clearing double instead of relying on stringing together a bunch of singles.
The bullpen was better this season than in the past; in fact, I think it was in the top 5 in the league.
I’m not that worried about Buccholz or Matsuzaka. Dice-K is probably a solid 3 or 4, and Buccholz’s velocity was WAY up this season. Like, 95-ish. He may turn into a bust, but he’s still more consistent than, say, Joba Chamberlain.
We’ve heard variations on this statement for the past 5 years or so, with a different name leading it. Renteria really looked good too, before we signed him.
Renteria was already declining, and had only one standout season so people saying he was a big deal were somewhat delusional. The Sox had wanted Lugo years before, but ended up with the older and crustier version. Scutaro isn’t a solution either, but he’s just keeping the position warm for some kid they have in the minors whose name eludes me.
The Cardinals were trying to slow-play the Holliday negotiations, and it worked as far as taking SF and LAA out of the picture. Boston and NYM are really the only other suitors at this point…
…but St. Louis may give Scott Boras the “shit or get off the pot” ultimatum in the next two days before the winter meetings. They may put 6/$96m on the table and say take it or leave it…and then when Holliday leaves it, they’ll turn around and:
Make a run to sign DeRosa, since the big competition for his services lost a big player when Philly signed Polanco.
Make a run at a guy like Randy Wolf, who Dave Duncan has always kind of liked.
Sign Xavier Nady and cross their fingers.
Look for bullpen help; Ryan Franklin’s September/October was pretty scary. The BABIP caught up with him.
Get to work on Albert’s contract.
Hah! That’ll show me to post without going to the Cube to verify my memory. I guess I’m just not a Scutaro believer, since that still is a signing I wouldn’t like were I a Red Sox fan.
Regarding Figgins: I guess I’d argue that having Ichiro, who has similarly high-OBP-low-SLG results at the plate, shouldn’t preclude a team from signing the best available FA at a high-need position if they can afford him. As far as I can tell, the Mariners’ offense is just kinda bad across the board; adding a guy who can produce in any fashion is good. In 2009, Figgins’ OBP was nearly 100 points higher (.395 to .304). That’s going to lead to a lot more runs than a few extra doubles and HRs. Again, I just don’t see who else you spend that money on to get anywhere near the upgrade that you get from scrub->Figgins. Randy Wolf? Dubious. Lackey is going to cost a lot more. If there were a Cuddyer type on the market - affordable, can knock the ball around a little - I’d get your point. Maybe I’m missing someone, but I don’t see a massively better fit for the Ms out there.
As for Holliday, like all premier FAs he’s going to get more money than he’s really worth out of some big-market team. The Cards are likely better off spending the money on the other priorities noted by Mr. Cut.
Crazy, cranky old Whitey Herzog got elected to the Hall Of Fame today by the Veteran’s Committee.
Marvin Miller passed over again.
Looks like 4/36m for Figgins to the Mariners. Figgins still desperately shopping that offer around–he was hoping to get 5/50m from somewhere.
Gammons says the first trade of the meetings may be the Cubs sending Milton Bradley out for Pat Burrell, possibly a three-way deal with the Mets involving Castillo.
Reports say the Cardinals signed Brad Penny to a one year deal. No word of Penny in any of Trig’s predictions.
;-)
I’m not actually “predicting” anything. I’m simply repeating the best information I see from multiple sources like Olney, Kurkjian, Gammons, and local beats like Goold and Strauss. As for Penny, he may be right-handed and have more gas, but he’s definitely a pitcher like Randy Wolf–that is, a guy to hit the 3 or 4 spot in the rotation behind Carpenter, Wagonmaker, and Lohse.