Well, the hot stove is starting to heat up in the baseball offseason. A few moves already:
Giants pick up AJ Pierzynski, M’s sign Raul Ibanez, Pettitte is playing games with The Boss, Beane shipped off Long and Hernandez for Kotsay and the Boston Herald is reporting that the Angels signed Escobar for 3 years, $18 million. Woohoo!
Couple of thoughts here:
Freaking Giants. Big pick up for them as they picked up one of the best catchers in the game. I mean, he’s no Posada, Rejuvenated Lopez or Pudge, but he’s the real deal. Goddam it.
M’s made a huge mistake in signing Ibanez. He’s not going to be nearly as productive in Safeco as he was in Kauffman. Granted, he’s fairly cheap, but still. He was a decent OFer in Kauffman, he’s going to be below average in Seattle. I’ll tell you this, Gillick never would have made that move. So a weaker outfield for the M’s means good things for the Angels. So woohoo!
So who is Beane going to get to replace Hernandez? I mean, he wasn’t a great catcher but he was pretty good. The A’s can’t afford to sign anyone good and they don’t have anyone in their system ready to replace him, AFAIK. Granted replacing Long with Kotsay was a good move and should help them, and they did shed some payroll. But what are they going to do with it? Keeping my eye on Beane. I don’t trust him.
Andy Pettitte will resign with the Yankees. Dammit. I wanted to see the fireworks if he signed with Houston. Bye-bye Cashman.
Angels signing Escobar. Or so I’m told. Good move for my team. Helps bolster the starting pitching. Looks like we’ve got a rotation of Washburn, Escobar, Lackey, Ortiz and Aaron freaking Sele. Not terrible, but not great. Hopefully they beef up their offense a bit. They need a RFer and a new 1st baseman at miminum. I’m not convinced they’re going to get Vlad, and I hope they don’t waste their money on Stewart. But I think they will.
IMO, I think they should move Salmon to DH, stick DaVanon in RF, keep Erstad in CF. Go after Kaz Matsui from Japan. Now, you have either Adam Kennedy or David Eckstein expendable. Try trading Eckstein to Florida plus a prospect in return for Lee. That gives them a new 2nd baseman, plus a decent prospect and lets them shed some payroll to try and help keep Pudge and some of their other players. I know it won’t happen though, since I don’t think Florida would bite.
The Giants got robbed, and the Twins made a spectacular move. They cut payroll, opened a spot for Mauer, got a stud prospect in Bonser, and still have a competant catcher who crushes LHP next year, in LeCroy.
That said, the Giants got a very good, if not excellent, catcher in Pierzynski. But I think the Twins got the better end of that deal.
From what I’ve heard, the Angels may non-tender Kennedy.
Pettitte’s playing with the Red Sox to get a better deal out of The Boss. And Houston doesn’t have that kind of cash. (Yes! Astros don’t get better!)
Cardinals are shipping Tino Martinez off to Tampa Bay (in an overdue move, IMO.) That frees a little cash up (Cards are picking up a huge chunk of the salary for next year.) Pujols may or may not get moved to first next year. That means we’re shopping for a 1B, and I don’t see anyone in the free agent market.
I think Pujols is definitely going to first base. He’s not that great of an outfielder.
The Angels may non-tender Kennedy, but it would depend on how much interest other clubs are having in him. They’d rather trade him than just non-tender him. And, of course, it depends on if they can get more middle infield help.
Sort of. But remember that the Giants are in a “win now” mode. Bonds is their entire offense practically, and they need to win the World Series before he retires, because once he does, they’re going to be in the rebuilding stages. Plus, Los Angeles might be competent by that time and a major threat for San Fran’s chances at the off-season.
It’s a big short-term gain for the Giants, which is exactly what they’re after. The Twins also made out like bandits, which is what they’re after.
Well, I’m not thrilled about the prospect of Escobar leaving Toronto, but I’m thrilled about the Kielty-for-Lilly trade. Lilly’s a good starter, great K-W ratio. He still has more upside to show. I can understand not signing Escobar is the team wants to put that money towards a big package for Halladay. Halladay is a monster.
I’m not convinced the Giants made a bad move there. Neurotik is right; they are at the last stage of team development, and 2004 will be their last chance for awhile. Pierzynski will help them in 2004, and that was worth dealing off 2005-2006 talent.
How appropriate that Tino Martinez is going to Tampa now that he’s going to be utterly useless. Maybe the Rays should go and sign Graig Nettles, he was good once.
Erstad is leaving-today he added the Mets to his do not trade there list.
Rick-forget the Angels- their run in 2002 was amazing,amazing,amazing. Most similar to '69 Mets & '88 Dodgers. Bengie Gill -12 for 16 or so in post season was cut, & I doubt Kennedy ever had 3 Hrs in a game after Little League, before 2002. Talk about a (one time) team of destiny, not dynasty. & why are they removing Anaheim from road jerseys?
I’m honestly not sure why the Cardinals signed Tino in the first place. Everyone with eyes knew he was about worn out, but Walt felt the need to waste $21 million on him. Wow, that would have bought us a good starter.
And it also looks like Fernando Viña is gone, too. Bo Hart’s going to be the starter next year, with Miguel “I Am So Underrated” Cairo as the backup. That frees some cash up as well. Fortunately, we’re not going to try that “sign 9 free agent pitchers and hope one pans out” crap that screwed us last year.
I don’t think Erstad is going anywhere. He is way overpaid. But there are rumors of Magglio Ordonez for Erstad and Percival, which I would hope the Angels are smart enough to jump on.
Hey, I’ll take it. And I think they should be more competitive this year and will likely challenge for a division title and a playoff berth. Anything can happen after that.
The Anaheim is being removed from the road jerseys because Moreno wants to promote “the Angels brand.” Whatever that means. But he’s an advertising guy, so I assume he knows what he’s doing. It’s not such a big deal because until 2002, both the home and road jerseys had Angels on it and not Anaheim or CA. Well, except for when they had the kickass CA logo as their main one.
The Angels definitely signed Escobar for $18 million over three years. Did they overpay a bit? Probably, but only by about one or two million a year. I’m fairly confident he’ll be a solid middle of the rotation starter, which is what we need. I think he’ll have a sub-4.00 ERA. I think Washburn will, too. And Lackey and Sele should have ERA’s in the low 4.00s. Ortiz will still stink up the joint, though. He’s very gopherific.
And besides San Francisco, it seems there are a few other teams in the “pushing all the chips into the pile” mode. The Cubbies traded Choi for Derreck Lee. I think this was a pretty good move for them. It’s obvious that Baker was never going to play Choi and Lee is a huge upgrade over Karros. Expect him to have a big year in the Friendly Confines.
It’s also a pretty good trade for Florida. They get a young, cheap first baseman who is going to be pretty good. They’re going to remain a contender if they can put their payroll savings to intelligent use.
The NL Central should be fun again, with a Chicago club that’s going to be better than last year and St. Louis hopefully not underperforming their Pythagorean record by such a large margin again.
And, of course, the big news with the Red Sox. Schilling for basically every decent player the BoSox have under the age of 25. Did the Sox mortgage their future? Completely. Do they need to? Absolutely. Martinez doesn’t have much longer left in his career and who knows where Garciaparra will end up. A one-two punch of Pedro and Curt? Not bad. And if Wake and Kim are put in the rotation, that’s a nice little starting squad right there. If course, it has to be since there’s no way the offense replicates last year’s performance. They’ll be good, but not historically good again. I’ll be cheering for them to take the East.
The D’backs move some salary, supposedly so they can pick up Sexson. That’s a nice move right there. They should be able to contend in the West, but I don’t think they’ll win it.
I still think Pettitte will resign with the Yankees. And I wish there was a webcam following Steinbrenner around so someone could record his face if Schilling does end up with the Sox. Pure hilarity.
What will the braves do? Where will Vlad end up? Those are the only questions that matter to me.
In the NL East, I look for the Phillies to finally top the Braves, who should really look to begin reloading if they lose Maddux, Lopez, and Sheffield without signing a Millwood or a Guerrero.
In the NL West, I’m looking to the Padres to surprise people in 2004. A solid 1-2-3 punch in Klesko, Giles, and Nevin, and an improving young pitching staff (which will probably add a lefty pretty soon) makes them A Team To Watch. Cool new stadium, too.
The Cubs’ acquisition of Derrek Lee makes them the team to beat in the NL Central.
In the AL East, look for the Red Sox to beat out the Yanks if they can sign Shilling and Foulke…unless George empties his pockets for Sheffield…what an incredible lineup they’d have then.
The AL Central is full of underdogs to root for, but it will not have enough juice to produce a WS champion next year.
Same goes for the AL West. The pockets just aren’t deep enough, sadly.
I really don’t like Escobar for next year. He had a couple good months at the start of the year, and was a 4+ ERA guy the rest of the year. Plus his WHIP was 1.5. The Angels are not going score runs for him like Toronto did. He’ll be lucky to get 10 wins. Lilly will probably beat him in every category.
Schilling to Boston is huge for obvious reasons. Of course Boston will then have two fragile top-rank starters.
Lee should do well in Chicago, though for Fantasy Leagues, his SB are likely to take a hit out of Florida.
The NL west is shaping up to be interesting next year. Is Schmidt healthy? Can Barry keep it up for another year? Will anyone else hit in that lineup? The Dodgers and Padres should compete, but if Arizona loses Schilling, I don’t like their chances, even with Sexson. One should never count out Randy K, but he’s like 400 years old now. I really like the Padres for next year. Eaton, Peavy, and Lawrence are all going to be much improved this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all won 15 next year.
NL Central is the Cubs to lose. Milwaukee could lose 120 this year if Sexson leaves.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. If you take the Red Sox rumors seriously, we’re getting Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, AND Alex Rodriguez, while trading Manny Ramirez to Texas (he actually has much less money owed him long-term than A-Rod), and Nomar to either Texas or a SoCal team (LA?) to keep under the luxury-tax limit. That gives the Boston staff the best rotation and best closer in the game, along with the best overall player, and still the best offensive lineup.
The top Boston prospects are NOT included in any rumored deal - look for Kelly Shoppach and Kevin Youkilis to be in Fenway by 2005 or even next September. They might even move Mueller to 2B and start Youkilis next year, and Shoppach could even be the #2 catcher next year if they decide to stiff Mirabelli.
But none of that has happened yet, even the signing of Terry Francona to manage (which would make Schilling and Foulke happy).
Keith Foulke the best closer in the game? OK. If you say so. And the addition of Schilling certainly does not give Boston the best rotation in the game. I’ll take Oakland’s, Chicago’s, and LA’s rotation over Boston’s any day.
I don’t understand what Arizona is doing. They clearly are in the rebuilding stages, so why go out and trade for Sexson? Sure, he’s a great first baseman but he’s a free agent after next season? Are they really going to spend the money necessary to resign him? Garagiola’s pretty good, though, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I disagree. His ERA was under 3 when you get him away from the turf, but that was only one season granted. He will also have one of the best bullpens in baseball backing him up. I think he’s going to win about 15. And while Lilly will likely be better, it’s a moot point with the Angels since there was no chance of him going to Anaheim. He will be a solid starter, which is what the Angels need from him.
And I don’t think you can call Schilling fragile. He had an appendectomy last year and a broken hand from a line drive. Freak injuries. I see no reason for Schilling to give them less than 200 innings.
And there is usually an SDMB fantasy league. Look for it in MPSIMS around March.
OK, so the Cardinals shipped Tino and 80% of his salary off to the Devil Rays for…well…not much. A couple of young relievers.
Dear Og, they’re talking about Roberto Alomar. Why in the world would you do that?
Viña is probably going to the Cubs, although he’s gotten an offer from the Tigers.
And the Red Sox did the right thing getting Curt Schilling.
I still don’t understand the Sexson trade. Shipping Spivey and Counsell plus some prospects off for him seems like too much. A 9 player deal? You’d think this was the Padres and Astros we’re talking about here.
The local Bay Area writers seem certain that the A’s will pick up Benito Santiago. Of course, they’re all idiots. The free swinging Hall of Famer in his own mind Benito is surely not a Billy Beane type. Moneyball’s Jeremy Brown probably isn’t ready to make the leap, (he was out with a hand injury in the 2nd half at AA last year) though he’ll probably get a long look in spring training. Brent Mayne might be a good and inexpensive veteran holdover, and the rookie the A’s brought up at the end of last year, Adam Melhuse, seems servicable as the backup.
