I’d just like to see whatever deal is going to be done with the Cubs finally happen so that our team isn’t left in some non ownership limbo any longer. Sure we made some decent moves last off season but in order for us to really get a true championship caliber team together we need to sustain that kind of momentum and not just do it that once to try to make the team more appealing to a buyer.
I’m not sure I want Alex Rodriguez to come to Chicago, but the idea can’t even be seriously discussed until we have firm ownership again.
Play him at third and move David Wright to second base, a move that Wright has said he’d be happy to make.
OR
If you’ve got a lot of money to spend, put him at short and trade Jose Reyes and a tier 2 pitching prospect to the Twins for Johan Santana. The 2007 Mets minus Reyes and plus Rodriguez and Santana win the NL East by six games.
If they’re going to trade Santana at all, they aren’t likely to get back a better player than Reyes in the deal. Santana will make above $13 million in 2008, and after that he’ll be a free agent and make, probably, closer to $20 million. Relatively few teams are going to trade for a player that expensive in a walk year. The Yankees might make a pitch, but they’re not going to offer Joba Chamberlain and there’s no one else in their system who’s a more valuable trade commodity than Jose Reyes.
I mean, ultimately, Reyes is only 24. He managed an OBP of over .350 last year in spite of a horrible slump, he’s the best basestealer in the sport and succeeds at a high enough rate to make it an actual valuable skill, and he plays very good defense at the most important defensive position besides catcher. Best of all from the Twins’ standpoint, he’s locked up solid until 2010 with a club option for 2011 - at an average salary of less than $6 million / year. He’s an All-Star who is still likely to improve in the next few years, and he makes considerably less money than, say, Edgar Renteria. Putting him in their infield would improve the Twins offense for the next five years while leaving them the budgetary flexibility to improve their roster in other ways.
Now, if they don’t want to trade Santana at all, then that’s a different story. But if they’re going to, they’ll never get an offer even close to the one I proposed above (remember, my hypothetical also throws in a second-tier pitching prospect) from anyone else.
Not really. Based on their runs scored and allowed, the Mets actually outperformed their projected number of wins (winning 88 when they “should” have won 86). There is nothing to suggest that last year was a fluke or an aberration - no significant injuries (other than to Moises Alou, but that’s likely to happen again), no players underperforming their typical levels (other than Carlos Delgado, but that’s looking like more of a trend than a fluke).
Simply put, the talent level on the 2007 Mets team was that of an 86-88 win team. That they got to their 88 wins by virtue of a frustrating late season slump is irrelevant - their final record is nonetheless an accurate representation of their makeup as a club. And 88 wins will never be sufficient to win the NL East by 6 games (at least, not in most years). Adding Rodriguez and Santana, but removing Reyes, makes them a 92-96 win team, which would be enough to win the division going away (assuming that their opposition stands pat, which of course it won’t, but ignore that for the moment).
The Mets are what they appear to be based on their record. A good team that can slip into the playoffs, or slip out, depending on the vagaries of the game.
Minor adjustment to storyteller910’s post: Boston re-signed Schilling today for one year at $8 million, with $2 million in incentives.
I think the Angels are probably the favorite in the Rodriguez sweepstakes, but if it drags on I wonder if the Yankees might not get back into it.
Oh, and while I didn’t want the Yankees to get rid of Torre, Girardi was the next best choice. I approved of the Abreu option pick-up, and if they really can get Miguel Cabrera and get him to stay in shape, that might be a good move depending on the price.
The Twins were a terrible hitting team this year, with zero power. 13th in the league in slugging, 13th in OPS. They need some power and they need it bad.
I’m not saying Reyes wouldn’t be an upgrade at short over Bartlett. But they need a bigger bat (or three) somewhere.
But they’re not going to get that bigger bat in exchange for Santana. Teams aren’t for the most part going to give up a proven major league hitter - if they’re trading for Santana, it’s because they want to make a run at a title, and they need their proven major league hitters.
But trade Santana for Reyes and a pitching prospect, and you suddenly have a lot more cash with which to work. That cash might get you the bat you need. Add Reyes and, say, Andruw Jones to that Twins lineup, and get Liriano back from injury, and you have a possible playoff team.
I wouldn’t be looking for proven major league hitters. I’d be looking for as many hitting prospects as possible. We’re talking about a team that fielded the likes of Nick Punto last year. They either have no one in the pipes who can hit worth a damn or they are so ignorant they think Punto is a good long-term option. I’m hoping it’s the former, not the latter.
Aha! If you can get the average age of the team over 40, then automatically all the guys under 40 are young guys, right? So win-win. Someone get Willie Mays an eye test. And a steroid test.
So besides Santana, who are the big-ticket pitchers who’ll be available via free agency or trade? Beside the ghost of Tom Glavine, I mean. Now that Schilling’s been signed no one comes to mind.
And with all this A-Rod blather, I haven’t heard anything lately about where Bonds is going. Any guesses as to what AL team will give him enough money to DH? And (while I’m asking questions), what’s the holdup, George Mitchell? Scott Boras hogging the fax machine?
Cleveland’s Sabathia is in roughly the same situation as Santana. He’s signed through 2008 and could choose not to sign with the Indians and test the free agent market. But I would be surprised if the Indians traded him, no matter what.
I’m hoping the Indians go ahead and trade Cliff Lee. I think they’ve lost confidence in him and vice versa and another team might be able to salvage something.
Yanks are talking to the Marlins, but early indications are that they will hold out for one of the three young pitchers and Cashman has no intention of moving any of them for anything short of Santana.
I think Crede is much more likely to be moved to the Yanks. It works well for both teams.
Lots of questions for my Cards. I appear to be the only one to not be drinking the LaRussa Kool-Aid - maybe b/c I haven’t lived there for 20 years. I think Jocketty was a better GM than LaRussa was a coach, but I can’t complain too much about anything since they’re still in their 5-year WS grace period.
I think Anthony Reyes will be traded, possibly Edmonds while we can still get something for him. I’d like to see us make a move for Tom Glavine.
AAA has some good looking prospects - Chris Perez will probably make the squad. I’ll also be looking at Mitchell Boggs, Anderson and Rasmus (can’t remember first names).
With Rolen, Eckstein Carpenter and Mulder all healthy I’m optimistic.
Unfortunately, Carpenter won’t be healthy until at least halfway through the season, and who knows about Mulder? And unless there’s something I havent heard yet, it’s still doubtful whether Eckstein will be back. Some of the other points you raised have been addressed by the guy who writes the Cardinals mailbag.
I’m glad Tony LaRussa, and all his coaching staff, will be back in 2008. I think he and the Cardinals are a good fit for each other. But it looks like the Cards’ strengths and weaknesses in 2008 will be very much like what they were in 2007, with maybe the major difference being that they know ahead of time they won’t have Carpenter available.
This seems like a pretty good rundown of the free agent market, which this guy is predicting will be a hot one, though not a particularly deep one.
Oh, and it looks like instant reply is a go with the GMs. We’ll see how that shakes out.
I have some suspicions on something that is going to actually slow down a baseball game. I expect Rafael Betancourt innings to take 45 minutes apiece this season.