Hot Stove - 2009 Edition (1 Viewer)

[Limp Ditka]

Man the Mets had the worst offseason ever

The Mets have acquired outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.It's saved now

Just coming in here to post this

 

[Eephus]

Man the Mets had the worst offseason ever

The Mets have acquired outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.It's saved now

Just coming in here to post this

I assume the Angels will still being paying most of his salary, or Omar has completely taken leave of his senses.

 

[Eephus]

Royals putting together a juggernaut in the ALCRoyals Reach Agreement With Rick AnkielBy Tim Dierkes [January 21 at 10:58pm CST]The Royals reached an agreement with outfielder Rick Ankielon a one-year, $3.25MM deal, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. The contract has a second-year mutual option worth $6MM. Back on December 10th, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweetedthat Scott Boras wanted three years and "big money" for Ankiel, but ultimately he settled for an unsurprising contract.Ankiel will try to rebuild value in Kansas City after slipping to a .231/.285/.387 line for the Cardinals in 2009. The 30-year-old's maladies included a sore Achilles tendon, a deep shoulder bruise, and a groin strain. The shoulder injury, suffered in May, came from a headfirst collision with a wall and lingered most of the season. A converted pitcher, Ankiel has experience at all three outfield positions but predominantly played center field. He'll join Scott Podsednik and David DeJesus in the Royals' outfield, with Jose Guillen presumably serving as designated hitter.

This isn't terrible by Dayton Moore standards. Ankiel can play CF and he might help sell a few tickets. He brings some offensive upside aside from that whole OBP thing.

 

[shadyridr]

The Mets have acquired outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.Let's hope they're not giving up much and taking on very little of his remaining salary. Matthews, 35, has hit just .248/.325/.383 since signing a five-year, $50 million contract with the Angels in November of 2006 and had a .697 OPS in 316 at-bats last season. He's also a highly overrated defensive outfielder and is owed $23 million over the next two seasons. Jan. 22 - 10:32 am et

Jesus Christ if the Mets are paying the majority of that contract they probably had the worst offseason in baseball history.

 

[shadyridr]

OK so Mets are only paying $2m of the contract so its actually not a bad deal afterall. All they gave up was Brian Stokes.

 

[Eephus]

OK so Mets are only paying $2m of the contract so its actually not a bad deal afterall.

...unless they actually play him

 

[shadyridr]

OK so Mets are only paying $2m of the contract so its actually not a bad deal afterall.

...unless they actually play him

Isnt he still a phenomenal fielder? Heck Id take him in LF or CF for the Yankees at $2m

 

[Eephus]

OK so Mets are only paying $2m of the contract so its actually not a bad deal afterall.

...unless they actually play him

Isnt he still a phenomenal fielder? Heck Id take him in LF or CF for the Yankees at $2m

He's 35 and has had below average range factor stats for the last several years (including the year he made the spectacular catches in Texas).

 

[the moops]

OK so Mets are only paying $2m of the contract so its actually not a bad deal afterall.

...unless they actually play him

Isnt he still a phenomenal fielder? Heck Id take him in LF or CF for the Yankees at $2m

He's 35 and has had below average range factor stats for the last several years (including the year he made the spectacular catches in Texas).

His UZR/150 from last 2 years.2008: -13.72009: -24.6The guy hasn't hit a lick since 2006, and now his defense is well below replacement level. He is a waste of a roster spot and a waste of 2 million dollars.

 

[Eephus]

The funniest thing about the Matthews Jr. deal is that he has a clause giving him an extra $500K because the Angels traded him.

 

[RnR]

Reds sign Jose Arredondo to minor-league deal. If he gets right after TJ surgery, that's a great pick-up. He's talented.

 

[shadyridr]

Miguel Tejada will return to Baltimore after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Orioles, The Baltimore Sun and The Associated Press have reported, citing unnamed team sources.The free agent shortstop played in Baltimore from 2004-07, before being traded to the Houston Astros in December 2007 for five players.He is now tabbed for third base with the release of Melvin Mora. Cesar Izturis is expected to stay at shortstop.In 158 games with the Astros last season, Tejada hit .313 with 14 home runs and 86 RBIs. Tejada, 35, is a six-time All-Star and has hit .289 with 285 home runs and 1,185 RBIs in his career.Tejada became a free agent after the Astros refused to offer him arbitration last month.According to The Baltimore Sun, the deal is still pending a physical, which will take place in the next couple days.

Very impressed with the Os offseason. They can compete to be .500 this year.C- Weiters1B- Atkins2B- Roberts3B- TejadaSS- IzturisLF- ReimoldCF- JonesRF- MarkakisDH- ScottThats a pretty damn good lineup. Add Millwood to the rotation and Gonzalez to the pen and they can impress. They need some of their young prospect pitchers to step up.

 

[Seymour Corn]

Calling it here first.

AL East goes:

Yankees

Tampa

Boston

Baltimore

Toronto

 

[awesomeness]

Calling it here first.

AL East goes:

Yankees

Tampa

Boston

Baltimore

Toronto

 

[Balco]

Calling it here first.

AL East goes:

Yankees

Tampa

Boston

Baltimore

Toronto

THe poster is way underestimating Toronto. The huge key is the starting pitching which has a lot of talent but has been hurt by injuries. Adam Lind is the real deal, and Travis Snider is going to be very good.I love Baltimore's young hitters, but their pitching might need another year (TIlman, Matusz, Arrieta) of seasoning.

 

[shadyridr]

Id say:

NY

Bos

TB

Bal

Tor

 

[Seymour Corn]

Calling it here first.

AL East goes:

Yankees

Tampa

Boston

Baltimore

Toronto

THe poster is way underestimating Toronto. The huge key is the starting pitching which has a lot of talent but has been hurt by injuries. Adam Lind is the real deal, and Travis Snider is going to be very good.I love Baltimore's young hitters, but their pitching might need another year (TIlman, Matusz, Arrieta) of seasoning.

A LOT of growing pains and question marks for the Jays. O's are starting to put pieces in place. Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

 

[the moops]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

 

[Northern Voice]

No one knows what the Jays rotation will really look like this season. They have something like 16 starting pitchers fighting for 5 (or 6?) spots in training camp. They're almost all under 30, half of them are coming off major arm/shoulder injuries and none of them have proven anything. That said, I don't think anyone is afraid of coming into Toronto to face any of these guys.

It's really ridiculous when you look at it but they have so many young arms, you'd hope maybe a couple pan out.

- Ricky Romero (career 13-9), 25 years old

- Shawn Marcum - TJ surgery in 08, should be back for training camp (career 24-17), 28 years old

- Brandon Morrow has never been able to stay off the DL, or start more than 10 games. (career 8-12), 25 years old

- Marc Rzepczynski (career 2-4), 24 years old

- Brett Cecil (career 7-3), 23 years old

- Dustin McGowan - labrum and ACL surgeries, (career 20-22), 27 years old

- Brian Tallet (career 14-17), will be on staff, just a matter of whether he starts or is in bullpen, 32 years old

- Scott Richmond (career 9-14), 30 years old, i

- Jesse Litsch - coming off TJ surgery, won't be ready to start the year (career 20-19), 24 years old

- Casey Janssen - coming off labrum surgery, (career 10-17) - could be in bullpen, 28 years old

- Merkin Valdez has had TJ surgery. (career 3-1), 28 years old

- Shawn Hill has had TJ surgery twice. (career 8-16), 28 years old

- Kyle Drabek has had TJ surgery, 22 years old

- Zach Jackson (career 4-5), 26 years old

- David Purcey (career 4-9), former 1st rd pick is out of options, may get a shot - 27 years old

 

[Statorama]

Just catching up in this thread....wow, horrible deal for Arizona. (Unless Yanks/Tigers get Eric Byrnes salary somehow)

It wouldn't be the winter meetings without a big three way trade. This one is pretty substantial. As the reports stand, here's who is trading places.To New York Yankees: Curtis GrandersonTo Detroit Tigers: Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil CokeTo Arizona Diamondbacks: Edwin Jackson, Ian KennedyArizona, though what a mess. Jackson and Kennedy will shore up their rotation, but they aren't worth a kid as good as Max Scherzer. Jackson's a mid-rotation starter whose salaries are escalating in arbitration, while Kennedy is a back-end starter who missed most of 2009. They didn't get better, they didn't save money, and they didn't get younger. This move is just not a good one for the D'Backs, unless there’s another impressive piece going to Arizona that hasn't been reported.

Finally caught up....wow, this was brutal

Astros throw 15 million for 3 years at Brandon Lyon! And 4.5 million for Pedro Feliz! Good god some teams are dumb.

 

[Sea Ropes]

I almost feel bad for Johnny Damon for getting so hosed by Boras. Almost.

 

[Seymour Corn]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

My point about Smoltz/Penny is that they are not keeping up with the Yankees. Last year and this year. They tried to go the bargain route and they ended up with nothing. Same as this year. You can load up on great defensive players all you want, but when you play 81 games at Fenway, you need bats, and they cost money. I actually like Scutaro. He was very difficult to keep off the bases last year (at the start of the season in particular). It will be close, but 3rd place just the same.

 

[the moops]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

My point about Smoltz/Penny is that they are not keeping up with the Yankees. Last year and this year. They tried to go the bargain route and they ended up with nothing. Same as this year. You can load up on great defensive players all you want, but when you play 81 games at Fenway, you need bats, and they cost money. I actually like Scutaro. He was very difficult to keep off the bases last year (at the start of the season in particular). It will be close, but 3rd place just the same.

The team scored 872 runs last year. Good for 3rd in the league. They did that with a half season of Varitek suck, complete drek at SS, a hobbled Mike Lowell and a non existent Ortiz for the first 3 months.I find it hard to argue that their offense will be any worse than last year.-edit- You say they went the bargain route, referencing Penny/Smoltz, yet you completely disregard the fact that they spent quite a bit of money on the best available starting pitcher (Lackey).

 

[awesomeness]

No one knows what the Jays rotation will really look like this season. They have something like 16 starting pitchers fighting for 5 (or 6?) spots in training camp. They're almost all under 30, half of them are coming off major arm/shoulder injuries and none of them have proven anything. That said, I don't think anyone is afraid of coming into Toronto to face any of these guys.

It's really ridiculous when you look at it but they have so many young arms, you'd hope maybe a couple pan out.

- Ricky Romero (career 13-9), 25 years old

- Shawn Marcum - TJ surgery in 08, should be back for training camp (career 24-17), 28 years old

- Brandon Morrow has never been able to stay off the DL, or start more than 10 games. (career 8-12), 25 years old

- Marc Rzepczynski (career 2-4), 24 years old

- Brett Cecil (career 7-3), 23 years old

- Dustin McGowan - labrum and ACL surgeries, (career 20-22), 27 years old

- Brian Tallet (career 14-17), will be on staff, just a matter of whether he starts or is in bullpen, 32 years old

- Scott Richmond (career 9-14), 30 years old, i

- Jesse Litsch - coming off TJ surgery, won't be ready to start the year (career 20-19), 24 years old

- Casey Janssen - coming off labrum surgery, (career 10-17) - could be in bullpen, 28 years old

- Merkin Valdez has had TJ surgery. (career 3-1), 28 years old

- Shawn Hill has had TJ surgery twice. (career 8-16), 28 years old

- Kyle Drabek has had TJ surgery, 22 years old

- Zach Jackson (career 4-5), 26 years old

- David Purcey (career 4-9), former 1st rd pick is out of options, may get a shot - 27 years old

I like the above 5 to be on the starting rotation at the start of the season, with Cecil or Purcey to be the first call ups or to replace outright Tallet following a strong camp. I really like what Rzepczynski showed at the end of last year, i think he's gonna be good one. Hopefully he gets to start from the beginning of the year, but i'm probably too optimistic.

 

[proninja]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

My point about Smoltz/Penny is that they are not keeping up with the Yankees. Last year and this year. They tried to go the bargain route and they ended up with nothing. Same as this year. You can load up on great defensive players all you want, but when you play 81 games at Fenway, you need bats, and they cost money. I actually like Scutaro. He was very difficult to keep off the bases last year (at the start of the season in particular). It will be close, but 3rd place just the same.

Beltre will likely surprise you with his bat this year

 

[Northern Voice]

No one knows what the Jays rotation will really look like this season. They have something like 16 starting pitchers fighting for 5 (or 6?) spots in training camp. They're almost all under 30, half of them are coming off major arm/shoulder injuries and none of them have proven anything. That said, I don't think anyone is afraid of coming into Toronto to face any of these guys.

It's really ridiculous when you look at it but they have so many young arms, you'd hope maybe a couple pan out.

- Ricky Romero (career 13-9), 25 years old

- Shawn Marcum - TJ surgery in 08, should be back for training camp (career 24-17), 28 years old

- Brandon Morrow has never been able to stay off the DL, or start more than 10 games. (career 8-12), 25 years old

- Marc Rzepczynski (career 2-4), 24 years old

- Brett Cecil (career 7-3), 23 years old

- Dustin McGowan - labrum and ACL surgeries, (career 20-22), 27 years old

- Brian Tallet (career 14-17), will be on staff, just a matter of whether he starts or is in bullpen, 32 years old

- Scott Richmond (career 9-14), 30 years old, i

- Jesse Litsch - coming off TJ surgery, won't be ready to start the year (career 20-19), 24 years old

- Casey Janssen - coming off labrum surgery, (career 10-17) - could be in bullpen, 28 years old

- Merkin Valdez has had TJ surgery. (career 3-1), 28 years old

- Shawn Hill has had TJ surgery twice. (career 8-16), 28 years old

- Kyle Drabek has had TJ surgery, 22 years old

- Zach Jackson (career 4-5), 26 years old

- David Purcey (career 4-9), former 1st rd pick is out of options, may get a shot - 27 years old

I like the above 5 to be on the starting rotation at the start of the season, with Cecil or Purcey to be the first call ups or to replace outright Tallet following a strong camp. I really like what Rzepczynski showed at the end of last year, i think he's gonna be good one. Hopefully he gets to start from the beginning of the year, but i'm probably too optimistic.

I'll be surprised if Morrow isn't in the starting 5.If I had to guess, I would say Romero, Marcum, Morrow, Rep and Richmond would be the starting 5, with a healthy McGowan being a wildcard in the mix.

Richmond really isn't that good, I hope one of the other guys makes them bump him out of the rotation. I'm not sure Richmond would even be in the discussion if he wasn't Canadian.

 

[boubucarow]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

Game changer

 

[Dungeon Master]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

Game changer

:X Rich get richer.

 

[Eephus]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

Game changer

Rich get richer.

Useful player who does a lot of things well. I don't think the Yanks will have to bat him in the three slot though.

 

[Seymour Corn]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

My point about Smoltz/Penny is that they are not keeping up with the Yankees. Last year and this year. They tried to go the bargain route and they ended up with nothing. Same as this year. You can load up on great defensive players all you want, but when you play 81 games at Fenway, you need bats, and they cost money. I actually like Scutaro. He was very difficult to keep off the bases last year (at the start of the season in particular). It will be close, but 3rd place just the same.

The team scored 872 runs last year. Good for 3rd in the league. They did that with a half season of Varitek suck, complete drek at SS, a hobbled Mike Lowell and a non existent Ortiz for the first 3 months.I find it hard to argue that their offense will be any worse than last year.-edit- You say they went the bargain route, referencing Penny/Smoltz, yet you completely disregard the fact that they spent quite a bit of money on the best available starting pitcher (Lackey).

Maybe that's because last years strategy of half-assing it blew up on them. Once again, they are a very good team. Good enough for 3rd in the East.

 

[Seymour Corn]

Tampa is strong at most positions and are coming together nicely. Sox aren't replacing players (Cameron for Bay) or signing players (Burnett-Sabathia/Smoltz-Penny) to compete with the Yanks. It will be close with the Rays.

First, the Sox signed Penny and Smoltz last year. Neither have been with the team since the middle of last year's season. This year, they signed the best available free agent pitcher, Lackey, for the same money as Burnett. And Lackey > Burnett.They also did more than just swap out Bay for Cameron. And, while Cameron is certainly not the hitter Bay is, he is a much, much better fielder. Bay was arguably the worst defensive left fielder in the AL last year. The Sox also replaced the drek at SS (Green and Gonzalez) with Scutaro. You may be skeptical about Scutaro (I also am), but there is little to zero chance that he does not outperform by a substantial margin what they had at SS last year. They also signed the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. He won't hit like he did in 2004, but he won't hit like he did last year either. Sox also have a full year out of Martinez behind the plate.The Yankees are definitely the class of the league. And the Rays are definitely a good team. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Rays overtake the Sox for 2nd place, or even the Yankees for 1st. Sox are 7/2 to win the pennant. Rays are 11/2. Yankees are 2/1.

My point about Smoltz/Penny is that they are not keeping up with the Yankees. Last year and this year. They tried to go the bargain route and they ended up with nothing. Same as this year. You can load up on great defensive players all you want, but when you play 81 games at Fenway, you need bats, and they cost money. I actually like Scutaro. He was very difficult to keep off the bases last year (at the start of the season in particular). It will be close, but 3rd place just the same.

Beltre will likely surprise you with his bat this year

Beltre was a good move. Third best 3B in the division. Scutaro was a good move. Third best SS in the division.

 

[the moops]

Maybe that's because last years strategy of half-assing it blew up on them. Once again, they are a very good team. Good enough for 3rd in the East.

Not so sure it blew up on them. They had the 3rd most wins in all of baseball. They scored the third most runs. They gave up less runs then Yankees and Angels.Yes, they got swept by the Angels. They failed to score any runs in the first 2 games and their closer gave up 3 runs in the 9th to lose the third game. It happens.

 

[Billy Bats]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

Game changer

Rich get richer.

Useful player who does a lot of things well. I don't think the Yanks will have to bat him in the three slot though.

He doesn't hit LH pitching all that well and doesn't hit for any power. Not that great of a signing.

 

[shadyridr]

Man Im very upset the Yanks spent 2m on Winn when they couldve probably gotten Damon for 7m. Damn budget constraints (now I feel like the other 29 teams)

 

[the moops]

Randy Winn to Yankees on a 1 year deal for about 2 million according to Baseball Tonight.

Game changer

Rich get richer.

Useful player who does a lot of things well. I don't think the Yanks will have to bat him in the three slot though.

He doesn't hit LH pitching all that well and doesn't hit for any power. Not that great of a signing.

He seems to not have a real pronounced split.Batting right handed vs lefties: OPS 758Batting left handed vs righties: OPS 765The guy can play all 3 outfield positions (plays LF and RF extremely well, CF at roughly league average) and can steal some bases. Good signing who will make a good 4th outfielder.

 

[Billy Bats]

Game changer

Rich get richer.

Useful player who does a lot of things well. I don't think the Yanks will have to bat him in the three slot though.

He doesn't hit LH pitching all that well and doesn't hit for any power. Not that great of a signing.

He seems to not have a real pronounced split.Batting right handed vs lefties: OPS 758Batting left handed vs righties: OPS 765The guy can play all 3 outfield positions (plays LF and RF extremely well, CF at roughly league average) and can steal some bases. Good signing who will make a good 4th outfielder.

True, his career OPS are close, didn't know they were that similar. I was going off of last year's .158 BA and .384 OPS v LH pitching.

 

[Eephus]

Winn's terrible 2009 RHB stat line .158/.184/ .200 looks like a small sample (120 AB) aberration. He never showed such pronounced splits in previous years and had a .178 BABIP against LHP last year.

He's a good defensive OF who still has decent speed. His power is obviously not ideal for a corner OF but the Yankees have power elsewhere in the order.

It's bad enough when the Yankees scoop up all the high priced free agents but I think they've improved themselves this offseason without breaking the bank.

 

[Michael Brown]

Man Im very upset the Yanks spent 2m on Winn when they couldve probably gotten Damon for 7m. Damn budget constraints (now I feel like the other 29 teams)

You're gonna get hammered for this.

 

[Michael Brown]

Maybe that's because last years strategy of half-assing it blew up on them. Once again, they are a very good team. Good enough for 3rd in the East.

Not so sure it blew up on them. They had the 3rd most wins in all of baseball. They scored the third most runs. They gave up less runs then Yankees and Angels.Yes, they got swept by the Angels. They failed to score any runs in the first 2 games and their closer gave up 3 runs in the 9th to lose the third game. It happens.

I've been trying to say this about the Yankees since 2003. Winning 95-100 games and losing in the playoffs does not mean your team has an ill-conceived design. It's just baseball.

 

[shadyridr]

Winn's terrible 2009 RHB stat line .158/.184/ .200 looks like a small sample (120 AB) aberration. He never showed such pronounced splits in previous years and had a .178 BABIP against LHP last year.He's a good defensive OF who still has decent speed. His power is obviously not ideal for a corner OF but the Yankees have power elsewhere in the order.It's bad enough when the Yankees scoop up all the high priced free agents but I think they've improved themselves this offseason without breaking the bank.

Cashman has been unreal this offseason. I think it was his best offseason ever. Sure last yr he got all the bigtime FAs but anyone couldve done that. This yr he improved the team, got younger, and didnt break the bank.

 

[shadyridr]

Man Im very upset the Yanks spent 2m on Winn when they couldve probably gotten Damon for 7m. Damn budget constraints (now I feel like the other 29 teams)

You're gonna get hammered for this.

obviously i said it tongue in cheek

 

[Northern Voice]

The Jays should sign Damon, if he's going to be as cheap as they say. He can't be worse than Jose Bautista as a leadoff hitter/fielder.

Actually, Vernon Wells should hit leadoff for the Jays but I don't think his ego would allow it.

 

[Eephus]

The Jays should sign Damon, if he's going to be as cheap as they say. He can't be worse than Jose Bautista as a leadoff hitter/fielder.

Actually, Vernon Wells should hit leadoff for the Jays but I don't think his ego would allow it.

Pick your poison. They really don't have many good options for the top of the order.

 

[Michael Brown]

Man Im very upset the Yanks spent 2m on Winn when they couldve probably gotten Damon for 7m. Damn budget constraints (now I feel like the other 29 teams)

You're gonna get hammered for this.

obviously i said it tongue in cheek

I know that and you know that, but it wouldn't be the first time something you said got lost in translation!

 

[Spaz]

The Jays should sign Damon, if he's going to be as cheap as they say. He can't be worse than Jose Bautista as a leadoff hitter/fielder.

Back off - we need him in Oakland!

 

[fasteddie_21]

Strong indications are the Reds are close to signing Cabrera. As long as it's a 1 yr deal, I'm on board w/ it. And the Reds are NOT signing Damon. I think Gomes still comes back and platoons w/ Dickerson. I'm ok w/ that.

 

[Northern Voice]

The Jays should sign Damon, if he's going to be as cheap as they say. He can't be worse than Jose Bautista as a leadoff hitter/fielder.

Jays have talked to Johnny Damon's agent. http://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/8345246424

They could send out a lineup of

Damon

Encarnacion

Hill

Lind

Wells

Overbay

Snider

Gonzalez

Catcher

They've fielded worse lineups... For some reason, it doesn't look quite as good when you take out Damon and put in a Joey Gathright/Jose Bautista platoon in LF/leadoff.

 

[fasteddie_21]

The Reds locked up O. Cabrera (SS) to a 1-yr/$3M contract w/ an option for 2011 for the same amount w/ a $1M buyout (so this indicates that it's a team option). I'm very happy w/ this for 2 reasons:

1) While his defense dropped dramatically in 2009, if he just has a career avg. season, he's a considerable step up vs Janish. Also, Janish can platoon vs lefties and be a late inning defensive replacement.

2) It's a 1 year deal that doesn't handicap the team going forward. Plus, Cozart can/will be ready to take over SS come 2011 (hopefully).

Also, the Reds are on the cusp of re-signing Gomes to a minor league contract. While most Reds fans were shocked and dismayed that the team didn't offer him arbitration, obviously this was a very smart move as it will save the team $2-$3Million this season. What shocks me most is that no other team offered him something better. I mean, the guy is coming off a season where he hit .267/.338/.541 with 20 HRs in 98 games. Granted his defense isn't the worlds best, but still, he wasn't going to break the bank for a team either. I'm really wondering how/why no other team was interested?!? Happy, but curious.

 

[Spaz]

Supposedly the A's are looking into signing Gomes so it's no sure thing for Cincy quite yet.

Not a bad signing for Cabrera but if he plays for you like he did in Oakland it will be a disaster. Both defensively and offensively.