Sunday Morning Baseball & Breakfast: More Free Agents Than Jobs Available
by Jesse on Jan 24, 2010 8:18 AM EST
in News
22 comments
Helping you keep abreast of the latest movements, so that your Sunday is free for other things. Like breakfast. Or backrubs. Or flowers, for instance.
- Minnesota, Washington...and Colorado? Those are the teams who have not-so-privately acknowledged they're on the lookout for a second baseman.
- Ronnie Belliard, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Orlando Hudson. Those are the major league free agent second basemen available. You could probably add Orlando Cabrera to that list, since apparently it's something the Twins are entertaining.
- Minnesota. That is the complete list of teams who have actively searched for a third baseman this winter and haven't yet found one. Now that Baltimore is off the list, it's a very lonely list. The Cardinals (if they don't want to hand the job to 26-year old David Freese), and the Indians (what, no Jhonny Peralta?) could also be on this list should they not like their incumbants.
- Aaron Boone, Joe Crede, Melvin Mora. Those are the major league free agent third basemen available. Slim pickin'.
- It sounds like Mark Loretta is going to retire. In MVP 2005 I traded for him (he was coming off of a career year, and was a .303/.366/.414 hitter at that point), which will be my lasting memory of him. Odd but true. At any rate, it's one fewer infield option available. Although it doesn't have much impact on the market.
- You can probably add Ty Wigginton to the list of available third basemen via trade, although it really doesn't seem like a good idea.
- Oh, and Miguel Tejada for $6 million plus incentives? No thanks.
- This whole Jim Thome thing is a surprise. Thome's still got power, and an amazing eye that can help him get on base whether he's hitting for average or not. The problem is that the Twins almost always carry a 12-man pitching staff, and having two guys on your four-man bench who are limited to one position (or half of one position in Thome's case) would handicap Ron Gardenhire. On a five-man bench you could probably get away with it, but trying to get by with one versatile backup infielder and then your fourth outfielder means few options late in games. Besides, it's not like there will be at-bats available from the designated hitter spot.
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Colorado looking at 2B also
At least according to the rumors.
by DJL44 on Jan 24, 2010 9:12 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Cardinals
Aren’t the Cardinals looking for a 3B? They were rumored to be in on Crede a week or two ago.
Cardinals and Lopez
Apparently the Cards have been interested in Lopez because of his versatility. They really wanted DeRosa because he could play 2nd/3rd and outfield. Apparently they are determining whether Lopez could do the same.
by TheBlackFreighter on Jan 24, 2010 10:30 AM EST reply actions
I could see that as a possibility.
Schumaker’s not bad as a second baseman with the bat, but it looks like his defense was sub-par last year.
What's our bench slated at right now?
Harris, Morales (after coming back), Pridie, and…? Regardless of who the 4th is, I think I’d rather see an infielder added than Thome
Casilla... duh
even so, I stand by my statement
Harris is probably the starting third baseman right now.
So your bench is Casilla, Tolbert, Pridie and Morales. Good defensive depth and flexibility, but nothing to rely on offensively.
Ahh, yes
see what football does to my roster knowledge. Harris starting, though? Gardy must be pushing for a 3b upgrade then. haha
Florida Marlins
Not implausible that they would pick up one of the remaining free agent 3B.
Also, Mike Lowell should be available for a decent prospect and a little amount of $$ or alot of money and a scrub.
Adam Kennedy is probably best suited to 3B now but clubs do seem to be interested in him as a 2B.
Assuming Aaron Boone doesn’t retire, I think the best he’s going to get is a minor league contract.
Also could the Padres pick up a 2B if they get cheap enough? They have eckstein but he’s horrible and they’re only paying him 1MM.
Lots of interesting points.
With the Marlins, the only way I see them picking up a third baseman is if they shift Cantu. If they trade him to the Twins, I could hanle that.
I keep expecting something to happen with Lowell, but now that he has issues with his thumb it’s all about the when. My guess is that he ends up staying with the Sox into the season, and they’ll either use him if someone gets injured or trade him in the summer. But I’ve been wrong before.
Kennedy was another infielder with a career year last year, posting an OBP and SLG above career averages. He split time between second and third, and didn’t do well at either, although historically he’s generally been a pretty good second baseman. If both Hudson and Lopez don’t want to play in Minnesota though, I’d be ok with the front office taking a flyer on him.
As far as the Padres go, I don’t think they’re likely to contend this year. If I’m them I try to get by with Eckstein for one more season instead of throwing more money at a second baseman who won’t help me win enough games to make the playoffs anyway.
Jesse
What is your guess on the asking price for Lopez and Hudson? I would guess Lopez won’t get more than either 1 yr/$4 mil or 2yr/$9 mil, although he may be asking for 1/5, 2/10-11.
Hudson probably won’t get more than 1/$6 mil. MLBTR says he’s asking for $9 mil for one year…a bit high for an old guy who lost his starting job, right? What are your thoughts?
I'd guess that Hudson gets a little more than Lopez.
With the lack of jobs available, you’d think that would drive their prices down. I’d offer 3 yr/$12 million for Lopez, or 2 yr/$10 million for Hudson. Throw in some performance incentives. But I don’t know, it depends on which team makes the signing.
Ultimately, if Lopez signs first then I think Hudson will sign for just a tad more. If Hudson signs first, Lopez will get a little less. Providing there are two teams who want a starting second baseman.
Agree on Lowell
Agree somewhat but not confident on the Padres.
Disagree on the Marlins – they played Cantu primarily at 1B last year and gave 3B to low-ceiling, replacement-level guys emilio bonifacio and wes helms. So presumably they don’t like Cantu’s defense at 3B but maybe they would tolerate it if they sign someone at 1B instead? Either way, with all the bargains to be had I have to imagine the Marlins will pick up a 1B or a 3B.
Also disagree on Kennedy. I was ok with this idea at first too but I don’t see what he has to offer that Brendan Harris doesn’t already provide. They both provide just enough offense (career slash lines are identical) for a middle infield position but neither have the glove for it.
You might be right with the Marlins.
I assumed they’d finally hand over the 1B job to Gaby Sanchez. I know he hasn’t done much in the majors in limited time, but he’s mashed in the minors.
As far as Kennedy goes, I hadn’t noticed his career line was that…average. So yeah, no thanks to him.
Crede or Lowell......
Picture one or the other getting the call. Depends on what the Red Sox want for Lowell and a few million in terms of prospects.
Question: Did Crede really enjoy his stay with the Twins? I still think the Twins would’ve traded him last season if he didn’t pull up lame.
Adam Kennedy…if the Twins weren’t keeping Punto or Harris, I’d say go for him. But we don’t need three of basically the same type of player. We need a table setter for the #2 hole, or someone that adds even more punch to the batting order and can field.
Bench: Morales. If we had Thome, backing up first and DH. If Punto and Harris do start, do we need Casilla (out of options) AND Tolbert? Can any play CF in a pinch, and the Twins bring Pridie up on a day’s notice if the need arises? Kubel is absically the abckup infielder and I would ratehr see a bat, like Thome, as DH. Of course, Quinlan has been bandied abut as a backup 1B/3B/OF/DH. But does he really bring more to the bench than anyone else in the Twins organization (I would ratehr have Harris as the super 1B/3B/2B/SS/OF backup).
Sometimes, I just wish Punto was nowhere in the mix and we could see how the Twins would stack-up without him!
Visit www.TwinsCards.com and check out "rosters" to see my collection!
One thing I wonder about with Crede
is how much playing on the Metrodome turf had to do with aggravating his injuries.
At Target Field, he probably still won’t be the picture of perfect health but maybe he’d have fewer nagging injuries, driving his value up a bit?
It seems to me ...
That back problems are more a result of the player’s swing than what kind of turf they play on. Mattingly is the player that springs to my mind. He played most of his games on grass, but seemed to have back problems just about every year.
Crede
I wonder if there’s any chance of the Twins signing a 2B and then signing Crede to a $1+ mil deal with incentives once spring training starts. I realize then we would be paying Punto and Harris a total of $5.5 mil to sit on the bench, but I would rather have those two on the bench than Tolbert. Not to mention we’d have a much better lineup, and Crede will probably get hurt anyways. It just means we use Harris at 3B for 1/2 a season instead of a full one.
It would be great to have that type of depth
A season where casilla and Tolbert combine for 0 PAs is a good season in my book.
by Steven Ellingson on Jan 24, 2010 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
I was thinking the same thing
First off, it doesn’t matter how many infielders the Twins sign, Gardy is going to find playing time for Punto. Write him in for a guaranteed 350-400 at bats no matter what. Harris would be the one that loses out.
I’m thinking the 5 million they offered Washburn was some kind of hail mary by the front office. The most they could possibly afford to spend right now in the hope they land a player they’ve had some interest in for awhile. The offer was rejected and at this point, they are kind of looking around to see what else that 5 million could buy them. If they could get a decent 2nd baseman for less than 5 million, then maybe they go after Crede.
However, if they sign Crede first, his salary (whatever it might be) will be looked at as that much less left in the budget. After Hudson and Lopez, the 2nd base options start looking a lot like what we already have plenty of. At that point, they either go to spring with what they have, or start poking the scrap heap for bargains to fill other lesser needs (bench bat, pitching, and so on).
What I’m hoping happens is that they sign Hudson, then take a look at what it would cost to sign Crede and say “95 … 96 … what’s the difference? Might as well sign him up too.”
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