Why didn't the Twins give this guy a shot at winning the 3B job?
by PHATJ1111 on Mar 10, 2010 7:45 PM EST
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Hank Blalock signed a minor league deal today with the Rays to compete for a back up spot at 3B and 1B. Why the hell didn't the Twins give this guy a shot? He signed a Minor League deal. Last season he hit .234 with 25 HR and 66 RBI. I know he is no stud in the field, but my guess is that he would be fairly comparable to Brendan Harris. His offense could be such an upgrade (and at virtually no cost) it seams like a no brainer to sign the guy and give him at least a chance of winning the starting spot at third. I don't get it.
Full story after the jump:
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Hank Blalock will get an opportunity to rekindle his career with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The two-time All-Star agreed to a minor league contract and reported to spring training on Tuesday.
Blalock hit .234 with 25 homers and 66 RBIs in 123 games for the Texas Rangers last year. He missed much of the previous two seasons with injuries and is a .269 career hitter with 152 homers and 535 RBIs.
Tampa Bay thinks the 29-year-old infielder could provide an additional left-handed hitting option and bolster the club's depth at first and third.
"We're excited to add Hank to the mix. He's got tremendous power and a guy we feel has a lot of upside," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in Sarasota, where Tampa Bay was playing an exhibition against the Baltimore Orioles.
"We're anxious to get him started and see what we've got and put him in a position to compete for a job," he said.
Blalock spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Rangers. He was an All-Star in 2003 and 2004.
"He looks like he's in great shape," Rays manager Joe Maddon said before the game.
Maddon conceded it may be difficult for Blalock to play his way onto the 25-man roster by early April, when the regular season begins.
"But things change. He could come out and do a really good job or he could look really good and all of a sudden he's going to make us think differently," the manager said. "Somebody could get hurt. Obviously that enhances his chances. All those things are possible."
Blalock's contract includes an option that would allow him to opt out and seek a job with another team if he doesn't wind up on the 25-man roster.
"I'm much more focused on the player and how it may potentially impact us," Friedman said. "But what I will say is at the end of spring if there is not a 25-man spot for him, and there is somewhere else, we're not going to stand in the way."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
Story can be found here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4979723
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He's not "no stud in the field"
He’s a first baseman.
"Pinch-bunters don't have a ton of value, even with the Twins"
by Steven Ellingson on Mar 10, 2010 8:48 PM EST reply actions
He's started a total of 46 games at 3B since 2006
He had an OPS+ of 86 last year.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
he's a left handed bat on a team filled with lefties,
He missed much of the previous two seasons with injuries
his UZR/150 at third the past two seasons is -12.5, each!
he struck out 108 times last year compared to 108 hits
his 2009 WAR was 0.0
need I go on?
by montanatwinsfan on Mar 10, 2010 9:17 PM EST reply actions
ha,ha
just looked up Brendan Harris’ stats and was surprised to see just how poor Harris has been.
I expected a WAR of about 0.3 – 0.5, but nope, Harris has a WAR of -0.3
and I knew Harris wasn’t that great defensively at third but his UZR/150 there is -19.6
ouch!
by montanatwinsfan on Mar 10, 2010 9:22 PM EST up reply actions
He was good for a couple of years...
because of a lot of steroid use and playing in Arlington.
That is all.
I’d much rather have Brendan Harris at this point than Blalock. Heck, I might even take Gardy’s little buddy over him.
In his best years, he was a platoon player who DHed a lot
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Yeah...
But he was “two time All Star” partially because his numbers were inflated from playing in a park that Nick Punto would hit 20 homers a year in (note: slight exaggeration here). His success was pretty much entirely a product of the Bandbox Ballpark at Arlington – he has a career .874 OPS at home and .714 on the road.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Nick Punto
did hit his only homerun last year in Arlington. . .
I love Twins Baseball and Minnesota Vikings Football.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Mar 11, 2010 8:26 PM EST up reply actions
Wow
I had no idea that was actually the case; I was just using him as a stereotypical weak hitter.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Hard for me to accept that Punto is better than anybody
I think he’s the third best option at third for this team. But he’s probably better than Blalock, all things considered, a least at third base.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Valencia is a wild card, and he could be our best option
But I don’t think Harris is a better option than Punto.
Look at their WAR over the past 3 seasons:
Harris
2009: -0.3
2008: 1.1
2007: 2.1
Punto
2009: 1.3
2008: 2.5
2007: 0.7
Punto has not only a better value overall in the past 3 seasons, but also a better value last season, despite his horrible bat. For what it’s worth, CHONE also projects Punto to have more value than Harris in 2010 (Punto = 0.8 WAR, Harris = 0.4 WAR).
Also, Punto has had better defensive numbers at 3rd than at 2nd, so he’ll hopefully improve on his defensive value next season. Harris’ defense at 3rd has been a disaster, though the sample size is small enough that we can question how bad he really is.
I’m shocked to find myself making a serious defense of Punto, but I think it makes sense in this situation.
by what_would_gil_thorp_do on Mar 12, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions
In 2007 and 2008, he had career highs in OPS+
In each case, he had less than 300 at bats, mostly against right-handed pitching and mostly at first base or DH.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
I know that story is free-to-view, but we still need a link.
Can you throw one on there when you get a chance? Thanks.
Think Joe Crede
But nowhere near as good a defender but with a slightly better bat.
"If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error." - John Kenneth Galbraith.
by 92 MPH Knuckleball on Mar 11, 2010 11:14 AM EST reply actions
His bat isn't any better
See my post above – in his career, Blalock’s been a much worse hitter outside Arlington. Crede was similarly helped most of his career by a friendly home park (US Cellular), but outside those friendly parks, they are virtually the same hitter:
Crede career away BA/OBP/SLG: .254/.301/.426
Blalock career away BA/OBP/SLG: .245/.300/.414
When you factor in defense, along with the fact that OBP is more valuable than SLG, I don’t find it very likely that Blalock is as valuable a third baseman as Nick Punto.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Why not
Tony Batista
Mike Lamb
Joe Crede
Do they need any other reasons to not sign an injury prone, past his prime free agent third baseman?
You forgot Jeff Cirillo
Fool me four times….
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
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