Evaluating Free Agent First Basemen

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Teams looking for first basemen are out of luck this season. An extremely thin pool this year. I actually went searching through the minor league free agent pool just to finish this list. (ANd for the record, you could do a lot worse than taking a flier on Graham Koonce).

 

1. Carlos Delgado

2. Richie Sexson

3. Tino Martinez

4. John Olerud

5. Julio Franco

6. Travis Lee

7. Tony Clark

8. Todd Zeile

9. Brad Fullmer

10. Graham Koonce

 

Carlos Delgado had an off year that was actually not bad at all. Delgado hit 269/372/535 in 128 games for Toronto this season. At 33, he has a few years left in him. It will be interesting to see if his stock fell far enough for the Blue Jays to resign him. They have no obvious solution at first, and $19 Million to spend. I think Delgado will stay. If not, expect the Mets to show interest.

 

Richie Sexson missed all but 23 games this season due to a freak injury. Still, he is just 30, and is a monster power hitter. A team willing to take the risk could clean up here. The Diamondbacks are likely to take him back in an incentive laden contract. If not, the usual suspects apply.

 

Tino Martinez poses an interesting dilemma. Can the Yankees resist the temptation to look towards the past as a way of solving the present? Martinez is fine for a team that needs a temporary fix, or as a lefty bat off the bench.

 

John Olerud saved his career with an acceptable second half in New York. Still, Olerud has lost nearly all the power in his bat, and his OBP is declining. He is probably little more than a platoon player at this point in his career.

 

Julio Franco continues to defy father time. All age-based assessments are off. Franco's age-based comps include six Hall of Famers, on the basis that most other people die when they reach his age. Performance wise, I would expect the usual .370 OBP off the bench that he has given the Braves over the last four years.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

to be fair, I think Sexson and Delgado are way underated, due to injury and age/suckiness, respectively. Just a year ago Boston and the Yanks would be jizzing all over eachother for a shot at these two.

 

the rest of them....well they just suck, let's leave it at that.

[The Man in Blak 0]

John Franco?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Oops. I fixed that.

[Fökai 0]

In my opinion, Franco stays with the Braves out of loyalty. The last two years, he's been invited to spring training and was given a one-year contract.

[Guest Rrrsh]

I would agree with Al post, except that I think Lee should be 3rd.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Carlos Delgado had an off year that was actually not bad at all. Delgado hit 269/372/535 in 128 games for Toronto this season. At 33, he has a few years left in him. It will be interesting to see if his stock fell far enough for the Blue Jays to resign him. They have no obvious solution at first, and $19 Million to spend. I think Delgado will stay. If not, expect the Mets to show interest.

 

There was talk of sticking Frank Catalanotto at first, which would make some sense since they have one too many OFs (Johnson, Rios & Wells are the expected starters on opening day), but it is not an option that I am particularly fond of. I would rather have a real first baseman, and Delgado is Toronto's biggest star so it would be hard to see him go.

[Stephen 0]

I wouldn't mind seeing the jays bring back Olerud for a year or two. If not Olerud then Travis Lee might be an option. He has a really good FPCT, and the most errors he made in an season was 6. He has potential for an 30 hr 100 RBI season, not sure how bad his injury is though.

 

It would be great to see Delgado resign with the blue jays and finish his career hitting 500 HRS. I can't see it happening as the best offer the jays could come up with would be between 13-15 million a season. Also delgado wants a World Series ring and with the jays rebuilding it is doubtfull it will happen anytime soon.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I wouldn't mind seeing the jays bring back Olerud for a year or two. If not Olerud then Travis Lee might be an option. He has a really good FPCT, and the most errors he made in an season was 6. He has potential for an 30 hr 100 RBI season, not sure how bad his injury is though.

 

Lee's never hit more than 22 home runs in a season, and that was his rookie year. You are not getting 30 home runs from Lee unless you stick him in Colorado.

 

It would be great to see Delgado resign with the blue jays and finish his career hitting 500 HRS. I can't see it happening as the best offer the jays could come up with would be between 13-15 million a season. Also delgado wants a World Series ring and with the jays rebuilding it is doubtfull it will happen anytime soon.

 

Players don't dictate how much they earn. They are only worth what teams are willing to pay them. There's no chance Delgado makes anything more than $10 Million. I think the Blue Jays can sign him for $7 Million.

[treble 0]

The thing about Delgado, is that his 2nd half this season was better than his 2nd half in '03. His first half was just so horrible (plus he was injured for about 6 weeks) that it dragged all his stats down.

[Stephen 0]

Delgado was the top player in the major leagues according to baseball's annual rankings compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau. He ranked higher then Manny, Sheffield and Pujols.

 

There is no way the jays can sign carlos for 7 million a year. He is going to command a big money contract, and like i said before he said in an interview it would be great if ted rogers woke up and gave him 25 million.

 

Frank Catalanotto isn't a power hitter, he does have a good avg and can produce a hit when needed. His best season was in 2001 when he hit 11 hr and 54 RBI with a 330 avg.

 

Travis had 20 HR 90 RBI with the phillies in 2001, he can produce. I could see him doing well with the jays. Who else are the jays going to get or have that can replace delgado at first. Travis Lee can be used short term, since the jays have a top 10 pick in the MLB draft anyways.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Like I said in the free agency thread, I think the Cardinals would be very wise to take a small flier on Travis Lee and bring him on as a left-handed bat off the bench. I don't think he hits well enough to be an everyday contributor, but you could do a lot worse than him as a PH or "sixth man" off the bench.

 

Also, on MLB.com's Free Agent Tracker, they have Todd Zeile listed as "retired." Anybody heard any news about that?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Delgado was the top player in the major leagues according to baseball's annual rankings compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau. He ranked higher then Manny, Sheffield and Pujols.

 

Those use two year averages, and use only straight counting stats and stats like batting averages. They are not an accurate rating of players, and are used only to dictate free agent compensation.

 

There is no way the jays can sign carlos for 7 million a year. He is going to command a big money contract, and like i said before he said in an interview it would be great if ted rogers woke up and gave him 25 million.

 

Vlad Guerrero and Miguel Tejada got no more than $12 Million. The market has leveled off.

[Stephen 0]

Vlad and Tejada signed long term deals though. Carlos does not want long term, he wants a 3 yr deal. I don't think he wants to be tied down to a team that would be in a rebuilding mode, but to a team that will be a contender and has a good shot at the World Series in 05.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The length of Delgado's contract is not going to determine how much money he makes. Plain and simple, teams are finished approaching $20 Million in player contracts (except Beltran). There's no chance Delgado tops $12 Million, and I'm going on record with that. The Mets are the only big market team even in the market for a first baseman this season.

[mike546 0]

Like I said in the free agency thread, I think the Cardinals would be very wise to take a small flier on Travis Lee and bring him on as a left-handed bat off the bench. I don't think he hits well enough to be an everyday contributor, but you could do a lot worse than him as a PH or "sixth man" off the bench.

 

Also, on MLB.com's Free Agent Tracker, they have Todd Zeile listed as "retired." Anybody heard any news about that?

Zeile said 04 was his last year in around June.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I know it's not official yet, but where do you think J.T. Snow would rank on this list if the Giants declined his $2M 2005 option?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Third or fourth.

[Guest OSIcon]

The length of Delgado's contract is not going to determine how much money he makes. Plain and simple, teams are finished approaching $20 Million in player contracts (except Beltran). There's no chance Delgado tops $12 Million, and I'm going on record with that. The Mets are the only big market team even in the market for a first baseman this season.

 

The Washington Post says that Delgado's agent told them the O's were at the top of his wish list. There was a quote in there from the agent saying something along the lines of how it s a great place to hit and how hitting in that order is very intriguing to them.

 

Not sure how I feel about that. One one hand, that would give the O's a stacked top of the order (Roberts, Mora, Tejada, Delgado, Plameiro, Javy). On the other hand, it just takes money away from any possible pitchers (or even outfielders) they could get and probably need more. If they could sign him at a fairly decent price, then it might not be too bad. There's no doubt that lineup would be mroe than comparable to the Yankees and Red Sox lineup. I just hope they don't forget that pitching is still their number one problem and that you can't win on a strong line up alone.

[Stephen 0]

The Teams interested in Delgado are the Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Devil Rays, Mariners, Mets, Rangers and Yankees