2005-2006 MLB Offseason thread

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Petagine wouldnt be a good everyday 1Bman seeing as he is 35 and has bad knees. They need to get younger.

 

He has his drawbacks. But first base is not so much a place where he would be exposed as opposed to playing elsewhere. He's cheap and he's hit wherever he's played. He's not the future, but as a guy who can fill a gap he could be tremendous.

 

Also, Trading Manny is a horrible move...Unless you WANT to tank the next couple years and waste Ortiz's prime. While Manny was out for a weekend during the trade deadline Ortiz got walked basically every at-bat. Expect to see that alot more in 2006 with no Manny. There is no #3-4 hitter that the Sox can aquire than can come close to Manny's production...not to mention that most pitchers still fear the combo of Ortiz/Ramirez and thus it gives the rest of the lineup better pitches to hit as well.

 

You wanna see a huge dropoff in run scoring in Boston? Trade Manny.

 

It depends who they get in return really. If the Sox were to shed his salary somehow, they could grab Brian Giles off the free agent market. I do agree though that they probably shouldn't trade Manny, unless they get the right deal.

[Guest Smues]

Manager's of the year are Guillen and Cox. No big shock there. Huzzah Cox getting his 4th manager of the year award.

[Failed Bridge 0]

If they do trade Manny I still like that Cameron, Petit, Milledge package. I'd like to see them do what Cleveland did and I believe they could get back to contention faster than Cleveland did as well. Right now Cleveland has a great team and their 2005 roster cost a little over $40mill. Keep David Ortiz, Schilling, Tek, and Wakefield but blow up the rest of the team. As a Red Sox fan the chance to see a young and very talented team like Cleveland has, along with its cost plus the Red Sox financial means...well that excites me.

 

The 06 season probably would be nothing too special, but with what they already have in the minors I think 07 would be a good year. If they got that above package for Manny then in 07 you could be looking at...

 

C Tek

1B ?

2B Pedroia

SS Hanley Ramirez

3B Kevin Youkilis

LF David Murphy

CF Lastings Milledge

RF Jacoby Ellsbury

DH Ortiz

 

SP

Papelbon

Petit

Jon Lester

Anibal Sanchez

?

 

Bullpen

Delcarmen, Craig Hansen

 

That right there is alot of great youth. Get a power bat for 1B (As it stands right now Derek Lee is a potential FA after the 06 season. Maybe he wants to test the FA market) and strengthen the bullpen and this team would be young (for the most part) and dangerous. They would also have the leadership of Tek and Ortiz as well.

[Precious Roy 0]

well, now it appears the Braves are hell bent on resigning Furcal.  So much for that news they were out of it.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5067162

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

they just want to keep him from the Mets. They showed no interest in resigning him until he was set to go to a division rival. If they really wanted to keep the guy they would have locked him up a long time ago.

[mike546 0]

Theres no guarantee prospects work out, though.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Re: The Red Sox

 

First off, the Mets are suckers if they trade Petit AND Milledge for Ramirez. It's that kind of boneheaded move that lost so much good will of their fans. This team has already traded away Scott Kazmir, Melvin Mora, Jason Bay, and Justin Huber. I just can't see them falling for the same trick again, particularly when they don't lack outfielders.

 

Second, if David Murphy is any kind of prospect, this is the first I've heard of it. Jacoby Ellsbury's resume consists of 35 games in the NY-Penn League. He's displayed more speed than power, and if he is a prospect we're looking at 2009, and that optimistic. Not every prospect pans out. And even if those guys all come up, that's frankly not a very impressive team.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Its a start though, and Jacoby Ellsbury is more a Johnny Damon type hitter. He's a very good defender too. David Murphy started to come on strong in Portland at the end of the season, so who knows. Still that team is inexpensive enough where you can spend for the missing pieces.

 

And I don't know about being unimpressive when the starting rotation would be ridiculously talented and they would be a better defensive team than they are at the moment.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Its a start though, and Jacoby Ellsbury is more a Johnny Damon type hitter. He's a very good defender too. David Murphy started to come on strong in Portland at the end of the season, so who knows. Still that team is inexpensive enough where you can spend for the missing pieces.

 

And I don't know about being unimpressive when the starting rotation would be ridiculously talented and they would be a better defensive team than they are at the moment.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jacoby Ellsbury's plate discipline looks very good so far. My chief concern, again, is his relative lack of power. Most of his slugging percentage comes from five triples, and those are more speed than anything. The stolen base percentage is good, but that's iffy as an indicator until the player indicates he can steal at a high percentage at AA or higher. And at 21, he was older than most players at that level. He's a wait-and-see type more than anything right now.

 

As for the starting rotation. All four of those guys have great minor league pedigrees. The problem is if they all make it. We've all seen highly regarding pitching prospects bite the dust. I would hesitate to pin my hopes on a young pitching staff. After all, this year's Phillies squad should've included Gavin Floyd and Cole Hamels.

[Failed Bridge 0]

I'd find it fun to run a MLB team with Al. Hey Al, lets go interview for the Red Sox job together. We can be a team like Jim Beattie and Mike Flannigan were...except we won't suck. If we succeed then you can go to Philli when old man Gillick decides to leave because he's...well...old.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'd find it fun to run a MLB team with Al. Hey Al, lets go interview for the Red Sox job together. We can be a team like Jim Beattie and Mike Flannigan were...except we won't suck. If we succeed then you can go to Philli when old man Gillick decides to leave because he's...well...old.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Only if you can accept my first move being to offer Manny Ramirez to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu.

[Failed Bridge 0]

I'll allow that because I doubt Manny would waive his 10/5 no trade for Philli and Philli probably wouldn't give up Abreu for Manny.

 

I'm all for aquiring Abreu though.

[Cartman 0]

But Abreu = unclutch.

[Precious Roy 0]

But Abreu = unclutch.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

but he has a gold glove!

[Precious Roy 0]

[Failed Bridge 0]

There are supposedly talks between the Red Sox and Padres where David Wells would go back to San Diego, Dave Roberts would come back to Boston and the Red Sox would also aquire a pitcher (most likely Akinori Otsuka)

[The Czech Republic 0]

Holy shit. I just remembered that Wade Miller is theoretically a Red Sock.

[Failed Bridge 0]

yup, Wade Miller's rights are still owned by Boston. Who knows if he'll come back healthy but I bet he'd be able to bring back a pretty decent prospect in return if they traded him.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

There are supposedly talks between the Red Sox and Padres where David Wells would go back to San Diego, Dave Roberts would come back to Boston and the Red Sox would also aquire a pitcher (most likely Akinori Otsuka)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Otsuka's too good of a reliever to throw in that deal. Wells for Roberts makes perfect sense though. The Sox need a center fielder, and Roberts would be a popular addition. The Padres add rotation depth and could possibly slot Freddy Guzman into center.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

yup, Wade Miller's rights are still owned by Boston. Who knows if he'll come back healthy but I bet he'd be able to bring back a pretty decent prospect in return if they traded him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He'd get a C level prospect at best. Miller's missed half the season the last two years and had poor numbers this year. He needs to prove he can pitch effectively again before he gains any value.

[Failed Bridge 0]

yup, Wade Miller's rights are still owned by Boston. Who knows if he'll come back healthy but I bet he'd be able to bring back a pretty decent prospect in return if they traded him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He'd get a C level prospect at best.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not while there are GMs like Omar Minaya still in baseball. There are still some GMs that are willing to throw prospects away for "names".

[The Czech Republic 0]

yup, Wade Miller's rights are still owned by Boston. Who knows if he'll come back healthy but I bet he'd be able to bring back a pretty decent prospect in return if they traded him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He'd get a C level prospect at best.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not while there are GMs like Omar Minaya still in baseball. There are still some GMs that are willing to throw prospects away for "names".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Preferably names of Spanish descent, in his case

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Perhaps, but the days of dealing premium prospects for names has faded. Teams are more aware of the issues of dealing prospects, especially since their fans are more aware.

 

Besides, the Mets don't need pitching depth.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I know I wouldn't give up more than a bag of baseballs for for Wade Miller. Guy makes Kerry Wood look durable.

[MikeJordan23 0]

On ESPN Breaking News they're saying Javier Vazquez asked the DiamondBacks to trade him.

[Precious Roy 0]

On ESPN Breaking News they're saying Javier Vazquez asked the DiamondBacks to trade him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I hope he's traded back to the Yankees

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Vazquez has asked for a trade since he went to the Diamondbacks, so this is nothing new. He kept quiet and gave Arizona a fair chance this season.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Wow, the Blue Jays turned down a trade that would have sent Vernon Wells to Philli for Bobby Abreu. Jays didn't want to pay the rest of what Abreu is owed. I've no clue if other players were involved as I'm just repeating what was on WEEI's 20/20 sports flash.

 

Al has to be happy with that non-deal.

[Mik 0]

MIAMI -- Free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal has set a price tag of $50 million over five or six years for his next contract, agent Paul Kinzer told ESPNdeportes.com.

 

"Things have changed significantly since the free-agent period started. There's only one Rafael Furcal available and whoever wants to get him will have to pay for what he is worth," Kinzer said Friday. "We're looking for a five- or six-year contract, and $50 million is a pretty realistic figure."

 

 

 

Furcal's agent says the free agent shortstop is willing to move to the outfield.

 

Furcal had previously said he would look for a contract similar to the one Edgar Renteria signed with the Red Sox before the start of last season, worth $40 million over four years.

 

The 183 players who filed for free agency since the end of the World Series can start negotiating money with all teams starting Friday. Furcal filed for free agency after playing the last six seasons with the Atlanta Braves.

 

Kinzer said at least five teams have contacted him, including the Braves, and are ready to pay what Furcal is asking.

 

The New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals have already shown interest in Furcal and, according to Kinzer, the New York Yankees have also contacted him to find out if Furcal would consider playing center field.

 

Depending on who replaces Theo Epstein as general manager, the Boston Red Sox could also join the chase. A move to Fenway Park would mean Furcal would likely not play shortstop unless Renteria is traded.

 

"Raffy is OK with playing shortstop, second base or center field," Kinzer said. "Just give him a glove and he will play wherever you ask him to."

 

Kinzer and Atlanta officials will meet again next week, but there is no schedule for further talks.

 

"There will be a lot of talking now, but I don't expect to sign a contract until the beginning of December," Kinzer said.

 

After a slow start, Furcal ended the season batting .338 in the Braves' last 78 games. He finished the season hitting .278 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI. Furcal also stole 46 bases and scored 100 runs.

 

Furcal, who was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 2000, has a .284 career batting average with 189 stolen bases and 554 runs scored.

 

Yeah... good luck with that.

[mike546 0]

Newsday is reporting the Yanks are offering Matsui 50 mil over 4 years.

[Bored 0]

Yeah... good luck with that.

I guarentee he'll get at least $10 million/year. He's two years younger and the last two years he's been better than Renteria. I doubt he'll get a six-year deal but I can see a team biting on a five-year deal.

 

Seriously no one should be surprised by any contract this offseason. The White Sox already set the tone with the $14 million/year offer to Konerko. This offseason is going to be even worse than last year in the number bad contracts. Then in a couple years owners will cry poor again, have another near work stoppage, and then we'll get another "market correction." Awww the circle of life.