2005-06 MLB Offseason Thread

[The Czech Republic 0]

Doug Melvin has been a very good GM for the Brewers thus far. This is the same guy who traded Richie Sexson to the D'backs for six guys (Counsell, Spivey, Overbay, Moeller, Capuano, and De La Rosa)

Then they got Ohka for Spivey, and Bush/other dudes for Overbay. This Melvin fellow is a stud.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Designated 3B Jose Macias for assignment.

 

Dusty's pillow shall be soaked with tears tonight.

Party at my place!

Edited December 8, 2005 by The Czech Republic

[Fökai 0]

1. The three-team with ATL, BOS and TB is dead. The proposal is now between Boston and Atlanta, with just Marte being involved.

 

2.

Dec 8 - There is little chance of Bobby Abreu being traded, because the Phillies can't get enough pitching back to justify it, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. Nevertheless, Abreu has been puzzled by all the trade rumors, according to his agent, Peter Greenberg.

 

The latest proposed deal involved the Dodgers, with Abreu and possibly third baseman David Bell going to L.A. for Derek Lowe or Brad Penny, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

 

The Red Sox (possibly for Matt Clement and Trot Nixon) and Astros (potentially for Brandon Backe and Chad Qualls) have also shown interest in Abreu.

 

3.

Cub life?

Dec 8 - The Cubs and Dodgers haven't finalized a deal that would send outfielder Milton Bradley to the Cubs. But it seems clear that Bradley will be traded in the next few days, and no team is more interested in Bradley than the Cubs, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports.

 

Dusty Baker came away from a meeting with Bradley last month convinced that Bradley could fit. And Bradley's .350-plus on-base percentage the last three years also would fit. Only two Cubs regulars -- Derrek Lee and Aramirs Ramirez -- had an on-base percentage over .350 this season.

 

4.

No arms deals

Dec 8 - Cubs GM Jim Hendry has no plans to part with pitchers Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano or Kerry Wood, the Daily Southtown reports. "The Cubs will not be trading Mark Prior or Carlos Zambrano," Hendry told the newspaper.

 

There was some speculation Wood, who is coming off right shoulder surgery, would be part of a multiplayer deal with Texas. But Wood has a no-trade clause in his contract and is scheduled to earn $11 million in 2006. So it would be a huge gamble for another team to take a chance on him.

 

5.

Manny scenarios

Dec 8 - There was talk of a three-way deal that would have sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, but it fell apart, ESPN's Peter Gammons reports. Ramirez would have gone to Los Angeles for J.D. Drew, Derek Lowe and a pitching prospect. Lowe, Trot Nixon and a prospect would have gone to Philadelphia for Bobby Abreu.

 

The Red Sox earlier told Gammons that Ramirez will not be traded this week because such a deal would be too complicated and take too much time to sort out.

 

The Mets have talked to the Red Sox about Ramirez and asked Boston to take second baseman Kaz Matsui in a deal along with Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman and other prospects.

 

According to The Boston Globe, there was substance to the rumor that the Red Sox were working on a three-way deal with the Angels and Diamondbacks. The Angels would get Ramirez, the D-Backs would get prospects from the Angels and the Red Sox would receive a package of players that includes third baseman Troy Glaus.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Three way trades always brought back memories of junior high lunch. You want something REALLY bad from someone, but you don't have anything he wants. So, you trade your stuff to someone else for whatever the first guy wants. Then everybody gets what they want. Unless of course one of the parties pulls out of the deal, then everyone gets pissed because they had their hopes up. Just seems kinda juvenile, but I guess that's how big league economics work nowadays.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Conspiracy_Victim

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

- Damien Jackson is now the full-time 2B for San Diego I assume? He had his moments when Loretta was out last year. Greene/Jackson is a talented young middle infield. San Diego needs to add a few more pieces, a solid #2 wouldn't hurt, but they still look like a contender in the West to me.

 

It'll likely be Josh Barfield, who hit .310 in AAA Portland with 15 home runs and 20 steals. Yes, Josh is the son of former player Jesse Barfield.

[strummer 0]

Mets sign Jose Valentin to a 1 year deal.

[treble 0]

I don't really like the Jays giving up on Bush, but I like this trade better than the Hillenbrand/Bush rumours there were earlier in this thread.

 

And I'm kinda pissed at Wilkerson going to Texas since I heard the Jays were interested. I would have prefered him to Overbay and he could have played 1st or OF if needed.

[The Czech Republic 0]

No more Nomar

 

Declined to offer him arbitration, so he's off-limits to us. Hendry better have some big trade in mind. We have to do better than Neifi.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I think Randy Flores and Tyler Johnson have a fair chance of outperforming Ray King next year, especially if King continues to throw the flat slider that he was wielding in 2005.

 

The problem is that everybody else knew that the Cardinals had no trade leverage with King. Aaron Miles is an absolute mess of a player, slick with the glove, but can't swing a bat or run the bases to save his life. I'd rather have Luna at SS and move Eckstein to second, than have Aaron Miles soak up 200 plate appearances as the redbird second baseman, but Tony will probably invent ways to fit Miles into the lineup, probably even throwing him out in left field every once in a while.

 

Larry Bigbie is a passable third outfielder, exceptionally strong fourth outfielder, but he desperately needs to bounce back to be of any worth to St. Louis.

 

Neither player fills the holes that the Cardinals have in the starting lineup, but at least they're filling up spots on the 25 man roster. The Cardinals are in the midst of having a terrible offseason, compounded by the maddening inability to offer Grudzielanek arbitration (clause in his contract) and their quixotic run at A.J. Burnett. The window for contention may be closing for St. Louis quicker than they thought.

[MikeJordan23 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2252297

 

Renteria traded to the Braves

[MikeJordan23 0]

I think Randy Flores and Tyler Johnson have a fair chance of outperforming Ray King next year, especially if King continues to throw the flat slider that he was wielding in 2005.

 

The problem is that everybody else knew that the Cardinals had no trade leverage with King. Aaron Miles is an absolute mess of a player, slick with the glove, but can't swing a bat or run the bases to save his life. I'd rather have Luna at SS and move Eckstein to second, than have Aaron Miles soak up 200 plate appearances as the redbird second baseman, but Tony will probably invent ways to fit Miles into the lineup, probably even throwing him out in left field every once in a while.

 

Larry Bigbie is a passable third outfielder, exceptionally strong fourth outfielder, but he desperately needs to bounce back to be of any worth to St. Louis.

 

Neither player fills the holes that the Cardinals have in the starting lineup, but at least they're filling up spots on the 25 man roster. The Cardinals are in the midst of having a terrible offseason, compounded by the maddening inability to offer Grudzielanek arbitration (clause in his contract) and their quixotic run at A.J. Burnett. The window for contention may be closing for St. Louis quicker than they thought.

 

 

I really think other Cardinal fans are in panic mode for no reason. They lost Nunez and Gruz, Mabry this off-season. Certainly nothing of much importance. Got rid of Ray King and Tavarez, and will probably sign either Dotel or Looper. Better replacements for Tavarez if healthy. They still have a healthy Rolen coming back, Pujols, and Edmonds. A strong front of the rotation with Carpenter and Mulder, and their best pitchin prospect Reyes will probably be in the rotation. I don't see reason for much concern. They still have 3 months until the season starts to fill the outfield positions. Jones is still available, and they can make a trade to fill the other spot. The "Doom and Gloom" I've been seeing from the fans lately is not only head scratching, but annoying. Madly annoying considering it doesn't have much basis.

[2GOLD 0]

No more Nomar

 

Declined to offer him arbitration, so he's off-limits to us. Hendry better have some big trade in mind. We have to do better than Neifi.

 

Isn't Ronny Cedeno still with the club?

Maybe the Cubbies are just going to give him the nod at shortstop and split time with Perez.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

No more Nomar

 

Declined to offer him arbitration, so he's off-limits to us. Hendry better have some big trade in mind. We have to do better than Neifi.

 

Isn't Ronny Cedeno still with the club?

Maybe the Cubbies are just going to give him the nod at shortstop and split time with Perez.

Neifi a platoon player? Give me some of your drugs!

[2GOLD 0]

No more Nomar

 

Declined to offer him arbitration, so he's off-limits to us. Hendry better have some big trade in mind. We have to do better than Neifi.

 

Isn't Ronny Cedeno still with the club?

Maybe the Cubbies are just going to give him the nod at shortstop and split time with Perez.

Neifi a platoon player? Give me some of your drugs!

 

Maybe Cedeno has been smart and massaged Dusty's feet and brought him some coffee this offseason.

I don't see the need to chase down some free agent shortstop or make some trade when the Cubs have a solid young shortstop ready for a call-up.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Yeah, but young and up and coming are two things that don't bode well for a player on the North side of Chicago.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Yeah, but young and up and coming are two things that don't bode well for a player on the North side of Chicago.

Hey, what about Corey Patterson for Angel Berroa? Just off the top of my head

[Boon 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2252297

 

Renteria traded to the Braves

[The Man in Blak 0]

I really think other Cardinal fans are in panic mode for no reason. They lost Nunez and Gruz, Mabry this off-season. Certainly nothing of much importance. Got rid of Ray King and Tavarez, and will probably sign either Dotel or Looper. Better replacements for Tavarez if healthy. A strong front of the rotation with Carpenter and Mulder, and their best pitchin prospect Reyes will probably be in the rotation. I don't see reason for much concern. They still have 3 months until the season starts to fill the outfield positions. Jones is still available, and they can make a trade to fill the other spot. The "Doom and Gloom" I've been seeing from the fans lately is not only head scratching, but annoying. Madly annoying considering it doesn't have much basis.

 

For one, Jones may not still be available - there are three or four other clubs in the running for him and his price is escalating beyond the point where the Cardinals are likely to pay. With the Casey trade, I'd imagine that the Kearns-for-Marquis rumblings are dead in the water. (Not that trading Marquis is the best solution anyway.)

 

They lost Nunez and Gruz, Mabry this off-season.

 

I'll grant that Mabry is replaceable, and that Nunez probably isn't going to replicate his 2005, but Grudz is a solid major league player whose departure leaves a gaping hole in the infield. And there hasn't really been much of a replacement for these guys in terms of depth either - Deivi Cruz? Aaron Miles? The Cardinals bench is a wasteland, even worse than the benches of recent vintage, which were remarkably poor.

 

These aren't the only guys that we lost either. Reggie Sanders and Matt Morris are gone as well. Matt's departure will be taken care of with Reyes' promotion to the rotation, but Sanders was a valuable player in left, offensively and defensively.

 

Got rid of Ray King and Tavarez, and will probably sign either Dotel or Looper. Better replacements for Tavarez if healthy.

 

Dotel is no sure bet for next year health-wise and, technically, neither is Looper, who was pitching through an ailment in his elbow. And neither have been officially announced as being signed.

 

They still have a healthy Rolen coming back, Pujols, and Edmonds.

 

It's a strength, but it doesn't save the entire team. Pujols is a lock, but Edmonds is flirting with decline, and Rolen is seemingly a perpetual injury risk. Even if all three are healthy, I wouldn't expect a repeat performance of 2004.

 

A strong front of the rotation with Carpenter and Mulder, and their best pitchin prospect Reyes will probably be in the rotation.

 

The rotation is probably the strongest aspect of the team, outside of the Pujols/Rolen/Edmonds core, but there are plenty of uncertainties: does Carpenter continue his excellent performance? Does Marquis finally figure it out? Does Suppan continue pitching better than expected?

 

And the bullpen's no great shakes either. Isringhausen is good, but not great, and right now, all we have to bridge to him are Randy Flores, Brad Thompson, and Tyler Johnson. Bullpens can be put together on the cheap, but it introduces more risk, and there's already plenty of risk throughout other parts of the roster.

 

Given that the Cubs and Brewers are both improving, I think it's very realistic for Cardinal fans to express concern.

[mike546 0]

Yankees trade Womack to the Reds for a minor leaguer.

 

WHOO!

[bob_barron 0]

The Braves kept saying since Marte could only play 3B he wasn't that useful, so whatever.

 

I'm glad we have a SS at least.

[the pinjockey 0]

Baseball America's Rule V review

 

Phillies then picked up Booker from Detroit for cash.

 

I like what I see from Booker. Great K rate this year in AAA (91 in 65 IP) and kept the ball in the yard with only 1 HR allowed (of course a .45 GB/FB ratio speaks to some luck involved there). Granted he was 28 this year, but it couldn't hurt to take a shot and see if they come up with a Turnbow at little risk.

Edited December 8, 2005 by the pinjockey

[Guest Smues]

Franco was not offered arbitration. So long Old School.

 

 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Damn I'll miss Julio.

[the pinjockey 0]

The Braves kept saying since Marte could only play 3B he wasn't that useful, so whatever.

 

That seems incredibly short sighted for an organization like that.

 

Orioles agree to 4 yr/$27.25 mil deal with Ramon Hernandez

[bob_barron 0]

Julio said he has a two year contract offer.

 

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

That would put Franco in what, his early 70's when the contract expires? Good to see some senior citizens know how to stay active in their golden years.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Conspiracy_Victim

[sfaJack 0]

I wouldn't joke about Franco like that. He might be more productive than Jeff Bagwell this next season.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Yankees trade Womack to the Reds for a minor leaguer.

 

WHOO!

Two minor leaguers, actually. Of course, they have to eat about half of his contract.

 

It's being reported that the White Sox have dumped Marte on the Pirates for Rob Mackowiak. Considering Marte's contract and unreliability last year, this is a nice move for the White Sox.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Bruiser Chong

[2GOLD 0]

The Braves kept saying since Marte could only play 3B he wasn't that useful, so whatever.

 

That seems incredibly short sighted for an organization like that.

 

Orioles agree to 4 yr/$27.25 mil deal with Ramon Hernandez

 

I'm not upset with the signing, it doesn't sound too horrid. About seven mil a year, they could have done a lot worse for a catcher. But it still doesn't answer the question of pitching. The Orioles really need to fix their bullpen up and get another starter.

[sfaJack 0]

Kenny Rogers to the Tigers for 2 years, $16 mil?

 

Yikes.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Either way, the Cardinals will get a replacement in the outfield, more then likely by trading Marquis. Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker were all but finished (Aside from Reggie's nice little performance in the NLDS). There's 4 months before the season starts. Austin Kearns and Jones are not the only players available.

 

Reggie Sanders was far from finished - in fact, if he hadn't been derailed by injury, he might have been on his way to a career year. In almost 300 ABs, Sanders hit .271/.340/.546 with 21 home runs, stole 14 bases in 15 attempts, and played solid defense. Even granted some regression to the mean over the remainder of the year, he was probably a gold key lock for 30 homers, 20 steals, and an OPS in the high eight hundreds. And Walker's performance was hardly sneezeworthy; I don't foresee So Taguchi putting up a .289/.384/.502 line with 15 home runs next year.

 

Would either of them hit that level of performance again? With Walker, we'll never know due to retirement, but Sanders has a halfway decent shot at a 20/20 season with an .800 OPS and that's typically not a line you find hanging around on the waiver wire.

 

Well, if the Cardinals plan on getting two outfields (Which I think they will), Biggie, J-Rod, Taguchi, Luna isn't all that bad of a bench. Certainly there would be some concern if anyone had a long term injury, but for just spot fill ins, its a capable cast.

 

If the Cardinals pick up Rondell White and Juan Encarnacion (two inexpensive free agent options) in the next couple of weeks and ensure that those guys remain bench players, then yeah, the bench isn't too shabby. The problem is that those guys haven't been signed yet and there hasn't been a lot of noise from the media that the Cardinals are actively pursuing either of them.

 

Hopefully Sanders is gone. And I don't know if Matt is leaving anymore. I'd prefer if we signed Millwood or Washburn, to be honest, but their prices might be a little too expensive. If he goes to the Giants, we still have Reyes, and if we trade Marquis for a outfielder, we have enough pitchers on the roster; Thompson, (Thompson should be a starter anyway), Wainwright, to make spot starts in the 5th of the rotation to last until they can get someone off waivers (Unless, of course, they pitch well. Which isn't outlandish).

 

If Morris accepts arbitration, the Cardinals are going to get taken to the cleaners to the tune of $6-8 million, which will put a damper on any of their future moves. But he's probably not going to do that (most reports mention him as cashing in on a larger free agent paycheck), so let's look past that for a second.

 

The Cardinals don't have a lot of trade leverage with Marquis - the other clubs know full well of his attitude problems, as well as the fact that he looks poised to get a big salary bump in arbitration this year. Jocketty won't be trading Marquis for pennies on the dollar, but I would be very surprised if we were going to be able to fill a hole at 2B/Corner Outfield in 2006 with whatever we would get for Marquis. If Marquis gets traded, Thompson probably could fit into the rotation but that puts another hole in the bullpen to fill. And I'm not sure he could fill it that admirably either - his second half K/BB ratio of 14/12 in 30+ innings (in conjunction with his minor league peripherals) doesn't necessarily bode well for the future.

 

You mention Wainwright, but he was pummelled in his cup of coffee last year and he didn't have a tremendous time at AAA either. I'm not saying it's a foregone conclusion that he wouldn't pitch well, but the odds seem to favor another extended look at AAA. Counting on him to hold up every fifth day in the majors is probably not the best plan.

 

And the waiver wire isn't teeming with quality starting pitching - otherwise, all of the other pitching starved teams would be feasting off of it.

 

I'm not saying we're definitely getting them, but there's a bunch of right handers out there available. And Al Reyes could set up for Izzy. It's not like we HAVE to pick up a set up man. Reyes had a very good season last year.

 

Al Reyes is out for the whole season next year, so he's not an option. And, sure, there's a ton of right handed relief out there, but the Eyre/Howry signings have pushed the market up and we're not the only ones fishing that pond. We will have to make some very savvy pickups to address this bullpen and, while that's certainly not beyond Jocketty and company, it's not something that you can just take for granted.

 

Edmonds didn't come close to duplicating his 2004 numbers last year, Rolen wasn't there for most of the season, Pujols had his worst season in the last 3 years and they still won 100 games. This year we're getting Rolen (Hopefully) for the entire season, Edmonds (declining maybe, but still the best centerfielder in baseball), and Pujols the best hitter in the game. I don't see the need for much concern here.

 

If those three guys stay healthy, then the Cardinals will still be in the hunt, no doubt. But if these guys falter or get hurt, they're in a world of trouble, because right now they don't have the strong supporting cast (Sanders, Walker, Grudzielanek, Nunez) of recent years to bail them out.

 

I don't see why Suppan would start getting bad now. He's a ground ball pitcher, with a good infield. Carpenter has always had the stuff to be great, and even if he doesn't match this year's performance, Mulder should definitely have a better year, add in Reyes. I like this rotation a lot. Very strong.

 

You've kind of touched on the issue: this is a very strong rotation, with a good infield. Now, Pujols and Rolen have flashed some serious leather and Eckstein will make virtually every play he can get to, but Grudzielanek's departure leaves a gaping hole in this infield. Reyes isn't as dependent on the infield defense, but Suppan, Mulder, and Marquis (the last two especially) could take a noticable hit in performance if the Cardinals can't address the hole at second base. And no, Aaron Miles isn't the answer.

 

Also, the Cardinals have been very fortunate when it comes to injuries in the rotations over the last two years - how many teams can say that they had their primary five starters chip in 30+ starts each for one year, let alone two? If they can do it again, it would be fantastic, but you can't bank on it.

 

There's about 5 teams in baseball with a really good bullpens (Astros, Angels, Twins, Padres, White Sox). We are basically with everyone else. We have a very good closer, and if Al Reyes is the set-up a good 8th inning guy. Is it great? No. There's definitely question marks, but I'd take my chances with Randy over Ray King any day of the week.

 

I agree that Randy Flores (and even Tyler Johnson) will probably give the Cardinals more than Ray King would have in 2006. The problem is the rest. ZiPS (the projection system used at BTF) likes Juan Mateo, the kid that they picked up in the Rule 5, but he's 23 and he hasn't even seen AA yet. There are potentials out there, but the market for even halfway decent relief pitching is becoming pricey and it's unlikely that the Cardinals can fill all their holes through free agency, leaving the wire and other NRI/MLCs. And counting on the waiver wire and other sundry MLCs introduces a great deal of risk - you can end up with an Al Reyes or you can end up with a Kevin Jarvis or an Esteban Yan.

 

The Brewers? What big improvements have they made? Their rotation is still average, their bullpen is shit, they have little power. I don't see where they have made major acquistions on their way to winning anything or even being marginally more competitive.

 

The Brewers have enough youth and talent that they will probably improve by default, just from having a year of major league experience under their belt. Prince Fielder moves into first base with the Overbay deal, and Gabe Gross is a good addition to their outfield depth. And the pitching isn't exactly shit - Sheets is a Cy Young candidate when healthy, Capuano made tremendous strides last year, and Doug Davis and Tomo Ohka are solid. The bullpen was a disaster early on last year, but it's looking to be a strength going into 2006, with a solid core of Matt Wise, Mike Adams, Derrick Turnbow, and Julio Santana. That's not even counting if Capellan or Justin Lehr perform well on the big stage.

 

The Cubs aren't world beaters yet, but they're at least trying to make moves. Misguided moves, but moves nonetheless.

 

And that's what's frustrating about the Cardinals so far. It's not that we have holes to fill - every team does - but that Jocketty and co. doesn't seem to recognize them or they seem content to fill them with inexpensive crap. Jocketty can't work his trading magic if he doesn't have any chit to trade with, and the fact that we were chasing Burnett when we had a strong rotation doesn't fill me with ease.

 

Letting players go from a 100-win core isn't a bad thing by default, but you've got to replace them and, right now, what replacements we have are looking mighty thin. If Jocketty realizes that we've got needs to address and is allowed to spend money on it, then the perception of the St. Louis offseason will turn around accordingly. However, when LaRussa and Jocketty are crying poverty in the wake of a new stadium (as well as new funds from the MLBAM earnings), while free agents and potential trade returns get swooped up one by one, I tend to get a little frustrated and a little skeptical about our future progress.