2005-06 MLB Offseason Thread

[the pinjockey 0]

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

 

Yikes.

 

Kind of surprised he got that much, considering there had been no talk about him going anywhere. I figured his problems had pretty much killed the market for him.

 

That said, it's not really that bad of a deal. There isn't much out there this season, so get someone for the short term that doesn't become an albatross if something better becomes available. And in that ballpark, Rogers might only allow 10 HRs all year. If he keeps the walks under control, which should be no problem, combining that with the HRs allowed he should be at worst a solid pitcher.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Cubs must think the Rangers are on crack. They offered up Patterson for Mench.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 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.

This is quite a coup for Gillick. Booker strikes out everything in his path. Here are his peripherials from 2003-05, after he missed the 2002 season.

 

K/9: 11.8

BB/9: 5.1

HR/9: 0.5

 

Lots of strikeouts, lots of walks, few home runs. Booker is very difficult to hit. And if he fails, it's a low risk signing.

[Mik 0]

I think the Marlins had a good rule five as well - picking up Dan Uggla to potentially be the starting 2nd basemen. He had a good year last year in the minors - just needs to cut down on his Ks.

 

2005 AA Tennessee 498 ABs he hit .297/.378/.502/880 with 21 HR, 87 RBI, 52 BB, 103 K

[DerangedHermit 0]

Julio said he has a two year contract offer.

 

I'll believe it when I see it.

I heard the team that offered it was the....

 

 

New York Mets.

[2GOLD 0]

Cubs must think the Rangers are on crack. They offered up Patterson for Mench.

 

Come on Rangers, be on crack.

[devo 0]

If they hadn't made the Delgado trade, I could see their reasoning for signing Franco. If Jacobs were to fail miserably, the Mets would have a competent if ancient backup. But now that they've got Delgado with Woodward on the bench, signing Franco seems completely unnecessary.

[CanadianChris 0]

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.

Blue Jays are now taking with Texas about getting Wilkerson for their RF spot.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I dunno. Franco hit .275/.348/.451 in limited time last year, with nine home runs and four (!) steals. He already seems like a better bat off the bench than Woodward - maybe he can teach Reyes how to work a walk.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Cubs must think the Rangers are on crack. They offered up Patterson for Mench.

 

Come on Rangers, be on crack.

They already shot down the deal. The proposed trade's like asking your friend to trade you an Upper Deck Griffey Jr. rookie card for your Steve Buchelle with the missing corner. Worth a try, but not likely to get you anywhere.

[KingPK 0]

Back to the Rentaria trade for a second; I don't know about this one. If they do a deal I heard where they would send Marte and Arroyo (I believe) to Tampa for Lugo and either Huff or Baez, I would feel a bit better about it. I mean, it seems like the Sox gave up an awful lot (including paying 1/3 of Rent's contract) for just one prospect, especially since they have a couple of 3B already.

[the pinjockey 0]

I like Marte a lot and don't like Renteria at all, so to me it seems like a great deal. At this point, Renteria's 2003 is so far removed from his career that I can't see it as any more than a fluke (.874 OPS, next highest .803, career .744). They can write off last season all they want on ESPN, but Renteria was not a perennial great player before the Sox got him.

[the pinjockey 0]

This is quite a coup for Gillick. Booker strikes out everything in his path. Here are his peripherials from 2003-05, after he missed the 2002 season.

 

K/9: 11.8

BB/9: 5.1

HR/9: 0.5

 

Lots of strikeouts, lots of walks, few home runs. Booker is very difficult to hit. And if he fails, it's a low risk signing.

 

Am I wrong in thinking it looks more and more like they aren't going to find a SP and want to move Madson from the pen. They've now added Santana, Booker, Gordon, have interest in Looper, and already have the other 5-6 players coming back from last year. Seems like they are overloading on RP unless they plan to lose another one in Madson.

Edited December 8, 2005 by the pinjockey

[The Man in Blak 0]

Back to the Rentaria trade for a second; I don't know about this one. If they do a deal I heard where they would send Marte and Arroyo (I believe) to Tampa for Lugo and either Huff or Baez, I would feel a bit better about it. I mean, it seems like the Sox gave up an awful lot (including paying 1/3 of Rent's contract) for just one prospect, especially since they have a couple of 3B already.

 

I think their best play would be to try and move Lowell and let Youks/Marte play it out at the corners. Marte is a major league caliber hitter right now - he could probably outhit Renteria next year, especially if he stays in Fenway. Or, alternatively, give Marte some seasoning in AAA and let Lowell/Youks man the corners next year. If Lowell bounces back and hits well enough, deal him to make room for Marte in 2007.

[mike546 0]

Yanks sign Mike Myers to a two year deal. I like it, but how much are they going to pay a guy who pitches 40 innings a year?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

This is quite a coup for Gillick. Booker strikes out everything in his path. Here are his peripherials from 2003-05, after he missed the 2002 season.

 

K/9: 11.8

BB/9: 5.1

HR/9: 0.5

 

Lots of strikeouts, lots of walks, few home runs. Booker is very difficult to hit. And if he fails, it's a low risk signing.

 

Am I wrong in thinking it looks more and more like they aren't going to find a SP and want to move Madson from the pen. They've now added Santana, Booker, Gordon, have interest in Looper, and already have the other 5-6 players coming back from last year. Seems like they are overloading on RP unless they plan to lose another one in Madson.

Reports are the Phils are seriously considering Madson for the rotation. I'm glad. He's a cheap and serviceable option, and deserves a chance.

 

Back to the Rentaria trade for a second; I don't know about this one. If they do a deal I heard where they would send Marte and Arroyo (I believe) to Tampa for Lugo and either Huff or Baez, I would feel a bit better about it. I mean, it seems like the Sox gave up an awful lot (including paying 1/3 of Rent's contract) for just one prospect, especially since they have a couple of 3B already.

 

I think their best play would be to try and move Lowell and let Youks/Marte play it out at the corners. Marte is a major league caliber hitter right now - he could probably outhit Renteria next year, especially if he stays in Fenway. Or, alternatively, give Marte some seasoning in AAA and let Lowell/Youks man the corners next year. If Lowell bounces back and hits well enough, deal him to make room for Marte in 2007.

Marte has all the seasoning he needs. He could be the best player in the third base shuffle already. The only real question is what they now do about shortstop. Dustin Pedroia isn't far off from Renteria, and it'll be interesting to see if he gets a shot.

[Guest Brian]

Based on this year, He's going to make at least ten over two.

[Precious Roy 0]

Yankees trade Womack to the Reds for a minor leaguer.

 

WHOO!

 

PARTY AT MY PLACE!

[MikeJordan23 0]

 

 

Walt Jocketty was on XM radio and said he's going to sacrifice 2nd base and one of the outfield spots to get the big pitcher we need.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Please try to avoid quoting long posts if it isn't necessary.

 

Now that the flury of moves has subsided, what team has had the best offseason so far? The worst?

[MikeJordan23 0]

Please try to avoid quoting long posts if it isn't necessary.

 

Now that the flury of moves has subsided, what team has had the best offseason so far? The worst?

 

 

For the present? The Mets.

[the pinjockey 0]

Tejada wants out? Here you go, Miggy wants out of Baltimore, Boston needs a SS. Trade Manny for Miggy and by done with the Manny being Manny show.

 

Best offseason:

1.) Blue Jays - Might they regret the FA deals in the future? Sure. But hard to argue that they have improved the team. Throw in picking up Overbay and they have done well.

 

2.) Boston - Like the Beckett and Loretta deals, love the Marte deal.

 

3.) Florida - It is hard to believe they were able to get so much talent back for some mediocre, expensive players when everyone knew they were having a fire sale. I was impressed.

 

Worst offseason:

 

1.) Braves - Essentially gave up Andy Marte for the right to downgrade from Furcal to Renteria. Losing Estrada is nothing to worry about as he was pretty terrible. They'll still likely to win the division so I'll take my shot at them now.

 

2.) Washington - Obtained arguably the worst player in MLB for their ballpark, gave up cheaper talent to do so, and are going to blow 20% of their payroll in the process.

[Mik 0]

The worst besides the Marlins. We don't need that repeated 100 times.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

So far, I'd have to say that the Cards, Mets, and Tigers have had the worst offseasons.

 

- Cards: Their lack of making moves that address needs is what lands them here. I don't understand this sudden need for another big starter. Their problem in the postseason was offense, not pitching. By not addressing second or the outfield, they're putting a lot of weight on the shoulders of Carpenter and Pujols.

 

- Mets: It just seems like the teams with the most money spend it the most asinine ways possible. I think closers are incredibly overrated and that teams are better off going with a decent closer and putting extra funds towards other aspects of the team. Delgado's another big name, but one guy's not going to make the difference.

 

- Tigers: This is only because they signed Rogers and Jones. They were an awful team in 2003, but they have a nice crop of young talent. So why is it the last two seasons they sink money into cash pits like Ordonez, Percival, Rogers and Jones? It just seems like anytime there's talk of a team considering a FA's ridiculous contact demands, it's usually Detroit.

 

Now, for the best. I'd go with Red Sox and Blue Jays are at the top.

 

- Red Sox: They're doing all they can to build a good team with the thought in mind that Manny's out of there and Damon may be, too. The Beckett deal added an ace to a shaky starting rotation and the Loretta deal's one of the fleecings of the offseason.

 

- Blue Jays: They overpaid Burnett, but Halladay/Burnett's a hell of a 1-2 punch and by adding Overbay, they've tacked on some reliable offensive power numbers.

[mike546 0]

Bernies back.

 

1 year, two million.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Must be a sign of that youth movement I heard about.

 

Seriously, though, if Crosby's their CF for '06, you might as well have Bernie around.

[mike546 0]

If Bubba Crosby goes into spring training as the "supposed starting" CF, I can guarantee you Bernie will start in CF on opening day.

[Fökai 0]

Worst offseason:

1.) Braves - Essentially gave up Andy Marte for the right to downgrade from Furcal to Renteria. Losing Estrada is nothing to worry about as he was pretty terrible. They'll still likely to win the division so I'll take my shot at them now.

 

I wonder what they would've done if Furcal stayed for 4/$36. Instead, they've got Renteria at 3/$20, and may struggle to find a prospect down the line to supplant Chipper (unless there's a guy from A/AA that I'm not aware of). Either way, Betemit is sitting on the bench again.

[Styles 0]

Orioles better shape the fuck up and quick. Tejada says he wants a trade if they're not going to improve the team. I've lived and died with this team and put up with a lot of incompetent bullshit but if they chase away our biggest franchise player since Cal Ripken, I'm done with the team. I'll adopt the Nats instead who without an owner are still keeping their promises to their fans and improving the team.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Throw all the stats around you want, but you can't just plug AAA players into a major league lineup and expect them all to produce and excell at the next level. It just seems that everyone expects every prospect to work out, which I can guarentee is not going to happen. It's not that I don't think everyone knows that, it just seems that way.