2005-06 MLB Offseason Thread

[Precious Roy 0]

The Rockies signed Jose Mesa

[Failed Bridge 0]

Like I said, they haven't done anything of note.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm not even sure Hanley Ramirez is ready for AAA, let alone the majors. A starting infield job is Pokey's to lose at this stage. I still can't believe the Marlins non-tendered Joe Dillon.

 

Sadly, despite Olivo being a .227 hitter, he's still their best option short of punting defense for Josh Willingham.

 

Reviewing the post thus far, this post makes me laugh. Not only did the Marlins pick up two men that are never wanted back in Mariners territory (ever again), but they're actually being praised for doing so. Al, who is usually dead-on with what he says, talks about Olivo being taken for his defense. Olivo has trouble catching the ball behind the plate and Pokey Reese was out all of last year (getting paid a huge salary to do so.) He's supposed to be pretty good on defense, but will hardly bring anything to the plate.

 

Anyway, the Mariners aren't doing anything (yet again), so I foresee another cellar finish, possibly losing 100 games. Their pitching prospects (aside from Felix Hernandez) that were brought up last year were Jeff Harris and Jorge Campano, who are both 30 years old+. The M's need to get their act together because it's looking like the late 80's/early 90's again.

It's called damning with faint praise. Pokey Reese isn't a guy I'd want starting on my team if I had a hope of contending. But if you review the Marlins' options, he is the guy most likely to produce anything in 2006. There's no one else with more than a whiff of MLB experience.

 

Same deal with Olivo. He's not a guy I'd want starting on a contending team. I know he has a problem with passed balls. You have to understand the Marlins have a player in their system named Josh Willingham who can crush the baseball. However, there are questions about whether Willingham will even catch in the big leagues, or if he'll be moved off the position. If Willingham does not catch, Olivo's the man, and not because of his defense. Next to Olivo, the Marlins have Matt Treanor (.212 career BA), and Ryan Jorgenson (ZipS projects a .200 average).

 

I'm not praising these players, just noting where they fit in the Marlins' hierarchy.

 

As for the Mariners, they replaced their catcher by committee with a star catcher from Japan (Kenji Johjima). They signed Jarrod Washburn for their pitching staff. Bobby Livingston is coming up strong. The M's also have Yorman Bazardo, who they picked up from Seattle. They have Shin-Soo Choo coming up to play center field and lead-off. I can't promise future glory, but there is definately talent in the system.

[2GOLD 0]

Corey Patterson's on his way to Baltimore in exchange for a minor leaguer. I hope this works out as well as the Sosa deal.

 

Great, he goes from my favorite NL team to my favorite AL team. I cannot escape him!

And are the Cubs and Orioles like working together? Burnitz leaves the Cubs, ends up on the O's. Cubs trade Sosa to the O's. Patterson traded from the Cubs to the O's. It's like the Orioles REALLY watch the Cubs outfield and try to see who struck out the most to fill a quota.

[sfaJack 0]

Burnitz didn't go to the Orioles.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Burnitz didn't go to the Orioles.

He was going to until the Os screwed around...

 

As for Patterson, hopefully 2004 wasn't a fluke.

 

And I guess Matos is gone? Hes not even worth keeping on the bench if hes not gonna play CF...

[Dobbs 3K 0]

In a somewhat surprising trade, the Brewers traded minor league pitcher Brian Wolfe to the Toronto Blue Jays for 3B Corey Koskie. Looks like the Brewers wanted some extra depth in their infield. The Blue Jays didn't really need Koskie anymore after acquiring Troy Glaus. The Blue Jays are also reportedly picking up a portion of Koskie's salary.

 

On one hand I'm thrilled that the Brewers picked up something I felt they badly needed...a verteran player who can provide at least a small boost on offense. On the other, I hope the move doesn't reduce Bill Hall's playing time, as I think he deserves to play pretty much every day.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

At worst, it provides a nice 3B platoon with Hall and Koskie. Hall had a nice season, but I think he'll decline somewhat.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I really don't think Hall will decline much, if at all. Realistically, I think he could get better. I mean, he's only 25.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I really don't think Hall will decline much, if at all. Realistically, I think he could get better. I mean, he's only 25.

Hall's batting average jumped by 53 points. It's quite possible that Hall's season represented a jump in performance, but also possible that he had a fluke season. If he drops to say .270, he's just a marginal hitter at third base. Hall's best season matched what Koskie produces in an average season. And in a case of uncertainty, I don't think there's anything wrong in adding depth.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Link

 

BALTIMORE -- Miguel Tejada rescinded his demand to be traded by the Orioles, telling team officials during a phone call Saturday that he's willing to help Baltimore become a contender in the AL East.

 

Angered over the Orioles' inability to garner additional talent this offseason, Tejada twice expressed his desire to be traded, the last time on Dec. 29. But he backed off that stance during a conversation with teammate Melvin Mora and vice president Jim Duquette.

 

"Miguel said all he wanted was for the team to improve. He wants to win," Duquette said. "He doesn't know how that got blown out of proportion, and he feels terrible the way it played out."

 

After Tejada expressed the desire for "a change of scenery" in early December, the Orioles began fielding trade requests for the three-time All-Star. But the Orioles, who signed Tejada to a six-year, $72 million contract in December 2003, had no intention of merely giving him away.

 

"What we're doing is looking for a fair and reasonable return," executive vice president Mike Flanagan said earlier Saturday. "He's a guy that's under a long-term contract with us, a targeted player, a terrific player. We're just not going to do something for the sake of doing something."

 

Now, the Orioles intend to do nothing.

 

"This is the first time we heard this directly from him," Duquette said. "We're elated that he's chosen to stay. We're all committed to improving the team, and it's easier to do it with Miguel than without him."

 

Tejada in recent weeks refused to return calls from Flanagan, Duquette and first-year manager Sam Perlozzo. But on Saturday he told Mora, one of his closest friends on the team, that he wanted to clear the air.

 

The announcement came on a day the Orioles drew more than 10,000 fans to the Convention Center for FanFest, an annual offseason event attended by Flanagan, Duquette, Perlozzo and more than a dozen players.

 

Tejada was not in the building, but he was the main topic of conversation.

 

"I totally believe we're not getting the whole picture from Miggy. He's a great kid, he's always been a great kid," Perlozzo said before the conversation between Duquette and Tejada. "I can't believe the faucet went from on to off just like that."

 

Perlozzo expressed hope that Tejada would be in attendance at the first full-squad workout on Feb. 21, and now it appears that he will get his wish.

 

"Sometimes Miggy gets into situations where he says something he doesn't mean and doesn't know how to get out of it. I'm hoping this is that kind of situation," Perlozzo said. "I've got to believe this is going to come out as a positive for the Orioles, one way or another."

 

The best-case scenario for Baltimore was Tejada backing off his stance and displaying the same enthusiasm that has enabled him to become the team leader in the clubhouse, in the dugout and on the field.

 

His leadership abilities, as much as his .304 batting average, 26 homers and 98 RBIs, are what make Tejada the Orioles' most valuable player.

 

"I know he's a little frustrated, but I can't imagine starting the season without Miguel Tejada," pitcher Bruce Chen said. "He's going to be very hard to replace. He's a team leader, a good player. I'm pretty sure he's going to be back. Once spring training starts, I'm sure he'll be OK."

 

With Tejada playing a key role, the Orioles bolted into first place early in 2005 and stayed atop the AL East deep into June. But Baltimore couldn't keep up the pace and tumbled into fourth place, in part because of injuries and the steroid-related suspension of first baseman Rafael Palmeiro.

 

It's hard to determine if Tejada's production tailed off because of the collapse, but he batted .277 in August and .264 in September and October. He hit only four homers after July 27.

 

Losing -- and Palmeiro's suggestion that his positive steroid test might have come from a tainted injection of vitamin B-12 provided by Tejada -- clearly disturbed the shortstop.

 

His ire became more pronounced this winter after the Toronto Blue Jays fortified their roster while the Orioles were outbid for free agent Paul Konerko, lost free-agent closer B.J. Ryan and failed to add a pitcher to a young starting rotation.

 

Adding pitching coach Leo Mazzone, catcher Ramon Hernandez, reliever LaTroy Hawkins and first baseman Jeff Conine was not enough to ease Tejada's frustration. But now that Flanagan has a content Tejada on board, he can focus on a different kind of deal.

 

"It hasn't made us work harder," Flanagan said, "it's made it harder to work."

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I guess the O's suck at locking up former Cub outfielders. Reports say the O's are no longer the favorites to snag Corey Patterson and that at least three other teams are now in the mix. This is somewhat good news for the Cubs, since they'll probably be able to salvage something of higher quality now that many teams are after Patterson.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Today's the deadline for signing players who turned down arbitration. Five players are effected, the noteable one being Jeff Weaver. If Weaver and the LA Dodgers do not agree on a contract tonight, and indications are they will not, Weaver will be unable to re-sign with the club until May 1.

[Guest OKCoyote]

Rich Aurilia is another. And a couple of Devil Rays, Alex S. Gonzalez and somebody else. I forget the last one too.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Corey Patterson traded to Baltimore for minor leaguers Nate Spears(INF) and Carlos Perez(LHP).

 

Clearly Miguel Tejada has nothing to complain about now.

[strummer 0]

Red Sox sign Julian Tavarez to a 2 year deal.

[mike546 0]

How the hell? What happened to four years?

[Failed Bridge 0]

I like the approach of stacking the team with pitching depth, but I hope they do realise that you can't just send 7 people out onto the field. Sign Alex Gonzales formerly of Fla and trade for Coco Crisp already.

 

Edit: This could mean the Marte and Mota for Crisp deal could go down

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I like the approach of stacking the team with pitching depth, but I hope they do realise that you can't just send 7 people out onto the field. Sign Alex Gonzales formerly of Fla and trade for Coco Crisp already.

 

Edit: This could mean the Marte and Mota for Crisp deal could go down

Signing Gonzalez really just reeks of signing a name for the sake of having a name. Dustin Pedroia may be just as good a hitter, and Alex Cora wouldn't even be much worse, and would have a higher OBP than Gonzalez at least. All Gonzalez would do is aim for the monster and strike out frequently. The Sox already have enough power.

[Failed Bridge 0]

I like Alex Gonzales because of his glove. Pedroia is really the future second baseman and Alex Cora should really just be a utility option. Gonzales can hit 9th as long as he puts up the good glove work.

 

Also, looking at Cora's fielding stats you can see that his regular playing time at SS has diminished and it makes sense why. His range factor has been in decline with SS when he's regularly played the position. He is however an excellent defensive second baseman. He can be the team's new Pokey Reese.

[mike546 0]

Man, Boston fans are STILL holding that base loaded no outs double play that Cora hit into against the yankees against him?

 

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Sammy Sosa and the Nats are in talks. From an offensive and defensive standpoint, Sammy in RFK has potential to be hilarious.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Julian Tavarez was evidently plan B after the Red Sox couldn't get a deal done with The Dodgers that would have sent Brazelbon to Boston and David Wells to the Dodgers.

[The Man in Blak 0]

At the time, I thought the Cards' two year deal for Tavarez was bordering on the insane...but here we are, two years later, and Tavarez ends up being one of the better performers in the pen over that span. Thank god it's over.

 

I'd wager Tavarez throws down a 5.00-ish ERA in Boston this season.

[Boon 0]

Another reason Tejada has no reason to complain: Orioles reportedly about to sign Kevin Millar.

[Failed Bridge 0]

This is going to further fuel the Tejada/Ramirez trade rumor as not being dead. If anybody can convince Manny to go to Baltimore its Millar. I also believe that Millar going to Baltimore has something to do with the fact that its basically known as Fenway South from the amount of Red Sox fans that fill it when Boston comes to town. He's repeatedly said he wanted to retire a member of the Red Sox and keep playing infront of the fans...well he's going to see half of that wish come true.

[Guest OKCoyote]

Tony Graffanino signs a one-year deal with Boston, avoiding arbitration.

 

Just sayin'.

[Mik 0]

The Dodgers got Danys Baez and Lance Carter from the D-Rays for former #1 prospect Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany.

 

I have a ton of Chuck Tiffany rookie cards, so I'm not sure how I feel about this.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Not a bad deal for Tampa Bay.

[2GOLD 0]

The rumor mills need to let it go. Manny will not be going to Baltimore, Boston looks like paradise compared to playing as an Oriole.

 

The Orioles will not take a straight up Manny for Miggy deal. They'll want pitching prospects along with other things and no one Boston gives it. The deal is dead and buried.