2006-07 MLB Offseason Thread

[vivalaultra 0]

Good Lord, I hope that's bull plop. I'd go for Lidge for Jennings, but...not Chris Burke! Lidge and Burke is WAAAAAY too much to give up for Jason Jennings...and if we lose Burke, Craig Biggios' gonna be playing 2nd base three weeks after he falls down dead. Unless they signed Soriano...

[CanadianChris 0]

I read somewhere that someone (maybe Baltimore) offered Justin Speier a 4-year/$16 million deal.

 

Well, Ive at least heard of him.

 

I doubt that makes him worth so much.

 

also heard something about Benson/Gibbons for Vernon Wells..hmm

Fuck no.

 

It would only be appropriate that Jay Gibbons go back to Toronto though. The hitch on the deal is Wells is a FA after next season and I doubt they'll be able to resign him. I really dont care about Gibbons, he can go..but Benson..they really should try and keep him despite his wishes not to want to stay..

Ugh. That would be the epitome of a "two dimes for a quarter" trade. I don't even think those two are worth two dimes. I'd jump on the Ricciardi Must Go bandwagon if he makes that deal.

[Brett Favre 0]

More like 2 nickles for a half dollar.

[CanadianChris 0]

More like 2 nickles for a half dollar.

Two dimes for a twenty. That's it.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Good Lord, I hope that's bull plop. I'd go for Lidge for Jennings, but...not Chris Burke! Lidge and Burke is WAAAAAY too much to give up for Jason Jennings...and if we lose Burke, Craig Biggios' gonna be playing 2nd base three weeks after he falls down dead. Unless they signed Soriano...

 

Well Jason Jennings had like a 50 VORP or something last year and is still cheap. He'd easily slip into the #2 spot in the Astros rotation. But I think if this deal is done, there'd be more players going each way to even things up a tad. It does seem that from reports at the GM meetings that Lidge's value is down a little bit, which is bizarre given that fucking LOOGY's are getting $12 million deals these days.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Even though he's got three years before free agency, the Twins need to get Santana signed to an extension soon.

[Red Baron 0]

Jays are looking to sign Rod Barajas.

 

Whatever happened to Benji Molina for the Jays

[Guest]

It's time to get some things in here that aren't completely unfounded, like a lot of the shit that the media feeds us, so here.

 

Ned cleared the air about Drew (he's not mad at him) and answered some questions about the Dodgers offseason. He was really, really funny and his answers were surprisingly telling. Asked about Boston shelling out 51.1 million to buy the right to talk to Matsuzaka, he said he'd sell his rights to talk to Scott Boras for just fifty dollars.

 

1. Nomar will be resigned (or at least they will make a very strong attempt).

 

3. Because of his defense (and what his defense may be at the end of the longterm deal he'll require) Carlos Lee will not be signed.

 

4. They will be a serious player for Soriano and Colletti guesses Soriano will be signed by some team before December 4th to a huge deal in numbers and length.

 

5. As opposed to last year, he is much more willing to dole out two long term deals this offseason (bat and front line starter) to help "bridge the gap to the young players."

 

6. If Dodgers lose out on Soriano and they can acquire a pitcher he will look to trade one young pitcher to get a good power bat in the lineup, not a great one.

 

7. He does not want to trade more than one young player (blue-chipper) this offseason as he remains committed to their young players.

 

8. After talking to Boras, he doesn't feel Maddux will be resigned but he hopes that will change (i.e. that there won't be a market for him for two years and the Dodgers will sign him for one).

 

9. Zito is top choice FA pitcher, followed by Schmidt ("but only for the right deal"). Sounded like he's really high on Zito.

 

10. Lofton is a wait and see what develops and he still wants to see what they have in Betemit.

 

11. They were a player for Matsuzaka but Colletti wryly said his dollar amount fell a little short of Boston's.

Interesting. Lee's defense kills that idea dead.

 

It's nice to get a look at the big picture from a GM's perspective.

[CanadianChris 0]

Jays are looking to sign Rod Barajas.

 

Whatever happened to Benji Molina for the Jays

Too expensive for what he brings to the table. Especially if they're intent on signing Frank Thomas for ten million bucks. I can only hope that that deal won't kill their chances of signing Julio Lugo.

[2GOLD 0]

Jays are looking to sign Rod Barajas.

 

Whatever happened to Benji Molina for the Jays

Too expensive for what he brings to the table. Especially if they're intent on signing Frank Thomas for ten million bucks. I can only hope that that deal won't kill their chances of signing Julio Lugo.

 

Plus it's probably not good he can get gunned out from deep center trying to leg out a single. Molina cannot even call what he does running, I'm not sure he can even call it walking. The guy moves in super slow mo.

[Red Baron 0]

Its official.

 

Toronto has signed Frank Thomas to a two year deal for $18 mil.

[CanadianChris 0]

If he stays healthy, that's a decent signing. I just don't know what the odds are of that actually happening.

 

If they can get Barajas, with Phillips to back him up, they'll save enough money so that the Thomas signing essentially pays for itself, and they can still make a run at a shortstop and/or a starter, either through a trade or free agency.

[naiwf 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

[CanadianChris 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

Because they need a DH, and Thomas hit 381/545/926 with 39 HR in a pitchers' park last season?

 

The "not making the playoffs" statement as certainty is ridiculous, especially when free-agent signings are just starting.

[Brett Favre 0]

It's a good signing if the 3rd year is not a player option. For 2 years, pretty good move.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

Because they need a DH, and Thomas hit 381/545/926 with 39 HR in a pitchers' park last season?

 

Player A: .264/.353/.513

Player B: .301/.342/.480

Player C: .270/.381/.545

 

Player C is the 2006 line that Frank Thomas put up last year. He's 39 years old and hasn't had back to back healthy seasons since 2002-03. You are going to pay him $9 million a year to DH.

 

Players A and B are the lines that Eric Hinske and Shea Hillenbrand put up last year in Toronto, two players that you paid to get rid of. They can also be used in the field when you need them. That doesn't seem like a wise investment to me, especially when your pitching has huge question marks going into next year.

[Brett Favre 0]

.302/.412/.541 on the road though for Frank Thomas, and .273/.429/.591 in Toronto. And his numbers are even better if you take away April.

[naiwf 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

Because they need a DH, and Thomas hit 381/545/926 with 39 HR in a pitchers' park last season?

 

The "not making the playoffs" statement as certainty is ridiculous, especially when free-agent signings are just starting.

 

The Jays are not going to win the division and they won't win the WC with 38 games against the Yankees and Sawx, and the Tigers/Twins/Sox all probably being better as well. They can only spend so much money, and their team wasn't close to contending last year. Paying that much cash for a DH who will still probably miss 20+ games is not the best use of money.

[Red Baron 0]

The Jays have a better shot winning the East than winning the Wild-Card.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Player A: .264/.353/.513

Player B: .301/.342/.480

Player C: .270/.381/.545

 

Player C is the 2006 line that Frank Thomas put up last year. He's 39 years old and hasn't had back to back healthy seasons since 2002-03. You are going to pay him $9 million a year to DH.

 

Players A and B are the lines that Eric Hinske and Shea Hillenbrand put up last year in Toronto, two players that you paid to get rid of. They can also be used in the field when you need them. That doesn't seem like a wise investment to me, especially when your pitching has huge question marks going into next year.

 

Those are in 78 and 81 games respectively, and contain sizeable platoon splits. There should not be a question that Frank Thomas is a much, much better hitter than either Hillenbrand or Hinske. The question is about his ability to stay healthy, and the Jays' need for offense over defense.

 

On the second point, I pointed out that the Blue Jays had better pitching than hitting last season. They already have a 1-2 punch of Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett. Behind them are pitchers including Gustavo Chacin, Casey Janssen and Shawn Marcum. They've got one of the best closers in the league, and Brandon League should slide into the set-up role. The pitching on this team is not a big problem.

 

I think the bottom line is that it is going to take a risk to win a postseason slot in that division. Thomas is a Hall of Fame caliber talent when healthy. It might be better to attract true talent than spread the money on lesser dregs, players who could easily be replaced by AAA players.

[CanadianChris 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

Because they need a DH, and Thomas hit 381/545/926 with 39 HR in a pitchers' park last season?

 

The "not making the playoffs" statement as certainty is ridiculous, especially when free-agent signings are just starting.

 

The Jays are not going to win the division and they won't win the WC with 38 games against the Yankees and Sawx, and the Tigers/Twins/Sox all probably being better as well. They can only spend so much money, and their team wasn't close to contending last year. Paying that much cash for a DH who will still probably miss 20+ games is not the best use of money.

The Jays have a lot better shot at the division than you give them credit for. The Yankees need to get some pitching if they want to remain the class of the division, and the Red Sox -- the THIRD PLACE Red Sox, remember -- don't seem to know what they want to do from one day to the next. As for the wild card, I don't see the Tigers being better than last season, and the Twins and White Sox both have pitching issues to deal with. Assuming no major injuries (always a dangerous proposition for this club), the Jays will contend next year.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

There's also a $10 million option for the third year on the Thomas deal. If that's a player option the Jays are crazy. They won't be making the playoffs, so why spend that much cash on a guy who will be close to 39 years old on opening day? I just don't get it.

Because they need a DH, and Thomas hit 381/545/926 with 39 HR in a pitchers' park last season?

 

The "not making the playoffs" statement as certainty is ridiculous, especially when free-agent signings are just starting.

 

The Jays are not going to win the division and they won't win the WC with 38 games against the Yankees and Sawx, and the Tigers/Twins/Sox all probably being better as well. They can only spend so much money, and their team wasn't close to contending last year. Paying that much cash for a DH who will still probably miss 20+ games is not the best use of money.

The Jays have a lot better shot at the division than you give them credit for. The Yankees need to get some pitching if they want to remain the class of the division, and the Red Sox -- the THIRD PLACE Red Sox, remember -- don't seem to know what they want to do from one day to the next. As for the wild card, I don't see the Tigers being better than last season, and the Twins and White Sox both have pitching issues to deal with. Assuming no major injuries (always a dangerous proposition for this club), the Jays will contend next year.

 

Not that I feel like taking issue with the rest of your post at the moment, but I'm curious as to why you'd say this about the Red Sox. Dan Patrick and KO were saying the same thing on the radio earlier this week. If anything, this team has been steadfast in its approach to building a ballclub no matter what hiccups happen along the way. Why would you think that they don't know what they are doing?

[naiwf 0]

The Yankees had no reliable starting pitching outside of Wang last year and still won the division by TEN. The Sawx had miserable luck with injuries after that 5 game sweep and you "beat" them by a single game, so the whole "THIRD PLACE Red Sox" thing is a little overblown when you finished with the 7th best record in the league. Take it easy tiger, there's nothing wrong with your team but it's gonna take 92+ wins to make the postseason and the Jays haven't done that since '93. Your division all but guarantees they won't again next season.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

All I know is that I would rather spend money on a guy who should end up in the Hall of Fame over some guy from Japan who hasn't pitched a game of MLB in his life.

 

Thomas fills a big hole in the lineup after Hillenbrand went nutty.

[Brett Favre 0]

Mussina was pretty reliable.

[Annabelle 0]

i don't care what anyone says. the jays need pitching. jannson & marcum were awful last year. chacin has spent for time on the dl than playing. burnett is injurt proned as well. losing ted lilly to an already top heavy staff hurts them big time.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

i don't care what anyone says. the jays need pitching. jannson & marcum were awful last year. chacin has spent for time on the dl than playing. burnett is injurt proned as well. losing ted lilly to an already top heavy staff hurts them big time.

 

Exactly. The team had good pitching because of Halladay, Burnett, Lilly, Speier and Ryan. Two-fifths of that equation are now gone from the team. Janssen, Marcum and Chacin each had an ERA+ of 93. Brandon League will probably be good in a set-up role, but a 23-year-old who had some success in middle relief is not a guaranteed world-beater when leverage increases.

 

I still think the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins, and Angels have superior teams at this point. Frank Thomas doesn't seem like the best way to spend your money, but I could be totally wrong.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

You never know. The Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez contracts looked stupid a year or two ago, but the Tigers are laughing their way to the bank right now.

[CanadianChris 0]

The Jays have a lot better shot at the division than you give them credit for. The Yankees need to get some pitching if they want to remain the class of the division, and the Red Sox -- the THIRD PLACE Red Sox, remember -- don't seem to know what they want to do from one day to the next. As for the wild card, I don't see the Tigers being better than last season, and the Twins and White Sox both have pitching issues to deal with. Assuming no major injuries (always a dangerous proposition for this club), the Jays will contend next year.

 

Not that I feel like taking issue with the rest of your post at the moment, but I'm curious as to why you'd say this about the Red Sox. Dan Patrick and KO were saying the same thing on the radio earlier this week. If anything, this team has been steadfast in its approach to building a ballclub no matter what hiccups happen along the way. Why would you think that they don't know what they are doing?

Come on, a lot of their transactions since they won the World Series have been real head-scratchers. Like signing Edgar Renteria to a huge-money deal, when he wasn't THAT much better than the guy who just won a World Series. Or trading him to the Braves just days after you traded away the only player in the organization who could conceivably replace him (Hanley Ramirez, the '06 NL RoY), then being basically forced to sign the awful Alex Gonzalez. Or essentially doing a sign-and-trade with Bronson Arroyo (for Wily Mo Pena!?) when there were questions about the rotation to begin with. Or the whole Doug Mirabelli debacle.

 

Just in the last two years, who have they signed or received in a trade that's had a really good year? Unless I'm missing someone, the list begins and ends with Mike Lowell. Meanwhile, they've given up the aforementioned Ramirez and Arroyo, plus Anibal Sanchez, Josh Bard, and Cla Meredith.

[Guest Felonies!]

The Red Sox are going to have a barren farm system like the Cubs do at this rate.