While the biggest names in free agency signed a little early this year, the 3PM cycle still saw lots of activity and significant names. Here's the rundown:
Philadelphia signs RP Felipe Jose for 4 years, $38MM
Analysis: Guess this is the guy jclark was referring to. Expensive indeed, but good - career ERA of 3.39 and OPS-against well under .700. He's never been stretched out to 140 IP but could probably get there. I don't think Philly can challenge in the even-tougher NL East this year, but they will be improved...80-85 wins?
Arizona signs RP Alex Leach for 3 years, $13MM ($10MM of it a bonus)
Analysis: Leach has produced much better number than his ratings might predict (especially the 59 and 63 splits), and I'm not sure why. He's only thrown 361 innings in his career (even though he could probably reach 150-160 in a season if pressed), suggesting his managers have used him carefully. He's had a couple of low-inning blowup seasons, but has performed well when given regular work (all of the last 3 seasons under 3.00 ERA with 72, 53, and 71 innings). Not sure how mbriese will use him, but he may have snagged a hidden gem here.
Arizona signs Ricardo Profar for 2 years, $6.6MM
Analysis: Back in AZ after 1 mediocre campaign in Pittsburgh. He may have a tough time breaking into Arizona's crowded 1B/DH/OF rotation, although he can still run at age 33, so he fits the plan. Currently in the minor-league camp, although I think they'll make room for him.
Kansas City signs SP Alex Martin for 5 years, $51MM
Analysis: Not a bad contract for a guy coming off elbow surgery. Martin has been a good pitcher - a number of 14 and 15-win seasons and a 3.83 career ERA - and will have more good seasons. This is about the expected price in FA for a pitcher of this caliber.
New York Mets sign P Garret Ward for 3 years, $50.4MM
Analysis: The nature of "arms races" is that both sides just keep adding more weapons regardless of the cost and regardless of the benefit. The Mets and Pirates have entered an arms race in which both have acquired way more weapons than they need for success. Long-term, the Mets will outlast the Pirates - they simply have a younger talent core - but I wonder if their over-acquiring on Ward (and more especially, Rodrigo Cortes for 5 years, $54.2MM) will hurt their competitiveness against the more efficiently-spending Reds, Braves, Cardinals (and whatever others emerge over the next couple of seasons).
Whatever happens will be fun. The Mets now have 12 pitchers on the big club, and given that they'll get about 800 innings from their front 3 (out of about 1450 a 162-game season needs) there are a lot of surplus innings lying around. Will they go with only 3 starters and play a lot of lefty/righty matchups with their 9 (very good) remaining pitchers? With only 13 position players they'll be wasting some good pinch-hit opportunities. More likely, they'll continue to use 5 starters and use Ward and Young as long/middle relief.
Detroit signs 2B/OF Dennis Nakajima for 5 years, $53MM
Analysis: Nakajima was far and away the best position player left on the last cycle, and the Tigers came away the winners. Despite never winning a major award (or even making an All-Star game), Nakajima has been one of Major Leagues' best-hitting infielders for 11 years. I don't think the Tigers are going to like the last 2 years of his contract very much (his age 36 and 37 seasons), but they can walk away from the last year for $3MM.
Pittsburgh signs SP Dick Pederson for 2 years, $9.2MM
Analysis: The Pirates signed Pederson for 2 reasons: 1) Insurance against a pitching injury, and 2) A couple of potential (short) appearances in a Mets playoff series to face lefty hitters. That's a pretty expensive 5-inning lefty specialist, but that's the nature of arms races.
Houston signs RP Corey Montgomery for 2 years, $6.2MM
Analysis: A bargain compared to the prices of other middle relievers in this free agency
Detroit signs OF/1B Lou Owen for 2 years, $6.7MM
Analysis: A solid bargain among the normally high-priced A and B FA's, he looks like he'll share time at 1B with Esmailyn Rodriguez
Chicago White Sox sign 3B Daniel Harper for 2 years, $7.8MM
Analysis: Backup 3B and OF duty. The Sox didn't have a very good season last year, but this is the same core group (older to be sure) that won 100+ games every year from Seasons 30-35. Don't count them out.
Chicago White Sox sign OF Walker Cather for 1 year, $3.65MM
Analysis: Another nice budget deal for the Pale Hose. Cather's nearing the end of the line, but still OPS'd .812 (above his career average) for Tampa Bay last year. The Sox would be overjoyed with .750.
Washington D.C. signs 1B Vin Almonte for 1 year, $1.95MM
Analysis: Somewhere between a pure backup at 1B and half the vR platoon AB's, depending on how well incumbent 1B Floyd Purcell handled RHP (.735 OPS against RHP last year...not quite up to what you want from a 1B)
Kansas City signs OF Roberto Ramirez for 2 years, $6.8MM
Analysis: Formerly the Twins' primary scatback, Ramirez has 742 career SB's (just outside the top 5 all-time). His role is unclear at this point - I can't see him unseating Tamura in LF or Donald in RF.
Philadelphia signs RP Yamil Mercado for 2 years, $8.8MM
Analysis: Third big-innings middle reliever the Phils have signed in FA...some kind of crazy, Minnesota-like pitching scheme coming?
San Diego signs C Joel Dorsey for 1 year, $1.3MM
Analysis: Another player who fits the ballpark - high contact and eye, not much power. Dorsey figures to be the vL catcher.
Oakland signs SP Lonny Rincon for 2 year, $5MMPretty good price for a guy expected to be around a 4.00 ERA, although the ballpark may push him south of that.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Offseason Days 5 & 6: Lull Before The Big FA Signing Cycle
Trades and signings have slowed to a trickle in advance of the PM1 Part 2 cycle this afternoon. With Osuna and Espinosa already signed to big deals, today's signings may be a bit anticlimactic, but there are still some very good players up for grabs. Here are our last couple of A/B signings:
Arizona signs SP Julio Petit for 3 years, $16MM
Well, he's not Magglio Espinosa (who is?), but he's not bad, especially at $5.33MM a year. Career 3.73 ERA over 11 seasons, with just 3 years coming in at over 4.00. Last year's 2.90 was undoubtedly helped by San Diego's park, but a 3.50 ERA in 200 IP wouldn't be too much to hope for.
Pittsburgh signs IF Carlos Suarez for 2 years, $8.0MM
With Bernie Gennett on board, the Pirates decided to go with a little more offense in their 2nd backup infielder. He'll be primarily the backup 3B and pinch-hitter.
Arizona signs SP Julio Petit for 3 years, $16MM
Well, he's not Magglio Espinosa (who is?), but he's not bad, especially at $5.33MM a year. Career 3.73 ERA over 11 seasons, with just 3 years coming in at over 4.00. Last year's 2.90 was undoubtedly helped by San Diego's park, but a 3.50 ERA in 200 IP wouldn't be too much to hope for.
Pittsburgh signs IF Carlos Suarez for 2 years, $8.0MM
With Bernie Gennett on board, the Pirates decided to go with a little more offense in their 2nd backup infielder. He'll be primarily the backup 3B and pinch-hitter.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Inside The War Rooms: How the Moya Trade Played Out From 4 GM's
Houston - the Seller
In total, 11 teams engaged in trade talks for Moya. A few more inquired about his price and were clearly just looking to see if I would dump him for nothing, but 11 in total made a real attempt at acquiring him.
Of those 11, 3 teams worked hard enough for me to consider moving him - the Pirates, the Mets, and the Mariners.
The Mariners were rightfully protective of a few of their top prospects, so we couldn't work out an imminent deal and agreed to look at things again once the dust settled after free agency.
The Mets initially wanted to offer a few pitching stopgaps that would not have helped my team for the first few seasons - decent players, but not in the same league as Moya. After dealing Nestor Bautista and Davey Ontiveros (for Philly's CF Dean Whitfield), there wasn't much left in the cupboard that they could send over for Moya. Still, they offered a fair amount of talent that I may have considered had trade talks for Moya fallen off through the middle of the season. Assuming the Mariners found what they were looking for in FA, the Mets were the top contender 48 hours ago.
Dealing with the Pirates this offseason was a 3-act play. This first conversation we have about Moya includes concern about his ratings dropping sharply this season. A little background on Moya - he's 39 years old and has never been on the disabled list. He has incredibly high durability and makeup, and has dropped 1 overall point each of the past 2 seasons (90 to 89, 89 to 88).
Anyways, concerns about his staying power stalled talks and we agreed to continue the trade discussion later. In between acts 1 and 2 I make about 6 or 7 trades and I'm feeling better about the upcoming season. Talks with the Mariners are ongoing and the Mets are still in the "lowballing" stage of the trade conversation. We pinged the Pirates again about LaTroy Owen and David Richmond, but can't agree on what the third piece of his side of the deal should be. Trade talks fall apart again and I keep on trading.
The Midre Espinosa sweepstakes turned out to be a big boon to Moya's value. In the matter of a few hours a few new parties become interested in Moya, but their offers are disappointing and ultimately discourage me from moving him at all in the off-season. I think, "What's wrong with just keeping him? He'll still have value mid-season if a deal comes along, and should have an ERA in the low 2s now that I've signed (defensive wiz catcher) Harry Ugueto." The Pirates jump back into the discussion as part of the heartbroken assortment of teams that missed out on Espinosa, offering the same deal I asked for during Act 2. I decline, saying that I'm probably just going to keep Moya, but thanks anyways.
That's when cbriese (who I've obviously talked to the most during this whole process, but we haven't worked out a deal due to us wanting the exact same type of player) points out the Pirates' Eduardo Chavez (SS), saying that he'd be a great solution to my SS problems. I agreed, but it wasn't enough. Then I took a look at my other options - most other defensive shortstops were either expensive, completely devoid of hitting splits, or a combination of the two. I had already tried dealing for defensive shortstops that other people weren't selling to no avail. Chavez immediately becomes the most attractive option, and all of a sudden this trade solves 3 problems for my team. I offered it to blanch, he accepted, and I think we're both very happy now.
I've made 12 trades so far this offseason, and I'm (hopefully) not done yet. Here's the projected lineup for your season 38 Astros:
C: Harry Ugueto (FA)
1B: [looking to fill via trade]
2B: Ken Saunders (Trade)
3B: Tomas Seanez (Trade)
SS: Eduardo Chavez (Trade)
LF: Ubaldo Maduro (Waivers)
CF: Theodore Argyropoulos
RF: Alex Field
SP1: LaTroy Owen (Trade)
SP2: Delanor Morehead (FA)
SP3: Les Reed (Trade)
SP4: Matty Santana (Trade)
SP5: Patrick Pierce (Trade)
Editor's note: that's an awesome writeup, love the perspective this offers. As it happens, cbriese was also influential on the buy side of this deal, although unintentionally, as we'll see in my narrative.
Seattle Mariners - The Contender
At one point (early in the offseason) we were going to go for it, since we had no real solid offers for Little rolling in. I inquired about Moya to help strengthen my rotation.
I sent Houston an initial offer and Houston countered with a deal involving Addison Unamuno (P) (Season 36 #9) and Stefan Mahaffey(CF) (Season 37 #58) along with another player who I cannot remember.
Not wanting to give up Unamuno, I countered with Darron Robertson (C) (Season 36 #49) and Houston did not accept the deal. I honestly don't think we ever got real close to making a deal happen, and in retrospect he took a better offer than I had countered with so I am good with the outcome.
NY Mets - The Other Contender
Here is my perspective on talks from my side of things.
Moya was that one player that I saw when I joined Major Leagues that I wish I had on my team. With the change in ownership in Houston, I figured this was my chance to make that happen and add that one piece this team was missing for long term success.
As soon as the season began I inquired to obtain Moya. I knew that I had pieces I could move to get more parts to the team. As much as I wanted Moya to help shore up my bullpen and rotation, I had other needs as well. And yes you heard correctly, my intention was for Moya to work mostly out of the bullpen and be the 4th starter when needed (the front 3 are all big STA/DUR pitchers: Ruben Ozuna - 310 IP last year, Dante Day - 243 IP, and Daniel Stevenson - 245 IP)
So I basically had to decide where the players I was fine with moving, Ontiveros and Bautista, would go and what I needed to acquire the most with them. In the end getting a young CF (Whitfield) who I can use for the next 5 to 7 years instead of Moya for 2 or 3.
Even though I had traded those assets away, I was still hopeful that I could land Moya. While I didn't have much left to trade, I did still have 1 RP in the minors I could move that I hoped would do the trick.
Long story short, I was willing to move ML pitchers Grant Young and Jose De Aza and pay for most of their salaries while also adding 3 or 4 other AAAA players to make a deal happen for Moya. I was hopeful when I was told that even though Houston wasn't excited with Young or De Aza, they were better deals than what was being discussed with other teams. I even went as far as adding ML reliever Robinzon Diaz to the mix to get a deal done. As our discussions progressed, it became increasingly clear that I would not be landing Moya. When I was told any deal would have to center around 24-yo ML starter Pasqual Martinez to keep up with the other deals being offered, I walked away. I couldn't justify sending someone I will get another 5 to 7 years out of for Moya.
I was clearly surprised when I saw the deal that was agreed upon came out as I thought I was offering far more value over the long term for a rebuilding Houston team. Even more surprised that he went to a division rival.
Still wish I had more parts to land him, but in the end I didn't.
Editor's note: excellent narrative, thanks for the perspective
The Buyer - Pittsburgh
Editor's note: I got wordy with this one - if you only want the Houston narrative, skip down to the "Houston Heats Up Section". The stuff before is more about the trade of my Big 3 prospects.
I started the season with Moya on the radar of course, but he was certainly not a "must have". I'm wary of the big ratings declines that come with late-30's pitchers, plus I needed more hitting than pitching help.
And even though I did want to max out my ML roster in an effort to win it all in my last season, I didn't want to hand over a big boat anchor to my successor (in the form of huge contracts for declining players).
OK, stage set, I was willing to trade my Big 3 prospects - Arismendy Johnson, Jimmie Velazquez, and Julio Pena - although promoting Johnson, and even Velazquez, was an option. I advertised their availability on the WC Sunday at 9:59AM.
Trading The Big 3
The first 2 teams that came sniffing around were Houston and Atlanta. Houston understandably wanted 1 of my Big 3 for Moya, but I wasn't going to do that and said so. He tried for the downsell to Jim Colin, but that didn't fit for me. I said I'd consider Moya for a lesser prospect, and that kind of ended Chapter 1, as mbriese calls it. This was Monday morning.
Meanwhile, it was clear that I could get Atlanta's J.B.Hunter for 1 of my Big 3. While I didn't think he was clearly a premium outfielder, he's still young, pretty cheap, and available. And that's at least one that wouldn't be a boat anchor for my successor. There were almost no top OF's available in FA - Orval Miller was about it, and I thought he'd get $10MM a year (which he did). With OF and 1B being my biggest needs, I pulled the trigger on Johnson for Hunter.
The Nationals had also inquired about my prospects (Sunday afternoon), and we quickly targeted Petkovsek and Cervantes. Those 2 met glaring needs (an on-base machine + a lockdown closer) and were indeed the kind of premium quality guys I was after; the downside was the short window for both - Petkovsek was signed for 3 more seasons but will probably start a pretty steep decline in that 3rd year, and Cervantes will probably head for FA after 2 more seasons. D.C. wanted 2 of my Big 3 for those guys, which I rejected a couple of times, and he rejected my offers of 1 of them plus a ML player or 2.
My last shot at that was an offer of Velazquez, who I considered my top prospect, and a couple of pretty good players from my ML roster (Leonardo Grimm and Alan Carpenter), and he accepted. This was also Monday.
Monday morning at 10, kennedrj tc'd saying the Angels were unable to sign their big FA's, so he was considering a rebuild. By the time I seriously considered anything there I had done the D.C. trade. I still needed a big righty bat, and was thinking of Milwaukee's Ricardo Pena...I believe I offered Julio Pena + something for him, but didn't hear anything. I started considering Anaheim's Enerio Amaro despite the obvious huge liability of playing him in RF. Great hitter, reasonable price tag, not terribly old (won't be a drag on next year's owner). I offered Pena for Amaro and LaTroy Owen (who I thought would be a decent trade chip or guy to stash in AAA as a reserve), and after some minor negotiating, the Angels accepted. This was late Monday.
Houston Heats Up
I'd added 3 nice hitters plus a closer, plus a pretty fair young pitcher for my big prospects. I felt like my lineup was pretty set - I was just going to round it out with promotions of 2 or maybe 3 defensive stoppers from AAA (of which I had 4 I thought could hold their own in the majors).
And I had cap room to add pitching in free agency.
Tuesday was arb day - nothing much happening, so at 2:20PM I tc'd mbriese: "Been close on anything for Moya yet?"
He says back, "Yup. Talking with 3 different teams about him, it's kind of a matter of time now. Hoping I can move him today."
I ask if if he'll wait until Owen comes over to me from the Anaheim trade, and he would headline my offer. mbriese says he'll hold on.
Later Tuesday we exchanged a few specifics - I asked how an offer of Owen, Donaldo Sanchez and Cy James would compare with his other offers. He says he's only interested in Owen but that offer would tie for his 2nd choice.
A little later he adds that if I'll make it Owen, David Richmond and Matt Bigbie, he'll do it now.
So I'm thinking I'm in the ballpark at least. I didn't want to give Richmond, because he was by far the best bat of my 4 AAA defensive guys. I also didn't want to give Bigbie, because in the back of my mind, I knew the Mets had become a very lefty lineup, and I wanted to add lefty pitchers, not give them up (yes, I admit it, the effin' Mets are in my head after knocking me out of the playoffs for 3 straight years). But I'm in the ballpark.
So we tc'd some more Tuesday, and arrived at a potential deal for Owen, Donaldo Sanchez and Richmond. I said I'd do that one if I could go out and find another defensive guy reasonably similar to Richmond and would get back to him shortly.
The Unintentional Twist
I wasn't going to do a general search for a Richmond replacement - I had only 1 team in mind. cbriese in Arizona had earlier inquired about the availability of DH Philip Charles, and had a guy that was a decent Richmond facsimile - Bernie Gennett. I had originally drafted Gennett and traded him to AZ last year. I thought he might be available because he didn't see much action last year, and I certainly didn't have any use for Charles.
Anyway, I proposed Charles for Gennett, but cbriese quickly informed me he had found a DH in Carlos Gonzalez, so he was passing on that offer.
Having whiffed on my only viable alternative to Richmond, at 7:55 PM Tuesday I tc'd mbriese: "I'm gonna pass. Can't see an avenue to get a decent alternative to Richmond, and he's critical to my late-inning defense plan"
And after a couple of more tc's, at 8:38PM he tc's back, "Sounds good. Let me know if you have a change of heart!"
And that closed the book on Chapter 2.
Chapter 3
Free agency started Wednesday, and I felt good about the chances of helping my staff. There were pitchers available and I had $$ - up to about $20MM, although that would have certainly put a strain on the owner.
I targeted Midre Espinosa, although I was certainly aware he my draw more $$ than I was willing to part with. Also put out a couple of exploratory offers on other pitchers, including Hector Cruz (keeping in mind I could use another lefty against the Mets).
Sometime Wednesday, maybe midday to early afternoon, Arizona proposed the Charles-for-Gennett trade, adding the note, "I changed my mind". He later explained that he was going to do more pinch-hitting this year, and was swapping one of his defensive specialists for a pinch-hitter. Gennett for Charles.
I accepted, not thinking too much about it, having committed myself to free agency to round out the staff. I had even waived Donaldo Sanchez - one of the trade chips mbriese and I had talked about - figuring someone would take him off my hands and up my cash available by $3MM (ultimately the Dodgers did).
By Thursday morning I had led for Espinosa for 1 cycle at about $13MM per, but lost the lead in the AM2 cycle.
It occurred to me I had my Richmond replacement in hand, so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask about Moya again.
At 10:18AM I tc'd mbriese: "what's the latest on the Moya saga? I was thinking I could land Midre Espinosa (P) but underestimated the bidding on him"
At 11:00 AM he says, "I'm actually leaning towards keeping him for now. That being said, if I get a can't-miss offer for him before the trade deadline this season I'll probably take it. But I just traded for another Richmond type, and I have concerns about Owen's ability to stay healthy long-term."
So I figured that was that, and tc'd back, "OK, thanks. That clears up my immediate direction" at 11:08AM
Finally at 11:34 he tc's me one more time: "Last ditch offer to see if we can make it work before the season. I know adding Chavez is a big ask, but just wanted to see what you think. He'd start at SS for me this season" and sends an offer of Moya + $5MM for Owen, Richmond and Eduardo Chavez.
The afterthought deal of Charles for Gennett allowed me to acquire Moya for no one who was going to ever see my ML roster. Easy call to accept that one.
In total, 11 teams engaged in trade talks for Moya. A few more inquired about his price and were clearly just looking to see if I would dump him for nothing, but 11 in total made a real attempt at acquiring him.
Of those 11, 3 teams worked hard enough for me to consider moving him - the Pirates, the Mets, and the Mariners.
The Mariners were rightfully protective of a few of their top prospects, so we couldn't work out an imminent deal and agreed to look at things again once the dust settled after free agency.
The Mets initially wanted to offer a few pitching stopgaps that would not have helped my team for the first few seasons - decent players, but not in the same league as Moya. After dealing Nestor Bautista and Davey Ontiveros (for Philly's CF Dean Whitfield), there wasn't much left in the cupboard that they could send over for Moya. Still, they offered a fair amount of talent that I may have considered had trade talks for Moya fallen off through the middle of the season. Assuming the Mariners found what they were looking for in FA, the Mets were the top contender 48 hours ago.
Dealing with the Pirates this offseason was a 3-act play. This first conversation we have about Moya includes concern about his ratings dropping sharply this season. A little background on Moya - he's 39 years old and has never been on the disabled list. He has incredibly high durability and makeup, and has dropped 1 overall point each of the past 2 seasons (90 to 89, 89 to 88).
Anyways, concerns about his staying power stalled talks and we agreed to continue the trade discussion later. In between acts 1 and 2 I make about 6 or 7 trades and I'm feeling better about the upcoming season. Talks with the Mariners are ongoing and the Mets are still in the "lowballing" stage of the trade conversation. We pinged the Pirates again about LaTroy Owen and David Richmond, but can't agree on what the third piece of his side of the deal should be. Trade talks fall apart again and I keep on trading.
The Midre Espinosa sweepstakes turned out to be a big boon to Moya's value. In the matter of a few hours a few new parties become interested in Moya, but their offers are disappointing and ultimately discourage me from moving him at all in the off-season. I think, "What's wrong with just keeping him? He'll still have value mid-season if a deal comes along, and should have an ERA in the low 2s now that I've signed (defensive wiz catcher) Harry Ugueto." The Pirates jump back into the discussion as part of the heartbroken assortment of teams that missed out on Espinosa, offering the same deal I asked for during Act 2. I decline, saying that I'm probably just going to keep Moya, but thanks anyways.
That's when cbriese (who I've obviously talked to the most during this whole process, but we haven't worked out a deal due to us wanting the exact same type of player) points out the Pirates' Eduardo Chavez (SS), saying that he'd be a great solution to my SS problems. I agreed, but it wasn't enough. Then I took a look at my other options - most other defensive shortstops were either expensive, completely devoid of hitting splits, or a combination of the two. I had already tried dealing for defensive shortstops that other people weren't selling to no avail. Chavez immediately becomes the most attractive option, and all of a sudden this trade solves 3 problems for my team. I offered it to blanch, he accepted, and I think we're both very happy now.
I've made 12 trades so far this offseason, and I'm (hopefully) not done yet. Here's the projected lineup for your season 38 Astros:
C: Harry Ugueto (FA)
1B: [looking to fill via trade]
2B: Ken Saunders (Trade)
3B: Tomas Seanez (Trade)
SS: Eduardo Chavez (Trade)
LF: Ubaldo Maduro (Waivers)
CF: Theodore Argyropoulos
RF: Alex Field
SP1: LaTroy Owen (Trade)
SP2: Delanor Morehead (FA)
SP3: Les Reed (Trade)
SP4: Matty Santana (Trade)
SP5: Patrick Pierce (Trade)
Editor's note: that's an awesome writeup, love the perspective this offers. As it happens, cbriese was also influential on the buy side of this deal, although unintentionally, as we'll see in my narrative.
Seattle Mariners - The Contender
At one point (early in the offseason) we were going to go for it, since we had no real solid offers for Little rolling in. I inquired about Moya to help strengthen my rotation.
I sent Houston an initial offer and Houston countered with a deal involving Addison Unamuno (P) (Season 36 #9) and Stefan Mahaffey(CF) (Season 37 #58) along with another player who I cannot remember.
Not wanting to give up Unamuno, I countered with Darron Robertson (C) (Season 36 #49) and Houston did not accept the deal. I honestly don't think we ever got real close to making a deal happen, and in retrospect he took a better offer than I had countered with so I am good with the outcome.
NY Mets - The Other Contender
Here is my perspective on talks from my side of things.
Moya was that one player that I saw when I joined Major Leagues that I wish I had on my team. With the change in ownership in Houston, I figured this was my chance to make that happen and add that one piece this team was missing for long term success.
As soon as the season began I inquired to obtain Moya. I knew that I had pieces I could move to get more parts to the team. As much as I wanted Moya to help shore up my bullpen and rotation, I had other needs as well. And yes you heard correctly, my intention was for Moya to work mostly out of the bullpen and be the 4th starter when needed (the front 3 are all big STA/DUR pitchers: Ruben Ozuna - 310 IP last year, Dante Day - 243 IP, and Daniel Stevenson - 245 IP)
So I basically had to decide where the players I was fine with moving, Ontiveros and Bautista, would go and what I needed to acquire the most with them. In the end getting a young CF (Whitfield) who I can use for the next 5 to 7 years instead of Moya for 2 or 3.
Even though I had traded those assets away, I was still hopeful that I could land Moya. While I didn't have much left to trade, I did still have 1 RP in the minors I could move that I hoped would do the trick.
Long story short, I was willing to move ML pitchers Grant Young and Jose De Aza and pay for most of their salaries while also adding 3 or 4 other AAAA players to make a deal happen for Moya. I was hopeful when I was told that even though Houston wasn't excited with Young or De Aza, they were better deals than what was being discussed with other teams. I even went as far as adding ML reliever Robinzon Diaz to the mix to get a deal done. As our discussions progressed, it became increasingly clear that I would not be landing Moya. When I was told any deal would have to center around 24-yo ML starter Pasqual Martinez to keep up with the other deals being offered, I walked away. I couldn't justify sending someone I will get another 5 to 7 years out of for Moya.
I was clearly surprised when I saw the deal that was agreed upon came out as I thought I was offering far more value over the long term for a rebuilding Houston team. Even more surprised that he went to a division rival.
Still wish I had more parts to land him, but in the end I didn't.
Editor's note: excellent narrative, thanks for the perspective
The Buyer - Pittsburgh
Editor's note: I got wordy with this one - if you only want the Houston narrative, skip down to the "Houston Heats Up Section". The stuff before is more about the trade of my Big 3 prospects.
I started the season with Moya on the radar of course, but he was certainly not a "must have". I'm wary of the big ratings declines that come with late-30's pitchers, plus I needed more hitting than pitching help.
And even though I did want to max out my ML roster in an effort to win it all in my last season, I didn't want to hand over a big boat anchor to my successor (in the form of huge contracts for declining players).
OK, stage set, I was willing to trade my Big 3 prospects - Arismendy Johnson, Jimmie Velazquez, and Julio Pena - although promoting Johnson, and even Velazquez, was an option. I advertised their availability on the WC Sunday at 9:59AM.
Trading The Big 3
The first 2 teams that came sniffing around were Houston and Atlanta. Houston understandably wanted 1 of my Big 3 for Moya, but I wasn't going to do that and said so. He tried for the downsell to Jim Colin, but that didn't fit for me. I said I'd consider Moya for a lesser prospect, and that kind of ended Chapter 1, as mbriese calls it. This was Monday morning.
Meanwhile, it was clear that I could get Atlanta's J.B.Hunter for 1 of my Big 3. While I didn't think he was clearly a premium outfielder, he's still young, pretty cheap, and available. And that's at least one that wouldn't be a boat anchor for my successor. There were almost no top OF's available in FA - Orval Miller was about it, and I thought he'd get $10MM a year (which he did). With OF and 1B being my biggest needs, I pulled the trigger on Johnson for Hunter.
The Nationals had also inquired about my prospects (Sunday afternoon), and we quickly targeted Petkovsek and Cervantes. Those 2 met glaring needs (an on-base machine + a lockdown closer) and were indeed the kind of premium quality guys I was after; the downside was the short window for both - Petkovsek was signed for 3 more seasons but will probably start a pretty steep decline in that 3rd year, and Cervantes will probably head for FA after 2 more seasons. D.C. wanted 2 of my Big 3 for those guys, which I rejected a couple of times, and he rejected my offers of 1 of them plus a ML player or 2.
My last shot at that was an offer of Velazquez, who I considered my top prospect, and a couple of pretty good players from my ML roster (Leonardo Grimm and Alan Carpenter), and he accepted. This was also Monday.
Monday morning at 10, kennedrj tc'd saying the Angels were unable to sign their big FA's, so he was considering a rebuild. By the time I seriously considered anything there I had done the D.C. trade. I still needed a big righty bat, and was thinking of Milwaukee's Ricardo Pena...I believe I offered Julio Pena + something for him, but didn't hear anything. I started considering Anaheim's Enerio Amaro despite the obvious huge liability of playing him in RF. Great hitter, reasonable price tag, not terribly old (won't be a drag on next year's owner). I offered Pena for Amaro and LaTroy Owen (who I thought would be a decent trade chip or guy to stash in AAA as a reserve), and after some minor negotiating, the Angels accepted. This was late Monday.
Houston Heats Up
I'd added 3 nice hitters plus a closer, plus a pretty fair young pitcher for my big prospects. I felt like my lineup was pretty set - I was just going to round it out with promotions of 2 or maybe 3 defensive stoppers from AAA (of which I had 4 I thought could hold their own in the majors).
And I had cap room to add pitching in free agency.
Tuesday was arb day - nothing much happening, so at 2:20PM I tc'd mbriese: "Been close on anything for Moya yet?"
He says back, "Yup. Talking with 3 different teams about him, it's kind of a matter of time now. Hoping I can move him today."
I ask if if he'll wait until Owen comes over to me from the Anaheim trade, and he would headline my offer. mbriese says he'll hold on.
Later Tuesday we exchanged a few specifics - I asked how an offer of Owen, Donaldo Sanchez and Cy James would compare with his other offers. He says he's only interested in Owen but that offer would tie for his 2nd choice.
A little later he adds that if I'll make it Owen, David Richmond and Matt Bigbie, he'll do it now.
So I'm thinking I'm in the ballpark at least. I didn't want to give Richmond, because he was by far the best bat of my 4 AAA defensive guys. I also didn't want to give Bigbie, because in the back of my mind, I knew the Mets had become a very lefty lineup, and I wanted to add lefty pitchers, not give them up (yes, I admit it, the effin' Mets are in my head after knocking me out of the playoffs for 3 straight years). But I'm in the ballpark.
So we tc'd some more Tuesday, and arrived at a potential deal for Owen, Donaldo Sanchez and Richmond. I said I'd do that one if I could go out and find another defensive guy reasonably similar to Richmond and would get back to him shortly.
The Unintentional Twist
I wasn't going to do a general search for a Richmond replacement - I had only 1 team in mind. cbriese in Arizona had earlier inquired about the availability of DH Philip Charles, and had a guy that was a decent Richmond facsimile - Bernie Gennett. I had originally drafted Gennett and traded him to AZ last year. I thought he might be available because he didn't see much action last year, and I certainly didn't have any use for Charles.
Anyway, I proposed Charles for Gennett, but cbriese quickly informed me he had found a DH in Carlos Gonzalez, so he was passing on that offer.
Having whiffed on my only viable alternative to Richmond, at 7:55 PM Tuesday I tc'd mbriese: "I'm gonna pass. Can't see an avenue to get a decent alternative to Richmond, and he's critical to my late-inning defense plan"
And after a couple of more tc's, at 8:38PM he tc's back, "Sounds good. Let me know if you have a change of heart!"
And that closed the book on Chapter 2.
Chapter 3
Free agency started Wednesday, and I felt good about the chances of helping my staff. There were pitchers available and I had $$ - up to about $20MM, although that would have certainly put a strain on the owner.
I targeted Midre Espinosa, although I was certainly aware he my draw more $$ than I was willing to part with. Also put out a couple of exploratory offers on other pitchers, including Hector Cruz (keeping in mind I could use another lefty against the Mets).
Sometime Wednesday, maybe midday to early afternoon, Arizona proposed the Charles-for-Gennett trade, adding the note, "I changed my mind". He later explained that he was going to do more pinch-hitting this year, and was swapping one of his defensive specialists for a pinch-hitter. Gennett for Charles.
I accepted, not thinking too much about it, having committed myself to free agency to round out the staff. I had even waived Donaldo Sanchez - one of the trade chips mbriese and I had talked about - figuring someone would take him off my hands and up my cash available by $3MM (ultimately the Dodgers did).
By Thursday morning I had led for Espinosa for 1 cycle at about $13MM per, but lost the lead in the AM2 cycle.
It occurred to me I had my Richmond replacement in hand, so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask about Moya again.
At 10:18AM I tc'd mbriese: "what's the latest on the Moya saga? I was thinking I could land Midre Espinosa (P) but underestimated the bidding on him"
At 11:00 AM he says, "I'm actually leaning towards keeping him for now. That being said, if I get a can't-miss offer for him before the trade deadline this season I'll probably take it. But I just traded for another Richmond type, and I have concerns about Owen's ability to stay healthy long-term."
So I figured that was that, and tc'd back, "OK, thanks. That clears up my immediate direction" at 11:08AM
Finally at 11:34 he tc's me one more time: "Last ditch offer to see if we can make it work before the season. I know adding Chavez is a big ask, but just wanted to see what you think. He'd start at SS for me this season" and sends an offer of Moya + $5MM for Owen, Richmond and Eduardo Chavez.
The afterthought deal of Charles for Gennett allowed me to acquire Moya for no one who was going to ever see my ML roster. Easy call to accept that one.
Offseason Day 5: Twins Go Max For Osuna, Little To Nationals
Activity has picked up again after the usual early-FA lull, with a few big name free agents starting to sign, and another Reds/Astros trade:
A & B Free Agent Signings
San Diego signs 2B Ugueth Gonzalez for 1 year, $6MM
Analysis: Gonzalez might be the "perfect San Diego player": great contact and eye, little power, excellent speed and base-running skills, superior range on defense. The Pads still have a lot of holes to fill, but this is a great start.
Nashville signs 3B Gil Sodowsky for 4 years, $20MM
Analysis: Sodowsky is a far cry from the SS who was hitting 40HR's a year a few years back in Arizona, but he can still be effective, especially in a smaller ballpark like Herschel Greer. I am concerned about the last 2 years of this contract (his age 36 and 37 years), when hitters usually go into a really steep decline.
Pittsburgh signs RP Hector Cruz for 5 years, $29MM
Analysis: Even after adding Moya (bringing to staff to the normal 11), the Buccos decide to add a 12th pitcher - a 3rd lefty to the 'pen to battle the Mets' lefty-dominated lineup.
Montreal signs RP Adrian Caruso for 1 year, $4.4MM
Analysis: Career ERA of 3.10...proof positive that pitches matter.
Tampa Bay signs 1B/OF Orval Miller for 5 years, $50MM
Analysis: was arguably the best hitter in this year's (weak) FA class. High price? Maybe, but not egregiously so. He'll only be 34 at the end of this contract, so his only ratings hits (that matter) will probably be to power. He's an .852 career OPS, and it's not out of the question that he'll maintain that for 5 more seasons.
Philadelphia signs RP Miguel Valdez for 4 years, $25.2MM.
Analysis: first glance at his ratings, you might think Valdez would be especially susceptible to lefty hitters. Maybe, but I think the pitches offset that some, and you can't argue with the results: 9 straight seasons below 4 ERA. And as his Season 32 shows, he can throw up to 160 innings (probably even a few more). Very nice pickup for the Phils.
Tampa Bay signs RP Esmil Gonzalez for 2 years, $13MM.
Analysis: similar to Valdez, ratings-wise, although he's been a little less consistent. Certainly if you were looking for a quality, big-innings middle reliever, these were the 2 on your list. The Rays are coming off just their 2nd playoff absence in 13 seasons, so no surprise they're hitting free agency hard.
Minnesota signs SP Luis Osuna for 5 years, $110MM
Analysis: first big shoe drops, and a day earlier than we expected. The Twins decide to abandon their famous "all-relief" strategy, at least once every 5 days. Or will zbrent think of a different way to use his new 240-inning ace?
Atlanta signs SP Midre Espinosa for 5 years, $95.5MM
Analysis:...followed closely by the 2nd big shoe. At the moment, I think Espinosa is a slightly better pitcher than Osuna. OF course, this contract takes him through age 40, so there will be some dropoff. I see the Braves continue to employ a 97-Pitching IQ pitching coach, which I'm sure they'll go to great lengths to retain. And I'd bet they keep that training budget at $20MM for the next 5 years. With Espinosa's decently high makeup (79), he's got a very good chance to still be very productive at 40.
Analysis: the Braves have executed a very deft offseason plan. It looked like they might start a retooling with the trade of Hunter; then they turned around and picked up Orlando Figueroa for nothing that would ever see their ML roster. Essentially they turned Hunter into Figueroa and Arismendy Johnson (their shiny new 3B). Then they add Espinosa. Maybe not as loud an offseason as Cininnati's or Pittsburgh's, but every bit as effective.
Arizona signs RP Doug Stoops for 2 years, $9.6MM
Analysis: a notch below Valdez and Gonzalez among the robust middle relievers. Looks like he'll get an increased workload - the D'Backs have 14 position players on the roster, which suggests an 11-man pitching staff. Without Midre Espinosa's 250 innings on the staff, everyone's going to have to step up with more innings.
Tampa Bay signs 3B Bart Sanders for 1 year, $3.6MM
Analysis: 3rd Type A/B signing in rapid succession for the Rays. Sanders wasn't a world-beater for Detroit last year (.701 OPS), but if he repeats that performance it'll end up being a nice budget signing.
Trades
Cincinnati gets 1B/OF Danny Barr
Houston gets 3B Thomas Seanez and OF Omir Bryant
Analysis: Another power bat for the Reds, although the all-or-nothing Barr is hardly a sure thing. His .311 OBP was perfectly OK when he hit 50 HR's (Season 36 - .862 OPS), but that .270 last year didn't look so good even with 33 HR's (.665 OPS). I don't think Reds' management is going to think twice about this deal, though - the team may well hit 300 bombs this year. The Astros get another young good glove, so-so bat in Seanez, plus an OF who is probably a 2-3 year stopgap at best.
Washington D.C. gets SP Otto Little
Seattle gets C/DH Keury Spehr (Season 37 #28) and OF Erisbel Soto (Season 36 IFA, $31.8MM)
Analysis: As big as any trade or signing this offseason. The Nationals have pulled off an even bigger "rebuild head-fake" than the Braves did. When they moved Petkovsek, Cervantes and Hughes early on, it looked for sure like they were starting a rebuild. But they did get 2 ML regulars in the Pirates deal (in addition to 1 of the top pitching prospects around). And now they flip the take from the Hughes trade (Soto) plus one more prospect into a big-time ace.
Key to this trade: apparently Little is willing to sign a team-friendly long-term deal, presumably in the ballpark of the $7.6MM/year of his first LTC.
D.C.'s rotation now sports a front 3 of Camacho, Little and Spruill - pretty formidable group if they can get to the playoffs out of the tougher-than-ever NL East.
Seattle landed a pretty nice pair of prospects for Little, and they lop a big chunk off their payroll (although I don't think time for tomorrow's 3PM cycle when the rest of the competitive free agents will sign)
A & B Free Agent Signings
San Diego signs 2B Ugueth Gonzalez for 1 year, $6MM
Analysis: Gonzalez might be the "perfect San Diego player": great contact and eye, little power, excellent speed and base-running skills, superior range on defense. The Pads still have a lot of holes to fill, but this is a great start.
Nashville signs 3B Gil Sodowsky for 4 years, $20MM
Analysis: Sodowsky is a far cry from the SS who was hitting 40HR's a year a few years back in Arizona, but he can still be effective, especially in a smaller ballpark like Herschel Greer. I am concerned about the last 2 years of this contract (his age 36 and 37 years), when hitters usually go into a really steep decline.
Pittsburgh signs RP Hector Cruz for 5 years, $29MM
Analysis: Even after adding Moya (bringing to staff to the normal 11), the Buccos decide to add a 12th pitcher - a 3rd lefty to the 'pen to battle the Mets' lefty-dominated lineup.
Montreal signs RP Adrian Caruso for 1 year, $4.4MM
Analysis: Career ERA of 3.10...proof positive that pitches matter.
Tampa Bay signs 1B/OF Orval Miller for 5 years, $50MM
Analysis: was arguably the best hitter in this year's (weak) FA class. High price? Maybe, but not egregiously so. He'll only be 34 at the end of this contract, so his only ratings hits (that matter) will probably be to power. He's an .852 career OPS, and it's not out of the question that he'll maintain that for 5 more seasons.
Philadelphia signs RP Miguel Valdez for 4 years, $25.2MM.
Analysis: first glance at his ratings, you might think Valdez would be especially susceptible to lefty hitters. Maybe, but I think the pitches offset that some, and you can't argue with the results: 9 straight seasons below 4 ERA. And as his Season 32 shows, he can throw up to 160 innings (probably even a few more). Very nice pickup for the Phils.
Tampa Bay signs RP Esmil Gonzalez for 2 years, $13MM.
Analysis: similar to Valdez, ratings-wise, although he's been a little less consistent. Certainly if you were looking for a quality, big-innings middle reliever, these were the 2 on your list. The Rays are coming off just their 2nd playoff absence in 13 seasons, so no surprise they're hitting free agency hard.
Minnesota signs SP Luis Osuna for 5 years, $110MM
Analysis: first big shoe drops, and a day earlier than we expected. The Twins decide to abandon their famous "all-relief" strategy, at least once every 5 days. Or will zbrent think of a different way to use his new 240-inning ace?
Atlanta signs SP Midre Espinosa for 5 years, $95.5MM
Analysis:...followed closely by the 2nd big shoe. At the moment, I think Espinosa is a slightly better pitcher than Osuna. OF course, this contract takes him through age 40, so there will be some dropoff. I see the Braves continue to employ a 97-Pitching IQ pitching coach, which I'm sure they'll go to great lengths to retain. And I'd bet they keep that training budget at $20MM for the next 5 years. With Espinosa's decently high makeup (79), he's got a very good chance to still be very productive at 40.
Analysis: the Braves have executed a very deft offseason plan. It looked like they might start a retooling with the trade of Hunter; then they turned around and picked up Orlando Figueroa for nothing that would ever see their ML roster. Essentially they turned Hunter into Figueroa and Arismendy Johnson (their shiny new 3B). Then they add Espinosa. Maybe not as loud an offseason as Cininnati's or Pittsburgh's, but every bit as effective.
Arizona signs RP Doug Stoops for 2 years, $9.6MM
Analysis: a notch below Valdez and Gonzalez among the robust middle relievers. Looks like he'll get an increased workload - the D'Backs have 14 position players on the roster, which suggests an 11-man pitching staff. Without Midre Espinosa's 250 innings on the staff, everyone's going to have to step up with more innings.
Tampa Bay signs 3B Bart Sanders for 1 year, $3.6MM
Analysis: 3rd Type A/B signing in rapid succession for the Rays. Sanders wasn't a world-beater for Detroit last year (.701 OPS), but if he repeats that performance it'll end up being a nice budget signing.
Trades
Cincinnati gets 1B/OF Danny Barr
Houston gets 3B Thomas Seanez and OF Omir Bryant
Analysis: Another power bat for the Reds, although the all-or-nothing Barr is hardly a sure thing. His .311 OBP was perfectly OK when he hit 50 HR's (Season 36 - .862 OPS), but that .270 last year didn't look so good even with 33 HR's (.665 OPS). I don't think Reds' management is going to think twice about this deal, though - the team may well hit 300 bombs this year. The Astros get another young good glove, so-so bat in Seanez, plus an OF who is probably a 2-3 year stopgap at best.
Washington D.C. gets SP Otto Little
Seattle gets C/DH Keury Spehr (Season 37 #28) and OF Erisbel Soto (Season 36 IFA, $31.8MM)
Analysis: As big as any trade or signing this offseason. The Nationals have pulled off an even bigger "rebuild head-fake" than the Braves did. When they moved Petkovsek, Cervantes and Hughes early on, it looked for sure like they were starting a rebuild. But they did get 2 ML regulars in the Pirates deal (in addition to 1 of the top pitching prospects around). And now they flip the take from the Hughes trade (Soto) plus one more prospect into a big-time ace.
Key to this trade: apparently Little is willing to sign a team-friendly long-term deal, presumably in the ballpark of the $7.6MM/year of his first LTC.
D.C.'s rotation now sports a front 3 of Camacho, Little and Spruill - pretty formidable group if they can get to the playoffs out of the tougher-than-ever NL East.
Seattle landed a pretty nice pair of prospects for Little, and they lop a big chunk off their payroll (although I don't think time for tomorrow's 3PM cycle when the rest of the competitive free agents will sign)
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Offseason Day 4: A Light Day For A and B Free Agents
A few more trades have hit, but it was a light first day of signing for Type A and B free agents. No doubt the bidding will extend into Saturday for free agency's big names.
Some interesting themes have started to emerge: Can Cincinnati possibly pack more talent onto its roster? It has no doubt entered the elite of the NL. What's going on with AL Champ Arizona? A couple of small trades for DH's, but relatively quiet. Houston has remade itself a couple of times over already, but Tony Moya remains an Astro (and rumor has it he may for awhile). The NL (Houston, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Mets) has dominated the trade scene; will the AL dominate free agency?
Day 4's activity so far:
A & B FA Signings
Detroit signs IF Tori Hatcher for 4 years, $23.7MM
Analysis: Tigers step up early for who I think will be their new 2B. Montero slides over to 3B, so Hatcher is replacing the departed Bart Sanders. Hatcher and Sanders are basically equivalent hitters; their infield defense might be a tad better.
Boston signs SP Derrek Helton for 5 years, $38MM
Analysis: pretty big commitment for a guy with a 4.37 career ERA. Then again, he could end up being their best starter - their #4 and 5 starters had ERA's of 4.60 and 4.80 last year, and their top starter, Doug Mateo, has had a number of full seasons in the upper 4's as well.
Houston signs C Harry Ugueto for 2 years, $6.0MM
Analysis: Astros add to the stable of defensive-whiz catchers. The trade of Roberts opens the door for Ugueto to be the everyday C (he has the DUR for it), or at least the vR part of a platoon.
Kansas City signs RP Domingo Chavez for 3 years, $18MM
Analysis: Free agency had whittled away the Royals' short-reliever corps - Chavez become their prime late-innings righty.
Milwaukee signs OF Sidney Larkin for 2 years, $9.4MM
Analysis: Nice economical signing of a good-contact (.276 last year), still-20-HR hitter. Looks like Larkin will be the fulltime LF.
Philadelphia signs Shigetoshi Shinjo for 4 years, $24.8MM
Analysis: Shinjo is just a good player. On top of his sterling defense, he's hit 20+ HR's 8 years in a row. I doubt he'll continue that to the end of this contract, but it's still a good signing. Not sure who plays where yet in Philly's IF/CF alignment, but I'd bet Shinjo starts somewhere.
Trades
Montreal gets DH Rudy House
Cleveland gets SP Kris Taylor (Season 37 #53), RP Robel Holbert (Season 34 11th Round, DITR), and OF Babe Balfour (Season 37 Round 3)
Analysis: I'm a little puzzled at this move by the Tribe, as they have a nice batch of prospects ready to promote (to go along with last Season's prized rookie, Desmond Farmer). It's not like Kendry Fernandez lit it up as a DH (.238/19/60). In any event, House will move to Montreal, where his role is unclear. Will we see a resurgence of DH's playing RF (Pittsburgh for sure, maybe Montreal). Of the prospects the Indians got, Taylor has the best chance at a ML role (4/5 starter LR).
Chicago Cubs get C Robert Roberts
Houston gets RP Ryan Rose
Analysis: Roberts is a capable backstop, although not the defensive savant the new Houston management favors. Not quite sure what the Cubbies will do with him, as they currently have 3 C's on the ML roster. Rose is a 4A-to-bottom-of-the-staff type...maybe exactly the type that very high-PC catchers can improve enough to make him effective.
LATE-BREAKING: MOYA TO PIRATES
Pittsburgh gets Tony Moya + $5MMM
Houston gets SP LaTroy Owen (Season 33 19th Round), IF/CF David Richmond (Season 29 #55), and IF/CF Eduardo Chavez (Season 33 IFA, $9.9MM)
The 'Stros land a pretty good pitcher (especially for a 19-rounder), albeit one with health concerns, plus a pair of nice defenders for Moya. Let's face it, no one was going to make this deal except the Pirates (and that was far from certain), and no one was going to value players like Richmond and Chavez as highly as Houston. Owen immediately joins the rotation, Chavez becomes the starting SS, and I'm sure Richmond has a ML role somewhere. The Pirates' staff now has a front 4 of Moya, Roque, Baerga and Watson; Ernesto for 7 and 8, and Cervantes closing (if the damn Mets can beat that they deserve to win!)
Some interesting themes have started to emerge: Can Cincinnati possibly pack more talent onto its roster? It has no doubt entered the elite of the NL. What's going on with AL Champ Arizona? A couple of small trades for DH's, but relatively quiet. Houston has remade itself a couple of times over already, but Tony Moya remains an Astro (and rumor has it he may for awhile). The NL (Houston, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Mets) has dominated the trade scene; will the AL dominate free agency?
Day 4's activity so far:
A & B FA Signings
Detroit signs IF Tori Hatcher for 4 years, $23.7MM
Analysis: Tigers step up early for who I think will be their new 2B. Montero slides over to 3B, so Hatcher is replacing the departed Bart Sanders. Hatcher and Sanders are basically equivalent hitters; their infield defense might be a tad better.
Boston signs SP Derrek Helton for 5 years, $38MM
Analysis: pretty big commitment for a guy with a 4.37 career ERA. Then again, he could end up being their best starter - their #4 and 5 starters had ERA's of 4.60 and 4.80 last year, and their top starter, Doug Mateo, has had a number of full seasons in the upper 4's as well.
Houston signs C Harry Ugueto for 2 years, $6.0MM
Analysis: Astros add to the stable of defensive-whiz catchers. The trade of Roberts opens the door for Ugueto to be the everyday C (he has the DUR for it), or at least the vR part of a platoon.
Kansas City signs RP Domingo Chavez for 3 years, $18MM
Analysis: Free agency had whittled away the Royals' short-reliever corps - Chavez become their prime late-innings righty.
Milwaukee signs OF Sidney Larkin for 2 years, $9.4MM
Analysis: Nice economical signing of a good-contact (.276 last year), still-20-HR hitter. Looks like Larkin will be the fulltime LF.
Philadelphia signs Shigetoshi Shinjo for 4 years, $24.8MM
Analysis: Shinjo is just a good player. On top of his sterling defense, he's hit 20+ HR's 8 years in a row. I doubt he'll continue that to the end of this contract, but it's still a good signing. Not sure who plays where yet in Philly's IF/CF alignment, but I'd bet Shinjo starts somewhere.
Trades
Montreal gets DH Rudy House
Cleveland gets SP Kris Taylor (Season 37 #53), RP Robel Holbert (Season 34 11th Round, DITR), and OF Babe Balfour (Season 37 Round 3)
Analysis: I'm a little puzzled at this move by the Tribe, as they have a nice batch of prospects ready to promote (to go along with last Season's prized rookie, Desmond Farmer). It's not like Kendry Fernandez lit it up as a DH (.238/19/60). In any event, House will move to Montreal, where his role is unclear. Will we see a resurgence of DH's playing RF (Pittsburgh for sure, maybe Montreal). Of the prospects the Indians got, Taylor has the best chance at a ML role (4/5 starter LR).
Chicago Cubs get C Robert Roberts
Houston gets RP Ryan Rose
Analysis: Roberts is a capable backstop, although not the defensive savant the new Houston management favors. Not quite sure what the Cubbies will do with him, as they currently have 3 C's on the ML roster. Rose is a 4A-to-bottom-of-the-staff type...maybe exactly the type that very high-PC catchers can improve enough to make him effective.
LATE-BREAKING: MOYA TO PIRATES
Pittsburgh gets Tony Moya + $5MMM
Houston gets SP LaTroy Owen (Season 33 19th Round), IF/CF David Richmond (Season 29 #55), and IF/CF Eduardo Chavez (Season 33 IFA, $9.9MM)
The 'Stros land a pretty good pitcher (especially for a 19-rounder), albeit one with health concerns, plus a pair of nice defenders for Moya. Let's face it, no one was going to make this deal except the Pirates (and that was far from certain), and no one was going to value players like Richmond and Chavez as highly as Houston. Owen immediately joins the rotation, Chavez becomes the starting SS, and I'm sure Richmond has a ML role somewhere. The Pirates' staff now has a front 4 of Moya, Roque, Baerga and Watson; Ernesto for 7 and 8, and Cervantes closing (if the damn Mets can beat that they deserve to win!)
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