The Major League Baseball Offseason Post

I'm not sold on Aumont at all until he develops his change up a little more. Curve isn't anything to write home about either. But he has potential,I'll give him that.

Gillies is a speedster who works the gaps and fights off a ton of pitches. I read somewhere they compared him to a Juan Pierre with patience thought that waspretty on point.

Haven't seen much of Ramirez, have read that he's very raw and needs to cut the BB's down.
 
Reds seem like they want to dump as much salary as possible. Harangs contract is scary (for anyone who takes him).

Also rumored M. Bradley will be traded to SEA for Silva...which would pretty much mean Bay has no other suitors besides the Mets.

Mets should not offer a penny more, if Bay wants to continue being stubborn thinking there will be another option, then the Mets should explore other options.Holliday isn't being offered that much more, make him an offer as well (with Bay's sitting on the table).
 
Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Reds seem like they want to dump as much salary as possible. Harangs contract is scary (for anyone who takes him).

Also rumored M. Bradley will be traded to SEA for Silva...which would pretty much mean Bay has no other suitors besides the Mets.

Mets should not offer a penny more, if Bay wants to continue being stubborn thinking there will be another option, then the Mets should explore other options. Holliday isn't being offered that much more, make him an offer as well (with Bay's sitting on the table).
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Good point. Holliday is a better fit for the Mets IMO anyway as an overall player. If the difference is like 1 million a year and if they need to pay the 5thyear. The Mets should settle for Holliday.
 
Only reason I would prefer Bay is because he is more of a pull hitter than Holliday so he would benefit more at Citi Field (in terms of homeruns). He is verystreaky though.

Guess Seattles outfield is set.
 
Could care less about Silva, but Bradley being gone?

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Originally Posted by CP1708

Could care less about Silva, but Bradley being gone? : hat
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Exactly. I could care less that he gave up 29 ER in 30 IP in 2009 with a stellar 8.60 ERA, was 3-15 in 2008, and gets fatter by the minute. NoMB is pffffffffffffffff...........

He was teammates with Carlos Zambrano in 2006 for the Venezuela WBC team. You know Big Z will show him all the buffet spots on the north side.
 
Updated: December 18, 2009, 2:05 PM ET

[h2]Sources: Johnson, Yankees agree[/h2]

Comment Email Print By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
Archive

The Yankees, frustrated in their attempts to re-sign Johnny Damon, have reached aagreement on a one-year deal with Nick Johnson, pending a physical, sources said.

The deal will pay Johnson $5.5 million, and he can earn additional money in incentives based on plate appearances. There is a mutual option -- to which both sides would have to agree -- for 2011 for the same dollar amount.

Johnson, who was drafted and developed by the Yankees, will presumably serve as the team's designated hitter and No. 2 hitter. Johnson's career has been filled with injury, he doesn't hit for a lot of power, and his defense at first base has been viewed by scouts as regressing. But when he plays, he consistently gets on base. Among current free agents, Johnson had the highest on-base percentage in 2009, at .426 with the Nationals and Marlins.

This likely means the end of Damon's tenure with the Yankees. Damon signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Yankees prior to the 2006 season and took advantage of the Yankees' new ballpark to have a strong 2009 season.

The Yankees have hoped to sign Damon to a two-year deal in the range of $18 million, but the team was told by a conduit of Damon that unless the team was willing to offer at least $13 million a year -- the outfielder's salary in 2009 -- in a multi-year deal, the Yankees shouldn't even bother making an offer.

Another concern within the organization was that even if Damon were to agree to the team's terms, he might be so frustrated by the cut in pay after a strong 2009 season that his play would be affected.

Buster Olney is a senior baseball writer for ESPN The Magazine.
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we got Bradley for SILVA?! good god... SILVA. the worst starting pitcher i've ever seen. he'll be sure to win the local chicago pie eatingcontests, if it means anything to cubs fans. i'll take a player who's actually productive. we need another bat and we're good, outfield is set.
 
Bradley is a productive bat? He's going to rip that team apart the minute he's unhappy. That dude is a cancer to ANY team that inherits him. Idon't think this was the right move for Seattle and the Cubs would have taken Mike Hampton's contract from way back then to get Milton off that team.
 
I would have taken TMac's contract to get rid of Bradley, I don't give a @#$%.
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Good bye Milton.
 
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at the thought of Nick Johnson batting 2nd. Sure, he gets on base, buthell, I rather see Cano 2nd then him.
 
Originally Posted by bkmac

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at the thought of Nick Johnson batting 2nd. Sure, he gets on base, but hell, I rather see Cano 2nd then him.
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when Cano is battling his .189 the first couple months, you wont be saying that
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I guess bat Johnson 2 since Granderson's OBP was way down last year. But where the hell do you put Curtis now? Between Posada and Cano? Behind Cano? Thelineup should look like this:

Granderson/Jeter
Jeter/Granderson
Tex
A-Roid
Posada
Johnson
Cano
Swisher
Melky/Gardner
 
[h2]Selecting the All-Decade team[/h2] [h3]Pujols at first base, Jeter at shortstop, Bonds in left field, Ichiro in right field …[/h3]
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By Tim Kurkjian
ESPN The Magazine
Archive

It was quite a decade. In the 2000s, nine players joined the 500-home-run club -- nearly twice as many as any decade in history -- three joined the 600-home-run club, and Barry Bonds became the all-time home run leader. Four players joined the 3,000-hit club, two pitchers won their 300th game, and we welcomed the first two members into the 500-save club.

For the last 10 years, we have seen some of the greatest players in the history of baseball.

So, putting the steroid controversy to the side for the moment, here is the Team of the Decade:

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Mauer
[h3]Catcher: Joe Mauer[/h3]
He hit .327 in the decade and won three batting titles, meaning he won as many batting titles in that period as all other catchers in baseball history have won combined. Mauer won the AL MVP in 2009, leading the league in slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher of all time, but with the way the 26-year-old Mauer is going, we'll have to revisit that statement in 10 years.
[h3]First base: Albert Pujols[/h3]
This was the easiest choice. In nine seasons, Pujols won three MVP awards in the decade, finished second three times and collected more MVP votes than any player in history other than Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Stan Musial since MVP voting began in 1931. Pujols won his league's Triple Crown for the decade, joining Honus Wagner (1900s), Rogers Hornsby (1920s) and Williams (1940s) as the only players in history to do that. At this pace, Pujols someday will be considered the best first baseman ever and will join Babe Ruth and Williams as the three best hitters of all time.

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Kent
[h3]Second base: Jeff Kent[/h3]
We forget that the decade began with Kent's winning the NL MVP. Only Luis Castillo played more games at second base in the decade than Kent, who had five 100-RBI seasons and a 93-RBI season. Kent hit .300 in the decade, he led all second basemen with 216 home runs, he had 265 more RBIs than any second baseman, and only Chase Utley had a higher OPS (.902 to .889). Utley is the best second baseman now, and his numbers are terrific, but he played nearly 400 fewer games than Kent at second base.
[h3]Shortstop: Derek Jeter[/h3]
He batted .317 in the 2000s and finished in the top 5 in the league in hitting in 2000, '03, '06 and '09. His 1,940 hits were the second most in the decade behind Ichiro's 2,030. He won four Gold Gloves, and two World Series rings. And as important as all the numbers, he ran hard to first base on every play of the decade.

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Rodriguez
[h3]Third base: Alex Rodriguez[/h3]
It's an absolute push here with Atlanta's Chipper Jones, who will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. A-Rod didn't begin playing third until 2004 and played 185 fewer games at third in the decade than Jones, but from 2004 on, their numbers were nearly identical in several important categories: Rodriguez's OPS was .968, Jones' .965. A-Rod had 716 RBIs, Jones 715. A-Rod had 238 home runs, Jones 220. But the big difference is that Rodriguez won two MVPs at third base in the decade, and Jones didn't win any.
[h3]Left field: Barry Bonds[/h3]
He won more MVPs -- four -- in the decade than any player has ever won in a career. He hit .322 in the 2000s and had by far the highest OPS of any player. He didn't play the last two years of the decade, but in the first eight years he was dominant.

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Beltran
[h3]Center field: Carlos Beltran[/h3]
He played the most games in center field of any player in the decade. He hit 251 home runs, stole 256 bases, drove in 920 runs and won three Gold Gloves. His performance in the 2004 postseason for the Astros -- eight home runs, tying the record for the most homers in one postseason -- was one of the best in baseball history.
[h3]Right field: Ichiro Suzuki[/h3]
He had the most hits in the decade (2,030), which he did in nine years, not 10. He became the first player in major league history to record 200 hits in nine straight years. He hit .333 in the decade, second to Pujols' .334. Ichiro won two batting titles and, in 2004, set the major league record for hits in a season with 262. He won a Gold Glove in all nine seasons that he played this decade. He stole 341 bases. In 2001, he won the Rookie of the Year and the MVP. Several times in the decade, he visited Cooperstown because he's fascinated by the Hall of Fame. The day he is eligible, he'll be in.

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Ortiz
[h3]Designated hitter: David Ortiz[/h3]
He led major league DHs in the decade in home runs (307, almost 100 more than the runner-up, Frank Thomas), RBIs (1,016) and slugging percentage (.554). There was really little competition, given that Ortiz was the only player with 3,000 plate appearances as a DH.
[h3]Right-handed pitcher: Roy Halladay[/h3]
This was a close call over Roy Oswalt, Pedro Martinez and others. Halladay won the most games (139) of any right-hander in the decade. Among all pitchers, he had the most complete games (47) and shutouts (14), had the third highest winning percentage (.668), and was 11th in ERA (3.40) and 11th in innings pitched (1,883 1/3). He also won one Cy Young Award, and it's safe to say that no pitcher worked harder than Halladay.

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Johnson
[h3]Left-handed pitcher: Randy Johnson[/h3]
He won an excruciatingly close call over Johan Santana. Johnson won three Cy Young Awards, most in the decade. He had the most strikeouts (2,182). He won the second most games (143) and had the second most shutouts (12). His winning percentage was seventh best (.647). His ERA (3.34) was 10th best. You just can't forget how the decade began, with three straight dominant, Cy Young seasons from Johnson.
[h3]Closer: Mariano Rivera[/h3]
He had the most saves in the decade with 397. Of pitchers with at least 700 innings pitched in the decade, he had the lowest ERA (2.08), almost a run lower than that of runner-up Pedro Martinez. The decade cemented Rivera's spot as the best closer of all time.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book "Is This a Great Game, or What?" was published by St. Martin's Press and became available in paperback in May 2008. Click here to order a copy[/color].

[h2]An all-decade, all-value lineup card[/h2] [h3]This team could win 115 games with the '03 Tigers' staff. Seriously.[/h3]
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By Erik Manning
FanGraphs.com
Archive

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Getty Images"Hmmm, I see A-Rod twice on here. This may not end well."

This week on ESPN.com, writers and editors will be looking back at the past decade in baseball -- and looking ahead to the future. Today, Erik Manning of FanGraphs attempts to create the ultimate lineup in terms of value and production from 2000 through 2009. This should be fun.

Over the past decade, fans have witnessed some astonishing offensive performances. We've been spoiled by Joe Mauer's 2009, which was one of the best seasons by a catcher ever. Alex Rodriguez hit more than 50 home runs as a shortstop -- twice. We've seen the crowning of a new home run king. Historic stuff. You could assemble a dream lineup from some of these single-season achievements, so why not indulge in a little fantasy?

There are plenty of stats we could look at to determine who had the best season at each position, but a good catch-all number is weighted Batting Runs above Average. It's based on a FanGraphs stat called wOBA, which sums up a player's production in a single number.

One thing to be aware of before we get started with the actual lineup: All these guys are, for the most part, middle-of-the-order hitters. Don't get too hung up on actual batting order. Most studies of batting order show that even using the optimal 1-9 slotting, you're going to gain only one or two wins.

Here we go now with the ultimate all-decade, all-value, all-production lineup. In case you doubt its value before we begin, consider this: If we plug this lineup into David Pinto's lineup analysis tool, we learn the dream team you'll discover below would score an average of nine runs per game. That means a team with this lineup could have the woeful 2003 Detroit Tigers as its pitching staff and still win 115 games.

Ready? Let's go.

Batting first: Carlos Delgado, 2000, 1B

Whew. This was a close one. Delgado's greatest competition, surprisingly, was not Albert Pujols -- it was Jason Giambi. Giambi won the MVP in 2000 and was slightly better in 2001, hitting for an insane .342/.477/.660 line. Giambi's 2001 is just a sliver better than Delgado's in terms of batting runs above replacement -- 102.8 BRAR to 102.6 -- but the edge goes to Delgado because he started every game at first base. Giambi played 17 games as the A's DH. Delgado hit .344, drew 123 walks and slugged for an absurd .664; he would hardly be your prototypical leadoff hitter, but in 2000 he did have a healthy .470 on-base percentage.

Batting second: Sammy Sosa, 2001, RF

While Slammin' Sammy is remembered best for the summer of '98, this was Sosa's finest season. Unfortunately, no one outside of Chicago seemed to notice, because of what Barry Bonds was doing in San Francisco. Not only did Sosa top 60 home runs for the third time, but he also enjoyed career highs in batting average (.328) and walks (116).

Batting third: David Ortiz, 2007, DH

When you think Ortiz, you probably think "clutch" first. This wasn't his most clutch season, but it was arguably his most productive; he hit 54 homers in 2006, but in 2007 he hit .332 instead of .287 and posted a similar slugging percentage.

Batting fourth: Barry Bonds, 2001, LF

His single-season slugging, on-base percentage, walks and home runs from '01 are simply untouchable, barring an unforeseen superhero coming onto the scene.

Batting fifth: Alex Rodriguez, 2007, 3B

A-Rod hit .314/.422/.645 with 54 homers and ran away with the MVP; he enjoys the distinction of setting single-season home run records for two different positions (shortstop and third base).

Batting sixth: Alex Rodriguez, 2001, SS

This certainly might pose a logistical challenge, as human cloning hasn't yet reached this level of sophistication. Seriously, though, the only competition for A-Rod was A-Rod. 2002 Rodriguez and 2001 Rodriguez were very close. He hit more homers in '02 (57) but hit for a higher average with more doubles in 2001. He had 82 batting runs above replacement in 2001, 80 in '02.

Batting seventh: Joe Mauer, 2009, C

Mauer was like vintage Mike Piazza with the bat -- and he won a Gold Glove to boot. Mauer finally had his long-anticipated power breakout (28 homers) and hit for an astounding .365 batting average. Babe Phelps is the only catcher to qualify for a batting title with a higher average, and he only had 319 at-bats back in 1936 for the Dodgers. One can only wonder what Mauer would have done had he not missed the entire month of April.

Batting eighth: Jeff Kent, 2000, 2B

Kent won the MVP, edging out his teammate Barry Bonds even though Bonds actually had the better season. Bonds had more wins above replacement, 8.7 to 7.9. Kent set personal bests in a number of different categories, including slugging (.596) and on-base percentage (.424). Even in this age of offense, you do not often see this type of production from a middle infielder. You could argue he was more of a first baseman posing as a second baseman, but regardless, this was quite a remarkable season.

Batting ninth: Jim Edmonds, 2004, CF

Edmonds, Scott Rolen and Pujols formed "MV3" in this year -- each player had an MVP-caliber performance in 2004 and the Cardinals won 105 games, only to be swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. Edmonds hit .301 despite striking out 150 times, but he slugged .643, drew 101 walks and won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove.


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[h3]What now for Cubs?[/h3]
3:07PM ET

[h5]Chicago Cubs[/h5]
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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that now that the deal that sent Milton Bradley to the Seattle Mariners is complete, "the Cubs will turn their attention to acquiring a centerfielder who would allow them to move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field. They've expressed interest in free agents Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel and Scott Podsednik. But they've also explored potential trades for a centerfielder. Most prominently, they had interest in Curtis Granderson before Granderson was dealt to the Yankees."

The Cubs didn't save a lot of Bradley's salary to use on free agents, but did get a $9 million dollar commitment from Seattle to complete the trade, with $3 million of that coming now, so there is some flexibility for GM Jim Hendry.

http:// [h3]Crasnick: SF-Marlins talks hit snag[/h3]
2:06PM ET

[h5]Dan Uggla | Marlins[/h5]
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Yes, the Giants have talked to Florida about Dan Uggla, but the deal looks like a major longshot. "It's not going to go down," one source familiar with the discussions told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

The first big obstacle is financial. The Giants are hamstrung by the Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand contracts, and Tim Lincecum is in line for a mega-raise after back-to-back Cy Young Awards. Uggla is expected to make in excess of $7 million in 2010, and would be tough for GM Brian Sabean to fit into the budget.

The Giants are also hesitant to move Jonathan Sanchez in an Uggla trade because it would deplete a team strength and leave Lincecum, Matt Cain and Barry Zito as the team's only proven starters.

San Francisco continues to look at first base options (Lyle Overbay and Adam LaRoche) and third base alternatives (Miguel Tejada and Mark DeRosa), but they're all too expensive for the Giants' tastes at the moment. Sabean might just choose to wait and hope somebody falls into his lap for a reasonable price.

The Giants are also looking for a stopgap catcher to give Buster Posey a little more development time. Miguel Olivo and Rod Barajas are two possible fits.

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[h5]Keith Law[/h5]
Uggla could be a great get
"Now is actually a great time to try to trade for Uggla as he's coming off a slightly down year in batting average that is masking a significant spike in walk rate. He's always had power, and his approach at the plate has improved for several years. If he maintains those secondary skills and posts a BABIP over .300 -- something he did twice in three years before 2009 -- oddly, he's a potential MVP candidate."
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http:// [h3]Olney: Yankees not done[/h3]
1:08PM ET

[h5]New York Yankees[/h5]
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As the New York Yankees near the finalization of a one-year contract for Nick Johnson, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney tweets today that the club will quickly move on to other things, including a starting pitcher.

With CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett at the top of the rotation, adding a free-agent starting pitcher this winter indicates that either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes -- or possibly both -- are not in the plans to join the starting five in 2010.

The top available free agents include right-handers Ben Sheets and Joel Pineiro, and left-hander Erik Bedard. Others include Livan Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Odalis Perez and Doug Davis.

http:// [h3]M's targeting first basemen now?[/h3]
1:03PM ET

[h5]Seattle Mariners[/h5]
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With Nick Johnson headed to New York, the Seattle Mariners pulled the trigger today on a trade that lands them Milton Bradley, who could fill needs at DH and/or left field for Seattle.

But he's not likely to play first base, whichis where Adam LaRoche and Russell Branyan may come into the picture.

Luke Scott's name has also been mentioned.

The M's still to figure out what's going on at second and third base as well -- whichever position at which Figgins doesn't end up -- but there hasn't been any confirmed reports that the team has interest in the top two second basemen on the market -- Felipe Lopez and Orlando Hudson.

Adrian Beltre is also a possibility -- the Seattle Times reported last week that the club and player are still in contact and have mutual interest -- but Seattle si not in on free-agent outfielder Jason Bay.

http:// [h3]M's locking up centerfielder?[/h3]
12:29PM ET

[h5]Franklin Gutierrez | Mariners[/h5]
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FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports today that the Seattle Mariners are working on extending the contract of centerfielder Franklin Gutierrez.

Gutierrez, who is three years away from free agency but eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, hit .283 with 18 home runs in his first year with Seattle, but it's his defense -- quite possibly the best defense played by any centerfielder in 2009 -- that tops his asset list.

With top draft pick Dustin Ackley attempting to transition to second base, center field in Seattle could be owned by Gutierrez for quite some time.

http:// [h3]Close with DH, DeRosa next for NYY?[/h3]
12:07PM ET

[h5]Nick Johnson | Marlins[/h5]
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The Yankees appear to be on the verge of bringing free agent Nick Johnson back to the Bronx to serve as their designated hitter.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports the Yankees are very close to a one-year deal with the injury-plagued Johnson, a signing that would likely end any chance of the team bringing back Johnny Damon.

Olney tweets Friday that "If Johnson passes physical, NYY will move on to next targets -- definitely a starting pitcher, and quite possibly Mark DeRosa, if $ are right.

DeRosa is getting a little antsy, reports the St. Louis dispatch, and may not wait for the Cardinals to make a formal offer.

Presumably, DeRosa would play everywhere for New York, including second, third and shortstop, as well as left and right field.

Missing out on Johnson, the San Francisco Giants could move on to other free-agent bats such as Adam LaRoche or Russell Branyan.

http:// [h3]Should Valverde have stayed put?[/h3]
10:37AM ET

[h5]Jose Valverde | Astros[/h5]
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Has free agent closer Jose Valverde passed on what might be his most lucrative offer of the postseason?

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney writes in today's blog that "there are very few closer positions open now -- in Detroit, Florida and perhaps Washington, all teams that are not necessarily inclined to spend big dollars on a closer -- and there may be no opportunities for him to make in salary what he might've made had he accepted arbitration from Houston last week."

Mike Gonzalez may have set the market for relievers by agreeing to a two-year, $12 million deal with Baltimore earlier this week.

http:// [h3]Could the A's land Beltre?[/h3]
10:33AM ET

[h5]Adrian Beltre | Mariners[/h5]
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Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reported earlier this week of how the Red Sox essentially have pulled out of the running for free-agent third baseman http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3878Adrian Beltre.

Edes writes that the Red Sox have no plans to meet the asking price of agent Scott Boras and are not willing to wait around until late December or early January to see whether the price drops.

Could a smaller market team emerge for Beltre? ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney hears that the Athletics have interest in Beltre, "but only in an Oakland economy size financial package, and not anything close to what has been asked, to date, of clubs like the Red Sox, which is more than $10 million a year and for five years."

The A's apparently changed their mind about using Brett Wallace at third base, trading him to Toronto earlier this week.
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Good that we might lock up Gutierrez long-term. Best CF in the AL and should win that gold glove next season. He was absolutely robbed this past season.
 
yea milton bradley grabs headlines for being a cancer and causing trouble, but carlos silva is a fat %%! who cant pitch to save his life. ill take milton oversilva. any day.

and i said it earlier in this thread and ill say it again; franklin gutierrez is going to kill this year.
 
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