The Dodgers have officially signed outfielder Marcus Thames to a one-year contract. The deal includes a $1MM base salary and another $800K in incentives.
Thames, 33, would provide the Dodgers with right-handed power and could platoon with Jay Gibbons in left field. Last season Thames hit .288/.350/.491 with 12 homers in 237 plate appearances for the Yankees.
MLB.com's Ken Gurnick first reported that the two sides were on the verge of agreeing to a deal while Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times confirmed the agreement. Hernandez later added the financial terms (Twitter links).
meh.
I wonder if Ned Colletti will overpay for his unusually good 2010 season. History makes me think yes.
his 2010 season was ok. his 06 season was better. not his batting avg but over all numbers were better
The deal is worth no more than $1.8M($!1M in salary and $800K in incentives). Hardly consider that a high risk deal even if he doesn’t produce a ton. I like this as a short term, stopgap pickup.
Yea thats a good signing. I assumed the worst.
i dont get how people are power bats when he avg is about 12 to 15 HRs a year and only had 2 years over 20 HRs
He has never been an every day player….take a gander at his AB’s per year.
He’s a platoon player against lefties, so 12-15 HR’s is very good for that role
He is a great bat off the bench but hes such a liability once he puts that glove on.
He’s got to be as good as Berkman! Good move for the Dodgers.
I rather have him than Berkman in left field. It’s going to be more fun to watch Berkman slide around and field like Manny.
Lance Berkman admitted he was at least 20lbs overweight last year, especially after he was traded to NY. This offseason, he employed a new personal trainer and has already shed that excess weight and is expecting to be in the best shape in 6 years. I hope Lance has a great year in St Louis this year.
They don’t call him Fat Elvis for nothing!
isn’t every mlb player at least 20 lbs overweight?
1. Thames is worse than Berkman
2. this is a completely stupid move for the Dodgers. they must think they’ve in the AL
I don’t think so I watched them both last year for the Yanks, plus Thames is a sub and Berkman is starting. Berkman hasn’t played OF in years, but he can hit.
So, an upgrade over Manny?
Watching Thames in the outfield last year was enough to make you sick at just the thought of him being out there. Hes also a huge step down from Manny’s bat. Manny is better overall compared to Thames but I would imagine he would be considerably more expensive. You get what you pay for.
“You get what you pay for”
Tell that to the Jays about Vernon Wells, the Yankees about A-rod, the Nats in a couple years about Jayson Werth, the Cubs about Zambrano and Soriano, I’m sure it’ll make them more optimistic about their performance throughout the remainder of their contracts.
good i can see is this singing is he can back up 1st and LF. i guess that makes Blake only a 3rd base guy and not a back up 1st baseman to. i wonder when we play a AL team will he DH
Hopefully Blake will sit versus tougher righties. Carroll can play 2B and Uribe shifts over to 3B.
didnt think about that one. that would mean blake would be needed less this year since we have more guy who can play 1st and 3rd
Please, grammar and punctuation are your friends. That hurt to read.
I think I’d rather have him singing in the dugout then playing left….
I can’t imagine he’s any worse than Gibbons in left. I like it.
Why would they ever want him in the field? Why? WHY?
who else would they play. xavior Paul already in his 30s and doenst seem like a good hitter in the times he played.other then that we have a bunch of young guys.
Xavier Paul will be 26 in February. He’s a good fourth outfielder/defensive replacement.
oh so i was wrong he be 26. but gywnn there for defense. plus dodgers need a right handed bat Xavier paul wouldnt give them that
Paul is a bad defender.
who else would they play. xavior Paul already in his 30s and doenst seem like a good hitter in the times he played.other then that we have a bunch of young guys.
Unlike some people in this thread, I actually like this signing. Gives them pop off the bench.
only reason i like it is that they didnt get Damon instead. i would of hated if they did
Damon is a DH now. He’s going to the Rays.
Ned said earlier this week that we were out on Damon.
FAIL!!!
Thames has really fantastic power… He hit a ton of dingers in spacious comerica park and he never hits cheap 350 foot homers… all of his are pretty long
In terms of his defense, he has a much better arm than people give him credit for… he threw in the 90’s when he was first coming up (pitched before committing to OF) and has better speed than a lot of people realize. He is faster than Berkman, is more proven recently in the outfield than berkman and very few players who’ve served primarily in a bench roll have gone on the kind of power surges he has gone on.
Great signing…. very little doubt in my mind that if he is given the outfield spot full time he will put together a slash line of .258/.330/.510 with 30 something homers
i can see that happen with two outfielders together. if he started maybe but if he there to share time with gibbon in LF then he wont even get close to 30 HRS. more like 12 to 18 is more likely. all the talks i heard was they wanted a right handed bat to share time with gibbon in LF.
The dodgers are lucky to sign anybody. McCourt has just taken another loan from fox against future payment for broadcast rights. The whole Dodger situation is a mess. Until an owner comes in who can stabilize the finances of the team , and develop young talent instead of being last on player development and signing quality draft choices it will be a medicore orginazation.
Thames has really fantastic power… He hit a ton of dingers in spacious comerica park and he never hits cheap 350 foot homers… all of his are pretty long
In terms of his defense, he has a much better arm than people give him credit for… he threw in the 90’s when he was first coming up (pitched before committing to OF) and has better speed than a lot of people realize. He is faster than Berkman, is more proven recently in the outfield than berkman and very few players who’ve served primarily in a bench roll have gone on the kind of power surges he has gone on.
Great signing…. very little doubt in my mind that if he is given the outfield spot full time he will put together a slash line of .258/.330/.510 with 30 something homers
Good for Marcus. Seems like a genuine, nice guy, and has as much raw power as anyone. He never had a chance to play every day, but he just might rake against NL pitching. He kills lefties. He’s not great in the field, but better than many give him credit for. He has a large frame that takes a while to get going, but a huge wingspan that sometimes makes interesting plays. Now the sign- “Marcuswood”?
Now about that sigh:
NL West pitching tends to be better than most. Not sure that is a point in his favor.
Good for Marcus. Seems like a genuine, nice guy, and has as much raw power as anyone. He never had a chance to play every day, but he just might rake against NL pitching. He kills lefties. He’s not great in the field, but better than many give him credit for. He has a large frame that takes a while to get going, but a huge wingspan that sometimes makes interesting plays. Now the sign- “Marcuswood”?
Now about that sigh:
Can he play 1st or 3rd? I like the signing but if he can I’d like it even more
it says he plays LF,DH, and 1st
He doesn’t play 1st, only LF and RF and he’s really bad defensively. I left out DH because he will only be playing that in interleague play. Though he was a big help for the Yankees last year, he will be missed
i only said 1st because when you look him up that what it said
He doesn’t play 1st, only LF and RF and he’s really bad defensively. I left out DH because he will only be playing that in interleague play. Though he was a big help for the Yankees last year, he will be missed
He played some first base with the Tigers, and he was okay, but never played enough to get used to it.
jeremy,
Punctuation is your friend. It loves to be used.
Well he played 1 inning for the Yanks last yr at 3rd and boy wasn’t that fun. I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find video evidence, but it may have all been destroyed to protect the innocent.
That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, Marcus plays third and makes a nice stab on a shot down the line. He gets up, no doubt brimming with pride at his shocking display of athletic prowess, and promptly unleashes a “throw” to no one in particular (save perhaps the usher in the third row). Fantastic.
That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, Marcus plays third and makes a nice stab on a shot down the line. He gets up, no doubt brimming with pride at his shocking display of athletic prowess, and promptly unleashes a “throw” to no one in particular (save perhaps the usher in the third row). Fantastic.
just consider that the cubs signed Pena to a one year 10 million dollar contract. Marcus and Pena will likely put up very similar slash lines next year and will hit around the same number of dingers.
Pena’s one prevailing quality is his defence…. But does that really warrant 10 million???? Thames will make 25% of that in all likelyhood, and I gotta say he deserves every last cent considering the market for 5-6 in the lineup power hitters on the weaker NL teams
just consider that the cubs signed Pena to a one year 10 million dollar contract. Marcus and Pena will likely put up very similar slash lines next year and will hit around the same number of dingers.
Pena’s one prevailing quality is his defence…. But does that really warrant 10 million???? Thames will make 25% of that in all likelyhood, and I gotta say he deserves every last cent considering the market for 5-6 in the lineup power hitters on the weaker NL teams
i think the dodgers and the A’s have had the best offseason
Boston… Boston owned the offseason
In terms of marquee names yes, but the real winners in terms of making the most gains has to be the A’s.
Boston won the offseason? OMG! Beantown needs a case or three of Champagne!!! We’ll ask the Phillies’ front four to pick up the tab…
considering 3 of the 4 were already there before the offseason began, how does your comment address nathan’s claim?
That the one they got, for the price they paid makes for a pretty good offseason; the champagne reference is basically about still not knowing what this “best offseason trophy” looks like. Seattle seemed to have a pretty good offseason last year…
And Marcus is a great club house guy… everyone likes him….
this is a nice pick up because he has power and the dodgers were looking for right hnader power hitter to platto with Gibbons. now they sign Eric chavez back up casey Blake at third base and he could be a power threat off the bench.
why Eric chavez the dude is a health problem over the past 3 years
So you sign him to a minor league deal…
true since the dodger do like older guys who either have health problems or cant hit above .250
OMG, Brian Sabean has succeeded in tutoring Ned Colletti. Dammit, those were OUR jokes….
OMG, Brian Sabean has succeeded in tutoring Ned Colletti. Dammit, those were OUR jokes….
Dodgers apparent goal: Sign as many iffy players as possible (albeit, with something slightly more than a pulse) and hope SOMEBODY ELSE not named Ethier, Kemp or Loney have career years. Retired coach Kapler joining Thames today and the rest of the off-season (I’d like to include Uribe, but he didn’t come in at the price of a Ford Focus like the rest of them) at the very least should not prohibit the Dodgers from having the funds/excess players to make an all-star break trade to fill whatever gaps are still there. Of course, the biggest gap is at owner, and there aren’t too many options available yet, unless Bud Selig can place the Frank & Jamie show on irrevocable waivers for the purpose of putting them on the streets. Still, a bondo job on a 78 Olds is not befitting of a Corvette franchise, but we’ll take what we can get. Unfortunately.
I realize it’s just a minor league deal, but what’s the point of signing Kapler? He won’t even get any bench time unless one of the other five outfielders go on the DL.
New poll:
Does Steiner say THAYMES or TIMMS?
I’m going to guess “Temz.” Or whichever is the farthest from correct.
I can hear Steiner calling his homers now: “High drive, deep to left field and caught, by the third baseman”.
I am cool with it until the salary comes out.
50+ comments and nobody’s mentioned the REAL issue yet. Thames is no worse of a fielder than Manny, and he can be substituted in late innings. The real problem is that we’ve signed yet another guy with a .310 lifetime OBP. I like what they’ve done pitching-wise a lot, but offensively get ready to lose a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 games. All the power in the world does you no good if you don’t get anyone on base. There’s only so far you can go with solo HR. And Thames seems to hit a lot of them- lots of years with 20+ HR and less than 70 RBI.
“Lots of years” = two, actually.
Thames has hit 60 of his 113 home runs with no one on base. 53% might seem like a lot. 54% of Albert Pujols’s home runs come with the bases empty.
Now now now, before you jump down my throat — I know Pujols and Thames are totally different.
But I will say this about Thames: he usually bats low in the order. The odds of the bases being active by the time he comes to bat are not great. Players who typically bat 6th, 7th and 8th don’t get those big RBI numbers you want. It just doesn’t happen.
His career numbers with the bases loaded, by the way? 17-for-38 with 6 home runs. Not bad.
Well, I’m hearing enough positives about Thames as a clubhouse guy that I’m feeling a BIT better about it- and he did manage to take some pitches in NY last year obviously as he had his highest OBP ever, so maybe this isn’t as disappointing as it looks. But I wanted Damon. *Sniff*
The Dodgers and the O’s are the most improved teams over the winter!
I think the Brewers additions of Greinke and Marcum qualify them. And the Red Sox and White Sox both did well.
A genuine guy and the guy has flashes of power occasionally that match or outdo most in the league. The guy is a valuable asset if you’re looking for a guy who can come off of the bench and hit a home run for you as a pinch hitter, but this guy is horrid in the field. I don’t know if he’s an upgrade over Ramirez in left field, time will tell, but I just know that Marcus can potentially be overall better than Ramirez’s last years numbers. As an everyday player though? I don’t know so much, the Tigers and Yankees were hesitant to give him a lot of playing time, buyers beware on this guy, because he also strikes out a ton too.
Liking the deal even more now that the figures came out
He can hit lefties and I enjoyed watching him last season with the Yankees. His Mom is disabled and from some stories I read its clear he takes care of her so I’m glad he found a team in the US to play for.
Dodgers suck!
forget you dog.its all about the Dodgers
They got their Pat Burrell
1 million is not bad for a guy who can hit about .250 30 RBIs and 12-15 hrs
Anybody else Catch Hot Stove last night, were Peter Gammons suggested if the Dodgers get sold by September how do you re-energize the franchise? Go out and get Pujols. I know it’s just a hypothetical but damn we can dream right?