A year ago today, the Giants renewed reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's contract for $650K. One year and a second Cy Young later, San Francisco bought out Lincecum's first two years of arbitration eligibility for $23MM. I'm sure they enjoyed paying him just six figures while it lasted.
Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- The Friarhood looks at what some other teams could offer the Padres in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez.
- Crashburn Alley breaks down the possibility of the Phillies trading Ryan Howard so they could re-sign Jayson Werth.
- Meanwhile, TAUNTR thinks it's going to be tough for the Phillies to retain their right fielder.
- Statistician Magician says that letting Derek Jeter walk is an option for the Yankees.
- Mets Paradise takes a look at the Mets' catching situation with Rod Barajas now on board.
- More Hardball constructed a 25-man roster out of players that were signed to minor league contracts this offseason.
- River Ave. Blues wonders what CC Sabathia will do with his opt-out clause following the 2011 season.
- Baseball Bloggers Alliance challenges readers to put together Toronto's 25-man roster.
- The Sports Banter ranks each team's offseason, with two AL East powers leading the way.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
rockvssingleparents
Alright, we (the Orioles) will trade: Michael Gyvens, Zach Britton, Kam Mickolio, Felix Pie, and Brady Anderson’s legacy. Jed Hoyer is totally on board. I love the smell of third place at the end of a season.
JohanSantana
What an article by Friarhood. He literally just named the teams top prospects of the teams who may have interest.
Guest 1932
He also forgot about Brent Morel.
briankoke
“He also forgot about Brent Morel.”
I didn’t mention Morel because the Padres are loaded at 3B. They have a young Chase Headley in the majors, James Darnell, Logan Forsythe and Edison Rincon in the minors.
steveadler76
This piece was written before the Kouz trade. It outlines the Padres farm depth at third base.
friarhood.com/off-season-blog/60-i-dont-knows-on-t…
briankoke
That was the point of the article. I wrote it to look at what teams could become interested and the top talent the Padres may have interest in. Should the Padres not be expecting teams top prospects? It wasn’t written to throw out some ridiculous Ike Davis trade proposals. It was written to look at the broad view of the situation.
JohanSantana
Yeah and that is why it was pointless, we all know they want top prospects. A team could offer any of them. If it had different proposals of those players, maybe it would be better is what I was getting at. If an Ike Davis trade proposal is ridiculous, then why even include the Mets? If they make a deal it would have to include Ike Davis.
steveadler76
It’s not pointless, it’s obvious. The Mets don’t have a 1B and once they clean their act up will be able to sign a player like AG. To not consider them as part of the process would be ignorant.
briankoke
“Yeah and that is why it was pointless, we all know they want top prospects.”
Not every fan is as knowledgable as you apparently are. Not every fan knows what teams could be in need of a first baseman now and in the future and not every fan knows the top prospects for every team.
“If an Ike Davis trade proposal is ridiculous, then why even include the Mets?”
Because they don’t have much at 1B. The point was meant for the ridiculous proposals by Mets fans where Davis was the center piece with a bunch of garbage thrown in.
“If they make a deal it would have to include Ike Davis.”
I don’t see why that would be the case. I don’t think the Mets have enough to pull it off either way but, if they were willing to include F-Mart It could be possible. Just not likely.
briankoke
“Yeah and that is why it was pointless, we all know they want top prospects.”
Not every fan is as knowledgable as you apparently are. Not every fan knows what teams could be in need of a first baseman now and in the future and not every fan knows the top prospects for every team.
“If an Ike Davis trade proposal is ridiculous, then why even include the Mets?”
Because they don’t have much at 1B. The point was meant for the ridiculous proposals by Mets fans where Davis was the center piece with a bunch of garbage thrown in.
“If they make a deal it would have to include Ike Davis.”
I don’t see why that would be the case. I don’t think the Mets have enough to pull it off either way but, if they were willing to include F-Mart It could be possible. Just not likely.
JohanSantana
DP
04Forever
all of Theo Epsteins moves made this offseason smelled of him getting ready to make a much larger move for a super bat. Signing Lackey makes Buchholz available, signing Cameron makes Ellsbury available and the Sox a neck high is prospects. Its a matter of when the Sox trade for Adrain in my eyes, all the signs are there. If Theo did not make his moves based on the future ease on going after him, or Miggy or someone hard hitting, then his offseason moves made no sense this year
alphabet_soup5
Miguel Cabrera was never even made available, it was just a rumor started by Peter Gammons and the rest of the Boston media drooling over thinking they could put any offer on the table and get Cabrera because they’re the Red Sox.
alphabet_soup5
Miguel Cabrera was never even made available, it was just a rumor started by Peter Gammons and the rest of the Boston media drooling over thinking they could put any offer on the table and get Cabrera because they’re the Red Sox.
knoxfire30
An Adrian Gonzo trade with the whitesox would likely center around Gordon Beckham… (Dial tone noise) and Kenny Williams is laughing in the background
theWeiz
and some where further in the distance, another GM is laughing because adrian is playing first base for him.
cards10xchamps
Derek Jeter might be the most overratted player in the history of baseball. Can anyone with a straight face say that he is worth anywhere near 20 mil a yr.
04Forever
I can. I wish the Red Sox had a “Derek Jeter”
04Forever
I dont see how you can try to take something away from Derek. In an plagued by substance abuse, he is the last man standing. He is the face of baseball, a good guy, an amazing hitter, the alltime yankee hits leader (considering the men the precede him thats an incredible achivement). $20 million for the face of baseball is UNDER what he should make. If he signed a $20 million per for 4 years, they yankees would make that money back before the contract even expired in merchandising alone. Betting on Jeter is the safest bet in baseball
vtadave
Yeah, I think the majority of us actually can. From a pure baseball perspective? No. Factoring in the marketing aspect of Jeter and his chasing 3,000 and perhaps even 4,000 hits? Certainly.
Jeff
didnt mea to like the comment. im a hardcore red sox fan and i will take jeter any day of the week.
BaseballFan0707
You are forgiven, sir. =)
BaseballFan0707
He has a career .309 postseason batting average, with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the playoffs every year since Jeter joined the team. He has a Major League Baseball record 153 career postseason hits and also holds records for most postseason singles (111), at-bats (495), runs scored (85), and strikeouts (96).
On top of being the all-time Yankees hit leader, having 3000 hits done in 2 more years, being a 5 time champion, scoring 100+ runs in 12 of his 14 full seasons (The one season he missed significant time in (2003) he only scored 87, and in the off-year he had in 08, he only scored 88), a career average wRC+ of 131, and a 7 year total of 40 WAR (Considering how amazing his 96-01 numbers are, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number nearly doubled if we could get concrete numbers for those seasons).
On top of being a great leader, great clubhouse presence, great at handling the media (which is basically a requirement to be successful in New York, for either team.), you, sir, should quiet down.
I wouldn’t say he’s worth exactly 20 mil at this point, but there’s this other guy on the team that’s basically skewed the market absurdly, so he’ll get that kind of money. But you challenged us to keep a straight face and say anywhere near it. And, sir, with a a face as straight as humanly possible, I will say to you that yes, Derek Jeter is worth money around the 20 mil mark.
You can sit there and say he’s overrated as much as you want. The defense rests its case. His career strikeouts and bad defense are all that you have to say otherwise against him. To be honest, that’s not saying much.
cards10xchamps
I just tend to agree with what his teammate ARod said about him years ago. If jeter was on any other team, would he be as big a deal. The yankee’s were the yankee’s long before jeter. Is he a great yankee? Yes, but this acting like he’s jesus is ridiculous. The yankee’s owe him nothing. If anything he owe’s them a hometown discount for over inflating his career.
BaseballFan0707
His career has not been over-inflated. I presented you with numerous stats (and there are so many more in his favor) that show otherwise.
And you’d seriously listen to A-Rod’s words? Really? The moron himself? The guy who can’t tell the truth if his career depends on it? The guy who cheated on his wife with a woman about 20 years older than him?
Yeah, A-Rod can go to hell on that one. Jeter would probably be more of a big deal if he were on a team other than the Yankees.
cards10xchamps
I just tend to agree with what his teammate ARod said about him years ago. If jeter was on any other team, would he be as big a deal. The yankee’s were the yankee’s long before jeter. Is he a great yankee? Yes, but this acting like he’s jesus is ridiculous. The yankee’s owe him nothing. If anything he owe’s them a hometown discount for over inflating his career.
BoSoxSam
The biggest factor in the AGon trade will be the extension, if his comment yesterday really holds weight. He clearly wants to be paid. Seattle could surprise us with an extension, and while the Friarhood’s great article mentions Washington and Baltimore but I personally think them giving the extension would be an extremely longshot. For Baltimore, I think Padres would want too many of their young core players, and both teams would have to do some juggling to find the cash. The reason I, as a Red Sox fan, think he’s going to Boston is not just because of the prospect package (all of these teams have the players), but because of the money. Boston has it, and is willing to spend it, and AGon wants it. Plus, with the moves for Cameron and Lackey, they have opened up even more possible trading chips with Ellsbury and Buchholz. Personally I would hate to see either of them go, but I can see why they would do that; if the Padres want MLB ready players, those are the guys they can use to make the trade. Plus, if they really think they’ll be ready soon, they’ve got Westmoreland and Kelly coming up to take those guys places.
Gjf29
I dislike Jeter as much as the next non-Yankee fan, but he is worth every penny of 20 million. He is the best situational hitter in the game and his game suits that park to perfection. Don’t overrated leadership skills either. When he says something, people listen because of his incredible track record. Btw, who the hell would replace him?
Guest 1931
Not for a second do I think it makes sense for the Phillies to trade Ryan Howard for whatever package they can get in order to retain Jayson Werth. They could easily get two top prospects once Jayson Werth walks. Plus, Domonic Brown will be ready to dominate once Werth leaves.
Derek Jeter is not walking. The only place he will be walking for the next 4 or 5 years is in NY.
BaseballFan0707
Well to be fair he does live in Florida, actually =P. He has like 4 different houses-the apartment he uses during the season in Trump Towers, the house he has in the Davis Islands in Florida, a house in Jersey, and a house in upstate New York I believe it is. I’m not sure where the last two houses exactly are, though.
Random info for ya.
rockvssingleparents
There aren’t many huge stories swirling around right now, hence the trading Ryan Howard and C.C. opting out bullcrap that keeps popping up on this website right now. With that said, Domonic Brown is just going step up and dominate? Nothing is a sure bet. Ask the Cubs about Jerome Walton.
BaseballFan0707
Am i the only person that is completely unphased by CC’s opt-out clause?
Because if he honestly thinks he can get better money elsewhere, or that we’ll pay him more, he’s crazy. I suspect the Yanks will offer him the exact same money he left on the table, maybe with another year added on, and he’ll find absolutely nothing else out there that will even come close to the offer. If he wants to do that song and dance, I so dare him to.
0bsessions
As pointed out to an extent earlier, the Yankees set a precedent with A-Rod. Whether or not Sabathia opts out depends entirely upon how he does these next two seasons and the development of Hughes and Chamberlain. If he gets hurt or starts to decline, he will certainly ignore his opt out. If he maintains his level as a perennial Cy Young candidate, he will most certainly opt out. If Hughes and/or Chamberlain don’t turn out to be ace quality, the Yanks almost certainly won’t want to let Sabathia walk away as they’ve proven they’ll shell out big bucks to re-sign players no one else wants to pay for (Ala A-Rod) and are not hesitant to shell out big bucks when the economy’s in the toilet (Ala Sabathia’s current contract). The Yanks had to outbid the next closest team by about $40MM to land Sabathia, if he thinks he can get an equivelant or better payday, he will most definitely opt out.
BaseballFan0707
I don’t agree, simply because he’s a pitcher, and not a hitter, so it’s an entirely different animal. The only other team that came close to the offer the Yanks made to him was the Angels, and I don’t think they’d be willing to cough up that amount of money when he’s 32.
It’s that whole age factor that will keep other teams from offering significant money. Outside of the Yanks, who need him and have the resources, I cannot think of any team willing to offer him 20 mil per year. Heck, it’s hard to imagine any team offering him 18 million per.
sackseph
Trading away Ryan Howard would be idiotic. He p[ut up ridiculous numbers in the season and postseason. I do think the Phills will trade J-Roll though
Yankeefan4life
Jeter isn’t going anywhere. Sabathia isn’t gonna opt out. Only an idiot would opt out of the kind of contract he has.
Yankees10
Trade Ryan Howard to resign Werth. That is by far thes tupidest thing I have ever heard.
dickylarue
The only way CC opts out is if he thinks he can get a better contract (more money and years) from the Yankees by doing so, a la Arod.
I don’t think any team is going to offer the years and money he’ll have left on the deal so an opt out is to put the screws to the Yankees which he could choose to do. The one thing about Yankee players is they love the team, but they give it no discounts and use their leverage when they can.
Like Posada getting an extra year on his deal the Yankees didn’t want to give him by publicly having lunch in NYC with Omar and the Mets.
I’d be surprised to see CC opt out, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they felt there was more money on the table than what he’ll be owed at that point.
ChiSoxDoWork
Beckham is as untouchable to the white sox as strasburg is to the nats. Beckham is supposed to be the derek jeter of that team for the next 10-15 years. He isnt leaving for Adrian.
dylanp5030
What about trading Howard for a number 2/3 pitcher like Cain or signing Webb, and moving Werth to 1B (he was a catcher at one time as well) and putting Dom Brown in the OF. I like that idea much much more than moving Utley to 1B. Then, maybe Gose/Gilles will be ready to take over Ibanez’s spot after 2011.
Trading Howard would hurt, but I’m sure a lot of teams (with payroll flexibility) would love to have a guy like that and would give up pitching for it. Maybe you can even get a 3B prospect out of it as well.
dylanp5030
What about trading Howard for a number 2/3 pitcher like Cain or signing Webb, and moving Werth to 1B (he was a catcher at one time as well) and putting Dom Brown in the OF. I like that idea much much more than moving Utley to 1B. Then, maybe Gose/Gilles will be ready to take over Ibanez’s spot after 2011.
Trading Howard would hurt, but I’m sure a lot of teams (with payroll flexibility) would love to have a guy like that and would give up pitching for it. Maybe you can even get a 3B prospect out of it as well.
Ichiroll
Whoever made that “Friarhood” website should be shot, that is the most god awful website I have seen in a long long time….
Ichiroll
Whoever made that “Friarhood” website should be shot, that is the most god awful website I have seen in a long long time….
NYBravosFan10
Come on Ruben don’t be stupid and trade away the face of your franchise. You aren’t gonna be able to re-sign Werth and you’ve got plenty of other playmakers on the team and Domonic Brown should be ready to take Werth’s spot by the trade deadline so at least get some prospects that you desperately need for him. Because if you hold on to him you are still gonna lose him but get nothing but a couple good draft picks. Do the right thing Ruben. Of course i won’t complain if you screw over the entire franchise, I just like seeing executives do the smart thing.
NYBravosFan10
Come on Ruben don’t be stupid and trade away the face of your franchise. You aren’t gonna be able to re-sign Werth and you’ve got plenty of other playmakers on the team and Domonic Brown should be ready to take Werth’s spot by the trade deadline so at least get some prospects that you desperately need for him. Because if you hold on to him you are still gonna lose him but get nothing but a couple good draft picks. Do the right thing Ruben. Of course i won’t complain if you screw over the entire franchise, I just like seeing executives do the smart thing.
danks50
Gordon Beckham, a star in the making who posted pretty exceptional stats for a 22 year old and at the end of the season became an average defender at a position he played for a total of 10 games before his call up for a slugger that will command a FA contract around 100 million?
I don’t think so.
danks50
Gordon Beckham, a star in the making who posted pretty exceptional stats for a 22 year old and at the end of the season became an average defender at a position he played for a total of 10 games before his call up for a slugger that will command a FA contract around 100 million?
I don’t think so.
Spirit of '69
The Red Sox have the inside track to AGon, and while it was right for Friarhood to include the Mets I just don’t see it, and for all the wrong reasons (naturally). Met ownership has a sickness, they try to convince themselves (delude themselves?) that certain things are reality when they’re not. They will try to convince themselves that Daniel Murphy or Ike Davis will be the 1B of the future, because either will cost a fraction of what it will take to pay AGon. They will justify and rationalize out the yin-yang, and oh you can bet some anonymous “high ranking Mets official” will leak that AGon is somehow due for a major injury — because that crack Mets medical staff has done some in-house evaluation.
Truth is, AGon is proven (unlike Murphy or Davis), and in a tough ballpark yet. He’s exactly what the Mets need which is why he’ll likely end up in Boston.