Last week, Scott Podsednik officially declined his half of his mutual option with the Dodgers and elected to become a free agent. Pods has seen time with three different clubs over the past two seasons, and may end up with a fourth within the next few months. While a few years ago, Podsednik may have been a Major League afterthought, he's rebuilt some stock and now joins a fairly weak outfield market. Let's take a look at his position:
The Good
- Podsednik can still run. He may no longer be a 70 stolen base threat, but he's still good for 30-plus swipes per season and will always give pitchers something to think about when he's on base.
- His .300/.347/.397 slash line over the past two seasons is passable for a leadoff hitter who can steal plenty of bases.
- Podsednik makes good contact; he struck out just 15.4% of his plate appearances this year, while the Major League average sat at 20.7%.
- He's a Type B free agent, so he won't cost a draft pick to sign, and likely won't require an overly large salary either.
- He can handle lefties decently, so he doesn't need to be part of a platoon. It's worth noting that what little power he has is against right-handers though; he had just four extra base hits against southpaws in 2010.
The Bad
- It's been awhile since Pods was a defensive asset. While he has good speed still, he's failed to post a positive UZR in left field since 2007, and his arm is considerably below average.
- While he can steal you bases, it's not at an elite rate anymore. Podsednik got caught in nearly 30% of his attempts in 2010, compared to just 16% of the time at his peak in 2004, when he stole 70 with Milwaukee.
- He can hit the occasional home run, but Podsednik isn't a reliable source of power. He's slugged above .400 just twice in his career.
- He may not be the sexiest option, but after Carl Crawford, Podsednik represents one of the best left field options on the market (Johnny Damon and Pat Burrell are others, depending on how many clubs still view them as viable outfielders). That should give him bargaining power and increase the number of suitors.
The Verdict
Podsednik is no longer the terror on the bases he was in his younger days. He'll be 35 next season, but can still steal 30+ bases and get on base well enough to be a club's leadoff hitter. He won't bring power, but he doesn't strike out much and many teams will like his veteran presence. He represents one of the better left field options on the market, thanks to a resurgent 2009-2010 stretch. He declined a $2MM salary with the Dodgers, which means he'll look to best that mark and likely won't have trouble doing so. It's at least possible a team commits two years, but I'd assume most will want to stick to one-year deals, probably with a club option. Podsednik can likely command a salary in the $3MM-$4MM range, and if he can maintain his speed, it wouldn't be a terrible commitment.
Podsednik's nothing too special at this point, but he picked a good time to enter free agency. A weak market and back-to-back solid seasons will earn him a respectable payday.
Atlanta Bound!!!
Atlanta DESPERATELY needs a replacement level OF. Oh wait…
Hinske, Diaz and (!) Ankiel were probably more valuable players last year. McLouth is a decent rebound candidate as well, despite how tragically awful he was last year.
McLouth is a .190 batting average waiting to happen again. Hinske is a great bat off the bench, not a great starter. Diaz is good for 250-300 at bats per year when healthy, anything more is too much. Ankiel is not coming back. Podsednik would be great for this lineup. He will bat .285ish, although he wont steal 70 bases, he can score from first on a double. We’ll have Prado, Heyward, McCann, and Chip behind him, none of which are legitamate power threats, but more double hitters. And we really dont need a gold glove outfielder. We made the playoffs without one. With Podsedniks speed, he can cut a ball off in the gap. That gets overlooked. His speed could prevent other players from scoring from first on a double. I think if we got Pods, and somehow got Rasmus without giving up Teheran, we would have a very fast outfield capable of scoring runs. While I would like to have a 40 home run threat, I know that isnt happening. So I believe a leadoff man capable of scoring 100 runs is the next best option.
Before we crush McLouth, let’s not forget that in his prime seasons Podsednik washed out of MLB after disastrous stints in Chicago and Colorado. I’m not saying McLouth is anything all that special but for his career his slugging is 60 points higher. He’s also had highly productive years in ’08 and ’09.
I think you’re way off about his speed on balls in the gap also. Not only is that a skill that almost never comes into play – but if his instincts are poor on fly balls there’s no reason to think his instincts will magically allow him to not take a step in the wrong direction at first on a line drive in the gap.
I’d also argue Podsednik would be an awful choice for a leadoff hitter (though I know that runs afoul of more old school notions of building a lineup). In my mind, he’s, at best, an NL #8 hitter. He also has a pronounced platoon split throughout his career (he has absolutely no slugging against lefties).
I’m not hating on the Braves. I don’t actually care about them either way. But their success derived from having a superb pitching staff and making due with a mediocre offense. I think you underrate Heyward’s power potential – there’s no real reason he can’t be a legit 30+ HR threat this year. Also Diaz played REALLY well when he had his season of most opportunity. In ’09 he had 420 plate appearances, a career high, and went .313/.390/.488 which is a line that’s entirely impossible for Podsednik (.301/.356/.456 for the career blows Podsednik out of the water too).
I think Rasmus would be the PERFECT fit for the Braves, but I don’t think there is any realistic deal for him that doesn’t include Teheran.
I agree that McClouth in is prime is better than Pods in his prime. No doubt. But McClouth doesn’t look comfortable out there. I’ve lost my faith in him. But I hope he does bounce back and prove me wrong.
As for defense, youre right. Cutting off balls in the gap isnt a common play, but its good to have when needed. And Pods will catch routine fly balls. As for taking a step in the wrong direction on a gapper, that can happen to anyone at anytime. If Pods was completely horrible at fielding, I dont think he would have played for so many NL teams. I dont know much about his defense, but it cant be completely terrible.
I think that Pods would be a very good #8 hitter as well. But he deserves a shot to lead off. I believe that Pods leading off and Prado batting 2nd would score us more runs than Prado leading off and Pods batting 8th. I also understand that he has platooned alot in his career, and if he struggles with a full time role, all we have to do is platoon him again. Believe me, platooning a LFer in Atlanta is nothing new.
Our pitching has definately been our strenght. And it will continue to be for years to come. And since we aren’t going to get a 40 HR guy anytime soon, we will have to continue to create our own offense. And what better way to do that than with alittle more speed. Heyward is definately capable of hitting 30 bombs, as is McCann, but the chances of 40 doubles is more likely. Especially in Turner Field.
I believe worst case scenario with Pods, he hits .265, scores 85 runs, and has 55 rbi’s, and steals 25 bases. While those arent great numbers, ill take them over what we’ve had. I seriously believe that McClouth will hit .240 with 12hrs and 55 rbis, and steal only 15 bases. Their defense cant be much different (although I could be wrong as I dont know much about Pods defense).
I understand you dont care much about the Braves, but what do you think their best option is? Do you believe McClouth or Diaz are better options?
I think Diaz is the best option of those three.
As I said in another comment the most important skill a lead-off can have is the ability to get on base consistently. Pods is, roughly, league average as a .340 OBP guy – but that’s league average across all positions. I think a great Braves lineup would have Prado leading off, then Jones, to Heyward, McCann, Freeman, Diaz, and some combo of Gonzalez and the other starting OF at 7 and 8.
Both advanced metrics and scouting reports agree that Pods is, at best, below average in the field and might be closer to awful. I wouldn’t be opposed to a guy like Podsednik for the bench, especially in the NL. But definitely not as a lead-off hitter.
If I were Frank Wren, I think I’d give Friedman a call and see if I could pick up B.J. Upton at a reasonable price. He’s an elite defensive player, with top speed and base running abilities, and maybe a move to the weaker pitching of the NL would benefit him.
weaker pitching of the NL? NL pitchers are better than AL’s and AL’s hitters are better than NL’s. I don’t think the park will matter much though, both parks can be tough on hitters.
The general perception in baseball is that the AL has FAR superior pitching at this point. It’s all cyclical, of course, so in a few years it might be the NL again. But in order to be a successful AL starter a pitcher needs to be of a higher caliber, guys like Zito/Maine/etc can survive in the NL but would get roasted in the AL.There are a ton of hitters who prove it out too. Look at guys like Berkman who struggled mightily moving to the AL but guys like Huff, Tejada, Ankiel, Burrell and even Podsednik who improved after switching leagues.Just as a small example from Keith Law’s Top 50 free agents today is Pat Burrell (Law ranked Burrell 29th of this class, Podsednik didn’t make the list): “I’ve heard the scouting line “He can’t hit good pitching” a number of times applied to many players, but I never thought it had much value, since “good pitching” is the kind that nobody hits, otherwise it would be “bad pitching” or “Elartonic.” That said, the phrase might finally have its exemplar in Burrell, who flunked out of the AL East, went bananas in the NL West, then flopped again in the World Series against more AL pitching. Like many players with “old man’s skills,” Burrell got old fast, and quickly; in hindsight, the decline probably started before the end of 2008 when he hurt his foot. For an NL team looking for a below-average defender in left who gets on base and can crush an NL mistake, he’s a potential fit, and maybe he really did just need to get out of the AL East to rediscover his stroke. As someone who bought into Burrell two years ago, though, I’m now a skeptic.”Same idea in his write-up of Aubrey Huff (#15): “I see Huff as more of a .260/.340/.420 guy going forward, worse if he returns to the American League.”Anything can happen in a short series, of course, as we saw this year. And the NL has a lot of ELITE pitchers (Lincecum, Johnson, Halladay, etc) but the level of competition on both sides of the mound is generally higher in the AL.
That is only because it is harder to pitch in the AL. Guys like Maur, Tex, & A-Rod thrive on their numbers, whereas guys like Pujos, Braun, & A-Gon thrive on their abilities. Granted, all those players have great abilities, NL hitters do need to stop the pitcher from pitching around them. Pujos was the human Intentional Walk before Holliday batted behind him. I guess I see your point there.
I’m 100% with you that it’s harder to pitch in the AL. BUT I beleive, as many in the game do, that the average AL pitcher is noticeably better than the average AL pitcher. We can agree that AL pitcher have FAR more difficult line-ups to face because even the worst DHs are significantly better hitters than the very best hitting pitchers.
A bit of numerical evidence: the average allowed WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched against all the pitchers in a given league) in the AL was 1.346 last season, in the NL it was 1.348. Which means NL pitchers gave up more hit and walks per inning than AL pitchers and that’s despite the huge advantage of facing the opposing pitcher.
I agree with you that conventional wisdom says AL pitchers are better, and I think that would be something interesting for somebody to look more deeply into to see if it is more than perception; perhaps I will grab some FanGraphs data and do it later on.
But grasping at a 0.002 difference in WHIP as proof makes me want to cry a little. That’s what, two extra hits/walks per 1,000 innings? Three extra per season per team? Hardly what I would call proof; for all practical purposes that’s dead even. Also, you spun the number as “NL pitchers are worse even though they face the pitcher” but I could just as easily say that since there is at least one easy out (the pitcher) in the NL lineups, they may choose to pitch around* the 8 slot hitters more, increasing their WHIP. If there wasn’t some horrible flaw in my math and it really is only like a three walk/hit difference per team, I wouldn’t find that to be an unreasonable number.
* I do literally mean PITCH AROUND here because I don’t think IBB is included in WHIP. If I am wrong about that, it makes it an even easier sell.
Fair point about grasping at a WHIP difference. I don’t necessarily buy the idea of walking the 8th hitter to face the pitcher as being something that really happens all that much (I think we’d see a spike in the OBP of #8 hitters which I don’t believe is the case – but I’m saying this without actual data, just something I remember reading somewhere). I believe pitchers generally produce roughly a .140/.180/.200 line, less sure about the precise production of DHs but logic suggests each of those number increases significantly. Sure pinch hitters play late in the game in the NL, but it’s still a sizable difference quality of opposition faced (also a DH is probably a better hitter than an NL bench player).
I’m not disagreeing with your general point regarding pitching, but the examples that you used weren’t the best. Ankiel’s numbers were WORSE in the NL than the AL after being traded this year (Ankiel with KC – .261/.317/.467/.784; Ankiel with ATL – .210/.324/.328/.651).
Podsednik’s numbers went down as well (Pods with KC – .310/.353/.400/.753; Pods with LAD – .262/.313/.336/.648).
As I said, I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you on the pitching aspect, but I think there are probably better examples to use than Ankiel and Pods.
I’d at least kick the tires on Grady Sizemore too – see if his stock has fallen enough to make an acquisition reasonable
Also runs scored is not a player skill. Even more than RBIs, they’re a function of what players hit behind a batter in the order. Speed helps, but having great hitters behind you is really all that matters.
It’s not a stat you rely on, but it is a stat you can use with other stats or through years. Like Lowe and his ability to win games through the years. He doesn’t look like a 15 Win pitcher, but he consistently wins 15 games a year. Maybe an RBI guy is clutch, a pitcher presence gets his hitters to hit for him, or a runner knows how to run or distract a pitcher. Also shows they can get on base and stay on base, maybe go 1st to 3rd.
I think that’s entirely untrue about Lowe. I think he’s a very good pitcher (career ERA: 3.85, career FIP: 3.80) who has consistently pitched for a very good teams (Boston, LA, Atlanta) that has led to him winning a lot of games. Wins are a function of team. I also wouldn’t say he consistently wins 15 games – 14 years in the majors, he’s won 15 games 5 times. His average record is 12-10.
Sadly for Podsednik, we can actually measure someone’s efficiency on SBs and extra bases and things like that on an annual basis using EQBRR. For perspective in the stat (it measures how many extra runs a team scores based on a base runner’s skills) the top 15 were: Bourn, Pierrer, Gardner, Pagan, Andrus, Crawford, Torres, Bonifacio, Jackson, Victorino, Gonzalez, Stubbs, Davis, Furcal, Kinsler (basically a who’s who of great baserunners and speed guys). Podsednik ranked 166th, just behind Marcus Thames and just ahead of Jeff Mathis and Aubrey Huff. It means that even though he’s fast his base running was incredibly unremarkable. Perhaps he cost his team runs with poor decisions or simply has poor instincts of a batted ball. But there’s strong evidence that he’s a mediocre baserunner.
And I don’t think runs is a stat you can rely on in any way. And even if you want to, Podsednik is a TERRIBLE fit – he’s only had 100 runs once in his career way back in 2003 in his first full season when he managed a superb .379 OBP. Funny how it works that the year he gets on base the most, he scores the most runs. Mark Teixeira, who is astoundingly slow and bats in the middle of his teams’ line-ups, has had over 100 runs scored in 5 of his 8 seasons (another was 99 and yet another, 86, would’ve been over 100 if he didn’t miss roughly 20% of the season due to injury). He was 2nd in the majors this year behind Pujols and just ahead of Miguel Cabrera. Good players score runs because they’re on base more frequently and thus are driven in – it’s not a skill. And even if it was a skill, Podsednik would not be good at it.
I am talking about Lowe in the past 8 years he hasn’t pitched worse than 12 Wins. He was a closer in the earlier parts of his career, so I am talking about when he started his domination as a pitcher. I like him as a pitcher. He was a great pick up, just he has pitched with a high ERA for Turner Field. He still commands a good presence, if you don’t compare him to his paycheck.
I agree with you that he’s a very good pitcher; wins aren’t the reason he’s good though. The fact that he prevents opposing teams from scoring runs at a significantly above average level is what makes him a good pitcher. He wins games because he’s a good pitcher on good teams – massive amounts of evidence suggest wins are not a repeatable skill a player can control.
I agree with you that he’s a very good pitcher; wins aren’t the reason he’s good though. The fact that he prevents opposing teams from scoring runs at a significantly above average level is what makes him a good pitcher. He wins games because he’s a good pitcher on good teams – massive amounts of evidence suggest wins are not a repeatable skill a player can control.
A doubles hitter IS a power threat. You go looking for homerun hitters and you end up clogging the basepaths. Plus, you get a lot more continuous RBI opportunities from doubles and triples than you do from homeruns. Homeruns are fun. but they can also act as a rally killer in disguise. Bottom line is you need good athletes.
Atlanta needs that token lead-off hitter, but I think they can do fine with Prado leading off. He’s not a typical num 1 hitter, as he doesn’t walk… but he is aggressive and that gives him more hits. Braves could use RH-power more than they could use LH-base stealers.
Prado is a #2 hitter.
Yes, Prado is a stereo-typical num 2 hitter, but he proved something to the team that he can do very well as a lead-off hitter. I’m sure the opposing pitchers don’t want to walk a num 2 guy… but already we have too many num 2 hitters. We need someone who can bat 4th. Not sure if that’s the job for Chipper or Heyward yet. Chipper bats more like a num 2 guy now.
If he played better defense I’d put money on it. But they want someone who can play better defense than that.
I think anyone that would choose Podsednik over Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Pat Burrell, Magglio Ordonez or, of course, Jayson Werth (if he can play RF and CF he can sure as hell play LF) is sorely mistaken.15.4% is a better than average K rate – but it isn’t an exceptional rate for a player with little-to-no power production. His left field play is consistently well below average. A stolen base rate below 75% is also, in most cases, more detrimental than positive to a team.Most importantly, last year he was worth 0.4 fWAR and -0.1 bWAR. He’s not much better than something that can be picked off of any AAA scrap heap, certainly not the 2nd best left fielder in the market.
Just as one small example of that AAA scrap heap teams should look to instead of spending more than 2 million on Podsednik – Shelley Duncan of the Indians was more valuable in roughly 40% as many ABs (0.9 fWAR and 1.0 bWAR)
I’m not counting Manny as a left fielder, and Damon’s getting pretty close to full-time DH’ing duties. I suppose you could still make a case for him as a left fielder though. Ordonez and Werth are capable of playing left field, sure, but are primarily right fielders.
Burrell and Damon are worth debating though; I added them to the post
Fair enough on Ramirez – I’d argue to an NL team would profit more by his bat than be hurt by his defense. Ramirez’s UZR/150 (not a perfect stat but useful for our purposes) has hovered between -19 and -20.9 the last 3 seasons and is -20.0 for his career. Podsednik is tough to make fair comparisons about because of numerous sample size issues but his last 3 seasons in LF were -38.6 (only 47 games total so a tiny sample), -1.3 and -9.1. He’s a bad defensive player, not as bad as Ramirez, but Ramirez’s bat advantages outweigh his defensive failures.
Werth is 513 RF games, 201 LF games and 104 CF games in his career. He played LF as recently as ’09 and it was his primary position in his Dodger days. Definitely seems reasonable that a team with an entrenched RF could move him to left (Boston with Drew, perhaps…?).
Werth can play there, true, but he logged more innings in right field this year alone than he has in his entire career in left field. A team certainly could put Werth in left, and they’d be better off with him there, but my assumption is that a team is going to pay Jayson Werth a lot of money to be their right fielder, so I didn’t include him as an option.
Your point on Manny vs. Pods is valid, but I’m also being realistic with the thought. I’d be shocked if a National League team signed Ramirez this offseason. You could technically sign Jim Thome to play first base or put Hideki Matsui and Vlad in the outfield, but there are just some guys who fall into the DH category eventually. I think Manny’s hit that point, even if his bat could indeed make up for a lot of his defensive woes.
Just my take on things, but you were right to point out that my language was far too absolute for a borderline player like Scotty Po. My mistake on that one, thanks for keeping me honest.
It’s all good – I appreciate you taking my points seriously. I agree with you that all of those guys (except Werth) I suggested are, at best, defensive abominations. I pointed out the guys that were clear improvements in my mind, but I actually think there are a few more fringe-guys that a team might reasonably invest in before Podsednik: Thames (HUGE defensive issues), Hawpe (defensive atrocity), Kearns (1.5 win players last year), Winn (horrid last year, but a 5 win player in ’08 and 1.5 in ’09) and, as bad as he was last year, Melky Cabrera (still had upside). For many teams I think older role players like Edmonds or Stairs might be more useful than Podsednik too. I think the real issue with Podsednik is that because he can run like the wind it’s assumed he can play a decent outfield, which is sadly not the case – he’s simply closer to Manny or Burrell in the field than Crawford or Gardner (guys with a far more similar athletic toolbox). I have no ill-will towards Pods or anything like that, speedsters are fun to watch, but I can’t imagine Podsednik is going to make any team that signs him significantly better.
Keep up the good work.
Why? Damon and Manny are showing a heck of a lot more signs of age and are on their way out. Burrell still has to prove he can hit with other teams; he got lucky with the Giants and took advantage, but can he still do so elsewhere? Magglio and Pods are both at the same stages of their careers.
Why would anyone choose Podsednick? Baserunners, RBI opportunities. You can have all the Miggy’s, the Ryan Howards, the Adam Dunns you want to, but if guys aren’t getting on base in front of them, then you defeat the purpose of having those big bats.
Scott Podsednick will go to a team that is in dire need of a table setting at the top of their lineup (Braves, Angels, Padres).
And if Pods doesn’t end up at or near the top of someone’s lineup, he’s a perfect 4th outfielder who can give you some depth if anyone gets hurt, or if that top OF prospect chokes.
Or, he can be used as trade bait to a team like the Pirates.
Either way, after proving in 2010 that he can still perform well (when healthy and playing a full season), he’ll likely end up in a contender’s lineup; whether it be all season, or after the deadline.
You make good points. Having a Podsednik type also allows the manager to do more, such as hit an run. And on an off day, it allows for a speedy pinch runner in a late innings situation.
Playing long ball is great. But solo homeruns arent usually the difference maker in a game. Getting on base, having speed, forcing the defense to take that into account is a huge assett for an offense. And anyone in the majors can hit a double. Not everyone hits the long ball. Having someone like Pods to get on base at the top of the order is a huge table setter.
And like you said, worse case scenario, his bat slumps. He then becomes a 4th outfielder. Or trade bait. Or a speedy option off the bench.
Bottom line is power isnt guaranteed. Speed is (baring injury).
In literally every single season of their careers, Ordonez has been a more valuable player than Podsednik. The issue with Podsednik is that he isn’t all that good at getting on base. Because he has almost no power production his career .340 OBP is terrible for a corner OF (.340 is generally around league average across all positions). Just because someone is fast it doesn’t make them a good lead-off hitter.
For what it’s worth, I think a lineup with 9 Miguel Cabreras would be, by far, the best offensive lineup in baseball history. It’d be a defensive abomination but would hit something like 400 home runs.
I think Podsednik is a mediocre bench player too. If you have a backup OF who has no power production, they should be useful defensively but Podsednik is awful.
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘table setting.’ I’d much rather have a guy that actually gets on base than a guy that’s fast. A guy like Gardner is an ideal lead off hitter, I think, but he gets on base with an OBP over .380 – Pods is a .340 guy. That’s an enormous difference. Speed is not the key ingredient of a leadoff hitter (or ‘table setter’), the ability to get on base is. Obviously, Nick Johnson (all OBP, no speed) leading off is less than ideal – but OBP is the core ingredient you want in the player that will receive the most ABs in a game.
Also, why would the Pirates want Podsednik? What possible benefit does he give that team? They have young OF talent and shouldn’t be wasting roster spots on aging veterans.
Also, the most important thing about Podsednik: he’s a terrible defensive player. What little benefit his speed on the bases may provide is more than nullified by his defense and if his stolen base success % continues to decline than his times thrown out will hurt the team more than the stolen bases will benefit.
As to Burrell, I don’t think he really has all that much to prove. He had a terrible time in Tampa, no question about it, but let’s not pretend he wasn’t a really good player in Philadelphia. Also nothing in his batted ball profile suggests he was lucky, his BABIP was actually a bit below his career average (.291 vs. 297). He’s terrible defensively, but the guy is still a solid hitter.
not a bad player. if the tigers miss out on crawford they can get him.
They actually tried to get him last year too.
Somebody out there that can play all 3 outfield positions at GG Caliber, has speed, can play NL small ball with excellent bunting ability and may need to show is healthy may be anoption, is CoCo Crisp also. Las couple of seasons for him have been pretty much shot with rotator cuff surgeries, his back as well since he left Boston.
His arm is awful for throwing, but he is a superb defensive outfielder at any of the 3 spots and can run as well as anyone when a team will let him, plus knows how to lay down a bunt for either sacrifice, or for a base hit.
A healthy Crisp playing on a regular basis and a 2m or so contract would not be an awful pickup for a season and he is a very hard nosed player that can fire up a team.
Oakland picked up Crisp’s option. He isnt available
posedink will sign with the phillies or atlanta braves i think maybe phily since there better and there looking at a right fielder and i think they’ll take him and put him on the bench or play ben fransisco since they don’t have much money to spend
Phillies are a terrible fit for Podsednik. They are looking at a starting OF lineup with 3 lefty hitters already (Victorino, Brown and Ibanez), all of whom have shown negative platoon splits in their career. If they sign any back-up OF it’d be a right handed hitter for the bench to platoon a bit with Ibanez and Brown (Austin Kearns might be a decent fit).
Podsednik can’t play RF. He’s a bad defensive player with a terrible arm, RF would be a horrid fit for him. Of his 917 career major league games in the OF he’s only started 11 in right field.
Phillies are a terrible fit for Podsednik. They are looking at a starting OF lineup with 3 lefty hitters already (Victorino, Brown and Ibanez), all of whom have shown negative platoon splits in their career. If they sign any back-up OF it’d be a right handed hitter for the bench to platoon a bit with Ibanez and Brown (Austin Kearns might be a decent fit).
Podsednik can’t play RF. He’s a bad defensive player with a terrible arm, RF would be a horrid fit for him. Of his 917 career major league games in the OF he’s only started 11 in right field.
Let me see if I’ve got this right. The highest salary Podsednik has commanded in entire career was $2.9m in 2007. He was released after that season and signed for $750,000. Now he’s worth $3-4m? What am I missing here?