If you're a DH, you're not going to have more than 14 suitors, no matter how well you hit. Vladimir Guerrero hit well last year, posting a .300/.345/.496 line with 29 homers, but even at the beginning of the offseason, his list of possible destinations wasn't a long one. As Spring Training approaches, that list has shrunk to four. Here are the possible destinations for Vlad:
- Orioles – The sides continue to talk, but there's "nothing on the horizon," according to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. The Orioles don't necessarily have the money to afford Guerrero, but they would likely move Luke Scott to left field if they do sign Vlad, writes Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold would probably be out of luck in that situation. ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Orioles could have interest in Guerrero on a one-year deal worth $2MM or so. At this point, Vlad wants a two-year deal (Twitter link).
- Blue Jays – The Blue Jays are open to bolstering their bench, but they intend to provide Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion with regular playing time. Adding Guerrero would likely reduce Lind's exposure to left-handed pitchers, which would be a plus given Lind's struggles against southpaws.
- Rangers – They don't have roster space for him now, since Mike Napoli and Michael Young will likely be the team's primary DHs. But Young could theoretically be traded before the season begins and the Rangers expressed at least some interest in re-signing Guerrero earlier in the week.
- Angels - The Angels could combine Guerrero with Bobby Abreu, partly to ensure that Abreu's 2012 option doesn't vest, as Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains. Angels GM Tony Reagins told Jim Bowden of FOX Sports Radio that the door is still open for Guerrero to return to the Halos.
No way the jays sign him. Yesterday on the fan590 Alex Anthopoulos said he strongly believes EE will hit 30 home runs this year. If they sign Vladdy then there is no playing time for EE. I wouldnt mind being wrong on this though but for $8M a year, probably not!
Just because AA believes EE will hit 30 hr, doesn’t mean it will happen. I would like to see the O’s hang on to Scott and Pie. Doesn’t really seem like there are any realistic spots for Vlad at this point. Wish he would have signed earlier. He’s fun to watch.
Your right! Just because AA said that it doesnt mean EE will hit 30 but AA is the G.M and if he believes that then I dont see him picking up Vlad at all. AA has also said many times that he doesnt like a player who can only DH and not play a position.
Well Vlad can play right, it just won’t be very good. His arm is there but regardless, fielding or not his legs will take a beating on that turf.
So then he can’t actually play a position.
He CAN, just not well.
AA says a lot of things.
theres also the chance that Encarnacion plays third with J-Bau in right and Snider in left
EE at 3B? Say it ain’t so.
This is what confuses me about the Jays outfield.
If Bautista is at 3B, what is their OF? Snider – Davis – ???
Move Snider over to RF and start Rivera at LF?
Seems like they are a RF or 3B short of being a complete team. Shame they couldn’t deal Wells’ contract sooner, then they could have made a run at Beltre.
EE could hit 30 homeruns…while hitting .220…
I hope Vlad lands somewhere because he can still hit, but since everybody knows all he can do right now is DH…maybe he goes unsigned until injuries take their toll and someone comes calling this summer?
I see no reason why the Orioles shouldn’t go after Vlad like they did D Lee. Heck give the guy 2 years.
money, like it already stated.
The Orioles have a lot of money, trust me. Angelos is a tightwad
Odds are the Angels will sign him and will still make sure that Abreu gets enough at bats for the option. After all, he’s a good player.
Do the Angels really want Abreu’s option to vest?
Of course they do. After all, he’s a good player! What’s a another boatload of cash?
I don’t think they do; they could use that money, as well as Gary Mathews contract FINALLY EXPIRING!, to extend Morales and Weaver. Just a thought.
i hope this was sarcastic
What if his price has fallen far enough, would the Phillies be interested? It sounds odd because his fielding ability isn’t there but he would be a good guy to platoon with D. Brown, assuming he’d accept.
I could live with that, especially with Ibanez coming off the books after this year. Give Vlad two years at 2MM per. Give him 300 ABs a year in left and right and pray that Victorino can cover all the ground that Vlad no longer can on the days Vlad starts.
I’d like to see the RED SOX pick him up. Great RH DH and occasional RF.
Just a thought…
Ortiz + Vlad — most expensive DH? Oh I think so.
Not that Vlad would sign anyways to platoon.
We could use another right handed power threat with all the lefties we have. It’d be nice, but highly unlikely. I think we’ll be very suprised in Camerons play off the bench. He’ll thrive as the 4th outfielder.
now that the rangers have napoli there’s no need to sign him! Unless if they do trade young which i don’t think they’ll do!
Yeah. The Rangers don’t make any sense at this point. Why would the Rangers trade Young just to sign Guerrero? That’s full of dumb.
You know it’s tough when a first ballot HOF’er who can still hit can’t find a job.
You have to remember he’s turning 36, is pretty much only a DH, and his power numbers were partly augmented last year by hitting in Texas.
As for first ballot HOF, well most people including me will agree but I do have to wonder if the taint of the steroids era will effect any power hitter regardless whether they’ve been accused or not.
He hit everywhere last year… not just in Texas…
The decline happened in the second half of the season for Vlad which is why teams should be cautious – not because of ‘augmented numbers in Texas’
Why aren’t the Tigers in on Vlad, I don’t think they have a DH unless Magglio is it.
I’d rather have Maggs controlling the DH spot than roaming RF in those AL Central parks. He was slow to begin with, now he’s coming off ankle surgery.
Martinez. I’m pretty sure they’ve gone on record as saying he’s their primary DH.
But he’s going to catch 2-3 times a week so there is just as much playing time to split as there is with any of the other teams.
V-Mart will see alot of time as their DH
The Jays have done a good job with AA dumping salary, but their overall team is not as good as last year. The strength of the team is their top three pitchers an power. Their weakness is their loss in releif pitching, and too many average players who need to have career years to be competitive in the East. With the improvement that the O’ have made I see them jumping the Jays this year, Vlad or no Vlad. I think Buck would use Vlad better and he seems like a good fit for the O’s
They’ve added Fransisco, Rauch and Dotel. There is still a lack of higher end lefties in the pen, but I don’t think we can say they have a weakness in the relief pitching anymore.
I don’t see why he couldn’t sign with an NL club. He did play OF in the World Series. His range is limited, but he’s not awful out there – his DHing is primarily to keep him healthy, but he can go out there no and again if you need him. If fat ol’ Lance Berkman can play LF next year, I think Vladdy could go out to RF if needed for a team starving for offense.
That being said an AL team is much more likely. What about Seattle? Jack Z seemed to indicate Milton Bradley would play LF more next year, leaving a void at DH.
Or what about the Yanks? I assume Posada will still catch now and then, and Vlad can DH on the days he’s catching, and play RF (with Swish moving to LF and either Gardner or Grandy taking a day off ) occasionally.
Did you watch him playing the outfield in the World Series?
You have a lot of scenarios with Vlad in the OF…. If the Cards had Berkman AND Vlad in RF and LF on the same day…. oh, boy… you better have Ken Griffey of the 90s to back up in CF
Vlad is not an option for the Yankees. The Yankees want to use the DH to rest Jeter, A-Rod and some of the other regulars (when Posada is behind the plate).
Come On O’s Sign Vlad. Scott LF
1) Roberts 2b
2) Jones CF
3) Markakis RF
4) Lee 1B
5) Reynolds 3B
6) Scott LF
7) Vlad DH
8) Weiters C
9) Hardy SS
That certainly would be a high-scoring lineup, although it would be feast or famine considering the power-to-contact ratio of the starting 9.
I don’t hate the Twins being in on him, but with the usual caveat that he takes a pay cut and understands that he’s a platoon with Thome at DH. At that point, we have an expendable OF that we could trade, and a bulletproof DH platoon.
I really want to like Kubel, and I realize the above is a “short term” solution to the DH issue, but dammit, his splits against lefties are just bad. That being said, I feel like someone would see value in him. The question is just whether I’d feel like we were giving him away…
Come on Mariners, he could be a great option for the DH spot, sometimes, Jack Cust can play the left field, he would be our best hitter behind Ichiro…
Ichiro RF
Figgins 3B
Cust LF/DH
Guerrero DH
Smoak 1B
Guti CF
Olivo C
Ryan 2B/SS
Jack Wilson SS, until Ackley is ready
Felix
Bedard
Pineda
Vargas
Fister
This team easily could win more than 80 games, I hope…
With that offense 80 wins has no chance in happening unless everyone after King Felix pulls out cy young caliber performance all at once
I just don’t care about defense at all. Bring him to Philly
It’s not just the defense. Have you seen him move? If he has to play the outfield more than a couple of times a season, he’s going to get hurt. At the very least, it’s going to wear him down and effect his hitting.
I just don’t see why the Dodgers could not have made a pitch for Vlad. They could have skipped Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons. Play Tony Gwynn Jr. except on those days when Vlad feels up to play left field. An aging Vlad is a better left fielder than Gibbons or Thames (Or Manny when they had him). Vlad can pinch hit every day that he does not play left.
As for Ryan who 18 minutes ago said “Bring him to Philly”, I respectfully would say you guys don’t need Vlad like the Dodgers do. But if you sign Vlad, send Ben Francisco down to us. Hey, we might even use Mayberry, Jr. if the choice is Gibbons or Thames. But Ben Francisco is very talented, frankly I think he AND Brown will start in 2012 along with Victorino.
The key to successful Blue Jays baseball is the bottom line. On-field results are very, very secondary. How do you think Jays’ owners, Rogers Communications, became the wealthiest owners (in major-league baseball)?
Attendance is going south. A quarter-million less warm fannies in chairs in 2010. Maybe half a million more will be lost in 2011. Fortunately, only slightly more than 20% of Jays’ total revenue–according to Forbes magazine–is earned through attendance. In fact, the team can make a profit without anyone showing up at the ballpark at all.
Jays haven’t made the playoffs since 1993. The team is pretty much irrelevant in the U.S. As such, Jays have been the worst MLB road draw for many years.
Solution? The team needs new ownership.
Or a new city?
I’m not in Toronto but I have a hard time believing that if the club was sold that millions would all of a sudden take an interest in Toronto. Seems that there just isn’t the support for a baseball time like there was.
Back in the day they would pack that place. I wonder if being stuck in a perpetually tough division has killed interest in baseball in Toronto.
That last point is a very good one. I think MLB should consider realignment, it would add new intrigue.
Oh god. the blue jays would be monsters with Guerrero.
They would have a legit chance at breaking the all time single season team record for home runs