On this date 25 years ago Andre Dawson signed a one-year, $650K contract with the Cubs. Owners were colluding against players at the time, and Dawson had even offered the Cubs a blank check earlier that winter. Dawson would go on to win the 1987 NL MVP, though the Cubs finished last in the NL East that year. Here are today's links…
- The Royals have been grinding through negotiations with Alex Gordon and it won’t be surprising if they complete an extension with the outfielder, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
- Jason Heyward and Travis Snider are among the former top prospects who struggled in 2011, but still have potential, ESPN.com's Keith Law writes.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic identifies the Blue Jays, Angels, Padres or Red Sox as teams with catching depth that could match up with the Diamondbacks on possible trades. However, there doesn't seem to be any real chance of the Diamondbacks acquiring Nick Hundley or Yasmani Grandal from the Padres any time soon.
Why do the DBacks need a catcher?
If they can’t sign Montero to an extension, I’ve heard (don’t have any personal knowledge) that there’s nobody in the system capable of taking over the everyday job next year.
This is true. While Konrad Schmidt is their highest catching prospect, he’s no better than a backup and should not start any time soon.
So who do we need/want from the Diamondbacks?
Well, if it was D’Arnaud you’d have to imagine it would be Skaggs or Bauer the Jays would ask for in return, otherwise they’d just move on.
A d’Arnaud for Bauer straight up swap I kind of like as a baseball fan, but I don’t see the Blue Jays liking that deal, and the Diamondbacks even less.
Arencibia+, and maybe even another +, I can envision being in the realm of possibility next off-season if Aaron Cibia can maintain his power while improving his OBP somewhat dramatically, and his defense very dramatically.
Wouldn’t that make Arencibia an all-star catcher then?
I think the Dbacks would trade multiple prospects for Arencibia. Probably Pollock/Eaton and like Brewer/Corbin/Holmberg. I don’t think they will trade Bauer/Skaggs for anything other than a whole load of prospects.
Don’t see why the Jays would trade Arencibia for a package of lower prospects, if D’Arnaud actually does push him out. They’d either want top end guys or big league talent.
According to My research and WGN telecasts, Dawson’s fill in the amount contract was accepted and a salary of $500,000 was written in, not $650,000. Edit: there was a $250,000 bonus if he made the all-star team (which he did) that brought the value of the contract to $750,000
Heyward has always been overrated. Even in his rookie year, he was a disappointment compared to his pre-season buzz and only barely deserved the Rookie of the Year award over Jaime Garcia.
Heyward was not a dissapointment as a rookie. A 20yr old kid with an OPS of .850. and furthermore he was 2nd in ROY voting to Posey.
People were expecting him to hit over .300 with around 25 HRs and an OPS of around .900.
Um…Jason Heyward posted a .393 OBP with a .456 SLG as a 20 year old rookie. That’s incredible.
You’re right. Any 20 year old can hit .277/.393/.456… derp.
Age 19 .264/.329/.420 16 HR 16 SB
Age 20 .277/.393/.465 18 HR 11 SB
One player is Ken Griffey Jr., the other is Jason Heyward. Figure out which.
And Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs once.
My point is comparing two players on one season’s performance is a waste of time.
Look at Heyward’s entire career before that season as well then, as my point was there is no genuine way to say Heyward was pure hype and not meritorious of a 2nd place finish for ROY (Griffey Jr. finished 3rd his rookie year btw)
And when you’re talking about ROY, by definition you’re only able to use that season, so not much I can do about that.
Comparing any current player to Brady Anderson’s one incredibly juiced season is a waste of time.
Comparing 2 very young and talented rookie seasons is actually a very good concept. Very few players make it to the bigs being 20 or younger, not to mention put up numbers like those!
Is comparing two players on one season’s performance as much of a waste of time as judging one player on one season’s performance?
I agree the hype machine for him was too great.
lol wat.
Heyward’s rookie year was great. His 91 BB were the third-most by a rookie since 1960. Heyward’s 5.1 WAR bested Posey’s 4.0 and Garcia’s 3.1. His OBP was nearly .40 higher than any other rookie with 100+ games played. He led rookies in OBP, BB%, and was in the top 5 of most all categories.
If that’s a disappointment, what were the expectations? 2001 Bonds? Heyward has a lot of work to do to get back to his 2010 form, let alone progress beyond it. But the raw talent was there.
Raw talent and upside have never been doubted, IMO. My only fear is his health…
The shoulder worries me a bit, his reputation as a ‘health risk’ is a little overblown imo. He is a massive guy and he’s gonna have aches and pains, but what sidelined him in 2010 was a complete fluke injury sliding headfirst and all but crushing his thumb.
I don’t expect an MVP-caliber season out of him this year, but I do think he can get back to at least his 2010 form assuming his shoulder is fully healed.
He needs to slide feet first. Too big of a man to throwing himself headfirst into the bag….
Yeah, I admire how hard he plays……but two DL stints in your first two seasons, it’s probably best to cut that out. Doesn’t give you much of an advantage anyway….
I said compared to his pre-season buzz. He deserved his spot in the RotY voting, but the way everyone has talked about him, you’d think he’d already have a .300+, 30 HR+, 100+ RBI, .900+ OPS in his career, and he’s yet to get anywhere near those numbers.
He was a 5-win player when most players his age are in AA, and despite being miserable at the plate due to a bum shoulder, he still managed almost two and a half wins in 128 games last season.
His projections coming into the 2010 season were somewhere around .250, .330, .420. with around 14 HR. He responded with a .277, .393, .456 line with 18 HR. Just because there were reports of him hitting moonshots in spring training doesn’t mean he’s going to crank 40 bombs as a 20-year-old, don’t buy into hype so much. He was voted as a starter in the All-Star game, finished a close 2nd in the ROY voting, and managed to get a few MVP votes. He exceeded expectations and was arguably the best all-around player on a playoff team….
Ugh
Posey got ROTY, not Heyward
“…also the development of prospects Adam Eaton…”
Well there’s a phrase I didn’t expect to see ever again.
Heyward was a classic case of a sophomore slump. I could be wrong about this but before he got clobbered and broke his ankle (it was his own fault but that’s another discussion) Posey wasn’t exactly looking like his 2010 form either. Better than Heyward, but not quite what was expected. Sophomore slumps happen. Let’s just hope Freeman and Kimbrel don’t go through that :/
Heyward’s shoulder was a big contributor to his down season, from everything I read. I expect a bounce back season from him. I also am not too worried about Kimbrel or Freeman. Closers usually struggle in the beginning and then get better. Lets hope the same for Kimbrel. Freeman’s rookie season didnt come with much hype, nor did his 2nd place ROY finish. I dont expect big strides or regressions out of him.
I had him regressing a bit coming into the 2011 season, but it’s pretty clear that his shoulder had a ton to do with his terrible year at the plate. Through April and March he was hitting .263, .354, .525 with 7 HR(11 XBH). Felt his shoulder pop, then put up a putrid .098, .229, .122 line in May before finally hitting the DL. Given the Braves lack of offensive output and Heyward’s upside, he was kind of rushed back into the lineup and just never got it going. Changed his mechanics at the plate because of the shoulder and it was literally the first time he’s ever struggled on a baseball field. Nice to see him with a more lean frame coming into ST and his swing looks like it did in 2010.
Let’s just hope he cuts out those headfirst slides….
absolutely. I HATE head-first slides. Granted legs first can result in leg/ankle/foot injuries as well as spiking other players but that can all be avoided with proper execution. Head first, your momentum can carry your fingers right into the bag at high speed and turn them into bone salad. The metacarpals (finger bones) are much weaker than people think. Plus, there’s a little something above the neck that could very well get knocked around resulting in anything in the range of dust in your eyes (anyone with contacts knows how awful that is) to a concussion. Point is, slide feet first.
Freeman is the better hitter than Heyward. He goes to the opposite field naturally, and that helps prevent long term slumps as opposed to pull hitters…
Freeman had plenty of slumps last year. Heyward, in 2010, used the opposite field quite a bit. Freeman was obviously better at the plate last season, but if Heyward stays healthy I expect to see him outproduce Freeman by a pretty decent margin.
I’ve been banging this drum for a few years: an NL team should give Bobby Wilson a shot. He’s been severely underutilized by the Angels for obvious reasons. I believe he has more offensive and defensive ability than he’s been able to show, he just doesn’t get enough playing time.
At worst, you’re gonna get a pretty solid defensive catcher. He looked pretty smooth out there today.
I’d give them Lavarway for Tyler Skaggs!!! HAHA