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Derrek Lee

Braves Notes: Hinske, Gonzalez, Infante, Proctor

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The Braves have three free agents and three option decisions; MLB.com's Mark Bowman has the latest.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Derrek Lee

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With his roster losing player after player due to injury, Braves GM Frank Wren swung a deal with the Cubs that brought two-time All Star Derrek Lee to Atlanta in August. Lee was just a rental player however; he's scheduled to hit the free agent market this winter as the five-year, $65MM extension he signed with Chicago in 2006 ends. Let's examine his stock…

The Good

  • After a subpar performance with the Cubs this season, Lee rebounded to hit .287/.384/.465 in 151 plate appearances with the Braves. Perhaps being on a contender reinvigorated him.
  • Even as age saps his power, he remains a strong on-base threat, drawing at least 71 walks in each of the last four seasons.
  • Lee has a reputation as being a tremendous defensive first baseman, and the advanced metrics back it up: his +12.5 UZR over the last three seasons is one of the best marks in the game at the position.
  • Lee fell just short of qualifying as a Type-A free agent, so a team will not have to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him (assuming Atlanta offers him arbitration and he declines).
  • At 35-years-old, a long-term commitment will not be required.

The Bad

  • Lee played through a torn ligament in his thumb at the end of the season according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, and recently underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the damage and the next step. He also battled back and neck issues during the past two seasons, though neither landed him on the disabled list.
  • As I said before, age is beginning to steal some of his pop. Looking at isolated power, which measures extra-base power by removing singles from slugging percentage (it's just SLG-AVG), 2010 was Lee's worst power season (.168 ISO) ever, minimum 300 plate appearances. For comparison's sake, the MLB average for first basemen was .146 ISO this season, so he's still above average in that regard. But for how long?
  • Always known as a lefty masher, Lee dipped to just .257/.356/.421 against southpaws this year, his worst output against pitchers of the opposite hand since 2006.

The Verdict

Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko highlight the free agent first base crop, but Lee is about as good of a stopgap option as you'll find. He's a solid all-around player despite declining some in recent years, and his track record is both better and longer than other free agents like Lyle Overbay and Carlos Pena. Teams looking to solidify the first base position for a year or two while they wait for a prospect (or just want to avoid a long commitment) figure to show the most interest. That includes clubs like the Mariners, Orioles, Nationals (assuming Dunn leaves), Rangers, Rays, and maybe even the Cubs again.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, V-Mart, Buck, Nationals

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We at MLBTR send our best wishes to Ernie Tyler, the Orioles' 86-year-old umpires attendant who has worked every Opening Day in Baltimore for the last 51 years.  Tyler underwent brain surgery earlier this week to remove a benign tumor, and The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly reports that Tyler is progressing well in the early stages of his recovery.  We look forward to seeing Tyler at Camden Yards in April to extend his streak to 52 years.

Let's check out some news items from around the majors…

  • Speaking of Dan Connolly, he thinks Baltimore "will go hard after Victor Martinez and/or Derrek Lee," with Lee being the likelier candidate to sign with the Orioles.
  • ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes thinks the possibility of Martinez re-signing with the Red Sox "looks iffy at best," though three other ESPNBoston contributors predict the free agent will return to the Sox. 
  • Edes also notes that another free agent catcher, John Buck, has a big supporter in Boston assistant GM Allard Baird.
  • If the Nationals don't re-sign Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that Carlos Pena "is at the top of their list" of potential replacements.  Ladson also notes that Washington will "go after [James Loney] hard" if the Dodgers put him on the trade market, and that the Nats could also pursue an outfielder like Jayson Werth and fill their first-base opening from within with Josh Willingham.
  • Arizona assistant general manager Peter Woodfork and the D'Backs have reached a "mutual decision" to part ways, tweets FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.  It's not an unexpected move since, as Morosi noted in a follow-up tweet, Woodfork has long-term ties to former Arizona GM Josh Byrnes and new D'Backs GM Kevin Towers probably wants to hire his own assistant.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a recall-filled edition of the week's minor league transactions.
  • With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia all anchoring the staffs of World Series contenders this postseason, Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times bemoans how the Dodgers missed out on acquiring any of the three "true aces" over the last two seasons.
  • Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered a number of Brewers topics in a chat with readers.

Heyman On Crawford, Soriano, Werth, Mets

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Teams are locking young stars up to long-term deals, so this year's free agent market looks less impressive than it could have. The result, according to one AL executive who spoke to Jon Heyman of SI.com, is a “thin class” behind Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre and Adam Dunn. Heyman polled two agents and an executive on the earning potential of a number of free agents. Here are some results, plus other noteworthy rumors.

  • The executive and one agent predicted Carl Crawford will sign for $120MM over seven years.
  • One agent predicted that Derrek Lee would sign for $24MM over two years. The others predicted a one-year deal worth $4-6MM. Lee’s recent struggles and history as a middle-of-the-order hitter make him hard to project.
  • Agent Scott Boras called Rafael Soriano, who is not his client, “one of the top closers in the game.”
  • Boras continued to link Jayson Werth to Matt Holliday, who signed for $120MM, rather than Jason Bay, who signed for $66MM. "Why not compare [Werth] to Holliday? He's had a platform year like Holliday, and he's a better defender than Holliday,'' Boras said.
  • The Mets won't reach out to Pat Gillick if and when they look to replace GM Omar Minaya. Gillick once said he wouldn’t work for chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, who has a reputation as a difficult boss.

Odds & Ends: Nady, Orioles, Darvish, Zambrano

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Links for Sunday, as the White Sox complete a weekend sweep in Boston….

Discussion: The Nationals’ 2011 First Baseman

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Adam Dunn's defensive limitations are under scrutiny again today after a pair of plays he failed to make in last night's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia, writes Ben Goessling of MASN.com. It's "no secret," according to Goessling, that as the Nationals decide whether or not to extend Dunn past this season, his defense is one of their primary concerns.

Dunn's prowess at the plate is undisputed; with 31 home runs and a slash line of .266/.354/.557 this year, The 30-year-old is poised to match or top last year's .267/.398/.529, 38-homer campaign. And his defense at first base has actually improved, according to UZR. Playing the infield on a full-time basis for the first time this season, Dunn's UZR/150 is only slightly below average, at -1.3. Still, UZR is a statistic best evaluated over multiple seasons, and Dunn's career numbers aren't flattering.

It could cost Washington in excess of $40MM to lock up Dunn to a multi-year extension, and it's unclear whether they'd want to commit that money to a player some observers feel is more suited to DHing. Additionally, Dunn projects as a Type A free agent and could net the Nats compensation picks if he signs elsewhere. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted, the club figures to offer Dunn arbitration even if they think he may accept, since they could live with having him for one year at around $15MM.

Goessling indicates that the Nats would have some interest in Carlos Pena, who will also be a free agent this winter. Pena isn't as dangerous offensively as Dunn, but he has a similar power stroke and is more adept in the field. Other above-average defensive players available this offseason in an overcrowded first base market include Derrek Lee and Lyle Overbay. Both players have struggled offensively at times this year, but are still helping their teams defensively.

Will concerns about Dunn's defense mean the Nats let him walk this winter? How much money and how many years would you commit to the slugger if you were running the organization? Or would you elect to pursue another corner infielder instead?

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Feliz, Braves, Kershaw

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On this date two years ago, umpires agreed to the use of instant replay to help determine boundary calls, such as fair or foul, on home runs. Expanded use of instant replay remains a hot topic in baseball, and even though Commissioner Bud Selig continues to dance around the subject, more replay feels inevitable at this point.

Here are a bunch of links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Lee, Inge, Thome

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Links for Wednesday night….

Braves Acquire Derrek Lee For Three Prospects

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When Derrek Lee takes the field at Wrigley this weekend, he won't be wearing a Cubs uniform. The Braves have acquired Lee from Chicago in exchange for right-hander Robinson Lopez, right-hander Tyrelle Harris and left-hander Jeffrey Lorick.

The Cubs will pay the Braves $1.7MM, half of the $3.4MM owed to Lee between now and the end of the season. The 34-year-old, who hits free agency at season's end, has a .251/.335/.416 line in 475 plate appearances and projects to be a Type B free agent this offseason. Lee has a .939 OPS since the All-Star break, but is currently dealing with back soreness.

Lee isn't an obvious platoon partner for Troy Glaus, since both players have a history of hitting left-handers a bit better than they hit right-handers. So Glaus, a longtime third baseman, will be placed on the DL and receive some time at the hot corner during his rehab assignment. He has been slumping (.575 OPS in the last two months), but the Braves hope he can provide some pop at both first and third base in September.

As for the minor leaguers heading to Chicago, Baseball America ranked Lopez 16th among Braves prospects before the season and suggested that he "may be the biggest sleeper in the [Atlanta] system." He's still just 19, but his numbers in A ball haven't been as impressive as the ones he posted in his Rookie ball debut last year. Lopez has a 4.37 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 so far in 2010.

Harris, 23, has played at three levels this season and has now reached AA. Overall, the reliever has a 2.90 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. Lorick, also a reliever, has yet to reach AA, but the 22-year-old has solid numbers so far in 2010: a 2.24 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.

David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com first reported that the Braves and Cubs were working toward a deal and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) broke news of the trade. Mark Bowman, Mark Bradley. David O'Brien, Jon Heyman, Bob Nightengale, Jerry Crasnick, Bruce Levine and Gordon Wittenmyer also provided updates to the story.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Owings, Yankees, Counsell, Livingston

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Some more links for Tuesday as two of the game's best second basemen – Chase Utley and Dustin Pedroia – return to action…

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