Category: baseball

Best, Worst, and Under-the-Radar Signings in Baseball

Few things are more entertaining for us at The Stain than the free agency period for Major League Baseball. Weird things happen (see Cano, Robinson; Seattle), predictable things happen (see Tanaka, Masahiro; Yankees), and head-scratching things happen (see Arroyo, Bronson; Unemployed as of 1/31). Teams make good decisions, bad decisions, shrewd maneuvers, or in some cases nothing at all. Here’s look at a few noteworthy transactions so far this off-season.

Torsten’s take:

Great Signing: Angels, Raul Ibanez, DH, 1 yr. 2.75 million. Sure, he’s older than dirt and limited to DH duty at this stage of his career, and doesn’t really handle lefties all that well. But, for less than the league average salary, the Halos are going to get around 25 home runs in 350-400 plate appearances. There is no other player that returns that kind of value.

Awful Signing: Red Sox, A.J. Pierzynski, C, 1 yr. 8.25 million. Two disclaimers here. No, I’m not taking a dig at Shaun. And second, I don’t think Pierzynski is a bad player. But, at this stage of his career, he’s weak defensively, and they’re overpaying for offensive production that shouldn’t have been a priority from that position. I’m not going to argue to vehemently with Ben Cherington. The GM of the World Series champions should probably not be the target of too much criticism, but I would have re-signed Salty, or gone after Geovany Soto or Kelly Shoppach before I overpaid for AJ. Silver lining, at least it’s only a one year deal. Honorable mention is the ridiculous contract the Giants gave Tim Lincecum, though the loyalty they’re displaying to one of their iconic players is admirable.

Under the Radar: Yankees, Kelly Johnson, IF/OF, 1 yr. 3 million. Yeah, I died a little inside giving the Yankees credit. But lost in the bustle of the high profile Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann signings is the fact that they might have taken a massive step to solving one of their two glaring infield issues; A-Rod’s suspension takes away their third baseman, and Seattle took away their second baseman. Johnson could turn out to be terrible and released by June… but he’s a versatile defender (even competent in the outfield if needed), can slug a little bit, and could turn out to be a titanic bargain for a team that spent a ton of cash to return to AL East relevance. Honorable mention is J.P. Howell. Sure, this may be a bit of a homer moment, but as a Dodger fan I got to see exactly how excellent he really is. And the simple fact they got him for less than the average closer makes means that he is a huge bargain.

Shaun’s take:

Quick reaction to Torsten, and no surprise it is about Pierzynski. True, the dollar figure is high, but it actually makes sense. The Red Sox are still about a good amount of money below the luxury tax threshold, and with the probability of either Ryan Dempster or Jake Peavy being traded before the season starts, the money is of little concern. Salty was not resigned because the Red Sox have two high floor catchers in the high minors in Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart. Both are plus defensive backstops, and I just recently rated Swihart as my fourth best Red Sox prospect.

Great Signing: Rangers, Shin-Soo Choo, OF, 7 years, $130 million. If this was the best move of the offseason, it would be an easy vote for the Nationals trading for Doug Fister, and creating what is possibly the best rotation in baseball, but we are talking signings, so I will go with Choo. Choo is a guy I love to watch play the game of baseball, and his story is incredible as well. Choo led his native South Korea to an Asian Games gold medal in baseball, deeming him exempt from his home countries law requiring him to serve two years in the South Korean Army. He is an incredible on-base guy, and proved he can play center field. In 2011, Choo was hit in the thumb by Jonathan Sanchez, landing him on the DL for two months, and resulting in his worst statistical season of his career. The very next season, Choo was once again drilled by Jonathan Sanchez, which is not a huge surprise, given that Sanchez drills a guy every 18 innings or so. Ever since, Choo has struggled against left-handed pitchers, but he is great against right-handers, and still manages a solid OBP against lefties.

Awful Signing: Everyone Signed by the Phillies. The aging Phillies have pulled off the impossible, and got older this year. They resigned Carlos Ruiz at catcher for three years, worth $26 million, despite only being able to play 92 games in 2013. Then they went out and signed Roberto Hernandez, who you may not recognize, mostly because he hasn’t done anything positive since his name was Fausto Carmona, causing him to miss one full season due to suspension and a lack of visa, and it was found he is three years older than originally thought. He is going to receive $4.5 million this year from the Phillies. They have also gone out and signed 36 year old Marlon Byrd, to a two-year deal. As if that wasn’t enough, they signed a guy who was crushing the ball in the Venezuelan Winter League, but will be turning 40 during Spring Training, Bobby Abreu. Granted, I was calling for Abreu to get a contract this winter, but I was thinking he should be signed by an American League team, where he can DH against right-handers, not an old Phillies team where he will have to play the field.

Under–the-Radar: Reds, Roger Bernadina, OF, Minor League deal. The Reds plans are to enter the season with Billy Hamilton leading off and playing center. Now, I have been impressed with his ability to play the field despite having just over one season of experience in the outfield after spending the majority of his life as a shortstop, but his bat scares me. I am not convinced he will be able to get on base often, much less his for a decent average. I am not saying Bernadina will move many dials offensively, but it is great insurance. He has flashed double digit home run power, he can steal a bag, and he can play impressive defense. I would not be at all surprised if Bernadina breaks camp with the Reds, and I can just about guarantee he will make a real impact at times this season.

All-January 31st Birthday Team

Today, January 31st, is the birthday of three all-time greats and Hall of Famers; Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan. Now, that would be the start of a pretty epic team, so I decided to jump to the Baseball Reference birthday page and see what kind of lineup I could create from guys born on today’s date. I will admit, I have no clue who a lot of these guys are, but I am not gonna let that stop me. So, my lineup for players born on January 31st is:

1) Jackie Robinson – 2B – It is pretty easy to put Jackie at the top of my lineup. He is the Hall of Fame second baseman who broke the color barrier, and was as good an athlete baseball has ever seen. He played just ten seasons, but hit .311, hit 137 home runs, and stole 197 bags, include home 19 times.

2) George Burns– 1B – No, not the comedian, and not the Simpsons character, but instead the first baseman who played for Indians, Tigers, Athletics, Red Sox, and Yankees from 1914-1929. He had a batting average better than .300 and and OBP over .350. He once stole 23 bags in a season, and even had a season with over 200 hits.

3) Ernie Banks– SS – Banks is in the Hall of Fame thanks to hitting more than 500 home runs and driving in more than 1,600 runs. Mr. Cub actually spent more of his career playing primarily first base (10 seasons) than short (9 seasons) but I can’t pass up the opportunity to create the double play combo of Banks and Robinson.

4) Yuniesky Betancourt– 3B – Ok, clearly there is a lack of power when it comes to January 31st birthdays, in fact the only two players with more than 100 career home runs are the two Hall of Fame position players, and Betancourt has the third most, with 80 career dingers. Now, I will have to look past his seven straight seasons with a negative WAR and have him hit cleanup. Who knows, maybe he can revive his career this year in the Japanese Nippon Baseball League.

5) Pinky Hargrave– C – Pinky has a solid name, as does his brother and fellow big leaguer, Bubbles. Pinky played for four teams between 1923-1933. His career triple slash line is .278/.339/.428. He did not make his big league debut until the age of 27, but you gotta like the fact he was just 5’8″ because he was sure to provide a low target for the pitcher.

6) Tim Hendryx– LF – Hendryx was a former New York Yankee when he joined the Boston Red Sox in 1920, the first season following the Babe Ruth trade. Hendryx led the Red Sox in average and RBIs that season, but he wasn’t exactly a power hitter, launching the same number of home runs that year as I did…and I wasn’t born for another 65 years. That same year Ruth hit just 54 home runs, drove in 137, walked 150 times, and had a triple slash line of .376/.532/.847. Regardless, I will stand by the Red Sox and take Hendryx on my squad too.

7) Tex McDonald– RF – Any chance to add a guy named Tex to a lineup, you gotta jump on it. His big league career was brief, lasting from 1912-1915, where, in addition to the Reds and Braves, he played for teams named the Blues, Buffeds, and Rebels, which apparently were actual Major League teams. He had 13 home runs and 134 RBIs, which would be a nice season, but those were his career numbers, Still, his name is Tex, so he makes my lineup.

8) Mel Mazzera– DH – While Mazzera played long before the DH was even a consideration, his final season was in 1940 while the DH was not instituted until the 1973 season, his Baseball Reference page does have one of his positions as a pinch hitter, so that will suffice. He had just 507 career at-bats, where he hit just 10 home runs and drove in less than 70. His average was .268, but slugged over .400, so that is good enough for this lineup.

9) Melky Mesa– CF – True, Mesa has only played eight career games over two seasons, but he is 6/15 lifetime for a batting average of .400. He has yet to hit a home run in his career, but he is entering his age 27 season in 2014, a season in which fantasy players have long argued is a position player’s prime season. I will also admit it, he was one of just a handful of names I actually recognized from the list, so I had to include him.

Nolan Ryan– SP – Yes, my starting pitcher was an easy selection given it is the career strikeout king, and a man who has thrown seven no hitters (which might come in handy with the lineup I put together). He is a Hall of Famer, and grade A badass. While he will probably go all nine innings, I would have Josh Johnson at the ready.

You can follow Shaun Kernahan on twitter @shaunkernahan, add him to your network on Google, and like Shaun on Facebook.

It’s a Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s…Carlos Perez?

Hey, Dodger fans? Guess who just retired 4 straight big leaguers in 1.1 perfect innings in the Dominican Winter League Final? If you said Carlos Perez, you’re two things. Right, and probably a heavy drinker.

For those of you who don’t remember, Perez was a Dominican lefty on the Expos, known for being a promising young pitcher and infuriatingly animated on the mound. His career started brightly, and in 1998, the Dodgers traded for him to supplement their pitching down the stretch. And supplement it he did. 4 wins, including a couple of complete game shut outs, led to a lucrative contract extension and boundless optimism among fans (yours truly included) about the future.

And then…well, nobody really knows what happened. Never overpowering to begin with, Perez lost about 8 miles per hour off of his fastball. No longer able to keep hitters honest, his once formidable breaking stuff was getting teed off on, and that was the beginning of the end.

Some guys age gracefully and decline slowly. For others, the end comes rapidly, and it’s often ugly. After a particularly ugly outing in 2000, Perez went ape…uh…poop on a Gatorade cooler, nearly braining teammate Darren Dreifort who was minding his own business nearby.

2000 was Perez’ last year in the big leagues. For years and years, he was a punch line, as well as a cautionary tale to GM’s looking to reward promising young pitchers with lucrative contract extensions. And then, the memories started to fade. Other pitchers with seemingly bright futures faded away. Rick Ankiel, though to be fair, he did one of the more remarkable things in baseball history, transforming himself from a failed pitcher to a semi-successful big league outfielder. Dontrelle Willis… I’m sure there are others.

Let’s fast forward to today, January 21, 2014. If someone with a cruel sense of humor decided to create a baseball Trivial Pursuit game with a bit of a dark side, one of the questions may be, what do major leaguers Emilio Bonifacio, Engel Beltre, Erick Aybar, and Juan Francisco have in common? The answer would be, they were retired in order by the 42-year-old Carlos Perez. Yes, that Carlos Perez. Bonifacio and Francisco…they went down on strikes.

Baseball is a weird, yet fascinating game. But if Perez somehow parlays this into a minor league invite, I’m not watching it anymore.