Thursday, December 15, 2005
Winter meetings winners and losers
After a blinding flurry of trades and a handful of notable free-agent signings, the 2005 baseball winter meetings are in the books.
Last week, almost 20 trades went down and hundreds of millions of guaranteed dollars tossed were about. So with this most important of off-season stepping stones behind us, let's take a look at the winter meetings winners and losers.
Winners
1. Boston Red Sox
The Sox nabbed a starting second baseman— a quality one, Mark Loretta — at a cost of their backup catcher. They also off-loaded most of the overrated Edgar Renteria's contract to the Braves in exchange for Andy Marte, one of the five best prospects in all of baseball. Oh, and they also talked about bringing back erstwhile general manager Theo Epstein back into the fold. Quite a fruitful week for Red Sox partisans.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
You can quibble with the dollars the Blue Jays doled out to B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, but they hauled in a boss-load of pitching talent. In Ryan they get a genuine shutdown closer who figures to maintain his peak level of performance for the next few seasons, and in Burnett they get a promising hurler whose groundball proclivities and strikeout chops bode exceptionally well for the future.
The Jays overpaid for Lyle Overbay (unless they get the 2004 Overbay model), but he does give Toronto perhaps the best defensive infield in all of baseball (something that will be of great benefit to Burnett and Roy Halladay), and it also allows the Jays to trade Eric Hinske or Shea Hillenbrand before opening day. The Brewers got the better end of that particular trade, but Overbay will be useful.
While one might question whether B.J Ryan is worth his contract, there's no denying the Blue Jays are making a real attempt to become a contender.
On an entirely different level, team ownership and GM J.P.Ricciardi have sent a message to Jays fans that the organization once again has a vision that extends beyond "cut payroll." If the Red Sox and Yankees regress much in 2006, Toronto will be right there.
3 .Cincinnati Reds
Laying aside for the moment the inexplicable decision to acquire Tony Womack, the Reds, more importantly, were able to make Sean Casey go away. As a result, the Reds can move Adam Dunn to first base and thereby relieve the outfield bottleneck. Trading Casey, who is subpar with the glove, prone to shoulder problems and no longer an adequate hitter, to Pittsburgh also means (one hopes) that GM Dan O'Brien will resist any temptation to trade Dunn, Austin Kearns or Wily Mo Pena. After all, those three players are infinitely more valuable to the Reds' future than was Casey. That Cincy got back a potentially league-average starting pitcher in Dave Williams (and some cash) makes this deal all the better for them.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
The Dan Kolb-for-Wes Obermueller deal barely merits mention, but the Brewers did get a strong return package for the aforementioned Overbay. In David Bush, they get one of the 15 or 20 best pitching prospects in all of baseball, and Zach Jackson, because of his control and ground-balling ways, may be in for a breakout season in 2006. Add Gabe Gross, who'll be a useful platoon outfielder at the highest level, to the mix, and it's a nifty deal for the Brewers. Shipping off Overbay also allows Prince Fielder to take over at first on a full-time basis.
Losers
1. Florida Marlins
The Marlins have greatly bolstered their minor league pitching corps, but that's really incidental to the larger issue. This isn't a criticism of the on-field consequences of the decisions to trade away Josh Beckett, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca and Juan Pierre; it's an indictment of Jeffrey Loria's way of doing business. Florida's (most recent) sell-off is motivated by the local citizens' refusal to indulge the team in corporate welfare. It's an attempt at extortion.
Teams should pay for their own stadiums, and local governments need to show some fortitude in resisting the selfish entreaties of owners. Ideally, the Marlins won't sell a single ticket in 2006. Good riddance.
2. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have glaring needs at both outfield corners, at second base and in the rotation, and to fill these voids they've turned to ... Larry Bigbie?
Is Larry Bigbie supposed to be the player that puts the Cardinals over the top?
St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty is unassailably one of the best in the business, but he's been church-mouse quiet thus far this winter. Perhaps the market is inflated this time around, but the Cardinals have playoff revenues fattening their coffers, and they're moving into a new state-of-the-art ballpark next season. So it's not as though they can credibly feign impoverishment. The Cardinals are very much a "win now" team — they have an imposing core of veteran performers and a weak farm system. The front office needs to behave as such. By low-balling their prime free-agent targets, St. Louis has allowed the rest of NL Central to close the gap.
3. Atlanta Braves
Renteria has been rather average with the bat over the last two seasons, and in 2005 he had an absolutely brutal year with the glove — both in terms of demonstrating range and in terms of avoiding errors. He'll also be moving from a park that is a veritable Valhalla for right-handed batters to one that plays relatively neutral. It may be that Renteria won't be able to outdo what the Braves could have gotten from in-house solution Wilson Betemit. And for that they gave up Andy Marte, one of the best prospects in the game.
As for their other deal, it certainly seems as though the Braves could've gotten more for Johnny Estrada than two middling relievers.
4. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs had grand designs this off-season: Rafael Furcal, A.J. Burnett, Brian Giles, Juan Pierre ... they all might find themselves toiling on the North Side. In reality, the Cubs wound up with the least of these. Pierre is an overrated defender with no power and inconsistent on-base skills. This is a bad team whose off-season to date consists of adding a mediocre center fielder. Only a one-sided deal for Miguel Tejada can salvage the winter.
Last week, almost 20 trades went down and hundreds of millions of guaranteed dollars tossed were about. So with this most important of off-season stepping stones behind us, let's take a look at the winter meetings winners and losers.
Winners
1. Boston Red Sox
The Sox nabbed a starting second baseman— a quality one, Mark Loretta — at a cost of their backup catcher. They also off-loaded most of the overrated Edgar Renteria's contract to the Braves in exchange for Andy Marte, one of the five best prospects in all of baseball. Oh, and they also talked about bringing back erstwhile general manager Theo Epstein back into the fold. Quite a fruitful week for Red Sox partisans.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
You can quibble with the dollars the Blue Jays doled out to B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, but they hauled in a boss-load of pitching talent. In Ryan they get a genuine shutdown closer who figures to maintain his peak level of performance for the next few seasons, and in Burnett they get a promising hurler whose groundball proclivities and strikeout chops bode exceptionally well for the future.
The Jays overpaid for Lyle Overbay (unless they get the 2004 Overbay model), but he does give Toronto perhaps the best defensive infield in all of baseball (something that will be of great benefit to Burnett and Roy Halladay), and it also allows the Jays to trade Eric Hinske or Shea Hillenbrand before opening day. The Brewers got the better end of that particular trade, but Overbay will be useful.
While one might question whether B.J Ryan is worth his contract, there's no denying the Blue Jays are making a real attempt to become a contender.
On an entirely different level, team ownership and GM J.P.Ricciardi have sent a message to Jays fans that the organization once again has a vision that extends beyond "cut payroll." If the Red Sox and Yankees regress much in 2006, Toronto will be right there.
3 .Cincinnati Reds
Laying aside for the moment the inexplicable decision to acquire Tony Womack, the Reds, more importantly, were able to make Sean Casey go away. As a result, the Reds can move Adam Dunn to first base and thereby relieve the outfield bottleneck. Trading Casey, who is subpar with the glove, prone to shoulder problems and no longer an adequate hitter, to Pittsburgh also means (one hopes) that GM Dan O'Brien will resist any temptation to trade Dunn, Austin Kearns or Wily Mo Pena. After all, those three players are infinitely more valuable to the Reds' future than was Casey. That Cincy got back a potentially league-average starting pitcher in Dave Williams (and some cash) makes this deal all the better for them.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
The Dan Kolb-for-Wes Obermueller deal barely merits mention, but the Brewers did get a strong return package for the aforementioned Overbay. In David Bush, they get one of the 15 or 20 best pitching prospects in all of baseball, and Zach Jackson, because of his control and ground-balling ways, may be in for a breakout season in 2006. Add Gabe Gross, who'll be a useful platoon outfielder at the highest level, to the mix, and it's a nifty deal for the Brewers. Shipping off Overbay also allows Prince Fielder to take over at first on a full-time basis.
Losers
1. Florida Marlins
The Marlins have greatly bolstered their minor league pitching corps, but that's really incidental to the larger issue. This isn't a criticism of the on-field consequences of the decisions to trade away Josh Beckett, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca and Juan Pierre; it's an indictment of Jeffrey Loria's way of doing business. Florida's (most recent) sell-off is motivated by the local citizens' refusal to indulge the team in corporate welfare. It's an attempt at extortion.
Teams should pay for their own stadiums, and local governments need to show some fortitude in resisting the selfish entreaties of owners. Ideally, the Marlins won't sell a single ticket in 2006. Good riddance.
2. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have glaring needs at both outfield corners, at second base and in the rotation, and to fill these voids they've turned to ... Larry Bigbie?
Is Larry Bigbie supposed to be the player that puts the Cardinals over the top?
St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty is unassailably one of the best in the business, but he's been church-mouse quiet thus far this winter. Perhaps the market is inflated this time around, but the Cardinals have playoff revenues fattening their coffers, and they're moving into a new state-of-the-art ballpark next season. So it's not as though they can credibly feign impoverishment. The Cardinals are very much a "win now" team — they have an imposing core of veteran performers and a weak farm system. The front office needs to behave as such. By low-balling their prime free-agent targets, St. Louis has allowed the rest of NL Central to close the gap.
3. Atlanta Braves
Renteria has been rather average with the bat over the last two seasons, and in 2005 he had an absolutely brutal year with the glove — both in terms of demonstrating range and in terms of avoiding errors. He'll also be moving from a park that is a veritable Valhalla for right-handed batters to one that plays relatively neutral. It may be that Renteria won't be able to outdo what the Braves could have gotten from in-house solution Wilson Betemit. And for that they gave up Andy Marte, one of the best prospects in the game.
As for their other deal, it certainly seems as though the Braves could've gotten more for Johnny Estrada than two middling relievers.
4. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs had grand designs this off-season: Rafael Furcal, A.J. Burnett, Brian Giles, Juan Pierre ... they all might find themselves toiling on the North Side. In reality, the Cubs wound up with the least of these. Pierre is an overrated defender with no power and inconsistent on-base skills. This is a bad team whose off-season to date consists of adding a mediocre center fielder. Only a one-sided deal for Miguel Tejada can salvage the winter.
// posted by jessica @ 11:52 AM 
