Results tagged ‘ Contract Implications ’
Contract Implications – Baltimore Orioles
Great Contracts:
None. You will notice this later too.
Arbitration Contracts:
Daniel Cabrera (2). $2.875M last year. I believe the right decision is to non-tender him. He is too sporadic, and does not qualify as a $3 Million+ pitcher. Freeing up even more money for the free agents.
George Sherrill (3). $980k last year. He is going to net them something, but they should hold onto him for a little while longer. Why did they not grab everything they could get at this past year’s trade deadline? Somehow George Sherrill’s name was the one everyone desired, now there are ten names better them him in the closer market.
Jeremy Guthrie (4). $770k last year. He is the best starter they have, and he’s controlled. He’s a future front-line starter, and he’s the only front-line starter this team has right now.
Nick Markakis (3). $455k last year. They need to get him signed as long as he will agree. He wasn’t happy with their decision to go on the cheap with him for a couple of years, hopefully they can work something out. He is the crown jewel as it currently stands for the major league roster (Wieters may have something to say about this later).
Lance Cormier (2). $450k last year. Wow, he made just $5,000 less than Markakis. He is the Baltimore Orioles version of the “average reliever in his arbitration years”.
Luke Scott (4). $430k last year. Solidified another OF spot last year with his 20+ HR performance. Good .800 OPS. He is going to be one of my names to speak of come Fantasy Baseball time!
Luis Montanez (5). <$400k last year. Former #3 pick in draft, followed Andy MacPhail from Cubs to Orioles. Apparently he knew something the Cubs did not and he started to play well with the O’s last year. Still a very small sample size, and we will see if he eventually comes through. Either way, he’s a cheap option.
Matt Albers (5). $395k last year. He only had 3 starts, but 28 appearances last year, and pitched well when he was on the mound. He should be something to watch as he should be assured a shot at the rotation.
Adam Jones (5). $390k last year. This one does not have gentlemen’s club problems and is one heck of a talent. Incredible fleecing on the O’s part in the Bedard trade.
Albatross Contracts:
None. Definitely the “none” you want to be staring down. They have a few contracts expiring after 09 – check the notes for that.
Notes: Aubrey Huff – $8M; Melvin Mora – $9M; Ramon Hernandez – $9M (buyout included); Brian Roberts – $8M; Danys Baez – $5.5M (plus more because of a signing bonus); Jamie Walker – $4.5M; plus they are paying Jay Gibbons $6.2M to sit at home. $50.2 Million+ coming off the books after the 09 season. That is an incredible haul compared to their payroll number of about $70-75 Million this year (after arbitration raises). If I am the O’s, they need to do a couple things to set themselves up to contend in the 2010 season. Their OF is fine, they need to solidify **** between this year and next (possibly via FA), they need to lock down their corner IF, and get Wieters behind the dish. They desperately need to get two decent SP’s. Personally, I would not go after AJ Burnett (although there has been linkage between the two), but this offseason if they can make a push after Tex, I think you do it. Next offseason, they can go after a John Lackey. We’ll see how they do it, the team is as well set up as they can to make a run at Boston/NY/Tampa/Toronto. We’ll see how many they can leapfrog.
Contract Implications – Washington Nationals
Great Contracts:
None. They only have one guaranteed contract beyond one year: Cristian Guzman. He gets $8 Million a year for two years, and that is a very fair deal for the club (he could have gotten more on the open market, but stayed with the club in part to be fair for stinking it up in the first couple years of the previous contract).
Arbitration Contracts:
Tim Redding (2). $1 Million last year. I am not a big fan of him, his peripherals are not the best. 5+ K/9IP and a 1.4+ WHIP. It is not a great thing to look at, but he is cheap, under team control for a couple more, and would make for a good filler starter. Unfortunately, for the Nats, he is in position to be more than a “fill-in”.
Ryan Zimmerman (3). $465k last year. Don’t get me wrong before I say this, but Zimmerman is a touch overrated. Yes, Zimmerman is a fantastic up-and-coming ballplayer, and yes, any club should completely be ecstatic over having him on the roster. How is he overrated, then? Simply because he plays with the Nationals inept roster. For the most part, this team has drafted poorly and it shows. Zimmerman is the crown jewel at this point, and he is a great guy who you can only wish the best for. But people do get a tad overzealous with him being great…kind of like a souped-up version of Randy Winn during his time with the terrible TB Devil Rays teams (When they weren’t the awesome Rays of this past year 
).
Saul Rivera (4). $436k last year. Another bad peripheral guy, especially for a reliever, but he did post a sub-4.00 ERA. Have to appreciate that.
Josh Willingham (3). $405k last year. He joins the plugged up OF for the Nats. Expect some movement out there. Hopefully Willingham realizes some of his potential in DC.
Scott Olson (3). $405k last year. The other portion of the trade with Florida. You have to respect the attempt at getting better here, although I do not believe that Willingham and Olson are the answer to truly getting better.
Lastings Milledge (4). $402.5k last year. He has so much potential, and no real utilization of it yet. The Nats have a chance to be very good with Milledge and Dukes in the OF.
Joel Hanrahan (4). $400k last year. The incumbent closer, he was their best reliever last year (not counting the traded Jon Rauch).
Wil Nieves/Jesus Flores (4 each). $400k each last year. Two Catchers, two identical players it would seem if you look at their stats. Flores has a touch more power, but neither are really all that worthwhile.
Elijah Dukes (4). $392.5k last year. All the potential in the world, and such a huge headcase. The Nats took a chance on him, and we can only hope for them that he comes through.
Tyler Clippard (4). <$400k last year. A lot of players immediately become great just because they were former prospects of one of the big teams (i.e. Felix Pie, Ian Kennedy). Clippard has extra publicity from being a former Yank, but in this case, I believe he will be a servicable pitcher in the bigs. He’ll get a legit shot next year, don’t draft him in your fantasy league, but watch him and if he starts off well, grab him.
Albatross Contracts:
None. As stated earlier, Cristian Guzman is the only contract guaranteed beyond next year. They have the clean slate.
Notes: Nick Johnson – $5.5M, Dmitri Young – $5M; Austin Kearns – $9M (including buyout), Wily Mo Pena – $2M; Ronnie Belliard – $1.9M. These are the biggest contracts the team has, and they will be gone after next year. That’s roughly $23.5 Million coming off the books. If the team does go after Mark Teixeira and get him, they will still have money to get some more next year. Hopefully their drafts will start bringing in some talent and they have a chance to actually succeed. Good luck DC.
Contract Implications – New York Mets
Great Contracts:
David Wright. 09 – $7.5M; 10 – $10M; 11 – $14M; 12 – $15M; 13 – $16M option ($1M buyout). There were blogs saying they ought to trade Wright and get a lot of value out of him, but how do you get rid of the first third basement to do anything for the Mets? He’s way too valuable to get rid of, especially with a great contract.
Jose Reyes. 09 - $5.75M; 10 – $9M; 11 – $11M option ($500k buyout). The left side of the infield at $13, $19, and $25 Million over the next three years. Absolutely fantastic on the contract side of things.
Arbitration Contracts:
Ryan Church (2). $2M last year. He is a solid OF, he almost made the all-star team this past season with the numbers he was putting up (and a presumably weak OF lineup from the NL last year.
Pedro Feliciano (2). $1.025M Last year. Good loogy specialist, as long as we don’t have to keep reading how a Feliciano or Heilman should return either an all-star caliber OF or a front line starter!
John Maine (3). $450k last year. Hope he can stay healthy all year next year. He is the type to use a lot of pitches, but still gets it done. For my money, he’s a weak #2/good #3/great #4 for the rotation.
Dan Murphy (5). <$400k last year. First, he is not as good as a .400 OBP shows him from the past season. Second, he’s not a bad guy to have in the lineup. Third, if he can put up a .335 OBP next year, he could be good for the lineup since this past season there were only 4 hitters doing anything in the lineup.
Albatross Contracts:
Luis Castillo. 09-11: $6 Million annually. Well, at least it doesn’t increasingly get worse year after year.
Notes: This team has a lot of contracts of players being paid what they are worth. Delgado at 1 year/$16M is justified. Beltran gets $18.5M for the next 3 years; once again, that is fair. Johan Santana’s monster contract is fine too, he pitched like a beast this past year. The Mets have contracts that they are supposed to as a big market club. Unfortunately, they seem to have still run out of money while not having all the holes filled. It is amazing how that works sometimes.
Contract Implications – Seattle Mariners
Great Contracts:
Jose Lopez. 09 – $1.6M; 10 – $2.3M; 11 – $4.5M option ($250k buyout). Is he a great player? No, but double digit home runs from a guy who can play 2B (although Yuniesky also plays it) does not hurt (especially at less than $5 Million).
Arbitration Contracts:
Felix Hernandez (3). $540k last year. He’s the #1 with several years left with the club. Please Seattle, don’t let the good one get away while you are overpaying ten other pitchers!
Sean Green (4). $405k last year. Average reliever, but does not cost much. He is not a ton to write home about, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a spot on a roster.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (5). $395 last year. Solid young starter. Definitely a #2 type talent, and he’s under control for awhile, he and Felix will be valuable if they can somehow parlay the bad contracts for salary relief.
Cezar Jimenez (4). $400k last year. Another average reliever, I am not trying to knock the Mariners’ players, but this is it for the arbitration contracts, and they only control two really good players for a few years.
Albatross Contracts:
Carlos Silva. 09 – $11M; 10 – $11.5M; 11 – $11.5M; 12 – $12M Mutual Option ($2M buyout). The moment this contract was signed, you had to go “huh?” The 6.46 ERA last year really hurts, but they are going to have to hope for something better next year. Anything better would be acceptable, and if he doesn’t do better, my suggestion is the bullpen (he had a little success doing that in Philly at the beginning of his career.
Kenji Johjima. 09 – $8M; 10 – $8M. This was an ownership signing, as they wanted Kenji to stay. Unfortunately, he struggled badly so they have to hope for whatever they can get out of him. It is sad that that is the state of affairs for many of the Mariners overpriced players, just hoping that they can get something out of these guys.
Notes: The Mariners have Adrian Beltre and Miguel Batista coming off the books after this year, along with Erik Bedard in his final controlled year. JJ Putz has one more cheap year before his option makes him pretty expensive in 2010 ($8.6 Million). That is about $32 Million coming off the books, which makes it nice, but unfortunately this team has a few more contracts that are still pricey, even if they are not an “albatross”. Washburn costs $9.85M and $10.35M over the next two seasons (why did they not let the Yanks have him?). Ichiro has 4 years at $17 Million per (which is about two more seasons than I would want at that price). We’ll see how this team shapes up over the next 2-3 seasons and how badly the Silva/Johjima/Washburn/Ichiro contracts shape up the rest of their payroll.
Contract Implications – Giants
Great Contracts:
Matt Cain. 09 – $2.65, 10 – $4.25M; 11 – $6.25M option (will probably increase by $1.9M based on performance). Fantastic young pitcher, even better contract. By the way, Prince Fielder is not worth Matt Cain, especially considering the contracts.
Arbitration Contracts:
Tim Lincecum (4). $405k last year. Tim decided he would go year-to-year as opposed to getting one guaranteed deal over his arbitration years. You can’t blame the guy either way, it should be a decision made by the player. If he wants to maximize dollars, obviously it is his perrogative, but it would still worry me when he gets to free agency because of the thought that he may be looking solely for the money when he gets to that point.
Jonathan Sanchez (4). $395k last year. I believe they will probably be looking to let Sanchez go in a trade in order to get a 1B this offseason but we will see. If they do not let him go, they still have a good young lefty under control for awhile. Wait and see, Giants fan, wait and see.
Brian Wilson (3). $392.5k last year. He’s okay, really, that is about it, the guy is okay. The title “CL” is overrated, and not just a little overrated, incredibly overrated. 3 outs in the ninth have somehow become more important than a situation with two outs in the 7th with men on 2nd and 3rd. For Brian Wilson, I hope he parlays it into a bigger contract in the future, but I would only accept him in as a loogy (.202 avg against lefties/.320 against righties).
Fred Lewis (4). $392k last year. I can see them moving Randy Winn and his $8.25M for next season to make sure that Lewis will have a starting OF slot next year. A .350 OBP last season will make for a nice addition to the lineup last year.
Albatross Contracts:
Barry Zito. 09 – $18.5M; 10 – $18.5M; 11 – $18.5M; 12 – $19M; 13 – $20M; 14 – $18M option ($7M buyout). When this contract was signed, everyone in Major League Baseball went “Holy Crap.” Sabean, another “I have a team with money, let’s waste it” GM.
Notes: Aaron Rowand is probably overpriced, but he is not an albatross. He performs, for sure, but is not as much of the power hitter you would hope for $12M. There are a lot of contracts that expire after 2009, so they will have some money to play with next year. Unfortunately, Zito is taking up 1/5 of the roster cap space and is a worthless ****. I hope for Zito (you know he is not a bad guy in his regular life) that he can turn it around and become decent.
Contract Implications – Dodgers
Great Contracts:
Joe Torre. $4.33M for 09 & 10. Yeah, this is the only great contract they have. Wait for the albatrosses.
Arbitration Contracts:
Takashi Saito (3). $2M last year. He is a decent arm, but I would be afraid that he would get too much money here soon for the simple fact that “CL” can be placed next to his name.
Russell Martin (4). $500k last year. Rumors were swirling they move him to 3B but I cannot believe this. Why would you move a good bat out of the C postion?
Jonathan Broxton (3). $454k last year. Definitely the best reliever on this team, and one of the better in the NL. Nicely controlled for a few more years.
Chad Billingsley (4). $415k last year. A solid SP with a 9+K/9IP last year, he seemed to fall out of favor during last season but picked it back up later. I’d take him for $415k!
James Loney (3). $411k last year. He hit the backbreaking grand slam against the Cubs in the NLDS and hit extremely well with Manny in the lineup. As Shaq likes to say, “get on my back and you’ll get paid” — Loney could see a huge spike in his first free agent contract hittig around Manny over the next few years. We all can only imagine that Loney is the biggest fan of Manny returning to LA.
Matt Kemp (3). $406k last year. Fans of every team like to come up with these dumb proposals where they somehow end up with Matt Kemp. Let us do the favor to everyone who reads blogs everywhere — You are not going to receive Matt Kemp, why don’t you ask for Andruw Jones .
Blake Dewitt (4). $390k last year. Versatile (moved from 3B to 2B midseason for the Casey Blake trade), and played well with the glove. All this was built around an okay stick, and an good OBP. Every team needs these guys.
Clayton Kershaw (4). $400k last year. Prized possession of the Dodger system. Fans of other NL West teams are going to be upset for the next years.
Albatross contracts:
Andruw Jones. 09 – $15M + $2.1M bonus in 09 & $5M bonus in 2010. For Dodger fans’ sake, I’ll not add any punches to the guts.
Juan Pierre. 09 – $10M; 10 – $10M; 11 – $8.5M. Bad OBP, worse arm for center field, but he can run like the wind. Yea, that about covers it.
Jason Schmidt. 09 – $12M; $10.5M bonus (paid from 2008-2011). Why all these bonuses being paid out so far past the contract’s life? It sounds more and more like a GM who decided to just go all out, but at the expense of the 2010/2011 seasons. Anything they get from Schmidt this year will be icing, because at this point, you can’t count on getting anything out of him.
Notes: Ned Colletti is (and it goes without saying) a terrible GM. Who am I to judge this? I am just a standard baseball fan, but these GM’s who will not allow the future years to be seperate from this year are getting ridiculous. Hopefully for Dodger fans they can get past the Jones/Pierre/Schmidt tri-fecta.
Contract implications – Diamondbacks
Great Contracts:
Brandon Webb. 09 – $6.5M; 10 – $8.5M option ($2-2.5M buyout). Guarantee option pickup barring TJ or some other freak injury. How many proven studs can you get for this kind of salary? Answer…Not too darn many. Good job by the front office on this one.
Dan Haren. 09 – $7.5M, 10 – $8.25M; 11 – $12.75M, 12 – $12.75M; 13 – $15.5M option ($3.5M option). Two frontline starters, two cheap prices. It is unfortunate this team does not have enough extra cash to fill other spots well, they could be beastly.
Justin Upton. 09 – $1.3M; 10 – $2M. Solid young player for solid prices.
Chris Young. 09 – $1.75M; 10 – $3.25M; 11 – $5M; 12 – $7M; 13 – $8.5M; 14 – $11M option ($1.5M buyout). It’s a great contract for 3 years, if Chris Young does not improve it is a contract at the right price for 12 & 13. We will see how he does, but as far as I can tell, he should fulfill the contract at a good price.
Arbitration Contracts:
Chris Snyder (2). $1.85M last year. He hits well, does well behind the plate, and he’s under the team control for a couple of years…yep, that about covers it (by the way, that’s a good thing!).
Stephen Drew (4). $1.5M last year. Drew has a solid stick and he’s under control. Once again, I will say that it is too bad for D’backs fans that the team does not have more money in their grasp because this team is primed to take over the NL West for a good period of time if they could add a SP/a couple bullpen arms, and another bat. They have so many under control good players for good deals, it is unfortunate.
Chad Qualls (2). $1.3125M last year. If they do not bring back Cruz next year, I hope they use Qualls in a Marmol-type way. The best way to use a good, solid reliever is to take them and put them in the toughest situations available to them. Whether this means the 9th, or with runners on in the 7th, this is the way to get them used in the most important outs of the game.
Conor Jackson (3). $419.5k last year. With Jackson, you are going to get: 140ish GP, 12-15 HRs, 70+ RBI, and a high .360 OBP. If you would have seen my fantasy baseball drafts before last season, he was my sleeper 1B for a breakout season. I was disappointed (although I got Josh Hamilton later than the 6th round in all my drafts!). He is what he is, which is a decent ballplayer, but nothing to go nuts about (except for the good OBP).
Mark Reynolds (4). $396.5k last year. One of my least favorite regulars in all of major league baseball. I love Adam Dunn, he gets on base, he hits for huge power, and he strikes out a lot. Reynolds is a guy who must believe if he doesn’t hit the ball as hard as he can, the hit doesn’t count, because he is a classic all-or-nothing guy. He seems to have gained a hint of patience this year, and I hope it improves. 200+ strikeouts is ridiculous (when we get around to Ryan Howard, I will have more nasty words).
Albatross Contracts:
Eric Byrnes. 09 – $11M; 10 – $11M. Backloaded contracts are really getting tired. Can we make a rule that if you can’t afford a guy, you should not sign him? Just wondering, sorry for the rant.
Notes: Chad Tracy would be an albatross deal as well, except there is no way they are picking up the 2010 option. Although I still do not see how they ever gave him the deal in the first place! I have talked enough about their lack of money, but I believe they have been about as effective as they could with the cash they have. For D’backs fans, they can hope the young guys fill in the rotation and bullpen well. We’ll see how things come through for them.
Contract Implications – Cubs
Great Contracts: None. Absolutely no great contracts, the closest one would be Aramis Ramirez, and we’ll post a few of these (including his) in the Notes section.
Arbitration Contracts:
Chad Gaudin (2). $1.775M last year. He was certainly no throw-in in the Harden trade. He’s one of the better long men/spot starters in baseball.
Neal Cotts (2). $800k last year. He fell out of favor with Lou last year, but he seems to have turned that over the past season.
Rich Hill (4). $445k last year. He’s a namesake at this point, the only way he’ll see the majors is with another club. He’ll probably be included in a deal.
Carlos Marmol (4). $430k last year. The crown jewel, so to speak, for the Cubs and has future closer written all over him. The winter’s final outcomes with dictate what he will be doing next year.
Ryan Theriot (4). $428k last year. He had a great year, and if he keeps playing that sort of solid baseball, their middle infield will be well equipped.
Ronny Cedeno (3). $407k last year. He’s another Lou-doghouse guy. It does not look good for him in blue. My guess is Rich Hill and he are a part of a trade come early December.
Mike Fontenot (5). $405k last year. The most underrated of the Cubs young guys. They should look to give him a shot at the second base job on a permanent basis. Unfortunately, Hendry is still looking for **** (Where will this put Derosa and Theriot?) and if he gets one, that means Fontenot goes that much farther down the pipeline.
Felix Pie (4). $401.5k last year. Include him with Cedeno & Hill.
Geovany Soto (5). $401k last year. The ROY is ready to become a mainstay, and could quite possibly become the best catcher in baseball over the next few years. Watch out Mauer.
Micah Hoffpauir (5). $400k last year. A more improved version of Daryle Ward, not to mention cheaper.
Sean Marshall (4). $400k last year. Once more, a cheap young player, and once more — he’s going to probably be traded. The team is obsessed with paying big money to pitchers, and he does not qualify, so he will probably be traded as well.
Albatross Contracts:
Kosuke Fukudome. 09 – $11.5M; 10 - $13M; 11 – $13.5M. This could become something that is not awful if Fukudome hits better the second time around. There is clammering to trade this contract for another (i.e. Gary Matthews Jr.), but I believe they should keep him and hope that he catches on. At worst, he can platoon with Reed Johnson next.
Alfonso Soriano. 09 – $16M. 10-14 – $18M. Was any other team really willing to offer Soriano a 6 year, $108 Million contract? That is what Soriano has left on his deal, which was not a 6/108, but rather an 8/136 deal. 8 Years for a 29 year old (at the time of the deal) is a dangerous thing to get into. At the time of the deal, you could say albatross. He is a good player, but not worth this.
Notes:
Carlos Zambrano: 09 – $17.75M; 10-11 – $17.875M; 12 – $18M; 13 – $19.25M player vesting option.
Aramis Ramirez: 09 - $15.65M; 10 – $15.75M; 11 – $14.6M player option; 12 – $16M club option ($2M buyout).
Derrek Lee: 09-10 – $13M
Ted Lilly: 09-10 – $12M
These contracts are listed, not because they are necessarily bad, but because they are on par with what these players are worth. Also, the quantity of these contracts may very well be what brings the team down to salary hell. It is good to have these guys on the team, they are good players, but too many of these, and it will make it harder to fill your teams needs.
If the Cubs win the Peavy sweepstakes, and they resign Dempster (Noted by Hendry as a possibility and even a desired event), they will have an insane roster and insane money donated to the starting rotation:
09 – Zambrano – $17.75M; Ted Lilly – $12M; Dempster – $12.5M; Harden – $7M; Peavy – $8M; Marquis – $9.875M; Marshall – Arb ($400k)
10 - Zambrano – $17.875M; Ted Lilly – $12M; Dempster – $12.5M; Peavy – $15M; Marshall – 2nd Year Arb.
That is a lot of money dedicated to pitching, and although that is important, you want your farm system to fill in some of the spots to reserve cash for other areas of the team. Even without Peavy, we’ll see what happens with the Cubs “Super Rotation”.
Contract Implications – Cardinals
Great Contacts:
Albert Pujols. 09-11 – $16M (buyout of $5M for 2011 season). Wild shot taken here, they are going to exercise the 2011 option. With Tex staring $20M a year for 7-8 years, Pujols looks like the steal of the century. Ryan Braun, Evan Longoria, and Pujols may be the best three contracts in baseball.
Yadier Molina. 09 – $3.25M, 10 – $4.25M, 11 – $5.25M, 12 – $7M (buyout of $750k). Tough defensive position and hits the ball well. Best of all he is very young and can be there for the long haul. And it frees them up with Bryan Anderson, they can do whatever they want. If they do decide trading Anderson is the best path, they can get something decent for him (although possibly not trading him this winter, because of the plethora of available talent).
Adam Wainwright. 09 – $2.6M; 10 – $4.65M; 11 – $6.5M; 12 – $9M club option; 13 – $12M club option. This is a solid team contract, especially with the lack of buyouts at the end of it. A lot of clubs are paying too much for mediocre talent, Wainwright has pitched well and even if he ends up not being able to continue down this path, he will not cost the arm and a leg compared to others.
Ryan Franklin. 09 – $2.5M; 10 – $2.75M club option ($250k buyout). This is a “better-than-good” contract. Good reliever, good prices, never hurts to have these on staff!
Arbitration Contracts: (Minimum 2 Years, as always)
Ryan Ludwick (4). $411k last year. Subject of trade rumors everywhere, is it a good idea to get rid of him? I just can’t imagine that is the case, especially not for a Kelly Johnson type. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice fit for a MI, but a potential 35 HR hitter in this era is worth way more.
Skip Schumaker (4). $396k last year. For next year, they have Ankiel, Ludwick, and Schumaker with Colby Rasmus waiting in the wings. My vote: trade Ankiel for what you can get (unless there is a sure-fire type A free agent after 09).
Brian Barton (5). $390k last year. Solid 4th OF type….350 obp last year in about a 1/2 year of playing time. That is about all you hope for out of a 4th OF (either that or above average defense).
Chris Perez (5). $400k last year. When the Cards could not find a person to anchor the bullpen, Perez came through last year. Personally, I would keep him as a closer and go for the middle relievers. You can patchwork a bullpen, you need to find one good young pitcher to do the heavy work.
Jason Motte (5). $400k last year. We’re putting him on the list with 12 appearances last year, why? well, he averaged 13 k/9 IP and a .82 ERA. Does this mean anything? Honestly, no, but it is worth a shot for the cheap! There are statistical anamolies (Kevin Hart having a scoreless streak to end 2007, Jeff Zimmerman gaining 9 wins before the all star break). Give him a shot and any additions he brings are icing.
Albatross Contracts:
Chris Carpenter. 09 – $14M; 10 – $14.5M; 11 – $15M; 12 – $15M ($1M buyout). If he comes around, this contract looks much better. Until that happens, this is a cap waster.
Notes: Kyle Lohse is the wildcard. 4 Years/$41 Million is a commitment. Is this the career year payoff? The Cubs are asking the same about Ryan Dempster. Who knows until the next season comes through, and we’ll know if they will be rewarded. In the same light, $41 Million seems cheaper than he could have received on the open market. Good deal (by my account), but I would be afraid he starts giving up the long balls.
Contract Implications – Brewers
Once again, these are contracts that extend further than just this season, including arbitration years.
Great Contracts:
Ryan Braun. 09 – $745k; 10 – $1M. 11 – $4M; 12 – $6M; 13 – $8.5M; 14 – $10M; 15 – $12M. Controlled until 2015, the Cubs will pay Alfonso Soriano close to $100M and his contract is up after 2013, so yes, this is a GREAT deal.
Arbitration Contracts:
JJ Hardy (2). $2.65M last year. Lots of rumors he will be gone at some point this season, with teams like the Twins looking for SS help, but if the Brewers decide to keep him another year and let Alcides Escobar take another year to develop, you certainly cannot blame them.
Dave Bush (2). $2.55M last year. Nothing fancy about Bush, he is simply an innings eater and he does it for a lesser amount than most pitchers do on the open market.
Rickie Weeks (3). $1.057M last year. He is an “in-limbo” player, he does not seem to be sticking as a full time guy in Milwaukee. We’ll see what the Brewers do with the 2B slot this offseason.
Seth McClung (2). $750k last year. He proved valuable with all the injuries this season. He had 25 relief appearances and another 12 starts. Always good to have these guys on the roster, especially for less than $1 Million a year.
Prince Fielder (4). $670k last year. This is a Scott Boras guy, we will see what happens with him in arbitration. He is guaranteed to see dollar signs, but will the Brewers keep him long enough to pay him that?
Corey Hart (4). $444k last year. The Brewers are really in for some raises this year in arbitration cases. Its not a bad thing, though, as it means you have some good young players.
Carlos Villanueva (5). $413k last year. Young. Cheap. Arm.
Yovani Gallardo (5). $404k last year. Even younger. Even Cheaper. Even better arm.
Manny Parra (5). $392k last year. Young cheap left arms don’t hurt your team.
Mike Rivera (5). $392k last year. Young catcher, has not had a lot of time in the bigs, we will see how he develops.
Alcides Escobar (6). $400k last year. It will be an interesting develop how the middle infield shakes up for the Brewers. Escobar should be very good, and if he keeps playing well his play will demand he get a legit shot in the show.
Albatross Contracts:
Jeff Suppan. 09-10 – $12.5M. Amazing what a good postseason performance will net you. Just ask the likes of super bowl heroes that move on to the Raiders. Suppan is no different!
Bill Hall. 09 – $6.8M; 10 – $8.4M. This is not a contract that sets a team back for years, but it is the type of contract when compounded on top of others that can hinder your ability to do in free agency what you would like.
David Riske. 09 – $4.25M; 10 – $4.5M; 11 – $4.75M/$250k buyout. When you look at a deal and you are just grateful that the buyout is cheap, you know it is not the contract you want.
Ryan Braun. Just kidding.
Compared to other teams, the Brewers have multiple bad contracts, but they aren’t the type that can set you back for a terrible amount of years. They have about 20 Million in wasted money in 2009, and close to 25 Million in 2010. That is substantial, but at least they did not give them contracts beyond those years. But come to think of it, if they had that money, CC would be much easier to sign, now wouldn’t he? Who would have thought that Bill Hall/David Riske/Jeff Suppan would not allow them to sign the best free agent pitcher?
mlblogscrystalbaseball
Recent Comments