Free Agency Comments July 2005
At mid-season 2005 here’s a
look at how some free agency signings look 6 months later.
Though still no-brainer
signings for 2005, the future looks depressing for the Burgesses as next year
Randy Johnson will be simply be mediocre IP filler and Barry Bonds mostly or
totally a no-show for $12 mil. The other part of free agency for me was missing
out on Clemens. I did have the highest one year offer for him but others
offered a little less but for 2 years; the Rocket was still undecided at that
point about playing in 2005 so I did not want to commit for 2 years. Still,
Silver offered Jason Isringhausen 20 mil for 4 years and thus far Izzy has been solid for future; as a comparison, Northwoods
needed only 13 mil for 4 years to sign Billy Wagner.
Wagner has pitched 10 more innings but not as effectively vs
RHB. Maybe the 7 mil difference is the lefty discount in Strat. Troy Percival was another big name available
among closers and he has developed an unhealthy fetish for diamonds; so far he
has surrendered 5 HRs in 22 IP. At least Rivendell is
committed for just 2 years.
Steve Finley fetched 12 mil for 3 years but it looks like this deal will not be
in Rivendell’s favor for years 2 and 3. Finley is
slumping badly vs RHP but will still oddly enough
punch around LHPs. Moises Alou was more expensive at 14 mil for 2 years but he still looks
worth the money, especially vs LHPs.
One of the more curious
signings was Bret Boone a 36 year old for 4 years at 11.25 mil.
His OPS had dropped 160 points from the prior year and it continues to fall;
now its near 680, perhaps still defensible with a gold glove, but for 3 more
years? Similarly, late bloomer Mark Loretta may be fading himself with an OPS
160 points below last year. He has only 160 Abs also so this 6 million dollar man
looks to be an expensive platoon player next year.
Good pitching is hard to find
but as great as Greg Maddux was, he continues his descent
into mediocrity. He’s still reliable for the IP but his ERA was at 4 for 2
straight years and its lurched closer to 5 as of now. At 13
mil for 3 years, he’s become an expensive IP chowhound. “Chicks may dig
the longball”, but that’s no excuse for giving up so
many home runs.
Steve Trachsel
was signed for 2 years for 7 mil; I don’t see where
he’s played in 2005. Maybe he’s been injured and his stats removed.
Javy Lopez no doubt is helping Northwoods catapault into first place now; the contract is 15.6 mil for 3 years. It’s not looking too bad for the
future; Javy has cooled off some but still has decent
offensive numbers for a catcher. My team
by comparison is still looking for its first bona fide MLB catcher having gone
through Henry Blanco, Tom Lampkin, Tom Prince, Todd
Pratt, Chris Widger, Corky
Miller …. Biff Pocoroba, where are you?
I must admit shock when I saw
Ryan Drese signed for 3 years for
8+ mil. I didn’t realize he had a decent 2004 and perhaps there was hope
he had finally discovered some pitching secrets. So far in 2005 it has been a
mixed bag: in
Kirk Rueter
a 34 year old left hander has 91 IP so far for next year and only 22 Ks but 106
hits. He got 4 years for 8 + mil. At least his GM can’t say he’s disappointed;
the performance is within his expected standards if only modestly worse.
My best free agent for value
may be Craig Biggio. I was worried the guy was
essentially through, a CF 4 +3 is horrific if his hitting deteriorated more but
he has come back to play 2nd base. Next year he’ll platoon with
Chase Utley. My best overall for the 2 years is Mark Bellhorn.
For 375 k this year, he’s one reason I decided to open the vaults and try to
sign Clemens, Johnson and Bonds.