Fill out the 3rd FA acquisition.

[Lex L.]

I'm not sure how cheap he is but is it worth going after russel Martin?

He made 4 million last year. I think I'd rather have Matt Wieters. I think he might be less.

 

[inactiveuser1]

He made 4 million last year. I think I'd rather have Matt Wieters. I think he might be less.

Wieters is a FA?! we must sign him

 

[Lex L.]

Wieters is a FA?! we must sign him

Cot's Baseball Contracts: Baltimore Orioles

Im not sure. This says he played under a one year contract but his time in service is less than 2 years so Im not sure what that means when it says his contract ran through 2011. He might still belong to Baltimore because of time in service. Im not sure.

 

[inactiveuser1]

Cot's Baseball Contracts: Baltimore Orioles

Im not sure. This says he played under a one year contract but his time in service is less than 2 years so Im not sure what that means when it says his contract ran through 2011. He might still belong to Baltimore because of time in service. Im not sure.

I hope we can get him if he really is, that'd be a solid signing

 

[X]

I don't see the Yanks letting Gardner go...and it's not like they're worried about their money.

 

[Captain Obvious]

If I were the Cubs GM, I would go after Brett Gardner or Coco Crisp. I'd prefer Gardner though. We need speed and defense in CF. Crisp has been in the majors since 2002 and has never had an on base % below .300. Last year he had 49 steals to only 8 CSs. Gardner has a higher on base % than Crisp and only in his first year was it below .300. He's really fast and has been around 50 SBs more than Crisp.

Another thing I would do is move Castro to 2B. You know its coming. So just do it now and bring in someone who can flash the leather.

Similarly, we need some defense at catcher. I like Yadier too and thats why I was asking X to clarify who he was referring to. As far as catcher is concerned, I would either sign a stop gap (if we felt we could get Molina) or sign someone like Matt Wieters.

I would sign Pujols over Fielder. I know a lot of people like Fielder but even though Pujols is a few years older, I think he's a safer bet. I don't think you have to worry about dedication with Pujols. At least its less of a risk than it is with Fielder. In addition to Fielders weight raising concerns about his dedication (especially once he gets paid) but the weight also raises injury concerns as he reaches his 30s. Fielders weight and possibly injuries from his weight almost make the age difference irrelevant.

Coco Crisp is just another Marlon Byrd. He isn't anything special at all and I would much rather just have BJax be our CFer, because of the upside. As for Brett Gardner, he isn't a FA...??

As for as moving Castro, chill bro. He's in his 2nd year. While it may happen eventually, it doesn't mean we should move him now. The fact is that he is one of the best offense SS in the game right now, and if you move his bat to 2B, it loses value to the team.

For the catcher situation, Yadier isn't available and there isn't anyone on the market that is more valuable than Soto.

I say we kill two birds with one stone by splitting the money on the third guy. Go for rickie week and a catcher. Now don't go off on me about how that's a terrible idea because Im not the greatest baseball expert so that's why Im proposing this... I want you experts :tongue: to tell me if this is good or bad idea and why

This is a bad idea. Rickie Weeks signed a big extension with Milwaukee.

more than he's worth...but the Catching FA market sucks harder than the 3b FA market.

Geo certainly isn't paid more than he is worth. Even this year, he was worth about 9 - 10 million. That's in a down year, too.

Cot's Baseball Contracts: Baltimore Orioles

Im not sure. This says he played under a one year contract but his time in service is less than 2 years so Im not sure what that means when it says his contract ran through 2011. He might still belong to Baltimore because of time in service. Im not sure.

He isn't even to arbitration years yet. He won't be available for a very, very long time.

 

[bleacherbum54]

LOL at Geo being worth 10m :gtfo: with that BS

 

[Captain Obvious]

LOL at Geo being worth 10m :gtfo: with that BS

2.1 WAR * 4.5 - 5 million = 9 - 10 million. That's about what a win is worth

 

[nwfisch]

Don't forget, Soto's a beast.

 

[dabynsky]

Cot's Baseball Contracts: Baltimore Orioles

Im not sure. This says he played under a one year contract but his time in service is less than 2 years so Im not sure what that means when it says his contract ran through 2011. He might still belong to Baltimore because of time in service. Im not sure.

Generally speaking the first 3 years a player is in the major leagues the team gets to dictate the salary. The player than has 3 years of arbitration before they reach free agency. So while Wieters doesn't have a contract for next season, his rights are owned by Baltimore for the next four seasons, I believe, and will remain theirs until they trade or release him. As CO pointed out Wieters will not be a free agent for at least 3 seasons if not more.

 

[Rice Cube]

2.1 WAR * 4.5 - 5 million = 9 - 10 million. That's about what a win is worth

I think arbitration will suppress that number a bit.

 

[Capt. Serious]

Don't forget, Soto's a beast.

two of the last three seasons he's hit .218 & .228

beast

:yeah:

 

[Rice Cube]

Geovany Soto Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

He's not the best catcher, but he's above average offensively based on OPS+ so there's that. Plus just about anything not named Jeff Mathis is better than Koyie Hill by default :lol:

 

[Lex L.]

Generally speaking the first 3 years a player is in the major leagues the team gets to dictate the salary. The player than has 3 years of arbitration before they reach free agency. So while Wieters doesn't have a contract for next season, his rights are owned by Baltimore for the next four seasons, I believe, and will remain theirs until they trade or release him. As CO pointed out Wieters will not be a free agent for at least 3 seasons if not more.

Thanks. As I said earlier, I thought this was likely the case but wasnt sure on the details or if there were other stipulations like age.

 

[Rice Cube]

The only other stipulation is non-tendering and Super Two status, I think. I'm not an expert on it though.

 

[Jntg4]

Cubs are gonna look like this next year:

LF: Prince Fielder
CF: Brett Jackson
RF: Albert Pujols
3B: Aramis Ramirez
SS: Starlin Castro
2B: Jose Reyes
1B: Carlos Pena
C: Lance Berkman
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: CJ Wilson
SP: Edwin Jackson
SP: Andrew Cashner
SP: Aaron Miles
CL: Mariano Rivera

:yeah:
Lead the league in errors again (and last in Range Factor bro)

 

[Captain Obvious]

Don't forget, Soto's a beast.

Right, because he wasn't the best offensive catcher in baseball in 2010. U mad?

 

[Capt. Serious]

Right, because he wasn't the best offensive catcher in baseball in 2010. U mad?

Your logic sucks. Two of the last three seasons, he's hit under .230

 

[nwfisch]

Right, because he wasn't the best offensive catcher in baseball in 2010. U mad?

I ain't mad at cha.

Posey in 2010 better than Soto in 2010.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Your logic sucks. Two of the last three seasons, he's hit under .230

I'm sorry, I thought the game was called baseball. Not hitball. The goal is to get on base and score runs. Batting Average only tells you how often a player gets a hit. There's more to baseball than just hits. Plus, it doesn't tell you anything about the hits. A player who hits 3 singles every 10 times, it just as good as a player who hits 3 HRs every time times.

Also, 2010. He didn't hit under .230 then.

I ain't mad at cha.

Posey in 2010 better than Soto in 2010.

Negative. Geo had a .385 wOBA, Posey had a .368. Geo had a wRC+ of 135, while Posey's was 129. Geo's ISO was also 17 points higher than Posey's at .217. Soto's OPS was also .890, while Posey's was .862.

Soto > Posey