Free Agents -- 2006-7 [Archive] - Sports Central Message Boards

catman

10-31-2006, 12:54 AM

Juan Pierre has indicated interest in signing with the White Sox for next season. We'll see if such a deal can be made.
I, personally, would enjoy seeing him playing left field for the Twins. He'd be the lead-off hitter, allowing Castillo to hit 2nd and Punto to slide down to the bottom of the order.

suedon1970

10-31-2006, 04:09 PM

I wonder where Soriano will land next year.....

doublee

10-31-2006, 06:30 PM

Aside from being a good base stealer Pierre is not an ideal lead off guy. His OBP is horrendous for a lead off hitter and he really is more suited for the #2 spot as he is a good hitter and rarely strikes out. I know the Pierre going across town has been out there for a while, but I don't know how much of that was him expressing a desire to do it or borne more of the rumors that the Sox were interested in dealing for him when the Cubs were willing to listen to offers this past Summer. I am sure he ends up going to the highest bidder whomever that may be. Given that the Cards are probably going to be forced into pouring money into the rotation I don't know that they are going to have a lot to spend for a guy like Pierre.

I heard on the radio today that since the Yankees have discovered they won't get top pitching talent for Sheffield, what on Earth ever possessed them to think that is beyond me, they are going to make a run at Jeff Suppan. I fail to see how that significantly upgrades their staff. Suppan is not a top of the rotation guy and is best suited as a #4 guy at best. On top of that he also fits in better where he is not asked to do much and has a good bullpen to support him.

As for Soriano I read earlier today that the Cubs are interested in signing him to play Center Field which is going to be a disaster just waiting to happen. He was barely servicable as a Left Fielder as it was.

Marc

10-31-2006, 08:43 PM

I think Bonds wants out of SF, wants to play for a contender. Can't really blame him. I hope he doesn't wind up in the Bronx. :lol:

doublee

10-31-2006, 09:20 PM

Nah, I doubt he goes to the Bronx. He has never seemed interested in playing there and the Yanks have enough DHs already as it is. I heard today on the radio that Bonds' agent says he wants $14 mil for next year. If that is the case he is likely in for a rude awakening. I wouldn't give $14 mil for a guy whom you have no idea how long he will hold up and brings absolutely nothing by way of leadership or clubhouse chemistry.

boston_aloha

10-31-2006, 11:58 PM

I could see the Baltimore O's giving him $14m!!! LOL

catman

11-01-2006, 01:15 AM

That would be the only team I could think of that might do so.
Wouldn't that be interesting?

doublee

11-02-2006, 09:20 PM

The O's, or, it depends on how desparate the Angels get in their efforts to add another bat with some pop. That is the only other team aside from SF and BAL I have heard come up on talk radio the past few days in regards to Bonds.

Alex

11-02-2006, 09:27 PM

I think Bonds wants out of SF, wants to play for a contender. Can't really blame him. I hope he doesn't wind up in the Bronx. :lol:

Me too. Signing a player like Bonds is the wrong direction. And I can't stand him. Last thing I would want to do is have to root for him.

catman

11-08-2006, 12:28 PM

Top free agents, according to Dayn Perry:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6146228
I suppose we can scratch Mussina from the list though. He has agreed to terms with the Yankees.

doublee

11-08-2006, 07:34 PM

It is a pretty thin class when Jeff Suppan is considered one of the top 15 players on the market.

To be honest I don't know how interested I'd be in Clemens unless I had a deep bullpen to support him as you are lucky if you get six innings out of him any more these days.

How is that fossils like Piazza and Thomas are rated higher than Juan Pierre. I'd definitely take Pierre over Gary Matthews Jr. Pierre is a quality defensive CFer, and is a career .300 hitter with a .350 OBP and will steal you 50 bases a year. Matthews may be a better defensive player and had a slightly better offensive season, but Pierre is younger and has established himself as a far more consistent offensive player. I have a feeling that Matthews had himself a career year and will fall back to being a .260/.270 hitter next year.

Also, Pettite is talking about retiring.

catman

11-09-2006, 12:34 AM

As is Clemens, again. Rumor has both of them talking to the Yankees about making another run for the crown.
Like I've said about Dayn Perry, I don't always agree with him. I do appreciate his articles as a starting point for a discussion.

doublee

11-09-2006, 07:06 PM

Clemens to the Yanks would just be more evidence that they just don't get it. Clemens is not the answer to their pitching problems simply because they don't have enough reliable setup men to get to Rivera. That money would be better spent on adding some quality depth to the pen.

doublee

11-09-2006, 09:33 PM

Add J. D. Drew to the list:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2655862

I don't know that I understand this one. I don't know that he is going to find someone to pay him more than the $33 mil he was due over the next three years.

catman

11-10-2006, 01:06 AM

It is puzzling. Maybe he wants to go to the D'Backs to join his little brother?

yonglo32

11-11-2006, 11:03 AM

hey, what bout those old homer hitters like sosa and palmiero who left and nvr came back. do you see them ever coming back to the majors?

doublee

11-11-2006, 11:38 AM

Raffy is done. He was going to retire after the '05 season anyway since he got to 3,000 hits. That was really the only reason he was still hanging around to begin with.

Sosa claims he is back in shape and wants to come back and make a run at 600 homers. But, it remains to be seen if he draws any real interest from teams. I am sure someone in need of some pop will at least give him a spring training invite. The only problem is I am not sure Sosa's ego will allow him to come back unless he gets a signficant contract offer from someone. If has resided himself to the idea of playing for a contract similar to what Piazza and Frank Thomas did this past season then I am sure he will end up back in the majors somewhere.

dirtywhiteboy

11-20-2006, 04:21 AM

Agreed. Sosa is worth a shot...at a low-dollar contract. Line it with incentives, and you're risking little as a GM. And yes, doublee, the key word in your post is "ego". We shall see if Sosa can put his in check, and prove that he can play or not...

doublee

11-20-2006, 06:43 PM

That is just it. There were teams interested in him last year. If memory serves a couple of teams offered him deals in the 4-5 million dollar range but he basically told teams he wasn't going to play for such a paltry amount of money.

catman

11-21-2006, 12:47 AM

I believe he may have changed his mind after sitting out a season. He will play winter ball this year, for the first time in quite a while, and see who notices. If he puts up decent numbers, lots of teams will be interested, but not for his former salary.

doublee

11-21-2006, 05:49 PM

Well, the cynic in me cannot help but wonder if the true reason he sat out last year was to purge his system and get back into shape the 'honest' way.

doublee

11-29-2006, 12:20 AM

Cards sign Adam Kennedy to a three year $10 million deal and Kip Wells to a one year $4 million deal.

I love the Kennedy acquisition. He will solidify the Cards defensively at the position and you can pencil him in to hit in the .280 range.

As for Kip Wells, what Sidney Ponson was not available?

Jocketty also said they may make a run at Zito or Schmidt if the price is right. Something tells me that Zito will be outside of their budget but they may be able to get Schmidt.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2678901

catman

11-29-2006, 11:09 AM

Rumor has it that Schmidt is headed to Wrigley. That would be a very, very good signing for the Cubs.

doublee

11-29-2006, 07:07 PM

Yeah, but if what I heard they are offering is true I think they are overpaying for him. I don't think he is worth 14 mil per year for 4 years.

boston_aloha

11-29-2006, 08:14 PM

To the Cubs he is! Other trade rumors have JD Drew signing in Boston and Manny being shipped out. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

doublee

11-29-2006, 08:42 PM

I stand corrected it was $45 mil over 3 years which the Cubs are currently denying according to ESPN's Rumors Page.

I hope the BoSox don't think J. D. Drew is going to provide adequate protection for Ortiz. Jim Rome said it best when he said if they trade Man-Ram Oritz will walk 250 times next year because they really don't have any other bats that other teams are going to feel the need to pitch around.

I can't believe they are supposedly offering Drew $70 mil over 5 years.

catman

11-30-2006, 12:51 AM

That would be a dumb move, IMO. JD Drew is an upgrade defensively, but cannot hit the way ManRam does. I also heard Jim Rome talk about Ortiz and his potential 250 walks next season without Ramirez.
But at least the Red Sox will have the best of the Japanese players to come out this year.

boston_aloha

11-30-2006, 12:55 AM

Yeah, I think it was on Jim Rome show - someone said, trading Manny would be just as dumb as selling Ruth...

doublee

11-30-2006, 05:38 PM

Well, it all depends on what you get in return for Manny, but typically speaking you never get entirely equally value when you deal a guy like Man-Ram.

boston_aloha

12-06-2006, 12:46 AM

Redsox sign Lugo and JD Drew. I like these moves (although very pricy) - Drew is schedules to bat 5th to protect Manny (so I guess they are keeping him).

doublee

12-07-2006, 07:43 PM

The Drew signing is a bad one for the Sox given that he can never stay healthy and really is not an impact bat worth $14 mil per season. I guess the Sox are jealous of the Yankees pissing money away on guys so they figured they would join in the fun. :lol:

The Lugo deal is not so bad though.

Alex

12-07-2006, 09:06 PM

I don't understand why J.D. Drew ends up making so much money every time he becomes a FA. He had one really good season ('04 with Atlanta) but otherwise doesn't command that type of salary. But unfortunately this offseason seems to be spurning yet another money grab for FA's just like in the late '90's and early part of this decade.

The best news I've heard is that Andy Pettitte is close to coming back to the Yankees. I am a big fan of Andy and watching him sign with Houston was one of the few times that I was truly saddened watching the Yanks having to part with a player. Hopefully this gets done and Pettitte is back in the Bronx.

doublee

12-07-2006, 09:28 PM

I don't understand why J.D. Drew ends up making so much money every time he becomes a FA. He had one really good season ('04 with Atlanta) but otherwise doesn't command that type of salary. But unfortunately this offseason seems to be spurning yet another money grab for FA's just like in the late '90's and early part of this decade.

Because Scott Boras is his agent, I swear he has nudie pics of every owner and GM in MLB, and because teams are still convinced he may just turn out to be the stud player he was rated coming out of college.

As for Pettite his better days are behind him so it would be apropos for the Yanks to throw $15 mil at him to be their 5th starter next year. The popular opinion seems to be that he may be waiting to see what Clemens decides to do.

da12ken

12-08-2006, 01:08 AM

The Soxs wouldn't pay Damon $50 million but they pay Drew $70 million. Amazing how a year changes things.

Gil Meche, $55 million. I don't know whether to laugh at the Royals or cry at life.

catman

12-08-2006, 02:00 AM

I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Astros keep Clemens and Pettite. They seem to have had their deal with the White Sox for Garland fall through. They need a couple of starters and these guys are as good as any that are available. They also seem to want to stay together as a pair.

Alex

12-08-2006, 07:41 AM

Well supposedly Pettitte misses the competitive environment in NY. And even though he isn't what he was 2-3 years ago, Pettitte (and Clemens) could be the missing links. We all know money really is no object for Steinbrenner and the Yanks really haven't done much else in free agency thus far other than re-signing Mussina, taking Josh Phelps in the Rule V Draft and also trading Gary Sheffield and Jaret Wright for some young arms. Other than adding a reliver or two and another first baseman, the Yanks' main focus is starting pitching. Plus Pettitte is a fan favorite so just like when Tino Martinez came back two years ago, the fans really won't complain about it.

coachJ

12-08-2006, 09:00 AM

The Astros are reporting that the Yankees have offered a 1 year deal around $15 mil, and the Astros offer is a 1 year deal around $12 mil for Pettitte. For the Astros to get him, its going to be at a home-town discount, which im not sure he is going to take again.

tobynosker

12-08-2006, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by da12ken
Gil Meche, $55 million. I don't know whether to laugh at the Royals or cry at life.

Become a Royals fan and you can do both!

themush

12-14-2006, 02:35 PM

Don't know if this belongs in here or not but, why are the Rays focusing all thier attention to sign Akinori Iwamura. Granted he's supposed to be a superstar but, (i don't know how to make this any clearer) they need pitching for crying out loud.

doublee

12-14-2006, 07:42 PM

Because, if I am not mistaken, they face the same issue the Sox did with Matsuzaka and they have a deadline in which they have to get him signed by.

catman

12-15-2006, 01:54 AM

Exactly. They will get their money back, or not have to pay it out, if they do not reach an agreement with him.
If they are able to lock him up for a few years, I could see them trading one of their other players for pitching next spring.

boston_aloha

12-15-2006, 02:06 AM

Any idea where Shea Hillenbrand may end up?

doublee

12-15-2006, 07:35 PM

Any idea where Shea Hillenbrand may end up?

I saw a rumor that said the Yanks have an interest.

boston_aloha

12-16-2006, 06:11 AM

Really? I guess that would make Giambi the DH for sure.

catman

12-16-2006, 10:42 AM

Any idea where Shea Hillenbrand may end up?
Shea Hillenbrand does not strike the fear in me that other hitters do. He is a solid, but not great, hitter. Defensively, he is a bit better than average, not spectacular. He will make the routine plays at 1B, but will cost the team some baserunners by missing a few.
If he is going to be counted on to take the Yankees to the next level, I think they won't make it.

doublee

12-16-2006, 11:24 AM

Well, he is a better defensive alternative than Jason Giambi.

It doesn't matter who the Yanks sign offensively they are not going back to the Series unless they tighten up the bullpen and I don't think they have made move one in doing so.

bama4256

05-16-2007, 02:00 PM

What do you think of these free agent starters for 2007? You got to like Gil Meche and Jason Marquis and Ted lilly for the Cubs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2871894

catman

05-17-2007, 01:17 AM

It is obvious that those 3 signings have been good ones, so far.

tobynosker

05-17-2007, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by bama4256
What do you think of these free agent starters for 2007? You got to like Gil Meche and Jason Marquis and Ted lilly for the Cubs.

The Kansas City Star has a fun feature called The Meche Meter (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/107348.html), in which they use a scoring system to decide if Gil Meche is earning his $55 million contract.

According to them, so far so good...