Friday,
December 14, 2007
Friday
Night Notes
That’ll teach me
to step away from the computer for awhile. I left work and there was nothing
new to report. I dared to actually stay away from the computer for about four
hours and what happens? A lot! So, here is a quick update on the things that
have happened:
1. Twins Sign Mike Lamb
a. I know I mentioned him as being the top
free agent 3B on the market when the season ended. Of course, that was really
(the top free agent 3B not including Alex Rodriguez).
b. That says a lot more about this years free agent 3B than about Mike Lamb as a player.
c.
The
Twins will pay Lamb $3.5 million in 2008 and $3.0 million in 2009. There are
incentives and an option for 2010.
d. The Twins will give Lamb a real chance to
be an every day player for the first time in his career. That said, it isn’t as
thought Lamb has really been a bench player either. The last three years in
Houston, he has played in 125, 126 and 124 games, respectively.
e.
I
actually like this signing though for a couple of reasons.
i.
First, the Twins really do not have a great
option at 3B. Sure, had they gone into the season with a Brian Buscher/Matt Macri platoon, I
would have been fine with that, but I do like the potential of Lamb. Now, it’s
hard to talk about a 32 year old as having potential, but hear me out.
ii.
Lamb
has hit 14, 12, 12, and 11 home runs in the last four season and never had more
than 381 at bats. Could he hit 15-20 given 500 at bats?
iii.
His
OBP has been over .356 in three of his last four years, including a very solid
Isolated Discipline. That is pretty good.
iv.
His
OPS+ has been over 110 in three of the last four seasons. Some comes from the
OBP, but he also has had a Slugging Percentage over .450 in those years as
well. He has some extra base pop, which is a good thing.
v.
The
Twins don’t have a 3B with this much upside that will be ready in 2008 or
probably 2009. $3.5 million for your starting 3B is not a bad thing.
vi.
Macri and
Buscher can get every day at bats in Rochester and be
called upon in case of injury. Depth on the bench is great, but depth in
Rochester is something that has allowed the Twins to contend the last couple of
years.
vii.
Is he
going to be a star? Probably Not. But an OPS of .780
to .820 from your likely #8 hitter is not a bad thing. And, if he is batting 8th,
it is good to have a patient hitter because he could get a lot of walks hitting
in front of Adam Everett.
2. Dan Haren traded
to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 6 Minor Leaguers
a. The price for a high-level, All-Star caliber
#1 pitcher was just set. We thought that a Johan Santana deal would set the
market, but instead the Oakland A’s have set the market.
b. The A’s acquired LHP Brett Anderson (3),
LHP Dana Eveland, LHP Greg Smith, IF Chris Carter (8),
OF Aaron Cunningham (7) and OF Carlos Gonzalez (1). The numbers in parentheses
are the rankings according to Baseball
America’s Diamondback Prospect List.
c.
John Sickels’ posted his Boston Red Sox Top 20 Prospects, so
if the Twins were to acquire their #1, #3, #7 and #8 prospects, the Twins would
get Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, Nick Hagadone and Ryan Kalish. I think
that the Twins would be happy with that deal! I don’t think that the team
really has a chance to get Bucholz, but if he became
available, I think the Twins would have to pull the trigger. However, I think
it is quite obvious that the Red Sox prospects are much better than the
Diamondbacks!
d. Of course, the market for Haren is much better than it is for Santana. First, because
of Haren’s long-term, reasonably priced contract,
Billy Beane could discuss trades with the other 29
teams whereas because of Johan Santana’s contract situation, the Twins can only
deal him to a few teams.
e.
Great
trade for the Diamondbacks in that they get a second ace to go along with
Brandon Webb.
f.
Great
trade for a rebuilding A’s team in that they get a Top 20 in baseball prospect
in OF Carlos Gonzalez. They get three pitchers and plenty of youth to build around.
g.
Good
trade for former Twins minor leaguers Alex Romero and Trent Oeltjen
who should both be playing for Tucson, Arizona’s AAA affiliate, to start the
2008 season.
3. John Sickels
posted his Boston Red Sox Top 20 Prospects.
a. I know, I already mentioned that, right?
But I think it is something that Twins fans should know and understand.
b. Clay Bucholz is
#1, and Jacoby Ellsbury is #2. No surprises there.
c.
Also
no surprise that Jed Lowrie is #3, but for him to
receive an A- is certainly encouraging as he has been mentioned in all Twins
trade rumors.
d. Justin Masterson ranks #6 on this list. He
too has been linked to every deal. I have heard great reports on him. But the
name I heard mentioned early that I really, really liked was Michael Bowden. Sickels ranks him 5th.
4. The Diamonbacks
also trade Jose Valverde, to the Astros for Chad
Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez
a. The D-Backs got a second ace, but traded
their closer. Remember that Valverde led the National
League with 47 saves. It was really his first full season as a closer. He
started the 2006 season as the team’s closer but lost his job midway through
the season before getting another shot in 2007. He made the most of it, and he
is likely to become expensive.
b. This trade should give the Twins and their
fans a little idea about potential return for Joe Nathan. First, Nathan is old,
but second, he is far more consistent. Nathan’s 2006 contract is low, so this
would be the least they should expect. Qualls is a solid middle reliever. Burke
is a 2B/OF who I’ve compared to Michael Cuddyer in
that he has never really been given a shot at regular duty to this point. To
me, that kind of return would not be enough for me to trade Nathan knowing that
I could get two first round picks for him if I kept him through the 2008
season.
5. Josh
Johnson finished his
Thoughts on his Top 50 Prospects in all of baseball list. It is an
interesting list. I made a few comments in his Top 20, so check those out too
and let him know what you think.
6. I forgot to post it the other day, but Aaron Gleeman had a great write up on
why Cordell
Koskie is his #16 ranked Twins player of all-time.
7. Pat Neshek
has new winter hats available.
(Anyone still need a Christmas present or two?). He also continues his series
on Getting Drafted, which is really interesting.
8. I haven’t linked for awhile, but be sure
to check out BrentNet
who has had updates on his site the last couple of days.
9. With the release of the Mitchell Report
yesterday, I wanted to point out a couple of transactions that happened:
a. Gil Velazquez signed a minor league deal
with the Boston Red Sox.
b. Grant Balfour signed a one year deal to
stay with the Tampa Bay Rays. I think he will be a huge part of a very improved
Rays bullpen.
c.
Former
Twin Chris Gomez signed a one year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
d. This is now a week old, but I just saw
that former Gopher 2B Luke Appert was taken by the
Phillies in the minor league Rule V draft.
10. Finally, as I drove into work on Friday morning,
I listened to XM Satellite Radio’s Home Plate Network’s Baseball
This Morning, like I always do. But on this morning, the Twins Michael Cuddyer was a guest host. He was on with Buck Martinez and
Billy Ripken. He was really good. A career in sports talk, radio or TV, is in
the cards should he want to do that. Seriously, Cuddyer
is a great ambassador for baseball and for the Minnesota Twins. If the Twins don’t
lock him up for three or four years this offseason, I will be very
disappointed!
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If there are more events in the next couple of days, be sure to check here. Have a great weekend! If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.