After commenting earlier this week about the best front office transactions made this off-season, it seemed appropriate to examine some of the more curious moves made by teams this winter as well. At the time these moves occurred, each caused me to pause and ask the logic behind them and if the front office was keeping with their process. Therefore, in dedication to the under-appreciated 90s band C&C Music Factory, these are my choices for the most questionable moves of the off-season, or said differently, “Things that make you go Hmmmm”.
Honorable Mention: Washington Nationals trade Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole, Derek Norris, and Tom Milone to Oakland for Gio Gonzalez and Robert Gilliam, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sign Albert Pujols to a 10-year $240 million dollar contract, the Oakland Athletics sign Coco Crisp to a 2-year $14 million dollar deal, the Arizona Diamondbacks sign Jason Kubel for 2-years and $15 million dollars, and the San Francisco Giants signing reliever Javier Lopez for 2-years and $8.5 million dollars-
#5 – Prince Fielder signs with the Detroit Tigers, 9-years $214 million
In addition to the “all you can eat Little Caesar’s pizza”, Prince Fielder signing for 9-years $214 million is another masterful job by agent Scott Boras, as most analysts questioned the terms Prince would eventually sign for with the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and other large market teams having little interest in the slugger. I give Tigers’ owner Mike Illitch credit for recognizing the void left after Victor Martinez suffered a season-ending knee injury in January and seeking the best possible replacement available. That said, if the Tigers continue with their plan to shift Miguel Cabrera to third base to accommodate Fielder, I fear that the team will be woeful defensively and cost themselves a large percentage of the benefits of adding such an outstanding hitter. Finally, there is little chance this contract is seen in a positive light five years from today, as the long-term ramifications of paying a probable designated hitter $24 million dollars per season in years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 will impair this franchise in future seasons.
#4 – Oakland trades RHP Trevor Cahill and LHP Craig Breslow to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill, and Ryan Cook.
Earlier this week, I gave Arizona General Manager Kevin Towers the “Best Move of the Off-Season” award for receiving Cahill and Breslow from Oakland and only having to part with one elite prospect, Jarrod Parker, along with two solid but complementary pieces in Cook and Cowgill, in order to do so. In light of the overwhelming packages the Padres received for Mat Latos (a comparable but better pitcher) and Oakland received for Gio Gonzalez (a lefty but VERY comparable player to Cahill), this package just seems insufficient, especially with the inclusion of competent reliever Breslow to boot. True, from Oakland’s perspective, this trade hinges on whether Parker reaches his ceiling as a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, but they should have insisted on another impressive prospect to part with Cahill, an established #2 starting pitcher signed to a team friendly contract through 2017.
#3 – Jonathan Papelbon signs with Philadelphia Phillies, 4-years $50 million
Jonathan Papelbon is an outstanding closer with a solid track record of success with the Red Sox, but the Phillies already had Ryan Madson, a superior reliever to Papelbon, in-house and they allowed him to sign with Cincinnati for only 1-year and $8.5 million, less than 20% of what Papelbon received. Papelbon just completed what is likely his best season at age 30, and the Phillies signed him after a career year for his age 31-34 seasons, certainly the decline phase of his impressive career. This expensive purchase will force the Phillies to go with the projected underwhelming platoon of Laynce Nix and Juan Pierre in left field, and leaves them with more question marks in their starting rotation than in recent seasons. I do not question any General Manager wanting Papelbon as his closer, however I question not re-signing Madson and fear this allocation of resources will hinder their overall record in 2012 and future seasons.
#2 – Michael Cuddyer signs with the Colorado Rockies, 3-years $31.5 million
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Nothing against Cuddyer who is an above-average player with a solid right-handed bat but below-average defensive skills, but how much of an upgrade is he from Seth Smith, whom the Rockies shipped off to Oakland in order to make room for Cuddyer in right field. Seth Smith’s batting line from 2011 was .284/.347/.483 and Cuddyer’s batting line was .284/.346/.459, not to mention Smith is 3 years younger, will make only $2.415 million dollars this year, and is under team control through 2014. No, Seth Smith is not an all-star, but he is no worse a ballplayer than Cuddyer and is projected to earn less than half as much over the next three seasons. This move is truly puzzling, as the Rockies finished last season with 73 wins and as of now, Cuddyer is their biggest addition this winter, therefore to pay $10+ million dollars per season for a marginal at best improvement on a team not projected to make the playoffs makes little sense from Colorado’s perspective.
#1 – Heath Bell signed by the Miami Marlins, 3-years $27 million
“Option A” 2011 stats – 64.1 Innings, 4.06 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 2.66 K/BB, and 36 SVs
“Option B” 2011 stats – 62.2 Innings, 2.44 ERA, 1.149 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 2.57 K/BB, and 43 SVs
In this blind comparison of relief pitchers, without any additional knowledge one would reasonably make the instant decision that Option B is preferable, although besides the ERA category (not the best indicator of a relief pitcher’s success or lack thereof) both pitchers are remarkably similar. Option A was “The Artist formerly known as Leo Nunez” Juan Oviedo, the Marlins closer from last season, and Option B is Heath Bell, the new Miami closer. Upon further inspection, closer was not a major area of need for the Marlins this winter and yet, they spent handsomely to negligibly improve the position. Miami has signed Bell for his age 34-36 seasons in which he should continue to decline, and the club should have allocated those resources differently (center field, starting pitching, bullpen, and team psychologists) to more demonstrably improve their win-loss record in 2012.
This “Tip of the Fedora” goes out to the aforementioned C&C Music Factory, a great musical group from my youth that provided inspiration for this column and numerous YouTube searches – Cheers to them!
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