And so draws the curtain on the December finals-time hiatus...
The Hot Stove percolates more actively this millennium and with more onlookers. Some observations:
The Braves offered their impressive relief tandem of Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez arbitration, knowing they wouldn't accept, and then reeled in Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito with reasonable one-year deals. The applecart overturned when Soriano cheated Atlanta of the draft picks by accepting arbitration. Keeping all three, while not the worst idea if you're New England's team, or Orange County's, is cost prohibitive for the Braves. But I'm surprised by the bag of chips they got in return for Soriano, especially considering how badly Atlanta needs hitting.
Chief Nakahoma barely broke a sweat last year celebrating Brave home runs, and Chipper isn't getting and more chipper as the years pile on. (Join the club, Larry.) Atlanta's usually deft GM, Frank Wren, should be able to parlay his unique pitching surplus for a couple of guys who can swing the bat pretty much anywhere but shortstop or catcher. I don't know why he didn't dangle Soriano as bait for such. Word on the street is that he's willing to part with Javier Vazquez or Derek Lowe. Perhaps one of those guys for a proven slugger like Josh Hamilton or a group of positional prospects.
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Time for the yang on all the Yankee-bemoaning yin:
For all their significant advantages, the Yankees certainly haven't skimped on the brass. Brian Cashman has once again cranked the machinery on a three-way deal that brings to the Bronx something for nothing. In relinquishing prospects Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Ian Kennnedy, and middle reliever Brian Bruney, to fill their single biggest major league need -- center field -- Cashman has improved his club without sacrifice. Curtis Granderson is young, affordable (as if that matters) and valuable on both sides of the ball. The prospect status of Jackson, Coke and Kennedy had begun running out and Bruney is an inter-changeable part. Kennedy alone among that group might have delivered value to the Yankees, but unlikely the value -- tomorrow -- that Granderson will deliver.
The move has a second benefit for NY: it moves Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner into part-time, defensive replacement, pinch runner roles for which they are better-suited. It also leaves the Yankee minor league cupboard almost completely bare, but when has that been a problem?
We can whine all we like about Steinbrenner domination of MLB world, but if all it took to get Granderson were these guys and some imagination, any team could have swung the deal. Credit Cashman for getting there first.
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The Brewers should consider trading Prince Fielder.
There, I said it. Milwaukee isn't positioned to contend in the next two years, not with that pitching staff, and they won't be able to afford the portly basher when he hits the free agent market. His body type and fielding challenges suggest a rapid drop-off in his 30s, so why not package him following a gargantuan year for a couple of major league pitchers, which would be one more than they currently sport. The Beerman's two best starters in '09 were Yovani Gallardo and "ppd. rain."
They have to find someone to overvalue Fielder, i.e., someone who believes his future value is reflected in his present line of .299/.412/.602, 46 home runs. For just these situations God created people like Ed Wade, the general manager who just spent $15 million on a middle reliever, apparently unaware that his roster in Houston boasts a grand total of five, mostly overpaid, Major League position players. It is the Ed Wades of baseball on whom competent GMs like Doug Melvin feast, and it's time for a little Thanksgiving in Milwaukee.
Not that I'm suggesting that Melvin pursue a deal with Houston. Other than Wandy Rodriguez, I don't know what the Astros could offer the Brewers, and I'm not sure they would part with their only above-average, below-35 pitcher. In fact, the Astros' roster probably comprises the worst combination of ability and age in the majors, so I'm not sure they could be anyone's trading partner, though I suspect there's some wool that Theo Epstein or Andrew Friedman (Tampa Bay) could pull over their eyes. Maybe Wade would like another aged star for Hunter Pence or Michael Bourne.
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You haven't heard much about the Metropolitans this off-season and the reason is clear: no one knows what they have. If their three injured superstars return good as new, the Mets are a player in the NL East, not withstanding their pitching woes. But if David Wright's mystical power outage persists, Jose Reyes loses a quarter-of-a-step and Carlos Beltran begins sliding down Father Time's greasy slope, it could be a long and painful decade in Queens.
Assuming some kind of return to normalcy, the Mets can probably win with their current lineup, even if it's not firing on all cylinders. The mound corps needs an overhaul, but it's important that the Mets don't pile more leaden contracts into a team station wagon already in need of a tune-up. The question is whether the help they need for Johan Santana comes in the form of a refurbished Pelfrey and Maine or outside assistance.
If I were Omar Minaya, I'd lay in the weeds this off-season, strategically inking some inexpensive B-level deals to bolster the staff while moving a year closer to sloughing off the more burdensome contracts. That will give the brass a season to assess their team and a better free agent landscape in which to get busy next year. If that means another poor performance in '10, at least it's not a drain on future flexibility.
That's it for now. I'll have more Hot Stove musings between semesters as things develop.
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