2012 Season Forecast: Miami Marlins

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Paul Proia

2011: 72 – 90, Last NL East
Runs Scored: 625 (11th, NL)
Runs Allowed: 702 (10th, NL)

Season Recap:

In late May, the Marlins were near the top of the NL East. Josh Johnson seemed to be taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning or later in each start, the offense was starting to show signs of life. When Scott Cousins derailed Buster Posey in San Franscisco by running the all-star catcher over to score a run, the bad karma hit. Johnson went down with shoulder soreness and never pitched again. Hanley Ramirez, having survived a very slow start, separated a shoulder and missed most of three months. Gaby Sanchez, who hit enough to make the all-star team, stopped hitting – and Logan Morrison tweeted his way into the dog house. When it was over, one of the best teams in the NL suddenly was in last place.

Starting Pitching:

The rotation of Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Javier Vasquez, Anibel Sanchez, and Chris Volstad seemed good enough in April, but once Johnson went down, having two other starters (Nolasco and Volstad) struggle along with anyone who tried to replace Johnson – the Marlins didn’t have a chance. Brad Hand went 1- 8 in 12 starts because he gave up ten homers and 35 walks in just 60 innings. Clay Hensley was asked to start and he couldn’t handle that kind of load. Nolasco was 23 runs worse than an average pitcher, Volstad was 20 runs worse – and they logged more than 370 innings of well below average pitching.

Looking forward, the Marlins have thickened up the staff. Johnson is back and healthy. If he makes 30 starts, he could save the team 40 unnecessary runs. Vasquez was miserable for six weeks, then finished like an ace over the last six weeks. He will be replaced by former Chicago White Sox horse, Mark Buehrle. Buehrle was 15 runs better than Vasquez last year – and he becomes the first lefty starter on the Marlins – which will help against the lefty hitting loaded teams in the NL East. Nolasco needs to bounce back – he’s a durable thrower, but hasn’t been spectacular since 2009. Sanchez continues to throw well – he could use a little offensive support. And then you have another former Chicago pitcher to provide additional fireworks – Carlos Zambrano.

Zambrano came to the Marlins in a trade with the Cubs because (a) the Cubs didn’t want him and (b) new manager Ozzie Guillen thinks he can handle the ex-Chicago fireballer. Zambrano was marginally better than Volstad, but at the end of his contract and pitching for his baseball life, he could be 15 or 20 runs better – and provide a little extra offense. What you are looking at is a reasonable gain of about 60 runs in the runs allowed column, and possily 70 – 75 fewer runs allowed…

Relief Pitching:

The Marlins spent a small fortune to pick up Heath Bell to be the new closer because Leo Nunez wasn’t cutting it. And, of course, because Leo Nunez isn’t who we thought he was – his name is actually Juan Carlos Oviedo, and he’s two years older, too. The pitcher formerly known as Nunez may not be back for a while, and if he does come back it won’t be as a closer. Bell was just a bit better in terms of runs saved, but he might be better in the clubhouse, where a big personality can keep the rest of the team in check. The rest of the bullpen isn’t bad – Steve Cishek, Randy Choate, Michael Dunn, Eduard Mujica, Brian Sanches, and Ryan Webb are all decent, but none of them wow you. Dunn has closer stuff, but needs time.

Another former Padre, Wade LeBlanc, and rookie Tom Koehler are looking to pick up swingman roles on the club.

Catching:

John Buck looked like he was figuring things out as a newcomer to the Marlins and the National League. His batting average fell, he struggled in the running game (83 of 100 baserunners were succesful stealing), and he needed to learn his own staff. I like Buck to bounce back some. Brett Hayes was a bit better against the run and is a dependable backstop.

Infield:

The Marlins will have a slightly new look in 2011. Gaby Sanchez returns at first, a decent enough fielder (helped statistically by the lack of a left handed starter last year), and a slightly above average hitter. He’s not shown himself to be a banger, but he makes decent contact, has a bit of power, and a good eye at the plate. Omar Infante is a solid second baseman and an average hitter. In 2012, he’ll no longer bat at the top of the lineup, which should help some. Taking over at short is former Met, Jose Reyes. Reyes is coming off a career year, but hasn’t dependably played 140 games at his position. He’s still a step up over having Greg Dobbs regularly in the lineup, so the Marlins could score more runs with Reyes at the top of the order. And moving to third is former shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez has something to prove this year – that he can be a team player and a real leader. Personally, I don’t think he should be in the infield. He’s never been a good shortstop – Ramirez cost the team 23 runs. (Reyes is better, but even he is a below average shortstop.) But he could be a league average third baseman – and make 35 – 50 throwing errors.

If it’s me, I let Bonifacio (just about a league average shortstop) play short, move Reyes to third, and put Hanley in center field or left field. Even with the new alignment, the Marlins could save 10 runs defensively, but it SHOULD be 20 runs better if Hanley were in the outfield.

Offensively, a healthy Ramirez and Reyes could be worth 100 extra runs themselves to the team.

Outfield:

Giancarlo Stanton returns (nicked up this spring) and seems to want to use his tremendous power to all fields. You hope that by broadening his approach he doesn’t dilute his strength – which is his strength, but he’s SO strong that if he makes contact, he hits the ball harder than anyone else in baseball. If he steps up a little bit, he’s going to put 125 runs on the board. And Logan Morrison can hit better than he did in 2011. He really isn’t an outfielder, but he has a great approach to hitting and should be worth 100 runs, which is 30 more than last year. Then you have the void that is centerfield. Emilio Bonifacio is tolerable there (I’d just rather see him at short). Chris Coghlan, Aaron Rowand, Bryan Peterson and possibly Austin Kearns will be battling for innings as a defensive replacement for Morrison in late innings and pinch hitting at bats.

Bench:

A bench of Dobbs, Coghlan, Peterson and Rowand give the Marlins plenty of options. Hayes is a capable backup catcher, and with Bonifacio able to play six positions, you can mix and match to give people time off.

Prospects:

At AAA New Orleans, Matt Dominguez and Ozvaldo Martinez showed they have major league gloves but not yet major league bats. They are still young – Dominguez will be 22 this year; Martinez 24. Jose Ceda was unhittable in AAA, but hasn’t turned it into a regular MLB job.

2008 #1 pick Kyle Skipworth made his way to AA Jacksonville, but didn’t impress with the stick – just .207 in nearly 400 at bats. He’s still got time. The best hitter was Jim Negrych, but he’ll be 27 this season and has people ahead of him on the depth chart. Pitcher Jhan Marinez needs to gain command, but fanned 74 in 58 innings. Undrafted Omar Poveda is figuring things out, finishing 8 – 6 last year, but with a 4.32 ERA. He needs to find a better strikeout pitch.

Kyle Jensen showed great power while hitting .309 at A+ Jupiter, but he’s a bit of a free swinger. I saw him – I’d like to think he can make a step forward and challenge Gaby Sanchez in 2014. 2009 First Round pick Chad James struggled a little – 5 – 15, with a 3.80 ERA, but he’s just 20. Let’s see what he can do in 2012. Down at A- Greensboro, 2010 #1 pick Christian Yelich showed he is a player with promise by hitting .312 with 15 homers and 32 stolen bases.

2012 Forecast:

You have a new stadium and management finally spending some money to give the fans checking out the new stadium an exciting product. The question, of course, is can the Miami Marlins break through what looks to be a competitive NL East. I think the answer is yes. The Marlins could easily score 150 runs more than last year with healthy and improving performances from the outfielders as well as a healthy Reyes and rebounding Hanley Ramirez. If Josh Johnson makes 30 starts and the rotation holds steady, the team will likely allow 75 fewer runs. That puts the Marlins at about 775 runs scored and 625 runs allowed – a combination good for 93 wins. The question is whether or not 93 wins will be enough… The Phillies, Braves, and even Washington will be in the hunt – so every win will matter.

Opening Day: Take Two!

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Paul Proia

Another slate of impressive games, including Josh Johnson’s bid for a no-hitter ending in the seventh inning, grand slams by John Buck and Neil Walker, and (while it wasn’t an opening day) the Royals winning on a game-ending homer, a Kilo Ka’aihue eruption of sorts. Even King Felix Hernandez tossed a five hit shutout.

The Injury List is Just Getting Started…

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday was taken to the hospital on Friday to have an emergency appendectomy. Expect Holliday to miss at least two weeks, though some players have missed as many as five weeks healing from the surgery. [MLB]

Marlins slugger Mike Stanton, who missed much of the spring with a quadriceps injury, left the opener with tightness in his hamstring in the sixth inning. He might miss a few games as a precaution. [MLB]

Orioles starter Brian Matusz will go on the DL with a strain in his rib cage, after complaining about pain the left side of his back. Look for Zach Britton to get a few starts for the Orioles. [ESPN]

A San Francisco Giants fan was attacked in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium by two younger Dodgers fan. Bryan Stow, 42, a paramedic and father of two, is in a medically induced coma with swelling in his brain. Police are investigating, and the Dodgers are cooperating.

One of my favorite Baseball Prospectus writers, Will Carroll, will be giving injury updates as part of Sports Illustrated’s Fantasy Baseball coverage. I’m not sure what I thought Will would look like, but I was surprised to see his photo on the column header…

It was a Good Run…

On the heels of Jermaine Dye’s announcement that he is officially retiring, outfielder Randy Winn called it a career after 13 seasons. Winn was a walk-on baseball player and basketball player (with Steve Nash) at Santa Clara, drafted by the Marlins, and had a decent career as a fine defensive outfielder who could occasionally give you some pop with the bat. [FoxSports]

Grab a Beer and Start the Debate!

Joe Posnanski has a list of the 32 best players in baseball. I’ll have to check my numbers (if I ever get done with the NL). [SI]

Fox Sports writer Ken Rosenthal predicts that the end of Derek Jeter‘s career will go down ugly. [FoxSports]

By Request…

My weekend post will be a quick look back at Bob Feller’s 1940 Opening Day no-hitter.

Happy Birthday!

Those celebrating with cake, cards, or remembrances include:

Hughie Jennings (1869) – Orioles star, great infielder, Tigers manager and coach. Read his bio if you can find one…
Luke Appling (1907) – Old Aches and Pains, also remembered for hitting a homer in an old-timers game…
Bobby Avila (1924)
Billy Pierce (1927)
Don Sutton (1945) – Three Hall of Famers on this day
Reggie Smith (1945)
Billy Sample (1955)
Al Nipper (1959)
Pete Incaviglia (1964) – Hit the longest homer at Hoglund Maupin Stadium (University of Kansas) while at Oklahoma State… Ask Tom Hedrick about it.
Jon Lieber (1970)

2011 Season Forecast: Toronto Blue Jays

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Paul Proia

Last Five Years:

2010: 85 – 77 (4th in AL East)
2009: 75 – 87
2008: 86 – 76
2007: 83 – 79
2006: 87 – 75

Consistently good, not always as competitive in the toughest division to win in baseball.

Runs Scored: 755 (6th in AL, but 4th in the AL East)
Runs Allowed: 728 (9th in AL)

With this combination of run scored and allowed, you’d expect 84 wins, so Toronto was pretty much on the money.

2010 Recap:

Most everyone had them fourth – so no surprises here. Well, not at a team level anyway… A LOT of surprises at the player level – but we’ll cover that down below.

After trading wins and losses for a month, the Blue Jays got hot in May and raced toward the top of the division. Unfortunately, the Jays were equally cold in June and fell back to fourth. June was their only losing month – from July 7th on, the Jays were 14 over .500, so if they hadn’t gone cold for the 30 days from June 6 to July 6, it’s very likely that the Jays could have sneaked into the playoffs.

What made Toronto competitive on heals of losing the best pitcher in their team’s history, Roy Halliday, was a BUNCH of home runs. Jose Bautista hit 54, Vernon Wells slammed 31 dingers, John Buck had 20, Edwin Encarnacion hit 21, even Alex Gonzalez had 17 in just 85 games. Aaron Hill didn’t hit much, but clocked 26 homers. Adam Lind tallied 23, Lyle Overbay slashed 20, and even the half season of Travis Snider was good for 14. Toronto hit 257 homers but only allowed 150, a gap that covered for other weaknesses.

During the season, the Jays made a few minor deals, but the one that made a splash was the trade in July that sent shortstop Alex Gonzalez and two minor leaguers to Atlanta for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes.

Starters:

As mentioned, Roy Halliday was gone, and the Blue Jays were forced to rely on a bunch of young arms – many of whom were returning from prior shoulder and elbow injuries. Ricky Romero improved on an impressive 2009 rookie season and made 32 starts, logged 210 innings and win 14 games, pitching like an ace for much of the season. Shaun Marcum returned to go 13 – 8 and missed by a start of hitting 200 innings. Brett Cecil, the #1 pick in 2007, raced through the minors and showed moxie – leading the team with 15 wins. Brandon Morrow, who never seemed to live up to the hype in Seattle, fanned 178 batters in just 146.1 innings, kept hitters off stride, and won 10 decisions. The fifth starter role was given to Marc Rzepczynski and Dana Eveland, but at the end was given to former Phillie prospect Kyle Drabek, who looks to make the rotation in 2011.

Looking ahead, Shaun Marcum is gone, having been moved to Milwaukee for Brett Lawrie, a top second base prospect. That leaves Romero, Cecil, Morrow, and either Rzepczynski, Drabek, Reyes, or Jesse Litsch – another former Jays starter coming back from hip surgery. Drabek comes with the most hype – the top prospect in the Toronto chain, having gone 14 – 9 for New Hampshire in the Eastern League. Reyes can pitch some, but more likely will start the year in the bullpen and pick up a start from time to time, which leaves Litsch and Rzepczynski battling for the fifth slot. I think Drabek can be every bit as good as Marcum was in 2010, and if Litsch or Rzepczynski can make 25 healthy starts, this will be a slight improvement – if only because you won’t have the nine less than stellar starts of Dana Eveland in the mix (or, for that matter, Litsch’s nine less than impressive starts).

Bullpen:

Gone is Kevin Gregg, who saved 37 games last year. Gregg is NOT a dominant closer – but rather a tolerable one, He was ably supported by Shawn Camp, Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Casey Janssen, and David Purcey.

For 2011, the closer looks to be former Ranger closer Frank Francisco, who can be much better than Gregg but historically is just marginally better. Other closers are in camp, including Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch, as well as Frasor, Janssen, Camp, and Purcey. This is a very deep staff and should continue to keep Toronto in games.

Catching:

Last year’s duo of John Buck and Jose Molina were impressive defensively – above average in six different categories, and league average in terms of basic mobility. Buck also hit well – an all-star level performance.

Looking ahead, Toronto will be depending on rookie J.P. Arencibia. After struggling through a rough 2009 season in Las Vegas, Arencibia pounded PCL pitchers to the tune of 32 – 85 – .301 in 104 games. That translates to about 20 – 65 – .250, which is not too far from a typical John Buck season. Molina remains as a capable defensive backup.

Infield:

The changes continue from the infield that started the 2010 season. Basher Jose Bautista showed to be more consistent at third than Edwin Encarnacion, who will move to first or DH in 2011. Yunel Escobar can find his groove and hopefully contribute like the hitter he was in 2009, and second baseman Aaron Hill will rebound from his .205 2010 season and hopefully retain his power. Adam Lind moves to first base, replacing Lyle Overbay. I’m nervous about this unit. The left side will be marginally better than 2010 defensively, but the right side will not be. Lind has yet to produce as many runs as Overbay, and the 85 games Alex Gonzalez played were productive and hard to immediately replace.

John McDonald is still around to back everyone up – as is Encarncion.

Outfield:

Left field will be manned by former Angel Juan Rivera, who replaces Fred Lewis – a fourth outfielder at best. While an improvement, Rivera is starting to get old and in ten seasons has never played 140 games in a season. Vernon Wells is gone, replaced by Rajai Davis. Davis is faster than Wells, but about 25 runs behind him as a hitter. In right is Travis Snider, who replaces Bautista’s role. Snider is due to step forward as a hitter, but hasn’t been a strong fielder.

Down on the Farm:

AAA Las Vegas wasn’t loaded with prospects other than Arencibia, who will start on opening day, and Brett Wallace, who was traded to Houston for Anthony Gose – a low level centerfielder with speed to burn, but a problem with contact and little power. (I’ll be honest, I don’t see the reasoning there unless one thinks Wallace didn’t have a future in Toronto, but I think he’s better than Encarnacion.)

AA New Hampshire had Drabek, but also Zach Stewart, who is a year older but not quite as good. David Cooper is a first baseman who has stats that look like Lyle Overbay – but at AA. He might be a year away, but he’s not quite there yet. Eric Thames has more power and a touch of speed. He could replace Juan Rivera and you might not lose a step. Darin Mastroianni is a leadoff type hitter, great speed and good on base percentages. At 25, he’s getting old for a prospect, but he could help somebody for a months if needed. The guy who is really interesting is Cuban import Adeiny Hechavarria, who looks like Davy Concepcion did when he was 21 years old – great glove, could grow into a hitter (but not yet). Tristan Magnuson was successful as a reliever in AA, with great control, but Danny Farquhar has better stuff – 79Ks in 76 innings, just 50 hits allowed. He’s a touch wild.

Alan Farina didn’t look like a prospect after a season of struggle at A+ Dunedin, but he DOMINATED A+ in 2010 and moved up to New Hampshire and kept right on going (74Ks in 55.2 innings). If he does this in Las Vegas, he may make the roster in September, 2011. Joel Carreno is a starter with moxie who will start in AA this year after a successful run in 2010 with Dunedin. Catcher Travis D’Arnaud will get to build on a reasonably successful 2010 season, but it would help if he shows a little more power.

2011 Forecast:

There are things to like. The outfield defense should be stronger. The team will be spending less money at a couple of positions, which helped pay for a Jose Bautista contract. The pitching staff is rather deep, especially in the bullpen. The only slip defensively is at first base – which means the team will likely stay around 715 runs allowed, if not a few less than that.

The things that make you nervous? I think the offense has to fall back. I can see Bautista having a good season, but will it be as good as last year? Probably not. You have a drop in offense at first and center and possibly at catcher against potential improvements in left and second. But there are too many “downs” to make up for the possible “ups” – and I see this as being sixty to eighty runs less than 2010. As such, I see Toronto falling below .500 to about 77 – 85, which could very well be last in the AL East. This isn’t a BAD team, just a team in the wrong division and falling back because a couple of guys were over their heads last year. On the other hand, there are signs that this team is trying to build a new foundation of young players that can get them over the 90 win plateau and finally get back to the playoffs.

2011 Season Forecast: Kansas City Royals

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Paul Proia

Last Five Seasons:
2010: 67 – 95
2009: 65 – 97
2008: 75 – 87
2007: 69 – 93
2006: 62 – 100

Last winning season? 2003

Runs Scored: 676 (10th in AL)
Runs Allowed: 845 (Last in AL – and by 60 runs)

With this combination, the Royals would have been expected to win about 63 games.

Season Recap:

Few people picked the Royals to finish higher than fourth, so from a prediction standpoint, the Royals did what people expected. KC didn’t have a winning month… They were close, going 13 – 14 in June and actually outscoring their opponents that month. The bottom was in July, though, when they went 10 – 15 (they had a worse record in September), but got outscored 173 – 94. The Royals hung around .500 until early May, when they got swept by Texas, lost a couple of more and fell to 11 – 23. That cost Trey Hillman his job, and gave Ned Yost a shot at managing the Royals. I mentioned the bad July – included in that month were an 11 – 0 loss to Anaheim, a 15 – 5 loss to the White Sox, a 13 – 1 loss to Toronto, and 10 – 4 loss to the Yankees, and three straight losses of 12 – 6, 19 – 1, and 11 – 2 (Yankees, then two to the Twins).

Among the disappointments was the lackluster season of pitcher Zack Greinke, who fell from Cy Young to a league average pitcher, going 10 – 14. Gil Meche never got healthy and retired at the end of the season rather than face another year of collecting $11 million for rehab work. A lot of pitchers had ERAs that were downright scary. Offensively, there were just too many outs – including the acquisition of catcher Jason Kendall and infielder Chris Getz, and the return of Alex Gordon, who hit .215. Scott Podsednik played well enough in left, only to get shipped to the Dodgers for the stretch run. The Royals did get good performances out of Mike Aviles, Billy Butler, and David DeJesus – until DeJesus went down after 91 games to injury.

Starters:

Zack Greinke is gone, having been shipped to Milwaukee with Yuniesky Betancourt for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and minor leaguer Jake Odorizzi. Brian Bannister is also gone – he wasn’t getting anyone out and when he opted for free agency, the Royals didn’t bite. Of course, Bannister had an ERA over 6.00… What is left behind is an unproven group waiting for help from Aaron Crow or John Lamb whenever either shows signs of being ready.

Instead of a rotation of Greinke, Bannister, Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen, and either Meche or Sean O’Sullivan, the Royals are looking at a rotation of Davies, Hochevar, Chen, Jeff Francis, Vinnie Mazzaro and maybe O’Sullivan.

Hochevar has skills but hasn’t put together a strong and consistent month. Kyle Davies eats innings, but isn’t a world beater. Bruce Chen was a pleasant surprise last year, going 12 – 7 with 23 starts and 10 relief appearances. Jeff Francis is the former Rockies ace coming back from shoulder surgery. He made 19 starts last year for Colorado with good control and if he can pitch 30 times will be an improvement over Bannister. Vin Mazzaro might remind you of Hochevar – shows signs of life but needs to make another step forward to help the team. O’Sullivan was hit around a lot last year and needs some seasoning.

There’s a reasonably good chance for a little improvement if Jeff Francis continues to get a feel for throwing. He can easily match what Greinke did in 2010, anyway, though there is no chance of anyone having a season like Greike’s in 2009. Mazzaro will be a step up from Brian Bannister, and if Chen can make 32 starts instead of 23, that’s also a step forward.

Relievers:

Talk about a rag-tag bunch. At the tail end, you have one of the best closers in the business in Joakim Soria. However, it’s an odd mix of arms in front of him, including Blake Wood, Robinson Tejada, Jesse Chavez, Jeremy Jeffress, Greg Holland. Holland and Tejada have the power arms, and of this group Holland looks to be the one guy who might make a significant contribution.

Catching:

Jason Kendall and Brayan Pena return to give the club below average catching. Unless Pena is given a chance to play as the starter, there is no chance that this will be better than 2010.

Infielders:

The left side of the infield will be different, with Escobar replacing Betancourt and Mike Moustakas likely getting the opening day nod at third. Moustakas is a highly rated prospect because in the last couple of years, he’s been hitting bombs all over the minor leagues. Escobar is Betancourt’s equal in the field, but after hitting the bigs and making a big impression in 2009, he fell back to hitting .235 in 2010. Betancourt wasn’t half bad last year, showing a little power and actually playing better than league average defense.

The left side remains solid with Mike Aviles and Billy Butler manning second base and first base. Butler is a hitting machine, and Aviles is a quality #2 or #3 hitter in any lineup.

Pedro Feliz is in camp as a potential depth option, having gotten a non-roster invite to spring training. He could be a starter on opening day if the Royals choose to give Moustakas a few at bats in AAA.

It’s hard to believe that this will be an improvement in 2011, in part because Alberto Callaspo and Wilson Betemit both hit well while playing third base (about 95 runs created) and Escobar wasn’t as good as Betancourt. However, Moustakas COULD be a league average fielder, which would be a 30 run improvement. The pitchers will appreciate the help, for sure.

Outfielders:

Last year’s outfield of Podesdnik or Gordon in left, Mitch Maier or Gregor Blanco or Rick Ankiel in center, and DeJesus or Mitch Maier or Jose Guillen in right has to be replaced. Looking at the 40 man roster, an outfield could be made of free agent signee Melky Cabrera, Lorenzo Cain, and Jeff Francouer. Again – not a single world beater in the outfield, which is problematic. Blanco can hit a little, but has been a disappointment in the field, making him a probable fourth outfielder. Maier has improved some with the bat, but on his best day really should bat ninth. Jeff Francoeur is long removed from being a middle of the order hitter, and Melky Cabrera might be a solid eighth or seventh hitter. No really competitive team has NOBODY who is an outfielder and can’t hit in the middle of the lineup.

DH:

Gone is Jose Guillen, so look for Alex Gordon or Jeff Francouer or Kila Ka’aihue to get the at bats. I like Mt. Ka’aihue, a minor league power hitter who has to prove he can be more than a AAAA player.

Down on the Farm:

The Royals are loaded with prospects. Mike Moustakas we mentioned earlier… The 2007 1st round draft pick hit .319 with 15 homers in just 225 AAA at bats, after clobbering AA pitchers to the tune of 21 – 76 – .347 in 66 games. Kila Ka’aihue hit .319 with 24 dingers in 323 at bats, draws walks, too. Among the pitchers, Greg Holland and Blake Wood showed success at AAA and both made the Royals for the end of the season and can help in the pen.

In AA Northwest Arkansas, every one hits – the team hit .291 in 2010. The two that make prospect lists are second baseman Johnny Giavotella, who hit .322 with a .395 OBP, and first baseman Eric Hosmer, who got to AA at 20, hit .313 with 13 homers in 50 games (he had hit .354 in A+ Wilmington). 2009 1st round pick Aaron Crow didn’t pitch as well as hoped, but he made a big jump out of college. His control got the best of him – 59 walks in just 119.1 innings. The best stats belonged to Everett Teaford, who went 14 – 3, fanning 113 in just 99 innings, and walking only 32. Danny Duffy made seven solid starts after a promotion, and reliever Louis Coleman gave up 31 hits in 51.2 innings, while striking out 55 and walking just 14.

John Lamb climbed from Burlington through Wilmington (A+) to AA and is just 20. Lamb is a lefty with great command and in 42 minor league starts, has 230 strikeouts and just 65 walks. He could be the lefty version of Bret Saberhagen – and the Royals need this to be true. Wil Myers is a catcher who, in his first full professional season, finished by hitting .315 at two levels with power and a .429 OBP.

2011 Prediction:

The Royals may climb out of the cellar, but not far. I think the starting pitching can be 20 – 30 runs better than last year even without Greinke coming back. Moving Moustakas in at third base will help defensively – this could be 25 runs or more at his position alone. Lorenzo Cain and Melky Cabrera give the Royals defensive stability – certainly better in left field and possibly centerfield than what was there in 2010. And, your fourth outfielder, Maier, can cover ground. So, look for the Royals to drop the runs allowed from 845 to about 780. And I don’t think Kendall manages a staff very well.

Offensively, adding Moustakas will be nice, but unless Lorenzo Cain can hit .290 and get on base a lot, there won’t be many runners for Butler and Moustakas to drive in. That being said, a full season of Mike Aviles would also add a few runs. But Cain would be hitting like Podsednik, and Francoeur is no different, really, than Jose Guillen. That means that the offense isn’t likely to climb up that many notches. Ka’aihue is a wild card. If he hits .260 with 75 walks and 25 homers as a DH, that would be a lift. If Moustakas is a rookie of the year candidate, maybe another lift. Unfortunately, you still have too many outs. Escobar, Cabrera, and Kendall. Please let Kendall back up Pena – that could be worth 10 runs.

You have an ace-less staff, old catching, with league average fielding and a well-below average offense. That gets you about 69 wins, and if you are optimistic, maybe 72 wins. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Royals have a deep farm system and by 2013 – especially if the pitching steps up – could be competitive. Hang in there fans, there is help on the way.

2010 – Top AL Catchers

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Paul Proia

Joe Mauer (MIN) – 99.3 runs created

Mauer wasn’t 100%, but he’s still amazing. Defensively, he has few peers and offensively he’s a solid #3 hitter. His power was off – just nine homers – and his batting average fell with the league, but he remained a threat to win the batting title. Backup Drew Butera was solid, too – cutting down 43% of would be base stealers. Of course, Butera hits like Sal Butera – which isn’t very good.

Victor Martinez (BOS) – 83.4 runs created

Martinez and Jason Varitek remained solid as a team behind the plate, being way below average against the run (80% success rate and 169 stolen bases allowed) and not necessarily being that mobile – though who really bunts against the Sox, anyway. Martinez hit well here, batting .302 with 20 homers, and Varitek had surprisingly good power in limited plate appearances. Martinez is gone now, leaving Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek as top options, which will hurt the Sox offensively in 2011. Saltalamacchia has never hit that well – and Varitek isn’t going to hit .275 anytime soon. Let’s hope that Salty has beaten his phobia of throwing back to the pitcher…

Mike Napoli (LAA) 73.1 runs created

Jeff Mathis is supposedly the stronger defensive catcher – but Napoli was actually better against the run and made slightly fewer mistakes. Mathis is definitely a cleaner catcher – far more mobile, but not a world beater with the bat. Bobby Wilson got 29 starts and wasn’t awful, didn’t impress me with either his mobility or arm, but he might be able to hit a little. As a group, they were well below average and partly to blame for not winning the division in 2010. Offensively, Mike Napoli has power and produces runs, and held down first base when Kendry Morales went down to that freak broken leg. Mathis hit like Lou Marson (see below) in fewer at bats. Will Hank Conger win the job in spring training?

John Buck (TOR) – 61.7 runs created

Now a Marlin, John Buck was dependable, decent against the run, didn’t make too many errors, and generally mobile. The pitching was surprisingly good and Toronto had a winning record. Defensively, for this position, it was a lot of positives. Backup Jose Molina was awesome against the run (44% caught stealing), and Buck was pretty good. Rookie J.P. Arencibia gets the nod for 2011, and he didn’t look so bad either. By the way, Buck had his best offensive season, too – hitting .281 and slugging 20 homers. His weakness? He doesn’t walk at all.

Jorge Posada/Francisco Cervelli (NYY) – 57.9 runs created

Innings split nearly down the middle, Posada is aging (he doesn’t LOOK old, but he’s playing old), but Cervelli isn’t the answer either. Neither can stop the run, though Cervelli is younger and, therefore, more mobile. The pitching isn’t happy with the catching either. As a hitter, Cervelli is learning, and marginally below average, but not awful; he also isn’t seen as the next Yogi Berra either. Posada did what we would have expected to do – which is lose a little in his batting average, though he still gets on base and hits for some power. Jesus Montero will have this job as soon as he is ready.

Kurt Suzuki (OAK) – 57.1 runs created

Suzuki remains a decent catcher, though he’s not very good against the run anymore. Backup Landon Powell is better against the run, but needs to remove some of his mistakes – which will come with time. As a duo, they weren’t very good – not very mobile, and slightly above average in terms of making mistakes. Suzuki still hits a little, but it’s a little less and he’s now below average. He’s still better than Landon Powell.

John Jaso (TB) – 54.2 runs created

Jaso is young and gets on base – much like his Florida Marlins counterpart, John Baker. In fact, he got on base enough that Joe Maddon let him bat leadoff from time to time. Dioner Navarro is the best catcher of this group, but his weight is problematic and he isn’t hitting. Kelly Shoppach doesn’t look like he’ll be in the league very long and should start brushing up on his coaching skills instead.

A.J. Pierzynski (CHISOX) – 52.4 runs created

Pierzynski is starting to get old, but he’s a good kind of old – just good enough against the run, few mistakes, and keeping the pitching staff on point – though he has a good set of pitchers to work with. His offense fell off to where his power slipped and his OBP is woeful (.301). Backup Ramon Castro isn’t half bad, and the man can hit (.278/.504/.331). He could easily be a DH if the Sox wanted, and I’d be tempted to let him play more.

Matt Wieters (BAL) – 51.4 runs created

The Orioles future is now with Matt Wieters assuming the starting role full time. As a team, Oriole catching rates as slightly above average, with the young Wieters being mobile, and making few errors or passed balls. The TEAM was below average in terms of the stolen base percentage, but Wieters wasn’t the problem, nabbing 24 of 77 runners. Craig Tatum was horrible here, allowing 25 of 27 runners to reach the next base. Offensively, Wieters didn’t amaze as we had been led to believe, but there were a few positives, including 11 homers in 446 at bats. I think he’s going to be better. Tatum had a nice batting average (.281), but he didn’t do much with those singles.

Jason Kendall (KC) – 43.6 runs created

You want to know why the Royals are never going to win? Who was responsible for letting John Buck go to Toronto (where Toronto suddenly had the best overall catching in the league), and replacing him with the ancient, impotent, and immobile Jason Kendall? Kendall can still throw a little, but the rest of his game is lacking. Brayan Pena should have been given this job from the outset. Pena is a better hitter, a better athlete, and has upside.

Alex Avila/Gerald Laird (DET) – 32.3 runs created

Laird is a really good catcher with solid skills, good with pitchers, good against the run, relatively mistake free. Avila is nearly his equal and played 86 more innings. Neither hit – but Avila was closer to league average than Laird, who seems to have lost his bat altogether – explaining why Avila got more time behind the plate. If Avila can step up a bit – maybe .260 and slugging .400 – this would be a positive. He’ll be a backup, though, as Victor Martinez will take on a load of catching in 2011.

Lou Marson (CLE) – 22.4 runs created

As a team, Indian catchers were average – but the young guys were good in terms of avoiding mistakes and making the throws. The veteran backup, Mike Redmond, struggled against baserunners (see Craig Tatum, BAL, above). I’ve always been a Marson fan, but if his bat doesn’t improve soon (.195 with no power), he’ll become the new Paul Bako. You think the Indians miss Victor Martinez?

Matt Treanor/Bengie Molina (TEX) – 20.5 runs created

A few years ago, it looked like Texas had all the good young catchers. Saltalamacchia is gone, Taylor Teagarden has been disappointing, Max Ramirez isn’t the answer yet, leaving veteran Matt Treanor as the best of the lot. It was so bad, the Rangers imported Bengie Molina from the Giants down the stretch, and he wasn’t much better than Treanor – though he was more mobile. Nobody hit here, so the addition of Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba will help immensely.

Adam Moore/Rob Johnson (SEA) – 14.9 runs created

Josh Bard got 300 innings, too – nobody had more than 515 innings at the position in 2010. Moore wasn’t very good against the run and he isn’t very mobile. If he has room to grow, that’s news to me. Rob Johnson was good against the run and more mobile, but his health record looks like Medicare’s worst nightmare. Bard can catch, but that’s about it. As a team, among the worst catching in the league. Only Bard hit above .200, and he hit .214. Not good at all…

2010 AL Gold Glove and Dirty Brick Award Winners

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Paul Proia

My fielding ranking system is a method that looks at the number of plays made per 800 balls in play. In effect, if someone makes one play more than another person at the same position, he reduces the batting average of the hitter by a point. The best fielders occasionally make a run at 15 plays per 800 balls in play more than average, the worst can go 15 in the other direction. Then, I convert those plays made into runs saved (or not saved, if the number is negative) based on the types of hits allowed on balls hit toward that fielder. I also convert double plays and errors into runs based on Pete Palmer formulas found in the old Total Baseball encyclopedias.

Does it work? Actually – yes. It passes the eye ball test (Elvis Andrus, when you watch him, looks like an impressive fielder), and the system is comparable to other methodologies. I’ve used this for about ten years, when I was first trying to rate fielders to make player cards for the old Superstar Baseball board game.

I try to remove biases for groundball/flyball tendencies, and for lefty/righty balls in play. If there is one position where I am always concerned, it’s first base because much of that is based on the rest of the infield – so I essentially remove infield assists from the first baseman’s putout total. Even with that, there is usually a greater range between the best and worst fielders. However, after doing this for years, I have reached the conclusion that the reason for this has more to do with the fact that the worst fielders are, indeed, the least mobile athletes on the field and if you get someone at first base who is young and still fleet of foot, that person is going to make GOBS more plays than a big lumbering first baseman whose first move is to start heading to first to catch a throw on almost any ball hit to his right.

Mighty Casey generally doesn’t rank pitchers individually, but the best team in this regard was probably Cleveland. Cleveland pitchers had a positive ratio of double plays to errors (19/13, where the league pitchers participated in 180 DPs and made 181 errors) and also handled about 5 chances more than the average team per 800 balls in play. The worst was easily Detroit (17 DPs, 18 errors, 6.4 plays below average per 800 balls in play).

I also rank catchers differently, choosing to score them as a team. There are seven categories for which a team of catchers could be graded: ERA, Winning Percentage, SB%, Fielding Percentage on plays not including strikeouts, Mistakes per Game (passed balls, errors), Plays Made per Game (or Mobility), Other Assists per Game (not including Caught Stealing). The catchers get a point for each category in which they are above the league average, and lose a point if below league average. The highest score, theoretically, is seven and the lowest would be -7. Nobody was that good, nor that bad.

Catcher:

Toronto had the best rankings, being above average in six categories and dead even on Mobility. John Buck did the yeoman’s share of the work, but his backup Jose Molina was also exceptional against the run, tossing out 15 of 34 runners. That being said, I don’t think that John Buck is the best catcher in the AL, it’s Joe Mauer. But the rankings say that Toronto’s catchers held their own collectively.

Behind Toronto, the White Sox scored at positive four, failing only in mobility categories, and then a tie between Boston, Detroit, and Minnesota at positive three.

The worst catching was a toss up between three teams that all scored at -3: Seattle, Los Angeles, and Kansas City.

First Base:

For the first time in several years, the stats matched the reputation. Mark Teixeira earns the nod, saving his team nearly 32 runs with his range and ability to avoid errors and turn double plays. I was surprised at how good Ty Wigginton was, showing even better range, but then again – he’s an infielder moving over to first – and frequently those guys are used to straying as far as possible to get grounders where many first basemen will give up on balls to the right and let the second sacker get them while moving to first base.

I’m not totally certain that Teixeira would have won the award had Kendry Morales not gotten hurt. Morales, in just 51 games, had a slightly higher range and was on pace to save just as many runs as Big Tex. Two others who didn’t get 1000 innings at the position also scored well here – Kevin Youkilis and rookie Justin Smoak.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Mark Teixeira    1291.2    10.2    31.7
Ty Wigginton    787    12.5    18.7
Justin Smoak    807.2    10.3    17.5

The Dirty Brick goes to Cleveland’s Matt LaPorta, whose poor range didn’t help a season where his bat wasn’t very strong – negating half of the runs he created offensively. The other two shouldn’t be a surprise. Miguel Cabrera is looking less and less lean, and Mike Napoli is a catcher playing first.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Matt LaPorta    791.1    -13.5    -25.0
Miguel Cabrera    1285.1    -5.6    -19.9
Mike Napoli    586.1    -12.7    -19.2

Dishonorable mentions go out to Daric Barton, Justin Morneau (on pace to match LaPorta, but he missed half the season), and Paul Konerko…

Second Base:

Robinson Cano had an amazing year with the bat, and was equally strong with the glove. His range factor was nearly 11 plays per 800 balls in play more than average, and he made just 3 errors while turning 114 double plays. As such, he not only saved his team 26 runs just by eliminating hits, but he took more than seven more runs off the board by avoiding errors and helping with the DP – the most at his position by far. Orlando Hudson provided value for Minnesota, and KC’s Mike Aviles returned and made a positive contribution with the bat and glove, too. Regular leaders here, Ian Kinsler and Mark Ellis, fell back as both missed about 500 innings at the position due to injuries. Honorable mention to Sean Rodriguez at Tampa who nearly made the list in just a half season of innings, and to Gordon Beckham who switched over from third and was solid for the White Sox.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Robinson Cano    1393.1    10.9    33.3
Orlando Hudson    1067    7.4    16.3
Mike Aviles    765.2    14.8    15.8

The Dirty Brick goes to a position switch as well – Seattle’s Chone Figgins. He was a decided bust at second base, making 19 errors and making an adjusted 4.11 plays per nine – 11.9 plays fewer per 800 balls in play than the average second baseman. Seattle signed him as a third baseman, switched him over to let Jose Lopez play third. Thankfully, Lopez was fantastic over there – else it would have been a total loss… Brian Roberts, a regular to the brick list, was abhorrant in a shade under 500 innings, 20 plays worse than the average second sacker per 800 balls in play, and Aaron Hill took his struggles at the plate with him to the field. Dishonorable mentions to supposed glove man Chris Getz (-7 runs) and rookie Scott Sizemore (-11 runs in must 314 innings). So much for replacing Placido Polanco…

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Chone Figgins    1417    -11.9    -33.3
Brian Roberts    498.1    -19.5    -17.1
Aaron Hill    1188    -6.1    -14.5

Third Base:

As poorly as Chone Figgins played second base for Seattle, converted third baseman Jose Lopez was a decided success. His range was superior, and he didn’t disappoint in terms of errors or double plays. Evan Longoria remained in the 30 runs saved range – a remarkable player, really – and Adrian Beltre continued to field his position remarkably well. An honorable mention goes to the reluctantly converted Miguel Tejada, who had greater range than even Longoria, but played just 808 innings before being shipped out. Nick Punto played an out shy of 345 innings there without making an error…

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Jose Lopez    1252.2    13.3    36.9
Evan Longoria    1330.2    8.7    31.1
Adrian Beltre    1342.2    6.6    19.0

The dirty brick goes to a part-timer, Royals infielder Wilson Betemit, who must have had ball repellant on him, making barely 2.2 plays per nine and having a range about 17 plays worse than the average player per 800 balls in play. Another halftimer, Omar Vizquel got close to 600 unnecessary innings at third base for the White Sox – he’s an ancient shortstop who hadn’t played there for his entire career. You want to know why the White Sox lost the division – look right here. Of the regulars, Michael Young was, again, a lousy third baseman – but he did make improvement over last year. No wonder he volunteered to be a DH.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Wilson Betemit    455.1    -16.9    -18.4
Omar Vizquel    582.1    -19.4    -17.4
Michael Young    1370.1    -3.3    -10.3

Shortstop:

Nobody was more surprised to see this than I, but Alexei Ramirez had a remarkable year at shortstop, showing great range – as good as he ever played. He was one assist shy of 500 – a great season by any measurement. Cliff Pennington helped out the young A’s staff by making his share of plays, and Elvis Andrus remained among the best fielders of his time. Seattle’s Jack and Josh Wilson, if combined, saved Seattle more than 20 runs.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Alexei Ramirez    1376.2    12.8    32.1
Cliff Pennington   1304.2    12.0    26.9
Elvis Andrus    1291.1    10.3    26.0

At least the reigning gold glove winner didn’t finish last, but he did have the worst range amongst the regulars. This year, Marco Scutaro’s 18 errors and only contributing to 57 double plays made up for making slightly more plays than Derek Jeter, who had just 6 errors and 94 double plays. The 11 run swing gave the brick to Scutaro, who killed the Red Sox infield. He’ll need to be replaced soon if the Sox want to be competitive. Third place went to Jason Bartlett who no longer looks like the slick fielding shortstop he was before all the ankle injuries in 2009. Thankfully for the Rays, they have other options for 2011.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Marco Scutaro    1166    -13.2    -32.0
Derek Jeter    1303.2    -15.0    -27.4
Jason Bartlett    1104    -8.9    -16.4

Left Field:

A centerfielder playing left who also had his best offensive season heading into free agency, the gold glove goes to the perennially amazing Carl Crawford. Crawford was the only left fielder to save his team more than 10 runs, but only because the next closest guys played too few innings to save enough runs. Only three left fielders played 1000 innings there in 2010.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Carl Crawford    1260.1    4.2    13.1
Michael Saunders   647.2    6.3    9.6
Alex Gordon    486.1    7.6    9.0

One of those three was Dirty Brick winner Delmon Young, who abused left field until he cost the Twins 25 runs out there. At least he found his bat last year… Fred Lewis played a disinterested left field for Toronto, and Daniel Nava was the Boston representative of the list of bad outfielders who played between 200 and 500 innings in the AL.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Delmon Young    1277.2    -8.5    -25.0
Fred Lewis    726.1    -7.8    -13.2
Daniel Nava    380    -12.9    -10.4

Center Field:

The Angels are rightfully excited about the defensive capabilities of their new centerfielder, Peter Bourjos. The man can fly – reminding you of a young Gary Pettis. He can throw, too – ten assists in what amounts to a third of a season in the field. This allows Los Angeles to move Torii Hunter, who is now a slightly below average centerfielder to right (where he was really good), and makes room for another below average centerfielder, Vernon Wells, to move to left. As it was, there isn’t a whole lot of difference amongst the starting centerfielders, except for Bourjos, in terms of overall range.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Peter Bourjos    449.2    12.0    12.4
Adam Jones    1298.1    2.9    7.9
Alex Rios    1246.2    2.8    7.1

The Dirty Brick goes to a guy whose body and game are falling apart, and that’s Grady Sizemore. One hopes he can heal and start to put his career back in the right direction, but it’s probably going to have to be at a different position. Sadly, his replacement (Brantley) doesn’t look much better, and among those who played at least 1000 innings, Vernon Wells, who was healthier than in recent seasons, is still the worst of the lot (costing his team about 7.5 runs). Thankfully, he’s done as a centerfielder.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Grady Sizemore    269.2    -17.5    -11.2
Michael Brantley562.2    -6.9    -9.4
Gregor Blanco    347    -11.2    -8.4

Right Field:

For the second year in a row, Nelson Cruz was a remarkable outfielder, though he threw hardly anybody out from right. I was surprised to see how well Nick Swisher did, but that could be because opponents may allow more lefties to bat in the new Yankee Stadium. Honorable mention to Ben Zobrist, who has to play everywhere but looked solid enough in right. I wonder if there isn’t some form of statistical bias in Texas, though, as even Vlad Guerrero showed up as above average in his 118.2 innings there. Not WAY above average, but slightly.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Nelson Cruz    799.1    15.2    25.9
Nick Swisher    1102    6.1    14.5
Jason Repko    226    16.4    9.3

The Dirty Brick goes to the surprise hammer of the league – Jose Bautista, followed by a bunch of guys who are either ill-suited for the outfield, aging, our out of position (David DeJesus). The worst right fielder who played at least 1000 innings was Shin-Soo Choo, who barely edged out the immobile Nick Markakis and the aging J.D. Drew, and were all between -7.02 and -7.17 runs in the wrong direction.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Jose Bautista    982.2    -6.8    -14.6
Carlos Quentin    897    -5.3    -13.6
Bobby Abreu    805.2    -3.4    -7.9

2010 Season Forecast: Toronto Blue Jays

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Paul Proia

Last Five Years:

2009: 75 – 87 (4th AL East)
2008: 86 – 76
2007: 83 – 79
2006: 87 – 75
2005: 80 – 82

Runs Scored: 798 (6th AL)
Runs Allowed: 771 (12th AL)

Having outscored their opponents by 27 runs, the Jays should have won about 84 games. This isn’t the first time that Toronto has won fewer games than one might expect based on their runs scored and allowed data. In 2008, they were ten games over .500 with essentially the same ratio of runs as the World Series bound Tampa Rays. In 2007, the Jays scored one fewer run than they allowed in road games, but lost 47 of 81 games. And that 2005 club finished under .500 despite outscoring their opponents by 70 runs. That’s four of five years that Roy Halliday thinks that he should have been on a contending team – only to fall by the wayside.

Who should be held responsible for this?

Season Recap:

Most teams had the Jays landing in fourth place in the prediction category, but most of us figured it would have been more like 85 wins.

The Jays got off to a GREAT start. It wasn’t long before Toronto, led by Halliday, Scott Richmond, and Ricky Romero, were running off and looking like they would be a force in the AL Beast. After sweeping the Chicago White Sox on May 18, Toronto hit a SLUMP – all CAPS because they lost nine straight, six to Boston and Baltimore. Rumors that Halliday was to be traded starting dominating the news – when it wasn’t some member of the rotation going down to injury – and I think the Jays got horribly distracted.

I know this – the team’s OBP every month was about .333 except July, when they must have started swinging at everything. The OBP in July was .298. So, even though the pitching staff was still getting the job done (a 3.81 ERA, best of the year), they couldn’t win, and it was July that put them out.

At this point, the Jays lost a lot – killing off the season as July started and finally bottoming out after reaching fifteen below .500 in early September. Halliday never got traded and, in fact, once the team figured out they had better just enjoy being a team the rest of the way, the team had a winning September when it didn’t matter.

Pitching:

Roy Halliday was marvelous – 17 – 10 with a 2.50 ERA and saving his club 47 runs more than average pitching would have provided. Ricky Romero finished with 13 wins and was about 8.5 runs better than average in 178 innings. Scott Richmond lost 11 of his last 15 decisions, costing his team 14.5 runs, and then hit the DL where he’ll likely miss most of 2010. Brian Tallett got 160 innings and his control got the best of him. Brett Cecil got 17 starts, had a winning record, but seemed very hittable (5.30 ERA, 17 homers and 116 hits in 93.1 innings).

On the other hand, Marc Rzepczynski proved a potential rotation player with 11 decent enough starts – and hopefully can build on that for 2010.

In the bullpen, a closer could not keep a job. B.J. Ryan wasn’t worthy – 6.53 ERA – and was shipped out. Scott Downs hung in there for a while with 9 saves and decent numbers (good control); Jason Frasor was even better and eventually earned the closer role for good.

No worries – for 2010, the pitching staff will look different with Halliday having been shipped to Philadelphia for a boatload of prospects.

First, Shaun Marcum returns from an injury forced exile to take over the front of the rotation. I like Marcum – he’s a fine pitcher, but he’s no Halliday. Romero returns, as does Rzepczynski and Tallett, with former Mariner Brandon Morrow joining the rotation to take the ball in the first inning every fifth turn.

Marcum has always been an above average pitcher – but not 40 runs above average. And Morrow has never been dependable as a starter. Even Tallett is a converted reliever – which means his arm hasn’t been abused, but he needs to find consistency this year.

The bullpen starts with Frasor, but adds Kevin Gregg from the Cubs. Scott Downs returns and will help. Jesse Carlson and Jeremy Accardo round out the top five. Gregg is inconsistent, too – but he’ll be a nice eighth inning option. There is more depth here than in, say Baltimore. I like Baltimore’s rotation better, though.

Looking forward, I see this unit performing about 50 runs worse than the 2009 rotation – mostly because Halliday won’t be there. That puts a lot of pressure on the bullpen, and the sixth and seventh guys. And THOSE aren’t the guys you want pitching important innings.

Catching:

Rod Barajas provided solid catching, but couldn’t get his batting average over .230. Still – he had 19 homers and 71 RBI. Essentially, the Blue Jays replaced him with the same guy – former Royal John Buck. Buck can get the same numbers at the plate but probably not behind it; Buck isn’t as good as Barajas against the run.

Infield:

Lyle Overbay didn’t seem as mobile with the glove, and with a falloff at the plate, he was a bit of a problem. Overbay ISN’T a bad first baseman. Usually he makes up for his lack of power with fantastic fielding. If he’s not going to be a gold glove winner, then his bat – still above average – looks pedestrian when compared to others. His backup, Kevin Millar, didn’t help at the plate or in the field.

Aaron Hill came back from concussion issues to give head injuries to the baseball, hitting 36 homers and another 37 doubles. Hill was nearly an MVP candidate.

Marco Scutaro was an amazing leadoff hitter, getting on base at a .383 clip and scoring 100 runs. Backup infielder John McDonald still fields well, but his hitting is pedestrian.

The Jays started with Scott Rolen, who hit .320 (who saw THAT?), but was traded to Cincinnati for Edwin Encarnacion – who didn’t. Rolen was traded because he was expensive, but at least he was producing.

For 2010, the infield still has Overbay and Hill, but the other side of the infield features Alex Gonzalez, who has little range and a fading bat. He WON’T generate 100 runs of offense, and he’ll be worse in the field than the below average Scutaro. Rolen, until the injuries, was know for being dependable – something Encarnacion is not – and he won’t ever hit like Rolen, either. I can’t see Hill repeating, Overbay may slide some more, and the other two will KILL the Blue Jays offense. Look for a 80 run decline offensively and a 20 run decline defensively.

Outfield:

Yes – Alex Rios was disappointing when considering his pay and his production. However, Rios is an above average fielder and hitter. He’s gone. Jose Bautista, who was nearly as productive and cheaper, will get the nod in right field. It’s no better than a wash going forward.

Vernon Wells remains in centerfield. He’s old, has had below average range for half a decade now, and will have hamstring problems until he’s 100. He’s no longer capable of 20 homers and doesn’t get on base much. He also has a contract nobody else wants.

In left, Adam Lind will be a DH (whew!) but Travis Snider needs to step forward. There’s a lot to like – he has power, but needs to make better contact. At least he’ll get to more fly balls than Lind. Randy Ruiz, a slugger, will also get some more at bats after hitting ten homers in 115 at bats last year. Like Lind, Ruiz is immobile in the field, too.

I don’t think Bautista is a long-term answer and if Wells go down (and he will), they’ll need to get Phillies prospect Michael Taylor to the big leagues.

Prospects:

First, you have the prospects that the Jays got in the Halliday trade. one, catcher Travis D’Arnaud, will make the club in a couple of years. Pitcher Kyle Drabek will be allowed to find his feet in AAA before moving up to the bigs later this year. And Michael Taylor isn’t listed on the 25 man roster, so he’ll get some time to prove his worth before getting the call.

Looking at AAA Las Vegas, you have to remember that to be a prospect, you have to hit about .330 – like Travis Snider. J.P. Arencibia would be a better power prospect if he hit .336, but he hit .236 instead. Other than Snider, who should be ready, nobody else is a prospect for the lineup. For the same reason, pitching prospects never look so good – so you want good control and an ERA under 4.00 and there just aren’t that many who fit that bill. Dirk Hayhurst might be close – but he starts 2010 on the 60-day DL after surgery on his right shoulder. Maybe he can come back in 2011.

At AA New Hampshire, Reidier Gonzalez showed control but not enough strikeouts in his 93 innings. Fabio Castro, a tiny lefty who has seven years with four franchises, looked okay but doesn’t have a strikeout pitch that he can depend on as he moves up and faces AAA hitting.

The best hitter at AA was Brian Dopirak, who hasn’t yet made it to the bigs but is starting to look like he might hit about .270 with some power if he gets there. Dopirak hit .308 with 19 homers in New Hampshire, then .330 with 8 homers in Las Vegas. With Overbay around, he won’t get a chance without someone getting hurt.

A+ Dunedin featured Darin Mastroianni, a speedy centerfielder who can steal bases (70 in Dunedin and New Hampshire last year) and finally started to look like a hitter last year. He needs to keep drawing more walks to look like a Brett Butler type, but he made progress on that last year, too – 76 in 131 games. Pitcher Bobby Bell had 112 Ks and just 22 walks in 96.1 innings, but the real ace might be reliever Tim Collins, a teenager last year, who had 99 Ks and 29 walks in just 64.2 innings. That’s CLOSER material, and I’d name him as the most exciting prospect on the farm.

The Lansing Lugnuts featured a few young arms with promise. Of them, I like Henderson Alvarez, who walked just 19 in 124.1 innings and led his team in Innings, ERA and wins.

Forecast:

Let the rebuilding begin. We’re talking about a team that is going to lose 100 runs of offense, probably, and another 80 runs defensively. Toronto will likely lose 95 games and possibly 100, costing Cito Gaston his sanity if not his job. The system says 65.5 wins, but I’m rounding down in this division.

2010 Season Forecast: Kansas City Royals

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Paul Proia

Last Five Seasons:

2009: 65 – 97 (Tied for last in AL Central)
2008: 75 – 87
2007: 69 – 93
2006: 62 – 100
2005: 56 – 106

Runs Scored: 686 – 13th in the AL
Runs Allowed: 842 – 12th in the AL

The pitching of Cleveland meets the offense of Seattle.

2009 Season in Review:

Trey Hillman was able to ride the success of Zach Greinke only so far – and the lack of production at too many offensive positions combined with some poor starting pitching meant that Greinke’s success meant avoiding 100 losses (again).

Did you know that after beating Seattle 3 – 1 on May 7th, the Royals were 18 – 11 and leading the AL Central? A losing streak kicked off and by May 25th, the Royals fell under .500 at 22 – 23. That means that Kansas City went 47 – 86 after that hot start…

Fun stat: Royals cleanup hitters hit .211, slugged .315, and had a .280 OBP. There are players who slug .600 – but the Royals clean up hitters didn’t ADD UP to that number. Ouch.

Starting Pitching:

Zack Greinke had the best season for a starter in a LONG time… Gil Meche isn’t a horrible second starter, despite the big paycheck, though he is showing signs of being more frail than first thought. Kyle Davies can’t be a long term pitcher unless he learns to strike people out. And he’s not even as good as another no-K pitcher, Brian Bannister. Luke Hochevar occasionally shows signs of being a really good AAA starter and will be in the rotation. Guys like Davies and Bannister need air-tight defenses to be successful but do you see any really good fielders below? The Royals need to stop trying things like giving chances to Sidney Ponson…

Relief Pitching:

Closer Joakim Soria is the real deal – gets outs, keeps people off the bases. They had one guy who was surprisingly good (Robinson Tejada) and another who was surprisingly bad (Yasuhiko Yabuta), and a bunch of guys who didn’t matter (Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, John Bale, Roman Colon, Bruce Chen).

Catching:

Replacing Miguel Olivo and John Buck with Jason Kendall, who comes over after signing a two-year deal. I get that Olivo is rather error prone and Buck isn’t a budding all-star. But they put 80 runs on the board (combined) and are far, far younger than Jason Kendall, who is better defensively but only puts 50 runs on the board in a season. And that’s giving Kendall the benefit of the doubt, because if you went by handling the staff, nobody wants the lack of production found in the Milwaukee pitching staff.

Infield:

Billy Butler is a very good hitter who may one day become comfortable playing first base. Chris Getz comes over to play second base from the White Sox where he proved nothing as a hitter but is about 15 runs better defensively than Alberto Callaspo. Callaspo can hit, though, so he will likely play somewhere. You’d love for Mike Aviles to come back – working through back injuries (among other problems), Aviles went from Rookie of the Year to Mario Mendoza and that won’t help managers. At short, the Royals are trying Yuniesky Betancourt, who isn’t going to help the Royals offensively or defensively. He’s just sort of there. Alex Gordon was once projected to be a star isn’t, and Mark Teahen – who can and did play everywhere and contributed a little bit offensively – is now with the White Sox. Another former Royal? Mike Jacobs played himself out of a job at first. Does anyone other than me think that Kila Ka’aihue isn’t given a real chance, rather than spending good money on Mike Jacobs?

Outfield:

Signing Coco Crisp for the 2009 season was a bit of a nightmare, especially watching his salary get spent on the DL and his on-field production falling off. Mitch Maier got a few innings and plays hard if not productively. He’s Dave Martinez (some old Cub fans might remember him) at this point, and not quite that good. David DeJesus is a pretty good outfielder and a pretty good hitter – a poor man’s Carl Crawford. Jose Guillen not only underperformed at the plate but is a liability defensively in right field. Looking forward, the team paid good money for a fading and ineffective (and now add injury prone) Rick Ankiel, and added White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik, who is Juan Pierre with a bit better arm. Willie Bloomquist returns as a fourth/fifth outfielder.

Down on the Farm:

Kila Ka’aihue could be a prospect – but another year at AAA wasn’t as good. He’s 25 and wasted in this organization. Brayan Pena is close to being ready as a catcher, hitting .307 in limited time at Omaha – and he’s also getting old for a prospect (28 in 2010). The best pitcher, Luke Hochevar, isn’t ready for the big leagues yet but the Royals don’t have better options right now.

The best pitchers at AA Northwest Arkansas are relivers Chris Nicoll (7 – 0, but a bit wild and his ERA was 3.50) or either Greg Holland or Aaron Hartsock. Former 2nd round pick, Jeff Bianchi, showed signs of putting his career together, hitting .300 at A+ Wilmington and .315 with a little power and speed at AA. I like David Lough even more – and he’s just 23. More power, better batting average, fewer years in the system. He’ll be in the outfield soon enough.

Danny Duffy, a twenty-year-old fire baller, had a solid run at A+ Wilmington, and teen Mike Montgomery will be on the Royals staff by the end of 2010 if not 2011’s Opening Day roster. Both have control, good K/9 ratios, and winning records. They’re just too young right now.

Looking Ahead to 2010:

Can this really be a better team in 2010 than 2009? Does the pitching look better this year? It’s the same rotation hoping that Greinke is still this good. If he comes down to earth to where he’s just ordinary good, that’s a loss of 35 runs on the defensive side. The bullpen isn’t deeper. The catching has gotten older and Kendall is going to lose his reputation for game management if he has another off year with a staff.

Then you look at the lineup. They’ve gotten 30 runs worse at catcher. They could be 20 runs better in the outfield (Podsednik instead of Crisp/Maier in the outfield), but the infield isn’t getting better because if Aviles comes back he’s just being as good as Teahen and Getz isn’t going to hit. Defensively, this is a poor infield – nobody can field for them.

I have a hard time seeing the Royals as better – and they may be worse. The staff will likely allow about 875 runs and the offense will be lucky to score 700 runs unless (a) the Royals let Brayan Pena catch and (b) Aviles hits like he did in 2008 and (c) Jose Guillen does SOMETHING. You never know. As such, I see the team winning about 63 games. Another long season in KC – and another three to five year plan will likely have to start in 2011.

Top AL Catchers in 2009

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Paul Proia

Unlike the guys who play between the baselines, determining the value of a catcher defensively is a much harder proposition for me. I haven’t been able to translate defense into runs the way I have for all the other positions, but I AM able to look at the responsibilities of a catcher and determine what teams are benefiting more from good catching than others. Here’s how I do it.

There are seven things for which a catcher would get credit as being solid defensively. If the catchers for a team are above average in a category, they get a point. If below average, they lose a point. The top score is seven, the lowest score (obviously) would be -7. Here are the categories:

W/L Percentage: Score a point for a winning record, take one away for being below .500.

Adjusted ERA: If the team’s staff has a better than league average ERA (4.43), score a point.

Mistakes Per Game: Essentially errors and passed balls are added up. The norm is about .11 mistakes a game for AL catchers. Score a point for doing better than that. Otherwise, take one away. The only time this is patently unfair is when a team has a knuckleballer – so this works against Boston right now. But it’s just a single category and I tend to give that team the benefit of the doubt on that category.

Mobililty: Mobility is the total number of assists that aren’t tied to stolen bases and the number of putouts that aren’t strikeouts. A good catcher blocks the plate and gets outs on throws home, or can race out of the crouch to snare bunts and make plays in the field. In the AL, the average catcher made .38 plays requiring mobility. Score a point for beating that number.

Fielding Percentage (not counting strikeouts): I guess someone had to get credit for the putout when a batter strikes out. Unfortunately, catching strike three isn’t really “fielding”. So, I look at the fielding percentage after removing putouts for Ks. The average catcher has a fielding percentage of about .914 on balls in play or when runners are trying to advance. Beat it, and score a point.

Assists Per Game: These are assists NOT tied to stolen bases and is used to grade the catcher’s ability to make good throws. The league average is .23 assists per game.

Stolen Base Percentage: Can a catcher hold the running game in check? If so, score a point. The league average is 73.6% – which is awfully high, don’t you think?

The best catcher (well, team of catchers) can score a seven – and it happens from time to time. As it turns out, there was a seven in the AL in 2009 – and it was your Detroit Tigers led by Gerald Laird. The Tigers had a winning record, an adjusted ERA of 4.26, cut off the running game, made few errors, few mistakes in total, had great mobility, and had an above average number of assists not tied to stolen bases.

I’ll list the table here to show you where the catchers rank defensively and then discuss the nuts and bolts in the player comments below.

	ERA	WPct	SB%	FPct-K	MTK/G	Mobility	Asst/G	Rank
AL AVG	4.43	.500	73.6%	0.914	0.11	0.38	0.23	***
BAL	5.05	.395	78.3%	0.918	0.10	0.50	0.16	-1
BOS	4.20	.586	86.8%	0.925	0.10	0.47	0.20	3
CHA	4.02	.488	75.9%	0.899	0.09	0.18	0.11	-3
CLE	5.50	.401	77.1%	0.948	0.09	0.36	0.21	-3
DET	4.26	.528	63.8%	0.975	0.10	0.43	0.30	7
KCA	4.57	.401	74.5%	0.873	0.17	0.45	0.18	-5
LAA	4.41	.599	76.6%	0.875	0.14	0.41	0.43	1
MIN	4.28	.534	77.0%	0.933	0.12	0.32	0.10	-1
NYA	4.34	.636	70.6%	0.925	0.10	0.37	0.25	5
OAK	4.32	.463	70.8%	0.922	0.08	0.35	0.27	3
SEA	3.98	.525	60.4%	0.935	0.13	0.35	0.27	3
TBA	4.33	.519	76.3%	0.905	0.09	0.37	0.23	0
TEX	4.20	.537	69.7%	0.858	0.15	0.34	0.17	-1
TOR	4.61	.463	65.9%	0.911	0.13	0.41	0.32	-1

Joe Mauer (MIN): Hands down the best catcher in baseball, wouldn’t you think? An offensive force who chose to try and take advantage of hitter’s counts and blasted his way to creating 131.6 runs. Last year, Mauer wasn’t as dominating against the run, but he still did a few good things. His backups, Mike Redmond and Jose Morales can contribute. Both can hit a little and catch enough – but had limits. Redmond struggled against baserunners, who were successful 35 out of 40 times, while Morales had 5 passed balls and 3 errors in just 183 innings.

Victor Martinez (CLE/BOS): A remarkable hitter who bounced back from an unproductive and injury riddled 2008 to hit 23 homers, drive in 108 runs, and generate 108.8 runs of offense. His catching skills don’t match his offensive numbers – easy to run on, not exceptionally mobile. And, when asked to play first base, shows his lack of mobility there. Still, he’s 30 runs better than any other catcher offensively, you can live with the rest of it most days.

Kurt Suzuki (OAK): Would you have guessed he was the third most productive offensive catcher? Mid range power and average, can run some (78.45 Runs Created) and his stats aren’t helped any by playing in Oakland. Plays a lot of innings. Not great against the run and his teams haven’t been remarkably successful, but don’t blame this guy. Oakland’s catchers scored at 3 points, which is five above average counters, and just missing on mobility and the team’s winning percentage. He’s a great catcher.

Jorge Posada (NYY): Still a very productive player (74.98 Runs Created). Good power, good batting average, and patient at the plate. Defensively, Posada found some of his youth. His backups, Jose Molina (now in Toronto) and Francisco Cervelli may not hit like Jorge, but they are more than his equal defensively – a nice thing for the Yankees to have. Overall, the team ranked at +5 – six above average categories and just missed the league average for mobility. Cervelli was great against the run – gunning down 10 of 23 runners.

A.J. Pierzynski (CWS): Hit .300 but his power numbers were down a bit. Contributes with the bat (69.22 Runs Created), but his defense is not helping out. Not very mobile, makes a few too many mistakes, and the team fell below .500. The final tally was -3, which means that only the team’s ERA and the total mistakes per game numbers were above average. Everything else was not. Ramon Castro was #2 last year, and he isn’t known for his defense either (though he threw well in 2009).

Mike Napoli (LAA): An impressive hitter – power, patience, hit .272. His backup, Jeff Mathis, is the glove wizard. The net is a very productive combination. Slightly above average catching (+1) and above average hitting.

Miguel Olivo (KCA): Hits for power, but doesn’t get on base (53.59). Has a strong throwing arm, but doesn’t always get the ball where he was aiming. Makes an awful lot of mistakes, and for a guy who looks lean, isn’t very mobile. Royals catching was well below average (-5) because John Buck couldn’t throw people out and even though he’s less mistake prone, EVERYBODY is less mistake prone than Olivo. In 2010, both Olivo and Buck will be gone. Olivo is in Colorado, where if he gets off to a hot start might hit 30 homers and make 15 errors… Buck is in Toronto.

Jason Kendall, who inherits this job, would rank in this spot offensively and I don’t believe that things are going to improve that much defensively. You never know.

Matt Wieters (BAL): In two years, he may be the guy challenging Joe Mauer for the top rung. For now, he’s got work to do. A good hitter (.288, .412 slugging – 49.04 Runs Created) and not horrible catching (-1 as a team), I like where Baltimore is heading here. Gregg Zaun is gone, so Chad Moeller can back things up himself. Moeller didn’t throw anybody out trying to steal, though. Okay, two people, but that’s it. Maybe they can sign Paul Bako to teach Wieters a few tricks.

Rod Barajas (TOR): His batting average tanked to .226, but his power numbers were up (46.99 Runs Created). I think Toronto would miss Barajas, but Raul Chavez was equally good at shutting down the running game and not horribly error prone. Chavez is also more mobile these days and offensively they were a wash. Chavez is cheaper, though… The 2010 Blue Jays have only one catcher on the 40 man roster, Royals vet John Buck. After that, it’s non-roster invites like Chavez, Jose Molina and former first round pick J.P. Arencibia. Arencibia, out of Tennessee, has good power and some skills, but right now looks like he’d have Barajas’ batting numbers.

Before I let this get away, John Buck wasn’t horrible last year. Defensively, as mentioned, he was stronger than Olivo but everyone focused on Olivo’s homers and so he got to play more. Buck hits for some power and, per 27 outs, was actually more productive hitting than Olivo because he gets on base more often. I’m NOT suggesting that Buck is a hidden all star, but rather that if he got 450 at bats and kept his batting average around .240 rather than .220, he would probably help a team more often than not.

Jason Varitek (BOS): Now Victor Martinez’s job. Varitek started out okay and just faded to 14 – 51 – .209 (43.3 Runs Created). His slugging and OBP numbers aren’t very good either. ‘Tek also allowed 87% of the runners to steal – 108 successes against 16 runners gunned down. Martinez and George Kottaras weren’t any better (Martinez was worse in Boston, about the same if you combine his days in Cleveland). Martinez is going to help score runs in Boston, but I think the pitchers might miss Varitek. The young Varitek anyway…

Gerald Laird (DET): Didn’t get the lion’s share of the credit for Detroit’s comeback season because as a hitter, he’s not one. Creating just 41.3 runs with his .225 batting average and .320 slugging percentage, nobody’s putting Laird on their fantasy team if they can help it. But he was solid as a defensive stopper – above average in all seven categories and only Kenji Johjima was harder to run on. Laird tossed out more than 40% of all runners.

Kelly Shoppach (CLE): Did I read that right? Shoppach was hit 18 times by pitches? What did he do??? As a hitter, he strikes out WAY too much (39.77 Runs Created). He’s better defensively than Victor Martinez was, but that’s like saying I’m taller than my seven-year-old. He was a bit more mistake prone, but better against the run and much more mobile. Lou Marson, the former Phillies prospect, will get every chance to win the job and I gather he will. Marson will hit in the 280s with medium power and some patience. And, he can throw, too. Oddly enough, in terms of total production, Shoppach was better in Cleveland than Victor Martinez because if you count everything, you have to include Victor’s lack of defense at first base.

Dioner Navarro (TB): After such a nice 2008, Navarro crashed and burned in 2009. His batting average fell to .218, his power was gone, and he doesn’t get on base in other ways so that was a big zilch at the end of the lineup (32.63 Runs Created). His reputation against the running game may have stopped more people than actually stole bases – the numbers show him to be league average and in the seven categories, Tampa scored ZERO – just as many above average categories than below average categories. The team says they want Navarro to come into camp lighter, so check the Diamond Notes in the spring.

Kenji Johjima (SEA): Back in Japan – his batting average and playing time fell off (despite being more productive per 27 outs than many of the guys ahead of him – the net was just 29.91 Runs Created). Defensively, he and Rob Johnson weren’t too bad – just a few too many mistakes and marginal mobility.

Rob Johnson, who – like Grady Sizemore – had surgeries over two-thirds of his body in the offseason, comes into 2010 as the odds-on starter. And yet Johnson wasn’t all that solid, generating just 25.2 runs while being a slightly above average catcher (compared to Johjima, who was awesome).

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (TEX): He needed to have a big season with Laird gone and Teagarden coming up behind him and it didn’t happen. Salty wasn’t horrible defensively but Teagarden is better – better against the run and more mobile. As a hitter, Saltalamacchia didn’t cut it – just 29.3 runs created with an OBP under .300 and the SLG under .375. If it was .320 and .425, he’d be hard to replace.

As it was, Taylor Teagarden hit worse than Saltalamacchia, generating 19.3 runs in his 200+ plate appearances. So, Teagarden’s chance may have passed as well – meaning Max Ramirez may wind up the starting catcher. The only problem with that is that even Ramirez didn’t hit in AAA last year – batting just .234 with a .336 SLG in Oklahoma City. The Rangers THOUGHT they had the position locked down two years ago, and now Laird is gone and nobody has really stepped forward. I think Saltalamacchia, because he’s likely the better hitter of the group, will eventually take over for good.

Final Thoughts… You want to know how valuable Joe Mauer is? Look at how many catchers generate barely 50 runs of offense and realize that Mauer is 80 to 90 runs better than that. AND, he’s a great catcher. He was easily the most valuable player in the AL last year and will deserve whatever monster five or six year deal he can get.

A Weekend of Wheeling and Dealing…

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Paul Proia

After a weekend of work and play, it’s time to see what all happened while we went Christmas and Hanukkah shopping…

Who Signed?

Rafael Soriano was signed to a $7 million contract – and then traded by the Braves to Tampa for reliever Jesse Chavez. Soriano immediately upgrades the closer role in Tampa, a problem all of 2009. [FanHouse/SI]

Houston inked reliever Brandon Lyon to a three year, $15 million deal. Lyon isn’t bad – he’s dependable, but is he really better than Grant Balfour? $3 million better for the next three years? (See his deal below.) [SI]

The new third baseman in Houston is former Phillie Pedro Feliz – one year, $4.5 million. [SI]

Scott Olsen got an incentive-filled deal with the Nationals – coming off a disappointing season and shoulder surgery. [ESPN]

Jason Kendall – who looked like he aged four years at the plate last year – signed a two year deal with the Royals. (See John Buck, below.) By the way – Miguel Olivo might not return. The Royals confuse me. [SI]

Meanwhile, the Royals signed Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies to one-year deals. [SI]

The Royals non-tendered catcher John Buck, but he signed with Toronto for $2 million pending a physical. [ESPN]

Two years ago, he was a closer – now, J.J. Putz is an eighth inning guy in Chicago for one year at $3 million. There are a lot of incentives, too. [SI]

Kevin Correia will stay in San Diego, signing a one-year, $3.6 million deal. [ESPN]

Arizona signed Augie Ojeda and Blaine Boyer to one-year deals. [SI]

The Braves signed outfielder Matt Diaz for one year at $2.55 million. [ESPN]

Grant Balfour signed with Tampa – one year, $2.05 million. [SI]

Milwaukee gets one more year with Craig Counsell – who remains a valuable utility player at 39. [MLB]

Esteban German remains in Texas for 2010. [MLB]

The Cubs tendered offers to eight players, (Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Ryan Theriot, Tom Gorzelanny, Angel Guzman, Carlos Marmol and Sean Marshall) with Neil Cotts likely heading to arbitration. [MLB]

The Dodgers tendered offers to nine players (go read the article), including Chad Billingsley, Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton and Russell Martin. Everybody gets a raise in LA!!! [MLB]

Who Got Let Go…

The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ryan Church and second baseman Kelly Johnson. [MLB]

Boston non-tendered outfielder Brian Anderson.

The Mets non-tendered four players, including pitchers Tim Redding and Lance Broadway, as well as outfielders Cory Sullivan and Jeremy Reed. [ESPN]

Despite hitting 20 homers in little more than a half season, Johnny Gomes was non-tendered by the Reds. He might still sign somewhere, but let’s face it – he’s a DH. [ESPN]

Chien-Ming Wang is a free agent, and apparently disappointed that the Yankees didn’t stay with him… Since injuring his ankle running the bases, Wang has REALLY struggled. [ESPN]

Matt Capps, closer for Pittsburgh, was caught off guard – he was non-tendered by the Pirates. [MLB]

Jose Arredondo, about to have surgery, will not have an Angels contract for 2010. [MLB]

Jack Cust (Oakland), Ryan Garko (San Francisco), Mike MacDougal (Washington), D.J. Carrasco (Chi Sox), Clay Condrey (Philadelphia), Alfredo Amezaga (Florida) join a LONG list of free agents.

Here’s a good summary of who is now available… [SI]

For a complete list of transactions, you can always go here… [MLB]

What’s the Hold Up?

Jason Bay may not return to Boston – the hold up appears to be the duration of the contract. Bay wants five years; Boston is offering four. [ESPN]

Mike Lowell’s injured thumb is stalling an agreement between Texas and Boston. Boston would (a) get catcher Max Ramirez – a good prospect and (b) pretty much pay for Lowell to play in Texas where he would play first, DH, and backup Michael Young at third base. [ESPN]

The Cards made a pitch to Matt Holliday and hope to have an answer this week. [FoxSports]

Happy Birthday!

One of the more famous names in baseball history, Bill Buckner, turns 60. Billy Buck was a hustler – played through injuries, used to complain about every called strike or close play at first base. He was unfortunately humbled by that error in the 1986 World Series and his career degenerated quickly after that – though he was showing signs of age at the time. He had a lot of hits – 2715 of them – and used to be fast. Something tells me that he’s probably mellowed a lot over the last 20 years… I’d love to buy him lunch. Happy Birthday, Billy.

Others celebrating with cake, cards, or remembrances include: Honest John Anderson (1872), Maurice “The Comet” Archdeacon (1897), Toothpick Sam Jones (1925), Ken Hunt (1938), Ken Hill and future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (1965) – I loved Biggio who was an amazingly versatile athlete, Dave Nilsson and Scott Hatteberg (1969), Angel Guzman (1981), and Josh Fields (1982).

Afterthoughts…

Peter Gammons thanks everyone for the memories at ESPN.

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A Weekend of Wheeling and Dealing…