Dante Lavelli, You Will Be Missed
January 21, 2009Jackets Preview Game #47
January 21, 2009
Perusing the Internet for material, I came across a very interesting piece from SI.com’s Tom Verducci on the state of second-tier free agents and the lack of money available for them. In it, there was a blurb about how the fiscal situation of many teams last year (combined with the ego’s of certain players, IMO) forced several former stars into retirement, like our friend Kenny Lofton, Mike Piazza, and Sammy Sosa.
The money wasn’t good enough, so they were out of work and never were heard from again. The same thing is happening this winter on an even grander scale. Ken Griffey Jr., Garret Anderson, Nomar Garciaparra, Moises Alou, Luis Gonzalez, Pudge Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, Cliff Floyd, and Jim Edmonds could all be in that same boat – looking at either a minor-league or a one-year, low budget deal if they want to continue their careers. That hasn’t stopped Indians legend Omar Vizquel, who clearly just wants one more day in the sun. He has signed a minor-league deal with Texas.
In the meantime, the Indians still have one final position player spot that could be available to one of the names above if they want. As it stands right now, GM Mark Shapiro and Team President Paul Dolan have stated the team is already over-budget, around $83 million. They are set with following the 12 position players:
C/1B Victor Martinez
1B Ryan Garko
2B Asdrubal Cabrera
SS Jhonny Peralta
3B Mark DeRosa
DH Travis Hafner
OF Grady Sizemore
OF Shin-Soo Choo
OF Ben Francisco
C Kelly Shoppach
UTL Jamey Carroll
OF David Dellucci (why? WHYYYYYYYYYYY?)
The last spot, if the season started today, would come down to internal options Josh Barfield and Andy Marte. In a word: Ugh. Shapiro wants prospects Matt Laporta, Michael Brantley, Trevor Crowe, and Luis Valbuena to play every day in Columbus. The issue he faces is he already has a bench with Dellucci, an outfielder who can’t hit and has no range. I think we all know by know Marte isn’t a major leaguer. I can’t even call him 4A because he never really was a force in Buffalo during his time there. He plays only first and third base and has a weak bat. The only thing playing in his favor, like last season, is that he is out of options.
Barfield is mildly intriguing because of his speed. He did hit .280 as a rookie in 2006 in San Diego, but that seems like a lifetime ago. He is also still just 26 years old. The downside is his lack of versatility. I have said this months; Barfield should be spending all winter shagging fly balls and learning to play the outfield. So far, he hasn’t, and is still just a second baseman. He also rejected a request to play winter ball. The signing of DeRosa and the option pickup of Jamey Carroll speak volumes of what the brass thinks of Barfield.
After reading my last two paragraphs, doesn’t it seem like the Indians are in dire need of an extra utility man? The talk of Ryan Garko playing some outfield this season is a horrible idea. If you thought Dellucci had no range out there, imagine what truck of a man Garko will be like out there. DeRosa may play some outfield with Carroll getting plenty of AB’s at second or third, but how about an additional, jack of all trades guy on this roster? Here are some options that would cost the Indians little to nothing that could fit the bill:
Craig Counsell (38) – can play all four infield positions. Although the thought of the guy who scored the winning run in the 97 World Series now being on the Tribe could force me to vomit.
Damion Easley (39) – plays second, third, and all three outfield positions. He is the guy Josh Barfield should try to become.
Rich Aurilia (37) – can play first, second, and third. Hit .283 in 140 games last year in San Francisco.
Ty Wigginton (31) – plays three infield positions and both corner outfield spots. May be able to steal him in the economic climate. Hit 23 HR’s in 111 games last year in Houston.
Eric Hinske (31) – a member of the AL Champion Rays club. Can play both corner infield and both corner outfield spots. Still has pop (20 HR’s last year).
Any of these guys are a better option than Barfield, Marte, and Dellucci. They are multi-dimensional options, which the three current Indians listed are not. All of them are veterans who have been through the battles and have played for contenders. Most importantly, they all could come cheap as the free agent pool money is seemingly all but dried up for players of this level.
Let’s see if Shapiro has one more bullet in his gun.
16 Comments
Coming off my dead on prediction for 4-12 for the Browns. I’m going with 10 games over .500 and 3rd place for the Tribe.
I would love to see the Tribe sign anyone of those names listed above. Ty Wig and Hinske would be my two favorite choices just because they are in their early 30s. Easley would be great too though. If you ask most Mets fan i’m sure they will tell you that he was a big help filling in for all those injuries they saw throughout the season
Wigginton’s versatility gets my vote. I know that there had been rumors of him being on Shapiro’s list, so we’ll see if anything else happens. He’s over 30, but still has some solid power potential to just plug in when needed.
Not a fan of the first three – we have plenty of infield flexibility, and there’s no need for old men out there. Wigginton is the catchiest of the bunch because of his pop and ability to play OF; he’s also a good matchup against lefties, which makes him valuable bat to have on the bench for certain situations.
Great read, TD. I see several players you’ve listed that I agree would make better use of that 25th roster spot.
It has to be time to cut bait with Marte at this point–at least we have Shoppach to show for the Crisp trade.
No problem using his last option to stash Barfield at AAA if need be (but let’s “finish him off” properly, and not let him end up another Brandon Phillips or Andy Marte.)
And Dellucci… I’m just as exasperated as TD, and we can’t reasonably expect the Tribe to eat his salary. Any chance Shapiro can borrow some of that Danny Ferry magic and get someone to take him off our hands in a package deal? I know, wishful thinking…
I would sign whichever of them promises to take LaPorta and Crowe out to dinner during spring training and propose the following toast:
“Here’s to the start of two great careers. And, for me? Here’s to one more year in the sun.”
Bonus points if one of the prospects tells him that he “feels like a banker” in his tie.
None of those signings are gonna happen. By the way, why is there no mention of which pitchers the Indians are gonna carry?
Lee, Carmona, Pavano, Reyes, and Laffey as the starters
Wood, Lewis, Perez, Betancourt, Kobayashi and Smith as the relievers
In addition, Zach Jackson is out of options and might be forced to stay on the big league roster… Isn’t the same thing true with Marte? Either way, I expect one of those two to just be forced on the club as the 25th man.
Jacob – Jackson was actually granted another option.
Per AC: “Jackson has a fourth Minor League option. How did he pull this off? Well, there’s a stipulation in the rulebook that players entering their fourth or fifth professional season who have already been optioned out in three separate years receive a fourth option. Seasons spent entirely in short-season leagues don’t count toward that tally, so Jackson’s 2004 stint in the New York-Penn League doesn’t count.”
Cut Marte, I bet he clears waivers anyway.
Craig Counsell is still playing? Suddenly I don’t feel so old
DP’s Major League quote wins…
DCBucks – 91 wins will earn someone 3rd place in the AL Central? I would argue that 87-89 wins could probably win this sad division.
Ty Wigginton will probably be well out of the Tribe’s price range. Even in this poor climate, some team will dish out some decent money for him when his demands come down from the 3 years, $18M deal he’s seeking.
86-76 would be 10 games above .500.
I say we package Dellucci and Szerbiack’s expiring contracts up and get a good big for the Cavs.
Good thing my Rangers signed Omar Visquel, after having Kenny Lofton on the team 2 years ago, maybe the Rangers can get Carlos Baerga next year, as we sign a member of the Indians teams of the 90’s.
[…] Last week we discussed the final position player spot on your 2009 Cleveland Indians. Since then, all has been quiet on the Tribe front (except for new Browns GM George Kokinis invoking the classic Mark Shapiro “Championship-caliber club” line during that snoozer press conference yesterday). There are still a bunch of free agents who are looking for work (noted-juicer Eric Gagne, Ron Villone, 80 year old Mike Timlin among others), but when it comes to relief pitchers, in 2009, if you ever shown any sort of mild success, you probably have already been scooped up. […]