Outfield Shopping

Whether as a stopgap while the Dodgers wait for Matt Kemp to develop, or as insurance against a slump by Andre Ethier or an injury to J.D. Drew, the Dodgers are shopping for an outfielder.

Below are the 50 top outfielders in baseball, based on 2006 EQA by Baseball Prospectus. No, this doesn't factor in defense, but if defense were all the Dodgers were worried about, the team would just resurrect Wilkin Ruan or something. Okay, I exaggerate, but I do think we can make the assumption that unless the team acquires a power-hitting third baseman like Aramis Ramirez, the team wants above-average offense in its outfield. (If the Dodgers do get Ramirez, then the team might be content to pursue cheaper and/or in-house options in the outfield.)

I've included all three outfield positions in this group, though if the Dodgers were to acquire a slow-footed or clumsy left fielder, it could force Ethier or Drew into center – which is a risk. Ethier doesn't have great range, and Drew, though he has expressed a desire to play center in the past, maybe shouldn't be forced to cover too much ground either.

Age provided is the player's age on April 1, 2007. Contract information came from Cot's Baseball Contracts, ESPN.com and Rotoworld.

Big Names, Big Contracts

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Manny Ramirez	34	.331	.352	$78M through '10
Carlos Beltran	29	.265	.328	$92M through '11
Vladimir Guerrero	31	.337	.321	$28M through '08*
J.D. Drew	31	,323	.306	$33M through '09
Pat Burrell	30	.302	.301	$27M through '08
Johnny Damon	33	.294	.295	$39M through '09
Magglio Ordonez	33	.293	.286	$45M through '09*
Brian Giles	36	.328	.283	$18M through '08*

*Team must buy out future year(s)

Any acquisition from this group, even assuming the other team would consider it, would involve multiple young Dodgers. There is talk that Philadelphia would be more eager than the rest to unload Burrell's salary, in the manner that Bobby Abreu was to the Yankees earlier in 2006. (Drew, who is expected to decline the opt-out provision of his contract, is included in the list for comparison.)

Recently Arrived in a Big Way

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Grady Sizemore	24	.297	.315	$22.95M through '11*
Jason Bay	28	.327	.315	$16.5M through '09
Rocco Baldelli	25	---	.299	$3M through '08*
Carl Crawford	25	.294	.296	$11.75M through '08*
David DeJesus	27	.289	.286	$12.8M through '10*

*Team must buy out future year(s)

Younger group, same idea. These gents wouldn't go cheap, because their long-term contracts are modest and/or their futures are so bright.

Newbies/Late Bloomers

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Chris Duncan	25	---	.313	Team option
Matt Holliday	27	.287	.310	Made $500,000 in '06
Ryan Church	28	.287	.308
Josh Willingham	28	.285	.298	TO/made $327,000 in '06
Marcus Thames	30	.243	.296	Made $342,000 in '06
Alex Rios	26	.267	.294	Made $354,000 in '06
Brad Hawpe	27	.258	.293	Team option
Andre Ethier	24	---	.288	Team option
Matt Diaz	29	.261	.286	Made $330,000 in '06
Nick Markakis	23	---	.284	TO/made $327,000 in '06

These guys make so little money that there is little incentive for their teams to trade them. The possible exceptions include players like Thames and Diaz, who are old for this group and could possibly be had for multiple younger players, and Church – so far I can't find contract information on him. (Ethier is included for comparison. You look at Ethier's age and overall 2006 performance, and while he won't hit .340 anytime soon, I wouldn't panic that he's a pan flash.)

Vets with One Inexpensive Year to Go

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Jermaine Dye	33	.290	.328	$6.75M through '07
Juan Rivera	28	.267	.304	$2.025M through '07
Vernon Wells	28	.274	.303	$5.6M through '07
Casey Blake	33	.268	.297	$3.75M through '07
Mike Cameron	34	.287	.295	$7M through '07
Eric Hinske	29	.272	.286	$5.625M through '07

The salaries in this group are modest enough, relative to their production, that they figure to stay put. Cameron might be the most overpriced, especially considering his age, but don't hold your breath for a San Diego-Los Angeles trade.

Vets with One Expensive Year to Go

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Bobby Abreu	33	.305	.316	$15M through '07*
Andruw Jones	29	.302	.302	$13.5M through '07
Ichiro Suzuki	33	.293	.296	$11M through '07
Adam Dunn	27	.311	.289	$10.5M through '07*
Jim Edmonds	36	.308	.286	Cards have $10M 2007 option
Torii Hunter	31	.284	.283	$12M through '07

*Team must buy out future year(s)

Jones or Dunn might be available in a salary dump. Maybe Hunter as well, though the Twins just picked up his 2007 option in recent days. The beat-up Edmonds is probably on the verge of becoming a free agent, with the Cardinals very possibly buying out his 2007 option.

Somewhere in Between

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Raul Ibanez	34	.291	.302	$11M through '08
Jacque Jones	31	.271	.280	$9M through '08

Ibanez has been solid enough the past two seasons – he sort of fits the babysitter profile, and could be procured if the Mariners try to rebuild. Jones is cheaper but not much of an impact player.

Arbitration Eligible

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Reed Johnson	30	.263	.300	Made $1.425M in '06
Michael Cuddyer	28	.269	.300	Made $1.35M in '06
Milton Bradley	28	.290	.292	Made $3.2M in '06
Emil Brown	32	.291	.287	Made $1.775M in '06
Wily Mo Pena	25	.267	.287	Made $1.25M in '06
Austin Kearns	26	.271	.286	Made $1.85M in '06

These guys are in line for fairly major salary jumps. Johnson and Cuddyer improved greatly in 2006 – were those flukes? Bradley, believe it or not, ended the year with a higher EQA than Ethier (though Bradley played in fewer games). I'm thinking he's not headed back this way, however. Brown's been bumping around so long, he was a reserve for me when I was still playing Strat-o-Matic in the 1990s. Pena is on the rise with Boston. Kearns … maybe.

Free Agents

Outfielder	Age	2005 EQA	2006 EQA	Contract guarantees
Barry Bonds	42	.343	.343	Made $18M in '06
Alfonso Soriano	31	.286	.305	Made $10M in '06
Moises Alou	40	.314	.304	Made $6M in '06
Carlos Lee	30	.276	.302	Made $8.5M in '06
David Dellucci	33	.302	.296	Made $950,000 in '06
Gary Matthews Jr.	32	.268	.295	Made $2.3875M in '06
Dave Roberts	34	.284	.286	Made $2.25M in '06
Frank Catalanotto	31	.289	.285	Made $2.7M in '06

Finally, here are the guys who don't require the Dodgers to sacrifice anything but money and draft picks (and in one case, peace in our time). Note the big difference in salary relative to the similar EQAs.

Where do the Dodgers go from here? I'm not sure. All I know is, there are very few cheap options to improve the outfield, and a lot of teams to compete with.

Comments

[Bluebleeder87]

1.  i'd sink or swim with our present outfield & go after Aramis Ramirez but as i type this i don't feel very good about our home grown outfield options Matt Kemp really needs alot of work out there hopefully he'll turn a corner.

[Chyll Will]

2.  Hilarious! Sheffield has burned so many bridges, it's a wonder his mind has any leverage with his mouth.

[Bluebleeder87]

3.  i'm also wondering were Mike Piazza will end up? i'm sure he'll start his DH career this upcoming baseball season a Yankee?

[Rocc]

4.  I think that BP is wrong, the Rays have Rocco under contract in 2007 for 750 K and 2 MIL in 2008. That's less than 3 MIL, if my math is right. It may be only a difference of 250 K, but that's no small potatoes.

And if Crawford maintains his knack for improving stats every year, he'll be a 25/50 guy in 2008.

[Bluebleeder87]

5.  I like Ethier in Left & Drew in right

[Steve]

6.  Off topic, but Bill O'Reilly thinks the Times' sports page is "pretty good." So there you go.

[caseybarker]

7.  What about available first basemen? It may work out that Loney plays RF. I don't know how good he is at that position, and that would also mean that Drew is a CF which may not be feasible.

[D4P]

8.  I heard a rumor that O'Reilly appreciates the fair and balanced coverage from reporters like Plaschke and Simers

[Rocc]

9.  6. Bill O'Reilly likes phone sex and harassing interns. He'd fit right in at ESPN

[Rocc]

10.  8. DOES NOT COMPUTE! ERROR! ERROR!

[Sushirabbit]

11.  9. That would be hilarious to see O'Reilly and Kruk going at it. And I can see HR pontificating. It might actually be funnier.

[Jon Weisman]

12.  4 - According to Cot's, Baldelli is
07:$0.75M, 08:$2.25M,

But maybe they're wrong.

Either way, in this context, I would call $250K small potatoes.

[50 years a Dodger Fan]

13.  Don't take this as a slam against Drew, but how feasible would it be to trade him for a player who can match his offense AND play centerfield? (Closest match I can think of is Milton Bradley but we know that isn't going to happen.) Granted we'd have to sweeten the trade and maybe extend the player's contract (Andruw Jones?), but if it solves a problem or two for us, why not?

[Jon Weisman]

14.  O'Reilly talk here? I don't think that's necessary.

[Bluebleeder87]

15.  9

the two faces of Bill O'Reilly fair & balanced by day, sexual beast by night!

[Bluebleeder87]

16.  14

sorry Jon for taking the bait

[D4P]

17.  O'Reilly talk here? I don't think that's necessary.

Nor is it sufficient

[Bluebleeder87]

18.  13

your idea works for me.

[regfairfield]

19.  13 Unless you believe Gary Matthews Jr. can slightly improve on this year, it's impossible. The only center fielders with a .900 OPS were Carlos Beltran and Grady Sizemore, and they aren't going anywhere. Even so, Drew had a higher on base percentage than both of them.

[Sushirabbit]

20.  13 I like it. You know, thinking about it, if it were up to me, I'd also like to limit our senior-development. So as much as I like Edmonds and think he'd work in a Lofton like way, I'd rather get somebody 30 years old or younger.

[regfairfield]

21.  I suppose I should mention Andruw Jones and Vernon Wells (whoops). Jones is a 10/5 player, so I don't think he's going anywhere, while Wells will require a ton of talent for one year of service.

[Sushirabbit]

22.  13,19,20

Yeah to 20, and Jones looks like he's losing his speed a bit.

[Jacob L]

23.  I don't have any strong feelings on potential outfield upgrades, but I did want to wish everyone a Happy Fernando's Birthday (with hat-tip to 6-4-2's daily birthday listings).

Its like a second day of Halloween, for the Orthodox.

[Rocc]

24.  11. Pontificating? I think I may need a dictionary. However, I'd love to see Kruk try to eat a full-sized Bill O'Reilly whole. I hear that Kruk's lower mandible unhinges to enable him to consume mass quantities of food.

12. I think that he has to get a few performance incentives to get the full 2.25 MIL next year. I wish I could consider 250 K to be small potatoes, rather than yearly income.

15. He can team up with the guy that hosts "The Insider"(used to be on EXTRA) and become the most terrifying sexual devients in America.
---

Unless DePo takes over as GM in SD in the next 2 years, I've got to turn my NL allegiance to the Dodgers(mainly due to you DT guys & Collett's trades with my beloved Rays). You guys are terrific when boredom at work sets.

[D4P]

25.  24
Gee, why do you like Colletti's trades with your Rays so much...?

[Jacob L]

26.  24 Wait a sec, you want to root for the Dodgers so you can continue to follow the baseballing exploits of the likes of Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson? Am I getting that right?

[jakewoods]

27.  why not trade broxton for sheffield?

u get a proven 40 homer bat for cheap and the bullpen should be fine with brazoban back.

[D4P]

28.  why not trade broxton for sheffield?

Let me count the reasons...

[regfairfield]

29.  27 Because I'm pretty sure Sheff would "let a few go by him" if he got sent over here. Plus, I'm generally not over protective of the bullpen, but the Dodgers have a bullpen consisting entirely of Saito if we lose Broxton.

[LAT]

30.  why not trade broxton for sheffield?

Don't get me started. . . yet, again.

[D4P]

31.  Not to mention

Broxton >>> Brazoban

[Rocc]

32.  25. I dunno, really. I think I need to go Baseball Fanatics Anonymous.

26. No, it's because you guys are hilarious when it comes to poking fun of players like that.

[LAT]

33.  I havn't thought this all the way through (that is my chicken way of avoiding what I'm about to get) but what about Alou.

Negitives: Old and injured

Positives: Still hits for average and power. You might get him for cheap. You make Kemp the starting CF at the begining of the season. If he struggles you move Drew to center and and Alou to right. If Kemp is playing well then Alou is a very good PH off the bench. Again this all assumes you could get him fairly cheaply, say $3.5M or less with incentives.

I'll take my lumps now.

[Steve]

34.  I will have to get Bill O'Reilly's review of the column Bill Plaschke is not going to write about Guillermo Mota.

[Marty]

35.  33 Alou has chemistry issues. Mainly the chemistry he applies to his hands, causing no one to want to high-five him, making for bad team chemistry. It's a slippery slope. And I mean slippery.

[Bluebleeder87]

36.  Unless DePo takes over as GM in SD in the next 2 years, I've got to turn my NL allegiance to the Dodgers(mainly due to you DT guys & Collett's trades with my beloved Rays). You guys are terrific when boredom at work sets.

i don't know but i think i'm insulted my your last piece [still scratching head]

[D4P]

37.  I heard a rumor that Kenny Rogers is the only guy who will "high-five" Moises Alou

[Bluebleeder87]

38.  31 Broxton >>> Brazoban

if we keep both i will definetly like our Bullpen next year.

[heato]

39.  is it old news that Mota won't be available for the first 50 games next year?

[Sushirabbit]

40.  34 Steve, it was a mistake, we were all really refering to the great character actor, Robert (not to be confused with Baba) O'Reilly... ya know, the "Colony" and all that. He was even on Cheers!

Sorry, Xei Frank. :-)

[bhsportsguy]

41.  39 I don't think so since it just got released today. You do wonder if MLB knew about this before the playoffs and did not release it until today.

[Sushirabbit]

42.  So, along with my other silliness and to take the heat off LAT. Does anybody want Jeff Weaver? ? ?

He's a proven Champion now...

Doesn't Lowe have ADD?

[jakewoods]

43.  with the farm system the dodgers supposedly have they can take some prospects and make some package deals for some proven talent. for a bat and a pitcher.

you dont want to end up like the angels. hording prospects who never amount to anything.

[Bluebleeder87]

44.  42

the Cards like 'em, he did well for us also.

[Rocc]

45.  43. Yeah, I've heard enough of Brandon Wood's alleged "greatness". Didn't we hear that about D-Mac when he was supposedly going to make Angels fans forget about losing Glaus?

[stopthebeachballs]

46.  33

I don't mind the idea of Alou. Now that his dad is out as the Gints manager, there's no necessity for him to go back. Plus, the owner (Magowan?) said he wanted the team to get younger.

I'll take some lumps, too.

[Rocc]

47.  46. So he's going to retire the entire line-up?

[DodgerfaninNY]

48.  I believe there's talk in Cincy that Adam Dunn could be had. I once read in Baseball Prospectus that he would fit perfectly in Dodger Stadium because he doesn't hit alot of doubles, which the stadium tends to take away. I always wondered why the Dodgers were always near the bottom of the league in that catagory. As for his defense... let's just hope he hits alot of home runs.

[Rocc]

49.  48. Yup, Dunn could be had for a pitching prospect or 2 from what I've read.

[Bluebleeder87]

50.  49 for a pitching prospect or 2 from what I've read.

i'd pass if i were the Dodgers

[StolenMonkey86]

51.  49 - Kuo and Beimel is my highest offer

[bigcpa]

52.  50 You'd pass without even knowing which prospect they want? Would you have passed on Ryan Howard a year ago too?

[Bluebleeder87]

53.  Dunn is a K machine & it won't be healthy for me to be yelling @ the T.V. or venting on DodgerThoughts plus i hear his D is very bad

[blue22]

54.  Acquiring a guy like Dunn (big masher, big contract, waiting to be a DH) would require floating either Ethier or Loney in trade proposals.

If either guy would bring back a decent young starter (or in the Dunn trade of course), I'd go for it.

[Rocc]

55.  52. Do not say Ryan Howard, please. The Rays were allegedly offered Ryan Howard and Ryan Madson in 2005(when Howard was blocked) for a recovering Rocco Baldelli.

[stopthebeachballs]

56.  I'm not sure about Dunn. Between the K's and the HR's, he's going to kill a bunch of rallies.

[Bluebleeder87]

57.  i have to resist eating any more candy but i'm looking at the plastic jack 'o lantern & i swear it's calling my name! my little nephews are evil i tell ya!

[Daniel Zappala]

58.  43,45 So I guess it is OK to quote LA Times sports writers when they spout nonsense about the Angels, just not when it is about the dodgers? :-)

To be fair, Dallas McPherson has a total of 360 at-bats in the majors, and has been hurt. If he hadn't been hurt, it is possible the Angels wouldn't be so worried about letting Glaus go. Likewise, if Kotchman hadn't been out with mono all year (how freaky is that?), the two of them could have given the Angels the power they needed and proven wrong this nonsense about Angels prospects never panning out.

Don't forget, the Angels are at the top of the heap with regard to pitching prospects that turn into great major pitchers. There is every reason to believe Kendrick and Wood will have bright futures with the team, and Mathis and Napoli are still in the picture. Then there's Kendry Morales and Kotchman, one of whom will end up at first.

I would hardly put the Angels in the class of teams that can't produce from their farm system.

[sanchez101]

59.  When did this talk of signing Aramis Ramirez come about, and more importantly, why does anyone think it makes any sense? I saw Buster Olney in his "blog" yesterday claim that the Dodgers should sign him because the Dodgers don't have any young thirdbaseman.

What ever happened to Andy LaRoche, or for that matter, Wilson Betemit? Betemit hit 18 homeruns in less than 400 AB's last year, to support a .200 ISO, and hit .281/.344/.505 against RHP last year. If he can't hit lefties, then platoon him with Saenz until LaRoche is ready. Betemit was only 24. Dodger fans are down on him because he didn't look great for 175 AB's in Dodger blue ... so what. Atlanta fans weren't too happy to see him go, and they saw much more of him than we did.

[Bluebleeder87]

60.  56

how about his poor D?

[Bluebleeder87]

61.  59

i see your point about Betemit but man his Difence made me mad at times

[gibsonhobbs88]

62.  I wouldn't mind Andruw Jones in center. At 29, he still has several productive years left and he still plays a great centerfield. Someone like Edmonds basically fills the gap for a year or two at the most until Kemp proves he's ready.

As to the poster in a previous thread that mentioned about Eckstein. I wish I had a team with about 7 or 8 of players with his heart and grit. I was happy he got MVP, he is the poster boy for the Anti-Juicing campaign. BTW, Selig couldn't even pronounce his name right at first, he had to have David whisper it into his ear.
What a buffoon!!!

[sanchez101]

63.  The way I see it the Dodgers have three young hitters they need to break in, and all need to produce offensively in order for the team to compete: Kemp in CF, LaRoche at 3B, and Loney at 1B.

I think the best way to bring a young player in is to 'block' him with a decent starter who can be easily moved out of the way, but is good enough to start for a while if the prospect needs some time. This essentially happened with Navarro and Martin, and Jose Cruz and Ethier.

Betemit fill that role in front of LaRoche (and I think Betemit has a decent future, like Navarro).

In regards to Loney, I would sign a decent MI, like say, Craig Counsell (and perhaps a righthanded platoon partner), so that if Loney isn't quite ready you can play Kent at 1B, and once he is, Loney moves up, Kent moves over, and Counsell improves our bench.

For Kemp, we may have that player already in Jason Repko, but it would probably be best to either platoon him with a lefthanded CF or bring in a decent veteran with one year left on his contract (Mark Kotsay? Maybe even Lofton?) that can be easily sent to the bench or another team once Kemp figures out how to translate his AWESOME minor league performance to the majors.

I think this would solve the Dodgers offseason issues in regards to position players without having to soend to much, allowing for maximum effort and dollars going towards upgrade/depth in the rotation.

[sanchez101]

64.  62. Boras is talking about Jones getting a monster, Beltran-type contract. I don't think his defense is really as good as it used to be.

I'd rather package Kemp and Elbert for Vernon Wells if Ned wants an impact bat in CF.

[gibsonhobbs88]

65.  56 - I agree. A couple years ago, I would have disagreed but seeing him digress as a hitter over the last couple years, he offers more bad side than good. Defense is poor, too many times where he doesn't put the ball in play. He is like the modern day version of Dave Kingman, low average, high HR, high K rate. I'd pass!! I'd rather get a pitcher, even a mid-tier one like Wolfe or Padilla than go after Dunn.
JMHO!!

[gibsonhobbs88]

66.  64 - Strike my earlier comment in 62 since Boras is his agent. Is Edmonds one of his clients as well? I want to avoid dealing with that team-busting agent as much as possible. We've been burned big-time by his clients before (see Dreifort, Kevin Brown, ect..) We need pitching, especially starters so get to work Ned!!:)

[natepurcell]

67.  you dont want to end up like the angels. hording prospects who never amount to anything.

Id rather horde then go through pedro redux all over again.

[Bluebleeder87]

68.  I'd rather package Kemp and Elbert for Vernon Wells if Ned wants an impact bat in CF.

i guess i'm in the catagory of being over protective of our great rooks but IMO Vernon Wells body screams out i'm gonna get fatter as i get older.JMO.

[natepurcell]

69.  and lets not trade kuo pleasseeee. I like him.

matter of fact, lets not trade any of our young players. k, thankzzzzz.

[sanchez101]

70.  69. I think Ned understands who he needs to keep and who's expendable. It seems clear that he likes Loney, Kemp, and LaRoche. He understood that Navarro and Aybar, Schmoll and Guzman were expendable, even if they do have nice futures ahead of them. It'd be nice if he could get more value for the guys he trades away, rather than just a bunch of crappy middle relievers, but Im of the opinion that its much, much, much more important to keep the right guys than to get absolute maximum value from the guys you do trade.

I don't think Kuo is going anywhere, power lefthanded starter who make nothing are pretty much untouchable.

[Bluebleeder87]

71.  69

agreed let's just throw money @ Schmidt & a power bat.

[D4P]

72.  I don't think Kuo is going anywhere

I hope not. I'd rather have Kuo than Zito, especially considering their salaries. But even if they were paid the same, I think I'd go with Kuo...

[natepurcell]

73.  has anyone read bill simmons nba preview column? I'll admit it, i laughed about 10 times. and i ususually dont find him funny.

[Bluebleeder87]

74.  73

do you have a link nate?

[Bluebleeder87]

75.  73

don't tell me you have to be an "insider" i just checked it out.

[Bluebleeder87]

76.  73

i take that back i just found the correct link.

[blue22]

77.  65 - First off, I believe 56 was being sarcastic (unless that's Steve Lyons).

and this:

the modern day version of Dave Kingman

is thrown out quite often, but it is not very accurate. Dave Kingman was a homerun hitter who strikes out a lot but was also a prodigious "out-maker", with a career OBP of .302. Adam Dunn, despite a career .245 batting average, is a top-25 active OBP guy, ranking ahead of guys like Ichiro, Rolen, and Big Papi.

[Daniel Zappala]

78.  I liked the article too, Nate, but I must admit I usually do like Simmons. I don't agree with him all the time, but he is entertaining.

[Bluebleeder87]

79.  78

i don't fallow basketball so to me it was a so-so read.

[stopthebeachballs]

80.  77

Thanks for catching the sarcasm. The problem with trading for Dunn is then we couldn't talk about wanting to trade for Dunn (one of my favorite hot-stove pastimes).

[StolenMonkey86]

81.  61- There really are not many good defensive third basemen. That, and it's a tough position to play. The old kitchen sink measurement, fielding percentage, shows an average around .955 for third basemen over the last few years.

I love how Baseball-Reference lists Betemit at 6-2 155 lbs.

[trainwreck]

82.  Elbert is off limits in my eyes, unless I am getting a proven young starter in return. Why trade away our talented pitching prospects when everyone is in need of pitching? I think the best strategy is to keep as much pitching as you can.

[overkill94]

83.  Just to finalize the notion that the Mariners aren't after Matsuzaka:

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&id=776

[Bluebleeder87]

84.  82

i like your way of thought

[bhsportsguy]

85.  Roy Smith returned to Pittsburgh as Special Assistant.

Jeff Suppan filed for free agency today, 148 players have filed, 45 are still eligible to file.

Seattle Mariners have released a statement taking them out of the Gyromaster's shopping spree.

Rumors that the Giants have contacted Nomar's agent and that Boston is interested in signing Lugo are being tossed around.

There is also a rumor that the Dodgers want to sign Maddux for one year while he wants 2 years.

[trainwreck]

86.  2 years give me a break Maddux. He will average 4 innings a start by then.

[StolenMonkey86]

87.  86 - I'd give him an option for the second year. I think he could still make it; if he throws slower he'll get more movement, and as long as he can field his position and work quickly he's still something of an asset in the rotation in that regard.

[Yu-Hsing Chen]

88.  New York Yankees: offers you Gary Sheffield, 1 year, 13M, much of it differed, and wililng to pay some of it, perfect (albit chatty) stop gap, produced 30+ win shares in 2 of his last 3 years, what would you offer?

[trainwreck]

89.  Joel Hanrahan.

[trainwreck]

90.  Actually, I heard the Yankees want relief pitching in return. Hendrickson it is!

[Yu-Hsing Chen]

91.  90 lol ;) I think Yankees have uses for Toby Hall though, someone the Dodgers certainly don't have much use for.

Hall + a reasonable prospect?

[Bluebleeder87]

92.  2 years give me a break Maddux. He will average 4 innings a start by then.

i don't mean anything bad by this but the Dodgers trying to sell me that Maddux is a work out freak just rubbed me the wrong way, one can just look at his body & see other wise.

ps Vinnie mentioned that he had a trainer during the offseason & that he worked out very very hard during the offseason, no disrespect Vinnie but you can tell when somebody works out & Maddux does not work out!

[twerp]

93.  85 86 IMO, if somewhere in a two-year contract Maddux got to where he couldn't go enough innings as a starter, he'd make a fine reliever--in theory. IF a future HOFer would do that to help his team, Maddux probably would be it.

Mental makeup is a lot of successful relieving. No one has a better mental game than Maddux. Get flustered if put in a tough situation? Hardly. Shake off bad outings? No problem. Have the brains, guile, and knowledge to make it work? You betcha. Bet he could do it...and well, even with somewhat more diminished stuff.

Yeah, I know. Wake up from this dream or whatever it is....

[franklin]

94.  86 Given comments from Ned, I'd be surprised if Maddux doesn't re-sign with the Dodgers whether it's for 1 OR 2 seasons. Six innings of Maddux is still better than most of the other available options even with the occasional blow-out.

His LA numbers pro-rated to a full season are 18-9 (I know, I know, wins don't adequately reflect performance--but look 18 wins). I would be amazed if he pulled that off but I wouldn't be surprised if he logged another 13-15 wins and 180-200 innings. Maddux is currently 16 wins from surpassing Clemens as the most victorious pitcher of his generation--I wouldn't bet against him with that as motivation. (Assuming Clemens is finally done with the half-season curtain call act and stays at 348)

[overkill94]

95.  Ugh, there was a question on Jeopardy today that was the $400 question in double jeopardy (aka the easiest question of the category) showing Mike Piazza and asking what team he played for between 1992 and 1998. The first guy who rang in said "the Mets", the second guy said "the Jets", and the third person didn't ring in.

The worst part was that Alex Trebeck claimed - after no one wrang in with the right answer - that Piazza started with the Mets, but then went to the Dodgers. Idiots.

[Bluebleeder87]

96.  The worst part was that Alex Trebeck claimed - after no one wrang in with the right answer - that Piazza started with the Mets, but then went to the Dodgers. Idiots.

hahaha! i can feel your dislike overkill94, oh by the way i met Alex Trebeck on the Sony lot in Culver city, i worked for Iron Mountain a records management co. the company has a contract with them & i was sent over there to work on some data processing "stuff" very very humble down to earth guy he is.

[trainwreck]

97.  What is with the Clippers starting lineup?

[caseybarker]

98.  The Jets?! That's fantastic.

[thinkingblue]

99.  SI thinks the dodgers will resign Maddux. I think that's a good move, you can count on him starting 30+ games a year, and when you look at other pitchers around, he comes out looking good.

My only concern is what that would mean for guys like Kuo, Elbert, ect. What would happen if the dodgers signed Maddux, and a Matsuzaka/Schmidt/Zito ect? Would that mean Kuo is out of the rotation? Or would it be better for the dodgers to trade Penny, and have a rotation of M/S/Z Lowe, Maddux, Billingsley, Kuo?

[Rocc]

100.  Andy Friedman, GM of the Rays, said today on a Radio show that if the Rays trade any of their current vets....it won't be for prospects anymore. It'll be MLB players for MLB players and prospects for prospects.