The_Godfather Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 When you have committed 90 percent of your payroll to six players -- one of whom pitches 1,400 miles away and another of whom will not pitch in 2004 -- something has to give. In Denver -- where that is the economic model -- that something may well be franchise player Todd Helton. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post reports that the team is willing to listen to offers on Helton and centerfielder Preston Wilson. HeltonWhat has driven the Colorado Rockies to this point of desperation is a series of bad financial decisions involving Mike Hampton (the one they are paying not to pitch for them) and Denny Neagle (the one too injured to pitch next year) along with an exorbitant contract for Helton. While the slugging first baseman deserves to be one of the better-paid players in the game, he is on a long-term deal that has him signed through the age of 38 at something like $16 million per year. As the Red Sox found out when they put Manny Ramirez on waivers and saw no takers, these kinds of deals are extremely forebidding to other clubs. What is more, even if Colorado can find somebody to pony up some quality bodies in exchange for Helton, he has a no-trade clause that will allow him to shoot down any deal not to his liking. (The Rockies were on the wrong end of a no-trade clause last season when they tried to deal another of those six highest-paid players, Larry Walker. Matt Williams, then of the Diamondbacks, put the kibosh on that one.) Clearly, this is a team in trouble. Anytime Darren Oliver is your most valuable pitcher, changes are in order. Unfortunately, their largesse of the past will make it extremely difficult to get very active. Renck points out that, at $10 million per season, Wilson might be the best bet for trading action. The National League RBI champ, Wilson took every advantage of the hitting-friendly environment in Coors Field. Away from Denver, he posted an OPS under .800 and looked very much like the player he was in 2000 while with the Florida Marlins (the last time he played as much as he did this past season). Taking his away stats and doubling them, we find that Wilson has not risen to another level but was the benefactor of the happy circumstance of playing at altitude: Preston Wilson Comparison 2000 2003 adjusted HR 31 30 RBI 121 114 B.A. .264 .260 OBP .331 .316 S.A. .486 .479 That's still a fairly decent year, but not one for which you'd want to pay $10 million. It seems unlikely in this day and age that there is a general manager out there who would look at Wilson's 141-RBI figure and be tempted to send real talent to Denver in exchange for him. It is more likely that a GM would make a fire sale kind of offer -- Wilson for a couple of non-prospects and then absorb his salary. For the Rockies to hope for both talent acquisition and ridding themselves of his salary is probably unrealistic. For his part, Wilson is being very diplomatic about the situation. He told Renck: "I would really like to remain in Denver. I feel like the foundation is there for a great franchise. However, I do understand that because of financial reasons, the organization may have to make a move. It's unfortunate that a couple of signings in the past couple of years have turned out poorly and may result in the team having to start over from scratch." WilsonWhat he really should be saying is this: "I would kill to remain in Denver. I feel like the foundation here is so high up in the sky that everything I touch with my bat turns to gold. However, these idiots signed two pitchers to long-term deals and neither one will pitch for us next year so I might have to kiss all those RBI goodbye." Getting back to Helton, is there a team that could afford him that also needs a first baseman? The Dodgers might fit that bill. Helton would certainly fit into the Red Sox modus operandi. The Orioles are patrolling the free agent market for big-name talent. The Angels? The Cubs could certainly use a first baseman as could their arch-rivals, the Cardinals. The Giants have a need but are probably not in the mood to pay that kind of salary. It's a very small group of teams that fit these two criteria: Have a need Have anything close to that kind of money It's a much smaller group that fits the third criteria: Have talent to trade and are willing to give it up Then, even if all of those conditions can be met, there is one more criterion that must be met: Be a team for which Helton wants to play Given all this, it seems highly unlikely that he will be playing for anybody but the Rockies for the next few years. Still, that this is even a topic of discussion illustrates how desperate the Rockies situation has become and just how out of control spending was in baseball three years ago. I wouldnt mind making a move for Preston Wilson his salary is not so high like most guys plus he has put up solid numbers in places other then mile high. What are your thoughts???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Wilson is injury prone and his stats clearly indicate is a huge benefactor of the Coors Factor. He would be a decent CF for us, but not at $10 a year, and not if we expect 141 RBI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Godfather Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 Wilson is only making 6 mil a year he's only 29 years old has some speed and is a much better CF then anyone we currently have on our roster. Plus the fact that the rockies would unload him for some second tier prospects makes him an interesting option. Here are his stats as you can see he has put up good numbers before. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/prof...le?statsId=5994 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 one good year, thats all. Classic example of numbers being inflated playing at Coors. I watched him in Florida for 3 years starting, and he is a good player. A star like he showed this year? No. He is a good player, but his numbers would go down significantly if he leaves Colorado. Notice his numbers in Florida. Good power numbers some years, pretty poor batting average and a couple years of bad run production. Wilson's a good player, but he is not the option. Is he worth second tier prospects? Of course, but if they wanted any of our elite prospects, then i'd say no way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Wilson is only making 6 mil a year he's only 29 years old has some speed and is a much better CF then anyone we currently have on our roster. Plus the fact that the rockies would unload him for some second tier prospects makes him an interesting option. Here are his stats as you can see he has put up good numbers before. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/prof...le?statsId=5994 It was $6.5 million. Also, alot of contracts rise over time. It doesn't matter what he made last year, what will he make this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Godfather Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 Preston and Carl Everett are very similar players difference being Wilson is a much better fielder the carl. and even if his salary were to jump to let say 8mil which im about 90% sure he doesn't he would still be a great pick up to play CF let Harris play 2B, A solid Defensive SS maybe A cabrera Or another name I haven't seen mentioned A renteria since the cards are looking to dump some salary wouldn't hurt to look into maybe a stretch but what the hell. I think we will see rey ordonez playing SS for the sox. God I hope not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Preston and Carl Everett are very similar players difference being Wilson is a much better fielder the carl. and even if his salary were to jump to let say 8mil which im about 90% sure he doesn't he would still be a great pick up to play CF let Harris play 2B, A solid Defensive SS maybe A cabrera Or another name I haven't seen mentioned A renteria since the cards are looking to dump some salary wouldn't hurt to look into maybe a stretch but what the hell. I think we will see rey ordonez playing SS for the sox. God I hope not ya but why spend $8 million on a guy who has had just one great year and that came in Colorado when he has had fair and sub par years prior to that. We'd be better served to use that money to sign people for positions we really need, such as a Castillo, or Miguel Batista, Cabrera, Hawkins, Ponson, Escobar, or Matsui. We dont need to spend big on a CF, Reed/Rowand/Harris/Borchard should suffice there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 ya but why spend $8 million on a guy who has had just one great year and that came in Colorado when he has had fair and sub par years prior to that. We'd be better served to use that money to sign people for positions we really need, such as a Castillo, or Miguel Batista, Cabrera, Hawkins, Ponson, Escobar, or Matsui. We dont need to spend big on a CF, Reed/Rowand/Harris/Borchard should suffice there. I totally agree. Lets go after SS/2B instead of guys that we have in our system. Its not like we can afford to get a bunch of players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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