DBAHO Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Free Agent Article Here are some of the free agents that will interest us; CUBS: Clement wants to stay, but could get a better deal elsewhere. and either Walker or Grudzielanek will be gone. REDS: The Reds missed a chance to sign Wilson for a discount during the season and now risk losing him. BREWERS: The club won't pick up Counsell's $4.25 million option, but could sign him at a reduced price and ask him to baby-sit the shortstop job until J.J. Hardy's arrival. PIRATES: The Pirates will say goodbye to Boehringer, but Mesa could be back. CARDS: Morris' value has been depressed due to injury / inconsistency. Kline's battle with manager Tony La Russa could be a factor. Matheny looks like a St. Louis lifer. BRAVES: The Braves will go all out to keep Drew, but Scott Boras will sell him to the highest bidder. Ortiz probably will leave, but the team will try hard to keep Wright. MARLINS: Keeping Pavano will be the top priority for the Marlins, who also face arbitration hearings with key players such as Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett and Paul Lo Duca. Benitez will be replaced by Guillermo Mota. METS: Hidaglo's $15 million option will be declined, but he could stay if the team doesn't go for Chicago star Magglio Ordonez. PHILLIES: Millwood probably will take a hike, but the Phillies will go hard after Milton in order to keep him away from the Yankees. DODGERS: Perez is in the plans, but could end up elsewhere. WHITE SOX: Ordonez's future was cloudy before he suffered a season-ending left knee injury. The Sox will offer a one-year deal, which he'll reject. Look for him to take a one-year deal elsewhere, possibly with the Cubs. Thomas and Everett probably will exercise player options. Sandy Alomar may return, but his brother is gone. Valentin is probably headed elsewhere. TIGERS: The Tigers will pick up Urbina's option. TWINS: Radke made $10 million this year but could come back for less. Guzman also may take a discount. Koskie wants to stay, but club won't pay more than about $3 million. OF Jacque Jones isn't a free agent, so he will be traded or non-tendered. RED SOX: The Red Sox have to try to sign Martinez, which will be difficult if he insists that he should be the highest-paid pitcher in the game. Varitek is the team's MVP, but his agent is Scott Boras. Cabrera has played well, but could be replaced by Reese for less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 *Odalis Perez hasn't had the best relationship with LA. So it's likely he'll take a similar money offer from another team as long he likes where he's headed. Ozzie and Co. with the latin influence may have a leg up if the Sox decide to go hard after him. They should. *The Cubs will need to get a SS, and still pay for alou and Sosa. Clement probably won't get an offer from the Cubs that he'll like. $7, 8 mill is likely for him. *Guzman has an $5+ million option for 2005. It's more likely the Twins will re-sign him even at that steep price. 2B is up in the air with Luis Rivas, who the Twins aren't sold on and may try Punto there. 3B will be unsettled as well, with Koskie probably able to get a much better offer than the Twins will be willing to ante up. This would make an offer from the Sox look pretty good. Not a lot of teams will go out on a limb for Koskie. But the Sox have played the Twins so much and seen him play very well against them, that they might be more willing to take a "risK" on him than other teams. Esp as a lot of 3Bmen seem to be available *If Cabrera could be had for $5 mill a yr [for 3 yr deal], he could be a decent option at SS. He seems like an Ozzie type SS, though this was a down yr. It probably depends on how the Red sox do in the playoffs and how Cabrera performs if they go after him or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 pedro wants to be the highest paid pitcher................. well i don't see the sox getting him. i still like the prospects of getting perez or ortiz (atl). does anyone like the idea of seeing everett in a sox uni in the outfield for 2005??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 does anyone like the idea of seeing everett in a sox uni in the outfield for 2005??? If he loses weight and is healthy, I could see Everett playing Lf or RF in 2005. [Esp seeing how the Sox have him for 2005-is he going to decline $4 mill?!] With Aaron set for CF, if one of the other corners OFers has speed and range, a healthy everett wouldn't be too horrible. I could see Frank batting 3rd, Carl 4th and PK 5th. Lee won't be around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 If he loses weight and is healthy, I could see Everett playing Lf or RF in 2005. [Esp seeing how the Sox have him for 2005-is he going to decline $4 mill?!] With Aaron set for CF, if one of the other corners OFers has speed and range, a healthy everett wouldn't be too horrible. I could see Frank batting 3rd, Carl 4th and PK 5th. Lee won't be around i just don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted September 12, 2004 Author Share Posted September 12, 2004 *If Cabrera could be had for $5 mill a yr [for 3 yr deal], he could be a decent option at SS. He seems like an Ozzie type SS, though this was a down yr. It probably depends on how the Red sox do in the playoffs and how Cabrera performs if they go after him or not. A lot of people around here hav wanted Omar Vizquel to replace Jose Valentin at SS. But if we could get Cabrera for $5 million, when it looked like he'd get around $8 million at the start of the season, then I'd be all for it. He'd be a perfect #2 hitter for us, allowing Willie or A-Row to lead off, although Rowand hitting 7th looks very tempting. Who knows, the Red Sox could go with a infield combo of Bellhorn and Reese, which would probably be their best defensive combo they could get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted September 12, 2004 Author Share Posted September 12, 2004 i just don't know. At the moment, Everett is slow and overweight, but he's still a prety good DH and able to hit around .260. IF and only IF he can get in shape this offseason, lose some weight like Ozzie wants, and is able to get back to his early 2003 Texas Rangers form, then $4 million wouldn't look too bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Socks Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 If he loses weight and is healthy, I could see Everett playing Lf or RF in 2005. [Esp seeing how the Sox have him for 2005-is he going to decline $4 mill?!] With Aaron set for CF, if one of the other corners OFers has speed and range, a healthy everett wouldn't be too horrible. I could see Frank batting 3rd, Carl 4th and PK 5th. Lee won't be around Why are you so certain Lee won't be around? He is signed, and he is hitting around .300 with reasonable HR and 2B numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Eek... IF Everett loses weight, and IF he is healthy... The real question is, do we think he'll do that/be that? I wouldn't chance it, if it could be avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 A lot of people around here hav wanted Omar Vizquel to replace Jose Valentin at SS. But if we could get Cabrera for $5 million, when it looked like he'd get around $8 million at the start of the season, then I'd be all for it. He'd be a perfect #2 hitter for us, allowing Willie or A-Row to lead off, although Rowand hitting 7th looks very tempting. Who knows, the Red Sox could go with a infield combo of Bellhorn and Reese, which would probably be their best defensive combo they could get. I'd like a younger option at SS, such as Cabrera if at all possible. I've advocated Vizquel for the short term, [1, 2 yrs] as it's more likely that some team will offer Cabrera more than he's worth [$8+ mill] for a long term deal. Cabrera's speed, defense and contact to all fields [and power potential], does make him a nice SS. Though his hitting RH [along with Uribe, Valdez and Crede] would make the Sox need a few LH bats somewhere. I don't know how much Cabrera's hit in leadoff, if at all. He could be an option yet he doesn't walk much. But Rowand should be up in the lineup, anywhere from #2-6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Why are you so certain Lee won't be around? He is signed, and he is hitting around .300 with reasonable HR and 2B numbers. Either Lee or PK should be gone, IMO, both to re-tool the Sox [via adding younger and different type players] and to give them payroll flexibility. PK is a hitter. Lee is a slugger. The sox have had far too many sluggers. PK has made adjustments hitting to all fields this year working w/ Walker and has become a much more dangerous hitter. Lee can be pitched around by good pitchers [look at how many time he swings at inside pitches that he can't possibly put in play, thereby getting Lee in disadvantageous counts] and has feasted off of mistakes by medicore pitchers. PK will do the little things necessary to help the team win. Lee as more trade value and the Sox have more options to add a LF than they have options at 1B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 At the moment, Everett is slow and overweight, but he's still a prety good DH and able to hit around .260. IF and only IF he can get in shape this offseason, lose some weight like Ozzie wants, and is able to get back to his early 2003 Texas Rangers form, then $4 million wouldn't look too bad at all. Everett's work ethic in the past has never been questioned. I think his leg injury prevented him from running, and kept him out of shape. If he does get healthy, he could very well be in Lf or RF next yr. If he could play CF in 2003 [albeit not very well] he should be able to handle a corner spot. CArl will be around in 2005. But he has to prove he can play in 2006 for his next contract. My guess is he'll come to spring in shape, and rebound from this bad year. Whether he stays healthy who knows. But he's a guy who takes pride in playing, and playing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 I am a huge Carl Everett fan, and I hope he can get healthy and play his ass off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Anyone interested in Counsell for cheap?? Off the bench sure, but if he is an everyday player, um, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 PK is a hitter. Lee is a slugger. Lee: .307 BA, .527 SLG Konerko: .276 BA, .541 SLG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Lee: .307 BA, .527 SLG Konerko: .276 BA, .541 SLG so that means that lee is a better trade bait than paulie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JimH Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Lee: .307 BA, .527 SLG Konerko: .276 BA, .541 SLG Konerko strikes out just a bit more too. I think Lee has more upside than Konerko as well. If it were a choice to move one or the other, I'd move Konerko. Lee has been damn good in LF this year too, his defensive game has really come around. If Lee gets traded, which I don't think he will, the Sox better get some top pitching talent and a very good prospect in return ... at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Is there any basis in fact for all of this Lee or Konerko speculation? Have there been any hints, inside info, unattributed quotes? If you want to remake the team, you'll have rf and ss to work with, at least. And maybe catcher (Ben Davis, Sandy Alomar are no locks), 3b (Crede has had an awful year), 2b (noone knows how the Sox feel about Willie). That's 5 positions that you could work with. That's an opportunity for a pretty big makeover. To add another position to that (in addition, losing your 3rd or 4th best hitter) is superfluous. If they want to win, they need good hitters -- keep them both. If they want to go young and rebuild (foolish IMO with all the investments in the pitching staff) -- trade them both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Is there any basis in fact for all of this Lee or Konerko speculation? Have there been any hints, inside info, unattributed quotes? If you want to remake the team, you'll have rf and ss to work with, at least. And maybe catcher (Ben Davis, Sandy Alomar are no locks), 3b (Crede has had an awful year), 2b (noone knows how the Sox feel about Willie). That's 5 positions that you could work with. That's an opportunity for a pretty big makeover. To add another position to that (in addition, losing your 3rd or 4th best hitter) is superfluous. If they want to win, they need good hitters -- keep them both. If they want to go young and rebuild (foolish IMO with all the investments in the pitching staff) -- trade them both. Speculation is that Oz wants to become more of a small-ball oriented team, and that next year, if we kept Konerko and Lee, we'd have 4 or 5 free swinger/slugger types on the team(Everett, Thomas, Konerko, Lee, and Crede, though Crede may not even be here next year, who knows). By getting rid of, say, Konerko, we'd only have 3 of those types of players at the very least, and could get another small ball type player. But by getting rid of Konerko, you're really only creating another problem...who do you put at 1B? And it's pretty damn hard to find a contact/small ball type player that can play 1B. The only real option we have is Sean Casey, and I'm not even sure Cinci will let him go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Speculation is that Oz wants to become more of a small-ball oriented team, and that next year, if we kept Konerko and Lee, we'd have 4 or 5 free swinger/slugger types on the team(Everett, Thomas, Konerko, Lee, and Crede, though Crede may not even be here next year, who knows). By getting rid of, say, Konerko, we'd only have 3 of those types of players at the very least, and could get another small ball type player. But by getting rid of Konerko, you're really only creating another problem...who do you put at 1B? And it's pretty damn hard to find a contact/small ball type player that can play 1B. The only real option we have is Sean Casey, and I'm not even sure Cinci will let him go. After his monstrous year they will most likely trade him because they can get something good in return for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Socks Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 After his monstrous year they will most likely trade him because they can get something good in return for him. I think Konerko might get offered around, too. No one knows which PK will show up next year, the 2003 model or the 2004 model. Ozzie and Kenny might be willing to go with Gload. Not a bad hitter, good defense, and the greatest of all commodities -- he will have a low salary. He is not nearly the question mark he was in April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Speculation is that Oz wants to become more of a small-ball oriented team, and that next year, if we kept Konerko and Lee, we'd have 4 or 5 free swinger/slugger types on the team(Everett, Thomas, Konerko, Lee, and Crede, though Crede may not even be here next year, who knows). By getting rid of, say, Konerko, we'd only have 3 of those types of players at the very least, and could get another small ball type player. But by getting rid of Konerko, you're really only creating another problem...who do you put at 1B? And it's pretty damn hard to find a contact/small ball type player that can play 1B. The only real option we have is Sean Casey, and I'm not even sure Cinci will let him go. So...we take away 2 good obp players, and replace them w/ 2 players w/ the same obp but less power? That's a strategy? Carlos and PK are 22 and 31 in the AL in obp, respectively -- do you think we'll be able to trade for/sign 2 guys better than that? EDIT: Or even 1 -- and if so, how much better? C'mon, bunting ability is not that valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddy Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 if i were to trade one it would be CLee... honestly i dont think he does as much for the club as paulie. I know oz wants grinders and i know paulie isnt exactly a grinder, but he does work his ass off for this team and is a helluva clubhouse guy. Lee is nothing near that. Lee will work hard sometimes and slack sometimes and he's not a specifically good clubhouse guy. Their numbers are similar enough that i'd keep Paulie over Carlos just because he does so much more for the team. I'd be sad to see him go but i'd be totally fine with a Clee trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 if i were to trade one it would be CLee... honestly i dont think he does as much for the club as paulie. I know oz wants grinders and i know paulie isnt exactly a grinder, but he does work his ass off for this team and is a helluva clubhouse guy. Lee is nothing near that. Lee will work hard sometimes and slack sometimes and he's not a specifically good clubhouse guy. Their numbers are similar enough that i'd keep Paulie over Carlos just because he does so much more for the team. I'd be sad to see him go but i'd be totally fine with a Clee trade. how do you if lee isn't a good clubhouse man???? ref to jackie hayes i always wanted to trade mags and c lee for several yrs now, and for me and those who know me, knows that it is a running joke. but i will still trade c lee now as suppose to later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 I think Konerko might get offered around, too. No one knows which PK will show up next year, the 2003 model or the 2004 model. Ozzie and Kenny might be willing to go with Gload. Not a bad hitter, good defense, and the greatest of all commodities -- he will have a low salary. He is not nearly the question mark he was in April. You mean the PK of 5 of the last 6 years or the one odd ball year? I think the odds are pretty good Pauly will be just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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