Furcal to Braves, maybe
DMZ · December 16, 2008 at 2:12 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Being reported as done, and also as not done yet. If it pans out, it eliminates one of the options for upgrading the M’s middle infield this off-season.
well, I never really thought there was a chance to get him to consider the team ….
It’s probably for the best with his injury history and his demand of a four-year deal…
Although getting rid of Yuni should be Z’s next move…
Supposedly it’s 4/40. Very reasonable deal even with the injury concerns. I wonder if this ramps up the Peavy talks and sends Yunel Escobar to San Diego.
Maybe I missed it, but was there ever serious consideration by either side on a Furcal deal with us?
Aaron M.
Realistically, what are the other options?
Izturis and Everett are gone. Orlando Cabrera will cost draft picks and is probably the next domino to fall once Furcal is gone, meaning the M’s would be bidding against the Dodgers etc.
Jack Wilson in a trade? (Throw in Washburn and eat all the salary!)
The sad thing is that with Furcal taking over SS presumably the Braves will be open to trading Yunel Escobar — and he’d still be an upgrade (both offensively and defensively) over ’08 vintage Yuni. Cheaper too. When an league-minimum NL second-stringer is a better player than the guy your AL team gave a 4 year/$13M deal the year before, you know you had a bad GM.
I never heard anything from the M’s that they were serious looking at this as an option and it doesn’t appear that Fucal has much interest in anybody but the Braves and Dodgers anyway.
Outside of Orlando Hudson and Jeff Kent, no FA 2B looks good at all. (Those two don’t even look that good, maybe Hudson, but he would cost). Besides O-Cab, who would cost the M’s a pick, and David Eckstein, the SS crop is weak too. And we already traded Valbuena…..yikes. Let’s hope Z gets creative.
Obviously Yuni and Lopez haven’t progressed the way we thought they might say, two or three seasons ago. What do you guys think about the chances of them rebounding and making good onth e potential they originally flashed to earn the jobs?
I think what we’re seeing is what we’ll get from Lopez, but I think Yuni could still take it up a notch in the long run… Thoughts?
Aaron M.
And actually, to ad to that, do you tink anyone we can ad at this point (barring a trade for Escobar or something similar) that a legit replacement is even abvailable for either?
Aaron M.
I would posit that a SS crop that includes David Eckstein is weak because it includes him, not despite that fact.
The SS crop includes David Eckstein in the same way that the CF crop includes Ken Griffey, Jr.
Was Furcal ever actually an option? Who knows what Jack Z is thinking, but I’ve seen nothing linking Furcal and the M’s.
I was actually sad to see Adam Everett go to Detroit…
I’m pretty sure Bavasi, were he still around, would have signed Eckstein to a 3 year, $15 million deal to add some grit, elbow grease and all-around hustle as the scrappiest !B/DH in the league.
Well, of course! Eckstein is an ex-Angel, after all.
I don’t want the M’s to get rid of Betancourt. Yet.
Why should they? His value is at very low ebb, and I’m curious to see just what condition he’s in when Ibanez is done with him in the off-season.
I’d consider the first half of 2009 as Betancourt’s final audition to be a piece of the solution- and I wouldn’t really expect him to change into a pure patient hitter. He’s up to there to swing, fundamentally.
But, I think we can at least see if he can build on the glimpses of improved approach we saw from Aug.-Sept. ’08.
I haven’t given up on Betancourt, but I’d completely agree 2009 is his last chance to show why we’ve stuck with him this long. Now’s not the time to look for a midle-infield upgrade, unless it just comes up and hits us in the face somehow.
When I first saw the Everett to Detroit headline, I thought it was Carl Everett.
Getting rid of either Betancourt or Lopez makes absolutely no sense for this team. Compared to a lot of middle infields, they are not drawing a lot of salary and, when their heads are on straight, they are reasonble contributors, both defensively and at the plate. Guys like this get moved when a team is looking for a little push to get them to the summit and not when they are still packing their packs at basecamp.
Plus, getting rid of our best middle infield prospect seems like a pretty strong hint that these two are around for awhile.
I know the Braves claim they won’t trade Escobar but he would actually be a much better target than Furcal (the perfect target for the Ms IMHO). The addition of Furcal might actual crack the door on someone’s chances of trading for Escobar.
So is the SS/2B Free Agent market now devoid of upgrades either in general or defensively over Yuni/Lopez?
Barring a trade, how will the M’s look infield defense wise next season? If I take rough 2-3 year UZR/150 averages for each likely infield defender next year, these are the options.
3B – Beltre ~ 10 UZR/150
SS – Yuni ~ -10 UZR/150
2B – Lopez ~ 0 UZR/150
1B – Branyan ~ 0 UZR/150
Assuming that group, the M’s would post about a league average infield defense.
Looking at the larger picture, assuming Chavez (+20 UZR/150 in LF), Gutierrez (probably around a +5 in CF), and Ichiro (+5 in RF) are your 3 outfielders the total team defense would be around +30 UZR/150. That would be a team average of 3.75 UZR/150, good for 8th best in the majors last year.
Other options on the 40 man roster with enough history to tell us anything meaningful:
3B – Branyan ~ -10 UZR/150
SS – Morse ~ -25 UZR/150
Corona, Hulett, Morse (at non-SS positions), Tui, and LaHair don’t have large enough samples at the MLB level to tell us anything about their defensive abilities.
Here in Atlanta, they’re saying Furcal will play 2B with Escobar staying at SS.
Ditto. Even funnier was that the headline I saw said something like, “Focusing on defense, Tigers sign Everett.”
By defense, they could have meant they were hiring Everett as a bodyguard. That might actually be a good signing.
Maybe is definitely right. Word is now that the Dodgers are back in the mix.
wow, if ATL signs him and puts him at 2b, that sounds like it would be one heck of a rangy middle infield for them. What’s the general adjustment for a player going from SS to 2B? I know Furcal is about average defensively at SS, so how would that translate to 2B?
Is there any evidence that Z is seriously considering trading Yuni? Or is this just wishful thinking from the USSM/LL community? I’m not saying trading him or not trading him is “correct,” I’m just asking if the M’s FO has shown any real desire to deal him… Thanks.
I don’t believe Zduriencik has made any statements regarding the middle infield. This is just the next obvious opportunity for an upgrade.
I don’t want to repeat what’s already been asked (though I’m going to), but was there ever any source showing that Furcal was an option for the Mariners? I love Furcal and I’d love to see him signed in Seattle but is it just wishful thinking on my (our) part?
So says Ken Rosenthal.