Found some facts in this article at the Contra Costa Times. Why it wasn't carried in the Merc, which is a sister publication to the Times and they appear to be sharing writers too, I don't know, just a pain since I subscribe to the Merc. I had to find this via a rumor site on Fox Sports.
Marcopolo had it basically right, Bonds will have $5.8M deferred to 2008, and any incentives he hits will be deferred to 2009 (up to $4.2M). So take another $0.8M off the 2008 available budget (though I assumed $500K per young player so it might all even out).
Also, the article noted that the Giants that their budget will stay at "$95M for the foreseeable future." And, nice to get confirmation of this, but Magowan said "increased revenues from MLB Advanced Media, the new television deal and the sale of the Montreal Expos allowed the club to boost its budget." MLBAM is their name for their internet operations, covering their TV and other media products via the internet plus the on-line store. I had read about the new TV deal but only from other posters and not from one of the well-known baseball sites I frequent (not that I read each and every post, so perhaps they did post it, but I just haven't read it anywhere until today), so I didn't want to count that in unless I heard a credible source for this news. I probably missed the news at The Hardball Times, they run a regular column on the Business of Baseball by a member of SABR's Business of Baseball Committee.
Lastly, the article noted that Benitez wants a trade and, if he is healthy in spring training, could rejoin the Marlins, with the Marlins giving us $1-2M PLUS, amazingly enough, Yusmeiro Petit, who is a very promising young pitcher that they got, I think, from the Red Sox in their big trade. That would be a SUPER trade for us, getting rid of a cancer, getting some money back, plus a top prospect who would probably be at or near the top of our prospect list (though I'm not sure if his IP makes him not a rookie anymore, but he's still unproven, though very, very promising; I had him on my fantasy league last season and he was a good reliever for the Marlins, over all). He would definitely be worth paying most of Benitez's salary, better than signing any prospect for that much bonus money.
OK, this is the last item. Looking at the article, Zito was quoted saying, "Oakland fans, if you guys are bored while the A's are out of town, come on over," Zito said Wednesday. "I think we've got some seats for you." Why just the days the A's are out of town? True, usually when the A's are out of town, the Giants are playing at home, and vice-versa, but why not have the A's fans come to SF when they are both at home? :^)
They got Petit from the Mets in the Carlos Delgado deal. He is a real prospect and the Giants should be jumping all over this. I would've made this deal as soon as it was floated before the Marlins had a chance to come to their senses.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, thanks for correcting me! They got Anibal Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez in the Red Sox deal, man, what a haul they got there!
ReplyDeleteI think the Marlins, rightfully so, wants to see Armando pitch in spring training before doing the trade (who knows what else he might pull during the off-season eating, er, exercising) but that this leak shows what the parameters of the trade would be. I don't think it ever reached the stage of the Giants being officially offered this trade because at the time the Benitez rumors came out, the Giants had an official article on their website talking about Benitez's physical problems and how they would have to wait until spring training to see how he does, if I recall the article right. Given that, the Marlins would have to be stupid to make an official trade offer until Benitez throws in a game in spring training or at least get a clean bill of health from the trainer's department.
Would you prefer getting Petit or getting, say, one of the rumored 1B, Sexson or Burrell? Assuming they were true, I think I would still go for one of the 1B but with the crazy salaries going out now, neither team will give them up just for Benitez, so I know they are a pipe dream now. My assumption is that the rumor was just prelim talks that got scuttled once the salaries started flying upward.
Also, a sorry to the Merc: they did have the same news on their newspaper, they only used a different headline and I didn't read that section yet.
I should have also noted that the article mentioned that the Giants are no longer looking at David Wells after the Zito signing, rumor on Yahoo! to the contrary.
Am I the only one who saw the headline about the Giants still pursuing Wells and thought that somehow they were still trying to pry Vernon Wells out of Toronto cold, dead hands? Bueller?
There's no way we land Sexson or Burrell for that bag of goo. Either way, I'd still rather have Petit as he is young and likely to develop and give the Giants the ability to trade one of their other pitchers....Lowry...to address the need for offense...young offense, that is.
ReplyDeleteMartin, I know zero about Pettit - but ERA over 9, WHIP over 2, HR every third inning?
ReplyDeleteAs I posted on McC Chrons, I am worried for what this might mean for Sanchez. We all get our irrational favorites, and Sanchez is one of mine. I just thisnk he has tremendous upside as a starter (based opn what he did in AA). I think his relieving, the starting, then sitting last year hurt him and I really want to see him get a real shot at the #5 - not be pushed into a long relief role.
I realize, long relief is a good way for a young guy to learn the difference between pitching in the minors and pitching in the majors - the need for that 3rd pitch, the need for better control, better concentration. I guess I just worry that the Giants are making an early decision that Sanchez is better suited to the pen. Your thoughts?
Come on, he's a young pitcher, look at Sanchez's stats as a starter (on ESPN) and it's just as horrific as Petit's stats.
ReplyDeleteI say don't worry about Sanchez. Most sites are listing him as a top 3 prospect for the Giants and I just saw one put him on their Top 100 overall (but can't vouch for how good they are, I just found them: http://www.projectprospect.com/2007-top-100-prospect-list/ ).
Really, have more faith in Sabean and the Giants. I assume they know how talented Sanchez is but at worse there should be people in the org looking at these sites and seeing the same things too (and perhaps owners too, who are fans too, remember). As much as everyone likes to make fun of Sabean and the Pierzitski trade, he has very rarely traded away a pitcher who came back to bite him in the rear: Foulke, Linebrink, Liriano (and given his arm problems, I would take him off the list), Nathan, maybe Bonser, maybe Hensley. I think those are the major ones, though I guess you can throw Embree and Fultz in there too, they have been doing well enough for teams to sign them. He has kept all the pitchers who he thought were worth keeping, Cain, Lowry, others are still here, though that may change in the next few years if he trades for a big young hitter (which he thought he was doing in picking up Pierzitski). He selected Lincecum when all other teams (and prospect sites) said that his arm will fall off anytime now, Tim was a Top 3 consideration but Sabean took a chance on him when there were easy choices like Kyle Drabek and others who got picked soon after him.
So, consider this. Giants didn't need starters in 2006, they needed relievers so they believed enough in Sanchez's ability to shift him in relief to bring him up TO THE MAJORS! Don't that speak volumes of what they think about his abilities? And to switch him back after that to starting. And now they need starters, they are pretty covered in terms of relievers, though he would be nice there. What about that screams he's going into relief?
Plus Petit's star fell in 2006 but he's still a good prospect. Most sites I have seen rates Sanchez as a top prospect and Petit not so much. So how does that mean the Giants will start Petit over Sanchez?
I love Sanchez too. Until I see otherwise, I see him having the inside track to the #5 spot unless he lays a rotten egg in spring training. And even then, it will be Hennessey keeping the spot warm until either Sanchez or Lincecum show enough in the minors for the Giants to promote him. Nice problem to have.
Meanwhile, Petit could warm a spot in AAA or perhaps take a spot on the relief corp, there are spots open for the taking, and Sadler, Anderson, Misch, and others will be competing for spots along with Correia, Hennessey, Taschner, Wilson, and Chulk. Only Wilson I would be sure would have a spot, only because every time the question on who the closer is if Benitez is gone, Wilson's name comes up.
So don't worry, be happy....
All discussions of the staff begin and (sadly at this point) end with the pen.
ReplyDeleteNo closer = no chance.
I think that Wilson has earned the chance in the minors to prove he is or isn't a closer, and if he should falter, I expect Lincecum to get the chance at mid-season to close, a la Papelbon, then get a shot at the rotation in 2008. In addition, Taschner did a good enough job closing for Fresno at the end of 2006, so he could be a backup as well. They are not proven, but we do have a lot of options to go to if we need to.
ReplyDeleteNo closer = no chance.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. No Benitez = Better chance. I'm not a big fan of the closer role. Or, rather, I don't think that it is as big a deal as most people make it out to be (so long as you don't have somebody like Benitez routinely coming in and blowing games were you led by 2 or 3 runs going into the 9th). I think that the money would be better spent on a starting pitcher or several dependable arms for the bullpen (instead of "a closer").
A guy that gets a lot of ground balls and doesn't give up many HRs is fine (for under $1M a year)