by Hans on March 31, 2009
MLB.com reported today that Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves have reached an agreement on a 3-year contract extension that would pay Jones $42 million and give him a chance to end his career exactly where he began it.
Jones, who turns 37 this April, was drafted with the 1st overall pick in the 1990 amateur draft. The move was considered a necessary disappointment at the time as Atlanta’s first choice, Todd Van Poppel, had stated he would not play for the Braves if drafted.
The contract itself is quite creative, filled with all sorts of games played bonuses along with two separate options for a 4th year extension for 2013. If Jones plays at least 127 games in 2012 or averages 127 games during 2011 and 2012, a $9 million vested option will kick in. If the option does not kick in, the Braves also have a $7 million team option they can exercise.
In addition to giving Chipper a legitimate shot at 500 home runs (he currently stands at 408), Jones gets the chance to retire as an Atlanta Brave, one of the very few with such talent and accolades who have always played for the same team.
With free agency dollars driving players to new teams, has the era of the franchise player passed? Will we see another generation Cal Ripken Jr’s. in Baltimore, Tony Gwynn’s in San Diego, or the Biggio/Bagwell boys in Houston?
One such remaining player is New York Yankee, Derek Jeter, whose contract will expire after the 2010 season when he is 36. Seeing how the Yankees extended Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada multi-year deals to keep them in pinstripes until they wave goodbye, is there anything that would keep Captain from doing the same?
Either way, a big thank you to Chipper Jones for reminding us that some players do understand the value of their relationship with a city, a team, and its fans. For many of us, that is priceless.
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by Hans on March 30, 2009
Every year, as warmer weather melts the remaining sheets of snow revealing dirt and faded grass, we look down and wonder what will return. Will the seeds of last year’s flowers, which came out of nowhere to grow strong in the summer sun, return even taller and brighter? Or will they arrive unspectacularly, outshined by some new sprout? For the constant gardeners of fantasy baseball, spring is a time to look to those patches of dirt and grass for signs of things to come.
In previous articles, we’ve covered Kevin Slowey and Ryan Zimmerman. So considering them as freebies, the following 9 pairs of players should either exceed or fail to meet expectations this coming season.
2009 Breakout Catcher Chris Iannetta
This Mile High slugger put up some sick numbers in the minors in 2006, posting a 1.040 and .950 OPS in AA and AAA, respectively. Suffice it to say, he started 2007 with high expectations. But when he batted .218 and struck out nearly 30% of the time, Colorado decided that they needed to sign Yorvit Torrealba to a 2 year deal through 2009. But Iannetta started 2008 with a bang, delivering a 1.000 OPS in April and convincing the Rockies that he deserved to be the starter. By the end of the year, his .504 slugging percentage finished behind only Brian McCann among catchers with 300+ at bats. Iannetta’s strong in two areas - patience and power. And the former typically comes to the aid of the latter as a hitter hits his prime. His walk rate (14.4%) was already tops among catchers with his Isolated Power (.240) trailing only Kelly Shoppach. To put that in perspective, the patient and powerful Mark Teixiera put up a 14.5% walk rate and a .244 ISO last year. At 26 years old, this Coors field backstop should take another step forward ending the season as high as the top 5.
2009 Bust Catcher Jorge Posada
Pop quiz. Which 37 year old catcher coming off of surgery on his throwing shoulder and expecting to sit every once in a while (DH is blocked by Hideki Matsui and 1B blocked by Mark Teixiera) is currently being drafted as the 9th best catcher in ESPN fantasy leagues? It’s not that I don’t think Posada’s a great bat. He spent the final year of his last contract, 2007, putting up a .338 average with 20 HR’s, 91 Runs, and 90 RBI’s. But that was 2 years ago. That was before shoulder surgery. He didn’t catch a Spring Training game until March 15th and the Yankees have said their hope is for Posada to play in 120 games. But if his shoulder isn’t strong enough to consistently throw out runners, will they move Matsui or Teixiera to keep Posada’s bat in the lineup? If you are drafting a top 10 catcher, you should look for someone who can give you at least 400 at bats without the injury risk Posada brings to the table.
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