by Hans on September 12, 2009
Been a while since the last post at the Dugout. At the time, Boston still had the edge on the Yankees, Texas still led in the AL West, and the Mets actually had a shot at the playoffs.
Also of note, on June 21st, Adam Dunn’s average had fallen from his April .310 to .267 while his HR pace had fallen from 52 at the end of May to an un-Dunn-like 36. Some said that strikeouts, a weak surrounding lineup, and a stadium with larger dimensions than the bandbox in Cincy were and would continue to expose him for what he always was - a liability.
Instead, Dunn spent July with a .319 average and a whopping 1.043 OPS. In August, he followed that with a .297 average and a 1.112 OPS and is batting .302 so far this September.
There's no power outage in the nation's capital
He’s now on pace for 43 HR’s and could end the year batting north of .280 - despite having never finished a single season in his career with .267 or better.
All this, Nationals fans got for a 2009 salary of only $8 million. In contrast, other 2009 free agent signings include Cleveland’s Kerry Wood ($10 million 2009 salary), San Francisco’s Edgar Renteria ($7 million) and Randy Johnson ($8 million), New York’s Oliver Perez ($12 million), Tampa Bay’s Pat Burrell ($7 million), Chicago’s Milton Bradley ($5 million - $21 million more due in 2010/2011), and Los Angeles’ Rafael Furcal ($6.5 million - $20.5 million due in 2010/2011).
With this offseason’s free agent class headlined by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, it will be interesting to see what bargains exist among the Aubrey Huff’s, Orlando Hudson’s, Adrian Beltre’s, and Bobby Abreu’s of the league.
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by Hans on April 26, 2009
In his recent article on FanGraphs, David Cameron suggests that Tampa Bay should consider trading Carl Crawford later this season. I love his work, but here I will have to respectfully disagree.
The argument for trading Crawford has significant merit. Cot’s Baseball Contracts, a fantastic website itself, shows that Crawford is due $8.25 million this year with a 2010 team option for $10 million with a $1.25 buyout. With the Rays’ payroll having jumped from $43 million in 2008 to $63 million in 2009 and youngsters like B.J. Upton and Matt Garza still without long term contracts, the team certainly has the need to be more cost conscious heading into 2010 and beyond.
In addition, should Matt Holliday’s tenure in Oakland show the ugly side of playing outside Coors Field and Jason Bay’s tenure in Boston show enough value to get him resigned, Crawford’s availability and modest price tag would make him extremely attractive. Tampa Bay would have a chance to further stock an already loaded minor league system. What would Kenny Williams offer to bring Crawford in to play centerfield for the White Sox?
But the Rays have an opportunity to win now. The AL Championship team from last year’s World Series added Pat Burrell and got another year of development from young studs David Price, Evan Longoria, Upton, and Garza. They’re clearly in win now mode and having the superb defense, top of the lineup speed/power combo, and leadership that Crawford offers would go a long way.
Moreover, the Rays are attempting to solidify their fan base in the Tampa Bay / St. Petersburg area while garnering support for a replacement for Tropicana Field. Rays management has been pushing for Rays Ballpark and a big part of making that a reality is getting the support of your fanbase.
Crawford’s been a career (Devil) Ray. He’s beloved by fans. And although Price and Longoria look to be focal points going forward, Crawford’s been the only “franchise player” Tampa Bay has known to date. Trading Crawford would be, as one Ray fan commented on FanGraphs, “A knife to my gut.”
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