Matty sez:
Speaking of offense…the Reds DFA’d a man some of you here at DOV wanted us to trade for…Scott Hatteberg. I don’t want to give up anything good to get him, but for almost free, he’s a guy who hits left handed, takes a walk and can play first a LOT better than Sexson defensively. Worth a look?
=== Con ===
1. His SX's have been 25% of league average…. for five years now. Think John Olerud, the one who was on the way out.
2. He's 38 (!) and the Reds, on the surface, just made the statement that they think he's done. (Under the surface, he wasn't in their plans and probably wasn't happy in his role.)
3. The Reds didn't give Hatteberg a chance, really.
.
=== Pro ===
1. Hatteberg is the prototype Moneyball (and roto) samurai … *has been* one of the best-value players in the game.
2. High OBP's and modest SLG's — at 1B — will do that. Make you a value player, we mean.
3. His eye ratios are very good, despite being in the deep freeze.
4. He's left-handed.
.
=== Context ===
1. Vidro's OBP is .285 and Sexson's is .277. Hatteberg's would probably be .377. If you thought Hatty had one more year left (check with the scouts), he'd probably help you quite a bit.
2. I'd prefer Hatteberg to Vidro, clubhouse temperament being equal, no other factors considered.
3. This places another bat in front of Jeff Clement, so presumably you're talking about waiving Jose Vidro AND/OR trading Sexson in a salary dump.
If you DFA Vidro and keep Sexson, then Clement's only role in Seattle is a jobshare, and the Mariners' position on that is that it ruins young hitters. So, a Hatteberg-Sexson scenario would seem to mean that Clement spends the year in Tacoma.
.
=== Dr's R/X Dept. ===
I'd waive Vidro and take a flier on Hatteberg … with the understanding that Clement's coming up soon.
But given the Mariners' position on rookies needing to play full time, there isn't any way to get Hatteberg in here, that I can see.
Could be that Hatteberg goes to a more nimble org, anyway. Sometimes the M's Committee doesn't come to a decision before some autonomous GM has pounced. Which is OK; the 38-year-old Hatteberg isn't the fate of the franchise here.
My $0.02,
Dr D
May 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm Quote
I read the way Baker couched the above (love that “amid rumors” journalistic construction) as a pretty strong hint that it would be Sexson who would be DFAd.
I mean, benching your first baseman so you can play Miguel Cairo is an awfully powerful sign that he’s out of favor.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm Quote
LOL. Yeah, you get benched for Cairo and you’ve got to see the writing on the wall. Still, this is the Mariners so he’ll get another chance or two to prove himself.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm Quote
I donno about Sexson getting any more chances. The Mariners specifically stated that they would give guys a month or 6 weeks to prove themselves…Sexson has had that. And frankly…he’s a tower of DOOM out there right now…he looks like a dead man. If he were on my team, I’d find it very discouraging.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:23 pm Quote
BTW Doc…I don’t think Hatteberg should DH. He is failing miserably as a pinch hitter. A DH is essentially a pinch hitter that bats four times instead of once.
I would DFA Sexson and keep Vidro for now. Hatteberg steps in and plays a much better first base than Sexson would defensively and is a lefty hitter who can still work the count. Vidro has been playing very well lately…a lot of solid line drives again…I suspect that part of his problem in April was the injury. If he’s healthy and playing well again, he is probably worth allowing to play until you again feel comfortable giving Clement a shot.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:24 pm Quote
Hes pretty much Jose Vidro with a reverse plattoon split…I wouldn’t bother, we need to build for next year.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm Quote
how does Hatteberg prevent us from building for next year exactly/
May 29th, 2008 at 10:00 pm Quote
The way I see it:
1. Hattebergs greatest value is at 1B where his defense can be an asset.
2. Sexson is a defensive liability (see how much of a difference Miguel Cairo has made at 1B).
3. Sexson, Cairo and Vidro all struggle to hit the ball so one of them should be DFA’d.
4. Sexson could slide into the DH role if Vidro or Cairo get cut.
5. Bryan Lahair is the organizations best internal option at 1B, and the blogosphere isn’t very high on him. He’s the guy who would be blocked by such a move.
6. Clement can still DH/C when he gets called up in July. The club will still have the option to salary dump Sexson or DFA him then.
Hatteberg the player has been really unlucky, but we’re talking about a player who has only seen a handful of AB’s in pinch hit situations this year. I have no idea what he has left in the tank. Like Doc said ask the scouts. Caution: It’s quite possible that he’s been put in situations where the odds are rigged in his favor. If that is the case then he might be washed up. Hard to tell when the guy has had so few PA’s.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:54 pm Quote
A Hatteberg/Sexson platoon at 1B could be a significant offensive boost, that is if Hatteberg is not done. Richie strikes out about 20% less against lefties, which would be a relief the sighing M’s fans. Both have significant splits, Richie not nearly as dramatic as Hatteberg. That would leave Cairo, Vidro or Willie to go. But who wants to predict an M’s personnel move.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:29 am Quote
I guess it doesn’t really…I’d just rather trade for some post-hype younger guys that have some upside, and would cost little to nothing to acquire, like Dan Johnson or possibly Jason Kubel. Juan Rivera and Gabe Gross in the OF. Guys like that.
Players that are struggling, but have shown some potential, and have a shot at being solid players for pennies. It gives you more options in the offseason if some of these guys pan out.
Theres no chance that Hatteberg is a part of next year’s team.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:10 am Quote
Fair enough…but is there a reason we can’t do both?
I mean hatteberg is the stopgap 1B, then you go and acquire Kubel or Juan Rivera for your outfield…
May 30th, 2008 at 10:22 am Quote
#10
I think Hatteberg is just a waste of time…its one less audition spot on the roster.
If its my team, Johjima, Washburn, and Batista are all traded, Sexson/Vidro DFa’ed, and its audition time. If Ibanez can fetch back a prospect of equal value to the one we’d get when we lose him to FA, then hes gone too.
I’m taking in all of the Rivera, Kubels, Grosses, DJs of the world (maybe even JReed gets a shot) and seeing who can stick as a regular for the MLB min. Then I’m also trying out the J.P. Howells, Patrick Mischs, heck even Dickey (and Morrow gets a designated spot of course), and seeing how many can stick as my MOR starter for MLB min. All of these guys also have some upside, granted not HOF type upside but many of them could be more than just solid contributers..
No Hatteberg, and no Griffey (at least this year). We need to get cheaper, develop some young talent, and add some upside and roster flexibility for next year and beyond.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:25 am Quote
Seattle needs a fire sale to be competitive.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:26 am Quote
keep bedard felix ichiro beltre sell the rest..
May 30th, 2008 at 11:56 am Quote
I think we need a draft thread.
I don’t know if they did in the past, but Baseball America has a free draft blog here.
Also, here is an in-depth profile of a guy that I have not seen linked to the Ms, but is projected to go 15-25, which is where the Ms are drafting. Not a basher, but lefty with 34 xbh and 36 walks to 20 Ks (209 ABs), plus 16 of 18 SB. Not advocating him, just FYI.
Churchill’s mock draft is here, and now that I look at it, he says the Ms have scouted Gillaspie, but Churchill is negative on him.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:23 pm Quote
Patrick Troen wrote:
And that would be?
Lopez/YuBet — two .700 middle infielders who are still cheap at the moment, but have plateaued long enough to have lost their previous value on the market.
Wash might get a little something - but guys carrying 6+ ERAs aren’t exactly in high demand.
Sexson will likely draw less interest than Wash.
Ibanez’ age precludes getting anything significant in return.
I’m thinking that narrows it down to … selling Putz.
Methinks you’re missing the point of a fire sale. The point is to unload SALARIES and TALENT in order to restock a farm system. That means the actual firesale pieces who might actually bring some specs would actually be: Ichiro, Beltre and Bedard
May 30th, 2008 at 1:42 pm Quote
And therein lies one of the problems of this franchise. When was the last time they unloaded somebody who was near their decline years but still had some good value. Billy Beane does this ALL the time. Read the blog that had a Q&A with him in three parts. He’s CONSTANTLY thinking in terms trading players while they still have good value if he can get better value in return that will pay off soon.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:41 pm Quote
RE: Firesale
I think Ibanez, Putz and Beltre could all bring some decent pieces in return. That combined with clearing the roster spots by unloading everyone else and we could be looking at a team that is ready to contend in 2010. At this point, WE SHOULD BE WRITING OFF 2009.
Every year the Mariners make moves that are questionable in the long term in order to try to win in the short term. The win now mentality prevents the club from calling up prospects early in the year because they are trying to win. The result is signing over the hill veterans in an attempt to squeeze an extra year or two out of them. This combined with the long term deals that they give to marginal free agents (Sexson, Washburn, Ibanez, Batista, Vidro, Silva and Johjima) leads to the club having a good percentage of the team hitting a sharp decline at the same time.
Every off season its the same thing. Once the team gets rid of the following dead weight from the season before the club is “ready” for a serious run. Unfortunately, we find a new group of players who become black holes and the team hasn’t prepared itself to fill them mid-season.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:21 pm Quote
I think you could get something nice for Johjima too with the right team. And you might be able to get a B prospect for Washburn with a few clubs.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:58 am Quote
good point matt. How about Jojima for Wade Davis + Ryan Royster?