Out of Options: Two Notable Position Players
3B Jake Fox, Athletics
Fox’s hitting ability isn’t in doubt. Even in what was considered a rough stint with the Cubs, Fox managed to hit 11 HRs and posted a .208 ISO despite a mere .274 BABIP. Fox was roughly and average hitter last year, and his minor league numbers suggest the ability to put up slightly above average numbers at the major league level. His two weaknesses – walk rate and defense – likely pushed the A’s to retain Jack Cust at the DH position and acquire Adam Rosales and Kevin Kouzmanoff to go along with Eric Chavez at 3B.
With Cust on the team, if Fox doesn’t show some improvement with the glove in the spring, it’s hard to imagine Oakland having the room for another poor defender. Hitters of Fox’s caliber will have value to some team at some position, and so look for Fox to find his way on to a ML roster by midseason if not by opening day.
OF Wladimir Balentien, Reds
Balentien is another guy who has shown prolific power in the major leagues. With the rise of Michael Saunders in left field and Balentien underperforming in Seattle, the Mariners were forced to jettison the 25 year old outfielder last season. Outside of some home runs, though, Balentien has been poor in the major leagues so far, compiling a terrible wOBA of .285 in his first 559 PAs. Balentien’s solid minor league numbers – two seasons in AAA with .370+ wOBAs – give hope for breakout. CHONE expects a huge power surge and a .358 wOBA in Cincinnati next season.
The question is if he can make the big club. His major league numbers, as mentioned, are very discouraging, and he’s certainly behind Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce on the depth charts. Chris Dickerson and the newly re-signed Jonny Gomes probably will make the team as well. That leaves Balentien in a fight with Laynce Nix for the 5th outfielder spot, meaning that with a poor spring, Balentien could find himself job-hunting again. I wouldn’t count on it, though, as Balentien could be a major piece in a potentially resurgent Reds lineup.
Now, I leave it to you guys. Who else do you find interesting that’s out of options and could potentially find themselves struggling for a 25-man roster spot? Let’s see who you think of in the comments, both among position players and pitchers. These could be some under-the-radar story lines in the spring that should be fun to watch unfold.
4
Delmon Young….who rarely leaves his team with many options anyways.
I disagree, the Twins currently have only 4 true outfielders on the 40-man roster (and even that’s a stretch considering Young and Kubel’s defense), so eliminating him hurts the outfield depth even more, and puts Kubel into a full time role in the outfield. Yeah, Jim Thome can certainly still be a full time DH, but it sounds like he’ll only play part-time in 2010.
I will take the under on Fox’s offensive performance, particularly given his change of context. As a Cubs fan, I was excited when he came up last year on the heels of sheer dominance in Triple-A.
And then I saw him swing. What. An. Awful. Swing.
Boof Bonser with the Red Sox
Irrelevant fact- Balentien had the longest home run in baseball last year according to HitTracker.
If Balentien can perform to his CHONE projection, he would make a legitimate starting LF.
Even if he performs to his less optimistic Bill James one, he’s at least an okay 4th OF.
And while 125 PA is a small sample, he did hit okay with Cinci (.264/.352/.427). His career wOBA and wRC+ aren’t too great, but he showed significant improvement in his stats from 08 to 09 (55 wRC+ to 83 wRC+). Nix and Balentein look at around the same level to me, so I can’t imagine why the Reds would keep Nix on the roster, given he’s older and they actually can send him to AAA.
Eric Patterson – can he play 2B?
Dustin McGowan – just always liked him
Charlie Haeger – just cuz he’s a Knuckler
Fox is not out of options.
See here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/athletics/detail?&entry_id=57692
or here:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=304&f=2062&t=5527422&p=3
Fred Lewis
Joaquin Arias
Alexi Casilla
Agreed, the signing of Orlando Hudson creates an interesting scenario. Either the Twins cut Casilla and keep Matt Tolbert, or they send Tolbert to Triple-A and keep Casilla.
Andy LaRoche- this might be his make or break year seeing as how he’s not that young anymore. He’s good defensively, but the Pirates really need offense and can’t afford such little production from the hot corner.
Manny Parra- not sure where he fits on the team but he’s too talented to risk putting through waivers, and not sure if they will stash him in the bullpen. Can Suppan really be a 12M mop up reliever?
Others include: Mitch Talbot, Ian Snell, Fred Lewis, Nelson Figueroa, Sean Gallagher, Tony Gwynn Jr, Delwyn Young, Robinson Tejada.
MLBTR has a list of guys who are out of options for this upcoming season.
Gotta wonder if Parra doesn’t look like he’ll make the rotation (which I believe he will making this a moot point) if the Brewers will look to deal him. There is a lot to like about Parra, but if he doesn’t make the rotation and the Brewers don’t see him as a useful reliever, gotta believe he could fetch some minor leaguers with options left.
Andy LaRoche is an interesting case. I like LaRoche a lot, and remember the Pirates were looking at moving him to 2B before acquiring Aki Iwamura. I think LaRoche still has untapped upside, and if he can be developed at 2B, could be a valuable utility infielder. I can’t see the Pirates putting him through waivers though. Alvarez will almost certainly be given at least a half season in the minors, and I don’t know if they have an in house Major League candidate to play 3B in place of LaRoche. Toss in the fact that Jeff Clement/Steve Pearce and perhaps Garrett Jones (if he’s not in the OF) are an equally yawn inducing group over at 1B, so even when Alvarez is called up, LaRoche could be shoved across the diamond.
Elliot Johnson with the Rays… but he’s not all that exciting.