[外電] Winter meetings winners and losers
Winter meetings winners and losers http://goo.gl/7zHtj
December 9, 2010, 6:58 PM ET By Jayson Stark
Red Sox reload, emerge victorious; Angels whiff on their prime target, Carl
Crawford
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- They checked in Sunday, muttering, "Can you believe
that Jayson Werth contract?"
They checked out Thursday, muttering, "Can you believe the Red Sox got Carl
Crawford?"
And in between, baseball's 30 general managers teamed up to give us four days
of winter meetings madness that will go down in the annals of historic
spending if not unforgettable team-building.
Werth and Crawford became the second pair of free-agent position players in
history to sign deals of seven years (or more) and $100 million-plus in the
same offseason. (The only others: Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez a decade
ago.)
So although we remind you that there are two months left in this offseason
for all of this to change, here's a look at the winners and losers of the
latest edition of baseball's winter meetings:
Winners
1. Boston Red Sox
They didn't just have a great week by this offseason's standards. They had
one of the great winter meetings weeks ever. The two best offensive players
available this winter were Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford. The Red Sox found a
way to add both of them -- and they pushed the Yankees' buttons so adeptly,
they just about forced their pals from the Bronx to go far beyond what they
ever intended in their quest to sign Cliff Lee.
Crawford's gapper-centric offensive repertoire and Gonzalez's inside-out
stroke are both perfect fits for Fenway. They give the Red Sox five hitters
who have had at least one season of at least 62 extra-base hits (or better)
within the past three years. And both these men are premier defensive
players, which never hurts.
Then again, they'd better be that good, because if this team can now finish
off an extension for Gonzalez, it ain't going to be cheap. In fact, it'll
cost more than a quarter-billion dollars for these two guys -- and it almost
certainly would make the Red Sox just the second team in history to give out
two nine-figure contracts of seven or more years in the same offseason. (The
other: the 2009 Yankees, with CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira.)
So clearly, these were two acquisitions that again raise issues about
baseball's never-ending money disparities. But if you had any questions who
the centerpieces of the Red Sox's next generation were going to be, uh,
questions answered.
2. Left-hander Cliff Lee
Lee hasn't signed at these winter meetings. But other than that, he couldn't
have had a better week if he'd won a Cy Young, hit the Powerball and won the
National Bass Fishing Championship.
We'll never know how many dollars Werth and Crawford added to Lee's net
worth. But by the time these meetings were over, the Rangers were flying
another delegation to his house, the Yankees were dangling seven-year offers
at him and he was poised to sign one of the largest, if not the largest,
pitching contract of all time -- at age 32. So in retrospect, you think he
has any regrets that he had to change teams three times in 12 months to do
it? Yeah, thought so.
3. Kansas City Royals
OK, we admit this is a premature "winners" award, because the Royals haven't
actually traded Zack Greinke yet. But this week's developments put them in a
better position to pull off this monster deal than they've been in at any
time this winter.
On their way out of Disney World on Thursday, officials of two different
teams delivered the same message: When they arrived at these meetings, they
thought there was no way the Royals would trade their ace this winter. By the
time they spun out the revolving door, they'd changed their minds -- and
predicted it was now even "likely."
The price never changed all week. It's still going to take what one NL exec
described as "five premium pieces" to make this deal happen. But the Royals
were smartly treading water this week, waiting for Lee to sign. And once that
happened, they knew, Greinke would represent the only difference-making
starter out there for teams such as the Rangers, Nationals, Blue Jays,
Marlins and others to explore.
Meanwhile, teams that spoke with the Royals believe that they're now more
motivated to trade him because they recognize this is the time to strike --
when there's no real competition on the market -- and the reality has finally
hit them that Greinke clearly wants out. "What can they tell him to keep him
motivated -- that 'We'll be good in 2014?'" one AL exec said. "That's not
going to fly. So now's the time, and I think they know it."
4. Chicago White Sox
Their only official transaction this week was re-signing Paul Konerko. But
even GM Kenny Williams admitted that the White Sox were close to waving
goodbye to the face of their franchise, their No. 1 clubhouse presence and a
guy who easily could have won an MVP award last season. So keeping Konerko
was an important step -- and getting him signed for "only" $37.5 million over
three years, less money per year than they just gave Adam Dunn, was huge.
Add Konerko's return to the White Sox's other moves this winter -- adding
left-handed thump in Dunn and re-signing catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who also
almost bolted -- and the White Sox remain positioned for another run in the
AL Central. Williams also admits that they're now out of money, but he's
listening on players like Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd. So you can never
rule out a trademark Kenny Williams blockbuster between now and Pitchers and
Catchers.
5. San Diego Padres
You won't find this team on many other winners lists. But given the limited
options the Padres had as Gonzalez's free agency neared, they did the best
they could in what was, realistically, a one-team derby.
Boston was the place Gonzalez wanted to play, the one team that could deal
for him with reasonable faith it could sign him. And the Padres still got
three excellent prospects for him. They also made what other teams viewed as
a worthwhile, low-cost trade for Jason Bartlett, who helps keep them
competitive in 2011 at the least or becomes a big trading chip if they fall
out of the race.
Add in their earlier trade for the tool-laden Cameron Maybin and the
potential signing of Derrek Lee, and this is a team making a lot of sensible
decisions in a tough climate.
Losers
1. Los Angeles Angels
When was the last time a team had its offseason game plan reel so
dramatically out of control as fast as this team's? The Angels spent the week
pretty much fixating on Crawford, telling other clubs he was their No. 1
target by far, and acting incredibly confident his signing was all but
inevitable. … And then they took such a this-is-the-way-the-Angels-negotiate
approach to signing him, they couldn't close the deal.
In the end, sources say, the Angels raised their offer enough that there was
very little difference between their bid and the Red Sox's bid. But by then,
Crawford was clearly drawn to everything that Boston had to offer -- and the
Angels had suddenly become what one exec called "a team in trouble." Now,
their only hope to salvage their offseason might be owner Arte Moreno's worst
nightmare: overpaying two Scott Boras clients (Rafael Soriano and Adrian
Beltre). And neither of them would bring them what Crawford could have.
"He was the perfect guy for them," one AL executive said. "He fit their
lineup. He'd have been a big defensive upgrade in left. His speed fit in with
how they like to play offensively. And now there's no one else out there who
can give them that -- and no outfielders coming on the market over the next
couple of winters who are like him. So they really misplayed their hand on
this one."
2. Tampa Bay Rays
If you didn't feel their window slamming when David Price lost Game 5 of the
ALDS at The Trop, you could sure feel it this week when Crawford officially
hit the exit ramp. The Rays knew this was coming, of course. But that didn't
make losing their most beloved player any easier. And neither will the
prospect of having to face him 18 times a year for each of the next seven
seasons.
We almost feel guilty putting the Rays on this "losers" list because they've
done just about everything right for three years, won two titles in the AL
East and still were almost powerless to prevent The System from ripping apart
one of baseball's most exciting teams. That would be a difficult lot in life
in any division, but it's even more painful in the AL East, where building an
85-to-90-win team just earns you an October tee time.
Asked about the challenge of trying to survive in this AL East jungle, Rays
executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said
Thursday: "It's always been nearly impossible, and it's probably getting
closer to impossible. But it's doable."
So how do they do it? There's lots of buzz about potentially
nucleus-rebuilding deals involving B.J. Upton and/or Matt Garza. And although
the Rays have publicly downplayed the chances of moving either of them, other
clubs believe they're seriously thinking about it.
3. New York Yankees
Whooh. Tough week. The Yankees got bashed by an angry Derek Jeter. They got
outmaneuvered by a Red Sox team that got much better and more dangerous. They
saw Crawford head for Boston before they had a chance to make a serious run
at him. They heard no encouraging news about the return of Andy Pettitte. And
by the end of the week, they felt so pressured to sign Lee, they found
themselves doing something they'd sworn they would never do -- throw a
seven-year offer at him.
Maybe, in the long run, this week will turn out to be just another blip on
the Yankees' $200 million radar screen. Nevertheless, this isn't how they
would have choreographed just about anything that unfolded.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
In truth, the Phillies have known for months that Werth wouldn't be back. But
now that it's official, it's hard to come up with any scenario that says
they'll be a better team without a player whose .899 OPS the past two years
was topped by only two players in the NL East -- Dunn (.910) and Hanley
Ramirez (.905).
In fact, they don't even have a real attractive option on their radar screen.
They never made a serious run at two free agents on their right-handed-hitter
shopping list -- Jeff Francoeur and Matt Diaz, both of whom signed elsewhere.
They showed only mild interest in another non-tendered free agent, Scott
Hairston. And although they have explored trading for their old amigo, Aaron
Rowand, if the Giants eat three-fourths of his salary, one source laid the
current odds of that deal going down at only 2 in 10.
So while GM Ruben Amaro Jr. spun this mess by saying there was no urgency to
address this vacancy this week, this month or even before Opening Day, the
gap between the Phillies and the rest of the NL East continued to shrink this
week.
5. Washington Nationals
Somebody has to win the Most Outrageous Contract of the Winter Meetings
competition. So it's time to deliver this year's prestigious nontrophy to
those Washington Nationals, for handing Werth two more years and at least $40
million more than most clubs figured he'd get.
On one hand, we understand what the Nationals were trying to accomplish here.
When your franchise hasn't played a postseason game in 30 years and all the
people around you have been numbed by all the losing, you need to do
something dramatic and eye-popping to get their attention and change that
culture. So there was nothing wrong, in theory, with signing Werth, a very
good player who was an underrated part of that Phillies quasi-NL East dynasty.
But seven years -- for a guy who will turn 32 in May and has had only two
500-at-bat seasons in his career? Whew. No free agent in the past two decades
had signed a contract this long at this age (or older) who wasn't at least a
multitime All-Star. So no wonder so many baseball conversations about this
deal this week began with the same three words: "Oh my God."
--
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