[Closed] The 2009 Hot Stove League: Making us Phillie Proof in 2010

grabarkewitz:

Couple days ago, Noah Lowry was gonna sign with somebody, but nothing has come of that. Makes one wonder if he is holding out for the Dodgers to get the okay for some money or move Sherrill. Right now, I would prefer him (at the right price) over McDonald, Elbert or Stults. Haegerbomb is still my number one choice for the five.

I would be really annoyed if we traded a closer to a market without a need so that we could sign Noah Lowry.
Give the kids a shot at the damn 5th spot.
Dude, this off-season sucks.

Belliard is back and so is Ausmus. I like the Ausmus signing I am not so sure about the Belliard one. Will DeWitt ever get a shot as I guess Carrol gets the utility role vacated by Loretta's retirement.

grabarkewitz:

Now Gurnick is saying the Blue are looking for a lefty hitting outfielder. I thought that was what Xavier Paul was? Either Gurnick is a fool (very likely) or Neddie doesn't trust the kid and needs some creamy veteran goodness. Please don't let it be Jim Edmonds. Aside from his bat occasionally hitting the ball square, he doesn't offer any upside, while Paul is young, fast, possesses a great arm and has some upside. On any other team this would be a no-brainer, but who knows with Ned.

Oh no. Jim Edmonds is EXACTLY the kind of player Ned Torre loves. And YOU had to mention it, thanks.

Oh, and Gurnick IS a fool.

Gurnick says the Dodgers are finalists for Derrick Turnbow. Sure hope that's an NRI and nothing guaranteed.

Don't know anything about this guy... other than what is reported on Kissyface:

Leslie Anderson Defects From Cuba
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 28 at 4:53pm CST]
Leslie Anderson, a first baseman/outfielder for Cuba's national team has defected and is looking to negotiate with big league teams according to Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (as translated by Nick Collias). Jaime Torres, the agent for the 26-year-old, says there is "much interest" in his client.

Anderson can play all three outfield positions and his agent compared him to another versatile Cuban, Alexei Ramirez. Anderson hit .381 with 13 homers in Cuba last season and escaped to Mexico in September.

As an "outside the box" potential signing, would he be of interest to Blue/Ned...? 13 HR's with Cuba doesn't give me any idea as to his ML power... but he could relatively easily could be an offensive upgrade at 1B... and 4th OF...? At this point, I'm reaching for straws... somehow hoping to find lightening in a bottle (a huge dose of luck!), and improve this team...! None of the "known entities" excite me; the ones that did, have long been out of our price range (tragic!!). Perhaps Anderson would be too...

File under "totally horrifying"...

a poster on DodgerThoughts is claiming that he was at the park today and saw Brian Giles working out.

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

Gurnick says the Dodgers are finalists for Derrick Turnbow. Sure hope that's an NRI and nothing guaranteed.

Please make it stop! First Anderson, now Turnbow and Giles....are we in on every crappy guy who is well past his expiration date?

I've been trying to lay blame for all of this "Over-the-Hill-Gang" at Neddies little footsies... In reality, Torre is prolly every bit to blame with his man-love for playing Grandpa...!

Yeah, you know what, though? Every year, we do this and very few actually make it to April. I mean, why not? It isn't hurting anybody and it isn't a guarantee that some kid has to sit and wait. They'll either be filler material for Albuquerque, or get released, unless one of them actually pans out in March. I'm not too concerned about that part.

I have read better news on a Sunday morning. First, Dylan Hernandez reports we are talking to Garret Anderson....eek! Tony Jackson adds that we are also looking at Brian Giles (eeekkkk!), Reed Johnson (we don't need another right handed bat) and Gabe Gross - the only one I would consider, but I would still hope that we would stick with Xavier Paul and spend whatever Ned has left on a pitcher. Save it for Wang or Lowry instead of tossing it at a backup outfielder.

I gotta think a lot of the recent discussions were initiated by the players. Scanning KF and other sites indicates that most clubs are talking to lots of players.

Quite simply, it is now late in the signing process and there are far fewer seats in the life boats than there are players looking for seats. The vast majority of signings being done right now are for minor league deals.

So, I am not all that bothered by signing several old and/or washed up players in the hope one or 2 are found to have something left. However, there is a concern with signing too many as it can make it hard for the talent evaluaters to get a good enough look at everyone.

Put me in the group that wants Wang.

The issue is that he seems to want a significant amount of his money guaranteed.

I hope his relationship with Torre, coupled with the fact that L.A. has a large Taiwanese population and has a succesful Taiwanese player on the team (Kuo) can convince him to sign with the Dodgers.

If Wang can bounce back, then I am a little leass concerned about the rotation. At least the Dodgers would have 5 warm bodies who have had some recent success in the rotation instead of hoping that reclamation projects or AAAA pitchers can hold down the 5th spot.

DoppelgangBang:

Hahahahhaa ... sorry, couldn't resist.

I, too, like Wang.

What's his ETA? I'm kinda confused now ... I thought he would be ready more mid-season, but it seems like he could be ready earlier?
Anyone know definitively?

I'd love to stash him in AAA on the cheap, let him round into form and be the first to join the rotation in case of injury or ineffectiveness.

Word a few weeks ago was that Wang's ETA based on his surgery date would be about mid-season, but that some thought that might be a bit too optimistic. I read somewhere the other day that he claims to be about ready to throw off a mound, which if true might mean that he is 4-8 weeks behind the curve and could be ready after an extended ST. It's impossible to say what is what until somebody actually sees him throw and I'm not sure that has happened yet.

He ain't gonna get a lot of guaranteed $ from anybody until they see him pitch off of a mound AND he looks good doing it. That is what Sheets did. Keep in mind that the Yanks cut Wang loose rather than be committed to $3-4M to an unknown. Seemingly, the Yanks can afford anything and they passed. Meanwhile, Wang's condition isn't much less unknown at this stage.

The Sheets signing seems to have energized the group of rehab arms still looking for deals, as Sheets made out real well after not pitching AT ALL last season. The other factor that seems to be driving the rehab guys to sign now instead of waiting until mid-season is that at that time they will be competing with guys available in trade that actually pitched and pitched well over the first half of the season. Also, recall that a year ago many were betting that Sheets would be ready by mid-season, but that didn't happen.

I see the A's signing of Sheets as being a very chancy outside-the-box move by Beane. "Very chancy" comes down to arms being far riskier to pay big than bats, and on top of that Sheets is coming off of a major injury, which isn't his first. There is a big difference committing $10M or more to Matt Holliday and Ben Sheets. There was little chance of Holliday being an untradeable bust, but that is a very real possibility with Sheets. Beane won't be able to trade Sheets at mid-season if he breaks down, and in that case the A's will be on the hook for the full $10M.

No other team seemed willing to take such a gamble on Sheets and I doubt the other clubs have changed their minds simply because the A's committed and the mIdjit thinks it's a great move (because it was a high-$ signing and made headlines!) As such, I still don't see Wang or any of the other rehab guys getting more than a few $M guaranteed.

I would prefer Reed Johnson over Garret Anderson by a large margin, but his signing might signal the end of the longest tenured Dodger and one of my personal favorites, Jason Repko. Not that Jason has ever really done much for the Dodgers, but anyone who knows him, recognizes him as one of the truly good guys in the game of life. That's not a good way to make personnel decisions, but Repko's personality skews my judgment.

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

I think if they get Johnson, they won't go with 5 OF. Since Carroll and Blake both have prior OF experience, the Dodgers are covered if they need to be. What it does do is make things interesting because by not going with a lefty OF, Eyechart would seem almost guaranteed of a job just to have a lefty off the bench (I think that Paul definitely starts in the minors because he missed so much time to injury last year, and I think if DeWitt doesn't win the starting 2B job he goes to AAA rather than the bench as well).

I was quietly praying that Eyechart would not be a choice, but given that he can play first base and third, in a pinch, he will very likely make the trip north, as it were. I just hope that Eyechart still can hit off of the bench. Gotta agree on DeWitt. If he doesn't dazzle in Glendale, he is back to the Albuquerque-LA shuttle. I pray we have some money available at the deadline because I think we are gonna need a real second baseman by then.