Hairston, Baldelli, Mench Of Interest
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Fri, November 07, 2008 12:06 PM | Comments: 23
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In MLB.com’s Hot Stove Blog, Ken Mandel reports the Phillies have looked at three more potential left field replacements for Pat Burrell: Jerry Hairston Jr., Rocco Baldelli and Kevin Mench.
In a post I’m planning for the weekend, I break down all the candidates for left field. Here are my assessments of the three listed above:
Rocco Baldelli
Age: 27
First take: Finally healthy, maybe, but such an uncertain player. Pass.
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Age: 32
First take: Would be an intriguing platoon partner for Geoff Jenkins. Consider.
Second take: He had a career year in 2008, but for the most part he’s a light hitter with a little pop. Not that keen on him, but he’s cost-effective and would likely ask for a two-year deal, at most, for $2M per.
Kevin Mench
Age: 31
First take: Blue Hen hasn’t been much of a hitter. Pass.
I assume the Phils are trying to re-sign Burrell first. If that doesn’t work, they’ll be gunning for Matt Holliday. And these three names comprise options six through eight, or so. I’m not high on a left field platoon, but if it comes down to any of these three, I’d probably rather settle for Hairston, while Baldelli is more of a high-risk/high-reward sigining. Still, this is the bottom of the barrel.
Posts: 0 NEPA
Pass, pass and pass.
Posted: 12:14 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 From Section 113
Maybe Rocco, pass on the others.
Posted: 12:17 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Rocco can’t play a full game at this point. His legs start shaking or something in like the 6th inning. He’s not even worth it.
Posted: 12:21 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Chutley
Re-sign Burrell, get another starting pitcher and just sit and wait For Clearwater
Posted: 12:30 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Manny
I agree with Chutley.
Posted: 12:40 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Boo-F*ckU
Doesn’t Baldelli have a disease that keeps him from playing back-to-back games EVER? I think that’s a bad move. Just resign Burrell. It’s their best option. Holliday costs too much and there isn’t anyone out there that can fulfill Pat’s production.
Posted: 12:44 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 sean
Pass on all. Bring Pat back. If you can’t, go ahead and get Holliday. Just please don’t give up TOO much for him.
Posted: 12:53 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Dan
I agree, pass on all. Hairston is a career .260 hitter with a .370 slugging percentage, that’s not the right-handed bat that can replace Pat. I don’t know if re-signing Pat is the right move either, though. Let’s not forget why we all assumed he’d be gone: He want’s a long-term deal and his ability to run and play defense are deteriorating every year. What do we do with him in three years, when he’s a complete liability in the outfield. And it’s not like he’s the most consistent hitter in the world either. I’d rather let him walk than hand him a huge contract, and I’ll enjoy my last memory of him being hitting that double in the 7th inning of Game 5.
Posted: 12:59 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Griffin
yuck, yuck and more yuck.
Posted: 01:18 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 DD
We are the World Champions!! And we are even looking at this trash? I would think there is a huge group of corner outfielders between these 3 chumps and Matt Holliday.
Posted: 01:20 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 PhillyFriar
I’d rather have Juan Rivera than any of the above. Good contact hitter with some pop, and while he doesn’t have ideal OBP ability, he’s got a higher upside than any of the above (with the exception of a healthy Baldelli, but I don’t think that’s something we should count on).
Options 1A and 1B, for me, are: re-signing Burrell (with an eye on moving him to first base after dealing Howard next offseason); and swinging a deal for Nick Swisher (who’d probably cost less in prospects than Holliday and is contracted for 3 more years). I’ll mark down Rivera as Option 2, but past that, none of the options are very intriguing.
Posted: 01:53 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Sean P.
If the phillies can’t sign Burrell, how about getting a cheap Griffey Jr. and platooning him with Dobbs.
Posted: 01:54 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Todd
Sean P., too many lefties if they do that. They have to have a righty in there somewhere.
Posted: 02:00 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 From Section 113
I forgot Juan Rivera was a FA, good call. He might be worth a shot at.
But I think I’d rather have Ludwick over Juan Rivera for 1 yr.
Posted: 02:54 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Eb
I actaully am a big fan of Baldelli, especially as a platoon player. I would not mind him
Posted: 05:10 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 DD
What are people’s thoughts on Jeff Francouer? He seems to have fallen out of favor in Atlanta and may be gotten cheaply. I know he can be a wild swinger and is in our division, but he is very solid defensively, great arm, young and cheap, is a righty, and still has upside offensively. Just like to know some thoughts.
Posted: 05:13 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 bigbobster
I’m convinced that Pat should stay, and that he’s worth about $12 million per year for three years. Yes, he was wildly inconsistent in 2008, but he’s not a bad left fielder, and his numbers are better than the options. Here’s the biggest reason, however: he’s the staple of a World Series winner. I think it would harm the important Philly fan/club loyalty chain (as Tom Verducci notes in this week’s SI) to remove Burrell. I’ve lived through a few instances when we let “aging” players go or traded them (think Bob Boone, Moses Malone), only to watch them have a few more productive seasons. The Phils proved this year that chemistry is as important than talent. Don’t mess with it.
Posted: 08:13 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 MadSon
The idea of watching a Phils game and not turning away everytime our left fielder runs the bases is not something that I want to happen. Pat has his flaws, but he carried this team for several months during this and last seasons playoff runs. To let him go would be a huge mistake, this teams wins because it a team not a collect of people playing together. Much like Cholly I’m loyal to the players that play hard and play selfless, Burrell walked right off the field in game 5 and never even looked upset about it, not many player would have been able to do that. He understands that winning is all that matters and it doesn’t matter if it hurts the fans to watch him run, he gives everything he’s got and puts the team first.
Posted: 08:37 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 DD
I agree with you about Burrell. I have watched for the last 6-7 years and he always was the first guy out of the dugout to start the game. He seems to love to play the game. On top of that, he never lashed out at the fans of philly, even when the going was tough for him and he maybe had a right to. I have no problem bringing him back, but at the right price and years. He is a class act. I just have a hunch some AL team may make an offer that he can’t refuse.
Posted: 10:50 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 MadSon
DD
I don’t foresee Pat going to the AL because he doesn’t like to DH, he enjoys playing the outfield and wants to continuing to do so.
Posted: 11:43 PM on November 7, 2008
Posts: 0 Colin_K
I’m sorry, but when I’ve seen a guy play AAA (Mench) in Oklahoma City, I don’t believe he is viable platoon replacement for a guy who’s averaged 25 and 90 and .400 (OBP) for the past 6 years.
Baldelli maybe, but mitochondrial disease really doesn’t have a cure that I know of. If you could get 3-4 Burrell games (7 innings) a week out of him, I would do it, if he isn’t looking for anything more that $3M per year, for two years.
Hairston should be a potential replacement for everyone’s favorite lawn ornament, not the righty platoon guy to replace PTB.
I’ve said this numerous times, offer STL a pitcher or two (Happ and Kendrick come to mind), for Ludwick. That would clear up the LF situation and you wouldn’t have to mortgage the farm for one year of Holliday. Plus Ludwick is used to hitting around a megastar.
Posted: 09:07 AM on November 8, 2008
Posts: 0 MyBoyElroy
What about Raul Ibanez? He will be a free agent and has substantially more RBIs than Manny in the past 3 seasons. Why hasn’t his name came up at all?
Posted: 01:44 PM on November 9, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Ibanez’s name has come up. But he’s 36 and more importantly bats LEFTY. We need right handed power to counter Utley/Howard.
Posted: 02:05 PM on November 9, 2008