By Phil Rogers
Talking baseball as practice games before paid audiences begin for the White Sox and Cubs:
1. Now may be the time for the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez, assuming San Diego's priority is getting the maximum return for his talents. The contract in place for Gonzalez for the next two seasons -- $4.75 million this season, a club option for $5.6 million in 2011 -- makes him affordable for all 30 teams.
Yes, at that price even the Pirates can afford him! What a concept. But Gonzalez's next contract -- the one that takes him beyond 2011 -- is going to be a hum-dinger. In a telling piece in the San Diego Union, agent John Boggs compares Gonzalez to Mark Teixeira, who received an eight-year, $180-million deal when he hit the market. That means he will require more than 20 percent of payroll for a team that allocates $100 million for salaries, and few teams have ever won championships with that ratio. There's a short list of teams that can afford a long-term Gonzalez contract -- the Yankees, Red Sox, maybe the Cubs, maybe the Mets.
Talking baseball as practice games before paid audiences begin for the White Sox and Cubs:
1. Now may be the time for the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez, assuming San Diego's priority is getting the maximum return for his talents. The contract in place for Gonzalez for the next two seasons -- $4.75 million this season, a club option for $5.6 million in 2011 -- makes him affordable for all 30 teams.
Yes, at that price even the Pirates can afford him! What a concept. But Gonzalez's next contract -- the one that takes him beyond 2011 -- is going to be a hum-dinger. In a telling piece in the San Diego Union, agent John Boggs compares Gonzalez to Mark Teixeira, who received an eight-year, $180-million deal when he hit the market. That means he will require more than 20 percent of payroll for a team that allocates $100 million for salaries, and few teams have ever won championships with that ratio. There's a short list of teams that can afford a long-term Gonzalez contract -- the Yankees, Red Sox, maybe the Cubs, maybe the Mets.
The White Sox clearly love Gonzalez. But adding him for the long haul probably would require phasing out Mark Buehrle after 2011 or taking the payroll back up above $120 million, where it was two years ago.
2. Jermaine Dye continues to linger on the free-agent market while Garret Anderson has a uniform. Anderson agreed to a minor-league deal with the Dodgers, where he will compete against the likes of Brian Giles, Brian Barton and Mike Restovich to win a backup outfielder's job.
Dye is right to feel he deserves better, but the situation is what it is. If he wants to keep playing, he's going to have to find a landing spot soon. One thing that happens during the first week or two of exhibition games is that teams start to become intrigued by their own young players, and the crop of young outfielders appears extremely fertile. We haven't heard anything about Stefan Gartrell in the White Sox camp, for instance. That could change in the next week or two, as Gartrell is a hitter and hitters hit in spring training.
3. The Joe Mauer contract negotiations may be nearing a critical stage with the Twins. It once appeared that a deal would be in place before the start of spring training, but Mauer proved a little more difficult to sign than some thought he would be. His agent, Ron Shapiro, is in the Twins' camp this week for face-to-face talks.
Mauer can be a free agent after this season. He wants to spend his entire career in Minnesota, but imagine the feeding frenzy if the Yankees and Red Sox get a chance to land him. The Yankees are loaded with catching prospects -- most notably slugger Jesus Montero -- so imagine the package of players they might be willing to send the Twins at mid-season, if not before, if they felt they could have Mauer for five years or more. The best bet is he will get a deal done with the Twins, but it's not quite the slam dunk it seemed a couple months ago.
2. Jermaine Dye continues to linger on the free-agent market while Garret Anderson has a uniform. Anderson agreed to a minor-league deal with the Dodgers, where he will compete against the likes of Brian Giles, Brian Barton and Mike Restovich to win a backup outfielder's job.
Dye is right to feel he deserves better, but the situation is what it is. If he wants to keep playing, he's going to have to find a landing spot soon. One thing that happens during the first week or two of exhibition games is that teams start to become intrigued by their own young players, and the crop of young outfielders appears extremely fertile. We haven't heard anything about Stefan Gartrell in the White Sox camp, for instance. That could change in the next week or two, as Gartrell is a hitter and hitters hit in spring training.
3. The Joe Mauer contract negotiations may be nearing a critical stage with the Twins. It once appeared that a deal would be in place before the start of spring training, but Mauer proved a little more difficult to sign than some thought he would be. His agent, Ron Shapiro, is in the Twins' camp this week for face-to-face talks.
Mauer can be a free agent after this season. He wants to spend his entire career in Minnesota, but imagine the feeding frenzy if the Yankees and Red Sox get a chance to land him. The Yankees are loaded with catching prospects -- most notably slugger Jesus Montero -- so imagine the package of players they might be willing to send the Twins at mid-season, if not before, if they felt they could have Mauer for five years or more. The best bet is he will get a deal done with the Twins, but it's not quite the slam dunk it seemed a couple months ago.
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Never confuse Sox fans with baseball fans? You must be confusing us for our northside counterparts, or at least trying to perpetuate a generalization normally reserved for them. nice try, cubby blue, but I have more baseball knowledge in my middle finger than all of wrigley field. Take a look for yourself.
"Jenny on March 4, 2010 12:12 PM
Hey, those are pretty much the same numbers as the "savior" and look at all the whackjobs trying to put him in the HOF already along with Alexie Ramirez and Josh Fields.
Remember, these are Sox fans they are talking to, never confuse them with baseball fans."
FAIL
Gartrell has hit at every level of the minors, but I guess dumb people have to use 31 games of a guy who's played 4350 to support their flimsy arguments. Gartrell is not an everyday major leaguer, but the guy is a decent hitter.
Stefan Gartrell, are you kiddin me.
I didn't know the Sox got Stefan Gartrell too, along with all the big names that Phil mentioned in yesterday's article, that are ready to just "explode" onto the Chicago baseball scene. Stefan, fre****, Gartrell, whooaaa!
In looking him up, he 'only' 26, he finished in Triple A last year, and in 31 games he hit a whoppin .265 - but, his OBP was a very respectable, .314.
This kid is ready for stardom, thanks for the headsup Phil. What did you do, pick his name off the roster after throwing a dart.