Tuesday Rockpile: The Waiting Game

by Russ Oates on Dec 2, 2008 8:20 AM MST in Rockpile

Brian Fuentes has until this Sunday to accept or decline the Colorado Rockies' offer of arbitration. Fuentes could make $10M on a one-year deal if he accepts and wins his arbitration case, but does anyone seriously believe Fuentes would accept that at this point? Though Dan O'Dowd has said nothing would surprise him with the state of the economy, Fuentes accept arbitration would be a surprise to me. Given the comments Fuentes' agent has made over the last month, Fuentes would need to have a serious change of heart this week to take himself off the free agent market.

Of course, the Rockies will get two picks for Fuentes when he does sign somewhere else. But the Arizona Diamondbacks will receive five draft picks all together after offering arbitration to Type A free agents Juan Cruz and Orlando Hudson and Type B free agent Brandon Lyon. The total would have been seven had they offered Adam Dunn, a Type A free agent, arbitration.

The Los Angeles Dodgers offered arbitration to Type A free agents Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe and Type B free agent Casey Blake. The Dodgers did not offer arbitration to Type B free agent Joe Beimel, whom the Rockies have interest in. The blog entry incorrectly states Beimel (and a few other Dodger free agents) to be Type A. Thomas Harding also incorrectly writes that Beimel would have cost the signing team a draft pick had he been offered arbitration. So, the Dodgers not offering arbitration to Beimel really doesn't work in favor of the Rockies or any other team since he was never going to cost a draft pick in the first place.

Larry Walker turned 42 yesterday. Texas Rangers fans think about what they would have lost had Walker not vetoed a trade to there in 2004.

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As Rox Girl mentioned yesterday

this is starting out to be an odd off season. All the free agents are looking for long deals, and big money.

But like looking for any job right now, when they seem to apply, they hear, “Um, we can’t pay that much” or “We’re not hiring anything but entry level”, “I think the Mets are hiring. Have you applied there?” “I know it’s hard to feed your family on $10 Million a year, but it’s all we can pay”

I can here the screams of collusion already. Once CC signs, and maybe K-Rod, I think there will be some movement, but the slow economy, and high salary busts like the Mets, Tigers, and Mariners, and low budget winners like the Marlins, Rays, Twins and 07 Rockies seem to have GM’s rethinking their strategies.

Young and Cheap is in….old and expensive is out this Holiday season.

Thought Clint Hurdle should be fired before it was cool.

by Redhawk on Dec 2, 2008 9:08 AM MST reply actions

Ugh...

At least we got the money for signing Dexter Fowler by unloading Walker’s contract, but we would have had that cash if we traded Walker to Texas as well. Could you imagine an Iannetta, Tulo, Kinsler, Fowler up the middle core? There wouldn’t be much doubting our ability to contend at that point, and as an added bonus, the front office wouldn’t have been quite so hesitant to unload Chris Nelson in a Dan Haren deal last winter. Ah, what might have been… this is why no trade clauses are always a bad deal for teams.

by Rox Girl on Dec 2, 2008 9:34 AM MST reply actions

Rockie Hero or Rockie Goat?

At least the Walker trade (via one of the three no-shows from St. Louis) landed the Rockies Byung-Hyun Kim. And then, extrapolating further, Jorge Julio, who, until the play-in game, was sometimes useful in the ’07 run. So, Walker is a hero for eventually supplying a marginal bullpen arm that pitched well enough at times to earn 16 holds and 5 blown saves with the team.

I’m drooling at the idea of having Kinsler and not having the Barmes-Baker-FA at second base argument. The almost-trade shows O’Dowd has some acumen for acquiring talent, and is even better at giving up on looking for good trades and acquiring junk.

by deacs on Dec 2, 2008 10:20 AM MST up reply actions