Rockies sign 3B Joe Crede to a Minor League Deal
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 2:54 PM MST
in Transactions & Rumors
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PrintAs reported by the Rockies' official twitter feed, the Rockies have signed 3B Joe Crede to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, pending a physical.
Crede, 32 (33 for the majority of the 2011 season), last played in the Majors in 2009 with Minnesota, where he posted a .225/.289/.414 batting line. While this isn't that impressive of a showing for Crede, he's never really been known as a strong bat, but rather for his 3B glove, which has been top notch his entire career. In fact, his glove is so strong, that Crede graded out at a 1.8 fWAR level (1.6 rWAR) for the 2009 season despite only playing in 90 games.
After a 1-year absence from baseball, it's questionable whether Crede will be an apt 3B replacement should anything happen to Ian Stewart, if we account for offensive production, but there's very little doubt that defensively, the position will be secure. However, barring the long-awaited breakout of Stewart, should Stewart be taken out of the lineup, Crede wouldn't be that far of a drop, even offensively (assuming he can at least regain his 2009 form). Crede is a career .254/.304/.444 hitter, good for a .320 wOBA and 92 wRC+. Stewart thus far: .245/.332/.451, .337 wOBA, 99 wRC+. Tall order, but it's good to know that Colorado is sitting on some decent depth.
Here are some facts about Joe Crede:
He caught the chicken pox twice. And then doubled Influenza off of 2B.
If you say Joe Crede's name 3 times into a mirror, he'll catch your reflection.
Joe Crede has more range than Montana.
Joe Crede commits so few errors, he once corrected Firefox's Autocorrect.
Joe Crede hit his first World Series home run on the day his daughter was due.
Joe Crede's first World Series home run caused the healthy birth of his daughter.
Joe Crede's first World Series home run caused the healthy birth of 378 other children as well.
Joe Crede steps, plants, throws. I love him for that.
Joe Crede is actually not a gigantic Creed fan. That would just be too easy.
Scott Stapp is a gigantic Joe Crede fan.
Joe Crede is allowed to cut in line at any fast food restaurant in the continental USA. He actually has a license for this.
If anyone freaks out and tries to claim Joe Crede is "all the Rockies are going to add this offseason" then Joe Crede will be really flattered, insulted, and then make an amazing diving stop.
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Do we have a 3B for AAA right now?
I can’t tell from Rockies Roster as there is very little information about the minor league rosters at this point.
You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver
Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine. ~Pat Conroy
JFK
Otherwise his depth wouldn't be bad
You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver
Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine. ~Pat Conroy
JFK
I would have guessed
Darin Holcomb. Haven’t heard much about him lately though. I really like the Crede signing
"Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal.
**What happened?
We had a slight weapons malfunction, but, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine, we're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?
Holcomb was hurt all year, with I believe a back injury
Jack Etkin featured him in his farm report in December, but I still haven’t read it. Certainly not someone to depend on though.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 4:32 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Great article by Etkin..
Eerily, the whole story sounds like shades of Todd Helton. But it shows how great an organization the Rockies are when you read this:
Holcomb has been told by player development director Marc Gustafson that the organization isn’t going to give up on or abandon (him).
@charliedrysdale
As do I, purely for depth
I know his bat ain’t great, but if Ian were to have to be on the 15-day DL, I’d be comfortable batting Crede 7th or 8th in the meantime…
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
I'm sure that would be plan c if Stewart got hurt
Plan A would be sliding Wigginton into the starting lineup, and if not him, Lopez to third and Herrera to second
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 5:34 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
this has to be
only because Crede isn’t on the 40 man roster though, right?
You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver
Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine. ~Pat Conroy
JFK
that is part of it
Though you have to hope the infielder we signed to a multiyear contract is better than the guy on a minor league contract who didn’t play last season.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 7:05 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Nelson can play 3B as well
Ubaldo "Iron Arm" Jimenez
Seth Smith’s beard looks on in anticipation.
Zomtober!!!
by Colsportsfan on Jan 19, 2011 5:46 PM MST up reply actions
Big fan.
I never really got why he signed with the Twins in ’09. They were still in the Metrodome, which, despite all the recent improvements in artificial turf design, could still not have been ideal for someone with a bad back.
I don’t know how much of that power is left, but he flashed a decent bit in ‘08 and ’09, despite missing most of ’07. He’s never had a high BABIP, but in 2009 he was 30 points below his career average. With a normal BABIP, the ’09 slugging would look even better.
Also, he’s walked 8% of the time in the last two seasons he played (a decent jump from his typical 5-6%).
All the minor league info at RR is up to date.
AAA only had six players currently on the roster. Crede at 3B for the Sky Sox could fit.
RockiesRoster.com - Your best source for organizational contract and transactions information.
"The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others." - Socrates
by Greg Stanwood on Jan 19, 2011 11:53 PM MST up reply actions
Up until this point, 3B probably would have been Eric Duncan.
RockiesRoster.com - Your best source for organizational contract and transactions information.
"The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others." - Socrates
by Greg Stanwood on Jan 19, 2011 11:54 PM MST up reply actions
Parkers Decsion
Just heard on Hot Stove that Parke will be in town soon for his physical and to get set to play baseball
Could get interesting ...
If he shows he’s back to 08 form in ST, and/or Nelson explodes and can’t be denied big league time. There are at least two AL teams (Sea and LAA) that are desperate for a young 3B. Maybe KC too. Wonder if we could dangle Stew and fleece them.
by BostonTransplant on Jan 19, 2011 6:02 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Poor Ian Stewart
First Melvin Mora, then Jose Lopez, then Ty Wigginton, now possibly Joe Crede.
Talk about playing for your job as soon as you get out of bed.
Dewey and KBR are just.......too........sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!
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Welcome to Purple Row
I don’t think Stewart has anything to worry about unless he doesn’t perform at all.
You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver
Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine. ~Pat Conroy
JFK
thanks, glad to be here
and chatting among smart baseball fans.
Dewey and KBR are just.......too........sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!
The Wolfpac is looking for new soldiers! Change your logo to the black and red!!!
smart baseball fans and amart baseball fans
!!!
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:00 PM MST up reply actions
We're all amart fans
and damn skippy. Damn skippy all to hell!
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:07 PM MST up reply actions
I don't know if everyone's an amart fan I'm afraid
especially after that gaffe
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 10:12 PM MST up reply actions
What gaffe?
Seriously, I was away busting hump at work all day…
Besides, even Joe Biden has a few fans….
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:13 PM MST up reply actions
Depth is good.
Or so I’ve been led to understand.
Nomadic baseball fan, with no agenda other than observation/conversation/mass confusion/mass consumption.
by victor frankenstein on Jan 19, 2011 10:15 PM MST up reply actions
I think everyone shoud have an Epstein on the back burner
Why not? The Yanks still go this guy on the payroll
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:21 PM MST up reply actions
Of course
He is from Brooklyn
Wyoming baseball --- GO GHOSTS!
by Kris Hansen on Jan 19, 2011 11:51 PM MST up reply actions
Watch Andrew (and Russ off-screen)
act like idiots!
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
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Mora wasn't supposed to challenge Ian
That was because of bad performance by IS and later injury. Crede’s only 33 and we have a ton of infielders. It’s Stewart’s job right now but another blah year and he’ll have no value for us or anyone else’
by BostonTransplant on Jan 19, 2011 7:18 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
You really undervalue Stewart.
His so called blah year was entirely due to the injury. Project his season out to 600 PA’s and he’s pushing 30 HR and 100 RBI. To 500 or so with some platooning and he’s still 20+ HR’s and 80 or so runs batted in with solid defense. That’s got a lot of value to the Rockies or any other team. My only issue with him is that he might be too much of a middle of the pack type of player for the team to afford in free agency, especially if we have another quality 3B prospect pushing him from within.
Do you think Stewart will be sat against lefties from the get go?
I could definitely see Wiggy getting the starts vs lefties to be honest.
Of course, I guess the same scenario can apply to Helton at 1B.
Dewey and KBR are just.......too........sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!
The Wolfpac is looking for new soldiers! Change your logo to the black and red!!!
Yeah, I actually think Wigginton will take more time from Helton, but he will get plenty of time at third as well.
I think Stewart will only get about 525 PA’s if healthy.
I think in the dictionary under "blah"
You’d see “corner infielder entering his prime in a hitters’ park OPS’ing 781”, which he did last year. Yes, he can hit bombs, and he’s a good fielder, so obviously he’s a MLB average guy. But Crede’s career OPS is only 20 points lower, and he’s supposed to be all glove no bat. Stewart can explode, obviously. But he’s running out of chances in the next couple years and I see a lot of deep flaws in his approach that are hard to fix.
by BostonTransplant on Jan 19, 2011 7:44 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Stewart's a career .770 OPS hitter on the road, the Rockies have nobody except Tulo that hits better.
and he hit .802 on the road last season. If the Rockies get rid of one of their two road assets, they are in deep trouble. I don’t think the flaws are so deep for him to be able to hit so well away from Coors so early in his career, something very few Rockies historically have been able to accomplish.
That's pretty good road OPS..
when you consider the AVG OPS of the three parks we play the most in:
SF – .683
SD – .676
LA – .694
@charliedrysdale
I agree
Stewart has not lived up to the hype that had been placed on him but a lot of teams would take a guy that hits .260 with 18 HR and 60 rbi in 2/3rds of a season
Backup For O'Dowd
This cannot be validated at this time, but it appears talks are on to hire Theo Epstein , as a backup to Dan O’dowd if he fails to preform up to the standards of all who are observing him, Rockies ownership, and of course all the knowledgable Rockie fans. Stay tuned more later.
You know by now that Ian's a divisive figure.
As far as I can tell though, a majority of Rockies fans are also Stewart fans, and all of us, even the doubters, want him to hit as well and be as valuable as he’s fully capable of. There are differing levels of confidence in this, you have to expect that until he shuts all the doubters up with his bat. I hope he stays with the Rockies for awhile, like I said above, my only issue right now is how affordable he’s going to be for the team a few years from now. If he’s as good as you think, and as I think he might be, he’s going to be priced out of our range.
So Boston's giving up on Theo Epstein, huh.
That’s interesting.
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 9:17 PM MST up reply actions
Well, they haven't won a World Series in the last three seasons
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:02 PM MST up reply actions
Seriously though, that's a pretty talk claim
I haven’t heard of anything about Epstein being let go by Boston.
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 9:22 PM MST up reply actions
I think he's mocking those that thin,k Stewart should be pushed out
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 9:27 PM MST up reply actions
And this makes all the sense in the world now.
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
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seriously, ban the both of us
buncha friggin n00bs on top here.
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 9:30 PM MST up reply actions
falling into the occasional sar-chasm isn't a bannable offense yet.
I’d figure out a good excuse, though, like maybe not enough hog-sloppin’ to keep you grounded.
no you had me completely buffaloed
I’m with you on the sentiment. I have all the hopes in the world for Ian Stewart, I’m just glad to know that Joe Crede is around as a backup in the event of injury.
by Andrew Martin on Jan 19, 2011 9:42 PM MST up reply actions
Well,
no one should ever read the e-mail conversation Andrew and I had. All serious and stuff.
It’s all good though.
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
it really wasn't that hard to figure out...
I’m thinking A-Mart and Russ need to be taken off MLBTR duty for awhile. They’re way too sensitive to this rumor stuff right now.
Well, we're
still waiting about the lawnmower guy and the move that was supposed to be announced shortly after CarGo’s signing.
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Do we
also have a printing press to counterfeit the $1 trillion we need for that to happen?
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
we have some people working on that.
We’re actually thinking that we’ll just trade Pujols and Campos to the Nuggets for Melo (Campos is the young big man they need, Pujols will clear them some salary cap space when the season’s over) and then flip Melo to the Jets for Mark Sanchez, because we like QB’s.
Eli Manning wasn't available?
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 10:00 PM MST up reply actions
Wonder what Polamalu's UZR would be
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 19, 2011 10:16 PM MST up reply actions
His hair increases his range.
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
it would also cause less drag in denver
"Why are they outlawin' the spit pitch? The curveball is a cheap 'n easy pitch; the spitter aint" Ty Cobb
"When I was pitching 90's in the seventies; I never thought I'd be pitching 70's in the nineties!" Frank Tanana
I know where Greeley is on a map
Clearly, we’re trading Alan Johnson for Albert Pujols (and for Matt Holliday, because our #5 needs a caddie this year).
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:04 PM MST up reply actions
BobtheHomeandGardenCenterLawnmowerManBuilder sez...
We’re trading Russ Oates for Keith Law and we get to even keep Alan Johnson.
Is it ApRil yet?
Any number above zero is way too many days before Pitchers and Catchers Reports
by Mondogarage on Jan 19, 2011 10:12 PM MST up reply actions
hahaha owned
;-)
"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker
yeah because the rest of the thread didn't have me owning up to being owned or nothin
by Andrew Martin on Jan 20, 2011 9:45 AM MST up reply actions
hey, I got here late
cut me some slack
also, you owning up to being owned prompted the comment
hence the wink
"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker
I'll link this again in the Rockpile tomorrow, but in addition to Crede, the Rockies also have signed Dustin Molleken
a former Pirates prospect, and he’ll also be reporting to AAA. There’s going to be a lot of competition at that level for bullpen slots this Spring. We’re going to see a few pitchers that have been in the system awhile cut, I suspect.
Thanks for the tip there.
And yes, the crowding there is uncanny.
RockiesRoster.com - Your best source for organizational contract and transactions information.
"The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others." - Socrates
by Greg Stanwood on Jan 20, 2011 12:00 AM MST up reply actions
I'm really glad that the Rox signed Crede.
He was one of my favorite Sox players, and in fact his jersey from the 05 Series is the only one I own. Although his reputation is as a glove man, he produced some big power numbers toward the end of ‘05 and in ’06. In fact, he produced 4.2 fWAR in 2006. His problem has been with back injuries. If he were 100% healthy, I’d take him over Stewart any day of the week, but I don’t think he’s anything close to what he was before the injuries and surgeries started to pile up. With some decent luck, he could be a good backup though.
Looks good to me
I have nothing against this deal as minor league deals are hardly ever bad ideas. I am a Stewart fan and I await his big breakout year and am even hopeful that with regular playing time he could be a league average or near average defender. That being said if this doesn’t happen its good to know we have an experienced backup who could actually field the position.
Really though, I just wanted to give props to Andrew Martin for those facts about Crede. I chuckled.
i hope this works out for Crede.
I miss him i’m crying over here with Teahen..
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS DON'T ASK ME!!!!!!!!! ONE IN A MILLION!
by pierzynskirules on Jan 20, 2011 5:44 PM MST reply actions
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