Winter Re-Re-Recap

Jason Michael Barker

This week's column brought to you by AT&T, whose marketing people apparently rejected the motto "You'll be on hold for less than nine hours -- or it's free!" The good news about having missed last week, other than the fact that you didn't have to put up with my incessant ramblings, is that we have much to talk about. Without further ado, and in no particular order...

Steve Karsay, Yankees
A year ago, the Yankees wouldn't give reliever Jeff Nelson $12M over three years, so he took slightly less to sign with the Mariners. I don't think this is the reason they lost the World Series, but it was popular this season to say they really missed Nelson setting up Mariano Rivera in 2001. In any event, Karsay is six years younger and has worked more innings over the past three years, and he doesn't have nearly the problems with walks that Nelson does. Karsay, Mike Stanton and Mariano Rivera give New York a trio to finish out games that rivals Seattle's Nelson, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki.

Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals
For the longest time I thought "Izzy" was left-handed... I'm not sure where that came from. Anyway, the A's were wise to let him go (more on that later), while the Cardinals felt they needed a replacement for 35-year old Dave Veres. Veres will almost certainly now be traded to a club that needs a closer (hello, Texas?), but you have to wonder how much they can command for his services when they've now essentially admitted to everyone that they don't think he can close games. Hmm.

Billy Koch, Athletics
The A's didn't waste any time on this one, trading for Koch three days before the ink had dried on their former closer's new contract. Compare: Isringhausen is 29, has saved 76 games over the past three seasons, and is now making somewhere in the neighborhood of $7M a year. Koch is 26, has saved 100 games in the past three seasons, made $733K last year, and isn't a free agent until after the 2004 season. The A's also get a compensatory draft pick for losing Isringhausen. Oakland did give up a pair of prospects -- 3B Eric Hinske and RHP Justin Miller -- but nothing of great consequence, especially if they're able to turn Koch and Jermaine Dye into Gary Sheffield, as has been rumored.

Alex Gonzalez, Cubs
True story: When I heard that the Blue Jays had traded Gonzalez, I thought to myself "good trade!" even before I heard when they had gotten in return. It turns out they got LHP Felix Heredia and player to be named later, but what really matters at this point is unloading Gonzalez, who has three years left on the $20M deal he signed last winter. That's quite a chunk of change for a guy who has never shown the ability to hit major league pitching, don't you think?

Vinny Castilla, Braves
Speaking of guys who can't hit major league pitching... OK, so that isn't quite fair, as Castilla did hit 25 homers last year with the Devil Rays and Astros. At the same time, he's 34 and has never hit well away from Coors Field. What's worse, his signing moves Chipper Jones to the outfield. Now, Jones is a very good hitter and certainly hits enough to play a corner outfield spot, but he's far more valuable at third base, where there are few who hit as well as he does. In the end I don't see how signing Castilla solves Atlanta's offensive woes... particularly if it means B.J. Surhoff moves from the outfield to man first base. Ick!

Robin Ventura, Yankees, and Dave Justice, Mets
At first this looks like a great deal for the Yankees, but upon further review I think it can work out pretty well for the Mets, too, assuming Justice can stay healthy, man the outfield (no designated hitter in the National League, remember) and rebound from a horrible 2001 season. The Yanks, meanwhile, get the one-year stopgap they needed at third while waiting for super prospect Drew Henson. While some would argue that Henson is ready now, I'll counter that by reminding you that the Yankees tend not to rush players, and Henson hit just .222 in 270 AAA at-bats last season with marginal strikezone judgment. He hit very well in the Arizona Fall League, but that's a pretty small sample and the consensus seems to be that the pitching was weak this year. I'm not saying Henson isn't going to be ready in June, or even that he isn't ready now, but I also don't see how starting him in AAA is a bad thing.

John Smoltz, Braves
Look above and you can get a pretty good idea what the going market rate for closers is. Koch commanded two mid-level prospects, and while we don't know exactly what Isringhausen is making, we do know he turned down a four-year, $30M offer from Texas to take less cash in St. Louis. Mariano Rivera, the best in the business, made just over $9M last year, while both Robb Nen and Trevor Hoffman made $6.6M last season. So the Braves gave Smoltz, who is 34, had never been a closer before the end of last season, and is coming off a arm injuries that caused him to miss the entire 2000 season and much of the 2001 season, $30M over three years? If that isn't overpaying, I don't know what is. Essentially, they've paid a closer as if he were a starter, even though they don't think his arm is up to starting again. You figure it out.

Javy Lopez, Braves
Generally players put up big numbers in their free agent year, but that wasn't the case with Lopez, who slumped to his worst season since his rookie year in 1994. Catchers with pop in their bats aren't easy to come by, so I'm surprised he didn't get more attention on the free agent market. Either that or he just wanted to return to Atlanta, who knows. In any event, his one-year, $6M contract is a good deal for the Braves, because they retained his services without sinking too much money into a catcher on the wrong side of 30.

Marty Cordova, Orioles
Leave it to the Orioles to sign Cordova, who rode a hot first half of the season (.338/.379/.535) to a three-year deal worth just over $9M. What isn't often mentioned is that he's already 30, doesn't walk much, hit .260/.316/.474 after the break, and now has just two good seasons under his belt out of the last five. I will say this, however: Cordova will be an improvement over Brady Anderson. And some of you thought I wouldn't have a single nice thing to say about him...

about the author

Jason Michael Barker fancies himself as an improvement over the guys at Baseball Tonight, but we're still running the numbers on that one. Tell him you think there's no way he can dress better than Harold Reynolds when you write him at jmb@strikethree.com.

Web Strikethree.com