Frank Thomas and Other Baseball News

He’s old, his body is incredibly creaky, but… Frank Thomas was one of the ten best hitters in the American League last year. He hit 39 home runs, drove in 119 runs and had an RC/27 of 7.22. If he plays, Thomas will hit. With the new two year contract the Jays have reportedly given him, Thomas will pass 500 home runs in a Blue Jay uniform and he will provide the team with a dominant slugging DH. 23 million is a lot of money for a player with Thomas’ body, but in their division (with the two idiots at the top), the Jays have to take chances. If Thomas gives them 250 games over two years, it will have been the right move.

The Jays still have a huge hole at catcher and shortstop, and they lack depth at the back end of the rotation. They *might* have futures in the league, but Casey Jansen, Shaun Marcum, and Dustin McGowan aren’t going to help the Jays pass the Yanks and Sox. The market has borne out and it seems that the price is only rising for pitching (suddenly, the 55 million 5 year deal for A.J. Burnett doesn’t look so terrible). J.P. Ricciardi is no doubt searching out the bargains where he can although they are proving harder to find as teams desperately search for options. Two names stand out as solid low money, slight risk, bug upside options: Randy Wolff and Vincente Padilla. Wolff is a year removed from Tommy John surgery and should improve upon his numbers of last year. More importantly, he’s very tough on lefties, which plays well for a Jays team which has to pitch against: David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, and Bobby Abreu. Padilla has temperament issues and a known alcohol problem, but despite his demons he had reasonable success pitching in the sandbox that is Ameriquest Park. Giving him a multi year deal would be a mistake, but an incentive laden one year deal could give the Jays a solid fifth pitcher. A rotation of Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, Wolff, and Padilla would certainly be enough to complement the Jays beefy offence.

Finally, there are the Vernon Wells negotiations, which seem to be at the heart of every move the Jays make this offseason. If the writing seems to be on the wall and Ricciardi knows that Wells wont be coming back, do they trade him or do they look to succeed this year and worry about his leaving next offseason? Signing Thomas would seem to be indicative of their intent to compete this year, a decision which certainly includes Wells. Still, the best possibility for filling that hole at short and in the rotation might be finding a new home for Vernon. Anaheim’s Ervin Santana and Brandon Wood seems about right for a three time Gold Glove winning centerfielder with 30 plus home run power.

Around the Horn:

- The 51 million the Sox spent for the negotiating rights to Daisuke Matsusaka seems exorbitant --- and it is --- but the Sox will make most of that money back in merchandising rights alone. Getting a toe hold into the Asian market, both for young Asian players and for the almighty dollar. Signing Matsusaka will still cots the Sox another 50 plus million, but insiders believe that he will come in and be one of the top ten pitchers in baseball, so between the market emergence, getting a toe hold in the burgeoning Asian market, and having a top 10 pitcher, it’s money well spent. After two years of watching their staff fall apart, the Sox go into the 2007 with a starting four of Curt Schilling, Matsusaka, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon the Sox rotation looks Tiger strong. Given that Sox seem to be the leaders in the clubhouse for Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew, they might also be the leaders in the Hot Stove Championship.

- The Cubs spent a lot of money last week ensuring that Lou Piniella would have a veteran infield. Re-signing Aramis Ramirez was the right choice and so was giving Mark DeRosa a three year, 13 million deal. I was wary of any team that spent big on DeRosa after his career year, but 13 million for three years means that even if the utility man/second baseman recedes to his career norms the Cubs haven’t bankrupted themselves.

- Detroit may regret giving away Humberto Sanchez for two years of the petulant Gary Sheffield, but this is one of those proverbial deals which should help both teams. Sheffield gives the Tigers a middle of the order force who understands working the strike zone, and Sanchez gives the Yankees a young pitcher to help replace Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson when they finally kick their feet up.

- There are two reasons I love Cleveland’s acquisition of second baseman Josh Barfield for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and pitcher Andrew Brown. First: it was a great deal, Brown is a low level pitching prospect who might one day provide some innings from the pen, and while Kouzmanoff can hit, he’s blocked in Cleveland by Andy Marte and doesn’t provide the total package of Barfield. Second: the acquisition of the second baseman, means that Cleveland will stay clear of Ronnie Belliard who looked so fat by seasons end, that he was fielding second from ten feet out in right field.

- I was surprised that Kerry Wood re-signed with the Cubs, he’s obviously a guy trying to recapture he’s greatness and going somewhere new, for a fresh start would have seemed the obvious option. Plus, why would the Cubs want to continue the Wood- Mark Prior, “if they’re healthy…” era. They haven’t been healthy since 2003 and surprise, surprise the Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since then.