Nats - Signed a Bunch to Minor League Contracts
Washington Nationals - Signed C Danny Ardoin, 2B Alejandro Machado, 2B Joey Thurston, SS Josh Wilson, OF Wayne Lydon, OF Darnell McDonald, P Mike Bacsik, P Felix Diaz, P Josh Hall, P Joel Hanrahan, P Colby Lewis, and P Tim Redding.
Ever finish shopping at a store next to a Dollar Store (or similar type of place) with a big wad of cash in your pocket and cannot avoid the temptation to go in and blow it all on mega-savings? Jim Bowden has one of those days every November in which he decides to fill up his entire AAA roster in a single day. Wayne Lydon? Bizarre 3-Liter Bottle of Old Bay Soda? Joey Thurston? AAA Batteries Made in Country That Hasn’t Existed Since 1976? It’s all good!
There are a couple of interesting names here, of course. Joel Hanrahan was once a real prospect. Colby Lewis blew his last chance in Texas by getting injured. Josh Wilson is a better shortstop than either the guy the Nats opened with either of the last 2 years. Darnell McDonald isn’t as bad as Wayne Lydon. Wayne Lydon’s fast. Some meth addicts once thought Tim Redding was good.
No thumbs up or thumbs down for this - it’s just acquiring organizational players. But Bowden gets points in that only Lydon really isn’t good enough to be in Columbus. There are worse 5th outfielders than McDonald out there and worse 5th infielders than Josh Wilson, so given enough time, I’m sure Bowden will find them.
2007 ZiPS Projections
——————————————————————————————-
Player W L G GS IP H ER HR BB SO ERA
——————————————————————————————-
Bacsik 4 10 31 18 126 144 76 24 30 70 5.43
Diaz 7 8 48 22 107 117 63 14 26 88 5.30
Hall 6 11 26 26 157 174 90 23 54 79 5.16
Hanrahan 7 9 26 25 136 133 79 19 78 96 5.23
Lewis 5 8 25 23 150 176 88 25 46 70 5.28
Redding 8 11 26 25 159 168 89 22 56 90 5.04
2007 ZiPS Projections
———————————————————————————————————
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG
———————————————————————————————————
Ardoin 240 35 57 12 0 5 23 25 88 0 .237 .325 .350
Lydon 535 65 125 16 7 4 36 37 128 30 .234 .285 .312
Machado 359 48 86 11 2 3 30 34 45 14 .240 .310 .306
McDonald 414 46 107 25 1 8 34 31 98 10 .251 .308 .374
Thurston 421 47 108 22 5 6 36 28 59 8 .257 .309 .375
Wilson 449 60 109 22 2 9 41 36 97 20 .243 .301 .361
Dan Szymborski
Posted: November 07, 2006 at 06:12 AM |
26 comment(s)
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1. Exploring Leftist Conservatism since 2008 (ark..) Posted: November 07, 2006 at 11:41 AM (#2232860)You're a harsh man, Szymborski.
The park factors for RFK are not extreme after 2005 and 2006.
Incidentally, it appears as if a few of these guys (Redding, Hanrahan, Wilson and Michael Restovich) got spots on the 40 man roster (
milb). DC signed 21 in all, not sure why only a few were mentioned here.
I'm no expert on park factors, but I think a 2005 park factor of .860 (for runs) plus a 2006 park factor of .942 (again, for runs) still makes just about any AAA arm, when stats are adjusted, look ok. (#s are from ESPN's page.)
With teams getting a 4th year (in the new CBA) to develop non 40-man roster talent, I've been guessing that the pool of minor league free agents would shrink. (C. Kahrl had something about this in a recent Trans. Analysis at BP.) Teams will more easily keep fringe AAA talent on the 40-man, instead of regularly jettisoning them to make room for younger players. Is this correct, or am I missing something?
I think much of the problem was with Frank -- it was a manliness issue in that Church doesn't like to play hurt. Maybe with a new manager, if they ever figure that out, he'll get a fresh chance.
By all accounts, the Nats are going to pocket Soriano's salary, and there aren't upper-level prospects to fill in. It's almost Church's job to lose.
Had no idea that Church raked so much last season.
For next year, the OF looks to Kearns in right. And some sort of combo of Church/Logan/Restovich in left and right.
Alex Escobar hit up a storm (but can't play center). He's arb eligible, and I think the Nats are inclined to keep him. He'll be in the mix, too.
He's got a pretty good shot of coming north next year, despite all that.
He beat Durham to death last year. Redding's not a bad gamble; I think he could help someone as a fifth starter, although the Nats, with their weak defense, probably aren't the best fit for him. Hanrahan was showing some signs of coming around last year, too.
-- MWE
I actually wish the Pirates, among other small markets, would do this. Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. It can't be a worse idea than signing well known has beens like Burnitz and Randa. Yeah, I'm bitter. So?
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