Well the baseball season is over - let's take a look at the teams in baseball, who is becoming a free agent, and what those teams might need to do become a little bit more successful (or remain successful) in 2010.
I will be listing the teams in order of their finish:
New York Yankees
Johnny Damon (36) & Hideki Matsui (36)
There is a big difference between Damon's age of 36 and Matsui's age of 36. As you could see from the 2009 World Series, both were effective, but Game 4 really highlighted Damon's abilities. He is a decent fielder with a terrible arm, a very good hitter, and a very intelligent baserunner. Matsui can't play the field or run the bases. I would expect the Yankees to offer Damon a decent deal and retaining him for 2 years, but Matsui will probably be offered a low-ball one year deal and he'll go to free agency. Damon is represented by Scott Boras, so he won't be cheap, but you can't have two left handed DH types. One stays, not both. Money's on Damon.
Andy Pettitte (38)
I think the likelihood of Andy retiring is higher than him resigning with the Yankees. I expect the Yankees to make Andy another one year offer probably in the range of $6-8M, and I would like Andy to accept. But how great would that be for him personally, go out on a high note. He's no spring chicken, and the Yankees are certainly not guaranteed to win it all again in 2010.
Xavier Nady (31)
Does he fit with the team? The Yankees traded for him over a year ago, and missed him this year, do they take the gamble again?
Keys to Success:
With huge free agency acquisitions last season, the Yankees are guaranteed to have an infield that is more expensive than the Pittsburgh, Florida and San Diego franchises combined for the foreseeable future. The key now is to get younger, and develop their farm talent, while at the same time building a starting rotation that goes beyond the 1-2-3 starters, and making a decision with the Hughes-Chamberlain issue. The bridge to Mariano looked shaky at times in the post season. I think Hughes is a starter, but does that mean Joba is relief? Probably.
Philadelphia Phillies
Cliff Lee (31)
If the Phillies let him go to free agency there will be a lot of teams very interested in acquiring this guy. The Phillies won two games in the World Series, both were decisive wins that Cliff Lee started. I think the Phillies end up resigning Lee to take the helm of the rotation - the question is $$$.
Brett Myers (29)
This guy is really only 29? He has had control issues, and has been moved from the bullpen to the rotation and back again, and has some injuries to deal with. Someone will want this guy, and it wouldn't be terrible for the Phillies if they could resign him, I just don't know where he fits into an organization.
Keys to Success:
The Phillies need to solidify their bullpen and figure out a few more pitchers to fill their rotation. This team was as good as you can be without winning the World Series, and if they did win the World Series, no one would be questioning how they did it. This team can hit and Ryan Howard can keep working on hitting for average, I think the only holes are with the pitching.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Chone Figgins (32)
Chone is this teams spark - they live and die by this guy. When he gets on base, good things happen. In the ALCS, he didn't get on base. I think the Angels need to sign him or the look and shape of their team is altered to something completely different. If they don't sign him, a lot of team out there will look to acquire Chone's services...
Vladimir Guerrero (35)
I don't think any team should spend money on an aging Designated Hitter. It's one thing to move a player into the DH position to preserve his abilities at the plate, but to continue investing on an aging professional hitter, forget about it. Vlad has had some injuries, and had three different stints on the DL this past year. Pass.
John Lackey (31)
Yeah. This guy is good and the Angels really need to re-sign him. He is a work horse, leads their rotation, and hates to come out of games. I would be very surprised if the Angels pass on him.
Keys to Success:
Similar to the Yankees in goals, would be my opinion. Ervin Santana under performed this year AND was injured a good portion of the year. They need a better bullpen, starting pitching, and their hitters need to get younger (lose Vlad).
Los Angeles Dodgers
Manny Ramirez (38)
Manny is likely to accept the player option to return to the Dodgers for the 2010 season. Unfortunately for the Dodger franchise, they appear as though they might be running into financial problems. Beyond the normal ebb and flow of monies, owner Frank McCourt is in the midst of a nasty divorce. The rumors now are that the Dodgers will need to cut cost. If Manny accepts this $20M option, we might see a buyout attempt, or some crazy trades.
Keys to Success:
There are many question marks for the Dodgers as they move forward, luckily coaching is not one of them. It's all personnel. Chad Billingsley looked like a top notch starter early in the year, then imploded. He might be on the move, maybe some others. To be successful this team needs to build around the likes of Matt Kemp, and hopefully Rafael Furcal can get healthy. Joe Torre needs to get a pitching coach that knows what he is doing, because again his bullpen has taken a toll by the end of the season - Jonathan Broxton can be an elite closer but he needs to stay healthy.
Boston Red Sox
Jason Bay (31)
Bay will be pursued by many teams, and will be attracting top dollar. In general, the Red Sox do a great job of evaluating talent and determining their worth, especially since the Epstein-era began. I think Bay is a perfect fit in Boston, but the question remains on what the organization is willing to pay him. This will be interesting to see how it plays out. Beyond Bay, the Red Sox might target a Matt Holliday, especially if they are going to need to spend a large sum of money to acquire either one.
Josh Beckett (29)
The Red Sox need to resign this guy. He is only 29 years old, he is a big game pitcher, has two World Series rings on his fingers (one with the Sox), and he is at the top of the Red Sox rotation. I would guess Josh wants to stay in Boston and they'll make something work before he goes too far into free agency.
Victor Martinez (31)
The Sox traded for him at the deadline in 2009, and I don't think they'll willingly let him go in free agency. He is exactly the player they wanted to have in the middle of their lineup. Will the Red Sox dish the money he wants? Right now there is a $7.7M club option which the Red Sox might exercise to save a little for another year or so.
Jason Varitek (38)
The deadline trade for Victor Martinez did not bod well for Jason Varitek. If I were a betting man I would have said the writing was on the wall back on July 31. I think that would be a mistake for the Sox though. Varitek is their captain (because he wears the "C") and does a hell of a job with the pitching staff. If they lose "Tek" look for a drop in production to come from the pitching staff, especially the back end starters.
Keys to Success:
I'm still shocked they were swept by the Angels. This is definitely one of the better teams in the league, they just didn't play that way all year long. They need to acquire, or make plans for solidifying a permanent and long-term short stop, as well as determine who will be the catcher. Martinez is a catcher by definition, but can he manage the staff all year long while being switched out to DH and play 1B? Middle relief is always an area to improve upon, but the back end of the rotation needs a little help - Dice-K looked like he could use a break.
Minnesota Twins
Keys to Success:
Continue to build around the new M&M boys. This team has a top closer in Joe Nathan, has a high potential starting pitching staff, and has a very good lineup. I think that the recent trade for JJ Hardy will help them in the long run and this team will continue to be competitive. Perhaps they get into the near tier in the coming years. Get Liriano back on track and they have a very good team.
Colorado Rockies
Keys to Success:
This team has some very good young talent in Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez. I think that this team needs to be able to hit consistently and needs to have continued confidence out of the bullpen. Huston Street struggled early in 2009, and settled down, and they managed to win one game against the NL Champion Phillies. This team is good, but can they be great?
St. Louis Cardinals
Rick Ankiel (30)
I say let this guy go. I think he was a product of the steroid era - by taking steriods, I wasn't sure if that was clear. He's thirty years old, and he missed some time this year and was also in a time share in the outfield. Get outta town!
Matt Holliday (30)
I think the best fit for Holliday is St. Louis. He has Scott Boras for his agent, so he'll want top dollar. If St. Louis can afford it, he's the guy they should spend the money on. They also have to think about Pujols in the future, so we'll see what happens. A lot of teams will want Holliday, and his Oakland experiment failed. Is he an NL-only player? I think he just needs a solid team around him. Pujols was the stud, Holliday was the side act. He will be courted by other teams, especially Boston and New York (both the Mets and Yankees) no doubt.
Mark DeRosa (35)
Although he's versatile, he's also 35 years old. I would think the Cardinals would look elsewhere, but DeRosa is supposedly a clubhouse leader - maybe they'll keep him. Whoever gets him, they'll likely overpay.
Keys to Success:
Is Ryan Franklin the long term closer? Can Chris Carpenter stay healthy? The starting rotation (at least the 1-2 punch) can be one of the best in the game with Carpenter and Wainwright, and I like any team with Albert Pujols in the lineup. Minor tweaking and good coaching and this team is a championship worthy team.
Around the League
First Base
Carlos Delgado (38)
Shortstop
Miguel Tejada (36)
Third Base
Adrian Beltre (31)
Outfield
Carl Crawford (28)
Jermaine Dye* (35)
Magglio Ordonez (35)
Brian Giles (39)
Ken Griffey Jr. (40)
Designated Hitters
Jason Giambi (39)
Gary Sheffield (41)
Aubrey Huff (33)
Starting Pitchers
Erik Bedard (31)
Justin Duchscherer (32)
Rich Harden (28)
Tim Hudson (34)
Relief Pitchers
Mike Gonzalez (32)
Kevin Gregg (32)
J.J. Putz (33)
Fernando Rodney (33)
Rafael Soriano (30)
Jose Valverde (32)
Billy Wagner (38)
One thing I notice is that there are a lot of relief pitchers available, and of the ones available there is a good chunk who have had direct impacts to their team in the past year or two. The one I want is Rafael Soriano. He was only a closer this year, and shared time with Mike Gonzalez, proved effective, and could be a great setup man for another team.
Starting pitchers - Rich Harden is a high risk high reward kind of guy because of the injury, but you almost have to emphasize the risk portion because of the 162 game (plus playoff) season.
Designated Hitters - they should all retire, except for Aubrey Huff. Somehow he looks just as old if not older than Giambi and Sheff. He needs to play thirdbase or firstbase.
Outfielders - Carl Crawford has a $10M club option, which will likely be picked up. If the Rays let him go, forget it. They won't be able to compete for 2010. Jermaine Dye and the White Sox parted ways, so we'll see where he goes, but the group is aging...
Infielders - Carlos Delgado should retire, and Adrian Beltre will have to take less money from somewhere else. This was a contract year for him and it just didn't go like the last time. Tejada should retire too. Bam. See you next year.
*NOTE* Some of these players may have player or club options, and they may or may not have been picked up by the time of this posting.
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