SB Nation - Alex Cora

Stop Saying Omar Minaya Only Goes After Latino Players

James Kannengieser — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:14 -0000

The "Omar Minaya only pursues Latino players" topic has appeared again this offseason and the propagators of this myth are out in full force. Perhaps it was brought on by the signings of Alex Cora, Henry Blanco and Elmer Dessens. Maybe embarrassing rubbish like this post is promoting it. Even the mainstream media has been involved, as Bill Madden of the Daily News, ~~deserving~~ winner of this year's J.G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in baseball journalism, wrote the following in a recent column, only to have the word "Latin" later removed:

Mets? Did somebody say the Mets? They won't spend the money for Holliday, Bay or Lackey and apparently, they're only interested in signing low-budget Latin players...

It's sad that this topic still needs to be addressed. Looking at the racial makeup of the Mets 40-man roster, as provided by a comment from Mark last week, the Mets had 15 Latinos out of 39 players, or 38%. About 29% of MLB players are Latino, meaning the Mets have four more Latin American players on their roster than average. Wow, stop the presses! How many Latinos are presently on the World Champion Yankees' roster? Answer: 19 out of 37, good for 51%. This is irrefutable evidence that Brian Cashman only goes after Latino players. Let the Yankee fan outrage begin. Former Mariners GM Bill Bavasi signed Raul Ibanez, Carlos Silva and Adrian Beltre to free agent contracts in his short tenure, and traded for Miguel Olivo and Horacio Ramirez - he too must have only gone after Latinos!

There's more research to be done here I suppose, analyzing the racial breakdown of Mets trades, free agent contracts and the minor leagues under Omar. However, it's not worth mine or anyone's time indulging the uninformed masses who think a general manager would choose 1.5 WAR* Player A over 3.5 WAR Player B because Player A shares the same heritage.

* - If you like, substitute any metric or evaluator you think Omar and co. might use in lieu of WAR. The point remains the same.

Last winter, Omar's Mets were part of a blockbuster three team trade which included Mariners and Indians. In the biggest trade of his reign, at least in terms of player volume, he gave up four Latino players and received (gasp!) three white players in return. It had nothing to do with race. Omar wanted to upgrade the bullpen at seemingly any cost and he got his guy, J.J. Putz. Flawed evaluation of players? Almost certainly. Racial bias motivating a transaction? No, sorry. It's curious how transactions like this are conveniently ignored once the Omar racism watchdogs come out of their holes to spout absurdity. Usually, Oliver Perez, Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez and Luis Castillo are brought up with nary a mention of Tim Redding, Scott Schoeneweis, Darren Oliver or Gary Sheffield.

If you think Omar Minaya only goes after "certain players" it's because you want to believe the poorly performing GM of your favorite baseball team favors one race over another. It's because you want to believe he has some sort of scheme to decrease the number of non-Latinos in baseball, or to increase money paid out to Latinos in this country. Criticizing his moves in the strict baseball context is not enough for you - it has to become personal, an assault on Omar's character. As always, you're free to have these beliefs, but you're flat-out wrong.

Jason Bay Applesauce - Thole Flees Venezuela, Rule 5 Is A Bust, Halladay To The Phillies?

James Kannengieser — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:30:12 -0000

The first Winter Meetings of the Twitter era is now complete - thank goodness.

Meet the Mets

The big news of the day, as first reported by Mike Francesa, was the Mets' offer to Jason Bay in the neighborhood of four years, $65 million. If he accepted it would probably be an overpay but not a terrible contract for a team with the Mets' resources. Anything much higher than the initial offer would be bad news. Matt Holliday is obviously preferable but it would be nice to have a slugging corner outfielder for a change. The nightmare scenario would be paying Bay $16-17 million per season, then watching Holliday sign for $18-19 million. I wonder if people would continue saying the Alex Cora and Henry Blanco signings wouldn't hinder the Mets this offseason?

One bizarre aspect of the Bay offer is the revelation that the Mets think Bay is a better fielder than Holliday. That's almost certainly not true. Bay probably isn't as bad as UZR suggests the last couple seasons but I don't think an argument can be made that he's anything better than below average.

Mets Fever goes into great detail extolling the intangible virtues of Bengie Molina and endorses a two year, $12 million contract. This topic has been beaten into the ground but I say again: Bengie Molina is not worth anything more than a one year deal for very small money. Yes, he caught the 2002 World Champion Angels. That was a long time ago. I think Tim Lincecum would have won the last two Cy Youngs without Bengie. Three measures of catcher defense (Driveline Mechanics, Sean Smith, Baseball Prospectus) all rated Molina as below average in 2009. He's just not very good at anything except swinging at every pitch within a ten foot radius of home plate.

Unsurprisingly, the Mets' Rule 5 Draft activity left many people scratching their heads. Additionally, in a decent move, they signed minor league pitcher Clint Everts.

Joe Janish at Mets Today offers up a recap of the Winter Meetings' last day.

Josh Thole is leaving his Venezuela Winter League team after dominating over the last several weeks. He hopes to compete for a spot on the Opening Day Roster.

Rivers McCown fires up the Manny Ramirez what-if machine.

Around the NL East

Talking Chop reviews the Braves Winter Meetings activity.

FishStripes looks at the Marlins Rule 5 pick.

The Fightins' notes a weird compliment of Placido Polanco by Jim Leyland.

Ken Rosenthal says the Phillies and Angels are the leaders in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes.

Around MLB

The Royals released Mike Jacobs just before the Rule 5 Draft.

The Red Sox agreed to send Mike Lowell to the Rangers, with the Red Sox picking up some of his salary.

MLBTradeRumors provides a massive recap of the Winter Meetings.

Off topic - Jonah Keri writes a thoughtful post about pickup basketball.

Off topic 2 - that bastion of great journalism, the Daily News, produces another nonsensical sports column.

The Mets Sign Henry Blanco

Sam Page — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:31 -0000

So, the Mets signed Hank Blank to a 1-year $1.5 million contract yesterday. The reaction was predictable--déjà vu all over again. And while giving a 38-year-old backup catcher a $1.5MM contract has shades of the Alex Cora deal; remember some key differences between Cora and Blanco that I have outlined in this chart:

Pretty clearly, the Mets are making a conscientious effort to sign their backups earlier this year. Probably realizing their bench depth has lacked in the past few seasons, whoever is running the team has to decided to leverage their financial advantage to handpick their bench players this season. We speculate, as fans, that no other organization could possibly have wanted Alex Cora or Henry Blanco for that much money, which could be true, but maybe beside the point. After I complained last season that the Mets don't pay attention to who they put on their bench, the Mets went out and got one of the better backup catchers in baseball.

But the Cora deal didn't make financial sense! Surprise, the Mets don't evaluate major league talent well, what a revelation. That doesn't change the reality that, instead of signing Cora and Cory Sullivan in late January, the Mets are bidding in late November, early December on players that might not make the major league roster. It's a change, and I think it's a good one, Henry Blanco being the first good thing to come from it.

Whether or not this leads to the team to sign anymore decent bench players, who knows, I don't trust them to do anything right. In theory, however, I like this strategy. Considering how much I've stressed the importance of good bench players, big-market teams would probably do well to spend a few extra million to get the best backups. When we say Player X could be easily replaced by some minor leaguer, and is thus not worth his contract, it's usually because Player X stinks, not because all benches should be built from players in the minor leagues. As evidenced by the past few seasons, the Mets simply don't have the talent to build a bench from the minors.

Who, right now, can step in from the Mets system to replace Blanco's production as the backup? Josh Thole? The team clearly wants him to develop more in AAA, and I don't blame them. Thole's skillset doesn't translate well to backup duties anyway. In a small amount of PA, his BABIP-fueled offense could be very erratic, and he doesn't have the fielding ability to carry a slumping bat off the bench. Omir Santos? No. Omir Santos' career year offensively last year was below the production of the 37-year-old Blanco. Defensively, Blanco is in a whole different universe than Santos. Santos demonstrated good receiving skills, but a pretty weak arm, and erratic plate-blocking ability. Blanco is the whole package. Santos also hit nothing but fastballs last year, which isn't exactly the hardest thing for opposing pitchers to adapt to. Blanco has a more stable offensive skill-set, with his good plate discipline.

Focusing more on Blanco, he should be well worth $1.5MM, even if he only gets ~150 PA. Bill James' system projects a .284 wOBA, and while I usually find James projections too optimistic, that seems reasonable, a .30 point regression from last season. Defensively, he's probably +10-20 run catcher per 150. Last season, using the best catcher defense estimates available, he was about ~2 WAR ($8MM-$10MM value) for the Pads in 232 PA. He's like the Adam Everett of catchers.

I like this deal, and I like Blanco. Really, it's the best value signing the Mets have made in a long time. I understand the feeling that it's just another big contract for an old player, but that's not really the case here. We paid our last backup catcher, Ramon Castro, $2 million, and Blanco is just as good and certainly more durable.

Mets Give Alex Cora Too Much, Cards Buy Low On Ruben Gotay

Satchel Price — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:42:09 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

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Earlier last week, it was reported on Twitter by MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the St. Louis Cardinals signed infielder Ruben Gotay to a minor league contract, and the AP has confirmed that the New York Mets resigned veteran shortstop Alex Cora to a one-year, $2M deal.

On the surface, one would presume that the Mets added the better player, as they spent $2M guaranteed and a 25-man roster spot on Cora, a substantially higher price than what the Cardinals spent to add Gotay. But given their 2009 performance and their placements on the aging curve, it seems quite odd to me that Cora would command so much money.

Cora, who recently turned 34, has bounced around the majors as a back-up for five years now, spending the majority of that time with the Boston Red Sox and the Mets. While Cora has shown the ability to get on base at times, he's posted an OBP over .320 just once in the past five seasons, and finished 2009 with a paltry .251/.320/.310 line. He offers little value in terms of power, his career ISO is just .099, or baserunning, he's just 41 for 61 in 12 partial seasons in the majors, and his career BABIP of .271 reflects the lack of hard contact that he makes. Unless Cora is having one of his uncharacteristically high walk rate seasons (see: 2002, 2004, 2008), he's a major liability offensively. Combine that lack of offensive value with an apparently declining glove (consecutive seasons of below-average UZR numbers, 157 game sample size), and it's difficult to see how Cora commands $2M in this kind of market.

The Cora deal seems pretty disappointing when you see that Omar Vizquel, a substantially better defender and baserunner, took less money to sign in Chicago, and a guy like Ruben Gotay, who's coming off a really impressive season in AAA, can't even command a Major League deal.

Gotay, 27 in December, once regarded as Kansas City's second baseman of the future, failed to get a hold on the starting job with the Royals after posting a .277 wOBA in 317 plate appearances with the team in 2005, and stuck around in AAA before getting a shot with, ironically, the Mets in 2007. Quietly, Gotay posted a solid .295/.351/.421 line (.335 wOBA) in 211 plate appearances, making him a slightly above-average hitter. The Mets were satisfied with Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo as their keystone combo though, so Gotay was let go and consequently picked up by the Atlanta Braves for the 2008 season. He struggled, posting a .299 wOBA while striking out 32% of the time, and failed to get MLB playing time during the 2009 season.

Gotay certainly didn't play his way out of playing time, in spite of his impressive performance he was still behind Stephen Drew, Felipe Lopez, Augie Ojeda and Ryan Roberts on Arizona's depth chart, and the August trade for Tony Abreu essentially assured that Gotay wouldn't have a spot in Arizona. He certainly made the most of his time in AAA though, posting a .272/.429/.450 line in 479 plate appearances, including an eye-raising 21.6% walk rate for the year. While Gotay isn't plus defensively, the ability to work the count and get on base is clearly evident, and he can even offer some gap power from time to time. I wouldn't be surprised if Gotay got some time with St. Louis if the Freese/Ryan/Schumaker infield (non-Pujols division) doesn't work out, although he'd have to compete with Julio Lugo and Tyler Greene.

Although the Cora signing clearly is prioritizing Cora's defense and versatility, it seems to underscore his declining skills in those categories as well as his general lack of value in the other areas of the game. Meanwhile, guys like Gotay, who have shown some upside and could use a legitimate shot at playing time, are stuck to minor league deals with the hopes of having a big Spring Training. It was definitely an odd use of resources by the Mets given their lack of financial flexibility, and an astute one by the Cardinals, finding a potential contributor for practically nothing.

Omar Minaya's eBay Strategy

James Kannengieser — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:14:51 -0000

(click to embiggen)

Alex Cora vs. Brian Schneider

James Kannengieser — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:46:35 -0000

No analysis, no judgment, no nothing. Just a simple poll.

Poll

Which is a wiser transaction? (from the team's perspective)

Mets sign Alex Cora for 1 year, $2M with a $2M 2011 vesting option

266 votes

Phillies sign Brian Schneider for 2 years, $2.75M

241 votes

507 votes | Poll has closed

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:30:24 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Pretty much everyone except Doug Melvin seems to think the Brewers should offer arbitration to Felipe Lopez.

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Some things to read while not getting what you hoped for.

The Brewers have until 11 pm tonight to finalize their plan to offer or decline arbitration to five free agents, and while Tom H. seems to think the Brewers will extend an offer to Felipe Lopez, Adam McCalvy is reporting the team is "leaning against" making the offer to any of the five (FanShot).

All of this is another episode in the "Doug Melvin Moments" series I think most of us are getting increasingly sick of. Doug, we get it. Times are tough for the ever-so-downtrodden small-to-mid market GM with the job many of us would kill for. If the system is really so unbearable, you're welcome to quit and be replaced by someone who will spend more time working with the tools they have and less time bitching about the ones they don't.

Assuming Melvin does eventually get off his soapbox and get back to the task of improving the team, Wisconsin Sports Tap has a guide for prospective new Brewers that can help them avoid becoming the next Jeff Suppan, Bill Hall or Johnny Estrada.

With that said, it might be a while before we have news on Mark Mulder. Roguejim uncovered a story yesterday that sheds some light on Mulder's rehab and situation, and raises the possibility that Mulder will decide not to come back if he's unable to perform at a level he's accustomed to.

We're also probably just about done discussing Kevin Millwood. Rangers beat reporter T.R. Sullivan had this to say about the rumors:

The Rangers wouldn't mind adding pitching but they don't want to subtract it so they are not trying to move Kevin Millwood. Word is the Brewers were interested but Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and Doug Melvin haven't spoke in weeks, That might change at the Winter Meetings but the Rangers still need Millwood's arm far more than they need to move his salary.

Adam McCalvy opened up the mailbag yesterday and answered reader questions on the possibility of a Prince Fielder extension, Dominican prospect Santo Aybar, Lorenzo Cain and Caleb Gindl.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Lisa Winston of MiLB.com has a review of the season for the Brewer minor leagues, and a look at the attempt to build pitching depth in the system.
Project Prospect has Jonathan Lucroy ranked ninth on their list of baseball's top 15 catching prospects. Angel Salome was not ranked.
The Baseball Chronicle has Alcides Escobar as a backup infielder on their 2010 All Prospect Team. Escobar is on the bench behind Rays prospect Reid Brignac and Cubs SS prospect Starlin Castro, who is playing out of position at second base.
Rattler Radio has photos of the construction at Time Warner Field, where they're hard at work adding the new beach seats, boardwalk and bullpens.

Up for some arbitrary list-making today? Miller Park Drunk has a list of the top ten Brewers of the decade. It's worth a click for the picture, if nothing else.

John Axford might have an outside shot at winning a spot in the Brewer bullpen next spring, depending on how rest of the offseason goes. In the meantime, he spent yesterday talking to college students about life in the big leagues and the importance of education.

On the transaction log:

Cardinals: Re-signed catcher Jason LaRue and signed infielder Ruben Gotay to a minor league deal.
Mets: Signed catcher Chris Coste, and re-signed infielder Alex Cora to a one year deal worth $2 million.
Pirates: Signed reliever Wil Ledezma to a minor league deal and released catcher Robinzon Diaz.

Wondering what it might take for the Brewers to acquire Edwin Jackson? Here's a hint: The Mariners reportedly turned down an offer from the Tigers would have sent Jackson to Seattle for pitchers Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley. So apparently the price is pretty high.

If the Brewers are serious about making an effort to sign Justin Duchscherer, they may have competition within the division: MLB Trade Rumors says the Pirates are one of the interested teams.

The Brewers probably won't be players in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but odds are the competition will heat up soon. Halladay has reportedly told the Blue Jays he won't accept any deal after reporting to spring training in February.

With the Winter Meetings coming up, we have more Rule 5 Draft notes: Baseball Time In Arlington has a look at the top ten unprotected pitchers, including former Brewer farmhand Will Inman.

Yesterday I mentioned the voting for the third baseman on the Timber Rattlers' 15th Anniversary team, and left a comment on Rattler Radio asking about the fate of top contender Bo Robinson, who had a few promising seasons in the Mariner organization before dropping off the map in 2002. Within 24 hours the answer was the subject of this week's Mehring Monday. Impressive turnaround time, to be sure.

I'm a few days behind on this one, but I recently discovered Cooperstown Chatter, the MLBlog run by the Baseball Hall of Fame, and this post on Rollie Fingers' 1981 MVP season. It's almost as impressive as Matt Stairs having a street named after him in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

By the way, if you've ever been to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or you haven't but would like to go someday, you can become a fan on Facebook. As an added bonus, Facebook fans get to help in the voting for this year's broadcaster induction.

On this day in 1967, Seattle was awarded an American League expansion franchise. I guess that makes today the Brewers' date of conception?

Happy birthday today to Tom Filer, who posted a 4.32 ERA in 39 appearances as a Brewer during the '88-'90 seasons and turns 53, and to Julio Machado, who spent parts of the 1990 and 1991 seasons as a Brewer before being arrested for murder in Venezuela. He turns 44.

Oh, and I haven't actually watched it yet (no sound on the computer where I write the Mug), but this video has Rammstein and Cookie Monster, so what could possibly go wrong?

Drink up.

The Real Problem With The Alex Cora Deal

Sam Page — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:00:26 -0000

by Kathy Willens - AP

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Well we all knew this was coming; the writing was on the wall, and it read: "ELMER WUZ HERE." Out of resignation for the inevitable, I recounted the positives of Alex Cora--in short, plate discipline and the chance of non-embarrassing fielding. Many people will abuse his UZR/150 stats and refuse to recognize the role injury played in slowing his bat down, which is too bad--there are enough reasons to hate this signing, while giving Alex Cora his meager dues. Basically, he's a decent enough utility middle infielder, who should only start in emergencies, but worth a major league spot on the depth chart. Yes, that player should make league minimum or only slightly more. And while Cora could feasibly be worth $2M next year, he is basically all downside. Still, I said I wouldn't complain if the Mets signed him for $2M. But I didn't say anything about bonuses and vesting options.

Contract incentives are useful in three situations: 1. rewarding a franchise player, 2. enticing a highly sought-after free agent, or 3. mitigating against the risk of an injured player breaking down. Number 1 obviously doesn't apply and no one can possible convince me number 2 is true. Situation #3 works when you have a player like Rich Harden, whose value increases greatly with every 20 innings he gives you. If last season taught us anything, it's that the more we see Alex Cora, the more screwed we are. As an everyday starter last season, Cora was totally exposed, and his performance steadily got worse. The fact that the Mets could even foresee a situation where Alex Cora gets 80-110 starts, proves they are totally incapable of planning for the very real scenario of Jose Reyes' getting injured, and would be perfectly content to forfeit the season.

A 2 million dollar vesting option? Why do the Mets want to be committed to 35-year-old Alex Cora at any price, much less 2-mil? If Alex Cora starts 80+ games in 2010, it means one of two things: 1. Jose Reyes was injured for a prolonged period and the Mets were too incompetent to replace him, or 2. the Mets were too incompetent to sell high on Luis Castillo and he imploded. In either case, prior to 2011, a massive restructuring of the middle infield depth chart would be required, in which Jose Reyes could no longer be considered a starter, or a new secondbaseman would have to be signed. 35-year-old Alex Cora, with a guaranteed roster spot and $2MM salary, would be massive dead weight, and his contract would likely force the Mets to either release him and eat the money or give him partial playing time. Next offseason could be a heck of a mess for the new GM.

The defenders of this deal have harped on two tellingly stupid points: he's a great clubhouse guy and he won't prevent the Mets from signing other free agents. The second statement can easily be refuted by: yes he will! No, Alex Cora will probably not stop the Mets from signing Matt Holliday if they really want him, but if that's your conception of free agency and the Mets budget, then you're worse than Minaya. Three million is three million; or seven comparable players on league minimum; Omar Vizquel and Adam Everett; a handful of intriguing minor league free agents, like Ruben Gotay, a utility infielder better than Alex Cora; or every draft pick the Mets failed to sign last year.

His benefit to the clubhouse is all fine and good, and believe me, I'm the biggest sucker in the world for players who seem to have fun and energize his teammates. No one honestly believes that stuff is the real difference between a good team and a bad, though, do they? The one and only time I watched Mets Weekly (no SNY in TN), I remember the host prodding Cora with a painfully obvious line of questions about his role in the clubhouse, his relationship with Dustin Pedroia, etc.. It seemed as if she hoped Cora would rip the microphone out her hand, make some absurd statements confirming his importance to the team, and in one fell swoop assuage the collective fears of Mets fans whose subconsciouses were bothered by the nagging "maybe he's just bad." Instead, Cora made the truthful reply about how the self-assured Pedroia didn't really want to hear his crap at first, though they eventually formed a bond. Then, maybe a little conscious of what the host's questions insinuated about his skill, frankly said (and I'm not sure this is the exact quote), "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win ballgames." Another winning statement from a winning player! No one saw the irony.

But don't fret, compared to this negotiating gem, I think the worst is yet to come. Alex Cora is a decent enough bench piece caught in the crossfire of a team's continued violation of its fanbase's trust. I'm still waiting for the word on whether the Dessens money is guaranteed; I've got a wicked rant ready for that one.

Mets closing in on Alex Cora

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:14:56 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

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WEEI.com is reporting that the Mets are closing in on a one year deal with shortstop Alex Cora. Amazin' Avenue says he is guaranteed 2 million dollars for 2010, with some sort of vesting option for 2011.

Cora hit .251 in 82 games before being shutdown in mid-August to have surgery to repair two town ligaments in both thumbs. He'll serve as an infield back up for Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes.

Re-Signing Alex Cora

Sam Page — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:46:30 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

4 months ago: New York Mets' Alex Cora, right, follows through on a single as San Diego Padres catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, left, looks on during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Last season, Alex Cora was a replacement level player (literally 0 WAR), but earned $2 million. Many fans, myself included, came to loathe Cora, as he played horribly down the stretch. I didn't want him back at any salary. However, facing the very real possibility that the Mets will resign Cora, maybe for the exact same figure, I've reevaluated his play and slightly changed my position.

As a hitter, Cora looked pretty good at the beginning of the season. Many lauded his ability to work the count, and he did finish the year with a decent 8.4% walk rate. Through May 17, he had a .886 OPS, then missed 2 weeks on the disabled list with a torn thumb ligament on his left hand. Instead of opting for surgery, however, he played through the injury as an everyday shortstop until August 12th, when he tore the ligament in his other thumb. From May 17-August 12, he hit .232/.290/.277. While I'm not suggesting his true talent is an .886 OPS and an injury dragged him all the way down to his final .610 mark, gripping the bat with one working hand probably negatively affected his performance. Going forward, I'd expect last year's performance with a little more power, somewhere in between his 2008 and 2009, ~.300 wOBA. As James texted me at 3 AM, that doesn't really pass the gut check with his career-wOBA being .290. Looking at his component skills, however, I think his BB% rate, which fluctuated a bit during his career as a regular, has made a sustained improvement, typical of a player of his age:

In fact, he might have matched his 2008 rate if he didn't exhibit such an uncharacteristic free-fall toward the end of the season:

via www.fangraphs.com

Again, this kind of improvement is not unusual for a a player of his age and skill set, and all I'm projecting is a repeat of his 2009 BB% with a slight increase in power.

Defensively, UZR rated Cora as below average at both SS and 2B, but we know in such small sample sizes, UZR can be an unreliable indicator of future performance. Jeff Zimmerman's age-adjusted UZR projections project Cora as a -1 UZR/150 defender at both SS and 2B. Given back-up duty, that would make Cora's fielding mostly neutral over the course of the season. As corroboration for that projection, check out Cora's defense according to John Dewan's +/-:

Plus/minus particularly likes his shortstop defense, ranking him as positive last year.

Considering the above, Cora's true talent as a back-up middle infielder is in the 0.5-0.7 range. While there are some utility infielders of arguably equal or better talent that get paid less, I won't complain if the Mets want to pay a slight premium for a player they think has an added intangible value.

Happy Thanksgiving.