SB Nation - Al Reyes

Can Rafael Soriano Top The Greatest Closing Season In Rays History?

Tommy Rancel — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:00:16 -0000

by Gregory Smith - AP

Kind of a loaded question, but we hope so. We can argue about designated roles, and who is really the Rays best relief pitcher, but Rafael Soriano will hold the title. The team, as well as the other relievers, should benefit from that fact. That also means that he'll get a chance to answer the question posed in the title.

Like catcher and right field, the Rays search for a closer more often than not has come up empty handed. While Mariano Rivera has racked up 478 saves since the (Devil) Rays debut in 1998, 39 different Rays' relievers have comprised the franchise's 427 saves. We now turn to Soriano and hope #40 is the charm.

Looking back on Rays closers, the list is a mixed bunch. Ranging from one of the all-time save kings in Troy Percival down to Lance Carter, the list is hardly a picture of relief aces. Since we know a closer shouldn't be limited to, or just measured by, saves, I decided to set the criteria for a closer as such: The reliever must have pitched at least 40 relief innings in a season with a pLI minimum of 1.60. Here is the list:

Year	Player	IP	pLI
2009	J.P Howell	66.2	1.82
2008	Troy Percival	45.2	1.79
2008	Dan Wheeler	66.1	1.72
2007	Al Reyes	60.2	1.66
2005	Danys Baez	72.1	2.16
2004	Danys Baez	68	1.7
2003	Lance Carter	79	1.73
2002	Esteban Yan	69	2.05
2001	Esteban Yan	62.1	1.82
2000	Roberto Hernandez	73.1	1.95
1999	Roberto Hernandez	73.1	2.21
1998	Roberto Hernandez	71.1	1.73

You'll notice that 2006 is missing; that's because there was zero qualified candidates. No reliever with a minimum of 40 innings even topped a 1.2 pLI. Depending on which part of that season you're looking at, the Rays "closer" could've been any one of the following: Tyler Walker, Dan Miceli, Brian Meadows, Seth McClung, or Shawn Camp. Atrocious.

Now that we have our list, here is how those pitchers performed by FIP:

Year	Player	FIP
1999	Roberto Hernandez	2.94
2001	Esteban Yan	3.23
2009	J.P Howell	3.71
2000	Roberto Hernandez	4.13
2005	Danys Baez	4.2
2004	Danys Baez	4.25
1998	Roberto Hernandez	4.44
2008	Dan Wheeler	4.49
2003	Lance Carter	4.69
2002	Esteban Yan	4.7
2007	Al Reyes	4.85
2008	Troy Percival	5.87

Going with this quick and easy method of analysis, Roberto Hernandez's 1999 season is the golden standard for all Rays' relievers. Hernandez not only had the highest pLI in Rays history, but also the lowest FIP for a closer. A quick check of CHONE's historical WAR database says Hernandez was worth 3.1 wins above replacement that season. Nonetheless, the D-Rays finished in last place that season with a record of 69-93.

The surprise on the list has to be Esteban Yan in 2001. More famous for being referenced in the Simpsons than anything on the field, Yan had the second best closing season according to FIP. Despite what some believe, save percentage does not tell you the whole story. 2009's version of J.P. Howell finished third on the FIP list, and had the Iceman not melted late in 2009, he probably would've given Yan and Hernandez a run for their money.

While the older, oft-injured closer approached has worked in short doses, Troy Percival and his predecessor, Al Reyes, are among the worst closing seasons in the franchise's history.

In 2009, Rafael Soriano posted a pLI of 1.66 for the Braves. He finished with 75.2 innings pitched and a fantastic FIP of 2.54. If he can some how duplicate last season's success in 2010, we will witness the greatest closer season in Rays' history. Not to put to much pressure on the man's right arm (it's fragile, after all), if Soriano can give the Rays 65 high leverage innings and maintain an FIP in the 3.5 season, I'll gladly take that.

Tampa Bay Rays Continue To Buck Trends And Set New Ones; Market Exploitation 101

Tommy Rancel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:30 -0000

It is no secret that the Tampa Bay Rays are never going to be major spenders in the free agent market like their AL East Rivals, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Instead, this team is built on, and will continue to be built on, things like: the amateur draft, international signings and development, shrewd free agent signings, and the occasional risky trade. In the Andrew Friedman era we've seen examples of nearly all of these scenarios; the drafting of Evan Longoria, the signing of Akinori Iwamura, the signing of Carlos Pena, and the Delmon Young/Scott Kazmir trades just to name a few.

Much to our collective chagrin, not all of the Rays moves are going to work as planned. For every Pena, there will be a Hee Sop Choi. For every Matt Garza and Ben Zobrist trade there will be deals like the ones involving Dioner Navarro and Edwin Jackson that don't exactly work as hoped. To be successful, the Rays not only need to follow the good process practice, but they must also excel in spotting market inefficiencies and exploiting them fully.

After the 2007 season the Rays made a conscious effort to improve their defense. They sought out cheap and effective defenders (Jason Bartlett, Gabe Gross) and built an American League Championship team around it. Defense has always been an important part of the game, but after seeing the Rays blueprint for success, many other teams went into 2009 looking for that same success.

Teams like the Mariners(trading Yuniesky Betancourt and replacing him with Jack Wilson as well as acquiring Franklin Gutierrez), Rangers (moving Michael Young for Elvis Andrus) and the Tigers (Adam Everett, Gerald Laird) all improved their defense and their win totals. In many ways because of the Rays success defense became the new version of Moneyball. This past off-season, teams shied away from offense only players and looked for a more readily available and cheap asset that can be found in a variety of places. However, defense isn't the only efficiency the Rays have tried to recently exploit.

In 2007, the Rays took a shot on a rehabbing Al Reyes and in return received a solid season from the oft-injured veteran. It was no surprise when Reyes flamed out in 2008, but he gave the Rays more production than any of us could've imagined. Also in 2007, the Rays traded for another oft-injured reliever in Grant Balfour, who had been placed on a few scrap heaps before landing with Tampa Bay. The Rays gambled on Seth McClung's potential in favor of Balfour's. In 2008, Balfour exceeded everyone's expectations and was a top three reliever in the American League; in 2009, he regressed to the top 15 or 20. Of course, there are names like Joe Nelson and Jason Isringhausen that didn't work out as well, however, the process was and still is good. We should all expect the Rays to continue dabbling in the injured reliever market in hopes of finding that next diamond in the rough.

The Rays were used to selecting at the top of the draft before 2009. Under the current regime we've added Evan Longoria, David Price and Tim Beckham at the top of the draft board. However, in 2009 the Rays were faced with a lower draft pick for the first time in franchise history. While it was never publicly acknowledged, the Rays seemed to target "toolsy," but injured players, especially in the beginning of the draft. With their first four picks they selected four injured prep stars. Once again, the plan didn't work perfectly as the projected easy sign, Levon Washington is set to play at a junior college and Kenny Diekroeger stayed committed to Stanford. However, third round selection, Todd Glaesmann, is projected to be an above average center fielder or corner outfielder. Meanwhile fourth round pick, Luke Bailey, may be the most talented catcher in the draft. The Rays will have to wait a bit longer, especially in the case of Bailey, who already faces an uphill battle as a catching prospect, but if all goes well the Rays will have secured a few first round talents without handing out a seven figure bonus to any draft pick.

Yesterday, the Rays may have uncovered another market inefficiency by executing the first "sign and trade" that we've seen in recent baseball history; trading Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates for Jesse Chavez. As far as the trade goes, in a vacuum it's win for the Pirates. They get a three-win second basemen, who is signed for the 2010 season at well below market value. However, when you take the deal in context, Iwamura's days with the Rays were in the single digits no matter how you look at it and they were able to get something with everybody knowing that.

In actuality, it's a win-win for both parties. The Pirates get that three-win second basemen and the Rays are basically getting something for nothing. Once again, Aki is a fine player and worth every penny of the $4.85 million dollar salary, but the Rays have better and cheaper options in Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, Reid Brignac and Willy Aybar, who in total will make less than Iwamura in 2010. In return for a player that had as good of a chance as you or I playing for the Rays in 2010, they get a 26 year-old relief pitcher who projects to be at least an average middle reliever. Jesse Chavez is young, has had major league success and most importantly is cheap and controllable(with options).

I don't expect this sort of deal to become the norm in baseball because the system is not set up for many of these trade opportunities like the NBA. However, the Rays surveyed their limited options, and were able to trade a player who they had no use for and still get a Major League ready chip in return. They also save themselves the money it would've cause to buy out Iwamura's option.

Chavez may turn out to be nothing more than an average reliever and that's alright. He is under team control for five years and could fill a variety of roles for the Rays. If the worst case scenario plays out and Chavez is deemed a "bust," then all the Rays would have lost is time and patience. The deal from a talent prospective isn't extremely impressive, but the Rays finding yet another way to acquire useful talent without using a lot of resources is very.

Washington Nationals: Trade Deadline Roundtable - Joe Beimel, Willie Harris, "Acting" DC GM Mike Rizzo And Stephen Strasburg.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:00:15 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

5 months ago: Washington Nationals relief pitcher Joe Beimel reacts after making a throwing error against the Colorado Rockies to load the bases in the eighth inning of the Rockies' 5-4 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Browse more photos »

(ed. note - "I asked the Federal Baseball.com readers recently, if they'd be interested in participating in a roundtable discussion about what they expected to see happen and what the Washington Nationals should do in these last few days before the July 31, 2009 MLB Trade Deadline. What follows are the transcripts of those discussions, with myself, Ed Chigliak moderating. Now For Part Three...But First, Reintroductions..."):

Ed Chigliak: Quick Roll Call...Nationals' Fan or Old Expos' Fan, I'll Go First??

Ed Chigliak: Old Expos' Fan...

Mezza: Nats fan. Personally, I dont think two kinds of blue 'works' on a uniform.

Doghouse: Nats fan! They got me back into baseball after 15+ years away from the game.

John: I'm a Nats fan. I grew up in the area, and I went to Orioles games on occasion, but they never felt like the home team.

Martins: Nats Fan, love the dynamic of the team this year. They are the last place team that is much better than a last place team!

Graysnail: Old Expos fan who somehow ended up where the Nats are. Not sure how that happened.

Jim: Old Expos fan who longs for the glory days of the early 1990s.

AFTER THE JUMP...

• Ed Chigliak: Joe Beimel? Willie Harris? Are There Any Other Nationals You Think Might Get Dealt? Or Should Get Dealt?

• Ed Chigliak: Do You Expect Mike Rizzo To Be Given The Full-Time GM Job With The Nationals?

• Ed Chigliak: Will The Nationals Be Able To Sign Stephen Strasburg? How Much Will Washington Have To Pay Their 1st Round Pick?

Ed Chigliak: Joe Beimel? Willie Harris? Are There Any Other Nationals You Think Might Get Dealt? Or Should Get Dealt?

Mezza: YES! While Im starting to think that it would be a mistake to trade Beimel or McDougal, I think its possible they could both be moved. I think that if we kept them both, and acquired a good closer in the off season, our horrific bullpen doesnt look anywhere near as bad as at the start of the season. Think Beimel, McDougal, Clippard, Begman...plus closer of note. Not that bad. Add Storen as a learner and its all roses.

On who should be dealt - I think if the organi(z)ation can move Guzman with his $8m contract for next season...they should be considered for the Nobel Prize in Baseball management. Guz is starting to flop and next season we're stuck with a player in serious decline, earning way too much money with poor defense (highest error count on the team).

Doghouse: Much as I like TAWH, he's the epitome of league-average (100 OPS+, even!). Of course, he's league average at almost every position (although I can't seem to find his ERA numbers, and I don't know how well he blocks the plate). That's a "luxury" any contender would value, but which isn't a necessity for a team a bad as the Nats (Manny described Harris as a "luxury" in a press conference at one point, and that's what he is for DC). Guz and AK should get dealt, but no one will want to pay their share of $8M for either one. I'm calling Guz2010 = AK2009. Beimel is likely the only pitcher we can get something for, and I can see him going for a prospect--and he should. It'll return some of the early-season bullpen pain, but with the steadier rotation it's a risk I'd take.

John: Given the chance, I'd clean house. I'd definitely try to trade Joe Beimel and Willie Harris, but beyond that I'd trade MacDougal, Villone (definitely Villone, he's getting old), Belliard and Guzman. Good teams are built around solid pitching, and when the Nationals' starting pitchers have an average age of 24 or so, I don't think there's much reason to have guys too much older than that around. Bring in some younger guys, let them play together and watch the Nats grow as a team. We've got a young leader in Zimmerman, a fantastic young pitcher in Lannan (and the others aren't bad either), and some good prospects in the system. Trade the older guys we have for younger ones, polish them up, and then start bringing in older guys as the Nationals become contenders.

Martins: Well, I definitely agree with the sentiment that Guzman has to go. If there is a team out there who is fooled into thinking that his .300 batting average makes him a good hitter, then let them have him. As far as the bullpen goes, my attitude towards relievers has always been "don't panic, they fluctuate." And I believe this situation is no different. All you have to do is look at Heath Bell, Brad Lidge, Al Reyes, Chris Ray, George Sherrill, Eric Gagne, and Jose Valverde (to name a few) to realize that one inning pitchers ebb and flow. This year the bullpen has been shaky, next year they could be world beaters. It's the nature of the position.

Graysnail: Do you see anyone nailed down in the clubhouse? I don't. Move 'em all. If you have to prioritize, Guzman may get something decent (provided you pay his way, otherwise it's a straight salary dump, which could be useful for reasons stated below), Harris can net something I'd think, Beimel hasn't been infected with the Suck Virus, and maybe someone even wants Belliard. Maybe. Kearns ...I wouldn't mind moving him, but I think that boat's sailed.

Jim: Without question, there should be more moves. Retaining Beimel is far from a certainty, and the club should move him (I'm sure there are offers, and I know the rumor mill's working overtime with him) for prospects. The biggest name that they should (have already) move is Guzman, and they've already missed a couple of opportunities to do so on both sides of Missouri (both the Royals and Cardinals have added shortstops, with the Royals making one of the worst deals the league has seen since..... wait. I still cry every time I think of Omar Minaya running the show in Montreal). I doubt there would be any takers, though he's at least decided to try during deadline week in the hopes that someone will want him.

I don't think Harris is real movable. Maybe some team will want him as a depth pickup, but I can't imagine that the return would warrant dealing him. Kearns is just dead weight that nobody has wanted to take on for over a year. He'll close out the year so that the Nats can buy him out instead of getting stuck paying a larger portion of his option year in 2010. Belliard had value at the beginning of the year, but doesn't anymore. I don't think any team would be willing to give much up for McDougal either. Basically, the Nats should have some luck moving two of Willingham, Dunn, and Johnson (ideally one of the first two and the last one) and Beimel. While I'd like to see more players go, I just don't see the club getting anything more than depth in the low-to-mid minors (in other words, "prospects" who don't really have any future).

Ed Chigliak: Do You Expect Mike Rizzo To Be Given The Full-Time GM Job With The Nationals?

Mezza: I do. And I think if he signs Strasburg... children from our village will sing his name. Consider this: He signed Zimmerman to a long term deal. He stabilized a terrible bullpen. He drafted one of the best pitching prospects of all time. He made a decent draft overall with guys like Storen looking good. He made a good trade for Morgan and Burnett (and fixed a troubled clubhouse). He ALMOST got Teixeira. What exactly do fans want from this man?

Doghouse: Rizzo is doing right by the fans, but what about the Lerners? If he signs Stras and doesn't do anything stupid at the deadline, I think he has the inside track.

John: I think Mike Rizzo should be given the full-time job, but I don't know if that will actually happen. He's put together a solid draft class and signed most of them, made a good trade with the Pirates, and hasn't made any boneheaded moves. The fact that he hasn't been given the position yet says a lot. Rizzo did some great stuff with the Diamondbacks and has proven himself with the Nationals, so I'm not sure what more the powers that be are looking for. Bringing in anyone else would be a mistake -- why give up a known positive for an untested manager? The Nationals would be trading a very positive influence on this team for an unknown, and, as young as the Nationals are, that's a bad move to make.

Martins: I'm really not sure about this one. I think the trade deadline will have a lot to do with this decision. He is being graded on performance right now, in my opinion. Let's see how he does.

Graysnail: The sick cynicist in me wants to say that Rizzo is gone in favor of another retread. The realist in me says that Rizzo probably comes cheaper than most of said retreads, so he stays. Rizzo understands the farm system, which is always a plus. Coming from the Expos, that's the one thing the 'Spos always had (and the one thing Minaya firebombed when he was with the team), so if that returns, great. Either way, I think we'll know more about this come next week.

Jim: I'm not sure how to answer this question at this time. I feel that he has to get something positive done at the deadline and/or I feel he needs to sign Strasburg. By accomplishing either of those feats, I think he both gets (and probably deserves) the full-time job. If he's unable to move anyone from a roster that will top off (four game winning streak = hope!) at 35 wins by the deadline and he fails to sign Strasburg, I see no reason that the "Acting" should be removed from his title. The current grade is incomplete.

• Will The Nationals Be Able To Sign Stephen Strasburg? How Much Will Washington Have To Pay Their 1st Round Pick?

Mezza: I certainly think they are ABLE to sign Stras...but I also think it will come down to how reasonable Stras is about the deal. I dont think Stras wants to not play and lose out on getting some Major League service time. I think the Nats need to sign him. Id expect him to sign...possibly for $25m-$27m. Anymore than $30m and I think we were robbed. Any less and I'll think Rizzo should be in charge of negotiating the next multilateral trade round.

Doghouse: "Yes," and "too much."

John: I am 100% certain the Nationals will sign Strasburg. I think one of the reasons we haven't seen more trading activity from the Nationals is because they need to save every penny to sign Strasburg. Rizzo has handled the situation very well in not venturing out into the media, and the front office has made statements that strongly suggest he'll be signed: "People in the front office, we know what Stephen Strasburg means to our major league ballclub" and "I believe he will soon be wearing a Nationals uniform." The front office is smart, and I don't think they'd be saying these things unless they have every intention of signing him. As for how much, I'd be surprised to see anything less than $20 million, but I'm going to take a stab and say he'll be signed for $22 million.

Martins: I think the absolute lack of pitching on this club has the Nats over a barrel, and they will be forced to pay whatever Strasburg and his agent want. My only fear, as is always my fear with prospects, is that he does not materialize. This would be a huge black eye for the front office, but at this point, I don't know that they have a choice.

Graysnail: See you in 2010.

Okay, fine, I'll actually answer this one. The funny thing with the Strasburg signing is both parties have each other over a barrel. Strasburg can't really play somewhere else for a year; he's not going to shoot himself in the foot by going to Japan, and there are more horror than success stories of guys pitching in the independent leagues. He's not going to pitch somewhere for pennies when he can blow out his arm and be done for it. For every Luke Hochevar, there's a Matt Hutchinson. By the same token, the Nats absolutely can't afford not to sign him. On the heels of failing to sign Aaron Crow last year, the Nats can't pull that stunt again. They'll not only squander the one nice thing you get by fielding a joke of a team, but sending a message that they're not willing to spend to bring in talent. Casual fans won't stick around if that happens. Couple that with the Nats' craptastic pitching staff and there's a painfully obvious need for a player of his caliber.

The Nats set up this draft perfectly to sign Strasburg, too - Storen's a fine piece but senior college reliever = autosign - so failing to pull the trigger will indicate failure across the board. If he signs, it'll be in the $25 million -$30 million range.

Jim: I'm with Doghouse. "Yes" and "Too Much." They don't really have much of a choice in the matter, and have to sign him after having failed to sign Crow last year. Storen was a draft-eligible sophomore who signed pretty cheap (and fast), which should have helped them save a little on the budget. I think that the Nats will get the deal done somewhere around the $25 million range. Anything less than $30 million and they'll probably chalk it up as the cost of doing business. If they sign him for over $30, the best thing would have been to tell him to take a hike and hope to get more money being selected third overall next year.... oh, and warn him that he'd better get his right arm insured at Lloyd's of London.

The End. (ed. note - "Thanks to everyone who participated, and for anyone who might want to next time, I'm hoping to make this sort of discussion a regular feature. Thanks, Ed Chigliak.")

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With Each Team

TheJay — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:48:24 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

A long time ago, in a league 98 miles away, this guy was part of the Brewers' last trade with the Yankees.

Browse more photos »

One of my favorite parts of each year's team media guide is the page listing the Brewers' last trade with all the other major league teams. Maybe it's because it's so esoteric, maybe it's because of all the "some-team-wanted-him?" thoughts it prompts, or maybe it's the idea that for years Brewers and Mariners management had a bitter blood feud getting in the way of amicable trading. I don't know. Either way, let's take a trip down memory lane, transaction-style:

(note: PTBNL below stands for "Player to be Named Later," defined here)

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With...

Arizona Diamondbacks - 11/25/2006
Traded LHP Doug Davis, LHP Dana Eveland, and OF Dave Krynzel for C Johnny Estrada, RHP Claudio Vargas, and RHP Greg Aquino
Atlanta Braves - 12/7/2005
Traded RHP Wes Obermueller for RHP Dan Kolb
Chicago Cubs - 8/31/2004
Traded OF Ben Grieve for LHP Andy Pratt and cash
Cincinnati Reds - 1/14/2000
Traded OF Alex Ochoa for OF Mark Sweeney and a PTBNL (RHP Gene Altman)
Colorado Rockies - 12/13/2004
Traded RHP Marcos Carvajal in exchange for cash
Florida Marlins - 11/25/1996
Traded RHP Eddie Collins for LHP Joel Adamson
Houston Astros - 9/11/2007
Traded RHP Dennis Sarfate for cash
Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/26/2007
Traded OF Brady Clark and cash for RHP Elmer Dessens
New York Mets - 11/20/2007
Traded C Johnny Estrada for RHP Guillermo Mota
Philadelphia Phillies - 7/28/2006
Traded RHP Wilfrido Laureano for 3B David Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates - 12/7/2007
Traded RHP Marino Salas and RHP Kevin Roberts for RHP Salomon Torres
St. Louis Cardinals - 8/22/2003
Traded RHP Mike DeJean for two PTBNL (RHP Mike Crudale and RHP John Novinsky)
San Diego Padres - 7/25/2007
Traded LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Will Inman, and LHP Steve Garrison for RHP Scott Linebrink
San Francisco Giants - 7/20/2008
Traded OF Darren Ford and LHP Steve Hammond for 2B Ray Durham
Washington Nationals - 9/4/2007
Traded a PTBNL (1B Andrew Lefave) for LHP Ray King

The AL teams are after the jump.

Baltimore Orioles - 7/16/1999
Traded a PTBNL (RHP Al Reyes) for RHP Rocky Coppinger
Boston Red Sox - 7/31/1998
Traded IF Eddy Diaz for RHP Joe Hudson
Chicago White Sox - 12/13/2004
Traded OF Scott Podsednik, RHP Luis Vizcaino and a PTBNL (IF Travis Hinton) for LF Carlos Lee
Cleveland Indians - 7/7/2008
Traded OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson, and a PTBNL (OF Michael Brantley) for LHP CC Sabathia
Detroit Tigers - 7/1/2007
Traded RHP Jose Capellan for LHP Chris Cody
Kansas City Royals - 3/27/2007
Traded RHP Ben Hendrickson for a Marxist Empire
LAnaheim Angels - 7/31/2002
Traded OF Alex Ochoa and C Sal Fasano for C Jorge Fabregas and 2 PTBNL (RHP Pedro Liriano and IF John Raburn)
Minnesota Twins - 11/15/2002
Traded RHP Gerry Oakes and RHP Matt Yeatman for RHP Matt Kinney and C Javier Valentin
New York Yankees - 8/23/1996
Traded IF Pat Listach and LHP Graeme Lloyd for OF Gerald Williams and RHP Bob Wickman
Oakland Athletics - 5/23/2007
Traded RHP Alec Zumwalt for cash.
Seattle Mariners - 5/19/2005
Traded C Pat Borders for cash.
Tampa Bay Rays - 4/22/2008
Traded OF Gabe Gross for RHP Josh Butler
Texas Rangers - 7/28/2006
Traded OF Carlos Lee and OF Nelson Cruz for RHP Francisco Cordero, LHP Julian Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, and OF Laynce Nix
Toronto Blue Jays - 1/6/2006
Traded RHP Brian Wolfe for 3B Corey Koskie

This information comes out of the Brewers' 2009 Media Guide. I believe all listed trades include someone on the 40-man roster for one of the teams. Any errors are mine in transcription or not diligently checking MLB's work.

The Brewer Advent Calendar #9: Mark DiFelice

KLSnow — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:00:13 -0000

Behind door #9 we find...Mark DiFelice!

via farm4.static.flickr.com

It took Mark DiFelice 10 minor league seasons and 4 organizations to get there, but he made it to the big leagues in 2008 and put together a nice debut season. DiFelice was shelled in his debut at Fenway (three runs on five hits in one inning), but after that he settled down and posted a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings the rest of the way.

All told, even including the rough outing at Fenway, DiFelice posted an ERA+ of 153 for 2008. Only six players in Brewer history have posted a higher ERA+ in their ML debut season:

Pitcher	Season	IP	ERA	ERA+
Doug Henry	1991	36	1.00	402
Dave Stapleton	1987	14.2	1.84	250
Jose Mercedes	1994	31	2.32	217
Jayson Durocher	2002	48	1.88	217
Jaime Cocanower	1983	30	1.80	208
Al Reyes	1995	33.1	2.43	204
Mark DiFelice	2008	19	2.84	153

Remaining Free Agents of Note

Jesse — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:00:09 -0000

So last night I cursed the Twins by saying they hadn't yet signed a veteran on the backslide of his career. In order to balance that out a bit, here's a brief list of free agents who could still be on Minnesota's radar.

Joe Beimel, RP - He'll be 32 this season, and is a southpaw. The Twins still could decide to add another arm into the bullpen mix before spring training starts, and he's posted ERA's of 2.96, 3.88 and 2.02 over the last three seasons. Looking beyond the ERA doesn't give me much confidence in Beimel's abilities, but I'm not in the front office.

Orlando Cabrera, SS - He turned 34 in November, and while his name is known throughout the league, he doesn't provide anything of value that would make him worth bringing in. The Twins are better off with Nick Punto at shortstop, where both his defense and offense can be on the better side of adequate, and passable for a shortstop, respectively.

Alex Cintron, SS - Cintron is 31 and a switch hitter, and doesn't provide much of anything other than a .277 career batting average. I think this one is pretty unlikely.

Joe Crede, 3B - Crede will also be in his age-31 season in 2009, and will be three years removed from his last full season. The Twins have side-stepped anyone who's tried to gauge their interest to this point, never saying they weren't interested, but still saying that his health was a concern. He'll come affordable at this point, or at least he should, and at his best could provide good defense and some good power from the right side of the plate. But along with those health concerns should come that career .306 OBP. That's just sad.

Juan Cruz, RP - Captain Strikeout is still available, and he'll be 30 this year. He'd be a great set-up man, if the Twins would be willing to shell out.

Elmer Dessens, RP - Please, God, no. But nothing can replace the crafty veteran leadership of soft-tossing right-hander at the ripe old age of 38, can it?

Brendan Donnelly, RP - If he can stay healthy, he profiles as a guy who allows less than a hit per inning. But he'll turn 38 in July, and if the Twins are tepid about Joe Crede, they have to be a little wary of Donnelly.

Eric Gagne, RP - He's just turned 33, and we already know that the Twins have exchanged numbers with him and his agent. While he did make 50 appearances last summer, it was his first full summer since '04. This smacks of the Lightning In A Bottle signing that the team has tried to cash in on over the last number of seasons, and while it's not Tony Batista, it's not as understandable as Rondell White, either. I'd be okay with an invite to spring training.

Mark Grudzielanek, 2B - He'll turn 39 in June, but the man is just a good hitter. He hasn't hit for an average worse than .294 since 2002, and his OBP has been between .331 and .366 in that same period. He'd be a stop-gap, and Alexi Casilla would have to move to shortstop (which I don't see happening unless the Twins make a move for someone like Brian Roberts). Grudz would be a Twins-esque pickup, but honestly I think Minnesota is set with their middle infield.

Orlando Hudson, 2B - Here's a guy I could see the Twins shifting Casilla to shortstop for. Hudson did turn 32 in December, which would scare me away from the type of multi-year contract he's likely seeking, but over the last three seasons he's definitely been a guy who I would happily hit second, right behind Denard Span. Again, the question is whether the Twins would actually dish out for him.

Jason Isringhausen, RP - A 36-year old right-hander, last year he posted an ERA over 3.78 for the first time since 1997. He doesn't allow a lot of hits historically, and the Twins would probably urge him to keep in the strikezone a bit more, but I could see Minnesota taking a gamble here.

Will Ohman, RP - Good strike out rates, and still available? He's 31, left-handed, and might be out of the Twins' price range.

Al Reyes, RP - He turns 39 in April, and does have a history of injuries. But he can strike guys out, and he could come dirt cheap.

Russ Springer, RP - Springer turned 40 in November, and yet he's another pitcher who's had his name come up over the winter. He's notorious for being stingy with base runners, can make a few guys miss, and he throws five pitches. Springer looks like he could actually deliever, at least on first glance.

Money In The Bank Pt.6

Tommy Rancel — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:00:12 -0000

Today, I take a look at the signings/trades of 2008.

A few ground rules here.

To qualify using "worth", The player must have been acquired by Friedman prior or during the 2008 season and must have had at least 50 IP as a starter or 20 IP as a reliever with the team during the year.
Several players were acquired by Friedman, but did not qualify for worth. However, since they received a salary, I included them in the salary portion of the chart. Call them "sunk costs."

2008	SP IP	RP IP	FIP	WAR	Salary	Worth
Jackson	181	2	4.88	1.3	0.4	5.4
Howell	N/A	89.1	3.39	1.7	0.4	7.8
Wheeler	N/A	66.1	4.49	0.2	2.9	1.0
Balfour	N/A	58.1	2.22	3	0.4	12.2
Garza	184.2	N/A	4.14	2.9	0.4	13.2
Miller	N/A	43.1	3.36	0.7	1.6	3
Percival	N/A	45.2	5.87	-0.9	3.9	-4.0
Glover	N/A	34	4.66	0	1.1	0.2
Reyes	N/A	22.2	4.06	0.1	2.3	0.5
Bradford	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	N/A
Dohmann	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.4	N/A
Birkins	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.4	N/A

After a miserable 2007 season, there was no place to go but up in the bullpen and 2008 bullpen aces J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour led the way. Howell successfully made the transition from starter to reliever and was worth 1.7 wins and $7.8 million dollars. Co-Ace in the pen, Grant Balfour, was one of the most valuable relievers in all of baseball. His 2.7 WAR was higher than Francisco Rodriguez, Joakim Soria and on par with Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge. He made only 400k last year, but was worth a whopping $12.2 million. This is why you don't play relievers a lot of money.

In the rotation, the Rays received a huge boost from Matt Garza. Garza, who also made 400k, was worth 2.9 wins and $13.2 million. This was even with some injury problems and bouts of inconsistency. For me, his game 7 performance was worth $13 million alone.

However, it wasn't all golden as the Rays lost money on a few veteran relievers, most namely Troy Percival. Percival, who was hurt for a big chunk of the season, was worth -0.9 wins and reversed his salary($3.9m) in worth with a value of -$4.0 million. The Rays are on the hook for another $4 million in 2009 and it doesn't look promising.

Also costing the Rays money is the trio of Dan Wheeler, Al Reyes and Gary Glover. Reyes and Glover didn't last the season with the Rays, but were paid a combined $3.4 million for a combined 0.1 wins. Dan Wheeler, a hot topic around these parts, was worth 0.2 wins that cost the Rays $2.9 million when he was really worth about $1 million. All in all Friedman got a 2.6:1 worth to salary ratio for his acquisitions in 2008, which is his best to date for pitchers.

Money In the Bank Pt. 5

Tommy Rancel — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:25:02 -0000

Today, I take a look at the signings/trades of 2007.

A few ground rules here.

To qualify using "worth", The player must have been acquired by Friedman prior or during the 2007 season and must have had at least 50 IP as a starter or 20 IP as a reliever with the team during the year.
Several players were acquired by Friedman, but did not qualify for worth. However, since they received a salary, I included them in the salary portion of the chart. Call them "sunk costs."

2007	SP IP	RP IP	FIP	WAR	Salary	Worth
Camp	N/A	39.1	5.29	-0.1	0.4	-0.4
Howell	51		4.77	0.7	0.4	2.8
Jackson	160.2	0.1	4.9	2	0.4	8.1
Seo	50	2	6.07	0.1	1.2	0.4
Glover	N/A	77.1	5.02	0.1	0.6	0.4
Reyes	N/A	60.2	4.85	0.3	0.8	1
Dohmann	N/A	32.2	4.49	0.2	0.4	0.7
Wheeler	N/A	25	4.04	0.5	2.1	1.9
Balfour	N/A	22	3.56	0.3	0.4	1.2
Lugo	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.4	N/A
Witasick	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.5	N/A

This is the fifth part of this series and the worst salary to worth ratio yet(2.1:1 worth to dollar). We all knew the 2007 bullpen was one of the worst historically and this just adds to that fact. If you take away the starting pitchers (Howell, Jackson, Seo) and the late season acquisitions of Wheeler and Balfour, the remaining pitchers combined for 0.5 wins and that doesn't include guys like Brian Stokes or Casey Fossum. The Rays "lost" money on Camp, Seo, Glover and Wheeler. Al Reyes was good, but not nearly as valuable as he was perceived.

The saving grace in all of this was Edwin Jackson, who some how was worth $8.1 million dollars and 2 wins. It's weird, but Jackson was actually worth more in 2007 than in 2008. Also weird, is how Jae Seo with a 6.07 FIP was worth a positive 0.1 win.

The Brewers and the Rule 5 Draft

TheJay — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:15:08 -0000

Since major league clubs finalized their reserve lists (also known as 40-man rosters) on November 20, the Internet has been abuzz with speculation about the Rule 5 draft. This year's Rule 5 draft takes place on December 11 at the end of the annual Winter Meetings. So what exactly is the Rule 5 draft and why are people so excited about it? Perhaps more importantly for us, how have the Brewers participated in it over the years?

The Rule 5 draft is intended to move players who may be blocked on talent-rich clubs to clubs who aren't stocked with as many skilled players. It's not a modern invention--the first Rule 5 draft took place all the way back in 1903. Back then, players were subject to the reserve clause, binding them to their teams for as long as the team saw fit. Without a chance to ever freely move from team to team, players could be blocked by established veterans for years. More important in the eyes of many owners, wealthier teams could stockpile good players and keep them in the minors indefinitely, creating a nearly inexhaustible depth chart of talented players and keeping major league talent from less wealthy teams. To combat this stockpiling, the Rule 5 draft was invented. During the draft, teams could select players left unprotected by other teams in the hopes the players would blossom into quality big leaguers. While the draft was (and is) hit or miss, it contained enough diamonds in the rough to keep teams interested.

To prevent teams from completely raiding each other's systems, however, a couple ground rules were laid down: first, there was a fee charged for each pick. Second, each pick had to remain on the drafting team's major league roster for the entire season after the draft. If the drafting team wanted to send the player they selected to the minors for more seasoning, he first had to be offered back to his original team for the waiver price. Sometimes teams would no longer have room for the drafted player to return and they let his new organization keep him, but these two basic rules kept teams from drafting too many players each season.

Those rules are still in place (with enhancements) today. Each Rule 5 draft pick costs $50,000 and must stay on the big league roster for a full season. Ninety days of that season must be spent on the Active List (i.e., not the disabled/military/etc. list). If the player fails to reach that ninety days in his first season with the club, he must stay on the major league roster during the next season until he reaches ninety days. This prevents stashing a guy on the disabled list all year just to keep him in the system. If the drafting team wants to release their pick or send him to the minors, he must clear waivers and then be offered back to his original team for $25,000. If the player's original team chooses not to reclaim him, his new team can treat him as just another player in their system. What has changed over the years are the eligibility requirements for the draft. To be eligible for the Rule 5 draft today, a player:

Must not be on his organization's 40-man roster
If 19 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, must have spent four seasons in the majors or minors.
If 18 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, must have spent five seasons in the majors or minors.

There are also rules governing which teams can select players in the draft: teams select in reverse order of that season's finish and since a Rule 5 draft pick automatically is added to a team's 40-man roster, the team must have an open roster slot in order to pick. For example, the Rockies had 40 players on their 40-man roster at the time of the 1999 Rule 5 draft, so they couldn't make a selection.

In addition to the major league Rule 5 draft described above, there are two minor league phases of the draft. In the AAA phase, players eligible for for the Rule 5 draft but not on a team's 40-man roster or in AAA can be selected for $12,000. In the AA phase, eligible players from below AA can be selected for $4,000. Selected players do not have to be offered back to their original clubs once picked. Usually players picked in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft are roster filler for minor league affiliates, but occasionally future major leaguers are selected. One example is Giants utilityman Eugenio Velez, plucked from the Blue Jays in the AAA phase of the 2005 draft.

So now that we've hashed out all the specifics of who can pick and be picked in the draft, let's look at how the Brewers have used the Rule 5 draft throughout the years. It's easy to find all the selections during the last decade since they're easily accessible online. Unfortunately, complete drafts from before then are not available online, so finding selections becomes a matter of combing through transactions lists and finding guys who eventually made it to the majors. It's safe to assume there were a number of Brewers Rule 5 draft selections from 1970 to the late 1990's that never made it to the majors and thus aren't on those lists. Thus this isn't a complete list of all Brewers Rule 5 picks but it is, I believe, a complete list of Brewers picks (and players bought immediately from other teams) who at some point played in the majors.

Drafted by Brewers				Drafted From Brewers
Name	Position	Year	Picked From	Name	Position	Year	Picked By
Edward Campusano	LHP	2006	CHC	Callix Crabbe	IF	2007	SDP
Marcos Carvajal	RHP	2004	LAD	Ramon Garcia	RHP	1996	HOU
Jeff Bennett	RHP	2003	PIT	Marc Ronan	C	1995	NYY
Enrique Cruz	SS	2002	NYM	Bobby M. Jones	RHP	1994	COL
Matt Ford	RHP	2002	TOR	Tim Fortugno	LHP	1991	CAL
Jorge Sosa	RHP	2001	SEA	Dwayne Hosey	OF	1991	SDP
Ryan Christenson	OF	2001	ARI	Dave Stapleton	LHP	1988	HOU
Matt Williams	RHP	1999	NYY	Gibson Alba	LHP	1987	STL
Al Reyes	RHP	1994	MON	Bob Gibson	RHP	1986	CHW
Jose Mercedes	RHP	1993	BAL	Jeff Parrett	RHP	1985	MON
Graeme Lloyd	LHP	1992	TOR	Willie Lozado	IF	1984	STL
Rob Lukachyk	OF	1991	CHW	Jesus Vega	1B	1977	MIN
Matias Carrillo	LHP	1987	PIT	Ron Tompkins	RHP	1970	CHC
Vicente Palacios	RHP	1986	PIT
Brian Giles	IF	1984	NYM
Jamie Nelson	C	1983	SEA
Mike Warren	RHP	1981	OAK
Tom Candiotti	RHP	1980	KCR
Mark Brouhard	OF	1979	CAL
Ned Yost	C	1977	NYM
Marshall Edwards	OF	1976	OAK
Jeff Yurak	OF	1976	NYM
Aurelio Monteagudo	RHP	1971	KCR

Players in italics were selected during the minor league portion of the draft.

You might be wondering who Edward Campusano and Marcos Carvajal are. They were picked by the Brewers but immediately sold to Detroit and Colorado, respectively. Similarly, Graeme Lloyd was picked by the Phillies and was promptly traded to the Brewers. Obviously, the Brewers have been more active as "buyers" than "sellers" during the Rule 5 draft when it comes to guys who made the majors, especially recently. That's not a big surprise, as bad teams don't usually have much worth taking from their farm system, unless something goes terribly wrong.

The Brewers have also dabbled in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in the past few years. I could only find full details for those drafts going back to 2002, but here's a quick list of players selected by the Brewers:

Joe Bateman (RHP) in 2007, from San Francisco
Richard Campbell (RHP) in 2007, from Washington
Juan Sandoval (RHP) in 2007, from Seattle
Michael Carlin (1B) in 2006, from Pittsburgh
Steve Bray (RHP) in 2006, from Kansas City
Landon Stockman (RHP) in 2004, from Cleveland
Juan Cerros (RHP) in 2004, from Cincinnati
Ryan Costello (LHP) in 2003, from Toronto
David Manning (RHP) in 2002, from Minnesota

Outside of Bateman, Bray, and maybe Manning, that's a list that makes you say, "who?" See what I meant when I said the minor league portion is used for roster filler? The Brewers didn't lose much in those drafts either: the most notable names are RHP Ben Diggins (2005), LHP John Foster (2003), OF Pete Zoccolillo (2003), and the other RHP Dan Kolb (2004).

So now you know more than you ever thought you would about the Brewers and the Rule 5 draft. Will the Crew pick a player to keep for themselves for the first time in six years? Will anyone from the Brewers system be picked by another team? The answer to both questions is "probably not," but you never know. Anyone the Brewers pick will be able to commiserate with manager Ken Macha, himself a Rule 5 pick in 1978. That player will also join a list that has some surprisingly good names and an awful lot of forgotten ones.

Further Reading on the Rule 5 Draft:
Rule 5 draft information from Baseball America
Hardball Times article about interesting historical Rule 5 picks
Major League Rule 5 draft results back to 1998
A summary of Major League Rule 5
Retrosheet transactions data