Carlos Lee to the Astros for 6-100

benrb — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 21:35:25 -0000

Another ridiculous contract to a player that certainly will not be worth the money at the end of the deal. Lee reportedly signs with the Astros for 6 years and $100 million.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=26743

I'm glad it's not the Padres paying him 16 million in 2012. This also does mean that the power hitting options for left field are gone from the free agent market. Are the Padres going to be content to start the year with Russell Branyan in left and Todd Walker at second?

Linebrink for Burrell

benrb — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:57:16 -0000

I didn't particularly like the rumor in the previous diary, so I decided, hey, why don't I start one of my own.

Pat Burrell is apparently available cheap from Philly. This year, Burrell hit .258/.388/.502. He has two years left on his contract for something like $28 million, I believe. This is cheaper than Soriano, Burrell is younger than Soriano, and the two years left on his deal ensure we're only paying him while he's in his prime.

Two possible arguments against Burrell:

Burrell hit in a bandbox this year. Ah, but he actually slugged 30 points higher on the road. However, this is still a good concern because over the past three years he has been much better at home.
Burrell is an unclutch bum who can't hit in the clutch hit. The man did hit .222/.376/.346 with runners in scoring position this year. But last year he hit .313/.429/.598 with runners in scoring position, so this is just a sample size issue.

In conclusion, Pat Burrell would be a good acquisition. One possible problem: Burrell would have to waive his no trade clause to come to San Diego.

SB Nation User Blog: benrb

Carlos Lee to the Astros for 6-100

Linebrink for Burrell