Felipe Lopez worth more to the Diamondbacks than Randy Johnson?
by akaespo on Dec 12, 2008 12:16 AM EST
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The Diamondbacks are on a tight budget this off-season and the economy has hurt every team. That has been the mantra of the Arizona Diamondbacks so far this year and a major reasoning for letting Randy Johnson file for free agency.
One problem, according to reports the Diamondbacks new second baseman Felipe Lopez is worth more than Johnson in the Diamondbacks eyes.
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It's a question of priorities, plain and simple.
From a purely dispassionate standpoint, I would fully agree that a decent, MLB average 2nd baseman is more important than a 4/5 starter, (assuming the top 3 are Webb, Haren, Scherzer, with Double D and RJ the last two guys, in some order) and so I can’t fault the FO for that. Even if the 4th or 5th starter IS Randy Johnson, a future HOFer.
What I CAN fault them for is reportedly offering Adam Dunn a contract AFTER turning down RJ for being too expensive, and, when said contract offer was rejected, NOT adding some of that surplus cash to their offer to RJ; this after using the excuse that they “didn’t have the money” to pay Randy. Presumably, they were planning on picking up a free agent 2B anyway, so I have to think that the majority of the money they’re paying Lopez was already in the budget.
With the Scott Schoeneweis trade, however, I’m wondering whether that $2 million could have been added to RJ’s contract offer.
Fire Vinny Cerrato, the raquetball partner.
I agree with the majority of this.
But if the front office’s thinking is that Scherzer is a 3 going into next season, that seems awfully short-minded.
It does sound
right in line with the FO’s expectations for most of our young players though. They weren’t up to the heavy lifting last year, but they’re gonna have to carry even more in 2009.
On a largely unrelated note, I’m gonna have to file “short-minded” away for later use. ’Tis very nice.
"We...probed them all the way through. They're completely meat." — Terry Bisson
Hey, I run the paper.
I’m entitled to fabricate a few words along the way.
Besides, even though we still have Jon Rauch along, our rotation will definitely be shorter next year. And it makes me sad.
How much was 50 percent?
According to the Oakland Tribune, “Johnson is on the open market because Arizona declined his offer to reduce his 2008 salary ($15.1 million) by 50 percent.” It’s the first time I have seen that number in print, and would seem to be confirmation that the real amount he was asking for was nearer $8m, than the $5m many people think. I’d do the deal at $5m, but would have to think very hard about offering him $8m. That would have been the bulk of the money available, and hamstrung the team for making any other moves.
Magruder claims
it was $6.5 mil:
Johnson offered to play for $6.5 million to stay with the D-Backs, but it is not known what the Giants would spend. The Giants only want a one-year deal, which also would the Johnson camp.
Fire Vinny Cerrato, the raquetball partner.
by DbacksSkins on Dec 16, 2008 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
As the team I'm most likely to root for
if the Diamondbacks fall completely into the tank, the Giants are an OK destination for Randy Johnson. I discovered baseball (and it’s amazing friend, baseball on the radio) in the Bay Area, so watching the Giants always gives me a little pang of nostalgia. But I would be sad to see Johnson playing against the D-Backs next year, especially if his departure gets ugly.
"We...probed them all the way through. They're completely meat." — Terry Bisson
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