Around the NL East - Nationals trade for Gio Gonzalez, Jimmy Rollins re-signs with Phils, Mets and Marlins boring yet again

by royhobbs on Dec 24, 2011 10:30 AM EST in Around The NL East

Gio Gonzalez bolsters a Nationals lineup which if healthy, could be surprisingly strong overall. But as far as handling the bat goes, Tommy Hanson might not be the worst hitting pitcher in baseball for much longer.

Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone a Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, or whatever suits your fancy that won't be twisted and misconstrued to be considered offensive. I am looking forward to nothing more than enjoying sleeping in, in my own bed this holiday weekend, and not worrying at all about the rigors of any inconvenient, awkward traveling.

Such sentiment is pretty much the same as it pertains to the news around baseball, namely the beast of the National League East division. The Nationals and Phillies win this week, with the Phillies re-signing Jimmy Rollins' and the Nationals getting their hands on Gio Gonzalez.

But anyway, have safe and happy holidays, I hope those of you celebrating occasions where gifts are exchanged, I hope you get what you wanted. Otherwise, to everyone else, have safe and happy weekends, and then we're a week closer to the end of the year. Welcome back to the basement.

NATIONALS

Nationals acquire LHP Gio Gonzalez from Oakland A's for four minor leaguers - Nats Insider
Three pitchers, and a catcher. RHP Tom Milone, LHPs A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, along with top catching prospect, Derek Norris. Not going to lie, I kinda winced. I still would have tried to unload Jesus Flores over Norris seeing as how the A's got three pitching prospects out of it, but whatever. At first blush, I want to ring the Teixeira bell, but the whole thing becomes a moot point if the Nationals rotation of Strasburg-Zimmermann-Gio-Wang-Lannan stays healthy and keeps making starts, and more or less negates the need for any of these minor league arms.

Mike Cameron joins Nationals on minor-league deal - Nats Insider
Despite the relatively poor numbers throughout the last few years, I kind of like this move for the Nationals. In fact, I'm kind of disappointed the Braves never made a play for the Georgia native to bolster outfield depth, but in that intangible veteran-mentor thing, I think a guy like Mike Cameron brings value by potentially mentoring a fairly green outfield talent like Roger Bernadina, correcting his biggest weaknesses - routes.

Nats ~~closing in on~~ get Mark DeRosa - Nationals Journal
The veteran super utility man is close to becoming a National. Davey Johnson likes him, and he's coming off an injury year, so he might not be expensive.

Boatloads of minor league deals of has-beens - Nats Insider
Among the names are Xavier Paul, Brett Carroll, Chad Tracy and Carlos Maldonado. One name I really hope for is Jeff Fulchino. Brian McCann OWNS this guy (2 videos).

Dmitri Young is ITBSOHL and wants a job for 2012 - The Bog
70 lbs. lost, the old fashioned way - diet and exercise. I saw him playing some Venezuelan winter ball, and sure enough, he's trim, still energetic, and looking driven. But then again, the same could be said in 2007 when he was given a 2/$10M that he flushed away.

PHILLIES

Jimmy Rollins re-signs with Phillies, three years, $33M guaranteed - TGP
Not exactly the five-year deal J-Roll was seeking, but at least it's out of the way. Three years guaranteed at $33M, but a fairly easy to attain vesting option that will trigger a fourth year option which potentially makes the deal 4/$44M. Now this is just me, but I still think J-Roll's been underpaid his whole career now, especially with all that he's accomplished. I'm all for getting him out of the division and all, but I think he could have done considerably better if he waited longer, but whatever.

How patience paid off with Rollins - Phillies Nation
Ruben Amaro seems to jump the gun a lot. He jumped the gun with Papelbon, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and all those contracts are often under scrutiny and criticism. But somewhere down the line he decided to be patient and play some hard ball with the longest-tenured Phillie on the roster, Jimmy Rollins. Although J-Roll might not be happy with it, the stat community and certainly the team are happy with the team-friendly deal that was the end result.

Now shift the focus to Hamels - Phillies Zone
Now that J-Roll's taken care of, the next thing on the agenda should rightfully be, Cole Hamels. He just finished his three-year deal, and is entering his Arb-4 year which will see him rightfully making $14M+. But just how much additional payroll flexibility can the Phillies afford to keep their homegrown ace?

Hunter Pence is ready to go - High Cheese
After sports-hernia surgery, Hunter Pence feels good and thinks he'll be ready to go for 2012. He's entering his Arb-3 season.

Ed Wade returning to the Phillies, into the scouting department - Beerleaguer
We knew it all along! Ed Wade was a Phillies mole his whole time in Houston!1 And now he shows his true colors returning to the Phillies! In terms of your professional wrestling analogy of the week, this is about as impactful as when Crush AKA Brian Adams joined the nWo.

Say it with me now: Small. Sample. Size. - Phillies Nation
It really must be a slow off-season if there are actually posts fantasizing about a season where new LOOGY Dontrelle Willis has better seasons than current Phillie Antonio Bastardo and the greatest left-handed reliever to grace God's green earth in Jonny Venters. Based on a 2011 sample of D-Train's mixed versus lefty splits between the minors and majors, compared to Venters versus ML talent all year long. SSS, and misleading. :( But as long as we're cherry picking, remove Venters' September from the equation, and even God himself is feeling envious of his left arm.

Alpacalypse Now! - TGP
Oh the offseason. Affords such outlets for baseball creativity. I must say to WholeCamels, this was a magnificently amusing read, and I implore you guys to check it out. Also on a side note, this link referred to, it's a great pleasure to see that Billy Wagner's cap, post-retirement is the right one. Hopefully the one he demands to go into the HOF with.

METS

Josh Thole getting a jump on off-season workouts - NY Post
After a season in which he was unsatisfied with his defense, Josh Thole is starting his off-season workouts two weeks earlier. Could he be an ITBSOHL candidate coming soon?

Who should bat leadoff? - Amazin' Avenue
Conventional (read: old fashioned) managing says Andres Torres will bat leadoff. But new-age convention wants OBP and better hitters up front. Seeing Ike Davis and David Wright's names as possible leadoff hitters kind of has me thinking of justin's old beliefs that Adam Dunn should bat leadoff.

No Happy ENDY - NY Daily News
Endy Chavez goes to Baltimore instead. Burn. Someone would rather go to Baltimore than New York.

Film to document Andres Torres' struggles with ADHD - NY Times
We've heard this story before, with Adam LaRoche and Craig Biggio.

After numerous injuries, Mets considering unloading Fernando Martinez - MetsBlog
Once an untouchable prospect, after being marred by injuries over the last few years, the Mets are willing to unload him for the right price. Cue why banking on prospects is never a sure thing.

Mets to cut GCL team starting in 2012 - NY Daily News
I often thought it was redundant that the Mets had essentially three rookie-level clubs, between their GCL squad, the FSL Mets, as well as the SS-A Brooklyn Cyclones teams, and apparently in a cost-cutting measure, the Mets did too.

A list of perks for investing only $20M into the Mets - The Mets Police
Access to Mr. Met, whatever that means specifically. Business cards! One free trip to a road series! All this and more, for only $20,000,000!!!11

Off to a great start - Fish Stripes

"I can't wait to play for, er, with Hanley," Reyes said.

And we can't wait to see, Josey.

Marlins still waiting on acceptance of third-base move from Hanley himself - Miami Herald
A lot of hush-hush, and no actual public acceptance from the incumbent Hanley Ramirez, about having to move to third base.

2012 could be a manufactured run paradise - Sun Sentinel
Hoping to channel 2003, where the combination of Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo ran wild on the opposition, the Miami Marlins are hoping they can recapture that kind of magic with a top tandem of Jose Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio. I just remember the Dodgers trying it with Furcal and Pierre, and it never really working due to constant injuries and Pierre's decline.

Former manager shares thoughts - Fish Bytes
Edwin Rodriguez, former interim skipper, and someone who actually had a rapport with Hanley Ramirez, thinks the Reyes signing was a little "interesting," because as he knows Hanley, he knew it would be an "interesting" situation with him moving to third base, and the predictable resistance there would be with it.

All free agent contracts backloaded - Sun Sentinel
It should be no surprise, but the contracts of all the new guys - Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, and Mark Buerhle are backloaded. In '12, they come out to $22M, but by '14, they're looking at almost twice that. If options trigger, in '15, three guys are eating up $50M combined.

Tweet Comment 11 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

And what has the braves done? Nothing. Merry xmas braves fans!

by Professor1 on Dec 24, 2011 2:46 PM EST via mobile reply actions

I do not understand this sentiment

Let’s say you have a perfectly reliable, fun, practical car. It has decent enough power, is in great condition and gets outstanding fuel economy. But then your friend Marcel goes out and trades in his Cavalier for a Corvette, and then everyone’s talking about how awesome Marcel’s Corvette is. And then your friend Wilson trades in his Rabbit for an Audi, and then everyone’s talking about how awesome Wilson’s Audi and Marcel’s Corvette are. Nelson on the other hand is hamstrung by the high costs of maintenance on his BMW and trades it in for a practical used Honda Civic to keep afloat until he’s financially capable of something better. All while Phillip is content to keep his nose to the sky in his Aston Martin.

Let’s reiterate that your car is still in perfectly good health, gets great mileage, and doesn’t embarrass you on the road. Would you make a reactionary impulse purchase of a Ferrari just so you can keep up with the Joneses? No? So why do you expect the Atlanta Braves to?

I would’ve liked maybe a veteran stopgap shortstop, and Carlos Beltran. But none of those have happened. With the options that are out there, I’d rather the Braves stand pat with their “nothing” and save their assets, rather than make a reactionary overpay-trade to get something mediocre, or overpay a free agent that doesn’t fulfill a need.

The bottom line is that I’d rather not be bitter about all the Braves’ “nothing” moves, than dwell on all the missed opportunities and spout vitriolic rhetoric. The team’s not perfect, but at this current point it’s a lot easier to make the wrong move than trying to force one and making it right.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Dec 24, 2011 4:46 PM EST up reply actions

A veteran stopgap

like Marco Scutaro and a CF prospect would’ve been a successful offseason, IMO. But I think Frank has done as best as he can if we essentially have to “punt” an offseason so we can make fiscally smart moves next offseason then so be it.

"If it's F'd up then it's F'd up" --- Gregg Marshall

by jwrocks on Dec 24, 2011 5:15 PM EST up reply actions

@ Royhobbs

ding ding ding! we have a winner. That’s exactly what people need to realize. The Braves WILL be better next year simply from better seasons out of Heyward, Prado, Uggla, and McCann. Even Pastornicky will be an improvement offensively. It’s not the end of the world guys.

by carloscollazo06 on Dec 24, 2011 9:16 PM EST up reply actions

Plus

a full season with Bourn.

Who is LeBron, and where is Miami?

by Kineticist on Dec 25, 2011 9:00 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

I see no reason to make a trade/FA signing merely to satiate a fan base. Those decisions end up becoming mistakes. This is a good team, and just needs a better effort at getting on base and sustained health for the key players. I’ll say this, though; the NL East right now has the potential to be the best division in all of baseball next year, although the talking heads will continue to make that claim about the AL East.

"Jason Heyward was a Greek philosopher reincarnated as a baseball player." - Don Sutton

by UMDBHIK on Dec 24, 2011 11:00 PM EST up reply actions

It could be about even

If you cast the Phillies as the Yankees, the Marlins as the Red Sox, us as the Rays, the Nationals as th Blue Jays, and the Mets as Baltimore, you have a pretty good comparison. Both divisions have two excellent cost-is-no-object teams, one team that does very well with a limited budget, one up-and-coming team, and one sad sack.

"Some people give their bodies to science. I gave mine to baseball." -- Ron Hunt

by Cornutt on Dec 25, 2011 6:25 PM EST up reply actions

Marcel, Wilson, & Phillip

have a better chance of picking up chicks. :^)

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." Rogers Hornsby

by adc62 on Dec 26, 2011 12:24 PM EST up reply actions

A matter of preference

But I like the talent pool at home more than I do in any of their neighborhoods.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Dec 26, 2011 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

So I have a new roommate

He’s a cool guy, but he’s a die hard Mets fan and he’s really blind to the game. In short, he barely follows baseball.

Anyway, the prick is a borderline gambling addict(he’s well off financially) and last night he bet me $300 that the Mets would finish at .500 or better next season. I don’t gamble much at all, and when I do it’s $5-10 shit. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve already won. He didn’t want to stop there either. He said he’d pay the entire rent for 2 months if Santana or Dickey doesn’t finish in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting.

Anyway, I’m not worried about Gio Gonzalez. He’s got control issues and he benefited from tremendous defense and a spacious park these past couple of years. He’s a solid addition to their rotation, but they gave up a VERY good haul of prospects. His home/away splits for his career aren’t too drastic, but there’s a significant difference in performance.

by Undocorkscrew on Dec 25, 2011 8:36 PM EST reply actions

Can't vouch for the roommate, but I'm less down on Gonzalez than you are

Gonzalez does have control issues that should be some concern to the Nationals, but even if that doesn’t improve he should be about a 3 WAR pitcher for the team, and at 26 he still has room to grow. The other things you list are (IMHO) less valid. If you look at the 2011 A’s defense and Nationals defense, as measured by fielding efficiency (percentage of outs registered on balls in play), the Nationals defense actually rates out ahead of both the ML average and the A’s, who rate just below the ML average.

And when it comes to Gonzalez’s success being a creature of the A’s ballpark, I will point out that from a playing perspective Oakland and Washington play in very similar ballparks. When measured by runs scored DC is 18th at .955 of league average while Oakland is 20th at .947. Or if you prefer Baseball Reference’s multi-year park factor, Oakland plays at 99 for batting (i.e., slightly favors pitchers) while Washington plays at 100 (i.e., neutral). Nor am I concerned about Gonzalez’s home/road splits. First of all, most players play better at home regardless of the home park; I’ve seen nothing to indicate that Gonzalez’s splits are outliers in that regard. In particular, I note that according to Fangraphs Gonzalez’s FIP and xFIP were better on the road than at home for three of the past four seasons.

by d_c_guy on Dec 27, 2011 10:49 AM EST up reply actions