Kuzul

Bill Ladson of nationals.com reported on Sunday that the Washington Nationals are interested in signing first baseman Derrek Lee.

Oh, please.

If the Nationals indeed were to sign the 34-year-old, it would undo virtually all the goodwill the team received when it signed right-fielder Jayson Werth a week ago. Last Sunday, the team was talking about this being just the first step of “Phase II” of the team’s rebuilding program. No longer would the team rely on scouting and draft picks alone. They were now going after the best players available.

We are waiting, but nothing has happened. And while I understand that Adam LaRoche may receive better offers elsewhere, I can’t believe that Derrek Lee is the next-best player available.

Look, there are just too many reasons to believe the story isn’t true. First, Lee is getting old, and his stats are reflecting that. Over the last 10 seasons, Lee averaged .292/.378/.521 with 31 home runs and 95 RBI.  Last season, Lee split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves and hit .260/.347/.428 with just 19 home runs and 80 runs driven in.

True, a thumb injury slowed him early in the season, but he was mostly healthy when he joined the Braves and his numbers over the last 39 games in Atlanta were only peripherally better.

His clutch-hitting statistics also dropped in 2010. In 2009, Lee batted .320/.424/.600, about as good as it gets. Last season, he hit .283/.411/.552. With the game late or close, he dropped from .302/.381/.512 to .241/.355/.484.

And while he is a former Gold Glove winner, there is no question that his glove, as well as his bat, has seen its best days.

I’m guessing that this “news” is the Nationals trying to pressure Adam LaRoche into signing with the team quickly or risk losing the opportunity altogether. Really, of the suitors sitting in his living room, the Nationals make the most sense. He could be the difference between getting better and getting good next season..

If the Nationals can’t get LaRoche and have to go “outside the box,” they have a better prospect than Lee. Prior to last season, Cantu has averaged .274-21-94 with 41 doubles and a .320 on-base percent. His first-base defense is adequate to slightly above average.

And he could come much cheaper than Derrek Lee, who would be blocking Chris Marrero and Tyler Moore if he signs a two-year deal. And he’s a good clutch hitter, much better that Adam Dunn. With two outs and runners in scoring position, he batted  .280/.358/.453, all great numbers under pressure situations.

Probably the thing that makes the least sense is that Lee is a right-handed batter. If in fact the Nationals were to sign him, they would have a righty batting second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth in the lineup.

That just doesn’t work at the major league level.

He’s old. His numbers are declining. He bats from the right side. And there are other options available.

I just can’t believe that the Nationals are really interested in Derrek Lee.

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The MLB Hot Stove is in full swing, and a number of significant moves have already been made at the Winter Meetings. That said, there will still be plenty more action before the winter is over, as a number of teams still have glaring needs on their roster.

Looking to the National League, the Nationals already made a splash signing Jayson Werth, but who will be the next NL team to pull the trigger on a big signing?

Here is a look at the biggest needs of all 16 NL teams, and who they could sign to fill the needs among the remaining players on the free agent market.  

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Adam Dunn finally got his wish.  When Dunn’s signing with the Chicago White Sox becomes official, he will have the longest contract of his career.  Last time he went through free agency, he could only find a two year deal.  But, thanks to GM Kenny Williams, Dunn has long-term security through 2014.

And Williams will have another albatross contract.

Before the ink is even dry on Dunn’s deal, Williams will be stuck with a contract he can’t move.  Dunn is a great power hitter.  This is not in question.  But Dunn wasn’t even the best left handed power hitter available.  And some of Dunn’s numbers are cause for long-term concern.

In 2010, Dunn hit .280 against right handed pitching.  But he only hit .199 versus lefties.  His numbers from 2007-2009 vs. LHP: .268/.195/.238.  Dunn isn’t a complete player, and yet he’s going to be banking the highest number of any designated hitter.

Another cause for concern is after six straight seasons of 100 or more walks, Dunn’s free bags fell to 77 in 2010, and his on-base percentage dropped nearly 50 points from 2009 to 2010.  His strike outs also increased to 199, up from 177 in 2009 and 164 in 2008.

That being said, here are five players who will provide better bang for the buck of their future 2011 teams.

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It’s no surprise that the Chicago Cubs are looking for an everyday starter at 1st base, especially after they lost Derrek Lee in a trade.

They also lost Micah Hoffpauir after he signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Hoffpauir was the front runner for the starting job.

But also adding to this, the Cubs have not won a World Series in over 100 years, making them more desperate to acquire a dependable bat.

There are many candidates for the job, with a good free agent market at 1st base this offseason. But here are the closest possibilities.

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Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning the World Series, but that was last season. The offseason has begun and the trade rumors and free agency questions are flying all over the place.

This year, there will be plenty of money to throw around. With so many disappointing seasons from big-market teams such as the Boston Red Sox, New  York Mets and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, teams will be throwing large sums of cash at both worthy, talented players and overrated bums.

Every team dreams of the free-agent acquisition that will put them over the top. For 22 teams every year that don’t make the playoffs, those players just don’t work out. Whether $100 million gets you your ace in Johan Santana or a guy who is left off the playoff roster in Barry Zito, is just one of the factors that makes baseball so interesting.

Here are the top 10 free agents and their possible destinations:

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2010 was a moderate success for the Atlanta Braves. However, with retirement, free agency and trades, there’s always the question of who will or will not be back playing for Atlanta in 2011.

We’ll take a look at free agents, potential retirees and trade bait.

We expect that core players like Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Brian McCann, Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones will be back because there’s no logical reason why they wouldn’t be.

The bullpen was very solid, but it’s not out of the question to see one or more of them packaged in a deal for an outfielder. This means that Craig Kimbrel, Mike Dunn, Jonny Venters, Peter Moylan and Eric O’Flaherty should expect to be back. 

Backup catcher David Ross signed an extension mid-season for a reason.

Up-and-comers like Kris Medlen (after he returns from Tommy John surgery), Mike Minor, Brandon Beachy and Freddie Freeman may or may not spend the entire 2011 season in the majors with Atlanta, but if not they’ll be between the big club and Gwinnett, unless packaged in a deal for another outfield bat.

So, who does that leave. . .

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The big story of this Yankee season has been the starting pitching, so it is no coincidence that this list has only four batters included.

The Yankees have had disastrous seasons for how much they are paying both AJ Burnett and Javier Vazquez.

So it is without question that the Yankees need to address the top five arms on the squad and shore up their rotation when it comes time to make their offers to free agents this winter.

Without further ado, here are the 10 players that New York should take a run at this winter.

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The Atlanta Braves got on the board early last night, but a two-run fifth inning for the Philadelphia Phillies sunk the Braves, with the Braves losing 3-1.

Brandon Beachy, who made his major league debut last night, had a decent game, striking out one, walking three, and giving up three runs, only one earned.  He performed decently against one of the best offensive teams in the league. 

In fact, Bobby Cox said that he was the best option given the short notice.  When asked if Kenshin Kawakami could have filled that spot, Cox replied by saying, “Kawakami hasn’t pitched in a long time.  This kid is better prepared than he would be going out there right now.”

What sunk the Braves was a costly fielding error on a slicing liner off the bat of Shane Victorino.  That led to a two-run fifth that cost the Braves the game and, possibly, the National League East title.  With the Atlanta Braves now trailing by four games, they would need to take the next two games from the Phillies and play above .500 ball while the Phillies would need to have a serious downturn. 

I have two things to note here.  First, I believe they have finally given up on Kenshin Kawakami, as they should have awhile ago.  Kawakami isn’t worth his weight in wonton.  He has simply been ineffective, has only won one game, and, when he started against the Marlins in a test of his capability, he failed.  Miserably.  Kawakami is running this team’s budget up for nothing.  I would rather him just be hurt.  We would save money that way.

Secondly, I don’t think the Braves care enough.  They haven’t shown me that they want it that bad.  Either that, or they are trying too hard.  Hitters aren’t being patient at the plate, pitchers are getting too comfortable with the strike zone, and our rotation is starting to lose its ability to get the job done. 

Jurrjens is a good pitcher, but, as of yet, he hasn’t shown me the ability to last a full season.  Losing Kris Medlen seriously hurt this team, but Mike Minor has stepped up and shown his talent.  He had a similar game to Beachy in his debut, but dazzled with 12 strikeouts in his next start.  I think Beachy will be a good replacement if Jurrjens will be out longer. 

I hope this team wants it as much as its fans do.  As a Braves fan, I am fairly confident in saying that I speak for the majority of the Braves’ fan base in saying this: we want to see Bobby go out with a ring.  We have held Bobby Cox in such high esteem all these years and he has become family, in a way.  Seeing Bobby retire without a ring would seem disrespectful to the legacy of one of the bets managers in Major League history.

In any event, the Braves need to seriously step it up.  There is much to do and little time.  I hope to see the Braves atop the NL East when the final bell tolls.  If not, they have a man’s legacy to answer to.

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Whether you believe that Prince Fielder will be with the Milwaukee Brewers when the 2011 regular season begins or not, there is one seemingly inevitable truth that is staring the collective known as Brewer Nation in the face…

Prince Fielder will not be a Milwaukee Brewer forever.

This is a certainty. There is no getting around it. There is no point in trying to figure out a way that it might not happen. It’s an effort in futility.

Perhaps you’d like to argue about the money coming off of the payroll after this season. Maybe a look into the pre-arbitration salary situations of some of the younger players on this team complete with a fiscal breakdown of how to fit a mammoth salary into a mid-market-sized budget would make you happy.

Again, the fact must be stated that it simply does not make a bit of a difference. Prince Fielder is leaving the Cream City sooner or later.

So with that non-question put to bed, we can move on to more pressing matters. We need to figure out who can replace Fielder at first base for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The following slides will each name a potential replacement and will breakdown why they could work out and also why they might not.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions on the men I named and anybody that you feel I left out.

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There has been a lot of traffic over the question of what exactly the Cubs are going to do at the first base position since Derrek Lee left the team.  There has been a lot of fanfare regarding Tyler Colvin’s move to first, but Mike Quade seems to have squelched that idea. So what are the Cubs to do? Well there are many options, some more possible than others.

Sign a Free Agent

This appears to be, by far, the laziest of any possible solutions. I mean it’s easy, right? Let’s just throw some money at the problem, and bring in a proven bat that would be sure to duplicate his typical numbers.

Well, first off, the Cubs have been weighed down by several albatross contracts as it is, and adding another would seem to be counterproductive. The only upside of going after a proven commodity would be that they would not have to surrender a first-round draft pick in exchange for signing a Type-A free agent.

But who would they pursue?

Adam Dunn (30 years old) has been a popular name tossed around. His left-handed power presence would add some punch to a soft-hitting Cubs line-up. Forget about the strike-outs, Dunn can rake. He hasn’t hit below 25 home runs since 2001, and he makes up his far below-average contact percent with a consistently patient approach.

While Dunn is far above-average with the stick, he is flat out dreadful with the glove. There is no position you can put Dunn where he can be league-average. Nowhere. While Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) has been kind to him this year at first, he is a career -15.7 fielder there. 

Simply put, he is a DH bat, relegated to the American League, and the Cubs should not be tempted by his bat. Think about the effects that his poor glove would be on the rest of the infield. Starlin Castro, who already has throwing issues, would surely suffer. Aramis Ramirez had a erratic throwing arm, until he came to the Cubs with Derrek Lee on first; do you think that just went away?

Similar issues exist with the other free-agent first basemen. Paul Konerko is a good enough overall player, but why sign a 34 year-old first baseman when your team is three years away from competing?  Carlos Pena offers a power left-handed bat with a good glove, but again, he will be 33 next season.

All options require a lot of money, and probably a minimum of a three year contract.

Trade For an Established Player

Trading for a very good option at first would require sending a lot of prospects to land a piece you can truly build around.

Any trade involving a name such as Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, or Joey Votto would begin with Starlin Castro and Brett Jackson, and probably include Andrew Cashner or Josh Vitters. Other options to go alongside Castro in a trade would be Randy Wells, Jay Jackson, or Tyler Colvin, among others.

Those three are superstars within their own right, and would certainly provide a high amount of value to the position, but in a time where the Cubs have more holes than just first base, one of the easier positions to fill on a team, it doesn’t make any sense to drain a farm system to add one player in the current state of the franchise.

Look For the Solution From Within The Organization

As mentioned above, many fans are fond of the idea of Colvin playing first, and why not? Well, contrary to popular opinion, he may not have the bat for the job. Sure, he has hit for power this year, but it remains to be seen if he is just a flash in the pan, as he never had the minor league track record that reflected his major league production.

Why not move Aramis Ramirez across the diamond? While he has lost his quick step over the years, but he definitely has the quickness and glove to be at least an above-average defender at first. He also has a proven bat, and will be in a contract season next year.

If Ramirez moves over, 3B prospect Marquez Smith has shown he can be a decent enough major leaguer. Smith has been a monster in 240 at-bats in Peoria, hitting for a .417 wOBA. Peoria is not the best place to gauge major-league talent though; just ask Micah Hoffpauir.

If Smith figures to fill in at third for the year, that will give Josh Vitters a chance to have a full season of Double-A ball under his belt, clearing the way for a 2012 debut if he performs well.

2012 is (coincidentally) the same season that Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder (along with Aramis Ramirez) become free agents, if they do not get traded and/or sign extensions with their teams. 

With Ramirez’s money coming off the books, they could sign one of those two. This is very speculative, and probably not going to happen, but it happened with Soriano that way, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. In this scenario, however, you wouldn’t have to drop the truckload of prospects you would have to in a trade.

It’s Now, Or Never For Jim Henry

This will be the definitive offseason for Cubs GM Jim Hendry, as this stands as the biggest immediate concern for the Cubs. The first base situation isn’t like the second base one, where you can simply wait for something to happen. Hendry needs a plan for what he is going to do immediately at both corner infield positions, as Ramirez is clearly on his way out.

Cubs fans, and the new ownership will not put up with the solution of just pumping money into the position, as we have learned from our trials and tribulations of Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and even Kosuke Fukudome.

Hendry needs a well-developed solution to the future of first base, or it could set the Cubs back even further.

It seems that the hole Derrek Lee left is bigger than we initially realized.

This article was also featured on TheUnfortunateCubsFan.com

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