OK, I'm back. Sometimes my job interferes with the real world. This will be a little anti-climactic, but the only players we thought fit the bill were Raul Ibanez and Brian Giles.
Ibanez is in the final year of his deal and at 36, might not be in the Mariners' future plans. It's a lost season in the Pacific Northwest, so the Mariners have no reason to hold onto him. That said, Ibanez has been a reliable performer for many years - he's generally good for 20-25 home runs and a line in the range of .285/.350/.460. Plenty of teams would take that for a corner outfielder, so the likelihood of the Mets being outbid for Ibanez seems high.
Giles has a $9 million option for next season that can be bought out for $3 million, so the Padres may be willing to let him go for less in return, just as long as they get out from under that option. Giles is having a bit of the renaissance year, but still hits for power like Luis Castillo on steroids. Oops, probably shouldn't mention "steroids" and "Brian Giles" in the same sentence; someone might ask questions about his home runs from 1999 to 2002.
Giles has mostly been a rightfielder since 2004, so he would be taking Ryan Church's spot if Church's concussion woes linger. Otherwise, I'd have to believe he's adept enough to go play left when Moises Alou isn't available (read: the rest of the season). I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't quite understand Zone Rating and don't know where to find the stat listed, so I can't tell you much about Giles's range in the outfield. Any suggestions where I could go for a primer?
2 comments:
Raul Ibanez is an absolutely horrific outfielder. PASS.
I agree Omar will pick-up an under the radar outfielder not wanting to give up too much....I'd take Holliday, Kearns, Griffey, and Dunn out of the equation...
Ibanez or Giles make sense heres some others...
Darin Erstad would be a nice fit or Jonny Gomes project high ceiling. depending on Castillo - Winn would fill two hole and corner. Strictly Off the bench Matt stairs
Post a Comment