Orlando Cabrera $6. Other bids: $1, $1.
There were two high bids for Cabrera, but the bidders got other players, so Cabrera goes to the $6 bidder. Cabrera will play every day for the Giants. In that ballpark and in that division, Cabrera will not be hitting many home runs. He could, however, steal an occasional base and knock in a few runs while not burying you in average.
Rob Johnson $2.
About the most impressive thing I can say about Johnson is that he managed to get on base enough to steal two bases. Pass.
Matt Lindstrom $1.
I would steer clear of Lindstrom at this point. He does not appear to be in a position to get saves, and there are some significant concerns with his numbers. His strikeout rate is way down, his line drive rate is nearly 24%, and his home run rate is abnormally low. There are other relievers with more value.
Chien-Ming Wang $2. Other bids: $1.
Wang had a rough return to the major leagues, but there were some encouraging signs. Wang induced plenty of ground balls, and topped out around 93 mph with his fastball. He is a work in progress (he only threw 61 pitches), but the hope is that he turns into something of value for next year.
Julio Lugo $1. Other bids: $1.
It is a tough proposition when you have to fill slots after trades. Lugo is terrible. Period.
Brad Ziegler $1. Other bids: $1.
Ziegler just came over to the NL via trade (and a pretty good trade for the Athletics, getting Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto). He adds depth to the bullpen, but will likely not see any saves, and probably does not strike out enough guys to be of significance.
Octavio Dotel $1.
Dotel is a very nice pick-up for one of the contenders. His name has not been mentioned much, but he solidifies the Cardinals bullpen which, with Kyle McClellan out of the rotation and with the addition of Marc Rzepczynski, is now one of the deeper bullpens in the league. Watch out though: Dotel’s success this year has been with a diminished fastball and higher contact rate, particularly when facing left-handers.
Aaron Rowand $1.
Rowand is essentially a fourth outfielder at this point with the addition of Carlos Beltran. Somehow, the Giants put together a cast of sub-.700 OPS players and made an outfield of it.
Luis Durango $1.
Durango, picked up on waivers from the Padres, will see time for Houston’s AAA team…oh, wait, that is the Astros “major league squad.” Durango has a little bit of speed, but, unfortunately, you need to get on base to steal a base.
2 comments:
Hey Toz,
I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Ryan Theriot? He was supposed to be a source of 15-20 steals for me, but now he's been caught stealing (5) more often than stealing (4), and Furcal just showed up in town relegating him to a platoon at second. I could use more steals, but steals on the waiver wire are primarily bench guys (i.e., pinch runners). In addition, I've got Todd Frazier from my minor league system that I have to decide either to activate or drop this week. Any thoughts would be most appreciated!
As a general proposition, Theriot is not a very good baseball player. He does not field well, has little power, and does not get on base much. He does have some speed, but that seems to have abandoned him this year. What you describe is what you get...a part-time player at best who cannot run anymore.
You make a good point about the lack of speed on your waiver wire. This is one of the reasons I tend to overvalue speed in my free agent pickup analysis - if you need it, it can sometimes be hard to get. When guys like Paredes (who projects as a bench player but is going to get playing time in the short-term), Cowgill, etc. come up, it is better to be a little aggressive, depending on your situation.
As for Frazier, he seems relegated to a bench role at best. If you can get something of value for him in trade right now, I would try.
As soon as I answer TheBadgerManiac's question about Derrek Lee and Paul Goldschmidt, I may explore Theriot and the speed issue more...it is a good topic at this time of year, when salary caps and FAAB are our premium focus.
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