Another one bites the dust… Kennedy’s (and the others) price may be going up. Loretta, Kennedy, and DeRosa remain the best options.
[EDIT] – DeRosa to the Cubs? 3 years/ 13 million is the offer. Overpaid? Yes. The Cards are running out of options quickly.
Ronnie Belliard – He was primarily brought over to provide offense and stability at second base. His defense was perhaps the most valuable contribution as he saved multiple runs in the post-season. Most signs point to him returning to Cleveland next season. With the acquisition of Barfield, Cleveland doesn’t need him anymore. He hit .272 and made $4,000,000 in ‘06. He’ll take at least that in ‘07 and I’m not sure he’s a good fit in the Cards’ lineup offensively. We can hide Molina, but if Belliard hits like he did after the trade, the offense will suffer and two black holes at the bottom of the lineup are hard to overcome.
Miguel Cairo- The former Cardinal had an OPS of just .600 in 222 ABs for the Yankees. He’s primarily a back-up now.
Mark DeRosa- An intriguing possibility out of Texas, as Mark hit .296 with 13 HRs and 40 doubles. He played 6 different positions this year, so he’d fit right in on a TLR team. Reported to be signing with the Cubs.
Ray Durham – Slugged way over his head this year (almost 100 points over his career average) and made $7,000,000. He will be priced out of the Cards’ range.
Chris Gomez- a useful bench player (can play all the infield positions) and he hit .341 in a limited role with Baltimore.
Adam Kennedy – the one who everyone is talking about in Cardinal Nation. A career .280 hitter and he stole 16 bases in 26 attempts. He not be back with the Angels, but the Mets may overbid for him. He made 3.35 million in ‘06 and will probably require 3 years/12 million to sign. If Edmonds goes, Kennedy is within the budget.
Mark Loretta- along with Kennedy and Belliard, Loretta is one of the top 2Bmen available. A career .299 hitter, he is familiar with the National League and would probably sign for around $3.5-4 million per for two or three years. Solid defender as well.
Ramon Martinez – has never played more than 128 games. Strictly a utility player at this point in his career. Re-signed with LA.
Kaz Matsui – Offered 1.5 million by the Rockies to come back, but will probably go back to Japan. He hit .267 in Colorado. Enough said. He got his 1.5 million from Colorado.
Jose Valentin – He’s 37 and wants to be a starter. Career .243 hitter, but hit .271 with 18 HRs for the Mets. Not a viable option for the cards to start at second base as he could not hit at the top of the order. Will re-sign with the Mets.
Chris Woodward- Hit .216 with the Mets. Had surgery to repair a torn labrum last week. Will be back-up somewhere for around the $800K he made in ‘06.
The options are few and far between at this position. Since Soriano is way out of the Cards’ price range, it looks like it comes down to Belliard, Loretta, or Kennedy. All are similarly priced, but the Cards will need to work quickly to get one of them signed. You really can’t go wrong with any of them, but Loretta and Kennedy are better hitters than Belliard, so the Cards will most likely focus there. The $2,000,000 budget from last off-season for 2B will definitely need to be raised here. Edmonds’ signing will have an impact here as far as money available.
Tony Graffanino - He made just over $2,000,000 in ‘06 and gave decent production (.274/7/59). The Cards could be interested if they can’t (or won’t) pony up the money required for Kennedy.
My prediction: Kennedy returns for 3 years/12 million.
1 Comment
November 15, 2006 at 10:17 am
Go Ronnie Go