Adrian Beltre finally got the contract he wanted from the Texas Rangers who apparently had money burning a hole in their corporate pockets and felt compelled to give it to somebody. Of course, Michael Young's pathetic performance on defense at 3B during the WS juxtaposed with the stellar play of Juan Uribe at the same position for the Giants might have had something to do with their thinking. The deal is for 5 years/$80 M with a $16 M vesting option for year 6. The Rangers have said they will keep Michael Young. It's unclear where he will play with Elvis Andrus at SS and Ian Kinsler at 2B. Perhaps Young will be the DH?
Beltre has been criticized for only producing big in his contract years, but he has been a reliable producer of 25+ HR's per season even in Seattle which is notoriously tough on RH hitters. Even in his worst season when he was injured much of the year and hit for just a .683 OPS, he was a 2.5 WAR player because of his stellar defense at 3B. Even if you figure he will regress to his average after his "contract year" in 2010, the Rangers paid market value for him on a yearly basis, maybe even slightly under market. With 5 years of guaranteed money, he stands a decent chance of producing his 3-4 WAR/yr deep into the contract. If deteriorates late in the contract, then the last year probably won't vest.
I think Beltre will help the Rangers. I'm not so sure the Giants win the WS if he had been playing 3B instead of Michael "The Statue" Young. The Rangers big challenge will be to keep their pitching productive after losing out on retaining Cliff Lee.
The big losers in this are the Angels who reportedly offered just $3 M less in guaranteed money. They are now left trying to explain to their fans how they lost out on the two players who could have helped them the most after proclaiming their willingness to spend at the start of the offseason. The Angels might get lucky in the bargain bin, but that's a big comedown for a team in one of the largest markets in the country and one that has not been historically shy about spending money.
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Dear Rangers,
ReplyDeleteToo Late!
-Giants
I will never forget Michael Young being stuck in quicksand trying to move to his left in the world series. Even Brooks Conrad would have made a couple of those two step, dive and throws from third.
I guess if you don't move the score keeper can't score it an error. Reminds me of when Ozzie Smith or Omar Vizquel would commit an error, my old man would always say, "How can that be an error?! Nobody else would have even got their glove on the ball to have a chance at that out!"
Defense is more important than people tend to think (I am still a bit surprised Pat Burrell didn't get exploited for the Giants). With Cliff Lee gone, I just think Beltre is a year late for the Rangers.
JH,
ReplyDeleteI agree. Without Cliff Lee, the Rangers just don't seem to have enough pitching. Neftali Feliz does not look like a starter to me.