Reaction to FA- Good, Bad and the Ugly

By:Opey Higgins
DOUBLEDAY DAILY

Here is my reaction to Kyle Keough's FA analysis...





Paul Park - El Paso Sun Kings ($10,850,000 (plus bonus) for one year; $7,100,000 for one year)
Park started his career in Montreal, Where he went 4-9 before being traded to Tampa Bay. After that he picked up his game some but not a lot. He is a very overrated Pitcher that is undeserving of a $1,000,000.00 contract over 1 year let alone 7.1. - BAD

D'Angelo Torres - El Paso Sun Kings ($7,700,000 (plus bonus) for one year; $5,400,000 for three years)
Torres was probably one of the bigger steals for the FA period. He was signed for 4 years and only slightly over 5mil a season. With a 15-12 career record in the ML Torres looks to be big part of El Paso's success the season.- GOOD

Dwight Garcia - Albuquerque Dukes ($595k for one year)
Garcia returns to Albuquerque for another season and is the biggest steal this season. I agree with Kyle Keough that he is probably the best defensive Catcher in the bigs.- GOOD

Reid Paul - Jackson Senators ($11,500,000 for one year; $9,000,000 for two years)
Paul will do wonders in Jackson this season.Jackson's very average offense gets a boost with the signing even with the health risk. Coming off an MVP caliber season Paul will help Jackson secure their place in a very close division. - GOOD


James Deitz - Baltimore Lords ($6,200,000 for four years)
I'd have to say that Dietz is going to be a very good closer for Baltimore. And if they don't use him in that role then they are nuts. Dietz has amazing control and a great 1st pitch which is going to help them bounce back from a very dissappointing season.- GOOD


Bob O'Donnell - St. Louis Maroons ($5,200,000 for two years)
Kyle! Who let this guy go? Oh yeah! Albuquerque! Considering that Albuquerque keeps saying they need pitching they let this guy go. That's fine and St. Louis benefits from it. Adding to Collins, Gardener and Glynn, St. Louis will be the most talented rotation in the AL I think.- GOOD


Max Lopez - Durham Tobacconists ($6,240,000 for two years)
Like Durham needed him.. With that being said- GOOD

Billy Leonard - Cleveland Captains ($6,366,666 for one year; $5,900,000 for two years)
Good contact hitter but everything else is just average or lower at best. Leonard being signed to Cleveland is just another way they are trying to fill the ML team to skate through another season while developing their younger talent. Kyle you are high my friend - BAD

Keith Lee - Baltimore Lords ($8,000,000 for three years)
Another great FA signing by Baltimore. Keith Lee is going to be a great addition at 3b for them. Baltimore managed to get this guy for relatively cheap considering the need for a good 3B in the league. - GOOD

Brian Washington - Durham Tobacconists ($5,200,000 for three years)
One of the worst moves Durham has done since the world started. Lettng Keith Lee go to pick up a guy who can't replace him... I see Washington performing at best .270 batting average with MAYBE 5 Home runs.- UGLY

Tony Stone - San Francisco Seals ($2,400,000 for one year)
Stone staying in SF- not much of a surprise there but they risked losing him to a much higher bidder by not re-signing him. I think this was a good move by a team with no pitching.- GOOD

Rodrigo Liriano - Durham Tobacconists ($1,000,000 for one year)
Considering there are better SS's on the market I think this was not a great move. 1 mil was too much when they could've traded a halfway decent prospect for a good defensive SS. I see one on the Waiver Wire that is way better then this and can hit. Sure he has a great arm and accuracy. He simply doesn't have the range and bat to make himself worth adding to a Championship team.-BAD


Homer McLemore - Toledo Maumees ($3,150,000 for four years)
McLemore is not a utility player! However, he will be a good C to have playing part time to rest the starter! If you can put him in important games that you need a bat he'll be perfect. I think they did good only paying what they did for him. - GOOD

Don Sheets - Cleveland Captains ($5,400,000 for four years)
Not even discussing this.. Cleveland's scouts are blind- UGLY

George Weaver - Colorado Grizzlies ($8,200,000 for one year; $7,600,000 for two years)
Colorado needs strong pitching... with that being said wasting that money on Weaver when they could've made a run at Lopez or Torres was a bad deal. - BAD/UGLY

Jocko Byrd - Wichita White Stockings ($2,200,000 for two years)
Good RP with slightly low control. I still say they got a steal on this one, Wichita has a pretty good Pitching staff already this just helps add depth.- GOOD