The World Season has been in the books for a week—which means the Hot Stove season is upon us.
And unlike years past, the Stove is at full boil this winter—especially at third base.
After the 2003 season, Gary Sheffield and Vladimir Guerrero duked it out for dollars in right field. In 2007, the fight at the hot corner will be just as fierce.
Alex Rodriguez is obviously the best player on this list, but he may have priced himself out of most of the market.
The Yankees have told everyone who'll listen that they won't negotiate after Rodriguez opted out of his contract. The Red Sox could afford him, but I'm not sure they'll want to deal with the baggage—or A-Rod's knack for disappearing in the postseason.
Look for the Angels to take the prize here. They have a new general manager and an owner with money and a love for Latino stars. After their hitters disappeared in a first-round defeat to the Red Sox, the Angels will be looking for an upgrade over Chone Figgins and his .400 career slugging percentage.
While the Giants have money to spend and a superstar void to fill with the departure of Barry Bonds, San Fran is the new doorstop in the NL West. The Dodgers are bad too, even with Joe Torre—and I don't imagine that Rodriguez is looking to play for a loser.
Then again, he did sign with Texas once upon a time.
Then there's Mike Lowell. Lowell seems to be everything Rodriguez isn't: a team leader, a clutch hitter, and a dynamic fielder. And contrary to popular opinion, he's not a sure bet to re-sign with the Red Sox.
The Yankees will be pushing very hard for their former farmhand, and if they offer five years and $70 million as has been reported, the Sox have no chance.
Unlikely, perhaps—but certainly possible. 
The last wrinkle in the third baseman class comes from Florida's Miguel Cabrera, who's eligible for arbitration and due for a boatload of money. Given the number of teams looking for bats and the Marlins' limited budget, it's very likely Cabrera will be traded.
There are two problems with Cabrera are his poor defensive skills and his bulging waste line. Whichever team trades for him will get a third baseman for 2008—but a glorified DH in the Cecil Fielder mold down the road.
The only question: Is Cabrera worth it?
The Marlins are going to ask for a fortune in prospects, and the fact that they don't HAVE to trade Cabrera means they might get it.
For Boston, all discussions will start with Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz. For New York, it'll be Phil Hughes and Phil Tabata.
It's unlikely either team would pull the trigger at that price.
Minnesota might be interested, and could offer 2008 free agent Johan Santana as part of a three-way deal. A team like the Dodgers (with a package led by Matt Kemp) could be involved, and of course the Sox and Yankees might be more willing to trade big prospects for a Cy Young winner than for a fat third baseman.
Whatever happens, it's shaping up to be a red-hot winter. Hold on for the ride...
11 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Bryan Goldberg about 1 year ago
The question of where A-Rod will end up is summed up very well here. He will either end up on the Angels, or he will go to Anaheim, or he will go to that team located near Disneyland. Oh wait.
Fact's a fact -- only a handful of teams could ever think about paying him that kind of money, and he quite simply will not end up in San Fran, Florida (are they kidding??), or on Joe Torre's new team.
Angels it is!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Don't be hatin on the Dodgers. If A-Rod signs with them they'll own the NL for years to come.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
whoever signs A-Rod will be out of the NL (or AL) for years to come. No one (except for the yankees and they are not playing Boras's game) can afford A-Rod AND remain competitive.
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Matt DeNicola about 1 year ago
The ridiculousness of baseball is that there is no hard salary cap, so some teams CAN afford A-Rod an remain competitive. Are there better strategies to winning? Probably. Doesn't mean it can't be done. He would thrive with either the Dodgers or the Angels, who are both one player away from having great looking rosters. But the Dodgers don't look to be in line to pay for him. Angels it is.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
A-Rod is no worse than any other Pro Athlete that is being mis-quoted, and or mis-represented. Dont hate just to hate. America is so ready to just believe whatever the media tells them it makes me sad.
personally... i would say ok A-Rod.. here is 30 million a year Contract... you will need to achieve 50+ HR's, 100+ RBI's, and 30+ Stolen Bases every year of the contract. if not ALL of these #'s are achieved in any given year, you get 15 million for that year... and the first time you dont reach those stats and only get the 15 million, the team can opt out or re-negotiate with you.
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Sam Ehrlich about 1 year ago
This is certainly a worthwhile thought, but I doubt Boras would go for it. $15 million a year base with $15 million in incentives is certainly fine for him, but a player of his caliber can get much more than the $15 million base. $20 million base with $10 million in incentives might be more reasonable, but A-Rod doesn't need to sign an incentive laden contract, he doesn't want to, and with the demand, won't need to.
Of course, this is all hypothetical, because the CBA prohibits performance based incentives (i.e. batting average, home runs, etc.). But hypotheticals are fun!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
just had an idea... ALL PLAYERS Sign the SAME CONTRACT (not physically, just the same terms)
All Pro Players should be getting paid based on performace NOW, not last year. meaning that the whole contract year performace bump thing goes away... no albatross contracts weighing teams down... just players and teams earing what they are worth on a scale that would .. well .. scale with the players/teams performance. seem too goo to be true? i guess it is, but man that would be nice if ALL Players in the MLB were on the same exact contract so a player would theoretically be paid according to his actual performance instead of taking advantage of the supply and demand aspect of free (bleeiping) agency.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
yeah, a-rod will sign a contract that cuts his salary in half if he doesn't have ridiculous numbers. go ask your mommy for money for another slurpee, and stay off the internet.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
yeah, all players should have a contract for what they do for this year. in fact, all jobs should pay you for what you do on a daily basis. i don't imagine you'll get much for taking work time to post comments on the internet.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
DODGERS SHOULD AFFORD AND SIGNED ALEX RODRIGUEZ WITH A HIGHER SALARY OR A LOWER SALARY. IT DEPENDS ON THE DODGERS OWNER FRANK MCCOURT. I HOPING THIS DEAL WITH ALEX RODRIGUEZ WILL WORK IN L.A. I HATE SCOTT BORAS BECAUSE HE HAS DONE A TERRIBLE JOB WITH MLB FREE AGENTS AND BALL PLAYERS GOING TO A NEW TEAM. SCOTT IS A LOSER AND A JACKASS. I WISH MY DREAM IS THAT THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS WILL GET ALEX RODRIGUEZ TORI HUNTER PAUL LODUCA AND DONTRELLE WILLIS BECAUSE WILL WILL BEAT THE AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAMS AND JOE TORRE WILL HELP THE DODGERS WILL A WORLD SERIES.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
and do you really think the players union would allow a player to sign that kind of contract. You are dreaming.
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