MLB Hot Stove: 10 Most Overrated Moves of the Offseason
The 2010-11 MLB offseason is nearing its end, and most players of note have now been signed to contracts. There are some free agents lurking around, mainly in the DH department, such as Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez, but nearly all position players have found a home at this point.
Now that the big names are signed, it is time to look back at the offseason moves. Some were genius plays by teams, others looked ridiculous. This is not the place for that. Instead, I will be looking at the most overrated moves. Which moves were hyped to no end, yet will not make much of a difference for the teams that made them?
10. David DeJesus
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David DeJesus was a key piece of the Kansas City Royals roster for seven seasons. During 2010, he was on pace to have a great year, and was the subject of many trade rumors until an injury took him out for the year.
Instead of teams double-checking things, the Oakland Athletics jumped at the opportunity to acquire him. They already had a center fielder in Rajai Davis, but traded him off and acquired DeJesus for Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks, two pitchers.
The trade was big news in both camps when there wasn't much to cheer about. Kansas City got two guys the A's didn't really want anyway, and while DeJesus is a very solid player, it was built up like the A's got a guy who had just been to several all-star games.
9. Scott Downs
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The Angels ended up having a shockingly quiet offseason, seeing as how they were linked to Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford, and others. They did end up signing a player to a multi-year deal, but it was not the player expected.
They signed Scott Downs to a four-year contract. Downs was a reliever for Toronto for many years and did a good job there. Signing any reliever to a multi-year deal, unless they're consistently elite, doesn't sound like a smart move, especially when Downs will be 35 when 2011 starts. I think he's a very good reliever, but my point stands.
8. Derek Jeter
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The actual deal itself wasn't all that overrated. In fact, the Yankees did a better job on the offer than I thought they would. The entire process behind the deal, including the speculation of him leaving, the possibility of a $25 million-a-year deal and the like all made this deal into something extraordinary, when all it was was a realistic deal for a star on the tail end of a career.
In the end though, will Derek Jeter play like a $15 million-a-year guy? No, and that wasn't necessarily the point of that type of money anyway.
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7. Bobby Jenks
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Anyone who's kept up on the Red Sox knows of the three huge acquisitions made. They acquired Adrian Gonzalez, signed Carl Crawford, and signed Bobby Jenks. Thing is, when you lump those three together, it seems to trail off in the end, like if the Miami Heat had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Glen Davis to show off to the crowd.
Don't get me wrong, Bobby Jenks will fill in well as a 7th-inning man in relief, along with Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon leading the way. He's been a good reliever for the White Sox, but I wouldn't go any further than good, which people seem to want to do with this deal.
6. Adrian Beltre
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Adrian Beltre seemed doomed to be on this list from the start, as pretty much everyone expected him to get an overrated deal. Had he gotten a deal for a couple years to a team to fill a need, it would have been fine, and maybe he could have slid off the list.
Instead, his power bat joins myriad others with the Rangers, who signed him to a six-year deal. Suddenly Texas looks like they could break a couple of power-hitting records, when we all know they're not going to do that and Beltre will revert to Seattle numbers.
5. Kerry Wood
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Kerry Wood has re-signed with the Chicago Cubs after a great half-season with the Yankees. With the way it was discussed, you would think the Cubs brought in this ace closer to help guide them in the tough NL Central.
In reality, they signed Wood to a $1.5 million deal for a year, and are putting him in as a setup man for Carlos Marmol. Yet because of his history with the Cubs, this move got infinitely more buzz than it warranted.
4. Zack Greinke
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The Brewers had a great offense, but were looking for help in the pitching department. They were able to acquire Shaun Marcum from the Blue Jays for one prospect, a move that is easily in the top five most underrated moves of the season.
This move, on the other hand, got 99 percent of the buzz. The Royals traded Greinke to the Brewers, and suddenly a guy with a 60-67 career record is exactly what the team needed to get over the hump, rather than a 37-25 guy who's getting better every year.
Just as long as Greinke can find his 2009 self, that's all the Brewers care about in regards to this deal.
3. Adam Dunn
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Adam Dunn was the big name when it came to power bats in this year's free agency market. With how often his name was thrown around you'd have thought he was a perennial all-star. After negotiations, the Chicago White Sox signed him to a four-year deal.
While many lauded the power addition to the Sox, here's the rub. They have a guy who fills Dunn's role in the lineup in Paul Konerko, and he actually does it better. Two is of course better than one, but acting like Dunn was a missing link is really stretching it. As long as Dunn keeps the batting average over .250, it should work out fine.
2. Victor Martinez
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Victor Martinez was one of the best catchers on the free-agent market this season, and has probably the best bat of the bunch. As a result, the Detroit Tigers signed him to a four-year, $50 million deal.
If you're going to catch up to the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox, signing a hitter who happens to play catcher helps less than you think. He's mediocre behind the plate, and cancels out a bit of his offensive prowess. There's that on top of having several other big bats on the team already. What I'm worried about for the Tigers in 2011 is their fielding, which looks like it will be pretty bad.
1. Jayson Werth
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Washington Nationals—we get that you have money to work with, but here's why you're not working. While the Boston Red Sox use myriad big free agents and farm talent, and the Yankees sign people who have been good for years to max money, Washington signs players to big contracts where there's no guarantee they'll still be decent players at the end of it (Jason Marquis).
A lot of people had Werth as a huge free agent during the offseason after a great 2010. The problem, though, is that 2009 and 2010 were his first great seasons. Before that, he wasn't even a daily player until 2008; that and you don't sign a 31-year-old to a huge seven-year deal when he just hit his peak. Todd Helton and Carlos Lee's recent performances can prove that.
It makes the top spot on the overrated list because so many had Werth as a top five free agent, so of course Washington was going to spend that kind of money, which got reported as a huge pick-up. At best, it cancels out losing Adam Dunn.
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