MLB: Can We Have a Do-Over on 10 Offseason Moves That Have Backfired So Far?
The best part of the offseason is trying to add the final piece of the puzzle to a championship team. Sometimes those moves backfire, however.
For every Aubrey Huff that helps spur his team on to a World Series (2010 San Francisco Giants), there are many Milton Bradleys that end up helping their new team implode (2010 Seattle Mariners).
It may be early in the season, but some 2011 offseason moves aren't working out quite as planned. The most obvious one to this point is...
#1 Manny Ramirez
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When the Rays signed Ramirez for one year at $2 million, I thought it was genius. He was still a good enough player to DH for a contender and was a steal for a Tampa Bay team trying to recover from losing Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena.
Little did I know that they'd only get Manny for 17 plate appearances. I'm going to go ahead and say that over $117,000 per plate appearances wasn't what they had in mind.
The Rays had no way to know that Manny being Manny was going to result in his second suspension for PEDs, but it's still a move that didn't work out. The Orioles better hope that Manny didn't rub off on Vlad Guerrero, because he hasn't had all that hot of a start either...
#2 Johnny Damon
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While signing both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon seemed like too much, I thought at least one would have worked out.
So far, Damon has arguably been an even bigger disappointment that Manny. At least this behavior is par of the course for Manny; what excuse does Damon have?
The poor Rays have gone from contender to struggling to compete because of the botched Damon and Manny acquisitions. While it's early, the Rays' offseason moves seem to have set them back a few steps more than it moved them forward.
#3 Vernon Wells
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I'm not sure anyone expected this move to work out.
When the Angels traded for Vernon Wells, I got the sense that they simply wanted to prove to their fanbase their willingness to spend money.
"We didn't get Carl Crawford, so we have to spend money somewhere..."
After trading for four years and $86 million worth of Vernon Wells, they've proved their willing to throw money around on their team. If only they knew how to spend it wisely.
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#4 Lance Berkman
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This hasn't been a banner year for the St. Louis Cardinals.
They didn't get Pujols signed, they've started slow and Lance Berkman is fulfilling every worst-case scenario possible.
The big fear about the Cardinals signing Berkman was that he wouldn't be able to play right field effectively. That fear's been proved correct.
The second big fear about signing Berkman was that his bat would continue to decline. That's also come to pass.
There's still time to turn things around, but as of right now, it seems like the Cardinals might be better served moving Berkman to the bench.
#5 Tsuyoshi Nishioka
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Poor performance + Unlucky injury = an appearance on this list.
Even before Nick Swisher broke Tsuyoshi Nishioka's leg on a hard slide, Nishioka hadn't looked good. In his first 26 plate appearances, Nishioka struck out eight times, posted a .208/.269/.250 line and made two errors.
Maybe he'll come back better after his injury, but for now, it seems Nishioka might not have been ready to jump straight to the big leagues. We'll see how it turns out, but right now the three years and $9 million (plus a $4 million team option in year four) the Twins committed to Nishioka seems a little high.
#6 Carlos Pena
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Matt Garza hasn't started off well for the Cubs either, but at least his strikeout rate is high and his walk rate is low. He's being hit hard right now, but he could easily be fine.
Carlos Pena, on the other hand, is a different story. Including last year, his average has been worse than normal, his power has dipped and he's not getting on base as much as he used to.
The Cubs signed Pena to a one year, $10 million contract hoping that 2010 was an aberration. So far in 2011, it's looking like that wasn't the case.
#7 Adrian Beltre
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Sure, the Rangers are off to a hot start, but what faith do you have in Adrian Beltre? I submit to you the following stat lines:
2004 (final year in LAD, playing for a big contract):
.334 BA, .388 OBP, .629 SLG, 163 OPS+, 48 HR (led the majors), 121 RBI, 10.1 WAR
2005 (first year in SEA, after getting a big contract):
.255 BA, .303 OBP, .413 SLG, 93 OPS+, 19 HR, 87 RBI, 1.9 WAR
2010 (first and only year in BOS, playing for a big contract):
.321 BA, .365 OBP, .553 SLG, 141 OPS+, 28 HR, 102 RBI, 6.1 WAR
The only times Beltre has batted .300 in his career were in 2004 and 2010, the two years he was playing to get a long-term contract. His level of play is directly connected to whether or not he's trying to secure a big deal. The Rangers just signed him to a five year, $80 million deal that becomes six years at $96 million based solely on plate appearances, not performance? He may have three homers already, but count me out on Beltre.
#8 Javier Vazquez
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The Marlins added Javier Vazquez in the hopes that it was just pitching in New York that caused his drop-off in 2010. So far, they've been disappointed.
Vazquez has continued seeing his walk rate increase and his strikeout rate fall, which is never a good sign for the future. While it's still early, it looks like Vazquez is far from the pitcher who set a career low in ERA and ERA+ (2.87 and 143 respectively) in 2009.
#9 Jason Bartlett
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In 2008, Jason Bartlett finished 18th in the MVP voting. In 2009 he was voted an All-Star. When the Padres acquired Bartlett this offseason, they must have figured that his subpar 2010 was just a bump in the road.
To this point in 2011, that hasn't been the case. Bartlett isn't good on defense, so when his bat's cold, he's not much use. If he can't get hot again, though it's minimal compared to other contracts, the Padres will be regretting the two years and $9.5 they owe him.
#10 Brad Penny
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The Tigers looked to Brad Penny to help get them overtake the Twins in the AL Central, but so far, he's only served to set them farther behind.
Penny didn't look great in 2008 or 2009, but his nine starts in 2010 seemed to show that he was back to the very good starter he used to be. Unfortunately for the Tigers, he's been knocked around in his two starts this year and the Tigers are off to a slow start.
There have been worse investments than the one year at $3 million it cost the Tigers to get Penny, but for a team looking to start fast and get people talking about their play - not Miguel Cabrera and offseason drama - Penny's slow start isn't helping at all.
Conclusion
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Note that this slideshow only includes players I have serious doubts about. Personally, I believe that Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano will be fine despite their slow starts and that Zack Greinke will get healthy and pitch well for the Brewers. I considered these three for spots on the list, but I still have hope for those three. The other 10 I'm much more worried about.
We may only be about 5.5% of the way into the season, but it could be enough for those 10. We'll see how it goes, but, for now at least, those teams probably wish they could have a do-over of the 2011 offseason.
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