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We’ve heard many things used as tools to increase or manipulate contracts in professional sports but I’m having a tough time understanding why retirement is among them.

In recent years players have used the threat that they would retire as a reason that teams should pay them more money. Recently it was said that Johnny Damon had told friends he would retire if he couldn’t get an appropriate contract and then yesterday Kurt Warner came out and said that he was thinking of retiring since football was simply not fun anymore.

My thoughts? Fine go away already.

Don’t use the threat of retiring as a negotiating tool. I can’t even understand why threatening to retire has even worked.

Are these athletes foolish enough to think we won’t simply replace them. We can buy other jerseys, hang up new posters and yes we can cheer for a different player occupying your old position.

Don’t tell me how the game isn’t fun and then turn around and sign a huge contract. I suppose it’s not just the players who are at fault here. After all if any of these organizations had the balls to stand up and say here’s the offer take it or retire I seriously doubt we’d be witnessing this still.

If a guy wants to retire then you aren’t bidding against another organization. You’re bidding against his sofa and daytime soaps. Now I know that Hope Brady is still an attractive lady but I don’t think shes got the goods to compete with the desire to still play sports and lets be honest she ain’t going to pay anyone the greenbacks to watch her show.

Instead you are trying to convince the athlete he still wants to pay. So far the only way anyone has been able to do that is with money.

Before I go any further I think we have to understand the difference between using retirement as a tool and saying you are going to retire.

Current Baltimore Raves safety Ed Reed came out and said he was thinking of retiring following the Ravens playoff loss citing nagging injuries. Reed is also not guilty of using retirement as a tool. Reed (like teammate Derrick Mason) has a contract for next season. Reed’s contract actually runs though 2012 with salaries of $6 million, $6.5 million and $7 million. Simply put there is no way Reed would be able to top those numbers with any club even if he was a free agent.

Now for an example of a player trying to milk retirement.

The last time Kurt Warner wanted a contract he wanted two years instead of the one Arizona was offering. Warner, who has blinded people into thinking he doesn’t care about money, threatened to retire leaving Arizona with Matt Leinhart as their starter. In essence Warner was gloating to them ‘pay me or play the reason you brought me here in the first place.’ The result of course was Arizona giving him two years on his deal and now he’ll go out and do the same thing to them this season.

There’s been conflicting reports whether Johnny Damon would actually retire. Not long after it was first reported everyone was pretty much trying to prove otherwise and other acquaintances of Damon have even squashed the rumor. I for one don’t doubt that Damon said it. After all Damon hasn’t found any teams interested in taking him for the $10 million he asked for at the beginning of the winter meetings. He’s still asking for that amount as recently as last week.

Sure there have been others as well.

Maybe they all have learned from Roger Clemens who retired as a member of the  New York Yankees in 2003 only to sign with the Houston Astros in January of 2004. Sure that first year he got only $5 million but the $18 million he got in 2005 after threatening to retire was eye popping. Actually Clemens asked for $22 million (as he said to match his uniform number) while the Astros were going to offer $13.5 million in their case for arbitration.

Clemens again said he was retiring following the 2005 season, and surprise surprise he didn’t. After months of everyone expecting him to come back it was announced on May 31 that he was coming back. Clemens’ contract worth $22,000,022 would be prorated netting him $12.25 million for 19 big league starts.

Next year same thing. This time to the Yankees. The deal with the Yankees would be prorated from a total of $28,000,022. Clemens made $18.7 million that season in total despite not pitching in the big leagues until June 9. Clemens finished the year 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA costing the Yankees just over $3.1 million per victory.

It figures to only get worse.

I’ve never known a person outside of sports with the ability to make their employer pay them more with this threat. Actually I’m willing to bet most employers would see this as a easy way to avoid paying you severance and to discontinue your benefits. So why is this option now on the table in the lucrative market of professional sports?

These professional clubs need to put a stop to it. They are the only ones who can.

Popularity: 6% [?]

At the end of the 2009 season it would have been hard to find many people who would have envisioned Dan Uggla returning to the Marlins. However there’s been little in the way of him not being on the team thus far.

Despite early trade rumors of Uggla going to Atlanta or Baltimore to transition to the outfield nothing has been on the horizon for weeks now. The team offered him arbitration instead of giving him up for nothing and today it was announced that the two sides had agreed on a contract worth $7.8 million for the upcoming season.

While his defense has been suspect at times, Uggla has been one of the more reliable hitters in the league the last four seasons. The naysayers will point to strike out numbers that have topped 150 each of the last three years and a career batting average of .257 but Uggla has also hit 27 or more homers each season, driven in 88 plus and scored 84 or more each season. In addition his OPS has topped .800  and his walk totals have gone up.

The biggest number mentioned above is of course the $7.8 million Uggla will be paid this season. The Florida Marlins were recently read the riot act about not spending enough money after the front office suggested they would field a team with a payroll of $40 million this season.

Since then the Marlins have come to terms on a contract with ace Josh Johnson worth $39 million over four years.

It’s possible, if not probable that the Marlins will start the season with Uggla at second base and by the time the trade deadline comes around send him somewhere else. They were unable to find a taker this winter with much of the talk centering around the team simply trying to unload his contract.

The Marlins could choose to pay Uggla for the first half of the year then trade him to a contender who will be willing to pay the remaining sum of his salary as well as send a mid-level prospect or two to Florida. That way the Marlins get something in return for him. Either way it’s hard to imagine Uggla plays all of 2010 in Florida and if he does so healthy he’s almost impossible to see the Marlins offer him arbitration next season where his salary would f

igure to rise again.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Andres Galarraga probably isn’t a hall of fame player. The Big Cat as he was called during his playing time played for the Montreal Expos (1985–1991 and 2002), St. Louis Cardinals (1992), Colorado Rockies (1993–1997), Atlanta Braves (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), San Francisco Giants (2001 and 2003) and Anaheim Angels (2004).

A five time All-Star who won two Gold Glove awards and two Silver Sluggers he may be best known for his big smile. A smile that when coupled with his power provided a display that sometimes seems lacking in today’s game.

I’m not saying Andres was a hall of fame player but considering that Harold Baines got 33 votes or 6.1% with similar numbers and he played 1644 of his 2830 career games at DH I have to admit I am a little disappointed that Andres won’t appear on the ballot a second time.

Galarraga played 19 seasons in the majors finishing with a .288/.347/.499 career line. He hit 399 homers, drove in 1425 and provided an inspirational story when he returned in 2000 to claim the Comeback Player of the Year Award following treatment for cancer.

Despite being a starter for much of seven seasons in Montreal (1985-1991) Galarraga had only a 1988 season in which he led the league in hits and doubles that suggested he even deserved to be playing regularly. After spending a season in St. Louis following a trade he was signed as a free agent by Colorado in November of 1992.

Things seemed to change almost overnight. Aided by Coors Field “The Big Cat” went on to produce and produce big. In his five seasons in Colorado he compiled a .316/.367/.577 line with 172 homers and 579 RBI.  In his previous 8 seasons Galarraga had a .267/.322/.432 line with 116 homers and 472 RBI in 942 games. In each of his five seasons with the Rockies he finished in the top 10 in MVP voting.

The following year he signed with the Braves where he went on to rake in 121 RBI and bop 44 homers on a team that went on to win 106 games. Almost overnight though baseball appeared to be taken away from Galarraga as he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Returning from cancer and being 39 didn’t seem to effect Galarraga as he was selected to the All Star game in-front of the Atlanta faithful and finished with what would be his fifth and final 100 RBI season.

For financial reasons the Braves didn’t resign Andres and he headed to Texas, while Rico Brogna took over the position he once commanded in Atlanta. A switch to the AL took it’s toll as did a relegation to a backup role behind Rafael Palmeiro. Eventually he was traded to San Fransisco where he showed that there was still life in his bat, unfortunately for him time was not on his side. With little interest in a 41 year old first basemen Galaragga played in Montreal in 2002 where he struggled, the following season he had a productive run as a part time player with the Giants.

Cancer again struck him in 2004 but for a second time El Gran Gato beat it and after a stint with the Triple-A Sale Lake Bees, he was called up to the Anaheim Angels where he hit career home run 399. He entered spring training of 2005 with an outside chance to make the New York Mets but retired in late March citing it was the time for him to step aside for younger players.

A late bloomer coupled with his best seasons coming in Colorado it’s clear Galarraga falls short of the hall of fame. Even our own Jim Cheney was not kind to Galarraga in his recent review of the players on the ballot this year stating the following.

Andres Galarraga – Galarrage, the former Braves’ first baseman, is the prime example of a late 90s power hitter who may not be getting as much respect as he deserves. That being said, Galarraga was just not quite good enough offensively or defensively to get my vote. His 398 career home runs fall just short of the 400 home run milestone and he only once hitting 30 or more home runs outside of the launching pad that is Coors Field in Denver. Furthermore, he also had a batting average under .290 for his career and was, at best, an average fielder. As more things come to light regarding the steroid era, I might reconsider Galarraga’s candidacy, but for now, it’s a no.

The chance to reconsider Galarraga’s candidacy will never come. He was selected on just 22 of the 539 ballots to receive 4.1% of the vote. A player must reach 5% to remain on the ballot.

Popularity: 8% [?]

In an article highlighting what he believes to be an unfinished off-season thus far David O’Brien noted that the Braves have at-least $7 million left in their budget, which matches up with what everyone has been saying following the trades of Rafael Soriano and Javier Vazquez.

O’Brien, like many Brave bloggers, kept the name Xavier Nady in the mix as an option to play the corner outfield and first base. He also threw in the name of Marlins second basemen Dan Uggla whom the Braves had been linked to earlier on this winter.

The speculation of O’Brien is that the Braves could flip Melky Cabrera to the Marlins in exchange for Uggla.

Uggla is a massive upgrade over Cabrera as the track records of the two suggest, he also would eat away most of the remaining money left in the Braves budget but would in essence finish off the roster.

Most teams would find it difficult to trade away Uggla (.243/.354/.459, 31 HR, 90 RBI) but the Marlins are trying to shed some money themselves and at the end of the season there was even speculation that the team would non-tender him to avoid his contract.

Aside from the financial standpoint there are other reasons the Marlins could trade Uggla. The Marlins see Uggla as a bit of a defensive liability, he had a rift during the season with star Hanley Ramirez and the team does have Chris Coghlan on the roster. Coghlan was the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year after he hit an impressive .321/.390/.460. While Coghlan played just one game at second base in 2009, he spent 246 of his 288 minor league games at the position and is seen as an upgrade over Uggla. So in other words the Marlins already have a replacement for Uggla on their big league roster.

The Braves though would have to decide what to do with Martin Prado. Prado appeared in 63 games at second base last season, but also appeared at three other positions. It’s also unclear if the Braves like Prado at second base or as a versatile infield option who would provide Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus days off in addition to Uggla.

I didn’t mix any words after the Braves traded Vazquez to the Yankees for Cabrera and prospects. Obviously if the Braves are able to land Uggla or another accomplished slugger (for Cabrera) it takes away the sting of that trade. Of course this is all speculation on my part at this point.

Popularity: 8% [?]

For a moment I have to wonder if Rich Harden had or has any interest in pitching in Baltimore? The reason I ask is the 28 year old right hander signed a contract with the Texas Rangers worth $6.5 million. Harden, who may be the most talented free agent pitcher on the market, has had a history of arm troubles but at $6.5 million would be worth the risk for most teams.Apparently there is another $3.5 million that Harden can earn in incentives.

Harden’s contract also includes an option for 2011 worth $11.5 million.

All this was made possible by the Rangers trade of Kevin Millwood to Baltimore.

Desperate for some type of stability at the top of the rotation the Orioles have been linked to all sorts of free agent options not named John Lackey. Then today the team agreed on a deal with the Texas Rangers in which Chris Ray leaves town in return for Kevin Millwood and $3 million. Millwood has a salary of $12 million in 2010, of which the Orioles will be responsible for $9 million.

After struggeling for most of 2007 and 2008, Millwood had a bounce back 2009 that saw him pitch 198.2 innings while posting a impressive 3.67 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

Millwood who will be 35 by the start of spring training is in the final season of a 5 year $60 million contract he signed back in the winter of 2005.

The Rangers have floated around the thought that they’d trade Millwood this off-season but looking at their current options on the mound no one could truly believe that unless they got someone else to head up the staff.

Obviously the Rangers felt that negotiations with Harden were going well and with them being comfortable in him heading up their rotation they went ahead and dropped Millwood right in the lap of one of the teams desperately seeking a veteran starter.

Sure Harden’s injury concerns are pretty obvious but it’s not like Kevin Millwood doesn’t offer his own as well.

Chris Ray being involved in the trade doesn’t really change much for the Orioles. There was a 50/50 chance the team would non-tender him and even with his struggles to come back from Tommy John surgery he probably was in line to receive a raise from the $850,000 he made last season. The Orioles could just as well held on to him and saw if he returned to his 2007 form that saw him pick up 33 saves with a 2.73 ERA after all the club is still looking for an option at closer. The trade simply removes any decision on Ray by the Orioles.

It’d be interesting to ask the Orioles front office if they’d of preferred Harden over Millwood. Likely you’d publicly get the reaction that Millwood is a very good pitcher and they were happy to have him. Though I have to suspect that privately they are a little jolted after hearing the Rangers next transaction.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Last season prior to the trade deadline the Chicago White Sox traded away DH Jim Thome. While the trade didn’t exactly make headlines like it would have five years ago, it signaled them waiving a white flag in the divisional race.

At 39 years of age Thome is running out of time to win a ring. With the rotation the White Sox have built up and a decent overall offense they offer as good of a chance as any team does of making the World Series next season. Mind you that means any team that plays outside of Boston or New York.

Prior to last season Thome stated he planned to play two more seasons, which at the time was puzzling because Thome had one year left on his deal he originally signed with Philadelphia. I wondered what type of market there would be for an aging DH who can’t play a position. Well that market seems to be as ripe as any though Thome is limited to the teams in the American League for those same reasons. There’s no shortage of teams that look better when you put the name Jim Thome next to the letters DH and in Chicago it may be even better looking for the team and the player.

Following the 2002 season Thome left the Cleveland Indians for the Philadelphia Philles who offered Thome a large contract as they were moving into a new ballpark.  Thome hit 47 homers in his first season with the Phillies to tie for the NL lead and then 42 the next. Injuries struck and coupled with the growth of Ryan Howard it was time for Thome to move on. He was traded to the White Sox and over the next four seasons fortified a lineup that already had big power ability.

Over the past four season Thome has played in 546 games and has posted a .265/.390/.539 line all while hitting 134 homers with 372 RBI. Never-mind he only appeared in 124 games last season, that was in large part to the lack of a position to put Thome at for a National League club. With that being said it’s obvious Thomes numbers were to take a drop last season but it’s worth noting Thome still averaged a home run ever 4.6 games while a member of the White Sox, a number that is up just a tad from his 4.3 in 2008 when he hit 34 homers.

Obviously the man can still swing it.

Does that mean there’s a spot for him on the White Sox? Following his trade last season the White Sox played Scott Podsednik in the DH role the majority of the time. Looking over at the White Sox roster you have to feel that the team is comfortable moving Carlos Quentin back to left field for 2010 and while it’s unclear what the team will do with center and right Alex Rios figures to occupy one of them while the resigned Mark Kotsay figure to act as a fourth outfielder/defensive sub at first base behind Paul Konerko.

You can quickly look at the rest of the team and see there’s nobody who really could provide the production at DH that Jim Thome could. Mark Kotsay isn’t Jim Thome, playing Quentin at DH only cries for another outfielder to be signed, and while I’m as high on Tyler Flowers he’s going to need a bit more seasoning before he puts up those minor league numbers at the major league level.

When Thome hit his 500th career home run it was with the White Sox, he passed Ernie Banks not too long later and while he’s 36 short of 600 there’s still some excitement that he could reach that number this season as he had hit 42, 35, 34 in his last three full seasons with the White Sox and last season was on pace for another 30-plus campaign.

You’d also be hard pressed to find many in Chicago who wouldn’t welcome Jim Thome back. He’s humble and productive and is a great presence in the community and the dugout. He’s also still searching for that ring.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Jay Cutler had another bang up outing last night tossing 5 interceptions while leading the Chicago Bears to their fifth loss of the season in San Fransisco.

Cutler has now thrown 17 interceptions, a number that is four more then Jake Delhomme who is second in the category.

While QB rating isn’t an “exact science” as NFL analysis like to remind us on a weekly basis it’s worth noting that Cutler does rank towards the bottom in the league with a rating of 76. Prior to the game against the 49ers’ his rating was in the 83’s so it’s not as if last nights performance has sunk his numbers.

Last year Cutler threw 18 interceptions over the course of the season, a number that is high for a full season, he’s currently on pace for 30 as he’s averaging 1.88 INT’s per game.

Up until last nights performance the blame for Cutler’s interceptions largely laid on the dismal offensive line who provided little help for the ground game or on running-back Matt Forte who has struggled to break tackles.

Last night it was clear with the exception of a route in which wide receiver Devin Hester fell down that Cutler’s interceptions are largely due to his “gun-slinger” mentality. The term most identified with Brett Favre, a future hall of famer who is the all time leader in interceptions, and the exact definition is a professional killer who uses a gun. I’ve never heard Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Tom Brady or even Dan Mario referred to over and over as a gunslinger so obviously the label applies to a QB who at times also kills his team with the gun. That’s exactly what Cutler is doing to the Bears this season. It’s nothing new for Cutler as the same problem existed last season in the red zone for the Denver Broncos.

There’s little reason to doubt that Jay Cutler has the skills to be a NFL quarterback but now that he’s on a team like the Bears, away from the skill players that the Broncos had, it’s not so easy to hide the flaws that he possesses. Sometimes it appears Cutler fails to read coverage correctly, he tries to force balls into positions where only a guy like Manning could complete a pass. This wasn’t the first time Cutler crumbled with the game on the line, in fact last nights game was eerie similar to the first game of the season in which it was a low scoring affair and Cutler struggled but had a chance to win the game for his team only to throw a game losing interception.

Cutler can be the quarterback to lead the Bears back to the playoffs but until he stops slinging it around like he has the last two seasons it simply won’t be anything more then a first round and done.

An off-season full of excitement for the Jay Cutler experience is turning into a season in which the Bears are looking less and less like a playoff team and more like a clutzy cousin who finishes third in their division. Ironcially that’s exactly where the Bears sit following last nights loss.

Popularity: 8% [?]

When Russell Branyan signed with the Seattle Mariners last winter I was as ecstatic as anyone. The reason was because the Mariners were considering Branyan as their everyday first basemen and despite his strike out numbers Branyan can hit the ball as far as anyone.

Well he didn’t disappoint last season and actually excelled as a regular with a batting line of .251/.347/.520, a career-high 31 home runs and 76 RBI.

Branyan told MLB.com that while he was still hoping to reach an agreement to return as a member of the Mariners that it would not be on a one year deal.

“I’m not a bad guy, not a selfish guy,” he said from his offseason home. “I don’t know if there is a two- or three-year deal out there for me, but I would like to have more than a one-year deal. I don’t want another one-and-done [contract].”

Considering what Branyan brings to the table he’s likely to stay put in the American League. Last season he earned $1.4 million and while most free agents are looking at less money this season, it’s expected that Branyan should receive a raise and a multi-year deal.

I can’t disagree with Branyan. He’s proven to be a productive member of a club when he’s actually been a part of it. He at-least deserves the chance to see if there’s a team out there looking to use him as more then just a one year option.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Washington Nationals made it official today, yet we’ve known this since 2008 ended. Austin Kearns has been let go, the team opted to pay him a $1 million buyout instead of the $10 million he would have accounted against their payroll in 2010.

It seems hard to believe that Kearns has been around for 8 years already. When he first arrived in the bigs with the Reds there was so much talk that he was better then Adam Dunn who was currently clubbing the ball for the Reds.

Truth about Kearns is after a pretty good start to his career in 2002 and 2003 in which he compiled a .292/.388/.480 line, 28 home runs and 114 RBI in 189 games things began to go south.

The following two seasons he hit just .237/.329/.440 still showing power with 27 home runs but showing a drop in RBI with 99 over 176 games.

After a strong start to the 2006 season with the Reds he was traded to Washington along with Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner, who both happened to be pretty worthless for the Nationals as well, for relievers Bill Bray and Gary Majewski, starter Daryl Thompson, and infielders Brendan Harris and Royce Clayton. Talk about a lot of nothingness being exchanged I can’t help but wonder why anyone thought the Reds were seriously making a playoff push with that list of cast off’s.

Anyway… Kearns continued to hit with the Nationals finishing out 2006 and the team decided to give him a three year contract extension in February of 2007.

Something tells me Bill Ladson would feel like an idiot today for how he phrased this when he reported the news on the Nationals offical website.

But whatever reservations Kearns had back in July vanished on Thursday, when he agreed to a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension. Kearns will make $3.5 million in 2007, $5 million in 2008 and $8 million. There also is a club option for 2010 worth $10 million or a $1 million buyout. Kearns was accompanied by his wife, Abby, when the announcement was made at Nationals headquarters on Washington Square.

I can’t fault Ladson for being excited about Kearns as well as the rest of the Nationals fan base considering the numbers the outfielder had just put up.

Three years later and Kearns had totaled .240/.339/.366 with 26 homers and 123 RBI in three seasons totaling 327 games. The sad fact about those numbers is the majority of the home runs (16) and RBI (71) actually came in 2007 which made the $3.5 million he pocketed that season a pretty fair deal for both sides. In 2008 while playing 86 games he hit just 7 homers and 32 RBI and last year over 80 games finisehd with 3 home runs and 17 RBI.

If you were to combine his numbers from 2008 and 2009 you’d have a full season of work for a regular. 166 games played, 568 at-bats and the numbers that matter? .209/.320/.312 with just 10 homers, and 49 RBI all while collecting $13 million.

Since the start of 2008 Kearns has also spent his share of time injuries. In 2008 he spent time on the DL for loose bodies in his right elbow as well as a stress fracture in his left foot, in 2009 it was a thumb injury none of which can truly be related to his late 2006 collision with Nick Johnson that left him sore on his left side.

There doesn’t figure to be a bunch of teams jumping at the bit to sign Kearns as even a fourth or fifth outfielder this season and it’s likely that he’ll have to accept a minor league deal with an invite to spring training in order to continue his baseball career.

I’m not quite sure where things began to go wrong for Austin Kearns’ career but considering the numbers I think it’s worth consideration that he was already going south prior to ever joining the Nationals.

Popularity: 7% [?]

In the days following the World Series teams begin to decide if they are going to pick up player options, players start to tell newspapers how much they like each potential suitor and a laundry list of common sense baseball moves take place.

Case in point the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals have perhaps been the team with the most transactions revolving around it. The Royals started off the off season by picking up two players the White Sox had seemed to be down on and in the process dumped Mark Teahen and his position-less $5 million dollar salary.

In Josh Fields the Royals got a backup option at third base, a decent second option at first base and an occasional DH who with strong power swings could once again show shades of that 2007 season in which he hit 24 homers in 100 games for the White Sox.

The other player in the deal was infielder Chris Getz who seems to be relegated to a utility role as the Royals already have a second basemen in Alberto Callaspo. Last season Getz hit .261/.324/.347 and showed great speed as he was successful in 25-of-27 stolen base attempts. Getz doesn’t figure to steal many at-bats from Callaspo but gives manager Trey Hillman another nice part to play with, just hopefully he steals Willie Bloomquist’s at-bats and not Billy Butlers.

As for Teahen that decision seemed pretty easy to me. He enjoyed his best year in the majors in 2006 when the former first round pick  hit .290/.357/.517 with 18 home runs and 10 SB’s in just 109 games. Since that season he has been extremely mediocre with the Royals. He has never even come close to duplicating his 2006 season and for his career he is a .269/.331./.419 hitter. The White Sox figure to return him to third base and move Gordon Beckham to second base.

Then the Royals announced the declining of three options for 2010. Yasuhiko Yabuta who was owed $4 million in 2010 was given the $500,000 buyout which considering his 7.14 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in 43 appearances was about as oblivious as wiping after you use the toilet. Then again only a team like Kansas City could have gotten in this type of contract mess in the first place.

The Royals also declined the $8 million option for 2010 that was tied to Coco Crisp. Crisp had season ending rotator cuff surgery in both shoulders so giving him the $500,000 buyout again was an easy call. Limited to just 41 games in 2009, Crisp batted .228/.336/.378 with three home runs, 14 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 180 at-bats. Though the Royals declined his option there’s strong belief that the two sides could again partner up on a lesser amount in an incentive laden deal.

Then there’s Miguel Olivo who had his $3.3 million option declined, as the Royals opted to pay the $100,000 buyout instead. This one was a little tougher to call as the Royals are expected to non-tender John Buck in December and Olivo actually had a pretty productive season last year. He finished with a career high 23 homers and 65 RBI and his .249/.292/.490 line resulted in the highest OPS of his career. Olivo also set a career high with 19 walks last season… yes 19.. and he struck out 126 times. Another problem with Olivo is he never hit for any type of average and last seasons numbers are greatly inflated by what can mainly be deemed as a fluke-ishly high home run total. Had the amount been less it’s likely this option could have been picked up but considering the risk for the money the Royals couldn’t afford to roll the dice on this one.

So while the Royals have made a bunch of transactions they’ve only done  the ones that we already knew they would do in the first place. The team will still look for a catcher this winter, another outfield option and field trades for one of their starting pitchers as well. It’s not bad that the Royals did all this now, it’s just what was going to be done sooner or later anyway.

Popularity: 4% [?]