Brewers sign Jim Edmonds to minor league deal, big league invite

[Weirdos19]

With a LH dominated bench, isn't there a better chance that Prince doesn't see every teams best lefty?

 

 

Plus, the Cards and Cubs have one decent lefty starter combined. Lilly.

[ecjimg]

logan3825 wrote:.

 

At least it isn't Corey Patterson I guess.

Or Laynce Nix!

(I envy the Reds)

 

 

[danzig6767]

How can anyone be against this move?

 

It's only a minor league contract and if Edmonds looks completely done in spring training, the team just lets him go.

 

I hope Edmonds shows something because he could be a great bench option given he has some power, is very patient at the plate, and probably has the range left to be a good defender in RF and tolerable enough to start a few games in CF to give Gomez days off against some RH pitchers.

[sheethead]

If a guy is a good player at 35, you should not expect him to be useless at 36.

 

This is true, but in certain cases (like Damon), if a player makes $12MM per year ages 31-35, he should not necessarily expect to make that 36-40. Part of these guys being out of work seems to be because they are unwilling to take drastic reductions in salary, like its not even worth their time to play for a measly $800k.

[BREWCREW5]

If he sucks, he gets cut and the brewers arent out anything. If he's still decent, we win.

 

win win situation folks

[Patrick425]

Invader3K[/b]]I don't get the hand wringing on this one. It's relatively low risk for the Brewers, and it seemed like they wanted to add another lefty bat as a possible option. Even though his bat stunk in '08, he was still able to put up an OPS over .820 in 400 plate appearances.

Yeah, I'm not getting it either. Really not a big risk here as far as I can see. From what I understand, he sat out in 2009 because he did not get an offer to his liking. I also understand that he showed up at some StL charity event and told LaRussa he would play for minimum wage. Apparently the Cards didn't take him up on that. So, I would think he would really be out to prove all the nay sayers wrong this year.

 

 

[brewtank34]

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefXGGWJLk_EATe6jzbkF/SIG=12nlaaml6/EXP=1264806726/**http%3A//simpsonovi.comics.cz/media/Obrazky/WALL/images/leftorium.jpg

 

 

I kinda like the way Doug Melvin is making up this line-up! Lefty SP's and Lefty Bench! Lord loves a left ball club!

[RockCoCougars]

Why not? I'd rather have him than a pile of garbage like Duffy or Bourgeois who bookended last season "stealing" at bats from guys. At least Edmonds has proven that he can hit MLB pitching in the past.

[JimH5]

If he gets 50 major league at bats this year, I'll be surprised.

 

I think he's done, but would love to be wrong.

[Tbadder]

Dave Cameron wrote a piece for FanGraphs just earlier today, entitled "The New Inefficiency?". Here's an excerpt:

 

We’re currently in the midst of an age where a lot of teams are operating on reduced budgets, and have shifted towards trying to keep costs down by going with more inexperienced talent whose salaries are deflated by their lack of service time. Teams like Tampa Bay and Oakland are continually attempting to replenish their farm systems to ensure a never ending pipeline of cheap, effective major league players that they can pull from.

 

As more teams have turned to this model, young talent has become increasingly expensive to acquire.

...

This has led to yet another winter where guys over 35 are having a hard time finding jobs. It’s not just Johnny Damon, though he is a good example of this effect. Over the last few years, we’ve seen numerous productive-yet-old players pushed into retirement against their will, ranging from the likes of Kenny Lofton, Ray Durham, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds.

 

Edmonds, of course, is now attempting to get back into baseball, and seems like he may be able to convince some team to give him a job. But he had to publicly ask for a minor league contract at the Cardinals FanFest event in order to begin the discussion – no one was beating down his door.

 

Teams have become cautious with the contracts they give to aging players, not wanting to get burned paying too much to a guy who may end up not having anything left in the tank, but I feel like we’re passing the point of caution and shifting towards a market failure. If a guy is a good player at 35, you should not expect him to be useless at 36. Yes, you regress his projection for aging, but players who go from good-to-terrible in a single season are the exception, not the rule.

 

 

 

First off, thanks for pointing this out. I think it's salient and a really important point. The real economic problems stem from a few team spiralling the whole league out of control. You can't even come to the dance anymore without an 85 mil payroll. Of course there are the exceptions, the anamolies, as small market teams attempt to catch lightning in a bottle. But the truth is this doesn't happen enough to be important for some teams to show self-control. It's part of the sad state of affairs n baseball and one of the reasons I'd like the sport to just go belly up. The market needs a severe and long lasting adjustment that I suppose will never come. I wonder if issuing bonds can be far away as team scramble for enough money to buy players.

[Ennder]

Baseball is doing fine, not sure where this is coming from. The league is hardly out of control and teams aren't in trouble of going broke, last year was the 5th highest attendance total in history and only saw a decline of 6% even with the recession which was much smaller than predictions.

 

Something does need to be done about the top 20% of teams but things aren't anywhere near as bleak as that suggests.

[Invader3K]

If anything, spending has been reigned in a bit the last couple years, the Yankees and a couple other teams aside.

[Mike]

Why sign Edmonds?

It is simple, Gerut was traded for TGJ, both of whom are bench guys at best. Edmonds is a cheap insurance policy and a one year rental until Schafer or Cain are ready in CF for 2011.

 

[amt2138]

---

Why sign Edmonds?

It is simple, Gerut was traded for TGJ, both of whom are bench guys at best. Edmonds is a cheap insurance policy and a one year rental until Schafer or Cain are ready in CF for 2011.

Where does Carlos Gomez fit into this equation?

 

 

[MNBrew]

Where does Carlos Gomez fit into this equation?

Starting CF. Gerut is bench for sure. Edmonds is experienced depth if he's good enough to make the team.

 

I don't get why people think this is a stupid signing. It's a no-lose deal, as several others have said. If his skills truly are gone, he's not around.

 

Best of all, he's reasonably cheap and much more likely to succeed than the Duffys & Bourgeoises of our recent past.

 

Gabe Gross is a class act. But he hit (BA) the same in '09 as Edmonds in '08 but with tons less pop. Last year we had little competency on the bench 'til we started signing some vets and traded for Lopez. I'd rather just have better depth to start the year & then not have to sweat it. . . . .And I really don't think in the fairly limited PT a 5th OF should get, that the defensive "productivity" from Edmonds up to Gross really could make much difference at all.

[pitchleague]

I like this signing. I don't like it "a lot" but I like it. There is little risk in a minor league deal for a 39-year old former (super?)-star.

 

However, I keep seeing the image of a team-wide dispute/fight during the beginning of camp over the Cardinals and "the way they play" between Edmonds and Fielder/Braun/anybody and everybody else, causing angst for a few days until all parties apologize and, as a result, the team gels completely together and waltzes to the world's championship.

 

Well, okay, maybe I can just see the fight part of that . . .

[crewcrazy]

I don't see this working out as well as the Kapler signing. Kapler was 32 that year, but Edmonds turns 40 this year. While the Fangraphs article makes a good point that players don't normally fall off a cliff, Edmonds is going to be a 40-year old who hasn't played Major League Baseball in a year. Considering the year off, I wonder if he'll have trouble getting his bat up to speed.

[Vgmastr]

Is it wrong one reason I'm excited about this is to see the St. Louis fans get up in arms the first time Edmonds untucks?

[Invader3K]

I don't know if they'll still be untucking now that Cameron is gone, unfortunately.

[Mr QL]

I wonder how long until Edmonds' is our starting CF.

[yoshii8]

I was very suprised and excited when I heard about the signing. This could potentially be a huge move, I think the people that don't like the pick up will change their minds after a few weeks of the season.

[AJAY]

Obviously the priority in evaluating a player is their performance, however I am also a huge believer that when it comes to marketing a franchise, it is important to have some name recognition. Although Jim Edmonds is not at his peak and might not even make this team, I like the fact that he is well-known to all baseball fans and that the national media will take some interest in his comeback attempt.

 

I think this is good for the franchise.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Just think of how much classier this signing makes the Brewers!!

[clancyphile]

Where does Carlos Gomez fit into this equation?

Starting CF. Gerut is bench for sure. Edmonds is experienced depth if he's good enough to make the team.

 

I don't get why people think this is a stupid signing. It's a no-lose deal, as several others have said. If his skills truly are gone, he's not around.

 

Best of all, he's reasonably cheap and much more likely to succeed than the Duffys & Bourgeoises of our recent past.

 

Gabe Gross is a class act. But he hit (BA) the same in '09 as Edmonds in '08 but with tons less pop. Last year we had little competency on the bench 'til we started signing some vets and traded for Lopez. I'd rather just have better depth to start the year & then not have to sweat it. . . . .And I really don't think in the fairly limited PT a 5th OF should get, that the defensive "productivity" from Edmonds up to Gross really could make much difference at all.

On the other hand, Edmonds' .822 OPS in `08 isn't too bad. The OBP skills are definitely there. 55 BB in 401 PA speaks well ont ht front. The opposite of Hart, in that sense.

 

On the other hand, Edmonds posted a .937 when he wasn't playing half the time in Petco, and he played in the NL Central - the same division he'd posted good OPS/OPS+ figures, except for 2007.

 

Worst case, he doesn't make the 25-man. Best case? We get an OPS in the .900 range, and Corey Hart or Carlos Gomez find themselves riding the pine because Edmonds hits too darn good to pull out of the lineup!

[trwi7]

I guess I don't know where the "he's done" thing comes from. He was fine in 2008 as a 38 year old. He didn't like the offers he got last offseason so he took the year off and now he wants to play again. I doubt he's fallen so far that he's not at least a decent bench bat.