Eduardo Escobar signs 3 year deal with D-Backs

[homer]

One middle infielder off the board.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25056498/eduardo-escobar-arizona-diamondbacks-agree-3-year-deal

 

3 years, $21 million

[long ball]

Marwin Gonzalez would be an interesting name to keep an eye On. Might get a similar deal.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Bummer. That would've been a nice deal at that price for the Brewers. Much better than Schoop at 10 million.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Wow. That looks like a bargain. Good signing for them. Must have liked playing in AZ.

[JosephC]

I still don't know what to think about Escobar.

 

2018 = .272/.334/.489/.824 (631 plate appearances)

2015 - 2017 = .251/.301/.415/.716 (1322 plate appearances)

 

His defense isn't good enough to justify a 20 million dollar commitment IF he reverts back to a .301 OBP. I do think this deal has more than just a little risk for the Diamondbacks. He is in the right home park though.

[jerichoholicninja]

I don't think he would have gotten all that much more on the market. He's a utility guy who just had a career year. As we saw last offseason, teams are smarter than to throw money willy nilly at players with questions marks just because they're a free agent. Maybe he would have gotten $10-$12M a year on the market. But I think just as likely he would have been signing a 1 year deal for a couple million at the end of January. He took the money now, probably a good move on his part.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I don't think he would have gotten all that much more on the market. He's a utility guy who just had a career year. As we saw last offseason, teams are smarter than to throw money willy nilly at players with questions marks just because they're a free agent. Maybe he would have gotten $10-$12M a year on the market. But I think just as likely he would have been signing a 1 year deal for a couple million at the end of January. He took the money now, probably a good move on his part.

 

Yep ... he's a decent player, but nothing special. I personally think they can do better if they are looking for a full time 2B. There are quite a few good 2B and middle infielders on the market, and not a lot of teams that have holes to fill. I think they are going to grab one at a solid price before all is said and done. I still really like DJ LeMahieu or Jed Lowrie, and there's also maybe Asdrubal Cabrera, Daniel Murphy (if you can deal with his poor glove), Brian Dozier, Freddy Galvis, Jordy Mercer, Jose Iglesias. They could also look for one via the trade market.

[JohnBriggs12]

The Brewers best prospect is a 2B who'll likely be ready to play at some point in 2019. I don't see them signing any of the guys who'll command multiple year deals. That eliminates a guy like LeMahieu. A guy like Dozier who's looking to re-establish some value and might take one year make more sense. Maybe because of age they could get a Lowrie or a Murphy for one year too.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The Brewers best prospect is a 2B who'll likely be ready to play at some point in 2019. I don't see them signing any of the guys who'll command multiple year deals. That eliminates a guy like LeMahieu. A guy like Dozier who's looking to re-establish some value and might take one year make more sense. Maybe because of age they could get a Lowrie or a Murphy for one year too.

 

It all depends on what kind of money LeMahieu is looking for. If it's affordable, I have no problem giving him multiple years, as he's a guy that can play multiple positions, and fits the need of a guy with a good OBP who puts the ball in play. I have high hopes for Hiura as well, but as a guy who only has one year of full-season ball under his belt, I'm not quite ready to name him the starting 2B on what's going to be a World Series contender. Having a player like LeMahieu for multiple years would be terrific, whether you start him at 2B while giving Hiura time to develop, use him as a utility infielder, or use him as trade capital down the road.

[tmwiese55]

Lowrie seems like such a perfect fit. Switch hitter without drastic splits. Contact type of hitter. Can play 2B and 3B (Murphy likely only 2B and 1B) so he can transition to utilty backup all over the IF when Keston comes up. 34 years old so you'd think he's getting 2 years at most and he shouldn't get a ton per year either. Looks like he hasn't played SS in a few years though. I'll take DJ too, but he'll cost more and check out those home/road splits.

[KeithStone53151]

The Brewers best prospect is a 2B who'll likely be ready to play at some point in 2019. I don't see them signing any of the guys who'll command multiple year deals. That eliminates a guy like LeMahieu. A guy like Dozier who's looking to re-establish some value and might take one year make more sense. Maybe because of age they could get a Lowrie or a Murphy for one year too.

 

Murphy would be a good target, especially if we don't keep Thames. He could get time and 1b and 2b once Hiura comes up, and be insurance if Aguilar regresses.

[coolhandluke121]

I'd rather just keep Schoop that pay anything remotely close to that to a much older player on a multiyear deal. A lot of the guys available aren't even much better than Schoop for their careers, and could go full Neil Walker at any moment now. Granted, some of them are less streaky, but I think the idea that Stearns hates free-swingers is a little overstated - they got Cain and Yelich because they're much better players than anyone they had, not simply because they were less strikeout-prone. The fact that they acquired Moustakas and Schoop at the trade deadline and kept Santana on the playoff rosters shows that they're just trying to acquire the best talent possible.

 

Schoop just turned 27. That's right around the age when guys like Gomez and Segura turned it around after being every bit as bad as Schoop (arguably much worse) for most of their careers. I don't really like players like Schoop and I hated the trade because they had Shaw, Perez, and Villar at 2b, but with Moustakas likely gone and Shaw moving back to 3B full time, I think keeping Schoop and hoping for the best is almost a no-brainer.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

The Brewers went after so many targets before they had to settle for Moustakas and Schoop. The Brewers had obvious roles and needs to fill and those were simply the guys they came away with. Cain and Yelich were not simply great players, they both fit the mold of giving great at bats and good to great defense. Stearns wants guys with defensive value, positional flexibility, and who make contact. I'll make just about any friendly wager with anyone who thinks Schoop or Moustakas will be back. Those guys not only don't fit the mold, they're way too costly to retain. $25 million that can be spent so much better elsewhere.

[reillymcshane]

3-years and $21M seems like a pretty good deal for Arizona. I think Escobar could have gotten more on the open market - but hey, you never know. A lot of 2B/3B types will be out there, and maybe he's the smart guy. A lot of guys like Escobar have not got what they expected the last few years. The guys who sign early seem to be the ones with the best deals.

 

Personally, I would have been happy to have the guy. He's a better version of Perez (at least around the IF). He could have played 2B next year - then become a super sub type guy once Hiura is ready.

 

But whatever. The guy netted himself $21M. His life is set. Good for him.

[danzig6767]

The Brewers best prospect is a 2B who'll likely be ready to play at some point in 2019. I don't see them signing any of the guys who'll command multiple year deals. That eliminates a guy like LeMahieu. A guy like Dozier who's looking to re-establish some value and might take one year make more sense. Maybe because of age they could get a Lowrie or a Murphy for one year too.

 

It all depends on what kind of money LeMahieu is looking for. If it's affordable, I have no problem giving him multiple years, as he's a guy that can play multiple positions, and fits the need of a guy with a good OBP who puts the ball in play.

LeMahieu has a career .311 OBP and .673 OPS outside of Coors Field.