5 Worst Offseason Signings

[Ennder]

"I think it's all going to depend on whether he's truly experiencing a decline or just had a bad year. "

 

that's the thing, what has the economics of baseball come to that you'd pay a guy that much on only the hunch that he's going to rebound and be a good player again?

 

The fact that he posted the same stats in Chicago after the trade that he posted in 2006 makes it a little more than a hunch but it is hardly a safe bet either.

[reillymcshane]

Kendall's career stats really don't matter much. What he hit 10 years ago is pretty irrelevent.

 

Kendall has a .665 OPS over the last three years. Last year he had the 2nd worst OPS and SLG% in all of baseball. He's 33 - which means he's not likely to get better. He's got a lot of mileage on him. He had a low percentage of throwing out runners (whether that was his fault is another matter). There's a lot of danger signs.

 

I don't see anything wrong with labeling him as a bad deal.

 

One of the five worst? I could argue against it.

 

I think Kendall has some merits, and there's hope for better. I'm hoping 2007 was a fluke, and we'll see a .700+ OPS Kendall. I'm hoping he can be a .350 OBP guy, handle the pitching staff better, keep runners a little more honest.

 

My biggest fear is that we have a guy with no slugging potential, and will be nothing more than slap hitter, with fading arm strength to go with it. I hope not.

 

Ultimately, it's one guy's opinion. He's entitled to it. He at least tries to back up his picks with stats.

[Ennder]

His stats the last 4 seasons...

 

.319/.399/.390/.789

.271/.345/.321/.666

.295/.367/.342/.709

 

.226/.261/.281/.542 for Oak

.270/.362/.356/.718 for Chi

 

If he puts up stats like in 2006 or like he did for Chi in 2007 he will be a large upgrade over Estrada last season. Keep in mind OBP is worth 1.7-1.8 times as much as OPS so those high OBP's for a C are just huge even if the SLG isn't so hot.