The Cardinals are on a roll. After just
trading 3B David Freese to the Angels for OF Peter Bourjos, they strike in the
free agency by acquiring Jhonny Peralta.
Peralta has reportedly signed a
4-year, $52 million deal ($13 million/year) with St. Louis. This adds a
top-hitting shortstop that they did not have with Pete Kozma or Daniel
Descalso. Peralta can also play outfield. He’s not as good of a defender as
those two, but he’s still ok. The Cardinals also have all-star SS Rafael
Furcal, but he was sidelined the entire year in 2013 with an elbow injury
Peralta, 31, is a two-time all-star
who has played his last four seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He was a top
prospect for the Cleveland Indians in his younger days, batting .266/.331/.425 for
the Tribe from 2003-2009, which is very respectable for shortstops.
Last season, Peralta batted
.303/.358/.457 in 107 games before he was suspended 50 games as his name was
tied to the Biogenesis scandal. Despite being suspended towards the end of the
year, he came back for the Tigers in the playoffs and performed quite well.
Here’s something to note though. In
2012, Peralta batted only .239/.305/.384 with an 84 OPS+ and grounded into 20
double plays. I don’t care if he’s a shortstop, those are still bad numbers.
This signing is quite a raise for
Peralta’s payroll. He received $6 million in 2013, and now is getting $13
million? After being suspended for steroids? That just seems unfair. And players
in the MLB are taking notice.
Brad Ziegler, a submarine pitcher
for the Diamondbacks, tweeted “It pays to cheat… Thanks, owners, for
encouraging PED use” on Peralta’s signing. David Aardsma, a reliever for the
Mets, tweeted “Apparently getting suspended for PED’s means you get a raise.
What’s stopping anyone from doing it? #weneedtomakeachange”
It’s a very interesting argument,
and I agree with them. I don’t think they should be as mad in the long run,
however. The Cardinals will have Peralta until he is 36 now, meaning his prime
days are much over. They might regret this one, unless Peralta can help them
win a championship, which can be likely with such a talented team.
A $7 million raise, though? Come
on, man.
The free agency has not stopped
there, though. Brian McCann, arguably the best catcher in the free agency
market, is heading to the New York Yankees.
McCann and the Yanks agree to a
five-year, $85 million deal with a vesting option. McCann, who will turn 30 in
February, spent his first nine MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves, being a
seven-time all-star and winning five Silver Slugger Awards. He is your next
Mike Piazza in the National League (though Piazza is better).
Lately, his offensive numbers haven’t
been very impressive, however. The past two seasons, he’s batted a combined
.242/.316/.426 with 20 homers each year and a combined 3.0 WAR. His WASP in
2013 was 0.606. His defensive capabilities have always been ok, but he’s never
won a Gold Glove Award.
McCann has put up quality numbers
in his career, but he needs a fresh start. Switching to the American League might
help a lot. The Yankees are making a pretty good move here. We all know that they
have the money, but will it bring them back to the playoffs?
Just signing McCann won’t win the
division. But it is a start. With a 5-year deal, McCann can vest in the catcher’s
role or switch to DH if his knees start bothering him. The Yankees have
struggled in finding their next catcher, and they might have found their
answer. Despite McCann’s ok offensive numbers, it sure beats the .213/.289/.298
slash line that Yankees catchers put up in 2013.
Will he be the Yankees’ next Jorge
Posada? Maybe- we’ll just have to see.
Those have been the two biggest
acquisitions in the free agency lately. However, two other acquisitions have
gone unnoticed. Dan Haren has reportedly signed a 1-year, $10 million deal with
the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources say. Haren, 33, went 10-14 with a 4.67 ERA last
year, and was on my list for pitchers that will surprise you for the 2014 season.
The Angels are also adding more
quality, this time to their relief system. They have signed side-arm reliever Joe Smith
with a three-year, $15 million contract, pending a physical. Smith has been a
very effective and durable reliever lately. In the past three years, he’s put
up a 2.42 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP while averaging 71 appearances for the Cleveland
Indians.
Adding Smith to an already pretty
good bullpen shows some good signs for the Angels. Now all they need is better
starting pitching. Angels fans, pray that Jered Weaver is healthy.
The free agency is starting to get
real good. Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com
for any questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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