12/23/11

Hot Stove: - Yonder Alonso, Endy Chavez, Yu Darvish, Casey Blake, John Danks


Of the four players dealt to San Diego, Yonder Alonso probably sees his value change the most. Even with Anthony Rizzo in the system, Alonso probably enters Spring Training as the presumptive starter at first base. This is a marked improvement from his situation in Cincinnati, where the Reds were probably going to stuck playing him in left field, where he didn’t exactly acquit himself well during his call up last year. While they would have lived with his glove to keep his bat in the lineup, defensive replacements would have cost Alonso — and by extension fantasy owners — a fair number of plate appearances over the course of a season. There should be no such concerns in San Diego, where Alonso will be counted on to drive in a solid portion of the team’s runs. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/san-diego-stocks-up-on-prospects-from-cincinnatis-cache

The Orioles have signed Endy Chavez to a one-year $1.5mm deal, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reports. The deal also includes a total of $500k that Chavez can earn in unknown incentives. Chavez hit .301 in 274 plate appearances for the Rangers in 2011. He played the entire outfield as he helped provide depth to in outfield that included injury prone Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. http://www.prorumors.com/2011/12/rumors/orioles-sign-endy-chavez-to-one-year-deal?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Converting Japanese statistics to US equivalents isn't easy, but even if you consider Japanese baseball equivalent to just Triple-A, Yu Darvish has been terrific. He went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and a 276/36 K/BB in 232 innings in 2011, allowing 156 hits and just five homers. In 1024 innings in Japan over five seasons, he's got a 1.72 ERA with a 1083//221 K/BB and just 691 hits allowed. I don't see how you can rate him as anything but a Grade A prospect for success in Major League Baseball. - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/12/20/2649181/morning-minor-league-notes-december-20th-2011-yu-darvish

The Colorado Rockies have signed 38-year-old third baseman Casey Blake to a one-year, $2 million contract, reports MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Provided he can stay healthy — and, really, even if he can’t — Blake is likely to be worth the money pretty quickly: he hasn’t been worth less than a win since 2002, in which season he tallied only 22 plate appearances. He compiled a 1.1 WAR in just 239 plate appearances last season with the Dodgers.  http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/offseason-notes-for-december-21st

Multiple outlets reported Wednesday night that Chicago has reached agreement with southpaw John Danks on a five-year contract extension worth $65 million. Danks, drafted by Texas and traded to Chicago in 2006, has posted a 54-56 record and a 4.03 ERA in five big league seasons. Danks was just one year away from testing free agency for the first time, and the reported extension would keep him under Chicago's control through his 32nd birthday. Danks, the ninth overall selection in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, went 8-12 with a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts last season. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111221&content_id=26224068&vkey=news_cws&c_id=cws&partnerId=aw-5867140155760745011-996

No comments: