Thinking Out Loud (12/31/08)

Angels sign Fuentes to replace K-Rod

Nice signing by the Halos. Fuentes is an underrated reliever who has somehow gotten the bogus rap of a guy who "lost his closer's job" back in '07 during the Rockies' run to the playoffs.

That's not exactly how it played out...

Fuentes didn’t “lose” the job, he got hurt and then his manager didn’t give him the job back after he returned from the disabled list.

Here’s the breakdown on his 2007 season:

- Thru June 21 Fuentes was 20-of-22 in save chances and had a 1.89 ERA
- From June 22 - July 3 Fuentes gave up 10 ER in 4.3 IP
- Fuentes did not pitch from July 4 thru August 14 (he was on the DL with a strained muscle in his rib cage)
- He posted a 1.29 ERA in August after his return from the DL and a 1.15 ERA in September
- Outside of the 11-day stretch of bad games (followed by the DL stint) Fuentes allowed 11 ER in 57 IP (1.74 ERA)
- His save percentage outside of that 11-day window was 83% (20-of-24)

He's got an 85% conversion rate from 2005-2008 (111 saves in 131 chances), a 10.3 K/9 ratio, an opponent batting average around .200 and a 3-to-1 K/BB ratio (302 K/105 BB) during that 4-year run.

Also, if you factor out that 11-day stretch in 2007 (all of those games were on the road), his 2006-2008 road splits were incredibly impressive: 40-of-47 saves (85%), 85 2/3 IP, 46 H, 22 ER, 41 BB, 95 K, 2.31 ERA.

The Angels got him at a bargain price ($17.5 million over 2 years w/ a $9 million option for a third year) and they will once again have one of the best bullpens in baseball with Fuentes closing while Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo setup for him.

Nice move.

Cubs manuevering for Peavy, Bradley or both

The Cubs traded IF-OF Mark DeRosa to the Indians for three minor league pitchers, none of them elite prospects (two are relievers), in what appears to be a move to clear some salary so they can either renew their pursuit of Jake Peavy, sign Milton Bradley (or Bobby Abreu) or perhaps do both.

They'll replace DeRosa on the roster with Aaron Miles who signed 2-year deal worth $4.9 million. Miles will make roughly half of what DeRosa is set to make in '09. Miles is a nice player who would appear to be a nice complement to Mike Fontenot at 2B for the Cubs.

They're also reportedly close to sending Jason Marquis and his $9.875 million contract to the Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino who makes $3.5 million.

The sum total of these moves saves the Cubs $9-10 million which would seem to be chump change for the franchise but with the ownership situation being what it is I guess the moves are understandable.

DeRosa will be a tough player to lose - he's significantly better offensively than a Miles/Fontenot combo figures to be and he's a better defensive player (at more positions) than the other two as well.

Great pickup for the Indians - they give up three pretty mediocre pitching prospects and get someone to take on a spot in their infield while providing an offensive upgrade. DeRosa could handle 3B for the Tribe if they wanted him to but they could also shuffle things a bit and move Jhonny Peralta over to 3B with Asdrubal Cabrera taking over at SS. Personally, that's how I'd do it...

This is a tough loss for the Cards, by the way. It leaves Adam Kennedy as the only 2B on the roster with significant MLB experience and it's over an $800,000 difference in pay (Miles' 08 salary vs. his new '09 salary) after Miles hit .317 last season.

It's kind of tough to swallow, watching a proven utility infielder go to your division rival because you didn't want to cough up a little more money and one extra year, especially for a guy who has basically been a regular the past two seasons.

Let me guess - it's the economy!

Tell that to the 3.5 million fans who will come through the gates in '09...