The Royals avoided arbitration with C John Buck, agreeing to a 1-year $2.9 million contract.
What's so terrible about that?
First of all, I just want to say this isn't a pot-shot at John Buck. I think $2.9 million is a fair salary for him, if you're going to play him full-time over the course of the season.
This is, however, a pot-shot at the Royals organization.
Why pay Buck $2.9 million and Olivo $2.7 million to be the SAME PLAYER.
2008:
Buck - .669 OPS, 370 AB
Olivo - .720 OPS, 306 AB
3-Year Average:
Buck - .708 OPS, 368 AB
Olivo - .701 OPS, 396 AB
Okay, so you're a team that has limited financial resources and you're going to pay two guys to produce the exact same numbers and have them split time?
Why not just pick one and let him play 130 games while having a cheap back up to spell the regular every so often?
Both Buck and Olivo are solid defensive catchers so you're not going to hurt yourself all that much no matter who you go with. Pick one and be done with it.
They'd be better off saving the money from one of them to sign draft picks if they're not able to put it toward an improvement elsewhere.
While I'm at it, here are some other players the Royals are wasting money on (guys who can certainly play but who aren't worth the money to this team):
Kyle Farnsworth ($4.25 million):
$4+ million a year for an inconsistent setup man?
Ron Mahay ($4 million):
Good player but why is he worth that money on a last place team?
Ross Gload ($1.9 million):
Nice bench player but the Royals use him too much and pay too much for what he should be.
Horacio Ramirez ($1.8 million):
Did they see this guy pitch last year? Was he worth signing at all?
Willie Bloomquist ($1.4 million):
How many utility players do the Royals need, exactly?
That doesn't even count Mike Jacobs, who will make between $2.75 million (team arbitration number) and $3.8 million (his arbitration number) and occupy a spot that could go to Kila Ka'aihue or Ryan Shealy for a lot less money. Jacobs is solid but, again, not worth that kind of money to this particular team.
They could have another premium player or two if they weren't so enthralled with paying so much to have spare parts around. What's wrong with using guys making the league minimum as your backups when you're a low budget, last place club?
You don't get better by adding bench players, you get better by adding starting quality players.
KW
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The Jacobs acquisition seems nuts. They have Ka'aihue and Billy Butler. Maybe they're going to fill out a lineup with two DHs and hope no one calls them on it.
ReplyDeleteI can just see Buddy Bell turning in his lineup card, beads of sweat on his forehead, trying to play it casual...
Jacobs, Ka'aihue, and Butler on the top step of the dugout, each holding a bat, big innocent smiles on their faces...
No doubt. They're just grasping at straws, as if having Jacobs will actually help them sell tickets and make their fans happy.
ReplyDeleteSave the money you spend on him and all the other players listed above and spend it on one impact player that you can surround with the likes of Butler, Ka'aihue, etc.