The Player I would like to get

by eboston on May 16, 2008 1:46 PM EDT

Josh Fields and play him at 1st. He's a 30 HR guy plays good defense (could easily move across the diamond) and at this point I would think he wouldn't be too difficult to trade for. Then it becomes a question of who we give up for him. I would say some of the obvious choices would be

German, Gload, Grudz, Teahen, Shealy, possibly some pitching prospects.

Once we came up with a long term solution at SS we'd have our IF set for a few years.

Gordo, Fields and Callaspo, with SS X, sounds nice to me.

This basically just came out of boredom but I was something I'd been thinking about so I thought I would see what others think.

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eh

I’m not to eager to add another low OBP guy. Nice power, but never really liked him that much.

Correction though, his defense is actually pretty poor. Moving him to 1B would be a must.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on May 16, 2008 1:50 PM EDT 0 recs

Some problems with that

Crede is a FA after this season. They will probably let him go at the end of the season or trade him before the deadline. So Fields is the heir apparent to the 3B job. Also, he’s a good prospect so it would take more than a little to get him. But of course, they really need him, so I don’t think he’s on the trading block at all.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 1:52 PM EDT 0 recs

+1

I wouldn’t mind seeing him challenge Brodie Croyle at QB though.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 16, 2008 3:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ditto.

There’s no way the WSox are going let go of fields—-for any price. He’s been hyped in Chicago for a long time, and moving fields would hurt their fan base the same way moving Gordon would hurt ours. No dice. – Tim

by timlacy on May 16, 2008 11:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Mainly just a thought

really slow at work today had to do something to keep the brain active.
This is Kenny Williams though so it’s not out of the question for him to decide to resign Crede.

Sign Alex Gordon to a life time contract!!!

by eboston on May 16, 2008 2:00 PM EDT 0 recs

Perhaps

But he’s not exactly tearing it up this year. He started out very hot at the plate and then really cooled off. And his defense has been less than stellar. But the big reason he won’t be re-signed is his chronic, recurring back problems (think Mike Sweeney).

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 2:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

Crede

Not as bad as all that. Yeah, incredibly hot start in terms of power. But in May, he’s still OPSing .829 (although his BABIP is a bit high in May, it was really low in April).

The back problems are the reason he won’t be re-signed. And Fields is obviously the next big thing. Crede only started the regular season to see if they could showcase him for a trade. But he got hot, the Central is weak, and Fields isn’t exactly lighting it up this in the minors, so there isn’t pressure on them to get rid of him.

But the Royals won’t be able to get Fields for what they have to offer. Maybe he’d work at 3rd, but last I checked there’s already someone there. Not sure he’s good enough hitter overall at 1st or the OF corners. Well, actually, maybe better than Teahen, but not sure that would get him from the Sox anyway.

As got Kenny Williams, as much as I’ve laughed at his moves in the past (trading for Everett and Alomar twice, letting Chris Young go instead of Brian Anderson, etc.), the last couple years, especially this year, he’s done some smart stuff. Yeah, they gave up a lot for Swisher, but he and Ozzie figured out that OBP, not speed at the top of the order is a good thing (yes, I realize that Swisher’s slump has seen him dropped and Cabrera is leading off now). And he bought low on Carlos Quentin—great move, there.

Not saying he’s exactly Billy Beane yet, but it appears he’s learned something.

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 3:35 PM EDT up 0 recs

What he hasn't learned is when and how to rebuild

This was and is a team with no chance of contending. And he took one of his best trading chips, Jon Garland, and instead of trading him for prospects which would help the team in 2009 and beyond, he traded him for a SS well past his peak. The Swisher trade was also a win-now move which maybe gets them third place at best. He’s really hurt this team for the next few years.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 3:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Agreed

I didn’t follow exactly who he traded for what. I’m not sure Garland-for-Cabrera is that bad, not so much because I think Cabrera’s great, but because I think Garland’s a bit overrated. But he did trade a lot of good prospects.

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 3:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

The Garland trade

It’s just that Garland is a solid #3 SP who can eat innings and give you a 4.50ish ERA. That is pretty valuable in MLB right now. KW could have either traded him for some good prospects or for a similarly expensive vet. He picked the win-now option for a team that can’t win now.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up 0 recs

Garland's ERA is OK

but he has mediocre peripherals, not just K / BB rates: his line drive rate is worse than average.

He is not cheap, $12M in 2008, and is an FA after 2008. So, any team trading for him would be getting a one year rental on an OK innings eater, being paid market rate, or even slightly above market rate. He also did not qualify as a type A FA after 2007, rather a type B, so unless he has a good year in 2008, he’s very unlikely to end up bringing his team a 1st round pick, and only a supplemental pick.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on May 18, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

fields has hit aight though

he did hit .244/.308/.480…

at Gordon’s current progression he’ll get to .480 SLGing in about another season… so there’s hope!

by royalsreview on May 16, 2008 3:06 PM EDT 0 recs

Ben Broussard released today

His numbers are declining and he’s 31, but he’s hit for power in the past. I don’t really think he’d be an upgrade over what we have, just throwing it out there.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brousbe01.shtml

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 16, 2008 3:07 PM EDT 0 recs

He's a better hitter than Gload

If you can dump Gload without taking any salary (and that’s a big IF), I’d do it. He plays the same positions, probably not quite as well, but would be cheaper and actually has bordline-acceptable power for a 1B.

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 3:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

Gload's career line

is better than Broussard’s in everything but SLG—.291/.331/.424 versus .263/.324/.450. Broussard used to be able to hit for power, but Gload outslugged him in 2007 and, despite Gload’s slow start this year, is outslugging him this season too. Replacing Gload with Broussard would probably be a mistake.

by DarthYoshi on May 16, 2008 3:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, Broussard is not an upgrade. It's a lateral move with no real point.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 3:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

If he's the same player

And someone else takes Gload’s salary (one of my qualifications above), wouldn’t it save some money better spent elsewhere than on a journeyman 1b?

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 4:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

Maybe

First, the money savings isn’t a big deal. Gload is getting about $1.6M a year for this year and next year. Second, how is Broussard defensively? Because Butler needs a defensive replacement and Gload has been playing near Gold Glove defense this year.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 4:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

First base defense

Is about as important as how well your pitchers hit in the NL.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 16, 2008 4:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

Really? I don't think so

I will grant you that it is not particularly important, but I don’t think it is irrelevant. It is particularly irrelevant when you have a poor defensive 1B like Butler. He genuinely needs a defensive replacement. And if you’ve got two 1B’s with similar hitting, I’d certainly prefer the one who has plus defense as well.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 16, 2008 4:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Paging Dougie!

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

Park adjusted

OPS+ isn’t perfect, but it’s higher for Broussard career wise, and slightly last year when he trade midseason and played irregularly for Seattle.

Hope is not a strategy. And neither is playing Tony Pena every day. (Rany Jazayerli)

by devil_fingers on May 16, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up 0 recs

I Hadn't Really

Internalized the fact that Broussard was no longer a Mariner. M’s fans breathed a sigh of relief every time Broussard took over at 1B for Sexson. Was he non-tendered? It appears the M’s have gone into this season with all their eggs in Sexson’s giant basket of suck. At least Sexsie is hitting a few HR’s again, but a .400 SLG is not good for him, nor is his .686 OPS.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on May 19, 2008 2:01 PM EDT up 0 recs