White Sox sign Fukudome to 1 year/$1M deal

There is a club option for 2013 for $3.5M with a $500k buyout.

Meanwhile, the Royals are on the hook to Jeff Francoeur for 2 years at $13.5M.

3 months ago hawkinscm87 30 comments 0 recs |

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I don't think it will be anything to be scared of

He didn’t impress me too much

Dexter McCluster

by DrewPorter on Feb 14, 2012 7:09 PM EST reply actions

He was the Sox first FA signing of the off season.

The last team to sign a FA

Doubting Thomas, the patron saint of sabermetrics

by Jeff Zimmerman on Feb 14, 2012 8:39 PM EST reply actions

I hope the Sox give him lots and lots of playing time

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Feb 14, 2012 9:39 PM EST reply actions

He gets...

…on base A LOT. He’s also an excellent defensive outfielder. The White Sox could do a lot worse—-seriously.

"Sir,--It has been wittily remarked that there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics." *The National Observer* (June 13, 1891): p. 93-94.

by timlacy on Feb 15, 2012 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

his defense has declined fairly significantly every year he's been in the league

and was atrocious last year

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Feb 15, 2012 11:09 AM EST up reply actions

Agree with billybeingbilly

His defense has declined a lot, he’s probably slightly below average these days.

by hawkinscm87 on Feb 15, 2012 11:49 AM EST up reply actions

He really has been a poor defensive OFer the past two years

And his base running has been poor the past two years. Clearly he’s losing footspeed at an alarming rate.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Feb 15, 2012 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

I wonder how...

…times to first reflect the loss of footspeed. In other words, how has it been measured, and is it correctable? And is there a chronic leg injury issue that’s been kept quiet?

by timlacy on Feb 15, 2012 1:15 PM EST up reply actions

I’m concluding that he’s lost speed because all of his numbers which relate to speed are down: range, base stealing, non-base stealing base running. And of course players in their 30’s lose speed. And he’s 34.

What’s most important is that the measurable performance is down significantly.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Feb 15, 2012 1:23 PM EST up reply actions

Okay, so you guys don't think Fukudome is a good player, it seems.

But would you all agree that he’s a better bargain that Francoeur?

by hawkinscm87 on Feb 14, 2012 9:59 PM EST reply actions

I think Frenchy is at least a gold glove caliber OF with a .275 avg 15-20 HR

So, IMO, it doesn’t matter how much you pay, if your’e not getting quality it doesn’t matter

Dexter McCluster

by DrewPorter on Feb 14, 2012 10:04 PM EST up reply actions

So, IMO, it doesn’t matter how much you pay, if your’e not getting quality it doesn’t matter

That’s an excellent description of Francoeur and his contract. “gold glove caliber OF,” however, is not a good description of Francoeur. That bears no resemblance to Jeff Francoeur.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Feb 14, 2012 10:16 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

He's A Few

Years from JoGui.

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

by philofthenorth on Feb 15, 2012 1:10 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, a better value

Off the top of my head, I’m thinking Fukudome is a cheap 1 WAR player, while Frenchy is a considerably more expensive 1.7 WAR player. Fukudome’s problem is that to have better than bench value, he needs to be a good defender and he just isn’t anymore. He’s lost footspeed like crazy.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Feb 14, 2012 10:14 PM EST up reply actions

Quarter Pounders Strike

Again.

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

by philofthenorth on Feb 15, 2012 1:11 AM EST up reply actions

Better bargain in terms of dollars per output

But Frenchy is the better player. And the standings don’t reflect “best bargains.”

I’m not a huge fan of the Frenchy signing, but if Fukudome is your starting RF, you probably have a pretty crappy lineup.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Feb 14, 2012 10:24 PM EST up reply actions

I'd Compare Him

To MITCH! at that money.

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

by philofthenorth on Feb 15, 2012 1:12 AM EST up reply actions

I agree Frenchy is better.

But I add to Fukudome’s value the fact that it’s only a 1 year deal. It makes no sense for the White Sox, in my opinion. But this deal, were it with the Royals, would add flexibility at RF because he’d be a patch job only. And of course, 2013 would be wide open if Myers was ready. So, overall, I would prefer Fukudome in RF on this deal.

by hawkinscm87 on Feb 15, 2012 1:52 AM EST up reply actions

i'd rather have frenchy on my team than fukodome at that deal playing every day

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Feb 14, 2012 11:45 PM EST up reply actions

FWIW

ZIPS projects Fukudome to hit .240/.335/.370 (in Progressive Field).

Frenchy projects to hit .273/.314/.437

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Feb 14, 2012 10:03 PM EST reply actions

Based on Fukudome's most recent season...

I understand the dip in batting average, and that is likely to continue. As Scott mentioned, he has lost footspeed seemingly overnight, so that’s contributing to the BABIP going down. With that said, .240 seems a tad low to me, although I don’t have his numbers in front of me.

by hawkinscm87 on Feb 15, 2012 1:53 AM EST up reply actions

He's never hit higher than .263

OTOH, he’s never hit lower than .257. That’s pretty darn consistent.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Feb 15, 2012 8:46 AM EST up reply actions

.30 points below in BA, yet still .20 more in projected OBP.

Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Rock Chalk Talk

by Warden11 on Feb 15, 2012 9:42 AM EST up reply actions

now he gets to face

the Royals pitchers more, thus the spike in walks and OBP

by higs on Feb 15, 2012 10:43 AM EST up reply actions

clearly you're underestimating the dave eiland effect

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Feb 15, 2012 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

He also

gets to face Twins and Indians pitching, which should help with his contact.

by hawkinscm87 on Feb 15, 2012 11:51 AM EST up reply actions

If you're looking at Francoeur vs. Fukudome for the Royals hypothetically

You can compare them to the other in house options (by 2012 ZiPS):

MITCH: .246/.324/.353 (projection for 272 ABs)
Lough: .255/.297/.362 (projection for 550 ABs)

Francoeur is the best of the group, even if he regresses to his projected triple slash. If the goal is saving every dollar for next offseason and going with a cheap player who is solid defensively, the Royals had two internal options, and that’s a legitimate argument. Since Francoeur had a nice year, I was fine with bringing him back for one more year at his mutual option for $4 million or even a raise to $5 million. Even if he had a bad 2012, i.e. 1 WAR, you didn’t overpay and didn’t commit long term.

Unfortunately, Dayton made all of this irrelevant back in August.

by thelaundry on Feb 15, 2012 11:48 AM EST up reply actions