Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
November 08, 2005
Neifi In the Money

The Cubs signed Neifi Perez to a two year, $5 million contract today. It looks like the Cubs plan for the light hitting shortstop to be an insurance policy:

The Cubs are expected to make a run at Atlanta Braves free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal and give Ronny Cedeno a shot at regular time at shortstop or second after he batted .300 in 41 games. The Cubs also exercised an option on second baseman Todd Walker for next season.

"I think I showed them that if they put me in, I can play every day," said Perez, the Cubs' primary shortstop last season. "I can't worry about things that are out of my hands."

It's a perfectly sensible signing. Neifi's not a starter, but he's fine as a replacement if an injury comes up or just to spell a middle infielder.


Posted by David Pinto at 04:33 PM | Free Agents | TrackBack (0)
Comments

That's $2.5M per for a guy who's been consistently the worst hitter in the league for the past decade. And he's well on the wrong side of 30.

Aren't there a couple guys on every AAA team who be willing to play just as poorly for the league minimum?

Posted by: gordon at November 8, 2005 06:54 PM

Only if Dusty doesn't decide to play him everyday...

Posted by: Bill K at November 8, 2005 06:54 PM

See here: http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/009258.php

Posted by: Bill K at November 8, 2005 07:01 PM

Not a good signing...way too much money.

As Gordon said, he is one of the worst hitters in baseball. He had two good months this last season (which happened to be his two months with the least at bats).

I fully expect them to sign furcal, so you are now paying Neifi 2.5 million to be your 4th middle infielder (behind Walker, Furcal, and Cedeno).

What I think this really means is that they are going to trade Walker, which would be a terrible decision, being that he is one of the better offensive 2b in the league.

Posted by: dave at November 8, 2005 07:35 PM

I'm sorry, but how is it sensible to pay a guy $5M over two years when he's a useful backup player at best? He has some value, sure, but it seems like that isn't the best use of resources when there are many cheaper backup infielders out there. I know I'd be very upset if the Cards rewarded Abraham Nunez for his surprisingly not-god-awful season and gave him a 2y/$5M deal.

Posted by: JeffW at November 8, 2005 07:59 PM

Actually, Perez is a sieve who slugged .383 in almost 600 at bats. Any other decision by the Cubs to fill their hole at short, including using Roger Cedeno (!) at the position would probably be a better backup option.

Posted by: Alex Carnevale at November 8, 2005 10:47 PM

I guess I'm just becoming immune to the $ amounts. $2.5 million just doesn't seem like that much money at this point.

It's not like the Cubs are strapped for cash. They have a good defensive middle infielder. Whether they have Perez or some rookie isn't going to matter that much to the success of the team. $2.5 Million isn't going to make or break the team. For the money, they have one less thing to worry about, and can now concentrate on making the starting lineup good.

Let's face it, the Cubs aren't the Athletics who have to pinch every penny. They can afford to carry a low offense glove man.

Posted by: David Pinto at November 8, 2005 11:23 PM

Just to be clear, Perez had a good zone rating and his fielding percentage and range numbers were all above average. The Cubs are paying for a known quantity, a good glove. If they're going to start him every day, it's a lousy move. As a backup, as a defensive replacement, it's perfectly legitimate.

Posted by: David Pinto at November 8, 2005 11:31 PM

David, I see your point. But you are smart, and Dusty is not. Neifi will play more than he deserves because Dusty fills out the lineup card, and Hendry did not have the good sense to limit Drunken Master's options. This move is both sensible and stupid. It's all about context.

Posted by: mindpunk at November 9, 2005 04:07 AM

I don't know...$2.5 million for a backup anything is a lot of money...think about it like this: a roster of 25 at $2.5 million is a $62.5 million team. Would you want to field a $62.5 million dollar team of Perez equivalents?

Posted by: Dave S. at November 9, 2005 09:44 AM

I think he's overpaid, but he did have a positive VORP last year, which means he is better than a replacement, $300,000 player.

Posted by: Mike at November 9, 2005 09:56 AM

Terrence Long had a positive VORP last year too...they should sign him to platoon in the corner spots...I would like to wish the Cubs a good season this year without too much interference from Dusty.

If anyone didn't catch it, my Long comment was sarcastic. Wouldn't want to be known as someone who thinks one of my favorite whipping boys is a good player.

Posted by: Marc Normandin at November 9, 2005 11:59 AM

Agree with Dave. One thing I've noticed is that when you take both offense and defense into account, Perez was about equal to Juan Uribe in 2005. And better than Orlando Cabrera and Jose Reyes. But for some reason Neifi has gotten dissed by every Cubs fan on the internet. Everyone's down with Juan Uribe because he in the World Series I guess.

Posted by: RotoAuthority at November 9, 2005 06:16 PM
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