December 07, 2006
For that Money, They Better Get Enkidu, Too
The Royals are planning on paying Gil Meche $9 million a year for five years. I wish I were a mediocre pitcher. If Meche can get his walks down, he'd be pretty good. It seems to me, however, that the Royals could find a better way to spend the $9 million.
If they were in playoff contention, where the only thing they needed to put them over the top was a fourth starter, I can see it. But the Royals are pretty far away from that. They need to make more deals like the one for Bannister. He's an okay pitcher that's cheap, who will fill a need until they're ready to win. Locking up Meche for five years just means five years of okay to bad pitching. Then again, given the state of the Royals staff, Gil is an improvement. He really should be seen as a stop gap, however.
Update: It's worse than I thought:
Kansas City Royals agreed to terms with right-hander Gil Meche on a five-year deal worth $55 million on Thursday as baseball's winter meetings neared a conclusion.
Here's what Moore said:
"We were proud to be a part of the process and delighted that Gil Meche made the decision to join the Royals," general manager Dayton Moore said. "He is an impact pitching talent who fits in with our plan for long term success. At 28, he is entering the prime of his career."
At least they're spending some of that revenue sharing money on salary. It would be better, of course, if they spent it to improve the team.
$11 mil a year over 5 years for a guy with an ERA+ of 96.
The mind. It boggles.
In theory, this reminds me of the Tigers a few years ago overpaying to get respectable... I thought it was crazy then in Detroit and I think it's crazy now in KC. Maybe Dayton will prove me wrong like Dave did.
Meche's 4.80 xFIP isn't horrific, and he's got a shot to improve. But for a guy who has never reached 200 innings? Yeeesh.
Barry Zito is going to need to rethink his price. He should probably be demanding A-Rod money if teams are giving $11 million/year to mediocre players.
I know it's easy to rip on the Royals and we are pretty used to it. However claiming Meche is a 4th starter and going on to claim that Meche doesn't even improve the Royals is a bit silly.
I briefly looked at AL pitching by team and only the Angels, Indians, and Tigers had three pitchers with over 170 innings and an ERA of under 4.48. So not real sure where your research indicates he's a 4th starter.
I briefly looked at AL pitching by team and only the Angels, Indians, and Tigers had three pitchers with over 170 innings and an ERA of under 4.48.
Ten bucks says he doesn't keep his ERA under 5 pitching in Kaufman against the Indians, White Sox, and Tigers.
I'd take that bet.
"In theory, this reminds me of the Tigers a few years ago overpaying to get respectable"
Yeah, but the Tigers overpaid for guys who'd, you know, done something. Pudge, Ordonez...this is Gil Meche we're talking about. I could be wrong, maybe he'll blossom into a solid starter...but the odds aren't great...
I'd take that bet.
Wait. Given your comments, I'm not sure I get what you're betting... We can't both bet he'll suck.
"we can't both bet he'll suck."
great!
It's worth pointing out that 5 years, $55 million was what the Dodgers paid Darren Dreifort a few years back. That's more than $6 million per win.
(In Dreif's defense, the guy was never a bum, just injured. But still.)
Question: could it be that the Royals have to pay these sorts of ridiculous prices because decent pitchers refuse to play for them? Is it a case of "you have to spend a lot of money before you can spend reasonable money"?