Free Agents Archives

I have to agree with Childs Walker:

I hope some club signs Barry Bonds this summer. And I hope he leads that team to the playoffs with a fusillade of walks and 450-foot homers.

I don't wish for this because I have any rooting interest in Bonds. Whether he never homers again or hits 50 more, my opinion of him won't change.

No, what I'm rooting for is the unconventional, a general manager who doesn't give a hoot about disapproving scrutiny as long as Bonds can help his team win. If we're going to create entertainment markets in which we reward those who win at all costs, then by Job, I want some executive to stick his neck out and make this move.

Bud Selig stated publicly that he's not stopping any team from signing Bonds. Someone should take him up on the offer.

There's word that Scott Boras is looking for a five-year, $60 million contract for Oliver Perez.

...my initial reaction is to laugh in boras's face...however, who knows...i mean, i can see perez going the way of Gil Meche, but also see him holding out and settling for a short-term deal like Kyle Lohse

Perez is exactly the type of player who's stats are so volatile that it's tough to put a number on him. He's the perfect candidate for a short term guarantee with lots of club option years. If I were a GM, I'd be willing to sign him to a one-year, $12 million deal with club options that go up by $2 million every year. If he pitches well, he keeps getting renewed. If he tanks, he becomes a free agent again. That way, he always has an incentive to pitch well.

With the Athletics tied for first place in the AL West, Scott Ostler thinks the A's should sign both Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds:

What if Beane & Co. decide to switch gears and make a run at the playoffs?

That would be gutsy. And that's where Thomas and perhaps Bonds might enter the picture.

The A's lead the major leagues in not hitting home runs. They've hit seven, and going 12-8 with seven taters is kind of smoke and mirror-ish. If the A's decide to go legit, they need someone who can hit 20 home runs.

The home run is nice, but it's possible the Athletics can win by flooding the base paths. I do like the idea of signing at least one of them. Thomas may not be happy with limited playing time against lefties, but signing both gives the Athletics insurance if one gets hurt. It's something the team should seriously consider.

Kyle Lohse finally gets a job.

Finally, Lohse's long nightmare is over because, as speculated yesterday, he's signed a one-year contract with the pitching thin Cardinals. There's no quotes from him about this yet, but if I had to guess it would be something along the lines of, "Sweet, Jesus! Finally! Boras is so fricking fired for putting me through this!"

I can see Lohse doing well for the Cardinals. His walk total was good in 2007, and he'll being playing in a much friendlier park for pitchers. If the Cardinals hitters can give him some run support, he might end up at .500.

Notsellingjeans at Athletics Nation wonders who will be the first player the Athletics sign to a $100 million contract. His bet is Justin Upton.

*If we look at some of the most successful marquee free agent signings of the past 15 years - Barry Bonds' first deal with the Giants, Vlad's deal with the Angels, and even, I would argue, A-Rod's first deal with the Rangers (which would have been even better if the team hadn't outbid themselves by $50MM), they have a common theme - position players on the good side of age 28. That's part of why the list I made above focuses on position players, and especially youth.

*Using that criterion, my personal endorsement for the A's first $100MM splurge is...Justin Upton, assuming he reaches free agency in 2014. In fact, this could double that investment, requiring something like 9 years and $200 million. Yes, I am advocating that for the A's, and no, I'm not nuts.

We'll find out in six years!

Sports Hub LA looks at the centerfield situation for both the Dodgers and Angels.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford would like Barry Bonds to join the Rays:

"C'mon,'' B.J. Upton said, "it's Barry.''

Two-time All-Star Carl Crawford said Bonds could be a good addition to the team's lineup, despite whatever issues, and attention, might follow him.

"If they are really serious about it, I'm pretty sure we can adjust to it,'' Crawford said before Monday's workout. "It's Barry Bonds - who wouldn't want to have him on their team?

This is one of those situations where there's no such thing as negative publicity. Yes, the Rays are trying to build a young team, but Barry in the lineup would increase attendance, and possibly improve the team enough that they get a taste of competing this season. For one year, I don't see a lot of downside to Tampa signing Bonds.

Tony La Russa wanted Barry Bonds to hit behind Albert Pujols:

"When you look at somebody dangerous to hit behind Albert, Barry was the guy I thought of," La Russa acknowledged before Sunday's workout. "For whatever reason, at the general manager or the ownership level, they didn't agree."

La Russa said he consulted his coaching staff before making the recommendation and received a positive response from some, but not all.

Any intrigue surrounding the possibility evaporated when Mozeliak concurred with the owners that signing Bonds would run counter to the club's stated commitment this season to younger players.

"It became moot as soon as I raised it and they said no," La Russa said.

Mozeliak confirmed discussing the matter as well as underscoring his lack of enthusiasm for the idea.

"Tony and I discussed it. I never got the feeling this was something he wanted to push for. He had some interest in it," Mozeliak said. "To me, to bring in somebody as protection in case something happened is a very different equation."

La Russa has a history of tolerating players accused of using steroids. I'm sure Bonds would have had a positive effect on Rick Ankiel. :-)

However, Tony is right. Pujols and Bonds back-to-back would give the Cardinals a scary offense. If this was a team that needed one piece to be able to compete, it would be a great signing. Given their pitching woes, however, that's not likely to happen.

Last week we heard Bartolo Colon was signing with the White Sox. Today, he agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Empyreal Environs ponders the thought of Schilling and Colon in the same clubhouse:

Terry Francona, who signed a three-year extension today, had some concerns about both Schilling and Colon in the same clubhouse. "Wouldn't that much mass potentially warp the fabric of the space-time continuum?"

Manny Ramirez is in the last year of his Red Sox contract, although Boston holds two option years:

"I want to stay here, but it's up to them if they want to bring me," he said. "But if they don't want to bring me back, that's fine. I know I'll be a free agent after '08 so that's another thing that I'm looking forward (to)."

The slugging left fielder is in the last year of an eight-year contract. Beyond that, the team has options for the next two seasons at $20 million each.

"It's up to them to say, `OK, we're going take (the option). It's not up to me to go into the office and demand a four-year deal, whatever," the 35-year-old Ramirez said. " No, I'm going come here to play the game, finish my year. If they want me to come back, I'll come back."

Boston is in an interesting situation. Manny is at the age when his skill are more likely to diminish, so he may very well not be worth $20 million next year. His skills, however, might still be so good that losing him would hurt the team. Might the Red Sox let him go as a free agent, then try to sign him at a lower price if that's what the market sets? If that happens, would Manny even bother dealing with Boston?

Hal McCoy is reporting the Cincinnati Reds signed Josh Fogg to a one-year, $1 million contract. Red Reporter doesn't think too much of the deal. For one million, they get a pitcher who is used to a launching pad. Seems like a no lose situation. If he has a good year, they got a pitcher cheap. If he pitches poorly, it's only a $1 million out the door.

The Pirates sign Byung-Hyun Kim to a major league contract. They're looking to use him as a reliever, although I don't see any way this improves the team. I suppose putting Kim on the mound is better than having to forfeit games because there's no one else to send out to be shelled. Kim has not pitched well since the 2003 season.

It looks like Bartolo Colon will get a chance to pitch for the White Sox.

Update: Ozzie Guillen says this report is not true. Stay tuned.

The Twins found a replacement for Johan Santana, Livan Hernandez:

Hernandez, who turns 33 on Feb. 20, will be the sole veteran in a rotation that likely will include no pitcher who is older than 26.

The Twins evidently value Hernandez's durability. Hernandez leads the majors in innings pitched since 2003, and has exceeded 200 innings in every season since 2000.

Only three major-league pitchers have made 30 or more starts in each of the past 10 seasons -- Hernandez, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.

However, Hernandez has spent his entire 12-year career in the National League, and some scouts and executives believe he is ill-suited to pitch in the more offensively oriented AL.

Hernandez gives up a lot of hits, something he's done throughout his career. He allows a lower than average percentage of ground balls and a higher than average percentage of line drives. In his three best seasons in recent memory, 2003-2005, Hernandez was very good with runners in scoring position. As a team, I wouldn't want to depend on that.

Most likely, Livan is in Minnesota to eat inning cheaply until the next set of young studs are ready.

Keith Foulke signed a major league contract with the Athletics. He'll be a setup man:

"I never considered myself a closer, I've always been a bullpen guy," he said. "Sometimes pitching in the seventh inning is more valuable than pitching in the ninth."

He's only getting $700,000, so it's a good risk for Oakland.

There are ninety free agents still available. It looks like teams are more willing to spend their money on youth rather than aging veterans:

More than a few agents these days grumble, always anonymously, that teams are flirting dangerously close to collusion. With revenues creeping above the $6 billion mark, agents point to the slow-moving free agent market as proof something is askew. Some agents are still trying to get over the shock and chagrin of the Theo Epstein and Larry Beinfest-inspired idea at last November's GM meetings to have clubs openly announce who is available for trade while detailing some of their offseason quests.

A more sober analysis calls for an honest appraisal of who remains unsigned. Some very useful veterans are still on the market, but it is no stretch to understand why teams would rather take a flier on upside than gamble on declining skills.

"It's an aggressive market now for outstanding payers, but for non-regulars and even some regulars, teams are looking within more often," said longtime agent Adam Katz, who still has veterans Sammy Sosa, Aaron Sele and Tony Batista unsigned. "Going with kids is one way to save money, and one result of that is that there are a lot of quality veterans out there now without a job."

The Twins are looking to sign Josh Fogg if the Santana deal goes through:

I don't mean to slight Fogg, but if you're a Twins fan, that can't be all that comforting. "Who cares if we lost Johan Santana? We're getting Josh Fogg!" It doesn't exactly keep you warm during those cold Minnesota winter nights. Though I suppose he'll come in handy should a dragon start terrorizing the Twin Cities.

In case the Twins haven't noticed, Josh Fogg isn't very good. He had a career year in 2007 and went 10-9 with a 4.94 ERA.

Could the Phillies have signed a worst offensive third baseman?

Yesterday, on his first official day as a Phillie, Feliz smiled brightly at the memory of Snow's big night. After spending his career in what his former teammate called "the toughest place to hit," Feliz will play in a stadium with tempting power alleys.

"It's not an easy park to hit home runs," the Phillies' new third baseman said of his former home in San Francisco. "I wouldn't say it's easier to hit them here, but I hope this is better."

There's no doubt San Francisco hurt Feliz's home run power, but the road didn't help anything else. Feliz owns a .276 career OBA on the road, and hasn't had a season with a .300 OBA since 2004. It's not like he's a decent hitter with a great glove. He's a black hole of outs at third base.

Substituting Feliz for Dobbs knocks 0.1 runs off the Phillies offense per game.

Sox Machine discusses the pros and cons of the White Sox signing Octavio Dotel:

Pro: But speaking of the division, what if he ended up in Detroit? The Tigers have expressed interest in Dotel, and pitching is the one area in which they are vulnerable. The Sox might be smart to block the Tigers, since Mike Ilitch's wallet could easily absorb another injury-shortened year or two, so he could take the risk to reap the potential rewards.

Con: So Detroit would be in an even better position to compete with the Sox? Exactly.

Dotel's weakness is home runs allowed. That's a bad weakness for a White Sox pitcher, given their ballpark. But his good control mitigates that somewhat. Dotel wouldn't be a bad signing at all.

I'm not surprised the Rangers would take a flyer on Jason Jennings. I am a bit surprised they would immediately put him in the rotaiton.

He would join Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla as locks for the rotation. The Rangers would also like for Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard to join them, but they could also be pushed by right-handers Luis Mendoza and Armando Galarraga and left-hander A.J. Murray.

Jennings has one good season under his belt, and he's coming off an injury. I'd rather see the Rangers leave the rotation wide open and see if some other youngsters can step up.

With Mike Cameron inked to a deal in Milwaukee, Brew Crew Ball jumps for joy.

If you can't tell, I'm ecstatic. Signing Cameron for five million bucks erases all the stupidity of the Estrada/Mota/Wise disaster, and more.

Buster Olney reports the Brewers reached an agreement with Mike Cameron.

Cameron will presumably play center field for the Brewers, who have reportedly spoken with Bill Hall, the team's center fielder last year, about moving to third base. If that happens, Ryan Braun would shift from third base to left field.

This makes good defensive sense. Braun was terrible at third in 2007, and Bill was pretty bad in centerfield.

The Mariners signed Miguel Cairo to a major league contract.

Cairo's signing follows Bavasi's declaration five weeks ago that Lopez must improve in 2008. Lopez struggled with focus last season and was eventually benched after signing a new, $6 million deal.

This is the third consecutive spring training that Lopez, 24, will have a veteran pushing him for his job. In 2006, Seattle signed 36-year-old Fernando Vina. Last spring, Rey Ordonez was in camp after years out of baseball. But those signings were both minor league deals with mere invitations to spring training.

Cairo now has a spot on Seattle's 40-man roster.

"We need improved offense at second base. ... Whether we get someone else or take Jose and make him better, we have to get better there," Bavasi said in late November.

Now that you've stopped laughing, compare Lopez to Cairo. If you are going to push Lopez, why not pick up a player who is actually better than Jose? Is Lopez really scared by a player ten years older who was never that good? Bavasi just wasted money and a roster spot on another unproductive player. Why didn't he sign Marcus Giles instead? At least Marcus could threaten to play the whole season at second.

Via Purple Row, Marcus Giles signs with the Colorado Rockies:

Rookie Jayson Nix has the inside shot at the Rockies second base job.

For insurance, however, the Rockies will bring big-league veteran Marcus Giles to spring training, the Rocky Mountain News has learned.

Giles agreed to terms of a non-guaranteed deal, but it won't be finalized until he passes a physical, which he will undergo in Denver next week. The Rockies decline to comment on contracts until after the physical is passed.

Nothing wrong with a little insurance.

Blez at Athletics Nation makes the case for Oakland signing Barry Bonds. The A's have lost the casual fan and may be losing the hardcore fan as well.

I think that ultimately what's happening is that the A's are going to realize how much their gate receipts will hurt this year. The hardcore might still come out on occasion to see some of these young guys and their progression towards greatness, but you probably have little to no chance of attracting casuals with the current crop of players in the current stadium. So why not sign Bonds? Not because you're "going for it" in 2008, but because it makes a lot of business sense. People love drama and intrigue and he will provide plenty of it. And I think someone else brought this up in Rubin Sierra's diary, but Bonds could also be flipped to a team needing a big bat at the deadline for more of those prized prospects.

There certainly is a huge fan base for Bonds in the Bay Area.

There's a rumor the Marlins will sign Jorge Cantu, and actually pay him more than the minimum. That's still probably too much for someone who doesn't get on base and whose power declined as he approached his prime.

The St. Louis Cardinals take a chance on Matt Clement:

Clement gets a $1.25 million salary this year and can earn an additional $5.25 million in performance bonuses, receiving the full amount if he pitches 200 innings.

The Cardinals have an $8.75 million option for 2009 with a $250,000 buyout. The option would increase to $9 million and the buyout $500,000 if Clement reaches 160 innings this season; $9.5 million and $1 million for 180 innings; and $10 million and $1.5 million for 200 innings.

The option would become $11 million and the buyout $2 million if Clement finishes in the top five in 2008 Cy Young Award balloting.

With Chris Carpenter a huge unknown, the Cardinals rotation looks every iffy for 2008. This signing does nothing to reduce the uncertainty.

Dayton Moore manages to praise Miguel Olivo:

"As I put the pieces in place," Moore said, "I looked at: One, we needed depth and strength at the catching position. This accomplishes that. Two, we needed a power, right-handed bat. This guy's the best available player in our minds currently available to us. In talking with Trey (Hillman), he is not against having one of his catchers DH in the right matchup."

What the Royals have are two right-handed catchers who don't get on base, but sometimes smack out an extra-base hit. To think ether could be a designated hitter indicates that Moore may not be clear on the concept. Designated hitters should hitters first.

The Astros signed Darin Erstad. At the moment, not terms are available, but you have to hope it's for one-year and $1 million or less. Erstad hasn't hit well since the 2000 season. It's really strange to see a player not only peak at age 26, but totally lose it after such a high peak.

Update: The terms are one year, $1 million plus incentives.

The Yankees signed LaTroy Hawkins to a contract today:

The New York Yankees finalized a $3.75 million, one-year contract with LaTroy Hawkins on Thursday, strengthening their weak middle relief with the veteran right-hander.

Hawkins, who turned 35 last Friday, was 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA last season for the Colorado Rockies. He made $3.25 million and Colorado declined a $3.75 million option, choosing to pay a $250,000 buyout.

So Hawkins ends up with a $250,000 raise over his option. Not a bad piece of change. It took LaTroy a while to find his niche in the majors. He didn't work as a starter or closer, but settled into middle relief just fine. Since 2002 he's posted a 2.93 ERA with very low walk and home run rates. He's a nice, cheap solution to the Yankees bullpen needs.

Ken Rosenthal reports the San Diego Padres signed Mark Prior. He did not provide details, but I'm guessing the guaranteed money is low, and the incentives are high. The upside of this signing is high, but the probability of realizing that upside is pretty low.

Update: The contract is for a $1 million base salary with incentives that bring it up to $3 million.

The Marlins signed Jose Castillo. Castillo can play second or third, and it's likely some combination of Castillo and Uggla will man those two positions. I haven't seen terms yet, but given his carrer OPS of .677, I can't believe he signed for much money. Cabrera had a VORP of 71.4 in 2007, Castillo -8.1 in about 1/3 of the plate appearances. That means Castillo was about 8 wins worse than Cabrera in 2007. Eight wins less for the Marlins gives them the worst record in the National League. In terms of rate, Cabrera's VORP is .457 per game. Castillo's was -0.151. So over 162 games. Castillo costs you 24 runs vs. a replacement player, while Cabrera earns you 74! So eight wins might be conservative.

It's one thing to trade away stars to gain future talent. But there's no excuse to then go out and sign someone who can't even play as well as someone you could call up from AAA.

The White Sox signed former Cuban player Alexei Ramirez.

ESPN is reporting that the Phillies reached a deal with Geoff Jenkins:

The Philadelphia Phillies and free agent outfielder Geoff Jenkins have reached preliminary agreement on a two-year deal believed to be worth about $13 million, a baseball source told ESPN.com.

The agreement includes a third year vesting option based on plate appearances that could increase Jenkins' total package to $20 million, the source said. The deal could be announced as early as Thursday.

Jenkins career has ranged from average to very good. In his best seasons, he gets on base extremely well and hits for power. The last two seasons, however, he did one or the other. In 2006, he posted a high OBA with low power. In 2007, his OBA dropped to a poor .319, while his slugging percentage rose about 40 points to .471. He's a useful player at a reasonable price.

According to the story, Shane Victorino now becomes the starting centerfielder.

Let's take a look at three projection systems to see how Silva compares with other Seattle starters.

Pitcher Projections	Silva		Washburn		Batista
	Innings	ERA	Innings	ERA	Innings	ERA
Bill James	199	4.61	193	4.15	194	4.50
Chone	194	4.45	190	4.31	182	4.60
Marcels	177	4.65	176	4.45	166	4.77

Basically, Seattle purchased a clone of Washburn and Batista. But that's not a bad thing. Consider that the ERAs the four men who manned the four-five slots ranged from 5.15 to 8.03. Silva gives them a solid fourth man in the rotation, a huge improvement over 2007. The Mariners scored 4.9 runs per game last season. If they can improve that mark a bit, this staff is good enough to produce a winning record.

Mel Stottlemyre was the force behind the Mariners signing Carlos Silva to a four-year, $44 million deal:

"Going into this, I made a list of all the free-agent starters who were available," new Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said Wednesday night after a reporter told him the deal was done. "And to be honest with you, he was at the top of my list because of his background and the type of pitcher that he is."

Mel loves pitchers who allow the ball to be put in play, low walk, low strikeout guys just like him.

Silva also doesn't walk many batters, though his strikeout rate of 3.97 batters per nine innings is very low for a starter being paid this much money. The bottom line is, much of Silva's success could depend on how well the fielders behind him get to balls put in play.

"I think Safeco is a pretty good field for him," Stottlemyre said. "He's a very good ground-ball pitcher."

Stottlemyre figures Seattle's infielders are up to the task, even with second baseman Jose Lopez still a huge question mark heading into 2008. Stottlemyre also said the fact that fly balls don't carry all that well at Safeco should work to Silva's favor better than the Metrodome in Minneapolis did.

Seattle's defense was about average in 2007, so Carlos won't get a boost from his fielders. The field has a three-year home run index of 91 according to the Bill James Handbook 2008, but Minnesota had an index of 85. Silva's home runs might actually go up.

I also love this:

The Mariners had just been spurned by free-agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and needed to find another place to spend roughly $11 million over the next four years.

The idea that they need to spend exactly that amount on a player is ludicrous. I thought the idea was to spend the least money on the best player possible, not just throw money at someone because it is budgeted for the position.

Baseball Digest Daily just flashed to my email that the Mariners signed Carlos Silva to a four-year deal. I'll have more after the radio show when we know the details of the deal.

The Seattle Mariners are talking to Carlos Silva:

The 28-year-old right-hander was 13-14 last season with a 4.19 ERA -- better than every Mariners starter other than hard-throwing Felix Hernandez.

Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) shows Silva's 2007 VORP at 35.5, just behind Hernandez's 36.4. Silva is a low strikeout, low walk pitcher, so he needs a good defense behind him to be effective. The Mariners were a bit below average in 2007.

Metsblog.com relays that Kris Benson threw for prospective employers recently. On top of that, the Astros made an offer to Mark Prior. My guess is that both get one year contracts to show they can pitch. A successful year from either of them would lead to bigger money in 2009.

The signing of Gary Benett by the Dodgers causes Dodger Thoughts to replay an oldie by goodie.

The Dodgers and Hiroki Kuroda finalized their deal on Saturday. He'll receive nearly $12 million a year for three years. Here's my earlier take on the pitcher. The money and length of contract seem right to me. Starting pitching is at a premium. Kuroda won't be an ace, and $12 million for a third or fourth starter is no longer outrageous.

The Twins sign Mike Lamb to a two year deal. His OBA has been well above his career average the last two seasons. Even if he falls off a bit, he should be a good replacement for Nick Punto.

Rays Index looks at the positive aspects of the Tampa Bay Rays signing Cliff Floyd. The Rays strike me as a team with a potentially good pitching staff in need of better offense. They especially need more batter who get on base, and if he's healthy, Floyd gives them that.

The Blue Jays signed David Eckstein, reuniting him with former Angels teammate Troy Glaus.

He will bat leadoff for the Jays, a spot the club had trouble filling last year in the absence of Reed Johnson.

"That's been his role and he's always been successful at it," Jays manager John Gibbons told The Canadian Press. "He's a tough out and he really battles. He just seems to find a way to get something done."

He was consistent with the Cardinals, posting OBAs of .363, .350 and .356 in his three years there. Those aren't great for a leadoff man, but they're okay.

Correction: Fixed his former team.

The Twins sign Adam Everett:

Everett, who turns 31 on Feb. 2, batted .232 with a .281 on-base percentage and .318 slugging percentage in 66 games with the Astros last season and missed three months with a broken leg. His career batting average is .248.

Minnesota seems to love glove men with questionable offensive skills at shortstop.

The Twins sign Adam Everett:

Everett, who turns 31 on Feb. 2, batted .232 with a .281 on-base percentage and .318 slugging percentage in 66 games with the Astros last season and missed three months with a broken leg. His career batting average is .248.

Minnesota seems to love glove men with questionable offensive skills at shortstop.

The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez completed their contract negotiations:

Alex Rodriguez set another record for baseball's highest contract, finalizing his $275 million, 10-year agreement with the New York Yankees on Thursday.

...

His new deal allows A-Rod to earn $30 million more for achieving historic milestones. He is 18th on the career list with 518 homers, 244 shy of Barry Bonds' record.

Given some of the contracts handed out this winter, I think the Yankees got a pretty good deal.

Correction: I had an update to the previous post here by mistake.

Baseball Hot Corner apologizes to Andy Pettitte.

There must be some attraction between centerfielders and the west coast:

The San Francisco Giants have signed Gold Glove center fielder Aaron Rowand to a five-year contract, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Sabean announced.

...

"Aaron (Rowand) is an all-around player who is coming into his prime and helps us check off two boxes -- an extremely talented defensive center fielder and a middle of the order presence," said Sabean. "His ability in center field definitely plays to our ballpark and will help provide more stability to our pitching staff. His no nonsense approach on the field and in the clubhouse will be welcomed."

If he produces like last year, he will be a middle of the order presence. But that was a career year for Aaron. This will be the first time he's playing in a park that fairly neutral for hitters. I'll update when his salary is announced.

Update: SI has the AP article reporting five years, $60 million. That strikes me as right. In the analysis I did for SportingNews.com, I had all three centerfielders getting between $11 and $13 million for five years, so it's a good deal for the Giants.

Bleed Cubbie Blue provides the correct pronunciation for the Cubs new player, koh-skay foo-koo-DOUGH-may.

Via 6-4-2, the Dodgers won the bidding on Hiroki Kuroda. You can see Kuroda's stats here. He's a control pitcher, walking just 2.36 per game. His strikeouts, 6.6 per nine are okay. He's not young as he turns 33 in February. After a great year in 2006, he reverted to his career norms in 2007. Until we see the money, it's tough to know if this is a good deal or not.

The San Diego Padres agreed to a contract with Tadahito Iguchi to replace the disappointing Marcus Giles. No terms were announced. If he hits anywhere near his career averages he'll be a big improvement over Marcus.

Kosuke Fukudome agreed to a four-year contract with the Cubs last night for at least $12 million a season. It looks like a pretty good signing. Here's the best set of Japanese stats I've found on Kosuke. He's posted in his career a .397 OBA and a .543 slugging percentage. Hideki Matsui was a .413/.592 when he came to the US, but he was also two years younger. He's posted a .371 OBA with a .485 slugging percentage in his career. Ichiro was at .421/.522 in Japan, .379/.437 in the US. So it seems to me Fukudome should be around .360/.450. Think Torii Hunter with slightly less power but a much better OBA. If Torii is worth $18 million a year, then $12 for Fukudome is a bargain.

It's official, Kosuke Fukudome is available to North American teams:

Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome told the Chunichi Dragons he will not return next season, saying he wants to make a move to the major leagues.

Fukudome, who became a free agent last month, informed the Central League club of his decision Tuesday.

"I won't be playing for a Japanese club next season, I'll play in the majors," Fukudome said. "I appreciate the fans who supported me for nine years. I hope that the fans continue to root for me when they see me playing in the United States."

Fukudome is regarded as one of the best outfielders in Japanese professional baseball. The 30-year-old was a key member of the Japan team that won the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006.

With most of their outfield gone, I suspect the Padres will go the extra-mile to sign Fukudome. They've already made a strong offer:

The Padres have made an offer to Fukudome, calling it "one of the two or three biggest offers" in team history.

Fukudome should hold out for #1.