Piazza to the Padres

[Rob]

Mike Piazza has accepted a one-year, $2 million contract with an $8 million mutual option for 2007 from the Padres.

 

"The Padres told Mike that he could pretty much catch as much as he wanted to," agent Dan Lozano said. We wonder if that means there's a slight chance that Doug Mirabelli could be returned to Boston in a David Wells trade. The Padres will probably want to keep Mirabelli to start at least 60-70 games. With Piazza batting cleanup at least half the time, it looks like Mike Cameron will be dropped in the lineup, hurting his fantasy value

 

per rotoworld

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Good move by Piazza and the Padres. If used appropriately, Piazza can still hit.

 

He's not a great catcher anymore, but he is still a good hitter. That contract isn't too cost prohibitive. I'm still surprised he didn't end up in the AL.

 

Now, this begs the question: Will Bengie Molina find a job anywhere this offseason?

[CuseCubFan69]

Mike Piazza has accepted a one-year, $2 million contract with an $8 million mutual option for 2007 from the Padres.

 

"The Padres told Mike that he could pretty much catch as much as he wanted to," agent Dan Lozano said. We wonder if that means there's a slight chance that Doug Mirabelli could be returned to Boston in a David Wells trade. The Padres will probably want to keep Mirabelli to start at least 60-70 games. With Piazza batting cleanup at least half the time, it looks like Mike Cameron will be dropped in the lineup, hurting his fantasy valueper rotoworld

 

God forbid it would be a move that would hurt the team.

 

I wonder where Mike is going to play when he's not catching?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Mike Piazza has accepted a one-year, $2 million contract with an $8 million mutual option for 2007 from the Padres.

 

"The Padres told Mike that he could pretty much catch as much as he wanted to," agent Dan Lozano said. We wonder if that means there's a slight chance that Doug Mirabelli could be returned to Boston in a David Wells trade. The Padres will probably want to keep Mirabelli to start at least 60-70 games. With Piazza batting cleanup at least half the time, it looks like Mike Cameron will be dropped in the lineup, hurting his fantasy valueper rotoworld

 

God forbid it would be a move that would hurt the team.

 

I wonder where Mike is going to play when he's not catching?

 

Well, those are ROTOworld's comments.

[erik316wttn]

Do they still have Klesko at 1st, or is he in LF now?

 

I really don't think he could play the OF at this stage in his career. He could be a backup/late inning catcher and play first, I guess. That's really about the only other position he could play at this stage of his career. Klesko would have to move back to left (if he hadn't already).

[BCVM22]

Do they still have Klesko at 1st, or is he in LF now?

 

The Padres have Klesko slotted at 1B for 2006, with Adrian Gonzalez backing him up/platooning with him. Dave Roberts shifts over to LF with Mike Cameron manning CF now.

 

Piazza in the outfield at this point would be a bad idea. Nothing would be caught.

[erik316wttn]

Do they still have Klesko at 1st, or is he in LF now?

 

The Padres have Klesko slotted at 1B for 2006, with Adrian Gonzalez backing him up/platooning with him.

 

Piazza in the outfield at this point would be a bad idea. Nothing would be caught.

 

It would be as bad as the failed Todd Hundley experiment in LF years ago.

 

Do the Padres have room to platoon the C, 1B, and LF positions?

[Soul]

The Padres made it really easy on Mike. "Hey, basically play whenever you want and we'll give you $2million."

 

Who could refuse that? Plus, he gets to go back to So. Cal. Let's face it, San Diego is a much better place to live than NY.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

Too bad SD isn't in the Central. I'd love to see Pierre turn every walk/base hit into a double more than 6 games a year.

[Mizzou]

The option is four times the amount of this year's salary... you don't see that too often.

[CuseCubFan69]

Mike Piazza has accepted a one-year, $2 million contract with an $8 million mutual option for 2007 from the Padres.

 

"The Padres told Mike that he could pretty much catch as much as he wanted to," agent Dan Lozano said. We wonder if that means there's a slight chance that Doug Mirabelli could be returned to Boston in a David Wells trade. The Padres will probably want to keep Mirabelli to start at least 60-70 games. With Piazza batting cleanup at least half the time, it looks like Mike Cameron will be dropped in the lineup, hurting his fantasy valueper rotoworld

 

God forbid it would be a move that would hurt the team.

 

I wonder where Mike is going to play when he's not catching?

 

Well, those are ROTOworld's comments.

 

Yeah I know....you know I dispise fantasy baseball and reading that in any context bugs me especially when how the team does isn't mentioned.

[stitchface]

yea, interesting deal. I would guess Piazza would play 1b against lefties with klesko hitting the pine. its not like klesko is anything special anymore and .304 .260 looks pretty good on the bench (That is its an awful awful split and should remain on the bench).

[Kingmanarama]

The option is four times the amount of this year's salary... you don't see that too often.

 

Yeah. It's a very tradeable contract, unless the option year is automatically triggered by a trade.

[stitchface]

Piazza for $2 million or frank thomas for $500k and bonuses? I think I may have gone for Mike unless he refused to DH.

[Drew Doughty]

I'd take Thomas without much doubt.

[Diffusion]

Adrian Gonzalez, Ben Johnson and Paul McAnulty.

 

Gonzalez is a career .303/.365/.467 hitter in 1030 plate appearances at Triple-A. He first reached the PCL in 2003 as a 21-year old, and he superficially struggled, hitting .216/.286/.288 in 154 plate appearances, though his plate discipline was strong (just 25 strikeouts, 14 walks) and what held him back most, besides the lack of power (just 1 home run), was a .254 average on balls in play. In 2004, at 22 still very young for the league, he hit .304/.364/.457 in 508 plate appearances with a , though his plate discipline deteriorated a little (39 walks, 73 strikeouts) and he showed mainly doubles power (28 doubles, 12 home runs). In 2005, fed up with being blocked by Mark Teixeira at the major league level, he tried to force the issue, hitting .338/.399/.561 in 368 PA, with a very nice 32 walks to 44 strikeouts and with real power (17 doubles, 18 home runs). Now he's basically done with the minors, and, ridiculously, though it seems like he's been at Triple-A forever, for now, he's still only 23 years old. He needs to be entrusted with a full-time major league job. Given a decent enough chance, stuck with through thick and thin, he ought to become a really fine first baseman. The Padres though don't have the guts to tell Ryan Klesko to get lost, so Gonzalez seems destined to spent a lot of time this year on the bench, getting the odd bit of playing time here and there. Gonzalez was acquired from the Rangers along with Chris Young and Terrmel Sledge for Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka and Billy Killian this winter, but he can actually came from the Marlins originally, the first pick of the 2000 draft no less.

 

Ben Johnson, a corner outfield, doesn't quite have the same pedigree or track record as Gonzalez, but he hit a mighty .312/.394/.558 at Triple-A last year, with 51 walks to 88 strikeouts in 472 plate appearances (27 doubles and 25 home runs, really formidable power). Though he was 24, and therefore getting a little old for Triple-A, it was his first crack at the level, in spite of the fact that he was actually a 1999 draftee out of High School. Picked in the fourth round by the Cardinals, he was traded to the Padres in 2000 along with Heathcliff Slocumb for Carlos Hernandez, who only ever managed 58 plate appearances in a Redbirds uniform. Thanks to Dave Roberts, Johnson doesn't figure to get much time to prove his worth at the major league level this year, though he too is clearly done with the minor leagues.

 

And Paul McAnulty, a first baseman/corner outfielder, drafted in the twelveth round in 2002. Though he's always been a little old for his league, he's a career .304/.400/.485 hitter in the minors, and he's just turned 25 in the last few days. Last year he hit .303/.377/.490 between Double-A and Triple-A in 509 plate appearances, with 50 walks, 95 strikeouts, 32 doubles and 16 home runs. He too doesn't figure to get a real opportunity to play this year.

 

Really, I'm extremely surprised by the fact that the Padres have held onto Klesko, Roberts, Johnson AND McAnulty this winter, while adding Adrian Gonzalez via trade and re-signing Brian Giles. They've now got enormous depth at the 1B/OF position, and yet I'll say they really ought to be focusing on improving their pitching, because after Peavy, Chris Young, Hoffman and Linebrink, the rest of their staff really doesn't look particularly impressive. Chan Ho Park? Shawn Estes? And Woody Williams? In the same rotation? Another position of weakness is third base, where Vinny Castilla can pick it, but wow are his numbers with the bat this year going to be absolutely horrid.

[JD42K]

Thomas---no doubt

[Jehrico]

Good move by Piazza and the Padres. If used appropriately, Piazza can still hit.

 

He's not a great catcher anymore, but he is still a good hitter. That contract isn't too cost prohibitive. I'm still surprised he didn't end up in the AL.

 

Now, this begs the question: Will Bengie Molina find a job anywhere this offseason?

 

You mean he was a great catcher at one time? I always considered him one of the absolute worst catchers at calling a game and handling a staff, ever. I also don't recall him ever really being better than average at throwing out runners either. This is a bad move for SD.

[CuseCubFan69]

Good move by Piazza and the Padres. If used appropriately, Piazza can still hit.

 

He's not a great catcher anymore, but he is still a good hitter. That contract isn't too cost prohibitive. I'm still surprised he didn't end up in the AL.

 

Now, this begs the question: Will Bengie Molina find a job anywhere this offseason?

 

You mean he was a great catcher at one time? I always considered him one of the absolute worst catchers at calling a game and handling a staff, ever. I also don't recall him ever really being better than average at throwing out runners either. This is a bad move for SD.

 

He was always a very good hitter but a below average reciever in every way and he's getting worse.

[katway]

Good move by Piazza and the Padres. If used appropriately, Piazza can still hit.

 

He's not a great catcher anymore, but he is still a good hitter. That contract isn't too cost prohibitive. I'm still surprised he didn't end up in the AL.

 

Now, this begs the question: Will Bengie Molina find a job anywhere this offseason?

 

You mean he was a great catcher at one time? I always considered him one of the absolute worst catchers at calling a game and handling a staff, ever. I also don't recall him ever really being better than average at throwing out runners either. This is a bad move for SD.

 

If his hitting doesn't make up for his catching deficiencies, San Diego is not obligated to play him. They acquired Doug Maribelli this offseason, so they will be ok if Piazza doesn't produce.

 

In addition, if he can still hit any where near career averages, he will be easy to unload to an AL team in contention during the middle of the year for something San Diego may need or kids.

 

A very low risk move for the Padres with a potential for a strong upside..

[Backtobanks]

Mike Piazza has accepted a one-year, $2 million contract with an $8 million mutual option for 2007 from the Padres.

 

"The Padres told Mike that he could pretty much catch as much as he wanted to," agent Dan Lozano said. We wonder if that means there's a slight chance that Doug Mirabelli could be returned to Boston in a David Wells trade. The Padres will probably want to keep Mirabelli to start at least 60-70 games. With Piazza batting cleanup at least half the time, it looks like Mike Cameron will be dropped in the lineup, hurting his fantasy valueper rotoworld

 

God forbid it would be a move that would hurt the team.

 

I wonder where Mike is going to play when he's not catching?

 

I read that he will catch, play some 1B, and DH during interleague games. Assuming he stays healthy, he ought to get quite a few ABs.