Hidalgo or Juan Gone as NRI's? Why not?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Slow news day, so I thought I'd beat this horse a few more times.

 

I still can't understand why we won't sign either (if not both) of these guys to a non-roster deal.

 

Gonzalez hasn't been healthy in three years, but the last year he was healthy, he was productive. Last year, he was willing to sign for 600,000. He's surely worth that in a high risk, high reward type move.

 

He's 36 years old and could be a power bat off the bench as well as spell Jones against lefties.

 

When he played in 2004, he still showed some power hitting 17 HR's in 33 games.

 

I think he's worth a look.

 

Hidalgo is even more intriguing.

 

Hidalgo was bad last year, but word is he played with a sore wrist. His 2004 wasn't much better but he did hit 309/385/572 in 2003. He's only 30 years old, so it isn't out of the realm of possibilites for him to hit 270/335/490. He'd make a decent right-handed bat for the bench, and if he proves productive a great bat for the line-up. He plays great defense and has a better arm for rightfield than Jones.

 

I'm baffled that neither of these guys have a job right now. It does make me wonder if there's not more information circling than I'm aware of, but I think that both of these guys would make intriguing NRI options and would add a nice story-line to follow this spring.

 

Also, if either would be willing to play at Iowa, I think it could be a good deal since the number of outfielders in the upper levels leaves a lot to be desired.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'd sign Juan Gone to a 500,000 guaranteed deal if he could pass a physical. I've never liked Hidalgo.

[UK1679666180]

Slow news day, so I thought I'd beat this horse a few more times.

 

I still can't understand why we won't sign either (if not both) of these guys to a non-roster deal.

 

Gonzalez hasn't been healthy in three years, but the last year he was healthy, he was productive. Last year, he was willing to sign for 600,000. He's surely worth that in a high risk, high reward type move.

 

He's 36 years old and could be a power bat off the bench as well as spell Jones against lefties.

 

When he played in 2004, he still showed some power hitting 17 HR's in 33 games.

 

I think he's worth a look.

 

Hidalgo is even more intriguing.

 

Hidalgo was bad last year, but word is he played with a sore wrist. His 2004 wasn't much better but he did hit 309/385/572 in 2003. He's only 30 years old, so it isn't out of the realm of possibilites for him to hit 270/335/490. He'd make a decent right-handed bat for the bench, and if he proves productive a great bat for the line-up. He plays great defense and has a better arm for rightfield than Jones.

 

I'm baffled that neither of these guys have a job right now. It does make me wonder if there's not more information circling than I'm aware of, but I think that both of these guys would make intriguing NRI options and would add a nice story-line to follow this spring.

 

Also, if either would be willing to play at Iowa, I think it could be a good deal since the number of outfielders in the upper levels leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Hidalgo would be a nice fit as a RH'ed bat off the bench or platoon against LH'ers.

[goonys evil twin]

I'd think a big problem would be getting these guys to agree to such a deal. I'm not sure they wouldn't rather sit out the year than play for such a low guarantee, or no guarantee at all.

[UK1679666180]

At this stage, you might be able to lock Hidalgo to similar deal as Marrero rec'd with the Rockies. If it takes 1 mil to get someone like Hidalgo, go for it. They need a RH'ed bat off the bench w/pop, it is a gamble, but it shouldn't take more than that.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd think a big problem would be getting these guys to agree to such a deal. I'm not sure they wouldn't rather sit out the year than play for such a low guarantee, or no guarantee at all.

 

Gonzalez played on a minor league deal last year that guaranteed him 600,000. I don't see why he wouldn't do it one more time.

 

Hidalgo made 5 million last season which was half of the 10 million he made in 2004. I could see him being reluctant to play for less than 1.5-3 million.

[nick23]

Maybe Hendry hasn't shown any interest because he knows that either one would take away at bats from Murton. I can already see Dusty saying that Hidalgo and Murton will battle it out in spring training for the LF job. Then no matter what happens Hidalgo will win the job with Dusty spouting out his BS about protecting Murton.

[goonys evil twin]

I'd think a big problem would be getting these guys to agree to such a deal. I'm not sure they wouldn't rather sit out the year than play for such a low guarantee, or no guarantee at all.

 

Gonzalez played on a minor league deal last year that guaranteed him 600,000. I don't see why he wouldn't do it one more time.

 

Hidalgo made 5 million last season which was half of the 10 million he made in 2004. I could see him being reluctant to play for less than 1.5-3 million.

 

The fact that Gonzo went through that last year could very easily be the reason why he wouldn't this season. He's made his money. Unless he's just passionate about the game and desperate to find a team, there's little incentive to sign to such a deal.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd think a big problem would be getting these guys to agree to such a deal. I'm not sure they wouldn't rather sit out the year than play for such a low guarantee, or no guarantee at all.

 

Gonzalez played on a minor league deal last year that guaranteed him 600,000. I don't see why he wouldn't do it one more time.

 

Hidalgo made 5 million last season which was half of the 10 million he made in 2004. I could see him being reluctant to play for less than 1.5-3 million.

 

The fact that Gonzo went through that last year could very easily be the reason why he wouldn't this season. He's made his money. Unless he's just passionate about the game and desperate to find a team, there's little incentive to sign to such a deal.

 

His incentive could be reaching the HOF. He has 434 HRs. He's likely on the outside looking in as it is. If he could put up two more seasons of 30+ HR's, he might make it. Also, with his pedigree, if he put up a healthy and productive season, he should be able to get another lucrative one-year deal next season.

[Houston_Cub_Fan]

Vance, based on arbitration raises and FA signings, how close are we to the $100M mark, which seems to be our cap?

[soapy]

Oddly enough, they both seem to have more success against RHP. Three year averages:

 

Juan Gone:

vs. RHP: 292/327/558

vs. LHP: 279/329/478 (only 136 ABs)

 

Hidalgo:

vs. RHP: 266/331/490

vs. LHP: 245/330/473 (273 ABs)

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Vance, based on arbitration raises and FA signings, how close are we to the $100M mark, which seems to be our cap?

 

I still think we're around 5 million under. I'll have to get home to check the figures for certain. Someone with better access to those numbers may be able to be more precise.

[goonys evil twin]

His incentive could be reaching the HOF. He has 434 HRs. He's likely on the outside looking in as it is. If he could put up two more seasons of 30+ HR's, he might make it. Also, with his pedigree, if he put up a healthy and productive season, he should be able to get another lucrative one-year deal next season.

 

But he went through that last year, one year young, and couldn't come up with the lucrative deal.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

His incentive could be reaching the HOF. He has 434 HRs. He's likely on the outside looking in as it is. If he could put up two more seasons of 30+ HR's, he might make it. Also, with his pedigree, if he put up a healthy and productive season, he should be able to get another lucrative one-year deal next season.

 

But he went through that last year, one year young, and couldn't come up with the lucrative deal.

 

He had 1 AB last year, not a healthy and productive season.

[goonys evil twin]

His incentive could be reaching the HOF. He has 434 HRs. He's likely on the outside looking in as it is. If he could put up two more seasons of 30+ HR's, he might make it. Also, with his pedigree, if he put up a healthy and productive season, he should be able to get another lucrative one-year deal next season.

 

But he went through that last year, one year young, and couldn't come up with the lucrative deal.

 

He had 1 AB last year, not a healthy and productive season.

 

But that's my point. He's even older. He could very easily be done with this type of thing.

 

The original post said "I still can't understand why we won't sign.....". Well, I'm just pointing out, it's very possible neither of these guys have any interest in such a deal.

 

I'd love to have one of these guys on the cheap to platoon with Jones. Of course, it wouldn't happen that way if they did sign. But there's no way to say for certain either would have any interest in doing so. Juan, for one, tried this last year, at 35, and it failed miserably. He hasn't been able to stay healthy in years, and hasn't drawn much interest for contracts in a long time. He went through the "prove it" contract and it backfired. He could easily be refusing to try it again at 36, hoping against hope that somebody would give him a big deal at 37.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Vance, based on arbitration raises and FA signings, how close are we to the $100M mark, which seems to be our cap?

 

I was close. By my calculations, we're at 95.35 in estimated payroll. I may be a little off on how I factored in signing bonuses and I may have missed some incentive money somewhere, but I think that's pretty accurate.

 

If the spending limit is around 100, the Cubs could still add a player for roughly 5 million. My guess is they could spend up to 105 million if Hendry wanted to.

 

Adding a right-handed bat like Hidalgo for 2 million wouldn't greatly impact the budget. I'm not sure Hidalgo is worth 2 million, but it is an interesting option. Unlike Gonzalez, there aren't questions about Hidalgo's defense. On the other hand, I think, if healthy, Gonzalez would be a more productive hitter.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Do you really think they'd go to 105 considering the highest ever was 90.5?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Do you really think they'd go to 105 considering the highest ever was 90.5?

 

If I recall correctly, the 2004 and 2005 payrolls both exceeded 100. Last year's payroll looks deflated because MLB doesn't count the money we sent the Orioles to pay Sammy. When that money is added in, the Cubs were over 100 million last season as well.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Do you really think they'd go to 105 considering the highest ever was 90.5?

 

If I recall correctly, the 2004 and 2005 payrolls both exceeded 100. Last year's payroll looks deflated because MLB doesn't count the money we sent the Orioles to pay Sammy. When that money is added in, the Cubs were over 100 million last season as well.

 

With the money we paid Sammy, I believe we were still under 100 (at 87 without). 2004 was 90.5, and we were in the 70's and below in 2003 and before.

[goonys evil twin]

Do you really think they'd go to 105 considering the highest ever was 90.5?

 

If I recall correctly, the 2004 and 2005 payrolls both exceeded 100. Last year's payroll looks deflated because MLB doesn't count the money we sent the Orioles to pay Sammy. When that money is added in, the Cubs were over 100 million last season as well.

 

With the money we paid Sammy, I believe we were still under 100 (at 87 without). 2004 was 90.5, and we were in the 70's and below in 2003 and before.

 

No they weren't. They left the 70's long ago. Last year was over 100, 2004 was in the mid 90's.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

No they weren't. They left the 70's long ago. Last year was over 100, 2004 was in the mid 90's.

 

Peanuts, but last year, they were at 99.5 with Sammy's money. 2004 was 90.5, 2003 was 79.8. They were in the 60's as recent as 2001.

 

Link

[UK1679666180]

Oddly enough, they both seem to have more success against RHP. Three year averages:

 

Juan Gone:

vs. RHP: 292/327/558

vs. LHP: 279/329/478 (only 136 ABs)

 

Hidalgo:

vs. RHP: 266/331/490

vs. LHP: 245/330/473 (273 ABs)

 

 

I'd feel much better about Jones if he could pop out an .803 OPS against LH'ers.

[goonys evil twin]

No they weren't. They left the 70's long ago. Last year was over 100, 2004 was in the mid 90's.

 

Peanuts, but last year, they were at 99.5 with Sammy's money. 2004 was 90.5, 2003 was 79.8. They were in the 60's as recent as 2001.

 

Link

 

The USA Today numbers are notoriously crap. Last year they paid $16m for Sosa to play elsewhere, which easily put them over $100. 2004 was well over 90. 2003 was high 80s. During this time many other teams were declining while the Cubs were consistently increasing. In the late 90's early 00's the Cubs were about 12th in the league in payroll, but they climbed up to 5th during Hendry's time.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

No they weren't. They left the 70's long ago. Last year was over 100, 2004 was in the mid 90's.

 

Peanuts, but last year, they were at 99.5 with Sammy's money. 2004 was 90.5, 2003 was 79.8. They were in the 60's as recent as 2001.

 

Link

 

Those numbers are a little misleading. They're based on the figures that MLB uses to figure the payrolls and don't always represent total payroll figures. Those numbers often do not include buy-outs, etc.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Those numbers are a little misleading. They're based on the figures that MLB uses to figure the payrolls and don't always represent total payroll figures. Those numbers often do not include buy-outs, etc.

 

I'm comparing apples to apples. If those numbers are misleading for those reasons, your 105 is as well.