Cubs sign DeRosa for 3 yrs/$13M

[JeffH]

Both B.

[goonys evil twin]

I agree with most of what you said. If you sit by and wait to sign Derosa, he might be signed by someone else and then everyone would jump on Hendry for not signing "someone like Derosa".

 

If somebody gave DeRosa this stupid contract, I sure as heck wouldn't jump on Hendry for not doing so first.

 

This is just nonsense.

 

DeRosa is exactly the type of guy you can afford to sit back and wait for, because if somebody else signs him, you haven't missed out on anything.

[YearofDaCubs]

i am not a fan of blanco at all, i agree soto would do the same at a fraction of the cost. What i don't understand is what makes everyone think derosa would only get 2-3 mil a year? that is not the market right now, players are getting lots of money so you can either sit around and wait for a "bargain" or pay the price for the guy you want. lastly, just because you want someone doesnt mean they want you, i would be very shocked if schmidt leaves the west coast for example. i will reserve my judgement untili see the final product and not tear it apart piece by piece as it happens.

 

I agree with most of what you said. If you sit by and wait to sign Derosa, he might be signed by someone else and then everyone would jump on Hendry for not signing "someone like Derosa". Maybe Hendry is looking at Meche, Lilly, etc. because he knows that Schmidt and Zito are definitely going to the East or West coast and he doesn't want to risk losing out on some starting pitchers. Too many of us just criticize without knowing all of what might be going on behind the scenes. A perfect example was Brian Giles last year. Everyone jumped all over Hendry about Giles, but then it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving San Diego.

I highly doubt people would jump on Hendry for "not signing someone like DeRosa" if he makes the necessary moves to get us into the playoffs. Signing DeRosa an unproven commodity, Blanco to another overinflated deal, and mediocre pitchers will not get us back into the playoffs.

[LuckyPup]

What i don't understand is what makes everyone think derosa would only get 2-3 mil a year? that is not the market right now, players are getting lots of money so you can either sit around and wait for a "bargain" or pay the price for the guy you want.

 

What I don't understand is why anybody would want DeRosa.

 

never said i did, just saying that this is the going rate, i would be willing to bet that urham gets at least 5-6 mill. what happens if derosa splits with jones? pretty good production in rf for less then 10 million. my whole point is you can't tear apart moves without knowing the ral meaning behind them. i will let the offseason play out and judge from that point on.

 

What does that even mean? Knowing the real meaning? I think the real meaning is pretty clear. Hendry's scouts fell in love with DeRosa and, Hendry being Hendry, he ignored thinks like DeRosa's poor seasons past, his lack of every being a regular, and his age, and he focused only on the upside. He was his first target in free agency, and he got him. Now he's the starting 2B.

Sorry Goony, we usually agree but thats kindof a knee jerk reaction- i mean, didnt we hear that we were talking to Durham as well, what if Durham told hendry " Aint coming to your last place team for less than 3 years and 23M"-this moves gives Hendry versatility and keeps his options open because DeRosa can play multiple positions. Maybe Hendry is thinking of DeRosa as a utitlity guy as he declines in the next couple of years so he doesnt block Epatt- i dont know- dont get me wrong i am not enamored with the signing(especially the years and money) but i will hold out judgement until the offseason is done.

[ShawonOmeter12]

What i don't understand is what makes everyone think derosa would only get 2-3 mil a year? that is not the market right now, players are getting lots of money so you can either sit around and wait for a "bargain" or pay the price for the guy you want.

 

What I don't understand is why anybody would want DeRosa.

 

never said i did, just saying that this is the going rate, i would be willing to bet that urham gets at least 5-6 mill. what happens if derosa splits with jones? pretty good production in rf for less then 10 million. my whole point is you can't tear apart moves without knowing the ral meaning behind them. i will let the offseason play out and judge from that point on.

 

What does that even mean? Knowing the real meaning? I think the real meaning is pretty clear. Hendry's scouts fell in love with DeRosa and, Hendry being Hendry, he ignored thinks like DeRosa's poor seasons past, his lack of every being a regular, and his age, and he focused only on the upside. He was his first target in free agency, and he got him. Now he's the starting 2B.

 

i would imagine that he starts at 2nd base but you can't be sure until he does. he could end up being utility and rf against lefties for us. what happens if hendry signs loretta or durham??? then derosa is super sub. this is what i mean by the "real meaning" statement. you cant just assume everything.

[JeffH]

you cant just assume everything.

 

True. You can go by what the dimwit says, though. He says that DeRosa is the starting 2B.

[YearofDaCubs]

you cant just assume everything.

 

True. You can go by what the dimwit says, though. He says that DeRosa is the starting 2B.

Both Hendry and DeRosa have said he was signed to be our starting 2B.

[Laura]

i would imagine that he starts at 2nd base but you can't be sure until he does. he could end up being utility and rf against lefties for us. what happens if hendry signs loretta or durham??? then derosa is super sub. this is what i mean by the "real meaning" statement. you cant just assume everything.

 

You can go to Cubs.com and read the story with quotes from Hendry and DeRosa talking about how he'll be the starting 2Bman.

 

Are we supposed to think that the two people who signed the contract are lying for no apparent reason about their intentions in doing so?

[goonys evil twin]

Sorry Goony, we usually agree but thats kindof a knee jerk reaction- i mean, didnt we hear that we were talking to Durham as well, what if Durham told hendry " Aint coming to your last place team for less than 3 years and 23M"-this moves gives Hendry versatility and keeps his options open because DeRosa can play multiple positions. Maybe Hendry is thinking of DeRosa as a utitlity guy as he declines in the next couple of years so he doesnt block Epatt- i dont know- dont get me wrong i am not enamored with the signing(especially the years and money) but i will hold out judgement until the offseason is done.

 

Yeah, it's kneejerk to say a player who claimed the Cubs offered him the starting 2B job (and a GM who says he loves his infield with Izturis and DeRosa up the middle) is going to be the starting 2B. Right, kneejerk. Good one.

 

 

DeRosa is either an overpaid utility player or an unworthy starting second baseman.

 

Tell me again where the knee jerk reaction was.

[Vinestal]

i am not a fan of blanco at all, i agree soto would do the same at a fraction of the cost. What i don't understand is what makes everyone think derosa would only get 2-3 mil a year? that is not the market right now, players are getting lots of money so you can either sit around and wait for a "bargain" or pay the price for the guy you want. lastly, just because you want someone doesnt mean they want you, i would be very shocked if schmidt leaves the west coast for example. i will reserve my judgement untili see the final product and not tear it apart piece by piece as it happens.

 

I agree with most of what you said. If you sit by and wait to sign Derosa, he might be signed by someone else and then everyone would jump on Hendry for not signing "someone like Derosa". Maybe Hendry is looking at Meche, Lilly, etc. because he knows that Schmidt and Zito are definitely going to the East or West coast and he doesn't want to risk losing out on some starting pitchers. Too many of us just criticize without knowing all of what might be going on behind the scenes. A perfect example was Brian Giles last year. Everyone jumped all over Hendry about Giles, but then it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving San Diego.

I highly doubt people would jump on Hendry for "not signing someone like DeRosa" if he makes the necessary moves to get us into the playoffs. Signing DeRosa an unproven commodity, Blanco to another overinflated deal, and mediocre pitchers will not get us back into the playoffs.

 

I think the Derosa signing was a good one, and yes people wold have complained constantly on these boards if we went into the season with Cedeno and Theriot at 2nd and they didnt perform well, there would be a ton of post about "Why didn't we sign a guy like Derosa". Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year.

 

I do agree that Hendry has been over paying for mediocre players in alot of other areas and thats going to wind up killing us in the areas where we need a big upgrade. Hendry is going to do everything he thinks he can to save his job by trying to do what he thinks will make us a winning team. He's just digging his own grave though by signing guys like Rusch and Blanco to contracts that are way over blown. If he can get Gil Meche for cheap then it might be worth the risk but for more than 1 year or big money is another mistake.

[goonys evil twin]

Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year.

 

A) He didn't have a full time position last year, so he couldn't have proved such a thing.

 

B) What you are saying is clearly ignoring his career numbers (not to mention the fact noted in A)

[YearofDaCubs]

i am not a fan of blanco at all, i agree soto would do the same at a fraction of the cost. What i don't understand is what makes everyone think derosa would only get 2-3 mil a year? that is not the market right now, players are getting lots of money so you can either sit around and wait for a "bargain" or pay the price for the guy you want. lastly, just because you want someone doesnt mean they want you, i would be very shocked if schmidt leaves the west coast for example. i will reserve my judgement untili see the final product and not tear it apart piece by piece as it happens.

 

I agree with most of what you said. If you sit by and wait to sign Derosa, he might be signed by someone else and then everyone would jump on Hendry for not signing "someone like Derosa". Maybe Hendry is looking at Meche, Lilly, etc. because he knows that Schmidt and Zito are definitely going to the East or West coast and he doesn't want to risk losing out on some starting pitchers. Too many of us just criticize without knowing all of what might be going on behind the scenes. A perfect example was Brian Giles last year. Everyone jumped all over Hendry about Giles, but then it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving San Diego.

I highly doubt people would jump on Hendry for "not signing someone like DeRosa" if he makes the necessary moves to get us into the playoffs. Signing DeRosa an unproven commodity, Blanco to another overinflated deal, and mediocre pitchers will not get us back into the playoffs.

 

I think the Derosa signing was a good one, and yes people wold have complained constantly on these boards if we went into the season with Cedeno and Theriot at 2nd and they didnt perform well, there would be a ton of post about "Why didn't we sign a guy like Derosa". Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year.

 

I do agree that Hendry has been over paying for mediocre players in alot of other areas and thats going to wind up killing us in the areas where we need a big upgrade. Hendry is going to do everything he thinks he can to save his job by trying to do what he thinks will make us a winning team. He's just digging his own grave though by signing guys like Rusch and Blanco to contracts that are way over blown. If he can get Gil Meche for cheap then it might be worth the risk but for more than 1 year or big money is another mistake.

The DeRosa signing was a huge risk. He had one good year and that was during his contract year. His career numbers are pretty bad aside from last year. If DeRosa puts up the same numbers as last year and keeps that pace for the remainder of the contract then yes it was a good deal made by Hendry but I'm skeptical DeRosa can actually put up those numbers. I would rather have seen Giles or Lugo as our 2B for next year. Heck, even Durham who I'm not so high on due to his age would have been a good move for us. We need to win and here is Hendry taking risks with unproven players and overbloated contracts yet again. DeRosa is unproven. If you think Hendry would sign Meche to a 1 year deal you are mistaken, if he indeed signs Meche I can guarantee you it will be for at least 3 years and at least 8mil. Bank on it.

[Vinestal]

i would imagine that he starts at 2nd base but you can't be sure until he does. he could end up being utility and rf against lefties for us. what happens if hendry signs loretta or durham??? then derosa is super sub. this is what i mean by the "real meaning" statement. you cant just assume everything.

 

You can go to Cubs.com and read the story with quotes from Hendry and DeRosa talking about how he'll be the starting 2Bman.

 

Are we supposed to think that the two people who signed the contract are lying for no apparent reason about their intentions in doing so?

 

Daily Herald-

“We certainly look at him in the second-base situation as a quality guy there,” Hendry said. “We’re hoping he can do that job there. We don’t have any plans to put him out in the outfield like he was in Texas, but he does give Lou (manager Piniella) a lot of options.”

 

 

That doesnt sound like he's a dead lock for starting all his games at 2nd. Sounds like he's trying to leave it open. We'll see. I think he is a player that is easily moved around to playing a wide range of possitions.

[Laura]

Cubs.com

 

"Why wouldn't I want to come to Chicago?" DeRosa said Tuesday. "I've always wanted to come here. When I was in the '03 playoffs with Atlanta, I felt the Cubs had five home games. All the stars aligned, I'm getting a chance to play second base, which is something I wanted to do, and to get to do it in Chicago, one of the best cities, it's perfect."

 

DeRosa saw action at second, third, short, and both left and right field for the Texas Rangers last season, and will take over as the starting second baseman, bumping youngsters Ryan Theriot and Ronny Cedeno, who were candidates for the job.

 

DeRosa had hoped to find a team where he could be an everyday player.

 

"I definitely wanted to play second," he said. "Chicago gave me a call and a chance to play second. This is it. I told my agent this is where I wanted to go."

 

DeRosa could bat anywhere in the lineup, including second, and also can fill in at other positions if needed.

 

"He does give Lou a lot of options," Hendry said. "But we brought him in to play second base."

 

Hendry no doubt likes his versatility, but he directly states that he brought DeRosa in to play 2B. I don't know how much more directly and clearly that has to be stated.

 

I don't think I'm the one making assumptions about how they plan to use DeRosa.

[neely crenshaw]

a couple of bad points on this...

first this means that cedeno and theriot have absolutely no trade value as of now...obviously neither one is in our plans so we will give them away like we did cpatt.

second point, doesn't soriano want to return to 2nd?

thrid, we are counting on signing soriano to play center! he has 1 year in the outfield and although he worked hard to be a decent LEFTFIELDER, we are hoping he will play center with 2 less than great defensive corner outfielders...doesn't sound like a great plan.

[Vinestal]

Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year.

 

A) He didn't have a full time position last year, so he couldn't have proved such a thing.

 

B) What you are saying is clearly ignoring his career numbers (not to mention the fact noted in A)

 

He didnt have a full time possition but he had full time at bats, and he's never had that in the past. His career numbers tell you what he was, not what he has become. I think Derosa and the hitting coach in Texas really figured out some things and I think Derosa will be a pretty solid player based on what I saw him do last year. Could his season be a complete fluke and a 1 time thing? I guess its a possibility, but I think its worth the risk in this case. They can always move him into a utility role and use someone else at 2nd. I dissagree with Hendry in alot of cases, Im no Hendry appologist, but Im on board with this signing. I dont think Meche would be such a great idea.

[goonys evil twin]

Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year.

 

A) He didn't have a full time position last year, so he couldn't have proved such a thing.

 

B) What you are saying is clearly ignoring his career numbers (not to mention the fact noted in A)

 

He didnt have a full time possition but he had full time at bats, and he's never had that in the past. His career numbers tell you what he was, not what he has become. I think Derosa and the hitting coach in Texas really figured out some things and I think Derosa will be a pretty solid player based on what I saw him do last year. Could his season be a complete fluke and a 1 time thing? I guess its a possibility, but I think its worth the risk in this case. They can always move him into a utility role and use someone else at 2nd. I dissagree with Hendry in alot of cases, Im no Hendry appologist, but Im on board with this signing. I dont think Meche would be such a great idea.

 

He still didn't have full-time at bats. He played in only 136 games and had under 600 PA.

 

I think it's naive to dismiss his career numbers as willingly as you do. I don't dismiss his 2006, in fact, his 2006 is the only reason why I don't see this as as bad as the 2/5 to Neifi. He does have the chance to do something decent. But 3/14 for a chance at being decent is silly when you have as pathetic an offense as the Cubs have. Lou wet his pants over Polanco this postseason and I think he sees DeRosa as his Polanco. Trouble is, Polanco was better at his best, and he was actually crap this year.

[Laura]

Hendry let Dusty call the shots in terms of playing time, so I do think it will ultimately be up to Piniella to fill out the lineup cards.

 

Some of what Hendry has said about DeRosa reminds me of what he had to say about Barrett when he aquired Barrett. To that extent, I'm hopeful.

[Vinestal]

Im actually really hopefull that EPatt continues to improve on the pace that he has (he's really tearing up the fall league) and that he'll be ready by mid season. When and if that happens, DeRosa becomes platoon partner fill in type guy I think thats where his real value is. As many injuries as we normaly have over the course of the season he's bound to get plenty of at bats.

[TruffleShuffle]

Lots of money, yet won't shell out an additional mil for a larger acquisition like Furcal.

 

Furcal's OPS+ in the two years preceding his contract: 96, 100

--Furcal's contract: 3 years, $39M ($13M per)

 

DeRosa's OPS+ in the two years preceding his contract: 98, 106

--DeRosa's contract: 3 years, $13.3M ($4.33M per)

 

 

Now, which one sounds like the better allocation of resources to you?

[TruffleShuffle]

Wow, you all freak out about the littlest things. We know what Hank brings and its not like he's making starting catcher money. He's our backup, calls a great game, cut down other teams running, and is limited with the bat. I'll take my chances with Hank over Soto at this point. Calm down.

Again, it's a pattern:

$4.15 to Izturis

$4.5 to DeRosa

$3.25 to Rusch

$2.5 to Blanco

 

It's $14.4 million. It's not the "littlest thing"

 

You're assuming that those four positions on the team would be adequately filled by people making $0. You have to assume that the people there are at least making something.

 

4 players at an average of $400,000 each, combines to $1.6m. Make one of those guys a millionaire veteran and the total cost is $2.2 million, leaving $12.2 million on the table for somebody, or somebodies, who can actually help the team get better.

 

So you're going with Cedeno, one of the worst hitters in all of baseball, over Izturis next year. And you're going with Theriot, very possibly a one-year wonder, over DeRosa.

[soapy]

Wow, you all freak out about the littlest things. We know what Hank brings and its not like he's making starting catcher money. He's our backup, calls a great game, cut down other teams running, and is limited with the bat. I'll take my chances with Hank over Soto at this point. Calm down.

Again, it's a pattern:

$4.15 to Izturis

$4.5 to DeRosa

$3.25 to Rusch

$2.5 to Blanco

 

It's $14.4 million. It's not the "littlest thing"

 

You're assuming that those four positions on the team would be adequately filled by people making $0. You have to assume that the people there are at least making something.

 

4 players at an average of $400,000 each, combines to $1.6m. Make one of those guys a millionaire veteran and the total cost is $2.2 million, leaving $12.2 million on the table for somebody, or somebodies, who can actually help the team get better.

As goony pointed out, it's still 12.2 million. I'm not advocating staying away from all players like this because they are worthless. There is a place for a guy like DeRosa or Blanco on a team, but not at the price tag they have and the unjustified playing time for guys like Izturis. Similar production could be had from people like Theriot and Soto. Then you have much more money to chase down the likes of Drew, Schmidt, etc.

[Mark Priors Calves]

At some point I'm waiting to hear a DeRosa quote similar to what Scott Eyre said last year about the Cubs' offer.

 

"My agent and I sat down and came up with what we were looking for in free agency. Jim Hendry called us up and blew it out of the water with his offer. It was a no-brainer."

[soapy]

Wow, you all freak out about the littlest things. We know what Hank brings and its not like he's making starting catcher money. He's our backup, calls a great game, cut down other teams running, and is limited with the bat. I'll take my chances with Hank over Soto at this point. Calm down.

Again, it's a pattern:

$4.15 to Izturis

$4.5 to DeRosa

$3.25 to Rusch

$2.5 to Blanco

 

It's $14.4 million. It's not the "littlest thing"

 

You're assuming that those four positions on the team would be adequately filled by people making $0. You have to assume that the people there are at least making something.

 

4 players at an average of $400,000 each, combines to $1.6m. Make one of those guys a millionaire veteran and the total cost is $2.2 million, leaving $12.2 million on the table for somebody, or somebodies, who can actually help the team get better.

 

So you're going with Cedeno, one of the worst hitters in all of baseball, over Izturis next year. And you're going with Theriot, very possibly a one-year wonder, over DeRosa.

 

You don't have to start Theriot and Cedeno if you don't sign DeRosa. There are plenty of other options to be signed/traded for. Hell, put Theriot at SS and sign Soriano to play 2B is one option (by using the millions you haven't wasted on the above mentioned players).

[gflore34]

At some point I'm waiting to hear a DeRosa quote similar to what Scott Eyre said last year about the Cubs' offer.

 

"My agent and I sat down and came up with what we were looking for in free agency. Jim Hendry called us up and blew it out of the water with his offer. It was a no-brainer."

 

Something like:

 

DeRosa & Agent: Well, Jim, were looking for something in the neighborhood of 2yrs/3 mil

 

Hendry: 3 yrs/13 mil and that's my final offer!!!!