Todd Walker to be released

[macuser2]

Link

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Pick him up, send Ronny to Iowa.

[mdwilla]

Ronny needs to take what he's learned from Perry so far and use it at Iowa. I hope Walker ends up here. Though I don't see him getting a ton at bats with theriot and Derosa already playing all over the diamond.

[Balsa]

Walker can't play SS, and his power is declining rapidly.

 

I know nostalgia beckons, but it wouldn't be smart.

[oldcubsfan]

I have a better chance of winning the lottery than Todd signing with the Cubs.

[mdwilla]

Walker can't play SS, and his power is declining rapidly.

 

I know nostalgia beckons, but it wouldn't be smart.

 

Theriot ,Izturiz, Derosa are three guys on the Cubs roster who can play short. Walker can play 3b/2b/1b. Lou needs an extra infielder for the days he wants to play Derosa or Theriot in the outfield. Walker fits that bill. He still has some pop and gets on base.

[Balsa]

He's 33, and to put it nicely, his glovework at 3B is shaky at best.

 

Although he does seem to like Wrigley.

[Omar]

I like Walker. He was the few patient players in the Dusty era. I would be really happy if Cubs signed him.

[TruffleShuffle]

In 2003, the Cubs came within 5 outs of the world series.

 

In 2004, the Cubs signed Todd Walker away from the Red Sox. The Cubs collapsed down the stretch and have never been the same. The Red Sox, on the other hand, won their first World Series in 86 years. Is Todd Walker the culprit?

 

This argument brought to you by Joe Morgan.

[Omar]

In 2003, the Cubs came within 5 outs of the world series.

 

In 2004, the Cubs signed Todd Walker away from the Red Sox. The Cubs collapsed down the stretch and have never been the same. The Red Sox, on the other hand, won their first World Series in 86 years. Is Todd Walker the culprit?

 

This argument brought to you by Joe Morgan.

 

:-s

[Danny82]

Pass.

[Rob]

Walker can't play SS, and his power is declining rapidly.

 

I know nostalgia beckons, but it wouldn't be smart.

 

Theriot ,Izturiz, Derosa are three guys on the Cubs roster who can play short. Walker can play 3b/2b/1b. Lou needs an extra infielder for the days he wants to play Derosa or Theriot in the outfield. Walker fits that bill. He still has some pop and gets on base.

 

No, he doesn't.

 

Let's say for example that we have Izturis at SS, Theriot at 2B, and DeRosa playing in RF for the day. Jacque has already PH. Izturis goes down and breaks his wrist after Dempster ties his shoelaces together during the 6th inning.

 

Theriot moves to SS, DeRosa moves to 2B, and our spare outfielder (Pagan, Moore, Coats or whatever AAAA talent we could get for cheap) goes in to play RF.

 

We call up Cedeno after the game is over.

 

The last thing we need is another infielder. We simply need the best hitter available. Our roster is versatile enough defensively already.

[98navigator]

Cedeno has already made the team. For all intents and purposes, the roster is set. Miller will, most likely, be the fifth starter and Guzman will get the last bullpen spot. There's no room for Todd.

[CUBZ99]

Why all the Todd Walker love? The Cubs already have two, all bat, no glove Lefties in Ward and Floyd, no need to add another one.

[Amazing_Grace]

All things considered, I'd rather see the Cubs put Cedeno at Iowa to start the year and bring back TWalk for the 25th spot on the roster. We could obviously do a lot worse, and Ronny could use some time at Iowa to get all the stuff that Dusty taught him out of his head and get ready to come back to the Cubs as the full-time SS next season.

 

I doubt Hendry would do this, since he never seemed to like Walker much and tried very hard to trade him last year.

[erik316wttn]

I never had a problem with him when he was here.

 

I'd love to see him starting at 2nd on Opening Day, although I know that'll never happen. He was the one guy who actually spoke his mind and called out Hendry and Dusty on their crap.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I like Walker as much as anyone. I'm not sure he fits our needs.

[Flames24Rulz]

I'll pass too.

[Mizzou]

What is it about Todd Walker that cause him to be unwanted by so many teams?

[C.C.]

I'll pass. Let's forget about Walker and move on...

[cubweiser03]

Member the criticism the Cubs got for what they received in return for trading walker (i thought they could of gotten more too)? The Padres are going to eat $4M in releasing Walker. I dont understand why the offered him arby and are now releasing him before the season starts, that doesnt seem forward thinking to me.

 

EDIT: They are going to pay him $971,311 in termination pay. Never heard that before in MLB with a contract.

Edited March 27, 2007 by cubweiser03

[Schwarber Fan]

What is it about Todd Walker that cause him to be unwanted by so many teams?

 

I have to question this also - he's one of the most patient hitters in the game and could be a valuable asset for any team. I'd take him again - I'd take him to even start over DeRosa.

[98navigator]

What is it about Todd Walker that cause him to be unwanted by so many teams?

 

He is a one dimensional player.

[goonys evil twin]

What is it about Todd Walker that cause him to be unwanted by so many teams?

 

I have to question this also - he's one of the most patient hitters in the game and could be a valuable asset for any team. I'd take him again - I'd take him to even start over DeRosa.

 

He's not "one of the most patient hitters in the game". His OBP is 60 points above his AVG. That's a nice number, but hardly top of the line. It's slightly below the IsoD of a couple other journeyman middle infielders, Valentin and Loretta.

[CubColtPacer]

What is it about Todd Walker that cause him to be unwanted by so many teams?

 

Are you talking about this offseason? Some of my list will be general, and some of it will be this offseason

 

1. His defense has never been the greatest-teams are more willing to accept a lack of defense at other positions, but for the 4 positions in the middle, usually good defense is desired unless it's a very good hitter.

2. His numbers-His power dropped quite a bit last year, and teams are understandably concerned because he'll be 34 this year. It might be back, but you can never know for sure when a player has a down year after 30 if it's a sign of decline or just an aberrant year. Also, his numbers last year match up or are worse than some of the other second baseman on the market, even though Walker has been protected from some bad matchups for the past three years (he's been able to sit against more left-handers than he would if he were a starter like some of the others who signed, for example, and that inflates his numbers just a bit).

3. His clubhouse concerns-I have no idea how major this is, but GM's do talk. This doesn't eliminate him from all teams, but it does always thin the market for a guy who reportedly has some problems in the clubhouse. My guess this was not a major factor to 3/4 of the teams.

4. His FA status-he was a type A FA this offseason, which means that anybody who signed him depending on how good they were would have had to give up one of their top 2 picks in the draft. Walker simply wasn't worth that much to give to anybody.