Saturday Morning Rumor Crunch
Grist for the mill ...

 

OK, here's some quick hits and crunch in the manner of Dr. D.

 

Brian Wilson

The Red Sox pretty much took away the whole "fear the beard" business, so what's the point?

Not really.

The real question is "is he back"?

All we know for sure is that he faced 49 batters in the regular season and then 24 more in the playoffs, and in that small amout of results, everything looked just like it did before.

Other than a slightly high BB% throughout, Wilson has shown everything you want in a late-inning guy.  Lots of strikeouts, and he doesn't hurt himself: super-low HR/9; super-low ISO-against.

They will spend money somewhere, and a vet to help glue the bullpen together isn't the worst option.  Wilson is obviously a risk, but the M's will have to take some risks to get their money spent this winter.

 

Grant Balfour

No beard, less known, kind of a journeyman, but Balfour has gotten the job done as the A's closer the last two years.

And the A's have, you know, won the West both those years.  Must be nice to know what that feels like.

Balfour, however, doesn't quite bring Wilson's results.  His BB% is a bit high as well (not uncommon for high-K guys), but he's been much less consistent than Wilson at avoiding homers.  So I would expect more streakiness.

That being said, he'll be 36 and probably won't entail as much of a commitment as Wilson.  (Wilson will be 32 and will presumably command a prime-time deal.)

There are lots of power arms bubbling up the minor-league ranks (that's something this regime has been very good at spotting and snagging), but we've also seen the potential downside of relying too heavily on those guys, no matter how good they are.

 

Jhonny Peralta

Peralta has met with the M's, according to the rumor mill.  Drayer hinted that the M's were hoping for a two-year deal that would keep an infield spot warm for D.J. Peterson, but that's by the boards now, since Peralta is seeking a four-year pact and claims to already have a four-year offer (at $13M/year) in hand.

Would the M's still bite at a four-year deal?  Well, the infield is already crowded and Peterson and Ji-Man Choi are on the way, so you'd expect Peralta to end up in the outfield at some point in a four-year period.

Is he enough of a solid bat to just sign him and worry about how the defense shakes out later?  Not really, but the M's also don't want another off-season where they come up empty and have to "rely on the kids," so maybe going four years on Peralta is a fail-safe position.

He wouldn't be a thrilling add, but, as we discussed, he's a very good bet to produce middle-of-the-pack numbers, and that's not a bad thing at all.

Comments

1
M's Watcher's picture

Good luck to any team signing Peralta to that contract. He's got a MI bat, not a 3B or corner OF bat, even when he was on the juice. But he doesn't have the MI glove. What does that make him? A utility infielder? Pass.
Closer arms would help our 'pen. Gotta love the beard, which will come in handy in the PNW spring and fall cool weather evenings. And a guy named Ballfour will fit right in with Balk'em, Lord Farquhar, and The Bartender. What's not to like? Have we got any pitchers named Cy, Walkoff, Homer, or Blownsave?

2
blissedj's picture

Either Wilson or Balfour would be fine by me! I threw these names out earlier in the offseason: Joaquin Benoit, Grant Balfour, Javier Lopez, Boone Logan, Koji Uehara, Craig Breslow, Joe Smith, Edward Mujica to name a few potential FA targets.
Didn't have Wilson on the list, but he would work just fine thanks. I'd be really happy if we added 2 dependable arms via FA or trade and then let the rest battle it out for the remaining spots. If somebody is pitching well and still has to go to Tacoma, great! We were sending them down for bad performance recently leaving us with holes and all kinds of inconsistency. Hopefully we don't blow all the money on just a closer and call it good. Better yet would be to sign/trade for 2 set-up guys for the same money and let Farquhar have first shot at closer.
Peralta was more intriguing for 3/36 as an IF. Don't care for that add at 4/60 and playing OF. If it happens I won't cry since we need some kind of consistent hitting around here but if he's going to play OF just go for Cruz instead.

3
Rob's picture

Just don't like big-money closers. Quick trivia: can you name the playoff team(s) last year that stayed with their opening day closer into the playoffs?

4
Mesully's picture

Admitted steriod users over thirty who will have no need to use again with a 3 or 4 year contract in hand will cost GM's their jobs. Peralta and Cruz are disasters waiting to spring the trap on desperate teams.
Please spend the money in the bullpen and rotation instead of these guys.

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