M’s Sign Mike Sweeney
Well, a bunch of you have been screaming for the M’s to sign a hitter, so here’s one for you.
Okay, so, it’s a minor league contract, and Sweeney’s not exactly the kind of big bat that everyone wants. Back problems have robbed him of his power, and now he’s just a high contact hitter with an empty BA. At 35, and coming off three years as a below average hitter, it’s pretty unlikely that he’s going to hook himself up to the juvenation machine and party like its 2002.
But, he’s a free replacement level bat to have in Peoria. He probably won’t make the team unless he shows that he’s found some power somewhere, and there’s no real risk of him taking the job of anyone more worthy of a roster spot. So, it’s just organizational depth with a very, very tiny bit of upside.
Or, alternately, it’s a reminder to the former regime that this is exactly what no-power, slap hitting DH’s cost to acquire.
“tiny bit of upside”: a.k.a. “the genius of Jack Z.”
Another great move by Z…stash him down in Tacoma…if he finds the fountain of youth, you have your DH…if not, he helps mentor the kids in Tacoma and costs us practically nothing…
This is fun to watch…
What’s up next from the man?
What Dave? Not eager for a Sweeney-Griffey-Beltre 3-4-5? lol.
I agree. For the nothing we sign him for, it’s not bad.
[please stop signing your comments]
I wonder if Bavasi has been keeping up with all of these moves, and if so, what he thinks about it all…
He works for the Reds, so I’d imagine knowing what players are going where is part of his job.
Hmmm, JZ must have overlooked Mike’s CHONE projections. Let’s just hope he doesn’t do that with Griffey!
I think he’s got one left. If he is truely healthy I would love a repeat of 2005:
470 PA’s
.300 BA
.347 OBP
21 HR’s
83 RBI’s
Kudos Zman.
myd, you have two options – you can either contribute something new to the discussions around here or go away. That’s it. Those are your two choices.
Next time you type the words “CHONE projections”, you’re getting tossed. Deal?
You mean we’re not sending the Royals a promising young outfielder and a relief pitcher and taking on a four-year $32 million contract? Why ever not? Another amazing move by Z. I wish the casual fans could grasp what is happening here.
Yet another move in the off-season that is the cure for the despondency that was last year’s off-season. Nearly every week brings something good from the Mariners’ front office. I am happily shocked.
I doubt that Sweeney has anything left to contribute, but for no risk, why not let him try?
Another amazing move by Z.
So, I’m driving the bandwagon for the new regime, but umm, this is signing a replacement level player to a minor league contract. It happens all the time. Smart GMs do it. Dumb GMs do it. Everyone does it.
The odds are about 5% that Sweeney ever plays a regular season game for the M’s, and then only half of that 5% of the time will it be a good thing. This isn’t a move to celebrate.
Wow, I had no idea Mike Sweeney was still alive.
Calling this a great deal is a bit silly. This is a run of the mill deal, it is not bad, it is not great, it just is.
I’m celebrating the thought process that is being used…not this one signing…
I’m celebrating being an Ms fan that is happy that Z is on the right path to winning!
What does a “5-time all-star with the Royals” translate to for a real ballclub? That’s like saying you’re the best eunuch in a whorehouse.
I agree with the “5% chance of making the roster” comment. Though if memory serves correctly, he’d at least take more pitches than Shelton would.
Closest comp to Sweeney (career) on B-R: Raul Ibanez.
I just think people are happy that we’re not signing him to a 3 year $24 million deal because he’s a former All-Star or whatever.
I’d expect similar performance from Sweeney that we saw from Vidro last year — the difference is that it will be in Tacoma.
Not a bad just in case…
-Chrissy Shelton hits .190 for the spring.
-Mickey Morse dislocates his shoulder again.
Just you wait. Mike “Crash” Sweeney’s sage advice and tough love mentoring is going to turn Brian LaHair into a star.
I don’t understand — 35, years from his best season, empty .300 slap hitter, veteran grit — why aren’t we paying him $7 million per year?
I already made that joke, Steve.
Be quicker next time!
Nothing against the signing, but he is 1 1/2 years older than Richie Sexson. And farther away from his last productive season.
To be fair though, at least Sweeney once upon a time did more than one thing fairly well. What did Sexson do except hit the longball, and I mean ever?
The parallels to Vidro here are so apparent…the fact that we gave Sweeney next to nothing $$-wise and an invite to camp instead of $7 mil and a starting roster spot is the clearest evidence yet that Jack Z knows everything Bavasi didn’t seem to grasp about roster construction, and is happy to put it all to use. I am ready to rejoice!
This might be the first move by Z where I’m scratching my head a bit. Then again, we are approaching the one-year anniversary of the Bedard trade. So whatever.
Not all of Z’s moves are earth-shattering in terms of individual impact (really, not many have been). But that’s what I love. We have a GM who isn’t targeting a set group of names to make one or two splashes and then pretending his job is done (or being so restricted that his job must be done). Now we’ve got a team of people who have done more to create flexibility, depth and to completely change the approach this team takes to building itself up in so short a time it makes one’s head spin if one is paying attention.
He’s done more in preparation for a year in which we are not supposed to contend to create a good base for long-term success than any GM we’ve ever had. We also don’t hear whimpering about how it’s so hard to operate and make moves happen. He’s just making them happen, and when he thinks he’ll need some additional pieces to make a future move, he gets them, stores ‘em up and then turns new abundance into need-filling.
It’s wonderful to watch how innovative thinking makes things happen. I love it, and for those who keep waiting for the big-name shoe to drop just for the sake of it – I hope they get a big superstar to be happy about down the road too. But know that that superstar’s signing/trade was made possible by all the little moves we are seeing today. And I expect that big name will be a real superstar, not just a name who is no longer or never was truly good. The talent evaluation aspect is wonderful to see.
Zduriencik is on KJR at 2:35.
they are playing an audio drop of Sweeney, talking about the work he’s done to get his back in shape.
“… something has to be a better option than Russell Branyan at 1st base, maybe it’s Sweeney. What this team needs is good character guys in that clubhouse, something to counteract Bedard, the rumbling, grumbling in the clubhouse” –Ian Furness.
This doesnt seem very important, though its definitely nice that signing a below average player to potentially fill a perceived hole doesnt result in the Ms throwing $7 million away.
All this does is made the Vidro deal look even worse.
I’m looking forward to seeing more trades where we get more from the other team than we give up.
Sports on a Schtick:
It’s a minor league deal. There is zero risk.
Why are you puzzled?
Ian Furness – Who is he and why does he matter? He works for a radio station. The FO will not care what he thinks. Nor do I.
I kinda like it, not sure why though, seeing as nothing can really come from this. I guess maybe I like it because if he goes to AAA, and puts up decent numbers, he could mentour some of the youth.
Why not?
MIKE SWEENEY – COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Furness used to work in Portland…the major thing I remember him from was Draft the ‘Stache. For those of you not familiar, it was the local Portland media, headed by Furness, campaigning for the Blazers to draft Adam Morrison over Brandon Roy and/or LaMarcus Aldridge.
If Furness has an opinion on something, just go the other way and you’ll be on the side of logic and statistics, and you’ll end up right most of the time.
something to counteract Bedard
We already have something to counteract Bedard – Carlos Silva. He counteracts Bedard in almost every way possible. In his concern for team chemistry, his desire to take the ball even when injuries hamper his effectiveness, his willingness to spout off to reporters, his pitching talent… they’re such complete opposites, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a matter-antimatter reaction in the clubhouse.
The main thing that encourages me about the past two days is how careful GMZ (apologies to Derek)is in each deal to either get MAXIMUM value in return or to risk nothing. It always seemed as if Bavasi was playing with house money, continually ready to pull the trigger, no matter if the chance of the move working out was good or remote. He’s the drunken gunslinger to Zduriencik’s pro poker player.
Once GMZ gets some money to play with next offseason, I look forward to seeing what high-salaried responsible move he comes up with.
This move is similar to walking by the bargain bin and picking up something that catches your eye. You might use it, you might have it sitting around collecting dust. Either way, you didn’t pay much.
Worth a shot.
What a difference a year makes. If we had gotten Sweeney in the middle of last year I would have been happy, because he would have been an upgrade on Miguel Cairo at firstbase.
Now it doesn’t matter too much.
Great, Huh?
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Hey, at least the Sporting News named him The Good Guy in Sports in ‘03 & ‘04. So he’s got that goin’ for him.
I’m surprised there hasn’t been a matter-antimatter reaction in the clubhouse.
UH, all of last season might qualify…
We should be happy to get back equal value if it’s a better fit. That’s more than we ever got from Bavasi, and it demonstrates accurate talent evaluation. There are only so many below-average GMs, so you can’t expect to “win” trades all the time. I’m just happy the M’s have joined the “Lake Wobegone GM Club.”
This is exactly right, and it’s worth remembering that Zduriencik would have a lot more room to work if the ‘09 budget didn’t have $30M locked up in Silva/Washburn/Batista. Considering the constraints he’s working under, he’s achieved quite a lot in just a few months — both in remaking the team that will be taking the field this year and in setting himself up to have more room to maneuver in the future. This particular move is nothing special, but it demonstrates an FO with an attention to detail and a willingness to take a flyer on free talent. It will fun to see what they do with the waiver wire.
Lots of folks are forgetting that the following players are off the M’s payroll for 2010: Washburn ($10.35MM), Batista ($9.5MM), Beltre ($13.4MM), and Bedard ($7.5MM). That’s $40.75MM in freed up player payroll dollars, which allows for a ton of movement. Even if Bedard shines and inks a long-term deal with the M’s (neither of which I think are particularly likely to happen, but anything is possible), then the M’s brass is still looking at a $28-30M benefit. Throw in an unlikely yet slightly possible Silva ($12MM) trade and Johjima ($8MM) allowing a buyout of his contract, and things look pretty rosy for the M’s regarding their finances and payroll capabilities.
Considering the colossal flop the M’s were in ‘08 with their near-$120 million payroll, I’d expect to see them be extra frugal the next few years and work on developing their own talent from with the organization by continuing to make smart trades for upside-gifted younger players. If they maintain a $100MM payroll the next few years (and we subtract the $40+MM due to the departures of Bedard, Washburn, Batista and Beltre), then the M’s are suddenly teeming with cash to throw at the right players when they become available. That may not really develop until 2012 or so due to the relatively weak FA classes in 2010 and 2011 (“relatively weak” compared to 2009, that is), but imagine the possiblitities…
Rowland-Smith and Morrow have come into their own, providing the M’s with a fantastic young trio of starters with Hernandez the staff ace. LaHair wakes up with Sweeney as his mentor in Tacoma, and instantly turns into a legit MLB 1B within a season or so. Jose Lopez continues to hit well enough for everyone to completely ignore his ZR/RF stats. One of the young outfielders (Redman, Balentien, Gutierrez) turns a corner and makes a strong push for All-Sta consideration. The bullpen is full of young, lively arms that make their share of mistakes but excel more often than not.
All of that won’t happen in 2009, of course, but we’re not talking about a team that finished four games out of first place in the AL West. This group is a looooong way from being a contender, and a three-year time frame for winning 90+ games, I think, is a legitimate goal.
“The odds are about 5% that Sweeney ever plays a regular season game for the M’s, and then only half of that 5% of the time will it be a good thing. This isn’t a move to celebrate.”
Well, as has been noted it’s more the approach that is amazing instead of the specific player. Us Bavasi regime refugees just continue to be amazed at the contrast.
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I’d rather give Ty Wigginton a two-year deal than see if Mike Sweeney can make a comeback.
Why do you think any other deal would be effected by this signing?
Wiggington is a 3B/LF – Sweeney is pretty much a full-time DH with a possible fill-in role at 1B.
The two cannot be compared.
This deal won’t affect other signings but it’ll affect playing time in the spring. I’d rather give Sweeney’s PT to a better (albeit more expensive) player. Hell, give those at-bats to Mike Carp. What’s Sweeney’s upside: Vidro Plus?
Wigginton can do everything Sweeney can do in the field. Plus it’d be nice to have some depth at third base, especially if Z decides to trade Beltre.
Why are some of you talking like Sweeney is going to play in Tacoma if he doesn’t make the club?
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Don’t think they got the flexibility thing down yet. Nothing stops them from signing another, better player if one comes along. And what they’ll learn in spring training isn’t going to affect other players’ playing time.
If Sweeney’s offense comes back, fine and good. If not, bye.
Because it’s a minor league contract.
The real test for me is if Sweeney hits like Mike Morse did last year in spring training, is he the Opening Day DH? The only reason I can see him coming up to the major leagues is if sufficient injuries to Branyan, Clement, Shelton, Morse and Wlad meant that we’re otherwise using Jamie Burke at DH. Let him hit the cover off the ball in Peoria and Tacoma; that might make him trade bait for someone whose DH goes down. If you could flip him for another Garrett Olson, that’s turning straw into gold.
Sweeney is the very definition of “low-risk”. If he shows that he has something left in the tank, then you just picked up an asset for nothing. If he doesn’t, you cut him after March (or leave him in Tacoma to mentor the youngsters); no harm, no foul.
If this was the old regime, the headline would instead be “M’s ink Sweeney for 2 years, $18 million” and I would cry tears of blood.
I love this signing! As people have already said it is ZERO risk with a reward of a 300 hitter if healthy. Sweeney is the total opposite of a hitter as Sexson was. A little power but a solid .300 hitter compared to .240. He is the type of mentor every young team needs and can possibly assist Clement, Johnson, Vlad, Gut, etc to becoming better batters and provide a good influence. If he is not healthy it costs us nothing! I LOVE IT!
Mike Sweeney is not going to play in Tacoma if he doesn’t make the team. The signing of Sweeney to a minor league contract was just so the M’s didn’t have to add him to the 40-man roster at this point.
If he somehow makes the squad out of spring training, he’ll be added. If not, he’ll go home. He’s not some fringe quad-A guy like Todd Linden, still in his 20s and waiting for a shot. He’s in his mid-30s, made a lot of money and seems pretty content with his life.
Isn’t this always how these late offseason free agent signings of veterans-in-decline turn out?
According to Dave Andriesen in the PI, if Sweeney doesn’t make the club, he’s out.
“If things don’t work out and I don’t end up making that trip to Minnesota for Opening Day, I’ll probably just sail off into the sunset and be thankful for the opportunity,”
There’s going to be a lot of pressure or responsibility placed on Wakamatsu this spring, due to the large collection of hitters and pitchers and the number of starting jobs, platoon jobs, and bench jobs up for grabs.
I hope our new manager is up to the task.
I honestly don’t know how Wakamatsu will do with the many challenges he faces. I feel confident, though, that he won’t be batting the likes of Vidro in the cleanup spot. The bar is still low.
It’s going to be hard to judge how well Wakamatsu does with that, too. Unless you’re down in Peoria every day watching all the players and seeing what the coaching staff is seeing, you can’t easily second-guess what they decide to do with all these guys competing for spots. Once the season starts, of course, we’ll have lots of opportunity for second-guessing and I’m sure we will. Even if he (hopefully) gives us fewer obvious bone-headed moves than McLaren or Hargrove did.
Personally, I think the race for the closer spot is going to be the most interesting (and it may not be permanently settled even after the first few months of the season).
Unless it’s Rickey Henderson. I get the impression that if he M’s offered him the same deal he’d keep playing if it was only in Tacoma.
it’ll affect playing time in the spring. I’d rather give Sweeney’s PT to a better (albeit more expensive) player.
If you’re worried about the distribution of at bats and innings during Spring Training, you’re looking way too hard for things to worry about.
Hopefully he won’t have to figure out too much at all and most the positions will figure themselves out with play on the field.