Lugo as a cheap upgrade option
Today’s email carried a lot of questions about Julio Lugo among our standard massive load of spam/accusations of selling out/press releases. With the Red Sox giving up on him, should the M’s pick him up if he’s essentially free?
Maybe, but it’s not such a clear yes. Even assuming that his knee injury’s responsible for some of his 09 performance in limited playing time, he’s below-average defensively, he’s not driving the ball much any more, but he’d be a welcome on-base hitter in the lineup.
The really good thing is you don’t have to give up anything for him, where (as we’ve already seen) Jack Wilson, JJ Hardy, and the other trade targets command prices that at least are high enough that the team hasn’t made a move yet. That’s even more attractive when you consider that even if the M’s turn into sellers, a free shortstop upgrade helps them stay above water the rest of the year, when the weather’s nice and Safeco Field’s full.
Below-average glove and average bat is a lot better than what we’ve had so far this season. I know Cedeno’s been playing well lately, but even as a middle-infield caddy, Lugo’d make some sense for the M’s. The cost is certainly right.
Update for clarification: Lugo’s been “designated for assignment” which means he’s not on the Sox roster any more, and they have to now put him on waivers, where all the teams can claim him and take on his contract (or work out a deal), trade him, or release him. The reports are that the Red Sox are willing to eat the rest of his deal and maybe take a token minor leaguer back or a really nice pen.
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He should be better at second, right? If we had him, do we play him at second and give Lopez third or bench Ronny?
Never…not a nice pen!!!
If the Mariners are not in contention, why not play Cedeño out the rest of the year?
“The reports are that the Red Sox are willing to eat the rest of his deal and maybe take a token minor leaguer back or a really nice pen.”
Felt tip or ball point?
As long as its not one of those pens astronauts use to write upside down, i would be all for it. Giving up those pens can only lead to hijinx and hilarity and hijinx, a plenty.
I have a couple Fisher Space Pens. They’re great.
“As long as its not one of those pens astronauts use to write upside down, i would be all for it. Giving up those pens can only lead to hijinx and hilarity and hijinx, a plenty.”
Cosign.
Those write-upside-down astronaut pens are worth a Clay Buchholz at least.
I’m still not sold on Lugo, even if he only costs us a Bic and not one of those really nice corperate pens.
First of all, whose playing time does he usurp? The much more defensively adept Cedeno–Right as his bat has shown signs of life? Lopez shifting to 3rd. again at the expense of defense?
If this years clubhouse has been an indication of anything, it’s that preventing runs is equally effective as scoring them, and if Julio Lugo isn’t going to score more runs then he gives up, then I don’t care if the Red Sox are paying the M’s to take him.
On another note, how much better does Lugo’s impending availability make the Betancourt deal look for Zduriencik?
…Or alternatively, how much worse does it make Dayton Moore look?
I know this sounds sort of ridiculous but what about trading for Omar Visquel. Obviously, he’s an above average defender and in his minimal plate appearances this season, he hasn’t been terrible at the plate either. He would probably be pretty cheap to trade for. I think that he’d be more valuable than Lugo and he can return to the place where his big league career began.
Personally, I’d love to see Omar back in Seattle too, but I don’t think it’s realistic. Why would Texas trade a player that would help out the team that is right behind them in the standings? Not to mention, that with Texas’ current financial issues, a trade would be pretty difficult to pull off.
Pass. I like Cedeno like I enjoy some anonymous stranger farting on the bus. But I’ll take him every day over Lugo.
That wins this month’s award for weirdest comment.
Flatulence on public transportation and Mariner player evaluation.
Only on USSMariner.com!
The real question is, does the farting stranger play a mean short stop?
Not all over my nice new light rail!
If Zduriencik can claim Lugo for a case of Pacifico and a bucket of balls, then find a way to flip him to some NL team for a honest-to-goodness prospect, I will be pleasantly unsurprised, which is in and of itself surprising. Work your magic Jack.
Ronny Cedeno -2.5 RAR > Julio Lugo -3.0 RAR + token minor league pen…
please circle ronny cedeno
Of course, the Royals may claim him off waivers, since they clearly need a shortstop.
One of the blogs on the New York Daily News site is saying that Lugo’s already working out for the Mets in the Dominican Republic and that he’ll sign with the Mets once cleared through waivers.
I just don’t see Jack Z putting a poor defender at a premium defensive position. He just dumped one of those.
Um, how about no. There are better defenders, and I’m sure better bats, to be found. He’s not significantly better than letting Cedeno claw his way to above the Mendoza line for the next couple weeks while Jack figures out the best way to work the trade market.
If anyone was willing to give up a prospect, Boston would have already traded him.
Why does this not surprise me? The Mets certainly have more money than sense.
Yuni and Lugo both went into the all-star break with identical -8.2 UZR. In other words, they each cost their teams almost an entire win in the first half just with their gloves. If the Mariners wanted to see that kind of defense at short, they could’ve just kept Yuni.
Sad but true. As I pointed out in the game thread last night, Lugo would be an upgrade over Yuni at the plate, and the same with the glove. Everyone in baseball knew that Lugo was going to be released (people were saying as much when Yuni was getting shopped), so if the Royals had waited to claim him they could’ve obtained a better player without giving up any minor leaguers or paying more than the league minimum.
Kansas City overpaid to obtain a player who is worse than freely available talent. The astonished but thankfully disinterested horror this evokes must be what fans of other teams felt watching Mariners deals in the Bavasi era.
On Shannons tweet last night she said Cedeno credited Felix with turning his offensive game around. So no worries. She ended with Is there anything the King can’t do?
Yeah, Cedeno said that in the after-game radio interview with her. And Felix did it just by talking to him. Imagine what Felix could do if he started laying on hands? “I shall place my hands on your arms, and your hitting slump will be healed!” Maybe he could even cure Silva.
No thanks.
I hope that Mets rumor is true.
Why does this not surprise me? The Mets certainly have more money than sense.
They also have a SS problem in the same general ballpark as KC and Seattle.
If his price is a non-prospect and the Sox are paying his salary, why not have him as the backup IF? I can’t imagine him being worse than Woodward in a backup role.
No thanks on Lugo. There is a reason the Red Sox are willing to eat 13 million of his contract. They want him as far away from them as possible. Stick with Cedeno as a stopgap until a real shortstop becomes available at the right price.
The majority of you don’t understand. There is no harm in bringing him in, its not like he will be run out there every day.
I have full confidence that Wakamatsu will play him in a role that would help the team more than it hurts it.
Unless they changed the rules of baseball to allow Wakamatsu to have Lugo bat while Cedeno fields, I don’t see how that’s possible. Well, ok, he does have some experience at 2B and 3B, and he’d be a better guy on the bench than Woodward. So he is an upgrade in that sense, particularly if his healing knee allows him to improve his fielding over the rest of the season. He’s still right-handed, though.
If the Mets and possibly other teams are interested, does that impact on how much it would cost the Mariners to bring him in?
Demand with limited supply does generally increase price.
I don’t really want any part of Lugo, personally.
If Zduriencik manages to get a real upgrade at short, Cedeno can move to a super-sub sort of role; if he doesn’t, Lugo wouldn’t be much of an upgrade at all, and wouldn’t even be worth the opportunity cost of having him on the roster over another player.
No thanks on Lugo. While it may not cost us anything as far as money goes it may cost us something in a possible new cancer in the clubhouse.
If the Red Sox are wanting to be rid of him so bad that they will eat his salary that’s a sure sign to steer clear.
Lugo as a Mariner would be interesting…but probably the wrong type of interesting.
The Red Sox are not the first organization that has tired of Lugo.
As much as I love the procuring of free talent that we’ve shown this year, shortstop is not a broken window in the Mariners’ system.
It’s a supermassive black hole, and Cedeno is only there to keep it from getting worse. He won’t make it better.
I’m much more in favor of (believe it or not) expending resources wisely and getting a J.J. Hardy or someone else with at least a year that they’re locked into playing for us.
A definite upgrade’s worth paying for, rather than a “maybe, if the stars are on our side” free upgrade.
A few days ago, Dave came up with the bonzer idea of Washburn and Bedard for Hardy. I still would welcome that trade, would be delightedly astonished if “The Big Z” could get it done by making it Bedard or Washburn plus Mark Lowe.
Not terribly likely, but Zduriencik has certainly done well with smart moves and price tags. I totally trust him to make the best of this, too.
But I don’t think he needs Lugo, and I’d bet that he doesn’t think he needs Lugo.
I think getting lugo wouldn’t be much of an upgrade. As much as we have talked about defense winning ball games he leaves alot to be desired. I don’t think the offensive upgrade would be worth it. Many other teams have gotten tired of him why mess with our great chemistry.
Lugo is exactly the type of player that Bavasi would have salivated over. A poor fielding middle infielder who last hit well in 2006. And only ever hit well for one team, Tampa, from 2003 until mid way in 2006. Meanwhile, he’s 33 years old and has been hitting poorly in Boston for two and a half years.
Bavasi would assume that the first half of 2006 was not a fluke, and he’d trade for him.
Based on what I’m seeing, I’d rather have the bench players the M’s already have.
Okay, in order: fielding. He’s below-average, but he’s not bad. He’s about a -5 run guy over a whole season.
And on hitting: In 08, he hit .268/.355/.330, which yes, is below league average and all, but it’s on-base in a lineup entirely without it.
And when you say “bench players the M’s already have” who is that? The M’s have a terrible infield bench right now.