Oakland A's Offseason Thread

Who's ML?

The A's ball park blog.

ML is the guy who runs it.

NYDN reporting the Mets are one team that could look to deal for Cust.

Frankly, I've never been a huge Cust fan and it started back to maybe mid 08 and his #s in his two years after his flashy debut in 07 have gone steadily done.

I don't know what honestly the A's could get back for Cust, probably a B level prospect at best. Don't know why the Mets would want Cust as there no DH for them to stick him at and if they wanna take the chance on putting him in the OF, good luck.

As for what the A's would do in replacing Cust, at this point rumors that they may go after another veteran hitter ala a Glaus to be the DH for a year and that trading Cust and getting a decent prospect would be better than just keeping Cust for 4-5 million. I don't see anybody within the system ready to take over as a legit DH. Sure a Carter and or Wallace might fill that role in a few years but not in 10.

Power wise, Cust was the only player to hit more than 15 HRs, Suzuki, last season so the A's probably will be taking away their best HR hitter but seems as the A's think paying Cust that much money isn't the right decision and even if they don't trade him, they would then non tender him.

Ballpark news from ML's blog basically projects the new A's potential SJ park to be 37K, which is sort of big news since Wolff and company have stated the projected park to be 32K capacity so an increase of 5K is good news for A's fans who've always thought 32K was too small and 37K seems just around where other newer smaller parks capacity's are with PNC and I think Comerica being in the 38K range when they opened.

Comerica has increased the capacity due to their renovation a few years ago moving the RF pens to LF and filling in that space beyond the RF walls with seats.

If the A's new SJ park is 37K and it's a big hit down there, they could increase the park somehow as I think most parks are the ability when they first open to expand the seating somewhere to maybe somewhere close to 40K which is basically the "minimum" capacity for most of the newer parks being built especially in the past decade.

Originally posted by socalfan21:
I can't even think about the A's right now... especially with the 49ers playing so well and the Lakers right around the corner.

Interesting that the A's may go after another big name international prospect and like with Ynoa, Beane and Forst went down themselves which they did with Ynoa so they may be VERY VERY INTERESTED in signing this kid.

Now if Wolff goes down there, it's a done deal then.

Quote:
Cuban defector Arguelles attracts suitors

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
4 hours, 42 minutes ago
Buzz up!
Print
More than 100 scouts, agents and executives showed up last month in the Dominican Republic to watch Noel Arguelles pitch. If the name is not familiar, it’s with good reason: He was practically an unknown to the baseball world a year ago, too.

Oh, people in the game had the cursory information, the same stuff they gather on all Cuban players: age and handedness and position, and a scouting report that’s more police sketch than portrait, exaggerated here and there, a rough facsimile of the real thing.

Well, here that was, in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, where those on hand could finally add to the 19-year-old left-handed pitcher’s slim bio. And as one person at the workout said, “We loved him.”

More From Jeff Passan
The ultimate free-agent tracker Nov 20, 2009
Bright lights, big dollars await Cuban lefty Nov 12, 2009
ADVERTISEMENT

While Arguelles isn’t likely to generate near the high-dollar bids of fellow Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, he looms as a worthwhile alternative, someone without the 100-mph fastball but with enough potential to draw perhaps eight figures. The New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s are the teams hottest after Arguelles, according to club sources, and A’s assistant general manager David Forst confirmed he and GM Billy Beane recently met with Arguelles during a trip to the Dominican.

Arguelles is expected to receive a contract in the neighborhood of those given to Dayan Viciedo(notes) and Jose Iglesias, two other high-profile Cuban defectors. Viciedo, a third baseman, signed last winter with the Chicago White Sox for $10 million, and Iglesias, a shortstop with whom Arguelles defected last year in Canada, received an $8.2 million major league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Oakland is something of a surprise bidder for Arguelles, though with Matt Holliday(notes), Orlando Cabrera(notes), Jason Giambi(notes) and Nomar Garciaparra(notes) gone, its payroll could dip from more than $60 million to $45 million. The A’s have shown a willingness to spend big in Latin America – the $4.25 million they spent on Michael Ynoa two summers ago remains a record for 16-year-olds – and would prefer to restock from within after three straight disappointing seasons.

“If there are deals out there in January and February for some complementary pieces, we’d look at that,” Forst said. “Right now, we want to target players who we can keep around for a couple years instead of one.”

Arguelles is likely to start in Class A, allowing for an adjustment period to the professional game after a year of inactivity. His 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame impressed scouts, who excused a slight drop in fastball velocity because Arguelles’ arm strength isn’t quite at full strength. His curveball and changeup rate as potential plus pitches, according to a scout who saw the workout.

Arguelles would be a luxury for the Yankees, who, of course, are accustomed to such baubles and don’t fear the possibility of flushing $10 million quite like the A’s or Rays. The Yankees are hotter for Chapman, whose price tag could triple Arguelles’. The 100-mph-throwing left-hander now has a stronger connection to the Yankees as well: Chapman switched agents last week, leaving behind Edwin Mejia, who helped him file for free agency and acclimate to the United States, for Randy and Alan Hendricks, the longtime representatives of Andy Pettitte(notes) and Roger Clemens(notes).

Interesting that the A's may go after another big name international prospect and like with Ynoa, Beane and Forst went down themselves which they did with Ynoa so they may be VERY VERY INTERESTED in signing this kid.

Now if Wolff goes down there, it's a done deal then.

Quote:
Cuban defector Arguelles attracts suitors

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
4 hours, 42 minutes ago
Buzz up!
Print
More than 100 scouts, agents and executives showed up last month in the Dominican Republic to watch Noel Arguelles pitch. If the name is not familiar, it’s with good reason: He was practically an unknown to the baseball world a year ago, too.

Oh, people in the game had the cursory information, the same stuff they gather on all Cuban players: age and handedness and position, and a scouting report that’s more police sketch than portrait, exaggerated here and there, a rough facsimile of the real thing.

Well, here that was, in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, where those on hand could finally add to the 19-year-old left-handed pitcher’s slim bio. And as one person at the workout said, “We loved him.”

More From Jeff Passan
The ultimate free-agent tracker Nov 20, 2009
Bright lights, big dollars await Cuban lefty Nov 12, 2009
ADVERTISEMENT

While Arguelles isn’t likely to generate near the high-dollar bids of fellow Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, he looms as a worthwhile alternative, someone without the 100-mph fastball but with enough potential to draw perhaps eight figures. The New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s are the teams hottest after Arguelles, according to club sources, and A’s assistant general manager David Forst confirmed he and GM Billy Beane recently met with Arguelles during a trip to the Dominican.

Arguelles is expected to receive a contract in the neighborhood of those given to Dayan Viciedo(notes) and Jose Iglesias, two other high-profile Cuban defectors. Viciedo, a third baseman, signed last winter with the Chicago White Sox for $10 million, and Iglesias, a shortstop with whom Arguelles defected last year in Canada, received an $8.2 million major league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Oakland is something of a surprise bidder for Arguelles, though with Matt Holliday(notes), Orlando Cabrera(notes), Jason Giambi(notes) and Nomar Garciaparra(notes) gone, its payroll could dip from more than $60 million to $45 million. The A’s have shown a willingness to spend big in Latin America – the $4.25 million they spent on Michael Ynoa two summers ago remains a record for 16-year-olds – and would prefer to restock from within after three straight disappointing seasons.

“If there are deals out there in January and February for some complementary pieces, we’d look at that,” Forst said. “Right now, we want to target players who we can keep around for a couple years instead of one.”

Arguelles is likely to start in Class A, allowing for an adjustment period to the professional game after a year of inactivity. His 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame impressed scouts, who excused a slight drop in fastball velocity because Arguelles’ arm strength isn’t quite at full strength. His curveball and changeup rate as potential plus pitches, according to a scout who saw the workout.

Arguelles would be a luxury for the Yankees, who, of course, are accustomed to such baubles and don’t fear the possibility of flushing $10 million quite like the A’s or Rays. The Yankees are hotter for Chapman, whose price tag could triple Arguelles’. The 100-mph-throwing left-hander now has a stronger connection to the Yankees as well: Chapman switched agents last week, leaving behind Edwin Mejia, who helped him file for free agency and acclimate to the United States, for Randy and Alan Hendricks, the longtime representatives of Andy Pettitte(notes) and Roger Clemens(notes).

Trib TUE...

Quote:

An article published in the December issue of San Francisco magazine reinforced the desire and motivation of the A's ownership group to move the team to San Jose.

The lengthy piece includes quotes not only from A's co-owner and managing partner Lew Wolff — the public face of the A's efforts to move to the South Bay — but also from majority owner John Fisher, who rarely talks publicly about the team he bought in 2005.

"From the moment we bought this team, the most important thing for Lew and I was to build a new ballpark to keep the A's in the Bay Area," Fisher is quoted as saying in the article. "Our conclusion is that the best opportunity to build a ballpark is in downtown San Jose."

The city of San Jose reportedly has purchased land on which a proposed 32,000-seat downtown ballpark could be built. Wolff and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed both shared their enthusiasm for the proposed move in a Bay Area News Group story in September.

The San Francisco magazine story reports that Cisco would sponsor the stadium, just as the tech company was prepared to sponsor a proposed A's stadium in Fremont before that project fell through. But the San Jose plans remain in a holding pattern. A panel appointed by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig continues investigating the A's stadium options throughout the Bay Area.

Panel members reportedly toured San Jose recently, but an MLB spokesperson said there's no timetable for when the committee will conclude its work. The committee is expected to offer to Selig a recommendation on a stadium site.

The Giants hold territorial rights to San Jose, and major league owners would have to waive those rights before the A's could move there. It would figure that any ruling on territorial rights won't come until the committee's findings are known.

Fisher said in the magazine article that he doesn't believe the A's moving to San Jose would hurt the Giants. The A's ranked last in the majors in attendance in 2009, the sixth straight season their attendance has decreased.

An A's official said Monday the team had no comment on the article.

The story details how Wolff, going back decades, has felt strongly about the business potential in downtown San Jose and details the projects with which he's gotten involved in San Jose as a real estate developer.

Wolff and A's general manager Billy Beane both comment in the article about the A's need for a new stadium in order to increase revenue and give the team a better chance to retain star players.

"We need revenue," Wolff says. "We need to have a fan experience that allows us to attract 25,000 people, rather than 4,000."

I'm still upset we traded Gonzalez. To think we could've had Gonzalez, Brett Wallace and Rick Porcello if we played our cards right. And I still think we should've traded for JJ Hardy.

Imagine this lineup in 2011

Davis
Gonzalez
Carter
Wallace
Hardy
Suzuki
Cardenas
Barton/Doolittle
Cust/FA pickup

That's a damn scary lineup to go along with great pitching.

Oh well.

Add to that list Porcello in 07 who had a solid rookie season as a 20 year old with DET.

In the mean time, Simmons struggled in the AFL where his fastball velocity dropped in the high 80s. Add to that the reports were his secondary offerings, none are really a plus pitch, well that's also not good news. With Ross, Leon, Capra, Hornbeck and few others...Simmons may get surpassed after next season.

Hate to say it but it looks like the A's one last year they went "cheap" in the draft cost them big time. Although who knows even if the draft were held today and the A's new philosophy they would've drafted a Porcello type talent due to his agent being Borass.

2010 could be a make or break season for Simmons at AAA.

And if I had to project the 2011 lineup as of now...

Weeks-2B
Barton-1B
Wallace-3B
Carter-LF
FA-DH
Suzuki-C
Desme-CF
Doolittle-RF
Green-SS

...at this time that'll leave out the likes of a Cardenas, Donaldson, Brown, Peterson, Spencer, Coleman, Cunningham and others.

Think 1B could still be an issue. I'm still willing to bet Barton could be a good hitter in the bigs but I know a lot of A's fans don't think he can ever be a decent enough offensive 1B due to his lack of HR pop although if this guy can be a 10-15 HR/30-40 2B type of "power hitter", I think that's good enough especially if Wallace, Carter, Desme and whoever is the DH can provide some good pop in the rest of the lineup.

Course that's assuming no other deals are made to send some of these youngsters to other teams and the players the A's could bring in.

MLBN Hot Stove reviewed the A's MON.

Basically nothing new. A's have good young pitching but the hitting is mediocre but guys like Carter and Wallace may change that.

Said the A's need a veteran SP and a corner IF bat.

If the A's are gonna go into the season with at this point a rotation of Anderson-Braden-Cahill-Gio, then yeah I could definitely see the A's add a vet be it they resign a Duke/Tomko. I doubt at this point the A's would put Mazzaro in the opening day rotation unless he really has a lights out ST.

Corner IF? I doubt McPherson will be that bat the A's need, it's a long shot at best. Don't see the A's really doing much this offsesaon in bringing in any "name talent".

Talk really has been about the A's taking a run at that Arguelles kid from Cuba.

A's offered Duke arb and he declined.

This means any team that signs him the A's get only a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds.

Fox Sports MLB rumor page...

Quote:

Tuesday, Dec. 1

A's-Royals talks for Callaspo don't take hold — 10:50 p.m.

The A's inquired about Royals second baseman Alberto Callaspo at the recent general managers' meetings, but the talks failed to progress, according to a major-league source.

Callaspo would have played third base for the A's, with Mark Ellis remaining at second. But the teams could not agree on the player the Royals would have received in return, the source said.

The Royals are willing to trade Callaspo due to their recent acquisition of second baseman Chris Getz from the White Sox.

Callaspo, 26, batted .300 last season with 11 homers, 73 RBIs and an .813 OPS.

...interesting the A's are looking to add a Callaspo for 3B. Think with Chavez although A's org seems as it's pretty doubtful Chavez even if he's remotely healthy next season will play a bulk of the year at 3B and Wallace probably waiting in the wings for maybe a callup by midseason at least, that 3B wouldn't be an area where the A's will be concentrating. There's also the possibility that the A's could resign Kennedy.

I'd love to have a guy l ike Callaspo thought. Honestly he'd the type of hitter we all hope a Cardenas will end up being. Heck I'd trade Cardenas and another prospect for Callaspo.

A's trade for Jake Fox and Aaron Miles for Gray, Spencer and Morla.

I don't know what to think about this trade. I like Spencer.