A look at the corner outfielders who have signed
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A look at the corner outfielders who have signed
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
By now most of you have likely heard that former Phillie Bobby Abreu has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels that will pay him $5 million plus expenses. If that seems ridiculously low for a player who hit .296/.371/.471 with 20 home runs and 100 RBI last season, well, it probably is. After all, Abreu was hoping for a multi-year deal worth closer to what he was making last season ($16 million) annually.
But, on the same day, Adam Dunn signed with the Nationals for two-years and $20 million.
It's been a bizarre market, for sure, one that I can't really seem to figure out. It's of interest to Phillies fans because they were one of the big players in the corner outfield market this season. In fact, their 3-year, $31.5 million contract with Raul Ibanez is the richest deal awarded to a corner outfielder thus far.
You can look at it two ways: the Phillies might have overpaid, or they were wise to snatch the guy they had targeted early before having to settle for someone else.
Personally, I think it was the latter. After all, the last thing this line-up needed was another big-power, little-contact lefty like Dunn, and Bradley has plenty of question marks with both his health and attitude. But time will tell.
Anyway, here are the significant contracts awarded to corner outfielders this year:
Raul Ibanez, Mariners/Phillies, 3 years, $31.5 million
Milton Bradley, Rangers/Cubs, 3 years, $30 million
Adam Dunn, Diamondbacks/Nationals, 2 years, $20 million
Pat Burrell, Phillies/Rays, 2 years, $16 million
Juan Rivera, Angels/Angels, 3 years, $12.75 million
Bobby Abreu, Yankees/Angels, 1 year, $6 million
Unsigned
Manny Ramirez, Dodgers
Garrett Anderson, Angels
Ken Griffey Jr., White Sox
Ibanez's contract is the eighth-richest in terms of total dollars doled out this offseason. It is the fourth-richest National League contract, behind Atlanta's 4-year, $60 million deal with Derek Lowe, the Cubs 4 year, $52 million deal with Ryan Dempster, and the combined $73 million over three years the Mets doled out to pitchers Francisco Rodriguez and Oliver Perez.
Pete - Yes, I'd rather have Ibanez over Manny. I think he's one of the great hitters of our time also, but he's a timebomb. He and Ibanez are the same age (their birthdays are separated by something like 3 days), but I don't think Manny is going to keep playing at the same level for long. He proved what he needed to in LA, he doesn't need to take care of himself anymore, and he won't keep playing with the same fire that he did the last half of this year. He's going to blow up in somebody's face.......just watch. Ibanez, although he's yet another lefty in the middle of the order, is a steady player and comes in as the 3rd or 4th best hitter in the lineup.....exactly where he belongs. It's just a much better fit. And I also said that they paid a lot for him, not that they overpaid. They'll still get a lot of value for their money in Ibanez. Overpaying is what some team is going to do for Manny (25M per?). Also, who are these younger, better players? Abreu? Rivera? Bradley? I could care less if they're younger.....but they're not better. On top of all of this, I agree with tpizza.....it won't be worth debating if they've overspent if they go out there and pound the rest of the division.— jayb773
Is it time yet to point out that the "great job" Booben Amaro has done is overpay Ibanez too soon, and sign ALL his Arbitration eligibles to deals withOUT buying out ONE single year of free agency? UGH!
The Phillies won the World Series. Enjoy it. Quit with the loser talk about overpaying and the GM being in over his head. Who really cares if they could have gotten Ibanez for 2 million less a year? Are the Phils skimping at a position they really need? It's not like they overpaid for Ibanez but don't have a third basemen. Quit the moaning and enjoy it.— AreaMan- "Ibanez has never been the player Burrell is and he never will be." You are right, Ibanez is better. Anybody who follows baseball outside of Philadelphia knows Ibanez is an all-star caliber OF. He is much more consistent then Pat. In the past 3 years, only 3 OF's have had more RBI's then Ibanez (Matt Holiday, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran) Ibanez also played in a pitchers park in Seattle. He is in a much better lineup now in a hitter's park. Can we at least give the guy 2 months before we run him out of town? You were all probably the same people crying about getting Brad Lidge last year.— beeron
- Alright here's the the problem. You have Pat Burrell and you don't offer him arbitration. Instead of taking him on a 1 year deal or making him a type A free agent requiring a draft pick to sign him, you let him walk for free. You then sign a player who is 5 years older, a equal to worse fielder, who is left-handed, give him 3 years at a terrible rate, and give up a first round draft pick for him. It is legitimately the worst possible asset management in the situation. You forfeited a first round pick to get worse for longer. Would you rather have Pat Burrell on a 15million dollar 1 year contract and retain your first round pick or let him walk for free, and pay 30 mill+1st round pick to get older/morelefty/worse. Awful awful awful.— Philip L
- Burrel goes to the American League and becomes a DH. Ibanez comes from the American League after playing left field all season. He didn't ahve to DH, did he ?His batting average is much higher. And, yes, Pat's OBP is higher, but the walks inflate that. We don't pay him to walk with men in scoring position, do we ? They may be equals in a lot of ways but Ibanez' track record speaks for itself. Clasy, hard worker, steady bat, not prone to major half-season slumps. He is certainly not a stepdown. We'll know his vale for sure in three years. Pat was never as popular as he was last October. Like most fans, I was thrilled for Pat last post-season. Man, Boy, I wanted that fly ball to land three feet to the left in game 5. But, also like most knowledgable fans, I wanted him moved many times and long before. Iabnez was worth the money and the security at the time of the deal. And, I sure didn't want Manny's craziness, or Dunn or Abreu or Sheffield or any of the other guys.— freyday17
- Signing Ibanez for the dollars and years he received was the most boneheaded sign/trade move in baseball this offseason. And it may not even be close. Most of the unbiased analyses out there say he is a worse hitter than burrell, abreu, dunn, etc, His defense is, at best, on par with Burrell, and at worst a step or two below him. He is the oldest of the bunch, and he received the most money and longest contract. The phillies also lost a draft pick to sign him because they did not offer arbitration to Burrell. I believe Abreu, Dunn, and Burrell were each signed without sacrificing a draft pick, and for less money and years. Reubs screwed up his first big move because he was not patient enough to wait for the market to settle in. And a lack of patience is not a good quality in a GM.— PhillyGuyinNY
- nice glamour shot, Murph. you're so dreamy. if only spelling and grammar mattered to you as much as your "looks."
- nice glamour shot, Murph. you're so dreamy. if only spelling and grammar mattered to you as much as your "looks."
- I don't think the OPS with RISP is a worthy comparison, as Pat's role in the lineup was not to draw a walk with RISP but to drive in runs (considering he hit for much of the season in front of that RBI machine Shane Victorino). Just compare the situational hitting stats with regard to run production and you'll see a huge difference between the two. Here's one example - man on third with less than two outs. Pat drove in that runner 72% of the time as a Phillie (though the number is based on career RBI divided by career AB, so multiple RBI ABs would skew this percentage). For his career, Ibanez has driven in a run in that situation 102% of time - again, percentage is skewed based on RBI/AB, but given that constant Ibanez has driven in the runner on third 30% more than Burrell. Another interesting stat for those who value OPS - Ibanez's OPS is .270 higher than Burrell's following an 0-2 count.— tjc
- PhillyGuyinNY - he's a worse hitter than Burrell? Lets be serious.— Gary Varsho
- philly fan base is the dumbest. this was a terrible move especially in light of not offering arbitration to burrell or moyer (which also is a questionable signing). Why would you ever want to be the team that sets the market?? This contract wont hurt the team this year except defensively. Raul is a great hitter but an even worse fielder than Burell. Figures the year they shouldnt have spent the dough they did. Go phils !!— bosshog
- spoiler alert! RBI, not a good stat. Driving runs in is not a skill, it's a circumstance. If you don't understand this basic idea, then attempt to educate yourself. Also consider the fact that OBP is essentially the measure of your ability to not make outs, which is the main goal of a batter.— Philip L
- As for those complaining about Ibanez's salary - are you kidding me? The Phillies saw the guy they wanted and went for it. If you just don't like Ibanez and wanted Burrell to return, fine - but don't give me the excuse that Ibanez's contract will be an "albatross" in a few years, limiting their payroll flexibility, etc. The Phillies went into this offseason with an $18.25 million "albatross" of Thome/Eaton/Jenkins money, and still had no problems spending money, whether for FAs or for their own players. I just don't get the whiny money argument.— tjc
- Ty Wigginton signed for 2 years, $6 mill. He had the same number of HR has Ibanez had in 300 LESS at bats. I know Wigginton is slow, but Ibanez is slow too. I think Wigginton would have been a better signing, and you could throw Dobbs/Jenkins/Stair in the OF every once in a while— 93phils
