Red Sox to sign Baldelli

[Cocos Disciples]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3817433

 

It will be announced tomorrow night, when Baldelli receives the Tony Conigliaro award. 4th outfielder spot is now filled.

[BoSox21]

if true, this is the first real off-season move I can get behind

 

good job, FO

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Nice.

[msubulldogs21]

Good stuff. He should be able to contribute nicely as the 4th OF.

[Dojji]

Great to hear. He's a perfect fit for what the team needs right now.

 

If you listen really carefully you can hear Jon Van Every grinding his teeth, but who cares. Good signing.

 

I am a bit leery about the report until I see a dollar and year amount. Not becausae I'm worried about pinching pennies but when it comes to signing rumors, more details tends to mean a more definite knowledge of events and less details might just mean someone's talking out of his posterior orifice.

[example1]

I like it. Doesn't it seem like Baldelli has been a Red Sox in waiting for about 4 years now?

[Cocos Disciples]

I am a bit leery about the report until I see a dollar and year amount. Not becausae I'm worried about pinching pennies but when it comes to signing rumors, more details tends to mean a more definite knowledge of events and less details might just mean someone's talking out of his posterior orifice.

 

Does the fact that the link calls him "Rocoo" help or hurt?

[JimEdHOF2009]

Can you hear the chant as he comes to bat.... ROCCO! ROCCO! ROCCO!

 

If he doesn't come to bat to the "Rocky" theme song something is wrong;)

[example1]

I think Baldelli is a great signing for the Sox. If he is healthy I think he will be could be the best 4th outfielder this team has had, all around, since the Theo-Henry reign began. This is a guy who put up a 7.3 WARP as a 21 year old and had a bizarre but treatable medical condition and a few injuries that slowed him down. I know many of us have "damn Baldelli"'d him before, watching TB against the Sox (probably Yankee fans too).

 

Numerically, his best season (7.3) was better than Gabe Kapler's best at (4.0), and WMP's (3.5). Coco Crisp's best season was a 7.7 in 2005--and that was a good season. Baldelli is great insurance for Ellsbury, and is a more serviceable RF replacement for Drew if he gets injured or needs a day off.

[jacksonianmarch]

If healthy, he is a solid acquisition. I just find his re-diagnosis in the offseason of his free agency a bit contrived and questionable. That being said, I do find a couple issues with the signing if he is the same guy the Rays had at the end of the yr. The biggest thing is his role. If he truly is gonna be the 4th OFer yet cannot play on consecutive days, than its gonna be a problem. The sox dont need him to be a twice a week kind of player. They need him to be able to fill the void when Drew hits the DL. That might mean sporadic PT and then 2 consecutive weeks of being an everyday player. If he isnt capable of this, then he isnt really worth it. It isnt like they are signing him to be part of a platoon since his capacity to handle CF seems to be diminishing.

[Cocos Disciples]

According to FanGraphs:

 

In-game television reports quoted Baldelli as saying his legs would begin to shake and feel as if they were burning during his stints in the field.

Perfect.

[BSN07]

Solid move. Hopefully he can play as much as needed. if not, then Mark Kotsay still needs a job. And I doubt he's going to find a better gig anywhere else

[Dojji]

NO KOTSAY! The guy can't hit.

 

I'd rather bring in Jon Van Every, who plays all 3 OF positions, gets on base OK, hit 20 HR's in AAA, and looked good in a cup of coffee last year. If it meant getting a big league job there's no doubt in my mind JVE could learn to play first base.

[BoSox21]

and Lugo knows how to play the OF too

[riverside sluggers]

Sweet deal!

 

EDIT: The deal is for one year and one year only. The guaranteed salary could be under $1 million

[The Bloody Sox]

Wikipedia says the following about his condition...

 

After more medical consultations, Baldelli began taking a combination of medications and nutritional supplements that seemed to improve his condition. On May 29, 2008, he began playing in extended spring training games, and in mid-June was sent to play in the Rays' minor league system for further rehabilitation and conditioning in the hope that he might return to the majors during the 2008 season.[8] [9]

 

During the 2008-09 offseason, further testing indicated that Baldelli suffers from a form of channelopathy, which makes his condition less serious and more treatable than previously thought. [10]

 

I'm not that concerned about his medical condition, I think he'll be just fine. If he was suppose to be a starter then I'd be a little apprehensive about this signing, but overall he should fill in well. If someone goes down, I hope that he is good to go and if not we have other bench players who can fill in as well

[BoSox21]

If the Sox weren't 100% convinced as to what Rocco's condition was before signing him, then its their own damn fault if he's DLed for the entire season. That being said, I'm sure the Sox took the necessary steps to completely re-assure themselves that they're getting a healthy ballplayer.

[BSN07]

If the Sox weren't 100% convinced as to what Rocco's condition was before signing him' date=' then its their own damn fault if he's DLed for the entire season. That being said, I'm sure the Sox took the necessary steps to completely re-assure themselves that they're getting a healthy ballplayer.[/quote']

 

Yes. And this is why I am not up in arms about the whole deal like some.

[diony]

What if Drew goes to the DL for a month? We're not sure if Baldelli can play consecutive days yet. Yeah, I know "is a low risk move, nothing to lose" bleh. I'd rather have Gabe Kapler.

[Redguitar985]

Nice move for the Sox. Haha, you think they'll give him #5?

[BSN07]

What if Drew goes to the DL for a month? We're not sure if Baldelli can play consecutive days yet. Yeah' date=' I know "is a low risk move, nothing to lose" bleh. I'd rather have Gabe Kapler.[/quote']

 

They have a couple guys that can step in short term if need be.

[Dojji]

What if Drew goes to the DL for a month? We're not sure if Baldelli can play consecutive days yet. Yeah' date=' I know "is a low risk move, nothing to lose" bleh. I'd rather have Gabe Kapler.[/quote']

 

If that happens you have Bubba Bell and Jon Van Every in Pawtucket to support Baldelli and both guys have the ability to be OK outfielders at the big league level. They're not elite guys but they're perfectly fine as replacements. It doesn't have to be 100% Rocco if Drew goes down.

[Cocos Disciples]

Chris Carter over Bubba Bell, please.

[Dojji]

Carter isn't an answer to the concern Diony raised. He can't play right and he sure as heck can't play center.

 

If it was rated on offensive talent alone I'd agree 100% but that's always been the issue with Chris Carter.

 

There seems to be this sentiment among a certain set of fans that if a guy isn't a top prospect he somehow doesn't deserve a chance to play at the big league level. Bell is an older prospect but he is still a prospect, and while he's off his Lancaster pace he's still on what you might call the David Murphy career track (in fact offensively Bell's been consistently better than Murph throughout his minor league career and plays a somewhat better CF).

[Cocos Disciples]

Ahh, I missed the CF/RF part. Bell doesn't excite me too much. He hasn't played above AA, and as you mentioned he is quite old. I don't expect a very successful career but I also wouldn't mind him in a pinch. On SoxProspects, he doesn't even make the organizational Top 40.

[Dojji]

Bell is not "quite old." He's 26. Quite old is the going-on-29 Van Every.

 

Bell doesn't make the top 40 at SP because of a combination of near-unpredecented depth of pretty good to very good prospects combined with a fairly ridiculous backlash against him because he didn't repeat his Lancaster-fueled monster year in Portland last year. Seriously, anyone who seriously expected him to keep producing at that pace wasn't paying attention anyway.

 

If you take a look at what the guy actually is and ignore the Lancaster outlier what you have is a good bench outfielder and borderline starting corner OF who gets on base pretty well and has some nice modest pop. All he needs to get there is a half-decent year in Pawtucket and an opportunity that we're very likely to see the Glass Men of Right Field give to him.

[jacksonianmarch]

Bubba Bell is 26 and hasnt played above AA. Thats old. He does looks like he can swing the stick though, but at the speed he is moving and at his age, I can understand why he's not a top 40 guy. I can also understand why he likely has next to no shot at making the big league roster except for a Sept callup

[Redguitar985]

Haha, Baldelli is gonna wear #5!

 

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090107&content_id=3736388&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos

[jacksonianmarch]

It fits. Thats the number that they give to players who have ailments that debilitate them in big games with no overt evidence of injury.

[CrespoBlows]

It fits. Thats the number that they give to players who have ailments that debilitate them in big games with no overt evidence of injury.

 

What can you tell us about his condition?