Maybe.
Looking through the numbers, I guess Jamey Carroll is due for a raise, too.
So there may be $4.5 million left.
So tell me which scenario is less depressing:
1. You trade JJ and pocket the savings.
2. You're working on trading JJ, and will realize the $5 million salary savings for 2007. You add that to your other discretionary spending money (after accounting for what it'll take to re-sign Holliday and Torrealba) -- that's about $8 million. With that $13 million to work with, you manage to keep/acquire:
The sure things/done deals:
-- 2 middle/utility infielders (Matsui/Carroll): 3 million total
-- a 34 year old setup man (Hawkins) with a 4 K/9 IP rate last year: 3.5 million
-- a 5th starter (Fogg) who actually underperformed Jamey Wright ($650,000) last year: 2.5 million
-- a 36 year old replacement level middle reliever (Martin): .8 million
The likely things:
-- a totally useless 36 year old former catcher who cannot catch anymore, can't play another position, and may block the progress of your best prospect (Javy Lopez): 1.5 million
-- a middle reliever who is somewhat worse than the already unimpressive Chris Reitsma (since Reitsma himself is apparently too expensive): 1.5 million
And that's probably it.
Yeah, I'm flogging a dead horse.
Standard response to this year's free agent market: "It's outrageous, a guy like Gary Mathews Jr. getting $10 million a year."
Better point: "It's outrageous, spending $13 million on an ugly assemblage of scrap heap guys like Fogg, Matsui, Lopez, Hawkins, Martin, and the Poor Man's Chris Reitsma."
Give me Sarge Jr., Jamey Carroll, and a bunch of non-roster invitees anyday rather than this pile of crap. Slightly better than league average guys getting paid like stars is one definition of "overpriced." Another definition is completely useless guys who would likely be outperformed by freely available talent being paid like useful major league contributors.
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