September 21st, 2010

Now that the 2010 season is almost over, lets look back to this past winter and see if the front office’s “big moves” paid off.  I’ll be giving each major transaction a grade based on the impact they made on this season.  Keep in mind that these guys have a few more years to go on their contracts, so this isn’t meant to be an evaluation of the long-term impact of the signings.

Signed free agent SS Shimei Nakamura to a 3-year contract worth a total of $31,800,000:

Grade: D+

Nakamura was brought in to anchor the Bureaucrats lineup.  Instead, he was the concrete block encasing the feet of the ‘Crats as they sank to the bottom of the abyss.  At first it looked like this signing was all that it was hyped up to be: the Japanese slugger owned a .895 OPS during Spring Training and raked to the tune of an 1.098 OPS in his first 24 at bats of the regular season.  As soon as April hit, however, Mr. Nakamura gave the term “slow starter” a new benchmark.  In fact, three months into the season it looked like he hadn’t even left the starting gate.  April and May were painfully atrocious (.400 OPS… atrocious) and June was only marginally better.  What saves this signing from being an “F” is the fact that Nakamura caught fire in July and August and seem to be his old self again.  (Too little, too late!)  Let’s hope he was hiding an injury or something and that the front office didn’t just flush 31 million dollars down the toilet.

Signed free agent SP Luis Garza to a 3-year contract worth a total of $19,570,000:

Grade: C+

On the surface, this signing might look like another disaster.  A 4-15 record in September doesn’t look like “C+” material.  In reality, Garza is the perfect example of why the win-loss record is over valued.  He’s actually been the team’s best starter since Víctor Matos was traded away.  Yes, I just said that the man with the 4-15 record is our best pitcher; I don’t know if that’s sad, funny or both.  His numbers this season are pretty much in line with his career marks and I fully expect that he will win more games next year (assuming Arlington actually scores some runs once in a while).

Signed free agent CL Charlie Swan to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,500,000:

Grade: A+

Jackpot!  Swan was a steal: to put it in perspective, he’s making 1/7th of what the team is paying Nakamura.  So far this season he’s moved from middle reliever, to high-leverage situation guy, to setup man, to closer.  The 27-year-old Aussie was supposed to add depth to the pen but ended up anchoring it.  To pat themselves on the back, the front office has since locked up Swan for four more years.  Assuming that doesn’t blow up in their faces, Charlie will lead a solid Arlington bullpen next season.

Signed free agent SP Carlos Pérez to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,900,000:

Grade: C

Low risk contract for a veteran who can eat innings and provide a solid body of work: check.  After “The Great Rookie Implosion of 2009″, the Bureaucrats added a pair of free agent veterans to the starting rotation.  Neither pitcher was billed as an ace and both have given their team opportunities to win ballgames (though in Garza’s case, the team hasn’t capitalized).  Pérez’s outings seem to swing between excellent and horrible; he either has all his stuff working or he gets rocked.  His contract is a manageable one (a little under $4 million per year) so I won’t be complaining if he’s around in the 4th or 5th rotation spot next season.

With the Nakamura signing as the exception, the front office made a few low risk moves that improved the team.  Charlie Swan has been a superb replacement for Hollis Godwin (traitor… I mean, he left via free-agency), but in Nakamura the ‘Crats found a monster that consumes money and at bats and turns them into outs.  Too many outs.  We’ll have to see if the new management is gun shy going into this offseason or if they will come out swinging again.