"Robbing Peter to pay Paul"
Susan Slusser is saying that the A's will call up outfielder Matt Watson, right-hander Juan Cruz, and recently-signed Alberto Castillo, a defensive-minded catcher.
The problem here is that Castillo's call-up came a week too late. The whole idea is to get Melhuse's bat into the lineup. But to see if Melhuse would actually be a solution cuts into the A's ability to make that determination.
Then there is the matter of Castillo not being on the 40 man roster. Let's look at the position players remaining on the 40 man but not with the club:
John Baker
Jeremy Brown
Mike Rouse
Jason Perry
Of these players, one would have to designated for assignment(DFA) in order to make room for Castillo.
Jeremy Brown repeated Double A for the third time in 2005, and while he is crushing the ball with 20 hr's and still has a great OBP, this type of production is expected when you are competing against younger players. However, the A's still consider Brown as a serviceable major leaguer. Earlier in the season, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball America said:
After Baker posted great numbers for Midland in 2004, he had started the 2005 season with a poor slump with the Rivercats until he slow started to regain some power. Seeing as how he will be 25 next year, his time is running out. With that in mind, the A's may feel that he is not in their long-term plans and so DFA'ing him would be acceptable.
Last year, Jason Perry started the year with the Rockhounds but after having a slump, he went back down to Midland where he posted a 1.117 OPS in 325 AB's. However, he repeated Double A this year and saw a 300 point drop off in his OPS, mainly because of an increase in strikeouts coupled with a decrease in average. Age, again, plays a factor but the A's do not have the OF depth to lose a low-risk high-reward prospect.
Mike Rouse is an interesting prospect but the problem is that the A's are trying to find out what to do with Bynum. It seems as if they are trying to see whether Bynum can become a super-sub as he can play 3 infield and all 3 outfield positions and is pretty fast. But that can only take you so far when it comes to actual production which Rouse has a significant edge.
The twist to all of this is that Erubiel Durazo is not on the 60-day DL, so he is still taking a 40 man spot. While the A's could use that as a way to get Castillo on the DL, it would be an ill-advised move. Should the A's want to get another bat on the team who could help in a possible postseason series, they would be able to use Durazo's spot as 60-day DL players allow for "retro" moves. Case in point, the A's moved Ellis to the 60-day DL last year in order to get Swisher on the roster and to be able to have him for the postseason.
They need to keep that option open until it becomes certain that a callup of someone like Barton. To waste it on Castillo is a very bad move, IMO. With Crosby out for a good part of September, Payton starting to struggle over the past two games, and with Hatteberg continuing to roll over pitches, the A's need to make a strike and get the AL West crown.
But what is the best decision? Well each player had their downsides to being saved but to break the choice down further, let's look at the major league club.
Melhuse is still under the A's control at least into next year so the A's can bank on him being a backup to Kendall. Kendall hs a strangle-hold on the position and payroll of the team until '07 when the A's get 7 million from the Pirates. But it looks as if Kendall's ability is starting to degrade so the A's may be forced to eat the value of his contract and make him a backup.
Of the catchers who would have the best chance of being serviceable, Brown could at least post decent OBP numbers in the Majors and provide more power then Kendall has this year. Thus, I would DFA Baker as age and a dismal year has to knock down any value he had after 2004.
These decisions are based on the idea that Barton WOULD be called up, thus needing Durazo as a loophole. If the A's are not committed to that idea, then that not only speaks to their idea of this team, but that Melhuse would be the regular DH as that is a very precious card to have.
I do think they need Barton up with the club; there is no more "they weren't supposed to win." They are in a position to win and they hold the keys to winning.
The problem here is that Castillo's call-up came a week too late. The whole idea is to get Melhuse's bat into the lineup. But to see if Melhuse would actually be a solution cuts into the A's ability to make that determination.
Then there is the matter of Castillo not being on the 40 man roster. Let's look at the position players remaining on the 40 man but not with the club:
John Baker
Jeremy Brown
Mike Rouse
Jason Perry
Of these players, one would have to designated for assignment(DFA) in order to make room for Castillo.
Jeremy Brown repeated Double A for the third time in 2005, and while he is crushing the ball with 20 hr's and still has a great OBP, this type of production is expected when you are competing against younger players. However, the A's still consider Brown as a serviceable major leaguer. Earlier in the season, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball America said:
The A's are convinced he'll have value in the majors as a backup, because of his on-base skills.
After Baker posted great numbers for Midland in 2004, he had started the 2005 season with a poor slump with the Rivercats until he slow started to regain some power. Seeing as how he will be 25 next year, his time is running out. With that in mind, the A's may feel that he is not in their long-term plans and so DFA'ing him would be acceptable.
Last year, Jason Perry started the year with the Rockhounds but after having a slump, he went back down to Midland where he posted a 1.117 OPS in 325 AB's. However, he repeated Double A this year and saw a 300 point drop off in his OPS, mainly because of an increase in strikeouts coupled with a decrease in average. Age, again, plays a factor but the A's do not have the OF depth to lose a low-risk high-reward prospect.
Mike Rouse is an interesting prospect but the problem is that the A's are trying to find out what to do with Bynum. It seems as if they are trying to see whether Bynum can become a super-sub as he can play 3 infield and all 3 outfield positions and is pretty fast. But that can only take you so far when it comes to actual production which Rouse has a significant edge.
The twist to all of this is that Erubiel Durazo is not on the 60-day DL, so he is still taking a 40 man spot. While the A's could use that as a way to get Castillo on the DL, it would be an ill-advised move. Should the A's want to get another bat on the team who could help in a possible postseason series, they would be able to use Durazo's spot as 60-day DL players allow for "retro" moves. Case in point, the A's moved Ellis to the 60-day DL last year in order to get Swisher on the roster and to be able to have him for the postseason.
They need to keep that option open until it becomes certain that a callup of someone like Barton. To waste it on Castillo is a very bad move, IMO. With Crosby out for a good part of September, Payton starting to struggle over the past two games, and with Hatteberg continuing to roll over pitches, the A's need to make a strike and get the AL West crown.
But what is the best decision? Well each player had their downsides to being saved but to break the choice down further, let's look at the major league club.
Melhuse is still under the A's control at least into next year so the A's can bank on him being a backup to Kendall. Kendall hs a strangle-hold on the position and payroll of the team until '07 when the A's get 7 million from the Pirates. But it looks as if Kendall's ability is starting to degrade so the A's may be forced to eat the value of his contract and make him a backup.
Of the catchers who would have the best chance of being serviceable, Brown could at least post decent OBP numbers in the Majors and provide more power then Kendall has this year. Thus, I would DFA Baker as age and a dismal year has to knock down any value he had after 2004.
These decisions are based on the idea that Barton WOULD be called up, thus needing Durazo as a loophole. If the A's are not committed to that idea, then that not only speaks to their idea of this team, but that Melhuse would be the regular DH as that is a very precious card to have.
I do think they need Barton up with the club; there is no more "they weren't supposed to win." They are in a position to win and they hold the keys to winning.
posted by Genaro at 12:51 AM
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