The name that jumps out at me in the free agent market is Nick Markakis. He's got a $17.5 mutual option with a $2 mill buy out. I can't see any way he doesn't pick it up nor any way that Baltimore does pick it up.

 

It seems to me that this regime has always really liked him and, while he's a little bit older, he'll only be 31 next year. You can likely sign him to a 3-4 year deal and be fairly certain he'll maintain his production. He's not a great defensive player, but there are plenty of guys who are worse out there. Either he or Garcia would have to move to LF, but that shouldn't be a major concern.

 

The Oliver projections are not kind to him, but I don't think I'd pay much attention to that. He had a bad year last year and they were done prior to the season. I think you can reasonably expect him to be a solid bat in the middle to lower portion of the lineup, just a guy who can help keep the train moving.

 

3 year, $38 million with a team option for the 4th at $14 million with a $2 million buy out (structure it like $10/$12/$14/$2 or $14) with the standard incentives. Perhaps to persuade him you could make the team option vest after a certain number of plate appearances, but that's not a necessity.

I thought we were looking for consistency here...

I thought we were looking for consistency here...

 

Last year was the first that Markakis was below average offensively. He's always typically been a 105-115 wRC+ with a few other really good years chipped in, and the 88 he had last year is better than many people's worst. Rios, on the other hand, has ranged from 60 to 125, and he's been everywhere in between, plus he'll be 34 heading into next season.

Last year was the first that Markakis was below average offensively. He's always typically been a 105-115 wRC+ with a few other really good years chipped in, and the 88 he had last year is better than many people's worst. Rios, on the other hand, has ranged from 60 to 125, and he's been everywhere in between, plus he'll be 34 heading into next season.

His slugging percentages have dropped off quite a bit, especially for the ballpark he plays in, but I suppose he has been more consistent in getting on base than I had originally thought.

 

I'll be interested to see what Baltimore does with Markakis; he went from favorite son to forgotten son over the course of the past few years.

 

I dunno, I'd be hesitant to make that kind of commitment to him.

Didnt Markakis break his thumb last season?

 

Interesting that he had one of his worst years in a season when Baltimore finally got back to the playoffs

No one could seriously want Rios.

This is a "grass is always greener" bunch; or "the lousy player isn't so lousy if he wears a different uniform", but wanting Rios is taking it to the extreme.

Edited August 6, 201411 yr by GreenSox

No one could seriously want Rios.

This is a "grass is always greener" bunch; or "the lousy player isn't so lousy if he wears a different uniform", but wanting Rios is taking it to the extreme.

 

Nobody wants him. As far as Viciedo, I despise him, except for the occasions he makes contact and bashes one. Occasionally he really truly makes contact and sends it flying.

I wonder why hitting coaches can make no progress with him. He must have some talent, considering the magestic bombs he hits once every couple weeks.

Nobody wants him. As far as Viciedo, I despise him, except for the occasions he makes contact and bashes one. Occasionally he really truly makes contact and sends it flying.

I wonder why hitting coaches can make no progress with him. He must have some talent, considering the magestic bombs he hits once every couple weeks.

 

Talent. He has never really appeared to see the ball well out of the pitchers hand, and a lot of times when he does, his hand/eye coordination is too poor to do anything with it and he ends up rolling over it, fouling it back, or popping it up.

 

You could give me the 3 best coaches in the world, but I'm still not gonna hit .050 at the MLB level.

Talent. He has never really appeared to see the ball well out of the pitchers hand, and a lot of times when he does, his hand/eye coordination is too poor to do anything with it and he ends up rolling over it, fouling it back, or popping it up.

 

You could give me the 3 best coaches in the world, but I'm still not gonna hit .050 at the MLB level.

 

Good take. I hope the Sox brass realizes this and moves on in the offseason and dumps Viciedo for whatever they can get.

Good take. I hope the Sox brass realizes this and moves on in the offseason and dumps Viciedo for whatever they can get.

 

There are certain things you can do to improve those aspects of a game though. Work on seeing the ball better, and there are some hand/eye exercises that can be done that, over a longer period of time - 4-8 months - that can see it improve exponentially.

 

I wouldn't be upset if he's gone, but the baseball talent - power, swing plane, body, bat control - are all good aspects of Viciedo's game. He can hit any pitch in the strike zone. The devil is in the details - approach, seeing the ball, hand eye coordination. With repetition, those can all be improved, but I don't know if Viciedo has the work ethic to improve those things.