Alex Gonzales signed with the Reds

by RSNexile on Nov 18, 2006 3:13 PM EST Comment 3 comments

ESPN.com is reporting that AGon has signed a three year deal with the Reds. We need a new shortstop.

I know Pedroia can play SS, but I figured he was slotted in at 2B at this point. Who do we get now? Does this make Lugo (ugh) a more likely possibility? Who else is even available?

At this point, I guess my preference would be to re-sign Lorretta to play 2B for at least one more year and give Pedroia a shot at SS. At least we still have Cora for a decent backup.

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Re: Alex Gonzales signed with the Reds

Did we even make an offer to him? This really stinks. SS has been musical chairs since Nomar left and Agon was great, one of the best defensive ss we've ever had. Can't we just stick with what works for once?

this could go down as the first big mistake by the FO this off season.

by BlowUp on Nov 18, 2006 6:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure it's a mistake

$14 million over three years is a lot to pay for a guy who can't hit. Gonzo's numbers last year--.255 AVG .299 OBP .397 SLG--are pretty much in line with his career numbers: .246 AVG .292 OBP .392 SLG. Alex Cora's career hitting stats are pretty close to Gonzo's: .244 AVG .310 OBP .344 SLG. Cora isn't bad defensively either, and he'll make less than half what the Reds are paying Gonzalez. While I don't think Cora will be the everyday SS, he isn't much worse than Alex Gonzalez.

Simply put, Gonzo's glove does not offset his poor hitting. That said, if they could have re-signed Gonzo cheaply for a year I'd have been OK with that. But, in my opinion, he isn't worth more than $3-3.5 million. I have no problem with the Sox taking a pass at Gonzo. I'm just worried they'll sign Julio Lugo.

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Nov 18, 2006 9:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: I'm not sure it's a mistake

Agreed. The outs he makes with his glove aren't enough to offset the outs he makes with his bat. It was fun to watch him in the field, but he in the long run he probably hurt the team more than he helped it. It'd nice to get someone who could at least pretend to hit like a major leaguer at short. He was a good one year rental and wouldn't be a bad option if he were cheap, but at that price the Sox are much better off finding someone else.

by brady12 on Nov 18, 2006 10:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs