Angels manager Mike Scioscia says Matthews "isn't comfortable" with his role as a fourth outfielder, but despite rumors that the Angels may try to work something out with the Yankees, the contract will be difficult to move.
The Yankees this offseason addressed two of their biggest needs, bolstering its starting rotation and lineup by adding superstars C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira and throwing a bunch of money (5 years and $90) at AJ Burnett. And while the Yankees certainly improved their ball club, they failed to address arguably their next biggest need: upgrading at center-field.
Last season the Yankees used three players in center-field -- actually it was four if you want to count Justin Christian's nine AB's -- Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner. The four players, combining for 612 at-bats in CF, posted a batting line of .260/.320/.391, which was below league average for AL center-fielders (.269/.334/.412).
To their credit, the Yankees seem to realize that Melky Cabrera (.249/.301/.341) isn't capable of playing every day in the big leagues. And given their pursuit of Mike Cameron this offseason, it seems they (rightly) aren't all that confident in Brett Gardner, either.
Which brings us to Gary Matthews Jr. After an impressive 2006 season -- during which the switch-hitting outfielder posted career highs in batting average (.326), on-base percentage (.371), slugging percentage (.495), home-runs (19), RBI's (72) and runs scored (79) -- the Angels snatched Matthews out of the free-agent market and handed him a 5-year deal with $50 million. All this for a career 4th (maybe 5th) outfielder who had a career year at age 32, during a contract season nonetheless.
Since his arrival in L.A. Matthews has been a huge disappointment, reverting back to his old form in 2007 and posting a miniscule .676 OPS in '08. According to Baseball Fan Graphs, Matthews has been worth roughly $1.2 million dollars since becoming an Angel. That's a combined $1.2 million for the '07 and '08 seasons, during which time the Angels have paid Gary nearly $16 million. Now, I'm not Paul Krugman, but team owner Arte Moreno hasn't exactly received a great return on his investment.
What does this mean for the Yankees? Last season Matthews was well below average both offensively and defensively, and was "worth" -0.2 wins below replacement level, meaning the Angels could have plucked a random minor-league outfielder out of AAA and been better off with him instead of their fifty million dollar man.
Even with all the questions surrounding Brett Gardner's ability to hit major league pitching, he plays a competent center-field, runs the bases well (when he gets on) and makes the major league minimum ($400 K). And when combined with his youth (age 25), those traits make him a much better value than Matthews.
No comments:
Post a Comment