From the Windup: A Dozen Questions as Hot Stove Season Starts to Wind Down

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Believe it or not, Spring Training is just one month away. It's been a long, cold winter -- at least everywhere except Philadelphia (or Florida or Southern California) -- but if you listen closely, you can practically hear the sharp crack of the bat. Daydream long enough, and you can almost see that first session of pitcher's fielding practice.

But we aren't there yet. The slow free-agent market has left plenty of unfinished business as the clock counts down toward reporting date. So with that in mind, here are 12 big questions that figure to be answered before the moving trucks are loaded and sent on their way to Florida and Arizona.

1. Where will Manny Ramirez wind up? The mercurial slugger is the last true big-ticket free agent left on the market now that Derek Lowe is bound for Atlanta. Scott Boras has artfully negotiated a series of mega-deals for his clients in the most cautious financial environment of the decade. Even so, the character questions surrounding Ramirez after his departure from Boston and an abnormally deep corner outfield class has limited the number of suitors for him. The rival Giants and Dodgers appear to be the only teams seriously interested, but hey, you can never rule out that mystery team can you?

2. Will the Yankees and Andy Pettitte reconcile? Pettitte's reputation has taken a serious hit lately. Last year, it was the Mitchell Report. This year, it's his reluctance to accept a one-year, $10 million offer from the team he's spent most of his career with despite having the worst season of his career in 2008. New York has the money and the hole in its rotation, so chances are it will patch things up with the left-hander, but he bolted from the Bronx once before when he felt disrespected.

3. What kind of payday will Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn receive? As they were when the winter began, Abreu and Dunn remain the premier corner outfield bats on the market when you pull Manny out of the equation. The slow baseball economy hasn't been kind to the players in this market -- Pat Burrell got two years and $16 million, Milton Bradley and Raul Ibanez three years and $30 million. With only a handful of clubs having both the roster spot and the desire, Abreu and Dunn might be hard-pressed to top Bradley and Ibanez.

4. Is Jake Peavy off the trading block for good? The influx of cash from Jeff Moorad might enable the Padres to hold onto their ace after all. Then again, the club is rebuilding. It might be better to move Peavy for a number of cost-controlled parts with such a weak roster, and the Cubs, for one, seem to have the space and the financial wherewithal to take on his contract now that Jason Marquis has been shipped out of town.

5. Who will the Red Sox's starting catcher be in 2009? Boston has been very active this winter, but it's biggest hole now is the same as it was when Hot Stove season began. The Sox continue to explore a trade for a young catcher -- the rumored trading partners being Texas and Arizona. Jason Varitek is still a free agent too. He could re-sign with Boston, but if he doesn't, his fate will become even more interesting.

6. Can the Rangers and Michael Young work out their differences? Truth be told, both parties better hope they can. Young has requested a trade after being told he would be moved to third base this season. The Rangers do not have to honor Young's request, and they'd find it tough to anyway, considering his contract, which runs through 2013, is already an albatross.

7. How will the Mets round out their rotation? Watching Lowe join the rival Braves had to sting. Now the Mets have to sort through a group of inferior pitchers including Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, Pedro Martinez and Jon Garland as they look for a fifth starter. All the bullpen upgrades in the world aren't going to mean much if the rotation is in shambles by July.

8. Will these familiar faces be able to find work? Martinez. Nomar Garciaparra. Frank Thomas. Ivan Rodriguez. Jeff Kent. Jim Edmonds. Tom Glavine. Many of them will wind up in Cooperstown someday. None of them have a big league job right now. There's a good chance at least a few of them will be forced into early retirement due to lack of interest. Call it the Kenny Lofton corollary.

9. How long will Ben Sheets twist in the wind? Could Sheets be this year's Kyle Lohse as Baseball Prospectus' John Perotto mused? He has a dominant pedigree, but health concerns have limited the market. Signing him could pay off big for a team willing to take a gamble.

10. Will Orlando Hudson get a contract longer than one year? Hudson is still young (31), effective with the bat and an above average defender at the keystone. The Nationals are the only team that has been seriously linked to him. Almost unfathomably for a player of his quality, he might be forced to accept a one-year deal and hope for the best in free agency next year.

11. What will the Yankees do with Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher? With Mark Teixeira in the fold, the Yankees have a surplus on the corners and might look to deal either Nady or Swisher. They might also decide to hold onto both of them and preserve some depth.

12. Is it a slow economy or are the owners colluding to depress salaries (again)? It might be both and I don't have a definitive answer to the question, but it's hard not to wonder at this point.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

1-14-2009 @ 10:20AM

Jim said...

"Pat Burrell got two years and $18 million"

Burrell's getting $16 million.

1-14-2009 @ 12:49PM

Andrew said...

Whoops. Nice catch, Jim. His $8 million a year in annual salary somehow creeped its way into the ones spot there.

Unacceptable mistake.

1-14-2009 @ 7:01PM

Charles said...

Pat Burrell got 2 years at a totral of 16 million. At least that is what my article says.

1-14-2009 @ 12:36PM

Hello RKO said...

We should put Barrak Obama to play baseball. Maybe he would lead a baseball team better than our country which he supports letting those prisoners out of Guantanomo Bay! One baseball team already changed their name so he could come and play.

1-14-2009 @ 1:03PM

Hey, lets trade Manny Ramirez to the White House for Barrak Obama! Manny Ramirez will actually know how to lead this country and make friends with other countries and Barrak Obama might actually hit a ball to help a team! (We could send him to play basketball too!)

1-14-2009 @ 1:14PM

ron said...

Easy question. Manny to Kansas City. A no brainer. Who else wants him? Poor Manny. Maybe even the Red Sox will take him back for a few mill? The guy just priced himself out of the market. His agent is a whore.

1-15-2009 @ 4:54PM

pat Brechbill said...

Scott Boras is the Anti-Christ!

1-14-2009 @ 1:34PM

Shane said...

Manny Ramirez does not deserve a uniform the way he treated the Sox...he should never receive the amount of cash he feels he deserves...if you pay someone that much money they should be much younger and be better than less than average at fielding.

1-14-2009 @ 4:01PM

suean said...

Manny is a jerk...Everyone is afraid to sign him to their team...I don't blame them one bit. He could very well have been considered one of the best hitters in baseball (and he proabably will)but unfortuatley there is alot of negativity surrounding him. So when people speak of Manny it will not be in affectionate tones.....More scornful than anything else.

1-14-2009 @ 5:17PM

jeff said...

manny made his bed , left him lie in it

1-14-2009 @ 5:59PM

GUS said...

No questions about Ken Griffey Jr.?
I thought since you mentioned Glavine and Thomas. you would have mentioned where he's going, if anywhere.
He defintely is a first ballot HOFer.
Also, one of the classiest to ever suit up, in my humble opinion.

1-14-2009 @ 7:43PM

A mere unintentional oversight on my part, GUS. Griffey certainly belongs in that group.

1-14-2009 @ 7:57PM

Larry Weitzman,Manhattan said...

Before you make accusations of collusion, you'd better have some ptroof, which i don't think you do.Does the money thrown at players like Sabathia and Santana in the last two years sound like artificial depressing of salaries to you? ( I joke that the best stimulus plan in the U.S. is run by the Yankees and Mets). Do you actually have any PROOF of collusion (and I mean something that will stand up to objective scrutiny)?

1-15-2009 @ 8:32AM

eddie burgos said...

i now times are bad but there get to be a team out there for manny gettting boston first world championship in 40 years and also repeating the next year boston just took the baseball out of him goes to L.A. and carry them to the playoff and also bring baseball back to the city of L.A. teams need to take a good look at there wallets

1-14-2009 @ 9:30PM

matt said...

Manny turned out to be a quitting jerk. Thank God Major League Baseball owners recognized this and left him to rot. So much for 25 million a year for 4 years. Coulda had $20 million a year from the Sox if he produced and acted accordingly. So if he gets less than 20 million a year he loses....especially where that was without an gent's fee. Ay Carumba!!!!

1-14-2009 @ 9:50PM

JR said...

Oh stop the Manny bashing...love him or despise him, the dude is
a charismatic figure, and one heck of a hitter. Yes, yes, bla, bla,
we all know what happened in Boston... But did he abuse dogs,
make horrible racial slurs, get a few DWI'S, beat his wife, etc.
It was time for him to leave, yes, he acted out, but in the larger
scheme of things the Red Sox did fine, and Manny in LA....well
the rest is history. As for the naysaysers, Manny will find a nice
comfortable home --- hopefully in LA. They love him, he produced,
and in all probabilty learned some lesson from the Boston incident.
Once again, baseball is a game...Manny committed no heinous
crime against humanity...and he certainly filled the seats and LA
hearts... And don't be foolish, or hateful enough, to think he won't
get a good contract. Innate talent and charimsa flow through
those dreadlocks.

1-14-2009 @ 11:24PM

Lee said...

Manny is a jerk for how he treated the Red Sox and baseball in general. I would actually be happy if he got the Barry Bonds treatment, but some owner sap will cave and give him a fortune to hit. That is about all he can do is hit though. Pettite dissed the Yankees a couple of years ago, failed miserably in the clutch last year and in the last 3 playoffs he has been in-and he may also see a huge paycut if he wants to continue to play. Sheets seems to be a guy that with an incentive type contract could be a steal. He can be a number 1 starter kind of guy if he stays healthy- hence an incentive contact. Griffey should just go awy since he is a shell of the player he once was. Those injuries that cost him so many games seem to have killed his natural abilities. Pettite could swallow his pride and be a 4th starter for the Yankees and actually have a great year. Going against the 4th guy on a staff is a lot different than facing the ace game after game. I don't think the Yankees want to depend on Hughes and Kennedy this year after the disaster of last year.

1-15-2009 @ 1:04AM

Bosoxfan said...

Hello RKO: This site is for responses to the article about the hot stove league, not a site for yet another whining right-wing redneck to babble about our new president.

1-15-2009 @ 1:51AM

Goldie said...

To JR:
We don't if know Manny beats his wife but we DO Know he ASSAULTED the 60 year old traveling secretary of the Red Sox because he did not have 16 tickets for that nights game to give to Manny. The guy should have had Manny ARRESTED but he did not and let the club handle the consequences.