Castilla and Guzman sign with Washington

[slomo007]

i think they were terrible moves. two years is too long for castilla. guzman might end up earning his contract but he definitely wasnt worth losing a draft pick for. actually i think they are losing picks for both signings. mlb still hasnt sold the team and i would think it would be more attractive to a prospective buyer without a long-term contract to christian guzman.

As I've said in other threads....Guzman is not a terrible player. He's an average overall SS (above average fielder, below average hitter). What's wrong with signing a relatively young average SS to a $4/year deal. The years aren't an issue IMO because he's not that old. I would say $4/year was about his fair market value.

[Pogotheostrich]

i think they were terrible moves. two years is too long for castilla. guzman might end up earning his contract but he definitely wasnt worth losing a draft pick for. actually i think they are losing picks for both signings. mlb still hasnt sold the team and i would think it would be more attractive to a prospective buyer without a long-term contract to christian guzman.

2 years is too long? They got him pretty cheap and he will be 39 when the contract is over. Minimal risk if you ask me. I didn't think they lost a draft pick for Guzman cause his option was declined.

[j_d_mcnugent]

well i dont know exactly how it breaks down but rotoworld seems to think the expos will lose their second and third round picks because of the signings. i dont know for certain if they will or not.

Expos agreed to terms with shortstop Cristian Guzman, who had been with the Twins, on a four-year, $16.8 million contract.
GM Jim Bowden's first moves to turn around the Washington franchise border on disastrous. Already the team's second- and third-round picks are gone on players who wouldn't have been offered arbitration by their former clubs. $4.2 million per year for Guzman isn't so unreasonable. We don't think he's worth it, but worse shortstops have gotten bigger contracts. Guzman has stepped up defensively, and as long as he hits at the bottom of the lineup, he won't be too harmful offensively. Still, the Expos don't need average players locked into long-term deals right now. They might have had a chance to acquire a real asset at short at some point in the future. Now they'll pass it up if it happens.

i think two years is too long for castilla because it will take all of two games to figure out he cant hit away from coors. in the end he may end up being decent (.270 and 20 something homers) but i think with the limited resources that the expos have they should have spent their money on someone else.

What's wrong with signing a relatively young average SS to a $4/year deal. The years aren't an issue IMO because he's not that old. I would say $4/year was about his fair market value.

i dont so much have a problem with 4 per year, its the 4 years that i dont think is appropriate and it has nothing to do with his age. to me it makes the team less marketable the more $$ that are committed to players. it hinders the new owners ability to shape the team the way he wants to. mlb may have found a new home for the expos, but they still havent sold them and letting guys like vlad and vazquez go while bringing in castilla and guzman isnt going to help the situation.

[stumpak]

Regarding RFK, I posted some of the park factors from the last few seasons of the old Senators in the late 60s and early 70s. Back then RFK was pitchers park, but take this with a grain of salt since the ballpark will likely have a different configuration and visual background on 2005 and the set of ballparks that was used to make the relative comparison back then has little commonality with today's parks. The only thing it is probably safe to say is that it won't be a complete launching pad.

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

Regarding RFK, I posted some of the park factors from the last few seasons of the old Senators in the late 60s and early 70s. Back then RFK was pitchers park, but take this with a grain of salt since the ballpark will likely have a different configuration and visual background on 2005 and the set of ballparks that was used to make the relative comparison back then has little commonality with today's parks. The only thing it is probably safe to say is that it won't be a complete launching pad.

Couldn't they just move the fences in? It's not like they're going to have a great pitching staff so they may make it a hitters park to bring the fans out. Maybe I'm crazy, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did something like that unless it was physically impossible.

[Transmogrifier]

For the record, just because you decline an option does not mean you don't get draft picks if the player signs with another team.