Dead Weight

Now that the hate-affair has ended in New York with Luis Castillo and the Mets removed one long-standing issue out of their two (the other being Oliver Perez), there is one less dead weight hanging for a team. And Luis Castillo was certainly not alone in that category. Other teams have simply hung on to players that may have been useful at one time but now represent a black hole sucking life and value away from their respective teams. It has always been the case in baseball. Severing ties isn't as easy as it looks. The purpose of this post is to look at some other dead weights around the majors. The definition here is for a player who has played  for a number of years while adding little or no value in their most recent seasons. Here are just a few that stand out.

A. J. Pierzynski - Chicago White Sox: Peter Gammons' most recent piece for MLB.com uses Pierzynski as a recent example of how Chicago owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, is one of the best owners to play for in baseball. Gammons told the story of how Pierzynski had yet to be signed during the winter meetings in Orlando. According to Gammons, Pierzynski called Reinsdorf and was signed the next day. While Pierzynski will be a better value this year at $2 million than he was last year at $6 million, Pierzynski has outlived his usefulness for the Chicago White Sox. He really hasn't been a good starting catcher since 2003. And though he manages to find a way to attain positive WAR through the bonus points given a catcher for that position, Pierzynski is a black hole on offense. His walk rate has really begun to rival the elder Molinas and he walked only fifteen times in 503 plate appearances last season. His defensive metrics did rate above his past several seasons however though he's never been particularly good at throwing out those attempting to steal. Gammons may give bonus points to Reinsdorf for signing Pierzynski for another two years, it seems for this writer to be a continued step in the wrong direction for the White Sox.

Jason Kendall - Kansas City Royals: Perhaps it is pick-on-catcher day here in the FanDome. And perhaps there is a good reason for that as the talent in the catching realm is about as thin as it has ever been in the major leagues (sounds like a good post subject for the future). And of all that lack of talent, Jason Kendall might be the least valuable long-standing starting catcher for a team in baseball. Hated in Kansas City's fan population nearly as much as Luis Castillo was in New York, Royals fans were actually celebrating Kendall's injury in Spring Training. And for good reason. Though he is still a somewhat decent receiver, he is a black hole on offense and has been for quite some time. He walks more than Pierzynski, but other than that, he's even less valuable a hitter than Pierzynski is. Kendall's OPS+ rates for the last four years say it all: 62, 75, 71 and 71. Enough said.

Carlos Lee - Houston Astros: It was just a few years ago that Carlos Lee posted a 144 OPS+. Offensive production like that can overcome total inadequacy in the field and come close to being worth the $19 million in salary. But the only good thing that can be said for Lee's 2010 offensive season was that he still hit 24 homers. Other than that, he fell off a cliff in all other offensive categories and add that to his continued fall off defensively and you get a dark pit that cost you a whole lot of money to dig. Lee's slash line for 2010 was not pretty: .246/.291/.417. According to the way that Baseball-reference.com figures wins above replacement (WAR), Lee finished with a negative value of -1.6 WAR. Ouch. That's a black hole alright. Lee's offense might rebound a little for Houston in 2011, but there is no way his defense recovers at the age of 35.

J. D. Drew - Boston Red Sox: You can probably argue this one both ways. But to this observer, Drew is a black hole that plays with a joyless lack of enthusiasm and is guaranteed to miss 30 to 40 games a year due to nagging injuries. Drew managed to stay above average in OPS+ and in his fielding metrics. But his 2.5 WAR in 2010 did not come close to earning his $14 million paycheck. He's long been a darling of the analysts for his on base percentage and the fact that he continues to slug at a decent rate. Drew has outlived his usefulness in this writer's opinion and probably stands in the way of players like Kalish who deserves a shot at being a much cheaper alternative for the Red Sox in the outfield.

James Loney - Los Angeles Dodgers: Loney has gained the reputation as a good clutch guy for the Dodgers. But over the long haul, he has remained one of the least productive first basemen in baseball. That was okay when he was making a million a year while in his early years under Dodger control. But now he is going to make nearly $5 million in 2011 and he's never going to be that rockem-sockem first baseman that most teams seem to have. He's never going to hit more than 10-12 homers a year (he has none this spring) and his batting average and his slugging percentage have gone down three years running. He always bats in the middle of the Dodgers' line up and he just doesn't belong there. He's a good fielding first baseman, but 1.1 WAR out of that position is not going to help you.

There are probably others we can talk about here, but this list is already draining the Fan's energy...much like these players drain energy for the teams for which they play.

The Problem of James Loney

There have been low power first basemen before. Mark Grace and Bill Buckner come to mind. But the thing about those guys is that they consistently hit above .300 and were pretty good run producers. James Loney was projected to be like those guys but it hasn't worked out that way. Loney's OPS+ the last three years have been: 103, 103, 99. While those numbers are pretty good for a second baseman or a shortstop, they are below par for a first baseman.

Fangraphs lists Loney as the 19th most valuable first baseman (with enough qualifying plate appearances) in baseball for 2010. The only first baseman behind him were, Carlos Pena; Michael Cuddyer, Ty Wigginton, Garrett Jones and Jorge Cantu. Not exactly ringing company. Fangraphs pegged his 2010 value at $4.2 million. Loney made $3.1 million, so at least the Dodgers didn't over pay for his services. But that will no longer be the case once Loney goes up the arbitration ladder.

Loney is only 26 years old and he still hasn't reached his prime as a player. But if you look at the four full seasons he has played, he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. At some point, the question has to be asked if this is all he is capable of producing. Add to that picture is his minor league numbers which don't vary greatly from where he is now. So, again, you have to ask if he has shown that this is the player he is and any expectation for more is setting one's hopes up too high.

There is a myth that has been created that Loney is a clutch player. The numbers don't bear that out. Over his career, his OPS is 20 points lower than his career average with two outs and runners in scoring position. He OPS is 60 points lower in late and close games and his OPS is about 30 points higher in tie games. He is at least 80 points higher for his career with Runners in Scoring Position and less than two outs, but that isn't highly unusual. It's not like his knocking in over a hundred runs a year and since he's batted third, fourth and fifth in the order for most of his career, you would think the production would be higher than that.

The trouble for the Dodgers is that they have nobody coming up in their system that's any better. All of their best prospects are either pitchers or shortstops. So the only way to improve production at first base is to trade Loney and a prospect for someone else, or, to sign one of the free agents on the market. Dunn and Berkman come time mind. But the Dodgers are still in their post-divorce haze and it's unlikely that they will be spending that kind of money.

James Loney doesn't really hurt anybody at first base. He plays league average defense and he bats league average. That makes him a decent player. It just doesn't make him a good or productive player. Perhaps a couple of years ago, that was enough. But last year showed it isn't good enough anymore.