Jake wrote an article a couple weeks ago on the issue of trading Jim Edmonds. I think he’s right, and has some good arguments to back up why trading Jim Edmonds in ‘06 is a bad idea, but what happens when the St Louis Cardinals’ 2006 season is over?
Some say picking up his option of $10M for ‘07 is a good idea. Based on what Edmonds has accomplished in the past, one must realize that Edmonds is no spring chicken anymore. Edmonds will be 36 at the end of the 2006 season, and he’s starting to show signs of aging. His numbers in ‘05 dramatically fell off from those of ‘04; notably, his average dropped 38 points, he hit 13 less home runs, and drove in 38 fewer than he did in ‘04. Possibly the most alarming drop-off is his OPS, which dropped over 140 points. If his ‘06 numbers drop off anywhere close to what they did in ‘05, I believe that 10 million dollars can be and should be more wisely spent.
Proponents of picking up his option also say: who cares about his offense, what he does defensively is more than enough value to warrant keeping him on the club. True, he’s a master of the leather, but I believe that as each year goes by, his range is going to decrease just as other aging ballplayers’ range tends to do. This will result in him getting to fewer balls that a younger and faster ballplayer might be able to get to, meaning that the spectacular catches that Edmonds makes might be catches that a younger, faster outfielder makes on the run. Sure, the younger outfielder might not be able to make a catch that involves diving straight back and catching the ball over his shoulder, but at this point in his career, that would probably be a ball that Edmonds has to play off the wall.
I think that if Edmonds doesn’t perform well in 2006 for the Cardinals, we should at least look into other options. Even though 10 million dollars doesn’t go a long ways in today’s game, investing in a more youthful centerfielder that could blossom into a great player might be worth the risk of letting an aging veteran go. I love Jim Edmonds, and as you can see, he’s getting some good publicity in my blog header, but if his age is indeed catching up with him, it might not be a bad idea to part ways.
-Joe
Entries (RSS)
December 20th, 2005 at 12:29 am
Let’s wait and see just how Jed does this season… while your reservations are well thought-out, I’m of the opinion that he’s not done yet. If Jed’s numbers improve from 2005 (even though they don’t approach 2004’s marks,) then I think keeping Jedmonds is the best bet for the Cards in ‘07…
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:01 am
Hi, Joe… As much as I love Edmonds, he obviously is not the player that he was in his early St. Louis years. I sure hope the club doesn’t pick up his 2007 option and instead re-signs him to a smaller deal. Of course, Brian Giles got 3 years/$30M, so that $10M option might turn out to be a bargain.
December 24th, 2005 at 11:13 am
There’s a $3M buyout due if we don’t pick up Jimmy’s option, effectively make the option only $7M.
Even if his defense in 2007 is average, if he can put up an 800 OPS he’ll still be an above average CF (the average NL CF had a 777 OPS in 2005).
We have few outfielders in our system, and Jimmy might be closing out a HOF career at the end of 2007. If a run of the mill corner OF is going for 3/$15M (Encarnacion, Jones), then 1/$7M for a better-than-average CF certainly seems fair.
Even if Jimmy only gets 200 AB this season due to injury, I don’t think there’s any way we DON’T pick up his option.
December 25th, 2005 at 6:35 pm
Decline phase Jimmy will still be better then most CF’s out there. I say keep him until his contract is over.