December 21, 200421 yr UPDATE: OFFICIAL, no link yet though ANGELS AGREE TO TERMS ON FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT WITH FREE AGENT SHORTSTOP ORLANDO CABRERA; Club Does Not Tender 2005 Contract To Shortstop David Eckstein ANAHEIM, CA - The Angels Monday agreed to terms on a four-year contract through 2008 with free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Per club policy, no financial terms of the contract will be released. The contract is contingent on Cabrera passing a physical. At the same time, the club did not tender a 2005 contract to shortstop David Eckstein, thus making him a free agent. These announcements were made by club Vice President/General Manager Bill Stoneman. Cabrera, 30, split the 2004 season between the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox. He batted .246 (96/390) with 41 runs scored, 19 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 31 RBI in 103 games with the Expos and .294 (67/228) with 33 runs scored, 19 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 31 RBI in 58 games with the Red Sox. Overall in 2004, Cabrera batted .264 (163/618) with 74 runs scored, 38 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 62 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 161 games. He was acquired by Boston in a four-team trade on July 31, posting a .288 (17/59) post-season average with nine runs scored, four doubles and 11 RBI in 14 games for the World Champion Red Sox. He hit .379 (11/29) with five RBI in the seven-game ALCS vs. the New York Yankees. Originally signed by Montreal as a non-drafted free agent, June 1, 1993, Cabrera owns a career .268 (944/3516) average with 440 runs scored, 233 doubles, 23 triples, 72 home runs and 412 RBI in 962 games. Twice he has played 162 games in a season (2001 & 2003) and he totaled 161 games played this past season. Cabrera began his major league career with the Expos in 1997. He owns a career .977 fielding percentage as a shortstop and was honored with a Rawlings Gold Glove in 2001. A native of Cartagena, Columbia, Cabrera resides in his hometown with his wife Eliana and their daughters Orhel and Mitchelly. He is the younger brother of Mariners? infielder Jolbert Cabrera.
December 21, 200421 yr Crazy!!!! 4 Years, $ 32 Million!!! Link!!! 639452[/snapback] Artie Moreno is just Steinbrenner Jr. That's chump change for him.
December 21, 200421 yr I thought the Edgar Renteria contract was bad. This one looks sane by comparison. $8 million/year for a guy whose career OBP doesn't even break .320?!?!?!? This is officially the worst signing of the offseason.
December 21, 200421 yr I thought the Kris Benson contract was high... Oh well, he plays good defense, and can hit.
December 21, 200421 yr St. Louis is in trouble with the whole shortstop thing. 639986[/snapback] Considering they ripped through the league last year with a mediocre year from Renteria, SS is the least of their concerns; especially with a full year from Admin Walker in RF. The Cards were smart to not spend $10 million on a non-Jeter/Tejada/Nomar/ARod SS.
December 21, 200421 yr St. Louis is in trouble with the whole shortstop thing. 639986[/snapback] Considering they ripped through the league last year with a mediocre year from Renteria, SS is the least of their concerns; especially with a full year from Admin Walker in RF. The Cards were smart to not spend $10 million on a non-Jeter/Tejada/Nomar/ARod SS. 640020[/snapback] I agree. They basically lost a very good glove, but they already had enough of those on the team. And if Todd Helton didnt exist, Pujols would have a GG as well.
December 22, 200421 yr What the hell is with you all calling every deal overpaying? 639913[/snapback] cuz they stupid O.C is very freaking underated and i would take him on my team any day can hit can play defense can run can drive in runs sounds like a good player to me
December 22, 200421 yr St. Louis is in trouble with the whole shortstop thing. 639986[/snapback] Nah...Cardinals are going after David Eckstein, Barry Larkin, or gonna trade for Julio Lugo to play SS along with Alex Cora, Pokey Reese, or Mark Grudzielanek at 2b.. That would work for me..
December 22, 200421 yr What the hell is with you all calling every deal overpaying? 639913[/snapback] cuz they stupid O.C is very freaking underated and i would take him on my team any day can hit can play defense can run can drive in runs sounds like a good player to me 640427[/snapback] Exactly. He is underrated because he has been playing in the butthole of MLB in Montreal.
December 22, 200421 yr What the hell is with you all calling every deal overpaying? When you spend $8 million/year on a guy who's lucky to break a .320 OBP, that's the very definition of overpaying. It makes the Omar Vizquel deal look absolutely sane by comparison.
December 22, 200421 yr O.C is very freaking underated and i would take him on my team any day can hit Can hit what? His career numbers are a very pedestrian .268/.316/.409, and he just turned 30 recently. can play defense No question, but you don't pay $8 million/year for defense. can run The guy hasn't even reached 100 SBs for his career in about 6 full seasons worth of games.
December 22, 200421 yr Exactly. He is underrated because he has been playing in the butthole of MLB in Montreal. I think the guy has been way overrated because the Red Sox won the series. Montreal is a hitter's park, and he's put up some pretty mediocre numbers playing there. 2003 was the only year where he played like an $8 million SS, and playing those games in San Juan, PR shot the Expos hitting park factors through the roof.
December 22, 200421 yr I dont think they played more than 15 games there. He is nto getting overrated by his tiem in Boston, he just got to showcase his tools on the biggest stage - the playoffs and world series and he played very well. The Angles have created a monster of a batting lineup.
December 22, 200421 yr I dont think they played more than 15 games there. He is nto getting overrated by his tiem in Boston, he just got to showcase his tools on the biggest stage - the playoffs and world series and he played very well. The Angles have created a monster of a batting lineup. 640745[/snapback] His contract is so because he played for the Sox, had he been with the Expos he would be lucky to get half of what he did. He is a very mediocre player. 8 million a season for him? That's like 3 million less a season than Drew, 4 million less than Beltre... Easily the worst signing of the year. He is a career .725 OPS guy...and inconsistent at that
December 22, 200421 yr I dont think they played more than 15 games there. I think it's closer to 20 games, which is 1/4 of their "home" schedule. How else would you explain the badly out of line park factors for the Expos in '03? Their home park factors were on-par with Coors. He is nto getting overrated by his tiem in Boston, he just got to showcase his tools on the biggest stage - the playoffs and world series and he played very well. The Angles have created a monster of a batting lineup. Mark Lemke usually kicked ass when the Braves were in the playoffs, but nobody was clamoring to offer him millions upon millions when he became a free agent. The Angels got snookered badly.
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