The Arod sweepstakes – part II

Continuing yesterday’s post regarding the why’s and why’s not for baseball teams to pursue Arod, I will move to the NL Central.

 Chicago Cubs:

On the field: The Cubs haven’t won a World Series in, well, everybody knows how long.  So there is a definite reason to add another player to increase competitiveness, coming off a playoff appearance capped by a decisive sweep to the Diamondbacks.  One of the Cubs biggest weaknesses is at shortstop, so Arod there is a natural fit.  Having signed a lot of big contracts in the past season, there is an additional pressure to win.  Adding the best player in baseball would make much sense.

Off the field: The Cubs are in an uncertain position with ownership, as Tribune is for sale, and once that sale is finalized, it is expected the Cubs will be put on the market.  A recent rumor indicated the Tribune sale might be fraying a bit, which only adds to the uncertainty.  That said, this didn’t stop the Cubs from signing Soriano to a huge deal last winter, or extending Zambrano this summer, so I’m not sure it’s as much of a factor as the media will make it out to be.  Also, Piniella was Arod’s manager back in Seattle.  I recall the two saying nice things about each other, but I might be mistaken.

Cincinatti Reds:

On the field: The Reds aren’t very good.  However, they do have a good shortstop in Brandon Phillips, and a young prospect at third in Edwin Encarnacion, so the marginal gain in signing Arod is a little less than some places, unless you move Phillips to second.  Even then, it’s a bit uncertain as to how competitive they could be, as their outfield situation isn’t remotely settled, although it’s fun to envision Arod and Griffey together again.  Also amusing is Rodriguez and Bronson Arroyo on the same team, because people would get to continue making a mountain out of a molehill from the ballslapping incident back in ’04.

Off the field: The Reds are generally a small-market team, and not normally big spenders.  I don’t think they would feel they could afford Arod without trading Griffey (which they should do anyway if they can find someone that will assume most of his salary.)  Dusty Baker loves Arod tho, and would be tickled to have him on the Reds.   All in all, I think Cincinnati is one of the least likely and least productive destinations for Arod, although still not even the least likely in the division.

Houston Astros:

On the field: The Astros have a void at third, and an effective void at short, as Adam Everett simply cannot hit well enough to deserve a full-time job on a major-league roster.  So there’s plenty of room.  The Astros have something of a stars-and-scrubs roster, with Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and ideally Hunter Pence on the star side of the ledger, and the rest of their positional players on the scrubs side.  Thus adding another costly superstar fits in well with their philosophy on and off the field.

Off the field: Drayton McLane reminds me of Tom Hicks.  He’s a pennypincher who every now-and-again wants to break his piggy bank, and wants to control operations of the team, while not admitting to himself or the rest of the world that this is true.  That’s why the Astros never sign their draft picks, and also why they overpay Carlos Lee.   It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he signed Arod to a megadeal, and three years from now complained that salaries are out of control, heading into the next labor deal, as Hicks did the last time.

Milwaukee Brewers:

On the field: The Brewers led the division almost the entire year before coughing it up, so, like the Mets, the value gained from Arod is significant when thinking about wins.  Ryan Braun was abominable at third base last year, with his defense diminishing his value by about 40%.  He needs to move to left field as soon as possible.  The Brewers solved half the problem by declining the option on incumbent Geoff Jenkins, so adding Arod to fill Braun’s void would solve the other half.  Otherwise, the Brewers have an amazing core of young, cost-controlled position players, so the financial burden wouldn’t be as huge as you might think to a small-market club, especially when you factor in the additional revenue that winning brings.  For extra salary room, however, they could trade Bill Hall for pitching, move Corey Hart to center, and go with Tony Gwynn Jr. and Kevin Mench in right until Matt LaPorta is ready.

Off the field: Doug Melvin was the GM with the Rangers when Arod signed there.  I’m not certain if that’s good or bad.  I also imagine the fans of Milwaukee would love to cheer for the player who would break the evil Barry Bonds’ home run record, and see it belong to one of their players again.  Again, the swing of power that Arod would bring the Cubs, should he go there, also should be considered here as an additional reason for the Brewers to pursue.

Pittsburgh Pirates:

On the field:  Their offense isn’t very good, although they do have good young pitching.  They’re a really bad team tho, and I can’t imagine it making baseball sense for Arod to end up here.

Off the field:  They haven’t had a winning record since Bonds left, so it would certainly be a marketing turnaround to add someone of his calibre.  However, it again makes only the smallest amount of sense.  Neal Huntington seems to want to copy how his former organization, Cleveland, built their organization.  They passed on Arod in 2001, and Huntington will here.  Pittsburgh, along with Kansas City and Tampa Bay, make the least sense as players for Arod.

St. Louis Cardinals:

On the field: Their shortstop David Eckstein is a free agent.  Their third-baseman, Scott Rolen, is declining quite rapidly.  Their lineup is essentially composed of Albert Pujols and a bunch of roleplayers.  Rodriguez would be a huge addition, especially in the weak NL Central.

Off the field: St. Louis fans are the most supportive in baseball.  This means that they will still sell tickets without Arod.  It also means it would be a very good environment for Rodriguez on the personal level, as he’s not likely to hear much criticism from the outside.  They don’t yet have a GM, having let Jocketty go, so it’s really difficult to imagine what direction the team is going in.

For the most part, it’s difficult to imagine Arod winding up in the NL Central, as the markets are a little smaller, and the teams generally worse.  However, either the Cubs or the Brewers could set themselves to be the division’s dominant team for five years if they signed Arod, and Boras has already called both GM’s to say hello.

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