Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Room to Improve

The complex rules and dates regarding free agency, compensation draft picks and arbitration offers have temporarily dampened signings up to now. December 7 was the most significant date in this process; having passed, expect the pace of signings to accelerate.

Teams had until midnight last night to offer their free agents arbitration. If they declined to make the offer they lost negotiating rights with them until May 1. In addition, to receive compensation for a player that signs with another team, the team must offer the player salary arbitration. Needless to say, this is a delicate balancing act, especially if a team wants to hold onto draft picks while not getting stuck with a potentially inflationary arbitration situation or worse, as was the case with the Phillies and Kevin Millwood last year.

Thus far the Phillies have re-signed two of their own free agent pitchers, Cory Lidle and Rheal Cormier. They still seek another starter and are rumored to be very interested in signing one of the following: John Lieber, Carl Pavano, David Wells, Eric Milton, Woody Williams, Al Leiter. Of this group Lieber appears to be the most likely candidate and the biggest gamble. Lieber, who will be 35 years old in April, is two seasons removed from Tommy John surgery. Last year he was 14 – 8 with the Yankees with a 4.33 ERA, both good numbers in this juiced era. The potential problems with Lieber are not only his health and durability; scouting reports indicate left-handers feast on his mediocre fastball and change-up. The Phils would do much better seeking a left-hander such as Odalis Perez; otherwise, their rotation will feature only one southpaw, Randy Wolf, who will be coming back from arm problems that shelved him at the end of last season.

It is too early to assess the Phillies’ off-season moves, but as of this date one can hardly say they have improved themselves much if at all.

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