YOU ARE BEING REDIRECTED TO THE NEW WEBSITE

proballnw.COM

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Wilkerson Official

Nothing too surprising here; I woke up from a quick nap to find Jim Street, Shannon Drayer, Ryan Divish, John Hickey, the AP and many others all reporting that Seattle officially inked outfielder/first baseman Brad Wilkerson to a one year deal.

Geoff Baker reported that Seattle had this deal in their "back pocket" back on Monday.

The AP noted that Wilkerson can play all three outfield positions, which was new to me. Maybe he's not as slow out there as some of us were thinking?

Geoff Baker and Ken Rosenthal are reporting that he was signed for a mere $3M, which is a steal for a starting outfielder, whether you're pro-Wilkerson or not. Looks like we inked him for backup money. Rotoworld adds that there is another $2M in incentives, though I haven't come across another report that says that.

Wilkerson will likely backup/platoon in right field, first base and DH. He brings some very nice pop, but can struggle with low averages and high strikeout rates.

What does this mean?

Bedard?

Pretty much.

13 comments:

Rob T. said...

orioles hangout insiders are saying physicals are tomorrow and deal should be announced mid to late afternoon.

Anonymous said...

which thread is this in Rob? the title

Rob T. said...

pg. 2 under Bedard saga to be resolved soon thread

Anonymous said...

thanks Rob. Good to know.. unfortunatley I don't feel comfortable posting a couple of very brief forum entries.

"I'm hearing the physical is tomorrow" and "hopefully mid to late afternoon" isn't the ideal source.

I HOPE THEY'RE RIGHT THOUGH!

Rob T. said...

I wouldnt post it either but those guys seem to always be right. They called the extension talk rumor bogus yesterday and were right so i'll tend to believe them.

Anonymous said...

oh def..

I wasn't questioning their credibility at all.

Anonymous said...

How good is his D?

Anonymous said...

not too good.

i'll have a longer post on him later on tonight or perhaps tomorrow about how i'd like to see him used and how it might turn out.

Anonymous said...

he's an upgrade defensively over guillen to answer your question anonymous. he's versatile becuase he can play all outfield positions + 1st base. personally, i like the signing and it'll help ease wlad in. who does this take a roster spot from? mike morse for one, miguel cairo, possibly others.

C: Kenji Johjima, Jaime Burke, Matt Clement
1B: Richie Sexson
2B: Jose Lopez
SS: Yuniesky Betancourt
3B: Adrian Beltre
RF: Wlad Balentien
CF: Ichiro Suzuki
LF: Raul Ibanez
DH: Jose Vidro
U: Willie Bloomquist, Brad Wilkerson

Total position players: 13
That leaves spots for 12 pitchers.
Felix Hernandez
Erik Bedard
Miguel Batista
Carlos Silva
Jarrod Washburn
J.J. Putz
Eric O' Flaherty
Sean Green
Brandon Morrow
Ryan Rowland Smith

2 open pitching spots to be determined at Spring Training. IMO, we need another lefty short man and possibly another righty if we decide to carry only one long man.

Anonymous said...

*Jeff Clement

not Matt...

Anonymous said...

i'd have to disagree. he may not be any worse, but he is not an upgrade defensively. he has played center field in the past and in unideal situations, but his bad knees don't allow him to be effective there.

he will not take a roster spot from Cairo.. morse maybe, unfortunatley.

Also, if Wlad is going to get any playing time it will be in a platoon with Wilkerson. I am preparing a post on the subject, so you'll have my full opinion tonight or tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

ya i know that brad would platoon with wilkerson, i was just listing players by position not starters (hence the 3 catchers....)

you really think that cairo will make the 25 man? if he a brad do, then who is off? clement?

Anonymous said...

gotta say I don't see Clement breaking camp with the big club, especially since he's not so willing to play first base. Clement doesn't really fit anyway with Jose Vidro clogging up a roster spot. he's a great hitter, but doesn't hold much value.