Shortstops On Sale: Tigers Sign Everett For $1 Million

by Ian Casselberry on Dec 8, 2008 6:30 PM EST in Detroit Tigers News

Following up on our post from a few hours ago, Adam Everett will indeed be the Detroit Tigers' shortstop next season. And according to Ken Rosenthal (I love the "Robothal" name the blogosphere has given him; any idea who first coined that?), Everett will be quite a bargain.

How much of one? Try a one-year, $1 million contract.

Seriously? Yes. The deal is contingent on Everett passing a physical, but that's surely just a formality. Would negotiations have even gotten to this point if there was any chance he wasn't healthy?

But speaking of those negotiations, we think they went something like this:

Even Rick Porcello is sitting down in Lakeland, thinking, "Dude... you probably could've gotten more than that."

But Everett wasn't exactly negotiating from a position of strength, with questions about the health of his throwing shoulder. And for a 31-year-old whose defense is really his only asset, that obviously hurt his value on the open market. Still, that defense alone would seem to be worth more than $1 million. Fire Jim Leyland details that nicely, in addition to showing how Everett ranked among the other available shortstops.

I would've argued that Everett was a good bargain because he'd cost half of what Jack Wilson was set to be paid. Of course, I figured he'd get something near the $2.8 million he earned this year. Now, he's getting just a fraction of that.

Everett can earn more with incentives, however, which Dave Dombrowski has become very good at negotiating into contracts in recent years, with Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez. And it would be in his best interests to meet the full potential value of his deal, as he'll be playing for a 2010 salary.

Hopefully, some of the incentives are related to basestealing, since the Tigers could use some speed, and as Old English D points out, Everett used to be pretty good at that. Of course, that would be a bonus. This signing was all about the glove.

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Like this too, but

what are we looking at …..

1. Grandy
2. Polanco
3. Mags
4. Miggy
5.Guillen
6. Crapfield
____________ Close your eyes……
7. Laird
8. Inge
9. Everett

Although, I think Laird will hit quite well, especially if you think about what Pudge has really given the last couple of years. I feel like I always say this, BUT if Inge could just hit in the .260-.270 range he will get his doubles and HR’s. But this could get ugly at the end.

by Zappatista on Dec 8, 2008 7:13 PM EST reply actions

I, too, like this deal

I’ve been saying for a while, the Tigers’ 2009 shortstop wasn’t going to be a good hitter (unless they splurged, which looked unlikely), so they might as well get their crappy hitter at the cheapest cost, and hopefully get a good glove in the bargain. This fits that profile. Everett isn’t much of a hitter, but he didn’t cost the Tigers anyone and doesn’t cost much money. Inge and Everett on the left side of the infield is a massive upgrade over Miggy/Guillen and Renteria last year.

I agree, the bottom of the lineup could get ugly, but again, Edgar was no great shakes last year, so a light hitting shortstop isn’t a foreign concept. The offense next year should be good enough, given a decent pitching staff. Here’s what worries me:

Verlander (4.84 ERA last year, WTF happened?)
Galarraga (good year last year but wasn’t exactly a stud prospect)
Bonderman (coming back from injuries)
Dontrelle (trainwreck last year)
Robertson (worst ERA in baseball last year)

by ThaWalrus9 on Dec 8, 2008 8:14 PM EST reply actions

However:

Verlander’s peripherals (K,BB,HR) were fine. Robertson’s were a bit off his usual, but they certainly weren’t the worst in baseball. I have to think that what should be a greatly improved defense is going to help these guys out.

Man, if Bondo didn’t have known issues in the first inning, it would be really tempting to see if he could close games. Though I really want to see what the new pitching coach does with him. And my money’s on Miner starting again.

by cherub_daemon on Dec 9, 2008 2:22 PM EST up reply actions

And....

you left out the bullpen. ’Nuff said.

If the three guys at the bottom of the order can at least take pitches, draw the occasional walk, and make contact, it won’t be as bad.

Since Inge is one of those three, I realize I am way off base.

Ah, hell. I do like the Laird signing. Everett scares me but he is basically free (in MLB dollars). If he is that bad, we start Ramon for awhile and see how that works.

It could have been a worse first day at the meetings. Let’s see if we land Putz tomorrow.

by rook34 on Dec 8, 2008 8:32 PM EST reply actions

I did leave out the bullpen

Also scary. The good thing about bullpens is that they are pretty volatile. For instance, the Indians bullpen was disastrous in 2006, then phenomenal in 2007. Likewise, the Tigers bullpen was great in 2006, then bad the last couple years. I am hoping they can cobble something together.

As far as closers, I’d much rather they sign a closer (Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes) than trade for one. I’m not convinced Putz is better than either of those two, and he wouldn’t cost them any prospects.

Has anyone heard ANY rumors about starting pitchers? Besides the Robertson/Willis for Julio Lugo I haven’t heard anything about the pitching staff, which is scary for the reason I listed above.

by ThaWalrus9 on Dec 8, 2008 9:20 PM EST up reply actions