Hes semi-interesting given the assumed low price.

But not at the expense of sheets (if the rangers are even really still in it.. I don’t know if they’ve even made an offer).

sign crede to one year deal, and go all in for Sheets. I don’t see why you can’t do both. They are both going to be a bargain

I think we should let Davis take over third. If Davis spent the whole offseason working on footwork and fielding groundballs from third then i think he would do just fine. The problem is there have been no reports saying that he’s doing this so it’s probably not going to happen.

well that settles it – bring him into Arlington!

Kidding aside, I remember when there were rumors of a Danks + Blalock for Crede + Garland deal, or something along those lines. Funny how things work out

If I am not mistaken, they both have back problems, which are more chronic, making them both highly risky guys to acquire. On the flip side, by the end of the offseason both could end up being had on the (relative) cheap considering their upside. A healthy Crede is obviously a huge upgrade over our internal options, and a healthy Sheets becomes our ace. Injured players are the new OBP guys (undervalued by market) and the Rangers have been hit and miss with them of late, but the hits have been big ones (Gagne, Bradley, Eddie).

but the idea that is most appealing to me, at this point, is to convince Abreu to sign a one year deal in TX to try to set himself up next year in a softer market (he could be next year’s Ibanez, as he is actually younger) and to roll with Davis at 3B and Blalock at 1B.

Then if Metcalf or Duran surprise and play well, we could shift Davis to 1B and trade Blalock to a contender.

Granted, nobody really knows how much Crede’s actually demanding or what the state of his back really is (beyond the standard Boras propoganda), but if he’s halfway healthy he’s a substantial upgrade over Metcalf.

that Blalock can get in a few games at third next year? I would enjoy seeing MaxRam’s bat in the lineup at least 100 times or so.

He has a career OPS of .753. How much of an upgrade over Metcalf is that really? Metcalf is supposed to be solid defensively, and should put up an OPS in the .750 range.

But my guess is Metcalf starts off as the starting third baseman and his bat will lead to Duran getting most of the action at third base this season.

I wonder, would Giambi’s new contract have an effect on somebody else looking to take a one-year deal? It is awfully difficult to compare Giambi and Crede, but their Win Shares for the past five seasons are as follows (2004 to 2008):

Giambi – 8, 25, 25, 6, 16
Crede – 8, 14, 20, 3, 9

Odds are that Giambi will put up more Win Shares next season, and will get $4 million plus an option. Would this keep Crede’s contract under $5 million? I throw out $5 million because Boras usually demands top dollar, no matter who the player is. As much as I would like Crede at 3B, I find it hard to believe that Hicks would dish out $4 or $5 million without a trade of Blalock, something I would rather not see happen.

At least one local report indicates that Texas is considering third baseman
Joe Crede, who has been limited by back problems for a couple years. Pretty
good defensive player when he’s healthy, and he’s had a couple reasonably
productive years at the plate. (His game is actually not entirely different
from what Travis Metcalf’s projects to be, if everything breaks right.)

If by “everything breaks right,” I’m assuming that Jamey means that Metcalf’s arms and legs are broken off and replaced with more talented limbs.

I had originally thought he would get a a 3/45 or 4/50, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him pull down a 3/30 or even 2/24.

With his age and fragile nature, he doesn’t appear like the type that would want to go sign a 1-year deal in anticipation of a better market next year because he could very well get hurt again and negate all of the good perception he’s built up.

Bring Crede in and rotate 3B… Crede plays 100, Davis plays 40 and Duran plays 22.
You have Crede at 3B, Davis at 1B and Blalock DH… Davis at 3B, Blalock at 1B and Crede DH… Duran at 3B and either Crede or Davis or Blalock get a day off.

Then if Davis continues improving at 3B you have a seemless transition to Davis at 3B, Smoak at 1B and Max Ram at DH in 2009.

How about Young becoming a super utility guy in 2009 and beyond instead of Duran. We know he can play SS and 2B, and assume he can play 3B. Would be a nice way to gently get Andrus into the mix in 2010 and keep Young’s bad and leadership in the lineup too.

but would Xavier Nady make any sense for us? Good RH to have in the OF, plus he’s likely to fetch a draft pick after this season.