A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Arbitration not offered to anyone
The A's today formally declined offering arbitration to their remaining free agents: Jim Mecir, Chris Hammond, Jermaine Dye, and Mark McLemore. Damian Miller already signed with the Brewers, so the A's will get two compensatory picks for him (currently the Brew Crew's second rounder and a sandwich pick after the first round.)
Of these, Mecir and Dye are no-brainers, and McLemore is expected to retire. I would have chosen to offer arbitration to Hammond; he pitched pretty well for the A's last year, so it wouldn't be a catastrophe if he accepted, and he's a Type A free agent and consequently worth two more draft picks if someone else signs him. On the other hand, he made 2.4 million last year, so he couldn't make less than 1.92 million in arbitration, and it's hard to see him getting a multi-year contract or a one-year deal for much more than that, so maybe he would have accepted. I wouldn't be too unhappy with Hammond for 1 year, 1.92 million, and think it's worth the risk, but it's not a slam-dunk decision.
The A's today formally declined offering arbitration to their remaining free agents: Jim Mecir, Chris Hammond, Jermaine Dye, and Mark McLemore. Damian Miller already signed with the Brewers, so the A's will get two compensatory picks for him (currently the Brew Crew's second rounder and a sandwich pick after the first round.)
Of these, Mecir and Dye are no-brainers, and McLemore is expected to retire. I would have chosen to offer arbitration to Hammond; he pitched pretty well for the A's last year, so it wouldn't be a catastrophe if he accepted, and he's a Type A free agent and consequently worth two more draft picks if someone else signs him. On the other hand, he made 2.4 million last year, so he couldn't make less than 1.92 million in arbitration, and it's hard to see him getting a multi-year contract or a one-year deal for much more than that, so maybe he would have accepted. I wouldn't be too unhappy with Hammond for 1 year, 1.92 million, and think it's worth the risk, but it's not a slam-dunk decision.
