Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Ricciardi Blunders Again, But What Else is New?

I think it may be time for J.P. Ricciardi to take his commemorative copy of Moneyball home with him and let real baseball executives play General Manager for a change. The same GM who let his star pitcher Roy Halladay hang out to dry has made yet another boneheaded decision, letting outfielder Alex Rios walk away for free to the Chicago White Sox without getting anything in return. Sure, the Jays are saving money by unloading Rios' huge contract to another team, but Rios is a player who is simply having a down year and whose best baseball is in his immediate future.

Sure, $62 million remaining on a contract of a guy who has underachieved this year is tough for a Canadian baseball team in a rough economy to endure. And ESPN's Jayson Stark had an interesting take on Rios this morning on Mike & Mike in the Morning. Stark rattled off the following Alex Rios statistics in regards to his major league rankings since he signed his big deal:

-110th in slugging
-99th in home runs
-105th in batting average
-169th in on-base percentage

So Ricciardi did the right thing by dumping Rios, right? Absolutely not. No one in baseball could tell me that acquiring even lower level prospects was impossible in exchange for taking on a big contract. Ricciardi stated that the White Sox wanted the Jays to include money for Rios' contract in the deal if they were to give up any players. According to Ricciardi, he didn't see the worth in that because he apparently wouldn't be able to address other team needs. "For us to eat money and not get players that we thought we wanted," Ricciardi said, "I think it would've been counterproductive. We weren't able to get some of the players that we would've liked. From that standpoint, we just said the best thing in this case is to get the financial flexibility from every dollar."

Financial flexibility to do what? Sign B.J. Ryan again? Give big money to an Alex Rios-type who supposedly is not worth the time after one down year? Was keeping the contract on the books in the hopes that Rios bounces back next year too simple of a solution for a sabermetrically obsessed GM? He did, after all, hit .297 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs just two years ago.

The main problem I have in acquiring zero prospects in return is the fact that Ricciardi was unable to move Lyle Overbay, Scott Downs and a host of other veterans who could have netted cheaper bodies at the trade deadline. I mean, money was what this was all about, right J.P.?

From the White Sox standpoint, the club was able to acquire a versatile power-speed combo who can play all three outfield positions but will likely settle into center field for the long-term. With the exception of one solid season from Aaron Rowand, the White Sox haven't had a decent center field option since Lance Johnson. And despite his disappointing .264-14-64 line this year thus far, Rios' numbers will be helped by playing in hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field.

Combined with new acquisition Jake Peavy, the pair will make more than $115 while on the White Sox payroll--a stunning development for a club led by a very very financially conservative owner. It'll take a few years to see if the Rios acquisition ends up paying dividends for the White Sox. But two things are clear: First, this isn't your older brother's tight-spending White Sox club. Second, J.P. Ricciardi has to go.

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