According to MLB.com, despite the fact that Mike Fontenot, Adam Jones and Micah Owings each have 2 years, 139 days of service time, only Mike Fontenot is going to be designated with super two status. This means that while Adam Jones and Micah Owings get paid $430K next season, Mike Fontenot has the potential to put some stress on the Cubs payroll efficiency. This makes Fontenot, a very good defender with, at worst, a league average bat when his BABIP isn't .281 (xBABIP last season was .300, Fontenot's career BABIP is .315), a strong non-tender candidate. I have raved plenty in person and probably here on the blog and in the podcasts about my man crush on Mike Fontenot. Fontenot is the kind of player who drives the ball, plays strong defense and has some gap power. He profiles as a .285/.365/.450 with 15-20 HR power over the course of 600 AB. Despite the fact that Fontenot struggled in 2009, he is probably posed for a $1-2M arbitration raise over last year's league minimum salary. With Cubs SS prospect Starlin Castro on the fast track to the big leagues, and given Theriot's weak throwing arm (and Pinella's love for Theriot), it's more likely that the Cubs cut ways with Fontenot and slide Theriot back to 2B than they retain Fontenot at a higher salary (given the Cubs payroll problems [see Soriano, Bradley, Fukudome, Miles]). Fontenot is not likely to be retained as a backup player because Aaron Miles is under contract for 2010 and Jim Hendry has irrational expectations for Miles which only Cubsfan4ever can rival. In summation, the Cubs are likely to make a poor roster move because of MLB's decision to give Fontenot super-two status.
There goes the value of my Mike Fontenot signed baseball (FML, I'm a Cubs fan).
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Update: Jim Hendry has hinted that the Cubs will most likely not non-tender Fontenot. I hope this is more than mere inference.
I think they will non-tender him now!
ReplyDeleteFor the record I do noe like Miles or Fontenot that much.
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