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.
Showing posts with label Mike Fontenot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Fontenot. Show all posts
Patton Injured?
On Monday the Cubs activated three players from the disabled list in Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson, and Angel Guzman. They had to make three corresponding moves. I thought they were going to send down Sam Fuld, Kevin Hart, and originally Mike Fontenot until I heard they were leaning towards sending down two pictures. The Cubs had 12 pitchers, but most teams have 11. Many teams shuffle back and fourth between 11 and 12 pitchers. There always seem to be a big debate (at least among the Cubs) to carry 11 or 12 pitchers or go with the extra bench guy. For as long as I can remember the Cubs always go with 12 pitchers for most of the season. When I heard the Cubs were probably going to send down 2 pitchers I thought they were going to send down Kevin Hart and Jeff Samardzija.
I turned out to be wrong. The Cubs ended up sending down Kevin Hart and Sam Fuld to Triple-A Iowa. Then they placed David Patton on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain, retroactive to July 5. Sam Fuld did well in limited action, but the Cubs have enough outfielders and there just wasn’t room for him. He batted .364 going 4-11including two doubles, 2 walks, and provided great defense. This was his first chance at the big league level since spring training last year when he lost the battle to be the everyday center fielder with Felix Pie. He never really had a chance then, and there just isn’t room for him now. Hopefully he’ll get another chance when we need him. We have a logjam of guys, who can play the outfield, especially the corner outfield with Johnson, Fox, and Hoffpauir who we have enough problems in finding playing time for.
Kevin Hart is another guy who has been up and down with the Cubs the last three years since we traded for him from Baltimore. In 2007 he looked like a great pick up only allowing 1 run in 11 innings pitched for a 0.82 ERA and also had 13 strikeouts. Last year he had a disappointing season pitching in 21 games going 2-2 with a 6.51 ERA pitching 27.2 innings, allowing 20 runs and 18 walks. Hart was called up for his first time this season on June 21st and had a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 Innings pitched. He looked good in limited action so hopefully he will be able to contribute when we go back to 12 pitchers or some one gets injured. I thought they should have sent down Jeff Samardzija over Kevin but knew they would send Hart down.
The third move the Cubs made was placing David Patton on the disabled List with a right groin strain. I didn’t even know he was unavailable, let alone injured. After the game on Sunday, Lou said it would be a very hard decision because everyone is playing so good. The players who aren’t playing good are signed to major league contracts or out of options and we don’t want to loose them. David Patton is a rule 5 guy. Thus, the Cubs have to keep him on the roster for the entire season or we would have to offer him back to Colorado. Patton was 3-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 24.0 innings pitched in 17 games this season. He has looked good at times, but was hit hard in a few outings. I think he will be good, but just needs time to develop. I wonder if he was really injured or the Cubs put him on the Disabled List to make room for others because he wasn’t doing that well. What do you think?
I turned out to be wrong. The Cubs ended up sending down Kevin Hart and Sam Fuld to Triple-A Iowa. Then they placed David Patton on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain, retroactive to July 5. Sam Fuld did well in limited action, but the Cubs have enough outfielders and there just wasn’t room for him. He batted .364 going 4-11including two doubles, 2 walks, and provided great defense. This was his first chance at the big league level since spring training last year when he lost the battle to be the everyday center fielder with Felix Pie. He never really had a chance then, and there just isn’t room for him now. Hopefully he’ll get another chance when we need him. We have a logjam of guys, who can play the outfield, especially the corner outfield with Johnson, Fox, and Hoffpauir who we have enough problems in finding playing time for.
Kevin Hart is another guy who has been up and down with the Cubs the last three years since we traded for him from Baltimore. In 2007 he looked like a great pick up only allowing 1 run in 11 innings pitched for a 0.82 ERA and also had 13 strikeouts. Last year he had a disappointing season pitching in 21 games going 2-2 with a 6.51 ERA pitching 27.2 innings, allowing 20 runs and 18 walks. Hart was called up for his first time this season on June 21st and had a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 Innings pitched. He looked good in limited action so hopefully he will be able to contribute when we go back to 12 pitchers or some one gets injured. I thought they should have sent down Jeff Samardzija over Kevin but knew they would send Hart down.
The third move the Cubs made was placing David Patton on the disabled List with a right groin strain. I didn’t even know he was unavailable, let alone injured. After the game on Sunday, Lou said it would be a very hard decision because everyone is playing so good. The players who aren’t playing good are signed to major league contracts or out of options and we don’t want to loose them. David Patton is a rule 5 guy. Thus, the Cubs have to keep him on the roster for the entire season or we would have to offer him back to Colorado. Patton was 3-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 24.0 innings pitched in 17 games this season. He has looked good at times, but was hit hard in a few outings. I think he will be good, but just needs time to develop. I wonder if he was really injured or the Cubs put him on the Disabled List to make room for others because he wasn’t doing that well. What do you think?
