This is Kent's last year in his contract and I would hate to lose his bat int he Astros line-up. It seems like only Kent and Berkman are the only real hitters in the line up especially in clutch situations. Bagwell is near the end of his contract and is not very productive (for amount he is seeking) due his shoulder. So you can stick a fork in 'em, sad to say. Would the Astros & JK entertaint the idea of putting JK at 1st base?? That way you can bring up Chris Burke to play 2nd. JK is not as fast as he use to be which is why playing 1st would pro-long his career (maybe). I like his game attitude and his very productive hitter.
Bagwell is not "seeking" a new contract. He is signed through 2006 and the Astros have a club option for 2007.
Wait until after this season then the topic will up for debate about picking up his option or extension.
kent derives most of his offensive value now from the fact that he plays 2nd (a position filled with weak hitters). moving him to first robs him of that value and he becomes an average at best hitting first basemen. Believe it or not, Bagwell with all his struggles has had a better offensive year to this point than Kent (281/399/475 to 289/343/512), if you ignore production relative to position.
Bagwell had a cortizone shot the other day and supposedly is feeling a lot better. Guess we'll find out soon.
I seriously doubt that. Unless drastic changes occur with Bagwell's shoulder there is no way Houston picks up the option for 2007, nor will it become an issue with Bagwell. Unfortunately they have to pay 12 million NOT to pick it up (I believe 17 million otherwise).
If, and most likely when, Bagwell retires after this season, they'll negotiate a buyout for '05-07, probably in the $10M range.
That would be the 2nd best option, with option 1 having some AL team make a trade and pick up all or most of his remaining salary.
Yep. His wife tried to talk him into moving to the AL in the offseason. Only problem is that his shoulder effects his swing just as much as his throwing. He's also due a good bit of deferred money from the contract that started in '01. Most of it is signing bonus - $15M spread over the life of the contract, think there's about $10M left. I think he's too proud to go out like Willie Mays, among numerous others. And he's made around $100M in his career, so it's not like money is an issue, and his place in the history of the game is not going to change by him hanging on for another year or 2.
I love kent and I agree he is the only consistent hitter, besides Berkman we have...I hope he's not out to long after last night's injury...
I'd much rather keep Kent then Bagwell if it came down to it. Bagwell's stats are misleading because he will hit 2 HR's when were already up by 7 runs. Kent produces in clutch situations, when the game is tight, though his stats may not look as good as Bagwell's. Anyways, Bagwell already said he's going to retire after the 2006 season, when his contract is up. He's made no secret of it.
If htey don't make it to the playoofs this year, I m ready to go with some young blood. It was exciting in the early nineties watching Bidge, Bags, Kile, Caminiti and the like. They grew to be a competetive team. I don't know if we have that kind of talent now but Berkman, Beltran Everett, having O, Miller, Pettite, Hernandez and to a lesser degree Ensberg, Redding filled in by a combination from minor leaguers like Whiteman, Burke, Huffman, Taveras could bring that exciting feeling back. I believe that the 'stros can go all the way this year but if they are to sign Beltran next year they have to make some tough decisions and maybe it is about time. Bags gets bought out. That would be merciful. I do not want to watch a guy that has meant so much to a previously floundering franchise, go out with a whimper. Bidge may have some left but at a reduced rate and role. Kent isn't real expensive but I would rather see the young guys get started in the infield. I think the core is there to keep us from falling too far while we integrate new blood. (from 3 games over .500, it's not so far anyways) Kent would be nice to keep but I would rather give Burke his shot. He is ready.
are you saying this because of kent's 219/308/281 in close-late situations this year? or because of the 276/312/471 rates he put up last year in close-late situations? doesn't sound too "clutch" to me, but those are only the facts.
I say we keep neither of them and use the money to keep Beltran here. If Bagwell does decide to retire at the end of the year we could move Jason Lane to first base. Burke will replace Kent at 2nd and will be much cheaper too. I have a feeling though that Bagwell will finish the final season of his contract.
If you really want to define clutch hitting then i guess we should have kept Hidalgo. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2724&mode=print&nocache=1087349245
