link Mench becomes focus Astros pursue Rangers outfielder, re-sign Palmeiro By BRIAN MCTAGGART Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle DALLAS - As baseball's annual winter meetings came to a close Thursday, the Astros made news by re-signing free-agent outfielder Orlando Palmeiro to a two-year contract worth $1.9 million plus award bonuses. The Astros, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, have also had talks with the Texas Rangers about acquiring left fielder Kevin Mench, who would fill the club's desire for a righthanded bat. Palmeiro, 36, hit .284 with a career-high-tying three homers and 20 RBIs in 114 games for the Astros last season, his second with the Astros. He had a .288 average as a pinch hitter. "That was a nice commitment on (owner) Drayton's (McLane) part to lock up a guy who's been a nice part of our ballclub and a key contributor and is great with young players and a great role model," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "He fits with our mold pretty well." The Astros also appear to be close to reaching a two-year contract agreement with free-agent catcher Brad Ausmus. Purpura said a deal could be worked out in the "next several days." "We keep narrowing the gap, and everybody's working together," he said. Mench hit .264 with 25 homers and 73 RBIs in 150 games for the Rangers in 2005. He made just $345,000, but is arbitration eligible for the first time and will get a substantial raise. Mench, 27, has been on the Astros' radar for some time, but the Rangers want premium relief pitching or a starter. With Roger Clemens likely gone, the Astros probably will have to offer a relief pitcher instead of a starter in any trade. The Rangers, who have been shopping Mench to several clubs, have a surplus of outfielders after trading Alfonso Soriano to Washington on Wednesday for outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge. "There was interest in our outfielders before this deal, and it's probably increased since then," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. Purpura said every player on the Astros' roster has been asked about by other clubs at some point this offseason. It appears the only untouchable player among those without trade clauses or trade veto power is pitcher Roy Oswalt. Purpura said since the club announced it would not offer arbitration to Clemens, a lot of teams have made contact with the Astros about trades. "They've come up with some provocative ideas ... but nonetheless they're things worth looking at," Purpura said. "The hitters are really coveted by those clubs that have them and they're trying to extract the highest price they can, and that's a GM's job to do that. "I'm not sure where we're going to add offense from, whether trade or free agency, but there are still quite a few good free agents that could help our ballclub." With the winter meetings over, the Astros spent part of Thursday working on fresh rankings of free agents. Purpura said free-agent pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Scott Elarton, who will become a free agent if he declines the Cleveland Indians' arbitration offer, could be of interest. "Things could happen, but this week in particular we'll probably talk more with the free agents that are out there and try to gauge their interest in the Astros and what kind of demands they might have," Purpura said. Meanwhile, Daniels said the Rangers have an interest in Clemens, but he will be respectful of his timetable. Clemens' agents said Monday he wouldn't have a decision on whether he will pitch next year until late January, prompting the Astros to not tender him arbitration. "At this point, it's been communicated to us he wants to take some time to decide whether he's going to retire or not and whether he's going to play again, and we're certainly going to go on planning our club," Daniels said. "At some point, if he makes it known he's interested in coming back and potentially interested in the Rangers, there would be interest on our end. I think it's a long shot."
I think Mench would fit in pretty well here, and could really put up some big HR numbers thanks to the Crawford Boxes. I really don't have problem with bringing back Ausmus, but not for a two year deal. Washburn would be a nice addition to the rotation, but he's a Boras client. I'd welcome Elarton back as well, he pitched decently for Cleveland last year and I think would be a good 4 or 5 starter.
If Mench were the only offensive bat we added, plus a pitcher like Washburn would everyone be staisfied with the offseason transactions??? eeee..... Thats a tough one.
tough call....but its a definitely possibility that we could be limited to that The problem is that it would probably cost us at least Backe to get Mench...in which case Washburn would be our #3...and we add a guy who may or may not be much better than Lane (although i think he will be...i hope we have our sights set higher than Mench
Mench would be a nice addition, but I don't think he would solve our hitting problems. He actually sounds like a Jason Lane clone. Now if we get Tejada and Mench.....
Tejada would be awesome. I think we could get him too if we'd be willing to deal the "untouchable" Backe who is really just a pretty good thrid starter who plays well in the postseason. Don't get me wron, that's got a lot of value, but Tejada would solve two problems at once.
You're right, Backe may be just a #3 starter, but if we trade him we're stuck with a rotation of Oswalt, Pettite, Rodriguez, Astacio, and some one else. No thanks.
Yes, I'd be satisfied, they added a power bat to a team that made it to the World Series last year, plus a pretty solid SP to replace Roger if he decides to not come back.
Call me stupid, but is Mench very different from Lane? If you guys know more about him, please pass along some info. I watched a few Rangers games last year and he seemed to whiff every time I saw him bat.
Sign Washburn, problem solved. If Mench/Washburn was our offseason, I wouldn't be too bummed, but I wouldn't be overly excited either. I can predict what most people will say though. I'm guessing people will find a way to b**** about getting Manny too.
He's actually not all that high of a strikeout hitter at all... 68 in 557 ABs last season. His power and average are similar to Lane's, but his plate discipline is much better - he has a career BA of .272 and OBP of .334. If we're not confident in Bagwell coming back as a starter (and let's be honest, why would we be?), he's definitely a good pickup. He's comparable to Reggie Sanders but without the age and injury risks. And by comparison to the alternatives of Burke and Lamb, he's much, much better.
Personally, I'd be thrilled, but that's just because my expectations are low. I think everyone is making far too much of a couple of rumors (neither of which said anything was even seriously discussed) about big stars such as Abreu and Dunn. I think we'll add one semi-prominent name (i.e. Mench or Washburn) and a low-level free agent at the other position. Purpura's lack of transaction activity in the past year coupled with the insistence that payroll will not sharply increase doesn't have me thinking we're going to be all that active. If we bring in a +.800 OPS bat with 30 HR power like Mench along with a solid pitcher like Washburn, I'd be very pleased.
I'd be pretty psyched about Washburn. It would be great to add a proven lefty to the rotation. Not as excited about Mench, but maybe that's just because I know nothing about him. Here's something interesting I found in a post at the Astrosdaily forum. Check out this hitting chart from MLB.com. ALL of Mench's HRs went to left and left center. (Click on the "HR" box for it to show all his homers.) He might do pretty well at MMP ... http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/NASApp..._hitting_chart.jsp?playerID=407891&statType=1 EDIT: I actually took a screen shot of the hitting chart. Can someone tell me how to post it as an image?
Tough call...it's hard when their are so many names flying around right now, like Abreu, Manny, and Tejada. I don't think I'd give up Backe to get Mench...maybe Qualls and a solid prospect.
Mench can crush the ball. In 2004, I think he had more home runs than everyone BUT Barry Bonds in the second half of the season. Last year it took him a little time to warm up but by the end of the season he was crushing the ball again.
Mench is a little fireplug. My dad got to watch him a bunch when he lived in Dallas, and said that he had some major pop in his bat - as evidenced by his numbers. I think he would be an awesome addition to our team. To me Abreu, Manny, Tejada, Zito, etc. are just pipe dreams for the Astros at this point. Historically (except for possibly Kent, Clemens, and Pettite) the Astros have been pretty quiet during the winter months. We are more of a mid-season trade deadline team. With all of that in mind, I would say that Mench and Washburn would be nice semi-quiet additions. Keep in mind folks - Washburn is a Boras boy...... YIKES!!!
Awesome! How'd you do that? My screen shot only had HRs on it, by the way. Easier to read. Anyway, check out all the "h"s in left and left center. Our short porch could make him a 30 HR guy. If we're lucky.
