Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Cameron Wants Out

Mike Cameron has requested a trade from the Mets. I'm not sure how many teams will be in the market for a centerfielder. And, although he'd be a good fit, I'm not sure he fits into the Nats' budget--the article claims he gets $14 million over the next two years.

I imagine something like Nick Johnson, Tomo Ohka and Endy Chavez could be doable. Whether we should do it is a completely different matter.

posted by Chris Needham at 10:45 AM

6 Comments:

  • I guess I worded that inartfully. He does fit into the budget, especially when you factor the arbitration-eligibles into it.

    But the bigger question is, does he fit into the budget for the kind of player he is and what our other options are?

    That's a pretty huge chunk of our salary to be committing to an aging player--even if he would be our best player. Especially when locking up Wilkerson should be on the horizon.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/12/2005 11:49 AM  

  • Center field would be covered well, no doubt; Cameron also posted a very respectable .472 SLG (playing at Shea, a pitcher's park). But he also comes with an Endy-like OBP of .319 and 143 Ks, tenth in the league.

    -- Gadi

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/12/2005 11:51 AM  

  • That's the knock Cameron has. He seems to get unfairly knocked for the things he doesn't do, instead of what he does.

    His OBP last year was disappointing, but he does have a career .340. Again, not excpetional, but pretty close to league average.

    Yeah, he strikes out a ton, but strikeouts aren't necessarily a bad thing, despite what the hoary old sportswriters tell ya.

    He will give you gold glove defense (But this should start slipping because of his age) and above average, but not great power.

    If he became a Nat, he'd be our best player not named Brad.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/12/2005 11:58 AM  

  • Cameron, from what I understand, played hurt much of last year, which would account for his off-year OBP-wise.

    I don't think we need to worry about Wilkerson being a free agent just yet. He's years away ('07? '08?), and I'm not sure we'd want to lock him up at that point.

    By Blogger Ryan, at 1/12/2005 12:47 PM  

  • I agree with your caution about the age, but I don't know if it's necessarily fair to assess that as a down season. Yeah, his OBP stunk, but he missed his career high in SLG by 1 point, while playing in a pretty tough park on right-handed hitters.

    Now, the ultimate question is whether the drop in OBP and corresponding increase in SLG is just an aberration, or if it's part of a spiral many players seem to go through right before they fall off that cliff.

    For $14 million, I'm not sure I want to find out.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/12/2005 3:42 PM  

  • Not just a met fan, but a Primer-going Met fan!

    I know that my hesitation about Cameron is because of the money. We've gotta be smart about where we're spending it. And even if the SteMs chipped in a few million, in your trade, we'd still be on the books for quite a bit of money AND the arbitration-set salaries of Johnson and Ohka. We'd definitely be over-budget there. I like the thinking though!


    Now, the Orioles and Cameron.... That's interesting. I'm not convinced they need a CF, but they definitely have room for another big bat or two. They really have a chance to be the surprise team this year, Beattie's protestations, notwithstanding.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/12/2005 4:13 PM  

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