Exercised (and restructured) the 2006 Option of 3B Aaron Boone; Added a 2007 Mutual Option
I guess you could call this an extension, although Boone probably would have reached the plate appearance threshold where the option would have vested anyway. No dollars have been released, but Mark Shapiro said that Boone gave back a bit for 2006, and the Indians added the mutual option for 2007. Not really an earth-shattering move, but the Indians save some money next season.
If you believe that Boone’s level of play is closer to what he’s done in June and July than in April and May, then Boone’s probably worth the option. If you think he’s the player that hit at or under the Mendoza line the first two months of the season, then he isn’t. I think the future level of production lies somewhere between the two extremes, probably he’s good for a .260/.320/.430 line next year. Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA player projection system pegged Boone’s 50 percentile forecast at .263/.322/.429. His defense has been pretty good, probably better than I expected it to be.
Somebody’s got to get those pictures… before they go and sign Bret and hire Bob to coach.
I think this a reflection on lack of other options. Gautreau will get a look at some point, but since Blake has eliminated himself from consideration I guess I’ll have to live with Boonedoggle. Although sweet hit last night. I was at the game. Very good energy and beer. Nothing better than watching a bunch of Yankees fans eat it. 6-run inning baby!
The “3 FC’s” finally pitched a complete game. unfortunately it was a 4-1 road loss so only 8 innings pitched.
side note, Ludwick, batting cleanup went 0-4, and is hitting under .190 at AAA! he really has fallen hard.
Buffalo IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Carmona (L, 4-2) 6.0 6 3 3 1 4 0 2.39
Cabrera 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.23
Cruceta 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.36
Boone’s true performance is somewhere between his loousy start and his strong June/July. He was never a great hitter for batting average and his struggles after taking a year off were not all that surprising. Anyone expecting better than .275 batting average next year are going to be disappointed. However, if you are looking for stellar defense coupled with some offensive pop (20+ HR) then he is your player.
I know it’s a small sample size, etc.,
but Ludwick’s 3rd on the team (not
counting CC) in OPS, at .846.
I think the Tribe goofed by sending him
down when they called up Mr. Hamstring;
they should have invented an sore arm
among Betancourt, Miller, et. al., and
hung on to Ludwick to see how J.G. held up. (And believe it or not, I told my
friend that *before* it all happened.)
I think Ludwick is capable of .265/.330/.450, with 25HR and decent
defense. I think his Buffalo performance is indicative of his
disappointment, not his ability.
(Yeah, I know the other clubs passed
on him, but…)