What to do with Broussard?

by G_ on Dec 11, 2007 9:40 AM PST Comment 27 comments

Wednesday is the deadline to tender contracts to players still under team control. While Horacio Ramirez is an obvious non-tender (not the M's know that -- be very afraid that the M's tender him), Ben Broussard is a tougher question. Last year, he made $3.55 million, and despite his limited playing time, he is due for a raise as a fifth-year player in the range of $4 million to $5 million (as arbitration is based on service time as much as performance). One mitigating factor to offering arbitration is that the M's could always pull a Brian Hunter and release Broussard in spring training for only 1/6 his salary.

Assuming the M's cannot sign him or trade him before the deadline (at this point, no team seems willing to give up even the proverbial live arm in hopes the M's non-tender him), what do you do with him?

Personally, I would non-tender him because he has no position and even if the M's dump Sexson, his $4 to $5 million salary could be spent toward a better player (corner OF/1B/DH types are somewhat reasonable in this market). Even recognizing the spring training release option, the type of talent the M's could get in return for Broussard is probably not worth risking the $800,000 or so it would cost to release him then. It could be better spent on an international free agent or above slot draft pick.

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Keep him

Put him at 1st if Sexson is gone and Raul stays in LF.
Put him at DH if Vidro blows.
Use him as your #1 bench bat.
Use him to rest 1st, LF, RF, DH guys.

He's actually one of the better hitters on the team... it's amazing to me how underused he is.

4-5 million isn't that much... and he's not tied up for a long term deal.

Plus we might trade him for something if we have him under our control.

by johnbai on Dec 11, 2007 9:45 AM PST reply actions

give him a contract

why not? if moves are made to render him redundant, then yes, he can be released. If not, he's a useful bat. Those 4-5 million only count if they are put toward some other player and right now there aren't any free agents worth targeting. He's not the guy limiting our roster/payroll flexibility at the moment.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Dec 11, 2007 9:53 AM PST reply actions

Keep him

The money probably isn't much of an issue so we might as well keep him. Maybe, just maybe, Mac will learn the meaning of the work "platoon".

"You guys should be in every major city. This is some heavy shit. This is, like, Lone Ranger heavy, man."

by AZSEAfan on Dec 11, 2007 9:53 AM PST reply actions

tender him

and then try to trade him and/or sexson. Not the worst thing if you don't.

The Ms will non-tender him of course.

by Matthew on Dec 11, 2007 10:01 AM PST reply actions

Yeah

by Edgar for Pres on Dec 11, 2007 10:59 AM PST up reply actions

Trade him to the Padres

by Robert on Dec 11, 2007 10:16 AM PST reply actions

Must be the singing

I never thought a lefty DH-type with no defensive value who has hit 260/311/413 in his M's career would feel so much love.

For the cost of Broussard or a little more, wouldn't you rather have a guy who can hit as well as him and legitimately play the outfield like Geoff Jenkins, Cliff Floyd, Brad Wilkerson, Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, Kenny Lofton, or Shannon Stewart? Of that group, only Jenkins is likely to require more than one year.

Or for significantly less than Broussard's salary, aren't Eric Hinske or Rob Mackowiak better versions of Broussard?

by G_ on Dec 11, 2007 10:18 AM PST reply actions

I don't think he's worth it either

However there are other far more pressing roster matters than Ben Broussard.

by Graham on Dec 11, 2007 10:19 AM PST up reply actions

Lifetime he's .275/.336/.470 vs RHP

by Edgar for Pres on Dec 11, 2007 11:00 AM PST up reply actions

Platoon splits are weird

And in any event, that's not very good for a 1b/DH.

Yuni Betancourt hits .284/.323/.452 vs. LHP. 1b/DH guys generally need a bit more power/OPS.

You can argue that the early part of his career was crappy, and he figured something out, but he IS coming off an OPS+ of 96.

I like the guy, I just wish he was a better hitter. Unless something changes, it's not at all clear he helps the team more than Vidro (waaay more OBP, less power), and that's sort of damning.

by marc w on Dec 11, 2007 11:16 AM PST up reply actions

Yeah he's not a useless hitter

but for what he'll make, we can do better.

by Edgar for Pres on Dec 11, 2007 11:41 AM PST up reply actions

Personally

I'm still waiting for his swing to make Safeco his bitch like it's supposed to.

I guess I'd non-tender him. As much as I love the guy, he's not that good, and the most we'd get in return in any trade is a decent reliever, which we don't need.

by Jeff Sullivan on Dec 11, 2007 11:26 AM PST up reply actions

We don't need it

but again, stockpiling depth is always a good thing and it allows us to more easily trade away one of our established RPs.

Just renewing this one from last year, which was never even really a rumor, but I'd tender Broussard in the hopes of flipping him for some team's Todd Coffey.

by Matthew on Dec 11, 2007 12:11 PM PST up reply actions

It's just money

Tender him, he's not taking away anything from anyone by sitting on the bench or the occasional platoon.

Also, there's the slightest chance that tendering him a contract most definitely means we non-tender HorroRam.

Go Fo Broke!

by eknpdx on Dec 11, 2007 10:19 AM PST reply actions

It really sounds to me

like they're going to give HoRam another shot. And I hate that sound.

I think Broussard is a useful enough bat. I think his averages would jump a bit if he weren't coming off the bench, but not enough to justify starting him at a corner spot. Unless Sexson absolutely blows again, I guess, and we have Clement to throw in there too.

Incidentally: In the NES game Little League Baseball, the starting shortstop for Korea is named Ho. Ho is a "short kid" (there are three sets of sprites for batters) who's not a terribly good hitter. But he's a very fast runner, he can lay down a bunt, and he'll slap you a single every now and then. And like most of Korea, he plays fantastic defense. I'd trade our Ho for him.

by chaney on Dec 11, 2007 12:00 PM PST reply actions

Ho = Ballgame

Jose Vidro (DH - Ms) was arrested today in an Idaho Bathroom for having a wide stance and sucking.

by CapSea on Dec 11, 2007 12:25 PM PST up reply actions

I loved that game

Damn you Sid of California!

by Matthew on Dec 11, 2007 12:27 PM PST up reply actions

Tender

Dave Cameron wrote on USSM in relation to Guillen that you still can let him go on March 15th and only pay 1/6 of the salary. see: http://ussmariner.com/2007/12/04/winter-meetings-day-two/

So, the exposure is small and the upside (trade him or use him at first/DH after trading Sexson) is still there.

by vj on Dec 11, 2007 12:48 PM PST reply actions

That was the third sentence of the post

The problem is 1/6 of his salary will be in the $800,000 range, and $800,000 used as a signing bonus would likely get you a better prospect in Latin America or buying out a June draftee's college commitment than what Broussard could fetch in trade.

by G_ on Dec 11, 2007 12:57 PM PST up reply actions

That assumes you have to buy him out

by Matthew on Dec 11, 2007 1:04 PM PST up reply actions

I was assuming they would want to do that

The M's could allocate $800,000 to Broussard for purposes of the budget, and if they are unsuccessful in trading him or Sexson, cut him loose in March.

Plus, the M's can get a better return on $5 million elsewhere. Couldn't Eric Hinske replace Ben Broussard for several million dollars less, if not $800,000?

by G_ on Dec 11, 2007 1:14 PM PST up reply actions

Hinske made

over 5 million last year according to his salary on baseball cube... how much of a pay cut do you think he'll be willing to take to be a backup player on a team that plays in a non-hitter friendly ballpark?

If he's going to try to resurrect his career at all he'd be much better off going to the NL if he's going to be relegated to a backup role.. there he'll at least get more opportunities.

by MfaninAlaska on Dec 11, 2007 8:00 PM PST up reply actions

Hinske signed that deal

5 years ago after winning AL Rookie of the Year. In those 5 years, he went from ROY to below average regular to platoon player to pinch hitter who hit 204/317/398 in 186 AB last year.

Outside of going to Japan, he is going to have to take a massive pay cut. His only options this offseason will be jobs as bench bats, which means $800,000 to $2 million that those type of players get -- just look at the last deals signed by Jeff Conine, Tony Clark, Mark Sweeney, Doug Mientkiewicz, Olmedo Saenz, etc.

by G_ on Dec 12, 2007 5:41 PM PST up reply actions

Yes, but.....

I believe the Mariner's Minor League budget for signings comes out of a whole different fund, and not related to their Major League payroll. So just because they would save themselves $800,000 on Broussard, doesn't mean they would have an additional $800,000 to spend on amateur signings.

by nathaniel dawson on Dec 11, 2007 1:19 PM PST up reply actions