Fangraphs: Worst Offseason Acquistions

[weams]

Matt Kemp (-1.0)

Kemp is putting up the worst triple slash (.244/.279/.365) and ISO (.122) numbers of his career. His defense remains R-rated. The Dodgers are paying Kemp $32 million to play for division rival San Diego. So far, it?s been a stellar investment.

Melky Cabrera (-1.0)

Not all dumpsters have stuff worth diving for. Skim Melk has returned to his bad old (pre-PED?) powerless ways. His ISO is a microscopic .067, lowest of his career and 8th lowest in the Show. Most of the other 7 guys are middle infielders. Rick Hahn has made a valiant effort to paper over the White Sox? roster holes with veterans until he can rebuild a desolate farm system, but with mixed results. Adam LaRoche and Geovany Soto have been pretty effective, but Cabrera and Emilio Bonifacio have generated outs at the same rate the Dan Ryan generates traffic jams.

Kyle Kendrick (-0.9)

Ok, raise your hand if you think putting a fly-ball, high-contact pitcher in Coors is a good idea.

Pablo Sandoval (-0.6)

In 2011 Panda put up a .315/.357/.552 line. In 2012 he lost 100 points of slugging. In 2013 he lost 30 more. In 2014 he lost 20 points of OBP. This year, he?s lost 10 more, along with another 15 missing SLG. His UZR/150 is at -26.2, which approximates the performance of an actual panda. This long steady performance collapse looks like something that happens to players in their early to mid-30s, but Sandoval is only 28. As Dayn Perry has noted, ?Sandoval?s relationship with basic conditioning is complicated,? and it?s not clear that a manager on the bubble like John Farrell will be able to convince Sandoval to put his shoulder to the workout wheel (uh ? the UZR/150 of that metaphor is probably -26.2). Sandoval has through 2019 to find a Red Sox treadmill routine that works for him. Which I?m sure makes Sawx fans ecstatic.

Billy Butler (-0.4)

In 2014 Butler put up a wRC+ of 97, craptastic for a player who has no non-hitting skills of note. This year, his wRC has surged to ? 97. The good news is that he?s held his ground despite playing half his games in the Mausoleum. The bad news is that the ground he?s holding isn?t worth much. At 3 years/$30m, Butler?s contract is reasonable by today?s standards. But it appears that the other Billy may have made a basic roster management error here by signing a middling free agent for middling money. Until the Oakland A?s become the San Jose PayPals, this is the kind of mistake the franchise can ill afford.

http://www.fangraphs.com/community/best-and-worst-of-the-offseason-acquisitions-thus-far/

[Fiver]

Some of these were so

Obviously bad right when they were announced. It's kind of gratifying in a way to see them actually turn out as bad as they seemed. Thinking specifically of Sandoval, Butler, Kemp

[Ripken]

I have no clue why anyone likes Sandoval. I mean, other than a few rings, but he didn't have much to do with those.

[weams]

Some of these were so

Obviously bad right when they were announced. It's kind of gratifying in a way to see them actually turn out as bad as they seemed. Thinking specifically of Sandoval, Butler, Kemp

But...MELKY!

[AlbionHero]

Really glad we didn't go after Kemp like a lot of people wanted. He had trouble written all over him.

[SteveA]

The biggest off season noise was made by San Diego, Boston, Cubs, and White Sox.

Exactly one of those teams has a winning record.

[El Gordo]

But, but, but, we would have made a big splash and shown everyone that we really wanted to win.

[sportsfan8703]

Sandoval should be playing first or DH'ing for the Red Sox. Kemp should be nowhere near CF. He would be better off going to an AL team and DH'ing. Just some horrible fits.

[Fiver]

Sandoval should be playing first or DH'ing for the Red Sox. Kemp should be nowhere near CF. He would be better off going to an AL team and DH'ing. Just some horrible fits.

I think Kemp is playing right for SD lately. Still a terrible move regardless.