Per the Sun, O's looking at Izturis

[Anonymous]

Dave I did some research of Izturis that might not be what you ask for but I did unearth some things not discussed in this thread.

Izturis may be the best in no-hit/good field SS that you are going to find.

1) He has a Golden Glove to his credit in 2004. Was the Dodgers starting SS from 2002-2005.

2) He had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Sept 16th 2005 due to arthritis in the elbow. He was on the DL until June 2006 and was traded to the Cub that July. The Dodger acquired Furcal the winter of 2005.

3) When the Cubs had Izturis in 2006 and to begin 2007 he was probably not at full arm strength. Then the Cubs traded him to Pit.

4) 2008 was the first year since his surgery that he played a full year at SS and he was outstanding again. He was near the top in many defensive categories for fielding pct and range.

5) He is a drain of the offense. He doesn't strike out or walk that much but he has no power and doesn't drive in runs and has OBP is poor. In 600 at bats, here is what I would expect:

600 AB, 60 R, 1 HR, 35-40 RBI, 40 SO, 18 for 26 in SB, 260/310/310/620.

Conclusion: Soon to be 29 year old Izturis is not the O's SS of the future but he would be major upgrade over what the O's had last year at SS. Consistent defense from a guy young enough and apparently healthy enough to give the O's a full season. His offense will hurt the team, so the O's will need to have a strong offensive team elsewhere to be able to carry him.

Considering the $ due Furcal, the draft picks required for Rentercabreria , and the complete absence of information that non-insiders have with respect to what's being asked for in trades for other candidates, it would be hard to complain about an Izturis signing if it can be done at a modest price. In no way would this move preclude us from continuing to pursue a low-minors SS of the future. On the contrary, it would give us the leverage and breathing space to continue that pursuit in a much stronger position.

[wildcard]

Considering the $ due Furcal, the draft picks required for Rentercabreria , and the complete absence of information that non-insiders have with respect to what's being asked for in trades for other candidates, it would be hard to complain about an Izturis signing if it can be done at a modest price. In no way would this move preclude us from continuing to pursue a low-minors SS of the future. On the contrary, it would give us the leverage and breathing space to continue that pursuit in a much stronger position.

Something that does not get mentioned much is that Renteria and Cabrera will probably not cost a draft choice if the O's or any team just waits to sign them. Yes, they are Type A's but they probably will not get offered arbitration. I know the White Sox do not want Cabrera back. He burned that bridge. Renteria has said he would like to go back to the Tigers but the Tiger are very unhappy with his range and he lack of hitting last year.

On top of that Renteria is a declining 33 and Cabrera is 34. That makes both of them expensive stopgaps for where the O's appear to be headed.

Izturis is better defensively and cheaper as a stopgap even if none of three cost a draft choice.

[connja]

Guys, I really don't see any of these guys as a long term solution if we want a top flight SS. It's very difficult to aquire a top SS in trade or free agency - the best SS are almost always home grown. Using my Yahoo league ranking of SS this year (does not consider Defensive stats), the top 8 were: Hanley Ramirez, Reyes, Paralta, Rollins, Michael Young, Stephen Drew, Jeter and JJ Hardy. Of those, I believe only Ramriez came from outside their current organization, and he was traded for Becket.

I would have been happy had we drafted G. Beckham last year. Whatever we do for the short term, I'd like to see us draft a top SS this year.

[PaulBako]

Guys, I really don't see any of these guys as a long term solution if we want a top flight SS. It's very difficult to aquire a top SS in trade or free agency - the best SS are almost always home grown. Using my Yahoo league ranking of SS this year (does not consider Defensive stats), the top 8 were: Hanley Ramirez, Reyes, Paralta, Rollins, Michael Young, Stephen Drew, Jeter and JJ Hardy. Of those, I believe only Ramriez came from outside their current organization, and he was traded for Becket.

I would have been happy had we drafted G. Beckham last year. Whatever we do for the short term, I'd like to see us draft a top SS this year.

We are all praying that Grant Green will be available at #5.

[Migrant Redbird]

Izturis hit 24 RBI's in 135 games last year...this is insane if they really think about it. AMac said it would be something better than we had last year. How would it be better?!?! We would still have a toothpick for a shortstop!

Batting mostly in the 9th spot, after the pitcher, why in the world would you expect Izturis to put up significant RBI numbers? La Russa used him as an extra lead off hitter to set up RBI opportunities for Pujols batting 3rd.

Izturis scored 50 runs in 2008, not bad for a 9th place hitter with only 454 plate appearances. 108 of those plate appearances were leading off an inning, greatly limiting his ability to drive in runs. He did his job, in my opinion.

Overall, I was happy with Izturis last season -- much happier than I expected to be. We'd read a lot of opinions that his defensive abilities had deteriorated, and of course, his hitting in 2007 was abominable.

After a few rough spots in the early part of spring training, it turned out that Desar's glove was pretty good -- a lot better than we'd been led to believe. According to the fielding bible, Izturis was one of the top five defensive shortstops in 2008, only a couple points behind the leader, Jimmy Rollins, in comparable playing time. (Rollins was 16th in innings played among ML shortstops, while Izturis was 19th.)

I would also gladly accept a .263/.319/.309/.628 with 24 stolen bases in 30 attempts from my shortstop. Yes, I'd like better offense and I'd like to see the Cardinals sign Furcal, but I don't expect us to outbid the other teams gunning for Furcal and his injury record makes me reluctant to see the Cards tie up so much into a multi-year contract that would be necessary.

Unless the Cards did sign Furcal or Renteria, I'd prefer them to bring Izturis back as a stopgap for another season. It doesn't sound like that's going to happen -- more personality conflict issues between La Russa and his players?? -- but I'd be happy with that.

[Camden_yardbird]

Izturis did not impress me much as the Pirates starting SS at the end of 2007. Then again I don't remember him being terrible either. He really is the safe option.

[wildcard]

Just ran some stats on last years O's SS. Here are the offensive totals:

526 AB, 47 R, 113 H, 18 D, 2 T, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 3 SB, 215/256/272/528

Izturis 2009 stats:

414 AB, 50 R, 109 H, 10 D, 3 T, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 24 SB, 263/319/309/628

Izturis stats proportionally increased to 526 at bats:

526 AB, 63 R, 138 H, 13 D, 4 T, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 30 SB

100 point increase in OPS would be good.

27 more stolen bases would be helpful.

[SBOriole]

Just ran some stats on last years O's SS. Here are the offensive totals:

526 AB, 47 R, 113 H, 18 D, 2 T, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 3 SB, 215/256/272/528

Izturis 2009 stats:

414 AB, 50 R, 109 H, 10 D, 3 T, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 24 SB, 263/319/309/628

Izturis stats proportionally increased to 526 at bats:

526 AB, 63 R, 138 H, 13 D, 4 T, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 30 SB

100 point increase in OPS would be good.

27 more stolen bases would be helpful.

I would rather him than some of the other options right now. I also like the fact that if we pick him up, we have a potential UTI further down the road.