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Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.
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1.23.2003
The future of Craig Biggio It's a sad day when a player who has been with a team for a long time finally has to move on. When Jerry Rice left San Francisco, it must have sucked for the 49er faithful who loved him so much. When Pat-rick Ewing was dealt to Seattle, the city of New York felt the loss. That said, sometimes a painful separation is what's best for both parties. Craig Biggio is as big a part of Astros history as any player ever has been, and nobody's ever going to take away the love the city of Houston has for him. He's been a gutty warrior (not to mention an extremely productive player) for his entire career and his style has endeared him to people well beyond Texas. He and I even share the same birthday (December 14th). But it doesn't matter. As nice as it would be to see Craig Biggio finish his career where it started, it doesn't make sense for the Astros to make that a reality if their goal is to compete for a championship. The signing of Jeff Kent was a great move, one that improved the lineup considerably...and displaced the once-great Craig Biggio, moving him to left field. The unfortunate truth is this: Biggio is simply not an asset as a corner outfielder. (EDIT: Biggio is slated to start in centerfield, not left field as I had thought and heard originally. This changes things a bit, as his level of production is more acceptable in center...but my points here essentially hold.) Even if we assume he can rebound a bit from his poor 2002 season (.253/.330/.404, 89 OPS+) and get back to something more along the lines of a .275/.350/.410 level, he's making $9 million for that production and is a waste of resources at that price. He simply does not hit well enough anymore to be an asset at any position the Astros have for him to play. Could he hold his own in 2003? Possibly. I doubt he'll be a tremendous strain on a lineup that contains some of the best hitters in baseball in Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent and Jeff Bagwell. But would it be wise for the Astros to give him an extension, even if only for two years, at the kind of money he'll be demanding? I don't think so. While I know it'd be incredibly unpopular, I think it'd make some sense for the Astros to think about trading Biggio right now and getting some value for him before he slips any further. Send him somewhere where he can play second base and be an asset to a lineup. He makes a lot of money, so you're probably looking at a situation where the Astros would have to eat some of his contract or take a high salaried guy back. I'm just beginning to think of this now, so I'm not totally sure where he'd be a great fit, but I'll think about it. (Dan mentioned Minnesota, but I don't think they'd be interested in adding such a salary, though he would definitely help them.) Any ideas? - |