Crown Gems: Podsednik, Endy Chavez, Luis Hernandez DFA'd and More

In this edition of Crown Gems: more on Scott Podsednik, Rick Ankiel, the void in CF, Luis Hernandez, and some other noteworth links from the last several days.

For me the plot continues to thicken with regard to the Scott Podsednik signing. A few days ago the Royals were rumored to have three players on their radar to fill their CF void. Those players were Podsednik, Rick Ankiel, and Randy Winn. I’m not a fan of any of the three, but Ankiel would have been a better choice than Scotty Po. Now it seems that there is one less team pursuing the former pitching phenom.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday, that:

"Ankiel had been the Pirates’ top target among position players, but that no longer seems to be the case even though they remain open to having him."

There doesn’t seem to be much of a market for Ankiel’s services so Dayton may have missed the mark by a wider margin that we all thought. It bears repeating that while I don’t think signing any of the three players would have been a wise move by the team, I would have embraced the signing of Ankiel far more readily than Podsednik.

An even better move would have been to bring back a former Royals player who legitimately plays plus defense* at all three OF positions.

*Chavez has a career 24.8 UZR/150 in LF, 10.7 UZR/150 in CF, and 19.8 UZR/150 in RF.

I’m referring to, soon to be, 32-year old Endy Chavez, who is reportedly willing to sign a minor league deal for a chance to play. Between Brian Anderson and Podsednik, Dayton has taken up two spots on the 40-man roster and committed $2.45 million to them in the process. All of that could have been saved by simply giving Endy a chance to play CF every day. Offensively he’s a career 0.270/.312/.367 hitter with good speed who would have been a perfect complement to Mitch Maier for some spring training CF competition. Whoever didn’t win the starting job could slide into the 4th OF spot on the roster. Chavez isn’t going to tear the cover off the ball and he’s not going to provide any power, but neither are Podsednik or Anderson. What Endy can do is play defense at a much higher level than anyone else on the roster, and that includes DeJesus.

With a chance at significant playing time, Chavez would certainly have considered Kansas City. In return, I’m sure the team could convince Yunie to keep his distance.

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Want more thoughts on the Scott Podsednik signing? If so, a few more blogs have weighed in.

Royals Review:

"Dayton Moore has J.J. Picollo on staff. He’s supposed to be another great scouting mind. Dayton Moore has Mike Arbuckle on staff, he’s also supposedly a great scout. Supposedly, we’ve got everything in place to build the kind of low-cost roster that can win here. Supposedly, nobody knows more about 15-19 year old baseball players than these guys. Supposedly, they can spot tools from space. Supposedly, they were all great great hires.And we’re left holding the Podsednik."

Royal Reflections:

"It’s understandable why Moore wanted to dismantle the 2009 roster – it was abysmal. But I’m not convinced that the moves he has made to acquire Jason Kendall, Chris Getz, Josh Fields, Anderson and Podsednik is better, offensively speaking, than Miguel Olivo, Mark Teahen, Alex Gordon, Alberto Callaspo and Coco Crisp/Mitch Maier – especially since Getz and Fields may not even be everyday players (assuming Alex Gordon and Callaspo hold on to their positions this spring)."

Tangled Up In (Royal) Blue:

"Scott Podsednik is a decent player and has had a solid career. But he’ll turn 34 during spring training. He’s not going to be here when the Royals’ long-term plan reaches fruition (assuming, of course, it does reach some sort of fruition). Why not give someone who might be here when that happens a chance to play?"

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To make room for Podsednik, SS-Luis Hernandez was designated for assignment today. In 221 major league at bats, he has an OPS+ of 49 to go with a career UZR/150 of 7.0 at SS. There is a good chance he’ll make it through waivers again and remain in the organization, and that would be a good thing. He may never be more than a stopgap player or an injury replacement, but he is only 25-years old and still has potential. In Omaha last season he hit 0.303/.356/.369 in 198 at bats which was a significant improvement on his career line of 0.249/.297/.320 in the minors.

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Crown Gems: Podsednik, Endy Chavez, Luis Hernandez DFA’d and More

By Wally Fish | Jan 9, 2010