There goes that idea. The Giants were able to sign Jeremy Affeldt to a pretty affordable deal too, locking him up for 2 years and $8m. It's hard to tell if that number is inflated or right in line with the rest of the market given the nation-wide economic crisis, but it's for the same per-year value that the Yankees handed Damaso Marte already. Not to say that the Yankees don't necessarily have a good read on what's reasonable or anything...
The amount of quality lefthanded relievers on the market is shrinking. Will Ohman is being pursued by the Braves and "at least ten teams" for a deal similar to Affeldt's. The Cardinals were strongly interested in Ohman before the trade deadline, so it's possible that he's been their top choice all along. Personally, I think Jeremy would have made more sense for our ballclub, especially if the numbers are going to be similar, but that's just this blogger's opinion.
Dennys Reyes, Arthur Rhodes, Joe Beimel, Brian Shouse, and Eddie Guardado seem like the strongest options, in addition to Ohman, that our team is considering right now. Shouse and Reyes are the best groundball-inducing relievers, with GB:FB rates of 3.19 and 2.57, respectably.
Whoever we choose to pursue, don't expect it to take very long to do it. Per Derrick Goold:
"The ball is rolling," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. Lefthanded relief "is a market that will move quickly. It's kind of like the draft, where catchers go fast. There is a limited supply and they typically don't last until January."And congratulations to Albert Pujols on a much-deserved second MVP award! It's about time he gets his just due.
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