Friday, January 23, 2009

Dunn still on free agent market, any takers?

Personally I don't get it. Why has no team in the majors signed Adam Dunn or made a push for the 29-year old slugger.

Over the past five seasons, Dunn's 206 home runs are tops among N.L. hitters (St. Louis' Albert Pujols has 205). Dunn is fourth in RBIs in that span with 501, 95 fewer than Pujols' N.L.-leading total.

Yes, Dunn is a strikeout machine, but his .382 on-base percentage over the past five seasons ranks 11th in the N.L. during that span. And his .533 slugging percentage for the same period is the 12th-best mark in the league.

Dunn benefited from playing most of his home games at GABP, but not to an extraordinary degree. Over the past five seasons, Dunn ranks second in the N.L. in homers hit on the road (93), seventh in RBIs on the road (240) and 17th in slugging percentage on the road (.507).

Dunn isn't the greatest fielder but he could transition his way into a 1st baseman or DH in the AL while playing in the outfield sparingly. When teams are fighting over guys like Milton Bradley and Juan Rivera it really makes me wonder why so many organizations are looking past the big guy. Your thoughts?

4 comments:

Matt said...

It all boils down to one simple word: Money

Adam Dunn is asking for something like 14 million per year for at least 4 years...no team wants to pay a strikeout machine, DH, or defensive liability that cant drive in more than 100 runs that kinda money. I think teams right now are on the fence about what to pay him because he is such a unique player due to those factors but also because he is such a high slugging, high walk, power hitter

He will have a team...but i bet he doesnt get that kinda money

Wojo said...

I agree, Matt. It all comes down to the bottom line and the economy has forced a lot of free agents to drop their demands in order to sign (See Pat Burrell). I've never been a fan of Dunner and if Castellini were to resign him for what he's asking, I would probably move to Maine so I wouldn't have to hear about baseball anymore. Actually, I take that back - maybe the Bahamas or St. Bart's would be better.

XU said...

I agree money is a factor and I bet he ends up signing for something like a 3-year, 30 million dollar deal. Guys like Milton Bradley, Rafael Furcal, Raul Ibanez, Edgar Renteria, etc. signed for something similar to this.

Although Dunn has driven in 100+ RBI's four of the past 5 years......

Anonymous said...

He would have more RBI's if he hit better than .225 with runners in scoring position.

I think everyone knows this by now, but I was never a huge Dunn fan. He is a strange ball player. To have his eye for balls and strikes, take so many walks, but still strike out nearly 200 times because he swings and misses so much. It's just strange. Like Wojo, I am sick of the debate. I am glad he will not be back here. He will get a job, but it will be for more of what he is worth, like 8-9 million per for 2-3 years.