In the aftermath of the Teahen-for-Getz-and-Fields trade, there is a rumor that the Royals see Fields as an option in left field, and are exploring the trade market for David DeJesus. Fields’ abilities aside, they should be.

Many probably think of DeJesus as a player who is good… for the Royals. He no longer has the range to play CF well, and he doesn’t hit as one usually expects from a left fielder. Maybe that’s why so many people who should know better say things like “DeJesus is a fourth outfielder on a good team.” Those people should be embarrassed.

Here are three-year WAR totals for five outfielders from 2007-2009: 9.2, 8.9, 8.7, 7.4, 6.5. Without looking, who are these players?

In order: Torii Hunter, Johnny Damon, David DeJesus, Andre Ethier, and Jason Bay.

That’s right, over the last three seasons, DeJesus has been practically equal in value to Hunter (whose overrated-ness is seriously underrated) and Damon (just plain overrated); DeJesus has been more valuable than Ethier and Jason “Do People Seriously Think I’m Anywhere Close to as Good as Matt Holliday?” Bay. All five are good, but would DeJesus ever be offered a 5/$90M deal? Would his agent ever compare him to Derek Jeter? Would anyone bother comparing DeJesus to Holliday? Would you take anyone seriously who said that “Ethier is a fourth outfielder on a good team?”

Take Bay, one of the alleged prizes of the free agent crop. I have him as about a 2.5-3 WAR player next season — decent. As for DeJesus, I have him as about a +10 fielder and a +6 hitter — so he’s also right in that 2.5-3 WAR area. Maybe Bay’s closer to 3 and DDJ’s closer to 2.5, but think about this: could you get Jason Bay for 2/$10.7M? Because that’s all DeJesus is going to cost if a team picks up his 2011 option. In other words, teams contending now in and in need of a left fielder would do well to look into DeJesus — he’s likely to be worth at least twice as what he’s paid, and he’s just about as good as the far more expensive options on the open market.

On the Royals’ end, Dayton Moore has spent the last year or two ensuring that he has to be brought up in any “worst GM” conversation. He might finally be doing what he should have done three years ago — trading older assets that are unlikely to be with the Royals (or shouldn’t be) when they have a chance at contending. Whether or not Moore knows what DeJesus and his contract are worth in the young talent the Royals should be pursuing is one (big) question; whether he is able to identify such players is another. It’s potentially a step in the right direction. If Moore can find another team willing to give up appropriate talent, this could be a good move for both teams.

Maybe then smart Royals fans would be a bit more willing to put aside their lust for instant gratification and Trust the Process™.

And maybe, just maybe, Omar Minaya might be all alone at the bottom of the pile.

This June I posted a ranking of the “average-est” positional players in baseball (according to current WAR). R.J. liked it so much that he “borrowed” the idea for a post later in the summer. It’s just a toy stat, but a fun one. Simply subtract the “replacement” runs from a players contribution, and the absolute value of the remaining runs is the amount a position player is away from league average. (It’s not as straightforward with pitching.) Part of the fun is seeing the different ways one can get to be league average in relation to hitting, fielding, and positional value. So now that the season is over, who were the average-est position players of 2009?

The number after the player’s name is the players “absolute” difference from average according to stats here at FanGraphs (remember the usual qualifications and take this with grain of salt). Unlike earlier in the season, there are fewer players at the extremes of hitting and fielding value.

5) Clint Barmes (1.3). Maybe I just don’t follow the NL West closely enough, but am I the only one who gets this guy mixed up with Garrett Atkins? I shouldn’t, because despite being about as bad at the plate as Atkins this season, he’s a far better defender. I was surprised to see that Barmes has logged more career innings at SS than 2B, and has performed well there (+6.2 career UZR/150).

4) Magglio Ordonez (0.8). This is a shock, given just how public Ordonez’ struggles with the bat this season were. Well, at least the Tigers avoided triggering that massive vesting option for 2010. Oh, wait.

[Bengie Molina (0.7). It’s the Giants’ awesome cleanup hitter! Better than some might think… doesn’t take much for a catcher. However, I decided he shouldn’t count since FanGraphs WAR doesn’t currently incorporate catcher defense. If you do include one of the available measures for 2009 catcher defense, Molina’s clearly below average. Don’t worry Giants fans, your boys aren’t totally out of it…]

3) Aaron Rowand (0.7). I don’t think this is what the Giants were looking for when they signed him. Not horrible or great in any one area — slightly below average as a hitter, slightly above average as a defensive center fielder.

2) Jimmy Rollins (0.3). So close! Rollins had a dreadful year with the bat (although he rebounded in the second half), and a down year in the field (for him) according to UZR, but for a shortstop, that’s good enough to be a league-average player. I’ll be posting more on him in a few days.

1) Ryan Ludwick (0.0). At 18.1 RAR and with 18.1 replacement runs, Ludwick was a perfectly average positional player of 2009. While he was slightly above average as a hitter (5.3) and fielder (1.3), he played a less demanding corner outfield position for -6.4. It’s a far cry from 2008’s 5.6 WAR, and a lesson in regression to the mean, but he was still a bargain at $3.7M. Congratulations on your perfect adequacy, Mr. Ludwick! No wonder you made that cameo on Shaq Vs.

For Average-ness rankings of all qualified 2009 position players, click here.

We’re happy to announce the addition of the newest member of our team. Matt brings his particular style to the site beginning today.

I’m the new guy. Six or seven of you may have previously read my work elsewhere under a different name. I won’t tell you what it was, but it was something like… “devil_f.” No, that’s too obvious; let’s go with “d_fingers.”

We often hear that certain hitters “just do the little things” to help their team win. Can these things be quantified? Some would say no, but in last offseason’s epic Confused Says What? thread with Tom Tango, a user suggested that if one subtracted traditional linear weights (wRAA) from game-state linear weights (WPA/LI), one would get a measure of the “Little Things” the player contributed to his team(s) during the year. And so I checked it out.

Read the rest of this entry »