FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Last week, the Houston Astros signed corner utility infielder Aaron Boone to a one-year, $750,000 contract. That???s not a bad salary for the Astros (in relative baseball terms). But what should concern Astros??? fans is this marks the continuation of General Manager Ed Wade???s strategy to collect sub-par talent. Here???s what Wade said about the signing: Aaron gives us another veteran who can share time at third base and also help us with his overall versatility. We believe that Geoff Blum, Aaron and Chris Johnson give us good depth at third. Depth, yes? Quality, no? Let???s look at those three players: Chris Johnson, 24, has never played in the Majors. The third baseman had a very good start to the 2008 season, posting a line of .324/.364/.506 in 330 at bats at Double-A Corpus Christi. But then he really struggled upon his first taste of Triple-A, with a line of .218/.252/.287 in 101 at bats. In 1,132 minor league at bats, his line is .266/.304/.395. He also struggles with plate discipline, striking out 200 times against 61 walks. It???s not realistic to expect the rookie to contribute meaningful Major League at bats in 2009. Geoff Blum? He???s very versatile defensively, having spent time at third (542 games), second (209), shortstop (189), first base (56) and in the outfield (64). But defensive versatility loses most, if not all, of its value if the player isn???t a) a good hitter or b) a defensive standout. Blum is neither. In 3,306 career at bats, Blum has a line of .250/.310/.389 ??? good for an OPS+ of 81. He hasn???t had an OPS+ over 84 since 2002 ??? so he???s consistently sub-par. Though not an exact barometer of offensive effectiveness, Baseball-Reference???s similar batters ranking gives us another perspective on Blum ??? and it???s not a good one: Gregg Zaun Marlon Anderson Rich Gedman Tim Teufel Greg Myers John Flaherty Jim Morrison Bo Diaz Joe Oliver Pat Borders Back to Aaron Boone. There is no evidence to suggest that Boone is going to provide anything but below-average offense for the Astros. His OPS+ numbers the last for years are 82, 77, 113 (in 189 at bats) and 77. And that ???in-depth??? analysis is where a General Manager should say ???let???s look elsewhere.??? And why do the Astros need to fill at bats at third? After all, their third baseman last year, Ty Wigginton, was third on the team in OPS+ (128). Wade chose not to tender Wigginton a contract because he could have made $6M in arbitration. Here???s Wade???s explanation. The decision on Wigginton was a very difficult one for us to make. He???s done a great job on our club and played a big role in our success last (season). Unfortunately the way the economics set up, it wasn???t feasible to move forward in arbitration. Maybe this is an ownership issue. Houston ranked just 14th in payroll last year, despite being the 4th largest city in the country. Maybe Drayton McLane is cheap; maybe he???s just being conservative with the state of the economy ??? and that wouldn???t be such an issue. Regardless of why, the fact remains that rather than improving, the quality of Houston???s every day roster is declining. For 2009, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence will have to deal with having a Blum/Boone combo, an anemic Michael Bourn (57 OPS+), a deteriorating Miguel Tejada, whoever mans the backstop and the pitcher???s spot in the starting line-up. And that doesn???t bode well for the team???s chances in the competitive NL Central.