When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

02.06.2008
Chulk Outline

ChulkOne arb case down, one to go. Vinnie Chulk has signed for $837,500. The guy’s got great stuff — mid ‘90s fastball and wicked slider — but he seems to suffer from the one-bad-pitch syndrome. He’ll be mowing guys down, then, boom, he hangs one slider or grooves one fastball at the worst possible time. Lack of concentration? Poor mechanics? Whatever the cause, if it’s fixable and he stays healthy he could be a closer someday.

The last unsigned player is Kevin Correia, who’s asking $1.3 million against the Giants’ offer of $850,000. Split the difference, folks, and let’s move on. Even better, offer Correia two years and $4 million with a comfy third-year option that kicks in based on innings pitched. Not sure he would go for something like that, but the way the cost of pitching is going up, up, up, up, up, it’s worth trying to lock up his arb years in case he continues to pitch well. He certainly showed great promise last August and September. In case you don’t remember:

7 starts / 41.2 IP / 34 H / 3 HR / 12 BB / 31 K / 2.80 ERA

Get your GM/agent hats on: what do you consider fair for a long-term contract for Correia? Discuss.



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[February 6, 2008 11:39 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Zack said

It's not worth giving him a long term deal until he proves his ability to stick in the starting rotation. Even then, because the other four starters are locked up for a while, I certainly wouldn't rush into anything (ala Lowry) until I really know what I'm getting with Correia.

[February 7, 2008 4:13 AM]  |  link  |  reply
El Guapo said

Hows his finger now that he is off the tobacco?

[February 7, 2008 5:27 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to El Guapo

I do'nt know the status of his finger. I figure if it were really bad the Giants would have declined arb and invited him with a minor-league contract; or kept him on the 60-day DL; something other than guaranteed money. Or maybe because of union/insurance rules this was the only way to go...any insight on this out there?

[February 7, 2008 3:24 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

I'll weigh in, Lefty, just to make sure you know we're all reading, and checking in every day. We are probably more desparate than ever for news - this is such a cheerless, gloomy time of year.
I think this is a great signing. Sabean does not do what he is often accused of doing, throw tons of money at a guy after a career year. He only signs Chulk for 1 year. And a million for a middle of the pen guy, who posted a significantly sub 4.00 ERA last year, is a steal. He's an excellent guy to ahve for the 6th, 7th inning. And there is a very good chance he will pitch in '08 like he did in '07 (3.57) and '05 (3.88). Even if he ptiches to his career numbers (4.29) he would be average and that is waht you usually see from the #4 or 5 guy in the pen.
You make a really good point about Correia - yes, sign him out of some of his arb/FA years. He has put together 2 consecutive years of sub 3.50 ERAs. $2 million a year, if he would do it, would be a bargain. Whether he is a starter or reliever, I think we definitely want him as part of our staff. He gives great depth and can fill virtually every role on the staff. He also looks kike a very good bet to continue to put up sub 4.00 ERAs.

[February 8, 2008 12:34 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

I think your 2+1 contract for $4M would be great, if he accepts it. If he thinks he's starting, though, I doubt it.

Still, how does that compare with Cain and Lowry's contracts for their final arb years? I think most of their $9+M contract is loaded in those two years.

And he hasn't done as much in his career (though he might argue that's on the Giants for not starting him sooner), so that 2+1 would be pretty good money given he hasn't really done that much as a starter and been up and down as a reliever.

I would think he would turn it down to see if he can do as well as he thinks he can in 2008 as a starter. But I don't think we should go much higher than that or you start reaching into the free market rate for relievers because we don't know that he will succeed as a starter and why pay market rate when arb rates should be much lower.

[February 8, 2008 8:11 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Paul R. said

I believe Chulk will be ready to go for the start of the season, so the finger problem doesn't seem to be a factor now...unless it becomes a lingering issue.