Reds Sign Gonzalez, Stanton

Maybe someone in Cincinnati can answer this one for me: What the heck is Wayne Krivsky doing? He couldn’t afford to take Felipe Lopez to arbitration but he can throw $14 million at Alex Gonzalez for 3 years of mediocrity at shortstop? Gonzalez is useful, and other non-descript middle infielders should be grateful to him and Mark DeRosa, who signed with the Cubs, for helping to improve their standard of living, but how is his skill set worth anywhere near $5 million a year?

Gonzalez’ best season came in 2003, while he played for the Florida Marlins. He hit .256/.313/.443 in a shade under 600 plate appearances. The batter most similar to him through age 29 (and I love this) is the “other” Alex Gonzalez, formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs, among others.

Gonzalez doesn’t hit for average, doesn’t get on base, and has marginal power. Now, on the strength of a .246/.292/.397 performance in Boston last year, he has a lot of money.

The scary part is, Gonzalez might actually a bargain compared to Mike Stanton, who signed a 2-year, $5.5 million deal with the Reds. Previously with the San Francisco Giants, Stanton is an older, cheaper version of Jamie Walker, who cashed in big time with the Orioles.

As of this writing, Stanton and the Cubs’ Henry Blanco are battling for worst deal of the winter, Non-Baltimore Division. The way things are going, though, I fully expect someone to outduel both of them before the 2007 season starts.