Rumors: Vladimir Guerrero not close to signing

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According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, Vladimir Guerrero is not close to signing with a team yet. He was signed earlier by the Toronto Blue Jays, but the veteran OF/DH asked for his release after eight minor league games. He was hitting .303, but it seemed like he was frustrated with staying in the minors and not going up to the big league club.

Sep 25, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero (27) in the dugout during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Vladimir Guerrero has always been known as a free swinger, but his free-swinging ways have become even more apparent and have hurt his value. Guerrero wasn’t patient at all in his MiLB stint with the Jays, and he is coming off of an extremely low 3 BB% in 2011. That is as low as it gets, and it contributed to a slide in OBP to .317- the lowest of his career.

The severe drop in walks has greatly hurt Guerrero’s value, and he was a replacement level player last season due to this. The designated hitter’s offense was under the league average for the first time in his career. He should do better this season and was worth 1.7 WAR with a good 119 wRC+ in 2010, so he can be worth one win for a team.

It will be interesting to see who takes a chance on Vladimir Guerrero, who is basically a veteran with some contact and pop left which makes him an above-average hitter in terms of contact/power. But when you put patience into the equation, it is evident that Guerrero is a mediocre hitter at this point. When positional value is factored in- his defense is too poor for the outfield- he is a below-average player. Guerrero can still be a good veteran backup, and that’s his true value at this point.

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Topics: Toronto Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero

Double Down

A DH/LF who can hit for average and some power. That’s Vlad, still. Will Cleveland dump Damon, or Detroit, or someone else in the next month?
http://calltothepen.com/ SorianoJoe

@Double Down Yup, Vlad is still able to hit well, if walks aren’t part of the equation. The Damon experiment has gone horribly wrong for Cleveland, but he is a better defensive player than Guerrero for sure and that ability to survive in the field is more appealing to Cleveland. There is no question that Vlad is a better hitter. He’s not going to Detroit, but I think he could latch on to a below-average team somewhere but in the AL so that he can also DH. What team could that be? It looks like nobody at this point, but somebody should take a flier on him with a minor league deal. The worst thing that can happen is that you end up dumping him off again after a couple of games, right?
Double Down

@SorianoJoe Can’t say I disagree. Not sure why teams haven’t picked up Vlad, after all a lost game or two can cost a team the playoffs, and in the AL this year it’s a bit wide open.