And that's a damn good thing for so many of the managers, such as Dave, who signed his e-mail announcing keepers as "The Worst Manager in This League." He said it, not me.
So now comes the part where everyone studies, analyzes and breaks down potential rosters before going into the late-March draft. Here is a list of the five biggest surprises - in no particular order - from keeper declarations.
1) Adam re-signs Dustin Pedroia rather than keeping Matt Holliday
Holliday bats in front of or behind Albert Pujols and hit .312 with 28 HRs and 103 RBIs last year. But, more importantly, it wouldn't have cost Adam anything to sign him. Instead, he re-signs Pedroia (.288 BA, 12 HRs and 41 RBI in an injury-plagued season) and loses a high draft pick. Then again, we scratched our heads at Adam's offseason last year and he had a great season.
2) Dave keeps Matt Kemp instead of re-signing Adam Wainwright
He had the chance to lock up Wainwright for two more years - perhaps the mistake came last year by only giving the 2010 Cy Young runner-up a one-year deal. And you have to think it would have been worth giving up the draft pick for two more years of Wainwright.
3) Ken keeps Bronson Arroyo
Look, Arroyo is a nice pitcher. But, how many times in your fantasy baseball career have you scanned the free-agent wire to see Arroyo's name? I bet at least five different times. And now Ken is establishing him as one of his top three players? Already an ominous omen for a team trying to rebound from a subpar 2010 campaign.
4) Joe only signs Tommy Hanson for one year
It's not that we necessarily disagree with not being convinced over Hanson's potential. It's more that Joe made a huge midseason trade, dealing away Carlos Gonzalez to get Hanson specifically to keep him. That's what is so surprising. Why such a short-term investment? Wasn't that trade made with long-term implications?
5) The lack of three-year deals
Take a look at the year-by-year numbers of players signed to three-year deals: Year 1 offseason: 15-of-36 new keepers (41.7%) signed to three-year deals; Year 2: 1-of-7 (14.3%); 3-of-14 (21.4%); And now: 5-of-25 (20%) new keepers were signed for three years. Managers are simply afraid to sign players to long-term contracts in this day and age.
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Sorry for my absence in posts but I just moved and started a new job so things have been really hectic. Anyways, I thought long about my keeper situation and about resigning Wainwright. But in the end giving up a sixth round pick is really tough to overcome. Looking back and having to select Adam Eaton a year ago in the sixth was devastating. Likewise this year with such a deep draft I thought that it would be prudent to stick with Kemp for one more year and than resign my high draft pick, rather than resigning Wainwright.
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