Rowand Signs Five Year Deal With Giants

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost out on the bidding war for centerfielder Aaron Rowand.  Reports are circulating that Rowand received the 5 year deal that he was looking for and that the San Francisco Giants bucked up close to $90 million. (Update: MLB.com has "believed to be $90m" while ESPN.com has $60m)

At this point, we can argue all you want about whether Rowand is actually worth that much money, but the fact of the matter is the Phillies now have a huge hole in their outfield.

Can Pat Gillick work some magic?  At this point, there isn't much out there.  Earlier in the day the Cubs overpaid for Japanese outfielder Fukudome.  The Giants seemingly overpaid for Rowand.  Everybody seems to be overpaying for talent these days but the Phillies don't want to get involved.

The Flying Hawaiian will be your new everyday centerfielder with Jayson Werth seeing a whole lot more playing time in right.  That leaves... I'm not really sure what that leaves.  Chris Roberson?  I did get an autographed Roberson card off of eBay for .40 cents if that tells you anything.

Rowand's balls to the wall attitude will be missed.

UPDATE: ESPN has the deal at a reported $60 million which makes a lot more sense.  UPDATE 2: MLB has changed their number to $60 but didn't note the fact that they had previously had $90.

>>Rowand inks five year deal with Giants [MLB]

Comments

[Civil Negligence]

Now we can just focus on getting Iguch... oh sh*t...

[Lauren]

Gillick pretty much screwed hisself over when he let go of bourne, cause theres no way that roberson is good enough for the major.

im going to miss rowand.

[Rob I.]

Brian Sabean strikes again. I feel bad for you Phillies fans but much worse for the Giants fans in 2008 and beyond.

[themajor]

this doesn't upset me too much. while I loved rowand in center why over pay for it, my guess next year is that his numbers drop a bit. gillick seems to pull rabits out of his hat so lets see what he does. if he pays alot of money for some weak talent then we can get all over him for it.

[Zack]

I love how the phillies won't pay for a proven player that has been on the team...but will overpay for some shit player from another team

Adam Eaton anyone?

[Tartan69]

Agreed with Rob and themajor. Gillick was smart to not offer Rowand a 5 year contract. Especially at that money.

There are still options out there for outfielders, especially ones that can platoon. Same thing with third base (Crede, Ensberg). So obviously pitching is still the #1 priority. Whether that gets filled (and how) remains to be seen.

[BigTom]

I didnt even know the Giants were interested in Rowand. I would have overpaid him in a 3 year deal. I wouldn't sign him for 5 years no matter what the price. Obviously, Aaron is more interested in playing for a mediocre team than taking a pay cut to be part of something special. Lets get some pitching and a 3rd baseman. If we sign a 3rd baseman, it would free up Dobbs for the outfield.

[BigTom]

By the way,anyone else think Ed Wade just flushed the futureof the Astros down the toilet? I see a new job for Gillick in about 3 years.

[Jay]

What a fantastic offseason it's been for the Phillies...and by "fantastic" I mean shitty!

[T]

This is by far the best move in the long run. There's no way Rowand has any kind of range by 2010. He already relies on reacting from the crack of the bat. Some guys learn to do that AFTER they lose their speed, but Rowand never had it, and it will only get worse.

As for solutions... I don't think we need any more bats. 2008 will not be our year barring a miraculous pitching performance from the likes of Eaton. We will be happy when we have the money to spend on pitching in the winter meetings of 2008.

[theKrisheim]

any fan that cares about a team saving money or not overspending is an idiot.

it isnt your money, you shouldnt care how it is spent. they dont give awards out for "not falling into the 5 year contract trap."

put the best team on the field for the next 12 months and worry about the other shit later.

if they phillies don't sign rowand and make no other moves are all you fans who are happy they didnt over spend and give him the long term deal going to be happy? nope. cant have it both ways.

[Mark K_NJ]

I liked Face alot, but more power to him that he got that kind of cabbage. I kinda feel he overachieved offensively last year and wouldn't have expected the same number. True, he was good for the clubhouse and played the kind of baseball we all love. But now it's time for Shane to step up and start to lead too. And I liked what Jason did last year too.

I was listening to Mike & The Mad Dog on the way home and Mad Dog, an avowed Giant fan, was beside himself that they spent that much on AR. He and Mike like Rowand as a player but thought $12 mil a year was way to much.

Final thought: I can kinda see Rowands name being in the Mitchell report tomorrow. Plays hard, gets dinged up, need to recover faster. I'm not passing any judgement. Just making conversation in between sips of draft.

[Not a fan of five]

Have to disagree with where they put Victorino. If it's true that they put him in center, then I have to argue and bitch and moan that he should play right because of the number of assists he had from there last season. Put Werth in center.

[Gaze]

Give me a solid 3rd baseman or an outfielder and I'll be happy with the offense. Rowand was never going to reproduce this year's stats. He'd be a liability for the next 5 years.

[michael]

From all the reports, the Phils were willing to overspend for Rowand (13-14/year) just not for 5 years, and he wanted the long-term security. Which is fine, its his choice. I am sort of surprised that he would go to what will be one of the worst teams in the NL next year. And in a pitchers park where his numbers will definitely get worse. But thats his call. I would much rather the Phillies try to spend money on pitching.

And for everyone who complains about this team not spending money, I don't want to hear the complaining about how overpaid Eaton is- that is exactly what happens when you overpay for players.

I also expect to see Rowand's name in the Mitchell report, for whatever that worth. his forearms look a lot like Dykstra's used too....

[Ricky]

Serenity now!

[MasterlockJr.]

I agree with most of you guys - Rowand for 5 years makes little sense, and good god, the Giants are going to be really, really bad. Saw that Olney called thier projected opening day lineup a joke. ouch.

if they dont spend some $$$ on rowand, they better spend it elsewhere.

Big Tom - see that the Stros just got Tejada??? not a bad pickup.

[ill]

Rowand is on the decline in the field despite his GG and had a freak year at the plate in a small park. No way he matches those numbers in SF. I think this is a good nonmove. Good for Rowand, he can afford something other than a McMansion in SF with a better view than what he had in DE County.

There are plenty of options out there, and I think Geoff Jenkins will be a Phillie before too long. There shouldn't be anymore bullpen signings, but I wouldn't mind another starter in case Eaton is actually hurt. Let me see something like getting Prior, who looks like he would be a great Gillick pickup.

[Sanganoski]

A showcase year got Rowand showcase money. Glad we don't have to pay for it in ticket prices or weenie sales. Hope he has enough range to play out there in Frisco, cause that wind can be a "bee-ach"! Those fans will most likely end up like we did when Von Hayes was signed here, happy now, but P/Od later.

[Gaze]

Anyone else think Mark Prior is worth a one year shot?

[MasterlockJr.]

Prior at 1 year, 3 Mil is fine by me. Worth a shot.

[GM-Carson]

I will miss Fence-Face, but I'm glad we didn't dish out that sorta contract to him. We are kinda screwed in the outfield now for '08 though.

[j13]

But how will he hit without Uncle Charlie telling him to slow down his feet?! And how will I manage to watch a baseball game without being told 25 times that Rowand was told by Uncle Charlie to slow down his feet?!

I'll miss Rowand, but I also would have grown to resent him about 4-5 years from now when we were stuck with an old, broken down center fielder, so whatever, it's fine. But seriously, if Pat screws us again by not filling the OBVIOUS gaps on the team (see: last year and middle relief), I am going to be really, really pissed.

[mike'm]

I'd really like for the Phils to take a 1-2 year flier on Prior.

[ma339zda]

c487t

[ma515zda]

c836t

[mike]

another awesome season of barely not making the playoffs again.

[Jonny Rad]

First off, Rowand parting is great for Rowand and Phillies fans. Rowand gets big $$, gets to be the star (probably #3 hitter), and can catch some waves. Phillies don't over pay for a guy who will never have as good a season as he did this year. No need for Rowand.

Nextly, Prior? This guy has the raw talent to be a better 'roids free version of the Rocket, but the guy can't stay healthy. Do we need another health risk with an injured rotation and sucky players like Adam Eaton?