Thomas is staying

[nyy26wc]

1) Whitesox DH Frank Thomas decided not to opt out of his contract.

After 0 RCAA/.758 OPS (20 G) and 17 RCAA/.834 OPS seasons, Thomas hit .562 SLG, .390 OBA, .952 OPS, 48 RCAA in 153 games. He has a .996 career OPS, compared to his league average of .763, and 770 RCAA in 1851 games.

Thomas ranks 8th in AL history for RCAA--

RCAA                           RCAA    
1    Babe Ruth                  1795   
2    Ted Williams               1475   
3    Ty Cobb                    1369   
4    Lou Gehrig                 1247   
5    Mickey Mantle              1099   
6    Tris Speaker               1053   
7    Jimmie Foxx                 996   
8    Frank Thomas                770   
9    Eddie Collins               747   
10   Joe DiMaggio                708   

He's 6th all time in OBA vs. the league average (since 1900, 7500+ PA)--

OBA                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
1    Ted Williams               .134     .482     .348   
2    Babe Ruth                  .118     .474     .356   
3    Barry Bonds                .097     .433     .336   
4    Ty Cobb                    .093     .433     .340   
5    Rogers Hornsby             .091     .434     .342   
6    Frank Thomas               .089     .428     .339   
7    Mickey Mantle              .087     .421     .333   
8    Lou Gehrig                 .086     .447     .361   
9    Edgar Martinez             .085     .423     .338   
10   Tris Speaker               .084     .428     .344   

2) The Mariners hired Paul Molitor as hitting coach.

3) The Devil Rays and 1B Travis Lee mutually decided not to exercise options for 2004.

Lee will become a free agent, with Devil Rays GM Chuck LeMar saying their is mutual interest in bringing him back.

4) Dodgers P Paul Quantrill exercised his right to opt out of his contract.

He'll become a free agent.

5) The Tigers re-signed P Brian Schmack to a minor league contract.

Schmack had a 3.46 ERA/1 RSAA in his first 11 career games.

6) The Royals re-signed OF Brandon Berger to a minor league contract.

Berger has -9 RCAA/.681 OPS in 70 career games, including a .219 SLG, .324 OBA, .543 OPS, -2 RCAA in 13 games in 2003.

7) The Braves re-signed OF Damon Hollins to a minor league contract.

Hollins had -2 RCAA/.400 OPS in 7 games with the Braves and Dodgers in 1998.

8) The Rangers signed P Carlos Almanzar to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Almanzar had a 5.02 ERA/-11 RSAA in 137 games with 4 teams from 1997-2002.

9) The Expos added OF Brandon Watson and Ps Chad Bentz and Shawn Hill to the 40 man roster.

10) The Devil Rays signed P Ken Cloude to a minor league contract.

Cloude had a 6.56 ERA/-58 RSAA in 71 games with the 1997-99 Mariners.

Cloude is the Mariners all time leader in worst career RCAA--

RSAA                           RSAA    
1    Ken Cloude                  -58   
2    Glenn Abbott                -52   
T3   Mike Parrott                -43   
T3   Dick Pole                   -43   
T5   Byron McLaughlin            -34   
T5   John Montague               -34   
T7   Bob Wells                   -31   
T7   Mac Suzuki                  -31   
T7   Steve Trout                 -31   
T10  Mike Campbell               -29   
T10  Rich DeLucia                -29   
T10  Bob Wolcott                 -29   

Correction from yesterday--Billy Koch pitches for the Whitesox, not A's.

[manny tortolero]

Wise decision by Thomas. With his age and without defensive value, his only options were as DH in AL, and those teams where that spot is not covered are small market teams who are not looking hire any expensive superstar (maybe excepting M's if Martinez decides retire). And Thomas current deal is nothing bad about future years buyout money to be paid by the CSox if they want to break with him.