Parra confirmed the deal with Colorado with his own tweet.
The deal is expected to be for 27.5M over three years and includes a fourth year at 12M and a 1.5M buyout.
But Parra tailed off down the stretch, ending the year with a .291/.328/.452 slash. That’s still good, of course, but is hardly the breakout that had seemed in the offing as of late summer. And he’s been more of an average to slightly-below-average offensive producer for most of his career. It’s worth noting, too, that the left-handed-hitting Parra has also tended to carry significant platoon splits.
It’s at least as hard to peg Parra from a defensive perspective. He became something of a sabermetric darling back in 2013, when he turned in a monster year with the glove (29.5 UZR, 41 DRS). That had followed several years of above-average metrics, seeming to suggest that Parra was one of the game’s best corner outfielders (if not also a good center fielder as well). But both of those major defensive rating systems have identified a significant drop-off in each of the last two seasons, with Parra rating as a well-below-average performer last season.
Parra was a personal favorite when he was traded to Baltimore last season, bringing an excitement and energy that was a pleasure to see. He also seemed to fit in to the clubhouse immediately, so I’m a little saddened to see him leave, however it appears he wasn’t the right fit for the club after his late season struggles. He will be headed back to the NL where he hopes to regain the success he found in the beginning of last season.
Fan Interference 
Scout, et al.,
Unrelated but important…do we have BaseballReference.com access already? I need to do some hardcore numbers tomfoolery and need to export a big report to do so. That, they say, costs money. I’d be happy to pay for it IF and only IF I have to, so I’m checking to see what you all do for data mining needs first. I also never paid for this before so I’m not sure what I’m getting. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thoughts?
Bravo
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This is the first I’m hearing of this, so you’ll have to catch me up. I wasn’t aware of any portion of B-Ref that required payment, or was otherwise restricted access. Shoot me an some links and information and I’ll look into it. If anyone else has any insights on this, it would be very appreciated.
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It’s the Play Index portion of the site, which I believe is what I need to get complete download of player stats on routine basis. If I’m wrong, tell me.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/my/auth.cgi?do=pi_subscribe
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Do we have a corp. amex yet?
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Only after I figure out a way to embezzle funds to pay for beers and dogs at the O’s game.
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Scout, name yourself CFO, then it’s all legit “client entertainment” expense.
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Scouts…maybe I may be of assistance. EVERY single time I was faced with this sometimes unfortunate situation…I have always relied on this easy peasy
mantra of (3.14)*68932.66702= Ted Nugent shooting a gerbil with a Howitzer and no matter how many liberals died in the act of freeing that gerbil from its lack of using the second amendment for the gerbil is just another MSM lie.
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Slappy, per Richard Gere rumors, I don’t want to know what you’re doing in the way of freeing gerbiils, OK?
And, Bravo is right. The basic portions of B-Ref are free. And, as noted, if one registers one’s blog with B-Ref, and links to players there, one’s blog appears on results there on the relevant player page/s.
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As for the signing at hand, good. While I’m upset the Cards didn’t pay $31M plus $5M incentive for Span, I’m also glad they didn’t pay tis for Parra. His 2013, IMO, looks more and more like a fluke.
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So you hate the Cards?
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No. I think that Span is going to pretty well rebound, and that Parra’s 2013 was a fluke. That said, it’s too late to sign Span, of course, but, I wouldn’t want Parra as a plan B at that price.
In any case, Mo himself apparently is through with not only “dynamic” signings, but signings with any signs of life.
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Why would you expect a bounce back? He’s going on 32, his defense has declined dramatically for three straight seasons, and aside from an anomalous bump in 2014, his bat has been falling off pretty reliably as well (and most of that was built on career high stolen bases, something that also fell off a cliff last year).
I don’t see any reason to sign a guy like Span when the Cards have tons of talent that is younger and at least as good. Grichuk, Piscotty, Pham, and Holliday (all had OPS+ of over 120 last season) are all ahead of a Span (OPS+ 114 last season, 104/career) signing on the depth chart, and I don’t think you pay that kind of money for a 5th outfielder. They are all superior defenders as well.
Locking in a guy for a few years who at best is your injury replacement seems silly, I don’t think their minor league system is barren enough to justify it.
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Side note: I wasn’t advocating for Parra. I just don’t get why anyone would advocate for a guy who’s best projection for next season (Steamer) is 2.6 fWAR. Who wants a 3 year contract for a player who’s basically average in year one? By year two you are playing him only cause you owe him money, by year three he’s a bench bat and sunk cost. And that is the best case scenario.
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He’s a spunky little character. Saw him get in a shouting match with Kershaw a few years ago when he was completely anonymous.
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