Arb Day at the Winter Meetings

Arb day is generally not one of the more eventful days of preseason, 'cause nothing else happens and arbitration is itself a rather boring event.

I do like to take a look at the arb-eligible players who are released the day before. It's mostly the usual suspects - utility guys, SuB's and Rule 5's who have had their 3-year run at the minimum. But every year a few guys get released who have had a good year or 2...and maybe, just maybe could be worth a shot if they slip into the mid-Spring Training FA bargain bin. A few candidates:

Devon Newman, OF/1B - let go by Trenton: drove in 90+ runs in all 3 of his full seasons. Switch-hitter. 25th man if the price is right? You bet.

Jimmie Navarro, SP - let go by Trenton: has always held some intrigue due to his command of that fastball/curveball 1-2, but never really did anything until winning 10 with a 4.13 ERA last season.

Yoo-Nah Wanatabe, 3B - released by Ottawa: I like to have guys like this as 1 of my utility guys 'cause they can back up at 4 positions and it's easy to find one who's a better hitter than just about any backup SS you can get. Yoo-Nah has a .300/25-HR season to his credit.

OK, OK, so it's a reeeeaalllll slow day at at the JBT. Things'll pick up as we get into free agency.