By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
Published January 18, 2005
Numbers, some big, some small, swayed free-agent second baseman Roberto Alomar to sign with the Devil Rays instead of the Cardinals. The biggest: a contract that pays $600,000 and has about $200,000 available in incentives. Alomar, though, preferred to pinpoint the two or three years he believes he has in him if he stays healthy, and the 130 or so games he said manager Lou Piniella wants him to play.
In St. Louis, Alomar would have competed for playing time with Mark Grudzielanek.
"St. Louis is a great organization," Alomar said Monday after signing the one-year deal. "I think they have a great team in their division. But for me, it was an opportunity for playing time."
And perhaps a better chance to get the 276 hits he needs to reach 3,000.
"That's a goal," Alomar said. "Right now, I have a chance. Some of those guys who get there, they were the happiest people alive."
But that is for the future. For now, acquiring Alomar, which is contingent on Thursday's physical, is more about the practical than the dramatic.
With what is likely its final free-agent signing, Tampa Bay added the American League's career leader in fielding percentage for a second baseman (.987).
It found an apparently willing mentor for Jorge Cantu, who will be a utility player instead of the starting second baseman, and it found someone who fits the budget and has something to prove.
As notable as Alomar's career has been - he is a 12-time All-Star, won 10 Gold Gloves and batted .300 in a 17-year career - lately he has struggled.
Since batting .336 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs for the Indians in 2001, the brother of Rangers catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. has combined to hit .262 with 20 home runs and 116 RBIs in stints with the Mets, White Sox and Diamondbacks. He batted .263 with four home runs and 24 RBIs last season in 56 games for Chicago and Arizona and spent two months on the disabled list with a broken left hand.
He also faces continuous questions about the September 1996 incident in which he spit in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck during an argument over balls and strikes.
More relevant is that Alomar turns 37 on Feb.5 and that his range and bat clearly aren't what they were.
"We're not yet in a position to compete for a championship, so when you start signing older players, you have to be extremely careful they're not coming here to retire and just stay in the game," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "You have to have a veteran who has pride and is hungry. Roberto is striving for 3,000 hits and proving he is a Hall of Fame player. We think he's hungry."
Alomar, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, who played for the World Series champ Blue Jays in 1992 and '93, said he told that to Piniella in their conversations leading to the signing.
"I told Lou I'd just go play hard," Alomar said. "When you're a professional and love the game, you have to go out and play the best you can. ... The desire for baseball is still there. If I can stay healthy, I can put up some numbers."
In what should be comfortable surroundings.
Alomar and his good friend, Rays outfielder Eduardo Perez, will work out in San Juan before spring training. Alomar has known Piniella since the manager and Alomar's father, Sandy Alomar Sr., played for the Yankees in the mid '70s. And Alomar, a 15-year Florida resident, has a condo in Dunedin.
"We have a good team," he said. "I don't think we have a lot of big names, but I think this year, Tampa Bay is going to be good."
Perez believes that of Alomar.
"The really valuable thing about Roberto is the experience and what he brings to the table," Perez said. "When you have experience and the guy has won championships and Gold Gloves and is a career .300 hitter, he can really help."
Said LaMar: "I don't think anyone is saying Roberto is the player he once was, but we think he's better than he's been the last year or two. We still think he is a productive major-league player and really fits us in a lot of ways."
NIEMANN UPDATE: LaMar said the next two or three days are "important" to getting a deal done with pitcher and top draft choice Jeff Niemann. "After our conversations (Monday)," Lamar said, "I believe that in the next two or three days, hopefully, we'll get something done."
