The Royals don't have to worry about playing the bad guy regarding arbitration this year. They signed Mark Teahen to a $2.3375 million one-year contract and Zack Greinke to a $1.4 million one-year contract. They were the final two players left who were arbitration eligible.
Neither amount is too much, but I'm certainly expecting more out of Teahen this season. At times, he's shown flashes of brilliance (see the final six weeks of the 2006 season), but 2007 was a highly disappointing season for him. He transitioned to the outfield better than anybody probably could have imagined, but his performance at the plate looked more like his 2005 numbers than 2006. Seven home runs from a corner outfielder who plays 144 games just isn't acceptable. He does have a high OBP (.353 last season, which was 18th in the AL for outfielders, and he was ahead of Johnny Damon). He has a great attitude, and that's a good thing too. But he struck out way too often(127 times, fifth highest in the AL for outfielders last season), and he simply did not drive in enough runs. He tied for 30th in the AL among outfielders with just 60 RBI. Guess who he tied with? Coco Crisp.
In 2006, pitchers figured out that they could bust Teahen inside and they did so with regularity. He went to Omaha, learned how to hit the inside fastball, and he came back up to KC and tore the league up over the final six weeks. Last season, pitchers began to throw him breaking stuff away and Teahen struggled. He never looked comfortable. I have a feeling he'll turn things around in 2008, but that might be the Royals fan in me talking.
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