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I have to say that it's impresive that Ortiz is at the top considering that stolen bases and GIDP are a factor.

By the way, if I'm counting correctly Cano is the 2nd or 3rd second baseman on the list behind Brian Roberts, who is very good but is also in decline, and Chone Figgins who proabbly shouldn't be considered a second baseman.

Cano's #36, but that is out of 58.

So, that does put him in the bottom half of the league.

On the other hand, he is above the league average of .465.

How much longer (if at all) did the yankees have cano under non-FA control? My take on this deal depends upon how much of that time they could have locked him up for less/arbitration.

Steve,

I would recommend that, instead of using BPA, you would use TA (total average).

TA is same numerator, but with outs as the denominator.

I was going to replace BPA with TA for the hitting stats display in this edition of the CBE, but just didn't get around to it. I'll probably do it for the next one.

For the record, Cano was also #36 out of 58 in TA.

How much longer (if at all) did the yankees have cano under non-FA control?

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4 years

Well, obviously, I don't know how to read! I guess one thing we should take into consideration is that there are probably a number of players who, due to injury or part-time status, don't make the list by virtue of not getting 500 PA per season.

What was Cano in 2006?

Remember that a huge part of this deal is the likeliness that Cano continues to improve. Every year in the majors, he has improved exactly what you want a young hitter to improve: power, and plate discipline. Sure, he could level off, but it would take a horrible rash of injuries like what happened to Baerga to derail Cano at this point. He is past the point of the league 'figuring him out' and going the way of Jorge Cantu.

Good move by the Yankees. Alfonzo had a terrible back injury so I don't think the comparison is valid there. Also, his line drive rates (via The Hardball TImes) are solid which should indicate that his batting average should be consistently high. He's already an upper echelon 2B, and can be projected to do much more considering his age and swing. The second basemen around make similar money and provide much less offense (think Luis Castillo). In addition, the aging Yankee roster will make good young hitters a must. Keep it going Cash.

~~~What was Cano in 2006? Remember that a huge part of this deal is the likeliness that Cano continues to improve. Every year in the majors, he has improved exactly what you want a young hitter to improve: power, and plate discipline.~~~

ISO--Isolated power. It is SLG minus AVG.
Cano, ISO marks: 2006 - .183, 2007 - .182
Where's the improvement in power?

BB/SO ratio....
Cano, 2006: .333, 2007: .459
Yes, there's an improvement there.

But, that's because of his contact improvement.
In terms of BB/PA, in 2006 Cano was .035 - and he was .058 in '07 - the difference between .04 and .06 here is not huge.

Improvements in defense is also a factor.

also, of that list, there are only 7 guys ahead of Cano who plays MI or C (the most premium defensive posisitons) and most of them are old and/or played their position poorly (Jorge / Jeter / Guillen / Tejada ) or sucked last year ( Lugo ) taking those out we get two more guys ahead of him, Roberts (which is vastly inflated by his 05 campaign) and Mauer.

like Yu said, the more important part is that Cano is a middle-infielder and on the way up. this stat should also be league and park adjusted.

~~~Improvements in defense is also a factor.~~~

I understand that many feel that you cannot compare the batting stats of an OF to that of, say, a second baseman - because of the different demands of each defensive position, etc.

However, once you step into the batter's box, you're a hitter, and you should not be given extra credit (or lose something) because of the position you play in the field when you are not batting.

Giving someone "extra" or an "adjusted" offensive value is his relative batting results because of his position in the field implies that just playing that position in the field provides a batting benefit to his team.

Steve, if you just want to judge a player's hitting talent, then there's no reason to consider position.

But once you start talking about a player's value or what his salary should be, then you have to consider position. A typical team will score more runs with a hitter like Cano at 2B than a hitter like Cano at 1B.

Steve, by that logic the Yankees shoulda just let A-rod walked instead of paying him twice as much per year as Ortiz. he wasn't even worth the 25M to begin with let alone the 30 !

And by that logic Derek Jeter is the most overpayed player... EVER.

Defense position matters a ton, because of demand and supply problems. you can find a dozen or more guys that can hit like Cano or better at LF. but you can only find maybe one guy who's truely better and 1 more guy that miggght be comparable at 2B.