Relievers On Sale At Dollar Store

by
December 5, 2008

With the economy in a rut, people everywhere are cutting back on their discretionary spending. Even with MLB seemingly in pretty good financial shape for now, one clear trend has emerged from the signings we’ve seen occur so far this off-seasom, and that’s that teams have decided that setup men just aren’t worth big bucks anymore.

Last year, 21 non-closer relief pitchers signed major league contracts, ranging from the $500,000 Chad Paronto got from the Braves to the $4.75 million that Scott Linebrink got from the White Sox. Those 21 players signed for an average of $3.1 million per year, and the top of the class got multiyear deals – four for Linebrink, three for David Riske, and two for Octavio Dotel, Ron Mahay, Luis Vizcaino, and Masa Kobayashi.

So far this year, we’ve seen two relievers get a multi-year deal (Jeremy Affeldt, two years at $4 million each and Mike Lincoln, two years at $2 million each) while Doug Brocail and Bob Howry both took $2.75 million for one year, Jorge Julio got $950,000 for one year, and Trever Miller got $500,000 for one year.

Affeldt had a breakthrough year and was probably the top left-handed relief pitcher available. He signed for half of what the top setup men were getting last year. Riske had a 4.45 FIP in 2007 and got $13 million for three years – Howry had a 4.49 FIP in 2008 and settled for $10 million less than that.

If Linebrink were a free agent in this market, it’s not even clear he’d get more than a one year deal after getting four years last winter.

Perhaps Juan Cruz will surprise me and get a monster deal, but right now, it looks like the reliever market is going through a pretty significant correction. If your team needs a bullpen upgrade, this looks like the year to be a strong buyer, because there are deals to be had.

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Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

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JH
16 years ago

Speaking of Cruz, do you think he’s a good candidate for a smart team to sign, throw him into a closer role, and then flip for far more than he’s worth as soon as he’s a proven closer? I can’t imagine why Arizona used him in such low-leverage situations last year.

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