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Chicago Cubs Payroll In 2017 + Contracts Going Forward
Look, there is no way to sugar coat it, the Jason Heyward contract is about the biggest dumpster fire of a contract there may ever be. Having said that, everyone receives one mulligan.
Even 3 time World Series winning GM Brian Sabean has had a horrible Matt Cain contract to contend with the last half decade.
Theo Epstein hasn’t made too many blunders – and winning a World Series with both the Red Sox and now the Cubs has solidified a position for him in Cooperstown.
Also lucky is the brilliant signing of Anthony Rizzo of a 7 YR deal prior to 2013, and when he asserted himself as a perennial MVP contender.
Despite carrying a projected payroll in 2017 of around $171 MIL – the team has plenty of expiring contracts in the name of Jake Arrieta, Wade Davis, Jon Lackey, Jon Jay, Pedro Strop, Miguel Montero and Koji Uehara. to replenisg te talent again in 2018 – and going forward
There are only 4 players signed for $79.2 MIL so far.

The Rizzo longterm deal a perfect contrast to the Heyward pact. Should Rizzo’s Team Options be picked up for 2020 and 2021 (for $16.5 MIL each year), then the club will still only have paid him $74 MIL from 2013 – 2021, spanning 9 years at an Annual Value of $8.2 MIL. That is completely lights out for the organization going forward.
The one factor of brilliantly drafting and then rostering a club full of guys the same age is that they are all on entry level contracts for a few years before the squad becomes increasingly expensive before Arbitration rights kick in.
2018 will see Kris Bryant, Kyle Hendricks and Addison Russell all hit 1st year Eligible on Arbitration, and then 2019 has Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Carl Edwards JR. hit the 1st year.
it will be at this point the team shoots up the salary page.
Other than Jon Lester, Heyward and Ben Zobrist, there are no real big salaries on the table for the team to digest.
The biggest dilemma will be the status of Jake Arrieta. My guess is that he will want too much money and walk away from the Cubs.
More important than that even is simply signing Free Agents (not named Arrieta) by Epstein.
Epstein is creative. It is okay to figure out a Starting Pitcher in Free Agency, and also add another Closer if need be. Who knows, by 2018, Hector Rondon and Carl Edwards JR. may be able to lock down that role.
There is still money to spend in the 2017 and 2018 winter markets for sure.
Also playing in the NL Central provides them with security of being able to outspend all the other teams – with the Cardinals only being in the atmosphere.
It is not like they are fighting in the tough NL West with the Giants and high spending Dodgers. It will still mean facing off against those clubs. and contending with the aging Nationals roster, and New York Mets young staff for a few seasons.
Wrigley Field will be sold out, the revenue streams will break out to record levels, all freely flowing cash into the Ricketts family pockets.
The good news is they are not in cap hell yet The bad news is that it would only take one more bad deal/paired with Heyward, in order to prevent the club from signing all of their young superstars to extensions.
Epstein is too smart for that. Look for high value Annual Average Value’s that have expiring contracts before the 2018 and 2019 seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade for an existing ace pitcher.
Think Zack Greinke now, or a guy like Justin Verlander in 2018 or 2019, where the other club may eat some of the salary, ask for a high level prospect, and then have a legitimate Starter to lug some innings in the playoffs.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if the brass orchestrates a trade for a guy like Chris Archer – or Sonny Gray (midway through this year if he has healed himself).
Maybe it would cost you a Javier Baez, or a combinations of Carl Edwards JR./Albert Almora JR. to do it, however with Ben Zobrist still in town, defense alignment can be configured in a lot of different ways for at least the next 2 – 3 years.
Like I stated in the Giants Payroll article, the new CBA has also reeled in the Dodgers spending $300 MIL on team payroll. The best thing that could happen for the Cubs is if Clayton Kershaw were to opt out of his deal beyond 2017.
That would either bring up the price for the Dodgers to sign him, or even give them the chance to sign the guy themselves. Yes. the Cubs have more flexibility than the Dodgers for at least a couple of offseasons.
Guaranteed Contracts/POS/AGE:
Jason Heyward – OF (28): With a grand sum of $184 MIL from 2016 – 2023 ( 8 years) this is a brutal deal – and the club is lucky to have already won a World Series in season 1 of this pact.
Heyward will make an astonishing $28.2 MIL for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Epstein at least frontloaded the contract to erase some of the burden by the time the young talent comes up for raises.
This deal is the 13th richest in history for a guy who carried a .631 OPS. in 2016 I tend to think that Heyward will be closer to his Career OPS of .761 the next few years with the pressure somewhat off him now.
Hit him 7th or 8th and let him work out his kinks. Defense is at least not a problem here with him winning a 4th Gold Glove.
This could end bad in 2017 – with Heyward riding pine for some of the year – if the club opts to use Zobrist, Schwarber and the tandem of Jon Jay and Almora JR. as the OF.
You also have to think that Joe Maddon won’t hesitate to find Willson Contreras reps as well.
Jon Lester – SP (33): Lester is in the 3rd year of a 7 YR/$165 MIL deal, and is set to reel in $25 MIL in 2017. The deal calls for $27.5 MIL in both 2018 and 2019, before scaling back to $20 MIL in 2020.
There is a 2021 Club Option as well. Details on that: $25M Team Option, $10M Buyout option guaranteed with 200 innings in 2020 or 400 IP in 2019-20.
With the Buyout that large, the man would have to fall from grace hard, to not get the Option. Although he would be nearly 40, $15 MIL extra will probably not be that bad.
Lester is worth every dollar the club has spent so far. It is hard to find playoff proven commodities on the open market.
Ben Zobrist – UT (36): Zobrist is the only player in the MLB who was won 2 straight World Series, as also being a member of the 2015 WS Champ KC Royals.
With the availability to play 5 defensive positions, Zobrist was the perfect compliment to the Cubs defensive roster in 2016 – although he played predominantly at 2B.
With the emergence of Baez in the playoffs, he will likely rove more around in 2017.
Zobrist earns $16.5 MIL in both 2017 and 2018 – before retreating back to $12.5 MIL in 2019. He will be in his Age 39 season at that point, and it may not look so hot at that point, but one can’t argue at his flexibility on the Roster providing so many options in the title run.
You can even say that his positional switching gives the club a better chance to hold onto Kyle Schwarber (instead of trading him in the American League).
John Lackey – SP (38): Lackey joined Lester, David Ross. and Epstein as guys who have won World Series in 2013 with Boston and the Cubs in 2016. He will make $16 MIL in 2017 before hitting Free Agency in 2018.
Lackey lugged 188.1 IP and gave the Cubs a 3.35 ERA in the process. It doesn’t even matter that he was being pulled in the early innings of the postseason.
Jake Arrieta – SP (31): Arrieta earns a tidy $15.6 MIL this year and will likely head out into Free Agency as a Scott Boras client. Unfortunately the man is going to be 32 heading into 2018.
I would not offer him higher than a 4 year deal at $20 – $21 MIL after, yet that will not get the job done when he hits the open market. Someone will pony up 5 YRs/$125 MIL for him, you watch.
Miguel Montero – C (34); Montero will make $14 MIL in 2017 – and I am not sure he will Catch more than about 60 games. Contreras at last is on an entry level contract to offset this salary. I am surprised the team has not ventured out to trade him.
Wade Davis – CL (32): It cost the club Jorge Soler and 4 years of Team Control, yet this was the way to go. $10 MIL for one year of Davis (who Closed for the 2015 wS Champion Royals) is smart business practice.
To acquire an elite Reliever such as this is a great move – when you consider the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants spent $86 MIL, $80 MIL and $62 MIL to sign Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon respectively.
Soler was going to be their 7th option as an OF. Davis, by the way, has a 0.83 ERA in 32.2 IP for his postseason career – and has carried a mid 1 ERA from 2014 – 2016 as a late inning Reliever – spanning 183 IP.
I would also think the club will extend the Qualifying Offer to him this winter ( $17.5 – $19 MIL range for one year), so they may even recover a 2nd or 3rd Draft Pick back all for just $10 MIL.
Jon Jay – OF (32): Has a 2017 contract or $8 MIL to play OF. He has a career .352 OBP, so could hit 1st or 9th for Maddon, working as an on base guy for the big boppers. Brilliant little move.
Anthony Rizzo – 1B (28): Rizzo will take him $7 MIL for 2017, coming after the heels of an ALL-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and top 4 MVP season in which he clubbed 30+ HRs and added 100 RBI for a 2nd straight season.
Rizzo also makes $7 MIL in 2018, $12 MIL in 2019, and two Team Options in a row call for $16.5 MIL and $2 MIL Buyouts for both 2020 and 2021.
It is contracts like this that setup championship caliber clubs for the organization.
Other valued deals that compare to it last decade or so. Paul Goldschmidt (5 YRs/$32.5 MIL), Madison Bumgarner (6 YRS/$35.6 MIL) and Andrew McCutchen ( 6 YRs/$51 MIL) that coincided with 4 straight top 5 NL MVP finishes.
Rizzo should challenge for an MVP every year of that remains on this deal.
Koji Uehara – RP (42): $6 MIL for one year seems like a lot or a guy of his age, but Uehara has plenty of playoff/Closer experience that is invaluable to a club like this. I would take it easy on him in the regular season and save the bullets for playoffs.
Hector Rondon – RP (29): $5.8 MIL for this former Closer is not a bad deal in 2017. Rondon has one more year left of Arbitration before hitting Free Agency in 2019. He has 77 Saves and a career ERA of 2.97.
Brian Duensing – SP/RP (33): Makes $2 MIL in 2017 and a Free Agent in 2018. A spot start here and extra Bullpen arm,
Justin Grimm – RP (29): Avoided Arbitration with a $1.8 MIL, has 2 more years left of Arbitration before he is a Free Agent.
Total Money for this Category for 2017: $157.5 MIL (13 Players)
Arbitration Eligible/POS/AGE
3rd year
Pedro Strop – RP (33): Is projected to to earn $5.5 MIL in Arbitration, and is a Free Agent in 2018.
Total Money for this Category for 2017: $5.5 MI: Total money is now $163 MIL
Pre-Arbitration – Entry Level Contracts:
Tommy La Stella – INF (28): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and a Free Agent in 2021.
Kyle Hendricks – SP (27): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and a Free Agent in 2021.
Kris Bryant – 3B Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2021 as a “Super 2” and a Free Agent in 2021. Bryant is only 25 Years old, and will have 4 years of Arbitration kick in starting next season.
Since the club opted to start his 2015 after the 10 days of service time, they wll retian his rights until the end of 2021. Bryant is on pace to end up recording Arbitration cash if he keeps his career trajectory.
The club should really look to extend him similar to the Mike Trout 6 YRs.$144 MIL deal he got.
Addison Russell – SS (23): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2021 as a “Super 2” and a Free Agent in 2022.
Comparisons to an extension similar to what he may get are: Jason Kipnis and Matt Carpenter (6 YRs and $52 MIL)
Matt Szczur – UT (28): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and a Free Agent in 2022.
Javier Baez – 2B/3B (24): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and a Free Agent in 2022.
Mike Montgomery – SP/RP (29): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and a Free Agent in 2022.
Kyle Schwarber – OF (24): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and a Free Agent in 2022.
Willson Contreras – C (25): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2022 – 2022 and a Free Agent in 2023.
Albert Almora JR – OF (23): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2022 – 2022 and a Free Agent in 2023.
Rob Zastryzny – RP (25) Is Arbitration Eligible from 2022 – 2022 and a Free Agent in 2023.
Total Money for this Category for 2017: $6.0 MIL MIL Toral Money Oveall – $169.0 MIL
Buyouts/Dead Money
Jason Hammel – $2 Million Buyout for 2017 that was agreed to in a gentleman’s deal. There is no dead money on he books past 2017 thus far.
Conclusions:
Despite the Heyward mistake of a deal, Epstein has done everything right. It will be a constant maneuvering of the incoming talent – to surround the plethora of young superstars the club has.
The Cubs have the availability to sign an elite pitcher in Free Agency in the year or 2, or trade for one. Beyond that, the team can’t make another top 50 ALL – Time Salary roster mistake.
The brass should also investigate early extensions for Bryant, Ruseell and Contreras immediately while they may afford to wait for Hendricks and Schwarber yet.
Some sort of guaranteed money to the budget would be wise
As for Arrieta, he is just too old – an unorthodox in order to grant him the cash he will seek. Epstein has to find creative ways to bring in a #1 or $2 beyond this campaign.
Chicago is fantastic shape financially to spend as much as it takes to ensure a dynasty in the next half-dozen years.
If I were in charge I would try to limit any big historic contracts to their own young superstars from this point forwards.
Also don’t be afraid to trade one of the premiere young offensive players for a quality Starter (#1 or #2 Starter)like Baez, Contreras or Almora.
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Top 5 Projected Save Leaders For The MLB In 2017

Aroldis Chapman appeared in 31 Games for the Yankees in 2016, holding 20 Saves and a crisp 2l01 ERA and WHIP of .867. This was done in just over 3 months. With the Yankees kickstarting him up from Spring Training, and without the aid of Andrew Miller as a fallback option, I expect the flamethrowing southpaw to have one of his best seasons ever out of the pen in 2017.
What a scene it will be at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW in he District today where Aroldis Chapman and Joe Maddon will reunite to celebrate their 2016 World Series Championship.
The big Lefty Cuban should be the favorite to win the 2017 Saves Title for the entire MLB. It is not that the Yankees will lead the league in wins – heck they may finish 4th in the AL East. I just believe that with the pop gun offense (say for Gary Sanchez) that the victories will all be closely contested.
I highly thought of Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel for this honor as well, however I like their managers to give them the odd day off ans Save Opportunities.
As of today, we have the Cubs nearing the 100 in plateau again, but just like the aforementioned players above, I think Maddon will use several guys to register Saves for Chicago in 2017 – like Wade Davis, Hector Rondon and Carl Edwards JR.
The reigning World Series Champs are also a lot more prone to blow out teams in a weakened National League where 6 clubs may lose 90 Games or more.
For the sake of preserving arms and fatigue, I would also not be surprised to see a few more SVO’s going to Andrew Miller in lieu of Cody Allen for the AL Pennant winners Cleveland.
(RELATED – Top 5 Home Runs Hitters Projected For The MLB in 2017) Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 7 – May
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
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MAY 15, 2016
Well not much has changed from this week as compared to last week. Detroit carried its free fall to 4th in the AL Central, the Yankees took 5 of 7 contests – and 7/10 in their homestand to save their season for now.
Miami and Philadelphia continue to stick around in the NL East, and the Giants and Dodgers finally had winning weeks to make the NL West Division Leader respectable.
Nobody looks scarier right now than the Boston Red Sox offense, who led by David Ortiz, Jackie Bradley JR. and Xander Bogaerts, plated 10 runs or more in 5 of the last 6 games, after going their 1st 32 games without doing so.
I am still awaiting for a Jays big winning streak. Houston has not played winning baseball since the 1st 6 weeks of the 2015 – and are tending to resemble the 2007 Tampa Bay Rays more than anything.
All offense and little pitching and defense.
There is nobody struggling worse than Logan Morrison, Russell Martin, Carlos Gomez and the consortium of LF’s in Anaheim! Recently bouncing out of this list are Jason Heyward and Chase Headley.
We are nearing the quarter pole and rapidly approaching Memorial Day Weekend, so it is not early anymore.
Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 6 May
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
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MAY 8, 2016
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
Rank – Team Record (Last week rank) (Up down) (W – L Record Last week)
(1) (1) Chicago Cubs (E) (24 – 6) : A real bad day for the Cubs is battling with a team like Washington on Sunday, to see whether or not they are going to sweep them or go 3 – 1 in a series.
Yep, they swept the 4 game set in a 13 inning walk off HR by Javier Baez – to cap a 7 – 0 week. They are on pace for about 129 wins right now.
Depth of the Starting Rotation is looking solid with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Hammel (Killer J’s) and Kyle Hendricks.
Hector Rondon is not even needed in most leads, with the team almost at a +100 differential through 30 games,
(2) (3) Chicago White Sox (+1) (22 – 10) ( 4 – 2): Chris Sale is 7 – 0, and may go Ron Guidry (circa 1979 on us). If anyone will win 25 games in a year, it would be him or Jake Arrieta.
Bob Welch won 27 games in 1990 for the A’s was the last guy to do that.
Has anyone noticed that Brett Lawrie has an OBP closer to .400 – than his usual .310 – .320?
Jose Quintana is finally receiving some run support. If Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu start hitting for BA, than look he the hell out. We could see a “Windy City” World Series for the 1st time since 1906. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Betting Specials: # Of No-Hitters, Will There Be A Guy With 50 Saves Or 16 Strikeouts In A Game For 2016?

Max Scherzer threw 2 no-hitters in 2015, and carried no – no’s into the late innings on a few other occasions. It seems every night there is a no – hit watch, so 4.5 on the over/under for the year seems like a big no-brainer to throw down some cabbage on. In 2015 alone, there were 7 no-hitters hurled out. At +115, it will pay you $1.15 for every dollar wagered
Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part Owner + Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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# Of No-Hitters For 2016 MLB Over/Under 4.5
Yes: +115 or No: -115
This is a resounding yes in my view. In 2015, Max Scherzer threw 2 no-no’s, and could have easily thrown 2 more. This was 2 of 7 doled out last campaign.
Mike Fiers, Cole Hamels, Jake Arrieta, Hisashi Iwakuma and Chris Heston also cemented their place in history by accomplishing the feat.
There are so many teams that are loaded with HR happy clubs that have plenty of swing and miss candidates like the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles. This also brings us to our next stat. Read the rest of this entry
Get Ready For The ‘Zombie Cardinals’ Version 11.0 In 2016: Cubs Are Favored In Division – But Gap Isn’t Huge

St. Louis has been an elite team in the National League for the last 15 years. While Chicago deserves to be favorite in the NL Central – and to win the World Series, never sleep on the St. Louis Cardinals. This team has 9 LCS Appearances since 2000, and did win 100 win games last campaign. Throw in a championship pedigree – and a brilliant youth movement, aided by a few cagey veterans, and the gap is just not that great compared with the Cubs. A huge effort by Adam Wainwright, with less than perfect years from Arrieta and Lester may be all it takes for the RedBirds to remain the kings of the NL Central.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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The Cubs have signed Dexter Fowler and traded away Chris Coghlan yesterday, and the Cards will have another week this winter where they are not the focus of the NL Central. It probably suits them just fine.
On the heels of a 100 win campaign during 2015, the gambling websites, PECOTA and FanGraphs are all projecting a massive regression for St. Louis in 2016. I am not one of those people.
I, for one, think the Cardinals are still to be reckoned with.
Switch out a potentially healthy Matt Holliday, coupled with full years from Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk – for the departed Jason Heyward to the Cubs, and I like that.
Throw in Adam Wainwright and Mike Leake, for the loss of Lance Lynn and John Lackey, and I still like that almost as even.
No doubt that Ben Zobrist was a good singing for the Chicago Cubs this offseason, but lets not throw St. Louis over the cliff just yet. Read the rest of this entry
Projected Top 5 Save Leaders In The American And National League For MLB 2016

Craig Kimbrel is still about as filthy as they come in nailing down games in the Majors. With 225 Saves and a 1.63 ERA in the last 5 years of his career, this 27 year old flamethrower brings his talents to Beantown and a top rated club. Last year was the 1st season he didn’t lead the National League after four consecutive years of leading the Senior Circuit. He still managed 39 Saves for a 74 win San Diego team. Since the Red Sox are going to be somewhere in the 90 win range, Kimbrel should at least be in the mid 40’s in Saves again for 2016.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Figuring out the Saves Leaders for the 2016 year is a lot easier to project than the Holds Leaders we did last week. Perhaps the easiest to discern is also the National League.
Since I projected 7 teams will win 90+ games in the Senior Circuit I have listed 5 teams with their Closer out of the fold there. I did however, leave out Hector Rondon and Mark Melancon.
I feel the Bucs may trade Melancon despite being in a position to make the playoffs. I also think the Cubs will blow out a ton of clubs this season in games, and therefore not need Rondon to lockdown a 3 run or under lead.
This is the same reason why I won’t label Roberto Osuna for the top 5 in the American League either. It is also not unfathomable to see the Jays go with Drew Storen to close down games.
I fully think that Craig Kimbrel will lead the entire Major Leagues for the Boston Red Sox as their Closer.
I may have gone with Aroldis Chapman on the list as well, however his pending suspension for his domestic violence call in should see him riding pine for at least 25 games. The New York Yankees should still lead the Junior Circuit for total team Saves.
Read the rest of this entry
Chicago Cubs State Of The Union For 2016

I absolutely love the signing of Zobrist for the Cubs. He is a quality veteran Utility guy for this young versatile club. Zobrist at 35 may have been pricey at the four year deal work, but they were able to trade away Starlin Castro as a result. Zobrist was vital to the Royals 2015 World Series Playoff run – and is Joe Maddon’s favorite all time player. His ability to switch all over the field will give guys like Schwarber, Baez, Soler and Russell all the availability to thrive with matchup maneuvers. The Cubs should not stop here though. They need to acquire a CF – and trade for a #3 starter at some point in the next 8 months.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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The Cubs finally threw their names in the ring on the Free Agent front this week by first signing ultra Utility man Ben Zobrist to a 4 YR/$56 MIL -on the heels of John Lackey to a 2 YR/$32 MIL deal.
The club also dealt Starlin Castro away for another team controllable pitcher in Adam Warren. These are significant steps in the right direction to start their run at the 2016 NL Central Division Title,
2015 was a nice breakout season – and the furthest the team has gone in 12 years however this franchise needs to spend as much money and continue to pursue an end to their century plus World Series drought.
There is no question all other 29 clubs would trade their offensive rosters for the value the young Chicago NL squad is going to put forth the next 5 years. Read the rest of this entry
The Top 5 Closers In The MLB For 2015

Rodney had 48 Saves, 0.777 WHIP and a 0.60 ERA in 2012, to place 5th in AL Cy Young Voting and was an ALL-Star. 2013 wasn’t as kind (although he did win the WBC) with a 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 1.335. The Mariners not armed with many better Options, brought in the then 37 Year Old, to a 2 YR/$14 MIL deal. Rodney did feature a career best 11.1/SO Per 9 IP rate in 2013, but he also walked 4.9 /Per IP as well. His work translated better in the AL West during 2014, where 2/3rds of his games are in Seattle, Los Angeles and Oakland. Rodney led the AL in both Saves (48) and Games Finished in 2014 (64) – while having a 2.85 ERA, but a high 1.342 WHIP. The latter is right near his career totals. His Walk Rate was 3.8, but that is less than his 4.4 clip for his lifetime. The man fashioned a 10.3/9 IP SO rate. I expect more of the same in 2015, with the M’s having one of the better clubs this campaign. There will be more arrows slings after games.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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With the fiasco that is the Detroit Tigers Bullpen. I look for these guys to roll through several different Closers in 2015. Joakim Soria would be the 1st one to attempt after Joe Nathan fails.
I also think the Yankees are going dually use Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller depending on the situational maneuvering matchups. New York will be hard pressed to make the playoffs, but I do think they will net one of the higher team Save totals.
The same could probably said for the Boston Red Sox. I think the near 40 year old Koji Uehara will have a tough time staying healthy for 100% of the opportunities, however he will be just outside the mark.
St. Louis may end up using someone different from Trevor Rosenthal, because we are due for them to change 9th inning guys. Adam Wainwright, Jason Isringhausen Jason Motte, Ryan Franklin and Edward Mujica have all seen the mantle over the last several years for the RedBirds.
Rosenthal has actually had one of the longer stints, however he really struggled at the end of the 2014 year (despite 45 Saves), and it carried over to the playoffs, where he featured 10 base runners, while only recording 11 outs. I am thinking he will not have as many chances in 2015 as well.
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