2083 Offseason Preview: Free Agents, Part Five: Pitchers
Al Vincent
Staff Writer
Starting Pitchers:
A pair of former Tucson pitchers lead the field this offseason. Scott Council enjoyed a breakout season last year, going 21-8 with a 3.29 ERA, 188 strikeouts, and a 1.18 WHIP. The 30 year old Council has basically no weaknesses to his game.
Meanwhile, 34 year old Cleveland Lauria is coming off of a bit of down season. Lauria was 19-15 with a 4.16 ERA, 213 strikeouts, and 1.02 WHIP. His career ERA and WHIP are 3.99 and 1.01, respectively. Lauria is two wins away from 200 for his career.
What kind of deal Vicente Caruso gets should be interesting. On the one hand, the former Phoenix pitcher is 37 years old, an injury risk, and has an okay, but hardly exceptional career ERA of 4.28. On the other hand, he is coming off of the best season of his career. It was a season that saw him win 17 games with a 2.96 ERA, 202 strikeouts, and 0.99 WHIP. Will teams view last season as somewhat of a fluke and shy away from giving him a big contract? Or will a team close to a championship roll the dice, give him a bunch of money, and hope that he can repeat those numbers and lead them to glory?
There are a few other mildly interesting names among the starting pitchers. George Lasseter seems to have the raw talent to be a good starter, but his career ERA of 5.66 doesn't show that. Last year, while with San Diego and Hartford, the 31 year old pitcher posted a 5.17 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP while striking out 193 batters.
Former Sacramento pitcher George Molina has 205 career wins, a respectable 4.07 career ERA, and a solid 1.28 career WHIP. At 37 years of age, though, one has to wonder how much he has left. Last season, he posted an ERA of 5.14 and a WHIP of 1.51. Was that the beginning of the end for him?
28 year old Benjamin Guertin has struggled to keep a spot in the rotation, despite putting up decent numbers. For his career, Guertin has an ERA of 4.67 and a WHIP of 1.48. Last year, however, Portland used him exclusively out of the bullpen. He made 25 appearances, all in relief, and had an ERA of 4.11 and a WHIP of 1.76. A team looking for a cheap option at the back of the rotation might be pleasantly surprised.
In truth, the Broncos won't be looking at starting pitchers this offseason. With Ray Lockridge, Kenny Pillsbury, Robert McNett, Christopher Kirk, and George Buentello, plus James Myatt down at AAA, John Mounts feels that he has put together a rotation that rivals any team in the league in terms of both quality and depth. Additionally, this group of pitchers is relatively young, so it should be a few years before Mounts has to think about replacing any of them.
Relievers:
There aren't many exceptional relievers on the market this offseason, but 33 year old Mitchell Larson might be one of the better ones. Larson, formerly of Charlotte, made 54 appearances last season, saved 29 games(for a team that only won 65), posted an ERA of 3.30, and had a 1.13 WHIP.
Former Green Bay reliever Michael Leto is somewhat erratic- see his 4.45 ERA last season- but the 30 year old still saved 30 games and had a respectable 1.25 WHIP.
Victor Jones is death to left-handed hitters, and generally keeps the ball in the park. However, the 29 year old, ex-Harrisburg reliever does struggle against right-handed hitters. He posted a 4.36 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP in 64 games last year.
33 year old Todd Carpenter managed a 4.81 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP in 64 games last year for New Jersey and Portland.
And surprisingly, former Bronco Steven Andrade might be one of the more attractive relievers available this offseason, even at the age of 37. Andrade had a 5.62 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in 30 games last year for Denver.
Given the scarcity of quality relievers in free agency, it is highly unlikely that Mounts commits any of his resources to any of these pitchers. Instead, if the Broncos are looking for relief pitchers, it is likely that they turn to internal options such as Larry Waltz and Omar Lopez.
And that completes the free agency preview. Things are about get very exciting for Denver as they attempt to fill several openings this offseason: backup catcher, 2B, 3B, DH, and maybe middle relief. Will they sign any free agents? Make some trades? Gamble with internal options? Stay tuned!