Free Agent Preview – Relievers
In the last of the free agent preview series, we will look at the relief pitchers available on the market this offseason
Relievers (*left-handed)
Mike Adams, 36 – $6M club option: 22 games, 18 2/3 IP, 2.89 ERA, 2.86 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 2.63 K/BB
Matt Albers, 32 – $3M club option: 8 games, 10 IP, 0.90 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 2.67 K/BB
Burke Badenhop, 32: 69 games, 69 2/3 IP, 2.33 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.05 K/BB
Andrew Bailey, 31: Did not pitch in 2014
Joe Beimel*, 38: 54 games, 43 2/3 IP, 1.85 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 1.92 K/BB
Ronald Belisario, 32: 61 games, 66 1/3 IP, 5.43 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 1.40 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 2.76 K/BB
Matt Belisle, 34: 64 games, 61 1/3 IP, 5.14 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.52 WHIP, 5.7 K/9, 2.05 K/BB
Heath Bell, 37: 13 games, 17 1/3 IP, 7.27 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.85 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.50 K/BB
Craig Breslow*, 34 – $4M club option: 59 games, 54 1/3 IP, 5.13 ERA, 5.33 FIP, 1.77 WHIP, 6.1 K/9, 1.32 K/BB
Sean Burnett*, 32 – $4.5M club option: 3 games, 0.2 IP, 13.50 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 1.50 WHIP, 0.0 K/9, 0.00 K/BB
Jared Burton, 34 – $3.6M club option: 67 games, 63 IP, 4.43 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 1.80 K/BB
Joba Chamberlain, 29: 67 games, 61 1/3 IP, 3.67 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 2.42 K/BB
Phil Coke*, 32: 60 games, 56 2/3 IP, 3.81 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.48 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 2.05 K/BB
Neal Cotts*, 35: 70 games, 64 2/3 IP, 4.18 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.74 K/BB
Jesse Crain, 34: Did not pitch in 2014
Scott Downs*, 39: 55 games, 38 IP, 4.97 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.47 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.25 K/BB
Zach Duke*, 32: 72 games, 56 2/3 IP, 2.54 ERA, 2.16 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 4.44 K/BB
Kyle Farnsworth, 39: 35 games, 28 2/3 IP, 4.40 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.64 WHIP, 5.7 K/9, 1.20 K/BB
Jason Frasor, 38: 60 games, 46 IP, 2.74 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.50 K/BB
Kyuji Fujikawa, 34 – $5.5M club option: 15 games, 13 IP, 4.85 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.85 WHIP, 11.8 K/9, 2.83 K/BB
Tom Gorzelanny*, 32: 22 games, 20 2/3 IP, 0.44 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 3.83 K/BB
Luke Gregerson, 31: 70 games, 70 IP, 2.06 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.87 K/BB
Jason Grilli, 38: 60 games, 52 2/3 IP, 4.10 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 2.84 K/BB
Matt Guerrier, 36: 27 games, 28 IP, 3.86 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.43 WHIP, 3.9 K/9, 1.20 K/BB
LaTroy Hawkins, 42 – $2.25 club option: 55 games, 53 1/3 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 2.46 K/BB
Luke Hochevar, 31: Did not pitch in 2014
Casey Janssen, 33: 48 games, 43 2/3 IP, 4.12 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.24 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 4.00 K/BB
Jim Johnson, 32: 52 games, 53 IP, 6.96 ERA, 5.03 FIP, 1.93 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 1.24 K/BB
Matt Lindstrom, 35: 33 games, 32 1/3 IP, 4.45 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.70 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 1.64 K/BB
Dustin McGowan, 32 – $4M club option: 52 games, 81 1/3 IP, 4.09 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 1.82 K/BB
Andrew Miller*, 30: 71 games, 61 IP, 2.07 ERA, 1.49 FIP, 0.80 WHIP, 14.9 K/9, 6.31 K/BB
Jason Motte, 33: 28 games, 24 2/3 IP, 4.74 ERA, 6.53 FIP, 1.54 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.89 K/BB
Pat Neshek, 34: 70 games, 66 1/3 IP, 1.49 ERA, 2.36 FIP, 0.72 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 7.56 K/BB
Darren O’Day, 32 – $4.25M club option: 66 games, 66 1/3 IP, 1.76 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 0.92 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 3.79 K/BB
Juan Carlos Oviedo, 33: 32 games, 31 2/3 IP, 3.69 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 1.63 K/BB
Joel Peralta, 39 – $2.5M club option: 67 games, 61 2/3 IP, 4.23 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 4.80 K/BB
Chris Perez, 29: 49 games, 46 1/3 IP, 4.27 ERA, 5.07 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.56 K/BB
J.J. Putz, 38: 18 games, 13 2/3 IP, 6.59 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.68 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 2.33 K/BB
David Robertson, 30: 61 games, 62 1/3 IP, 2.74 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, 4.18 K/BB
Francisco Rodriguez, 33: 68 games, 67 IP, 3.09 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 4.24 K/BB
Sergio Romo, 32: 63 games, 57 IP, 3.79 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 4.92 K/BB
Sergio Santos, 31 – $6M club option: 26 games, 21 IP, 8.57 ERA, 6.03 FIP, 2.19 WHIP, 12.4 K/9, 1.61 K/BB
Joakim Soria, 30 – $7M club option: 46 games, 42 1/3 IP, 3.40 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 7.83 K/BB
Rafael Soriano, 35 – $14M club option: 63 games, 61 IP, 3.25 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 3.11 K/BB
Huston Street, 31 – $7M club option: 60 games, 58 1/3 IP, 1.39 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 0.96 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 4.00 K/BB
Joe Thatcher*, 33: 50 games, 28 2/3 IP, 3.45 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 6.50 K/BB
Koji Uehara, 40: 63 games, 63 1/3 IP, 2.56 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 0.93 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 9.88 K/BB
Jose Veras, 34: 44 games, 44 IP, 3.89 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 1.96 K/BB
Brian Wilson, 33 – $9M player option: 58 games, 46 2/3 IP, 4.82 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.65 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 1.86 K/BB
Jamey Wright, 40: 60 games, 69 IP, 4.30 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 1.96 K/BB
The Braves have a very obvious need for a left-handed relief pitcher, and there are some good candidates in the market this year. Miller is the obvious top dog in the lefty market, but he could see over $5M annually in a 3-4 year deal without much effort, and he could even see nearly $10M annually, according to some early estimates. After Miller, Duke is the one who I would want to pursue hardest. He had been an All-Star as a starter before moving to the bullpen this season, and he took to the ole incredibly well, though that has flown under the radar mostly this season. That lack of notice could lead to Duke being fairly affordable on the market. His teammate, Gorzelanny has also been excellent in the Brewers bullpen. Signing one of the two ex-Brewers should be a high priority for the Braves.
Beyond that, there are always guys on the market that could help the team. Two that I’d take a long look at would be Luke Hochevar, returning from Tommy John surgery, but like Duke, a former starter that had seen incredible success in 2013 after moving to the bullpen, and Darren O’Day, who has excelled in late innings for years with Baltimore without ever really hitting the limelight. It’d be interesting to see what the reports on Santos and Bailey are this offseason as they’re former closers who have struggled to return to the field successfully. If they’d take a low incentive-based deal, either could be a good pick up.