- He's a devastating pitcher whenever he can take the mound in good form.
- Never threw 120 innings in a season in the minors, nor 200 in the bigs
- gets waylaid by injuries, be they minor or major, that somehow do not affect his ability as a pitcher.
- is a free agent in 2012 and maybe the best starter available at the trade deadline, but may not have much value.
I keep getting this nagging feeling that we should make him into a closer. It's not like his arsenal is a lot different than Sasaki's (spike-curve/low 90s FB vs. forkball/low-90s FB), except Erik has the control of his pitches that Sasaki never really did.
I would feel better about Bedard in the closer role instead of League, and League might have more trade value as an All-Star near the league lead in saves than Bedard could with his knee injury and shoulder history.
You'd need Erik's buy-in. He'd have to accept that getting a multi-year contract to start for the $12 mil+ per year his talent deserves is not gonna happen because he can't stay healthy as a starter.
But of my apparent options (trade Erik for low-to-moderate return, keep Erik as a pretty expensive starter and continue the log-jam, let Erik pitch out the year and then depart for nothing) I'm starting to like option D:
Trade League for a hitter at C/3B/LF/DH (or the pieces to get such) and install Erik as the closer for the 2nd half. Announce you're extending him and get a contract that rewards for innings pitched OR games finished, and then see where he fits.
Maybe Jack can find other options, and get a huge haul for Erik or re-sign him cheaply. But League's gonna cost us 5+ mil next year anyway if he keeps racking up saves. I'd rather pay Erik instead for the same job. He's got the right mentality - question is whether he can do the job - or wants to.
But Felix, Pineda, Fister, Vargas and Beavan starting, with Hultzen and Paxton angling for a starting job in 2013, backed by Bedard as a closer in the Smoltz-vein?
Ooooof. Bring me some hitters and call me a champion. Somebody ask Bedard if he minds, considering it would allow him to stay here and might extend his career a few years.
The ring it might put on his finger could be another bonus.
~G
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