Maybe you have not heard this earlier than, however aid pitching is risky. Reliever efficiency typically fluctuates wildly from yr to yr. At occasions, that results in speedy ascensions from obscurity to stardom for gamers. Look no additional than final yr’s three-year, $33MM deal for Robert Stephenson with the Angels. He’d been designated for project lower than a calendar yr prior however was so dominant in 42 video games with the Rays that the Angels ponied up that weighty three-year deal.
Stephenson is only one of many cases of this, in fact. Liam Hendriks had been designated for project by 4 completely different groups earlier than breaking out with the A’s. Actually, Oakland was one of many 4 groups who’d chosen to DFA him. He went unclaimed on waivers. Drew Pomeranz had been bounced from the Giants’ rotation in 2019 and was probably on the cusp of being minimize unfastened himself when a stretch of simply 4 aid appearances prompted the Brewers to surrender a official infield prospect (Mauricio Dubon) to amass him in a commerce. Pomeranz dominated for Milwaukee for 2 extra months and went on to ink a four-year, $34MM deal in free company.
Reliever fortunes can flip shortly, and the upcoming free agent class presents the newest instance. It is at all times enjoyable to marvel who is perhaps the following Hendriks, Pomeranz or Stephenson — and on this occasion, it is much more enjoyable as a result of the thrill title in the marketplace was traded for a kind of very relievers only a few years again.
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