Remember Brandon Beachy? Yeah, that guy! He burst onto the MLB scene in 2011 with the Atlanta Braves and continued that success into 2012 only to see his career derailed by a torn UCL and Tommy John surgery. Beachy is a reminder that not all TJ's have happy endings. He came back but then suffered a recurrence and had to have a second surgery, which is generally the end of the road for most pitchers. The Dodgers signed him in 2015 but he never got traction with them due to recurring elbow tendonitis. He has not pitched in the major leagues since 2015.
He pitched 12 effective innings in indy ball last year. We all know how much Farhan Zaidi likes to stockpile pitchers with injury histories. There is also the Dodgers connection. I can't seem to find the reference now, but I think I read about him working out with Driveline Baseball. The Giants recently hired one of the main guys from that outfit, so there may be a connection there too.
Everybody seems to be comparing Beachy to Ryan Vogelsong except Beachy has no previous connection to the Giants. Still, it would be a great story if Beachy came back to pitch successfully at age 32 after pitching just 8 MLB innings since 2013 and none since 2015. Oh, and the deal is a minor league deal undoubtedly with an invitation to spring training although I haven not seen any reference to that part of the deal.
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There isn't often a sure win for teams in free agency or trades.
ReplyDeleteThey win a few, they break even some, they also lose.
Zaidi looks like he's into minimizing loses while looking for potential breakouts. He won't win them all, but his losses will be small, most of his wins average, but waiting for the winner.
It isn't exciting for fans. But there won't be the big disappointments we've suffered since the great victory of 2014, the double down in the collapse of 2016, and the misadventures trying to stay relevant.
The Longoria trade is often beaten up in this blog (not by Doc) and blamed for the miserable 2018.
This is wrong: his ~2 WAR, in payroll cost for 2018 was ~$10M (with TB's $2M), not a bargain, but not a killer. He could cost a more each year, but he could push a 3 WAR if healthy, maybe better. It depends on where he is on the inevitable age decline.
The fact is: the Giants had a Black Hole at 3rd and no one to fill it. A dice roll with Longoria, a 50-50 result so far. Arroyo wouldn't have been as good.And there isn't a better bet close.
3rd is only a problem if the rest of the C-IF languishes. It's wrong to put the onus on Longoria.
3 of the 5 (C-IF) must achieve more than their average year, hope the SPs hold up, the OF at least plays good D and averages a major league average (2 WAR each).
I am optimistic: there have been no risky bet-the-farm gambits. Put the onus on the guys getting the BIG BUCKS: they need to perform.
If they don't, the disappointment won't be for throwing good money after bad, it's for the highly paid IFers not earning their pay.