Phillies sign Contreras

[indycub]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4849646

Jose Contreras has signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, a source confirmed for ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas. The Chicago Cubs expressed interest in Contreras and the pitcher was expected to sign with either the Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals before striking a deal with Philadelphia.

 

1 year deal. No cash specified yet

 

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

YES!!!!!!!!! The Cubs were all over this guy and were near signing him. This is a great thing. Thanks Philly for your pitcher obsession!

 

What we missed out on:

 

2009 season:

5-13, 5.42 ERA

 

Can't believe we got "out-jim-hendryd". That's gotta be a first.

[inari]

The Cubs were pursuing him?

[Sammy Sofa]

Can't believe we got "out-jim-hendryd". That's gotta be a first.

 

I hate to break it to you but teams sign bad pitchers all the time.

[Cubswin11]

The Cubs were pursuing him?

Early in the offseason we were rumored to have "interest," nothing more ever came out after the initial report so it was probably minimal/passing thought by Hendry at best.

[TruffleShuffle]

the phillies have a "pitcher obsession"? what does this even mean

[Transmogrified Tiger]

the phillies have a "pitcher obsession"? what does this even mean

 

 

They've got pitchers taking up like half their roster.

[BCVM22]

Let's take a look at some reasons why Contreras could have success in the back end of a bullpen:

 

• He did it last year. After being traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Colorado Rockies last year in late August, Contreras pitched in five games out of the bullpen. In those five games, he had a 1.23 ERA while striking out 7 in 7 1/3 innings. Most impressively, Contreras -- free of the burden of having to save up his energy for the late innings -- was hitting 96-97 mph with his fastball.

 

• During his starts last year, Contreras was always most effective in the early innings. Through pitches 1-25 of an outing, Contreras held opponents to a .247 batting average, .299 OBP and .616 OPS in 160 plate appearances. His strikeout-to-walk ratio during this first 25 pitches was 3.10. In comparison, Jose Valverde -- considered to be the best free agent closer on the market -- had a 2.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio for the season. As Contreras threw more pitches, his strikeout-to-walk ratio dwindled to 2.06 through pitches 26-50, 2.00 through pitches 51-75 and just 1.30 through pitches 76-100. As he grew tired, opponents feasted. By pitches 76-100, opponents hit .318 against Contreras with a gaudy .917 OPS.

 

• The more hitters he saw, the better they did against him. The first time against a batting order, Contreras held hitters to a .264 batting average with a .690 OPS. By the third plate appearance against him, hitters mashed Contreras for a .336 average and .909 OPS.

 

These stats indicate that Contreras' best option would be to continue his career as a one-inning reliever. A team such as Tampa Bay -- where Contreras lives in the offseason -- could do worse than signing Contreras to an incentive-laden deal to pitch in the late innings.

 

This predates the signing by a few days, obviously, but I think the point is valid, particularly since the Phillies have confirmed they will use him as a bullpen piece.

[TruffleShuffle]

the phillies have a "pitcher obsession"? what does this even mean

 

 

They've got pitchers taking up like half their roster.

 

as do most teams in baseball

[17 Seconds]

the phillies have a "pitcher obsession"? what does this even mean

 

 

They've got pitchers taking up like half their roster.

 

as do most teams in baseball

 

woosh?

[TruffleShuffle]

the phillies have a "pitcher obsession"? what does this even mean

 

 

They've got pitchers taking up like half their roster.

 

as do most teams in baseball

 

woosh?

 

no

[Transmogrified Tiger]

yep