If he continues this season on a good path, I'm expecting Hicks next contract to be something like 2/16 or 3/24.
He probably will, which is why I have no problem bidding him farewell. That's pissing money away on a mediocre reliever who's only real talent is lighting up the gun.
The Dodgers top 6 relievers (by appearances) don't feature a single player making more than $2MM this year. If the Cardinals can't cobble together a decent bullpen with prospects, cast offs, and lottery tickets picked up in trades - then we need different guys making the decisions. They absolutely shouldn't be wasting good money on the Jordan Hicks' of the baseball world.
If he continues this season on a good path, I'm expecting Hicks next contract to be something like 2/16 or 3/24.
He probably will, which is why I have no problem bidding him farewell. That's pissing money away on a mediocre reliever who's only real talent is lighting up the gun.
The Dodgers top 6 relievers (by appearances) don't feature a single player making more than $2MM this year. If the Cardinals can't cobble together a decent bullpen with prospects, cast offs, and lottery tickets picked up in trades - then we need different guys making the decisions. They absolutely shouldn't be wasting good money on the Jordan Hicks' of the baseball world.
If he continues this season on a good path, I'm expecting Hicks next contract to be something like 2/16 or 3/24.
He probably will, which is why I have no problem bidding him farewell. That's pissing money away on a mediocre reliever who's only real talent is lighting up the gun.
The Dodgers top 6 relievers (by appearances) don't feature a single player making more than $2MM this year. If the Cardinals can't cobble together a decent bullpen with prospects, cast offs, and lottery tickets picked up in trades - then we need different guys making the decisions. They absolutely shouldn't be wasting good money on the Jordan Hicks' of the baseball world.
True, but the Dodgers also don't have a particular good bullpen either (18th in ERA). It's really not easy to put together a good bullpen without being good at developing pitchers, which the Cardinals haven't been in years. Cardinals need to correct their development process but that'll take a couple years. Until then, they're probably going to have to overpay for mediocrity.
Hicks is only having a good season if you ignore that he was unusable for weeks and a key factor in the team starting 10-24. That was May. Short memories.
Hicks is only having a good season if you ignore that he was unusable for weeks and a key factor in the team starting 10-24. That was May. Short memories.
Arenado was atrocious in April as was the majority of the team aside from Montgomery.
Its important to remember, if we're still talking about the prospect return, in regards to Hicks's worth that whatever team he goes to very likely wont have him closing. We ask that he, and his 5 BB per 9, close out games for a bottom feeding club. He is just going to be another mid-game reliever for a true contender that has a closer that doesnt walk the world. They can mitigate his flaws because the other facets of their game are strong enough to carry the load. [expletive], for a contender with a pen full of trusted arms, you can make Hicks your longman. The point is, that type of team can get Jordan for his fastball, bring him out when you're up 4-5 runs, and not worry about the walks.
Its important to remember, if we're still talking about the prospect return, in regards to Hicks's worth that whatever team he goes to very likely wont have him closing. We ask that he, and his 5 BB per 9, close out games for a bottom feeding club. He is just going to be another mid-game reliever for a true contender that has a closer that doesnt walk the world. They can mitigate his flaws because the other facets of their game are strong enough to carry the load. [expletive], for a contender with a pen full of trusted arms, you can make Hicks your longman. The point is, that type of team can get Jordan for his fastball, bring him out when you're up 4-5 runs, and not worry about the walks.
I could see him closing for AZ. They have had a revolving door of closers.
Trevor Rosenthal had a good 3 year run from 13-15.
Rosenthal was pretty poor in 2014 for a reliever/closer. 5.4 BB/9, 1.408 WHIP.
Hence why I am citing Brebbia as the answer to your question.
Maybe, and even he would probably be categorized as “serviceable” as relievers go. Not someone I would rush to extend his contract.
He's been fine in SF in 2022 and this year.
He doesn't have as much upside as someone like Hicks does who can throw 100+ consistently but has better control and has been fairly durable (including him having Tommy John).
Guys like Brebbia are still important as you need someone who can go out consistently to help a pitching staff finish all 9 innings.
My approach to constructing a bullpen would be as follows:
-1 premier reliever
-Combination of guys on minor league or 1 year deals who have been serviceable recently or have underlying metrics that show they can be useful (think along the lines of guys like Belisle, Neshek, Villanueva)
-Pitchers who have endurance issues in the minors but can strike out guys
-AAAA caliber guys who aren't really good enough to start but do a good job from the BP
I agree with this approach but you have to be super flexible and not lock guys into roles (7th inning guy, 8th inning guy, 9th inning guy, etc). Or you have to be willing to shift these roles quickly. Because with this approach you will have a lot of question marks. With this approach you ride whoever is hot and quickly ditch whoever flops. This also means you need to have a lot of these arms since some will flop. Need the ability to stash some at AAA or the DL. But since the types of pitcher were are describing are cheap, cost is not a factor. Roster spots on the 40 man could be the issue though.
