The Phillies avoided arbitration with reliever Chad Durbin on Wednesday, signing him to a one year, $1.635 deal.
For Durbin, a little over $1.5 million is reasonable. Durbin made just $900,000 in 2008, but his due to his performance, he deserved a raise. Giving Durbin too much money would not make much sense since 2008 was a career year for Durbin. He still has a high career ERA over 5. In 87.2 IP, Durbin was 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA during the 2008 season. The deal was just right. Not to high, not to low.
Toward the end of the season, Durbin faced a "dead arm" period and started to struggle. He managed to pitch through it.
The Phillies signed all their arbitration eligible players but one: Ryan Howard, who is still pushing for $18 million.
Prince Fielder is a similar player to Howard. Both have extreme power. The Milwaukee Brewers are close to signing the arbitration eligible Fielder to a 2 year deal that would be worth at least $18 million. Hear that Howard? Fielder is getting two years out of $18M.
Cole Hamels threw 3,914
pitches in 2008, leading the Majors. CC Sabathia, who was the 2007 leader (3,892), threw 3,912 pitches, finishing second. Brett Myers (3,718) was third. Joe Blanton (3,547) was 11th. The number of pitches includes the postseason, and for Myers, Minor Leagues.
Throwing as many pitches as these guys, it increases risk of
injury. 10 out of 18 pitchers who reached the 3,400 pitch mark in 2007 had a serious injury in 2008.
Remember Freddy Garcia? Remember the hype around him when the Phillies got him?Remember how he made just 7 starts with the Phillies in 2007? Remember his ERA was over 5 in those starts? Remember how the Phillies gave him $10 million for one year?
Well, both New York teams are interested in him. The Mets and Yankees are the top front runners for him.
The Texas Rangers are close to signing Omar Vizquel. He agreed to a Minor League contract with a base salary of $1 million. The 41 year old is an 11 time Gold Glove Winner, and has played the most games at shortstop than anybody in MLB history.
Jeff Kent officially announced his retirement today. In 17 Major League seasons, Kent batted .290 with 377 homeruns. He had a career OPS of .856.
The Phillies reportedly agreed to a deal with utility infielder Juan Castro, pending a physical. The deal is for one year with a club option for 2011. The deal might not be officially announced until next week.
