Joba, Phil, And The Cost Of Relieving - Gary Armida's Blog

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Joba, Phil, And The Cost Of Relieving Stuck

Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:52 AM.

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It�s always easy to say that a pitcher belongs in the bullpen. We see it when a pitcher heads to the bullpen that he throws harder. His strikeouts rise. He doesn�t have to use that third pitch, the one that hurts him as a starter. He doesn�t have to go through the lineup more than once. There is value in that.

This spring will see a dominant reliever try to make the transition to being a starting pitcher. Aroldis Chapman, the Reds� dominant closer of 2012, will enter the spring as a starting pitching candidate. After dominating the competition to the tune of a 1.51 ERA and a 15.6 K/9 rate, Chapman will try to make the transition to the rotation. The reasons for the Reds are numerous. The simple one is this: 180 to 200 high quality innings are more valuable than 70 dominant ones. If Chapman can make the successful transition to the rotation, the Reds are getting maximum value from a quality pitcher.

This transition has been done many times throughout Major League Baseball. Most recently, CJ Wilson made the move to the rotation after spending most of his career working out of the bullpen. Wilson has been an above average starter since moving into the rotation. After two successful seasons, he received a five year, $77.5 million deal from the Los Angeles Angels.

It is easy to say that Chapman belongs in the bullpen. He�s so dominant and his arsenal seems better suited for the bullpen. Last season, two dominant relievers of 2011 tried to transition to the rotation. Daniel Bard was in the Minor Leagues by midseason because of the awful results as a starter. Neftali Feliz had Tommy John Surgery. Why would the Reds risk the health or the potentially dominant career of Chapman when they already have a stocked rotation? For a team, the answer goes back to the value of 180 to 200 innings.

Why would a pitcher who has been dominant, receives accolades for his dominance, and is regarded as one of the best relievers in the sport want to try to become a starting pitcher?

Maybe they have looked to New York and have seen the cases of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.

Both Hughes and Chamberlain came up to the Major Leagues during the 2007 season. Both were marked as future starters. Chamberlain electrified New York working out of the bullpen in 2007. He was so dominant--Aroldis Chapman dominant--that there was debate about him replacing Mariano Rivera. But, the Yankees held to the idea of keeping Chamberlain as a starting pitcher. As has been widely covered, the grossly mishandled Chamberlain, putting a bizarre set of rules in place that hampered his development as a starting pitcher. In 43 starts as a starter, Chamberlain compiled a 12-7 record with a 4.13 ERA in 221.1 innings. He gave up 227 hits and struck out 206 batters. The results are somewhat skewed by the Yankees� execution of his innings limit, but Chamberlain did post slightly better than league average results. He lost a spring training battle to Phil Hughes for the fifth starter job before the 2010 season and was sent to the bullpen rather than to the Minor Leagues to continue his development. He hasn�t started a game since and has also undergone Tommy John Surgery. He projects to be a key member of the 2013 Yankees bullpen.

Phil Hughes was always thought of as a starting pitcher and his first 28 Major League appearances (over three years) were as a starter. But, he experienced injury problems and was brought back as a reliever for 44 appearances in 2009. He became a key member of the bullpen, posting a 1.44 ERA and 11.44 K/9 rate in 51.1 innings of relief work. There was talk that Hughes should remain in the bullpen because of his injury history and his dominant relief work. But, the Yankees gave Hughes the opportunity to win a rotation spot before the 2010 season, which he won. Other than five relief appearances at the end of the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Hughes hasn�t been a reliever. He won 18 games in 2010, while posting a 4.19 ERA in 176.1 innings. He struggled with injuries during the 2011 season, but bounced back to win 16 games and post a 4.23 ERA in 191.1 innings.

Both Chamberlain and Hughes entered this winter in their last year of arbitration. They will both be free agents next winter. Both settled on a one year contract with the Yankees to avoid going to arbitration. Chamberlain received a $1.875 million contract. It is a slight raise from the $1.6 million he made last year. Phil Hughes agreed to a one year $7.15 million deal, a healthy raise from the $3.2 million he made last season.

Guess who wishes he was still a starting pitcher?

Both Hughes and Chamberlain have missed significant time due to injuries. Both have a body of work that has shown them to be above average relievers and slightly better than league average starters. But, Hughes is labeled a started and has worked as a starter for the past three years. Chamberlain is now a reliever. Hughes is on a completely different pay scale despite posting similar results as a starter that Chamberlain did during his limited run as a starter.

Teams value starting pitchers because of the innings they throw, but to the player that value is shown in the paycheck. That difference in paycheck is wide. It�s so wide that is should make one of the most dominant closers want to be a starter. It is why someone like Aroldis Chapman will always want to be a starting pitcher and why he will work as such in the spring. If he can find success, he will be valued more.

Instead of the Joba Rules or the debate of whether or not he should be a starting pitcher, perhaps Joba Chamberlain�s most enduring lesson is the result of the decision the Yankees made to put him back in the bullpen.

All he has to do is look at Phil Hughes� paycheck.

Gary Armida is a staff writer for Operation Sports. He also writes more baseball at fullcountpitch.com. Join the discussion on twitter @garyarmida

Comments

# 1 gigadkc @ Jan 18

lol, you never mentioned Joba's shoulder injury from 2008 that very likely ended his career as a starter. That's what I call good journalism

# 2 Gary Armida @ Jan 18

Yes, there was that injury in Texas, but even though Cashman said the injury left him a different pitcher and statistically he did lose 2.5 MPH on his fastball, they still let him compete with Hughes for the rotation spot the following Spring. If it damn near ruined his career, he wouldn't have been competing for a rotation spot 6 months later.

I felt it was more important to mention the TJ surgery when it came to him. Either way, my point was about valuing perceived starters differently. Hughes has had his own injuries but gets 7 million while Joba doesn't even get 2.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Truly appreciated.