Looking Back On Baseball MTJAG's Offseason Free Agent Bargains

Even though he wasn't covered on this blog, Rich Hill has been the ultimate free-agent bargain/Carlos Osorio, AP

During the off-season, Baseball MTJAG wrote up three articles on potential free-agent bargains, categorized in three groups: The Solartes (career minor-leaguers), The Villanuevas (underrated pieces), and The Madsons (injured or rehabbing players). In this article, we will check on these players and see if they have provided any value for their respective organizations.

Part 1

Erik Cordier, RHP (video)
Signed with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan, has 14 strikeouts in 12 innings but with a 4.50 ERA and 8.2 BB/9.
Juan Gonzalez, RHP
Joined the Cardinals organization on a minor league deal, has a 2.66 ERA and 11.1 K/9 for AAA Memphis. Despite not being on the 40-man roster, he could be in line for a call-up soon if the middle relievers struggle in St. Louis.
Andrew Barbosa, LHP
Signed with the Mets, back in AA as a 28 year old despite good numbers. Has been very good in AA Binghamton and had a start in AAA, throwing 5 innings of 1-run ball with 6 strikeouts and no walks. Being a hard-throwing big lefty, its puzzling why he hasn't been challenged more.
Robert Zarate, LHP
Has been injured all year for AAA Indianapolis of the Pirates organization. Displayed good stuff in Spring Training despite being hit hard.
Conner Crumbliss, 2B/OF (video)
Listed as inactive on milb.com, probably retired.
Tommy Field, INF (video)
Released by the Tigers after a slow start in AAA, but signed on with Minnesota and is hitting well in AAA Rochester, batting .281/.324/.469, should get a call-up soon on a struggling Minnesota club.
Destin Hood, OF (video)
Still a toolshed but development has stagnated. Mashed a team-leading 8 homers for AAA New Orleans of the Marlins organization, with 5 stolen bases as well. Plate discipline still needs work, but with the lack of minor league outfield options he might be the next man up should any Marlin outfielders get hurt.

Part 2

Ryan Webb, RHP (video)
Has a 3.31 ERA for the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen. Settling in as the middle reliever, but with a low 5.5 K/9. Good production for the cost.
Cesar Ramos, LHP (video)
Solid swingman for the Rangers thus far with a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings. Carries a 5.33 FIP though, so might be due for regression
Domonic Brown, OF
Scuffling away in AAA Buffalo. May never reach the potential he once had.
Justin Ruggiano, OF (video)
Went 1-4 with a double on April 6, his only major league game of the year. Not doing terrifically well in AAA Round Rock either.
George Kottaras, C (video) 
Batting .161 for AAA Sacramento. Solid defensively, but behind Posey, Brown and Susac on the depth chart.

Part 3

Bobby Parnell, RHP
Bullet Bob pitched well in AAA and has been called up by the Tigers to save their mess of a bullpen. Averaged 94.2 mph on his fastball in his one inning of major league work. Not quite back to his flamethrower status yet, but a major improvement from last year.
Jeff Beliveau, LHP (video)
Still recovering from injury, has struck out 16 in 10.2 rehab innings this year.
Cliff Lee, LHP
Not playing this season, may be retired.
Cory Luebke, LHP
Made the team after a strong showing in spring training, but sent down after a rough start (6 ER, 5 BB in 3.2 innings). Sent down to AAA and has a 14.2 K/9 and 29/3 K/BB ratio. Has received a well-deserved call up again, and will definitely try to pitch better than his first time around.
Carlos Quentin, OF (video)
Didn't make Opening Day roster out of Spring Training and decided to not play.

Overall, this years free agent class did not produce many value signings outside of the Rich Hill deal with Oakland, and most of the players on this list have struggled so far. One player to note is Robbie Grossman, the last man cut from this list, and he has hit .327/.441/.527 in 15 games for the Twins. The gaudy numbers likely won't keep up, but he will provide some plate discipline (10 BB/11 Ks) and a little pop as well. From these writeups, Gonzalez, Field, and perhaps Hood seem like possible callups soon, and Webb and Ramos have been serviceable for their respective teams. Parnell and Luebke have both shown flashes of their pre-injury selves and will try to build on them going forward. While we didn't discover the next Jose Quintana star out of nowhere, overall this list of players has produced decent value for their low costs.

The Kenta Maeda Comparison

Los Angeles Dodgers/CBS Sports

Kenta Maeda, the Japanese ace who was posted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, recently signed an 8-year contract with the Dodgers in hopes of taking his talents to the States. While many Dodger fans are hoping he becomes the second coming of Yu Darvish or Masahiro Tanaka, the small right-hander does not come with same kind of hype, pure stuff, or gaudy numbers that the other two posted in the NPB, the highest level of pro ball in Japan. Maeda throws a low-90's fastball, to go with a cutter, sinker, slider, curve and changeup, and according to this article by Fangraphs, his off-speed stuff could very well be some of the best in baseball. It compares the movement on his slider to Giants reliever Sergio Romo, who relies on the slider as his bread and butter for getting K's, and the changeup to Phillies starter Aaron Nola, a young up-and-comer whose changeup is his best pitch. While many other sources will continue throwing out big name comps for the unknown commodity of Kenta Maeda, we will focus on another small right-handed starter as the ultimate comparison: Cardinals right hander Mike Leake.

Standing in at 6'0'', 154 lbs, Maeda's size does not exactly strike fear in opposing batters, neither does he tower over his teammates on the mound. But as the game of baseball shows, you don't need to be a certain height or weight to succeed, and a prime example is the undersized Mike Leake, who is just 5'10'' 190 lbs himself. Without very much height, it is difficult to generate elite velocity, and many of the shorter right handed pitchers succeed off of their wide pitch arsenal, as Leake and Maeda both throw 6 different pitches. Leake's repertoire consists of a low 90's fastball that sits around 88-92, faster on the four-seamer and a touch slower on the cutter, which he threw much more often in 2015, as well as a two-seam sinker that he threw the most, which was somehow faster than the four-seam. His two breaking balls are the curveball and the slider, both of which are above-average pitches, with his changeup as the only offering that was rated below-average in 2015. None of these 6 pitches generate too many swings and misses, but Leake is a ground ball machine, with a career 1.74 GB/FB ratio but just a 6.1 K/9 that was as low as 5.6 last season. 

Maeda's contact profile is similar, with just a 7.4 K/9 in Japan that likely will not translate against better competition. His fastball sits in a similar range as Leake, in the high 80's, low 90's and scraping 94 at times, and he can make it sink or cut as well, all within the same range. His primary breaking ball is the slider, which he throws around 81 mph, which is also the same velocity that Leake throws his slider. Maeda also throws another variation of his slider that many call a slow curve since he throws it much slower (around 72 mph) but it really is just a looser version of the same pitch. However, his best offspeed pitch might be the changeup, which he recently developed. It sits in the low-to-mid 80's and has very good tail and drop on his arm-side. (Click on the square below, if it doesn't work it comes from this link to a tweet from Baseball America's Ben Badler.)

The two right-handers also show very similar deliveries. Even though Maeda has the traditional Asian delivery where he pauses in his balance point, both of them share a pretty good stride length, with Maeda's being a bit farther simply because of his height. Leake does a sort of semi-circle with his stride while Maeda is more of a direct kick, but they end up with the same result. Their arm angles are similar as well, as shown below.

Both pitchers commanded big contracts in the off season, with Leake signing for 5 years, $75 million with the Cardinals and Maeda an incentive-laden 8 year deal with the Dodgers. Leake is obviously the more known commodity, with the Cards paying for his durability, consistency, and his ability to post an ERA under 4 while eating up 180 quality innings. While Maeda does have injury concerns, he should profile similarly to Leake, being a solid #3/4 starter who can throw strikes and induce weak contact, and that is what Los Angeles will be hoping from their new Japanese sensation.