It looks like your basic change-of-scenery deal: two struggling relievers with a history of recent past success switching clubs looking to regain their mojo.
Jason Grilli, 37, had become injury prone and hasn't really been sharp since last year's All-Star break. With 11 saves, one hold and four blown saves and a 4.87 ERA to go with a 1.62 WHIP, he lost his closer job and even back-end duties. His velocity dropped just a hair, but his movement and command were MIA.
But he mostly shined in Pittsburgh. From 2011-13, he compiled a 2.74 ERA in 141-1/3 innings with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He was an All-Star closer last season and helped the Bucs get over that two decade hump to the playoffs.
But he's worth the gamble to the Angels. The Halos are still within hailing distance of Oakland, and Grilli been through the playoff wars and worked as both a set-up man and closer, so he provides experience and versatility. He's also a free agent at the end of the year, so LA's hands aren't tied contractually.
RHP Ernesto Frieri, 28, also lost his job as closer, with 11 saves, three holds and three blown saves, a 6.39 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. But he does have 60 saves from 2012-13, though his dropoff started last season.
He's also a good dice roll for the Pirates, who plucked Grilli, Mark Melancon and Joel Hanrahan, their last three closers, from the "as is" shelves. They have a lot of confidence in being able to turn guys around if their stuff still plays.
The peripherals on Grilli were trending down - a little loss in velocity, a fair drop in K's and a big jump in walks. Frieri's tale of the tape is a little different.
His K's have dropped from 13 to 11 per nine, still decent, although one red flag is that his swing and misses have dropped from 16% to 10%. And he's not been lucky this year, with a HR/fly ball rate of 21%, which is double his career average, and a BABIP of .325, fifty points higher than his usual average. So some regression to the good seems to be in order for him.
On the plus side, his walks have dropped for the fourth consecutive season (2.6/nine in 2014, which may or may not be sustainable), his ground ball rate is 35%, by far the best of his career, and his velocity of 94 MPH has remained level over three seasons. Frieri is also transitioning from a one time fastball-curve toolkit to a four seam-sinker-slider-change arsenal, and that fits the Pirate teaching and tweaking profile.
In a Pirate statement, Neil Huntington said "...despite his struggles to date this season, (Frieri) has solid indicators that cause us to believe he will be a quality addition to our bullpen this season and potentially beyond,” so you can be sure the Bucco Sabermetric gang has looked over those peripheral numbers.
The Pirates gave up a 37 year old that didn't fit into next season's plans and has been trending downward for a 28 year old who's had problems with his counting numbers, but hasn't been so bad with his performance stats. Frieri still has two years of arb (he makes $3.8M now) remaining if they can turn him around, so he has the added benefit of being under team control through 2016.
It's a calculated risk on both sides, with the Angels looking for immediate help while the Bucs appear to have the odds stacked more in their favor of getting some longer-term value from the deal.
Showing posts with label jason grilli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jason grilli. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Monday, December 10, 2012
Grilli Signs; Bullpen Takes Shape
The Buc bullpen got a little closer to its 2013 shape today when it was announced by everyone but the Pirates that Jason Grilli signed on again, inking a 2 year, $6.75M deal pending a physical. In his time with the Pirates, he's put up a 3-7-3/2.76 slash with 12.5 K/game rate.
It's good news because while there is some risk involved - Grilli is 36, and his flyball/homerun rate jumped while his groundball rate took a nosedive last year though he could still blow it by people - the Pirates needed a guy that misses bats, has had back-end success and can call on ten MLB campaigns worth of experience to share with a still pretty young bullpen. He may end up closing, and judging by last year, he's worth the shot - his eighth inning ERA/OBA was 3.04/.203; in the ninth, with much less work, it was 3.24/.241.
And while not guaranteed, it also looks like the beginning of the end in Pittsburgh for Joel Hanrahan. The big righty is in line for a $7M payday through arbitration, and on top of Grilli's deal, that $10M+ investment seems out of character for a Pirate bullpen. There hasn't been much market for Hanny yet, but he could either be packaged or traded for an equivalent starter's contract like LA's Chris Capuano, a player who the two teams have already discussed.
As for the makeup of the pen, Chris Resop is gone, but Jared Hughes, Tony Watson and Chris Leroux are back. Indy's Bryan Morris is out of options and should stick, too, although his lack of September work last season is a mystery to us. That leaves at least two spots open.
The Pirates have brought in Vin Mazzaro and Zach Stewart, both who will compete for a slot, and maybe Andy Oliver too, if they opt to add him to the pen mix rather than compete as a starter. The FA market should be tapped for another veteran back-ender like Kyle Farnsworth and/or a lefty like Mike Gonzalez.
Grilli's signing gives Pittsburgh some form to its 2013 bullpen, and they'll add another arm or two before camp. With Grilled Cheese wrapped up and and Russell Martin inked, now it's time to look for a starter...
It's good news because while there is some risk involved - Grilli is 36, and his flyball/homerun rate jumped while his groundball rate took a nosedive last year though he could still blow it by people - the Pirates needed a guy that misses bats, has had back-end success and can call on ten MLB campaigns worth of experience to share with a still pretty young bullpen. He may end up closing, and judging by last year, he's worth the shot - his eighth inning ERA/OBA was 3.04/.203; in the ninth, with much less work, it was 3.24/.241.
And while not guaranteed, it also looks like the beginning of the end in Pittsburgh for Joel Hanrahan. The big righty is in line for a $7M payday through arbitration, and on top of Grilli's deal, that $10M+ investment seems out of character for a Pirate bullpen. There hasn't been much market for Hanny yet, but he could either be packaged or traded for an equivalent starter's contract like LA's Chris Capuano, a player who the two teams have already discussed.
As for the makeup of the pen, Chris Resop is gone, but Jared Hughes, Tony Watson and Chris Leroux are back. Indy's Bryan Morris is out of options and should stick, too, although his lack of September work last season is a mystery to us. That leaves at least two spots open.
The Pirates have brought in Vin Mazzaro and Zach Stewart, both who will compete for a slot, and maybe Andy Oliver too, if they opt to add him to the pen mix rather than compete as a starter. The FA market should be tapped for another veteran back-ender like Kyle Farnsworth and/or a lefty like Mike Gonzalez.
Grilli's signing gives Pittsburgh some form to its 2013 bullpen, and they'll add another arm or two before camp. With Grilled Cheese wrapped up and and Russell Martin inked, now it's time to look for a starter...
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Jason Grilli; Jump Into The Fire...
Hey, the guy's been here a year and already established himself as one of the better set up men not only in Pittsburgh, but in MLB. In 67 outings for the Bucs, Jason Grilli has gone 3-4-2 with 33 holds, pitching to a 2.21 ERA. He averages 12.1 whiffs per nine innings with a WHIP of 1.125.
And if that's not enough, Grilli doesn't do it against the league's meatballs. Clint Hurdle calls on him as often as not to face the heart of the order before handing off the ball to Hanny. 40 of his Pittsburgh appearances have been during high leverage situations when the game can turn on one hung slider. His first Pirate appearance was against the Cards on July 22nd, 2011, and he pitched a scoreless ninth while facing Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman. Things haven't changed much; he started out jumping right into the fire and still is.
Grilli was chosen by the Yankees when he was tossing ball for the Baldwinsville Baker HS Bees, located in upstate New York between Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. The Bronx Bombers spent the 24th round of the 1994 draft to go after him, but he wisely passed on that offer.
In 1997, the Giants inked him as the fourth overall pick out of Seton Hall, where he once struck out 18 batters in a game, with a couple of years honing his craft in the Cape Cod summer league. It netted him a $1.9M bonus, allowing him to buy his first car. He was soon to embark on a journey that would cross a lot of interstates and turn over the odometer on that set of wheels.
In 1999, he was shipped by SF to the Marlins as the key component of the Livian Hernandez deadline deal. Grilli labored in their system, with a strong AA line but not so much in AAA while getting six Fish starts in 2000-01 and not looking very impressive. Then he lost 2002 to Tommy John surgery, his second elbow procedure.
The White Sox selected him as a Rule 5 player in 2003. The Sox gave him eight starts, and though he was 2-3, his ERA was 7.40. Two years later, Chicago released him as he again struggled in AAA, and he signed a minor league deal with the Tigers. He had a good year at AAA Toledo, going 12-9 with a 4.01 ERA,
Grilli pitched for Team Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (he has dual citizenship). He built on that with a strong training camp, switching to a long man's role and earning his first full time MLB job. Detroit fully converted him to the pen (his last start was in 2005 as a call-up), and he pitched pretty solid ball for them. In his four seasons, he appeared 120 times with a 4.31 ERA, inflated by a rough 2007 campaign.
Motown dealt him to the Rox for a minor leaguer in mid season 2008, and he climbed the hill for 52 outings and put up a 2.93 ERA for then Rox skipper Hurdle. It's also when he discovered his swing and miss stuff, averaging 8.7 K per nine; after that season, it would never dip under a strikeout per inning. But 2009 wasn't very kind to him, and Colorado sold him to the Rangers in June after being DFA'ed, where he continued to be less than stellar.
In the off season he inked a minor league deal with the Indians. That gig didn't last long; his knee gave out while zigging through cones during agility drills in spring training. Grilli broke his kneecap, rolled up his ligaments and tore his quadriceps muscle above the right knee, an injury usually associated with football. The surgery by Dr. James Steadman to repair it cost him the season. At the time, it was thought that it might cost him more than that; the injury was so severe that it was considered to be likely career-ending.
Grilli didn't agree, and began twice-a-day workouts to get back into baseball shape. He became a free agent after his rehab year and joined the Phillies. He posted a 1.93 ERA in 32-1/3 innings with 43 whiffs for the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, where he was stashed as an insurance policy for the big team. He had an opt-out clause in his contract if he were to receive a big league offer after June 1st, and in July of 2011, he did. Neal Huntington, facing a burnt out bullpen, came a' calling, major league contract in hand.
The big righty (6'5", 225 lb) was excited, not only to be in the show again but to come to a place on the upswing that valued his ability. He even tweeted ”Black & Yellow! Black & Yellow! Black & Yellow! Cannot wait to join the new squadron.”
He made his first appearance the day after he was signed, and on August 25th, he won his first game in nearly two years when the Bucs out-dueled the Brew Crew 2-0. Brought in as a middle inning, bridge-type guy, he quickly earned Hurdle's trust, as he went 2-1-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 10+ K per nine.
Arb eligible for the last time (he's a FA after the season), the Pirates inked him to a $1.1M contract for 2012 and then named him as the set-up man during spring camp. Some questioned if he could repeat at the age of 35, but so far he's made 39 trips to the bump with a 1.96 ERA, 1.064 WHIP and 13.7 K per nine using a fastball/slider combo.
He still has his faults; his control has never been pinpoint, and he's walked 4.2 batter per nine as a Buc. Ditto with the long ball; he yields 0.9 per nine innings as a Pirate, a little on the high side and an off-and-on sore spot throughout his career. Occasionally his stuff will be elevated, the bane of all tall pitchers.
But he has a back-end reliever's perfect mindset: a pit bull mentality that relishes a battle coupled with a short memory. His velocity generally lets him overcome any control issues, and that combination of speed and wildness keeps batters from settling in very comfortably in the box. Heck, he fuels up on peanuts and Red Bull before the fifth inning to get his metabolism going on game days.
His four seamer is clocked at 94 MPH, the same as it was in 2007, and its resurgence is probably because of all the leg work he did in 2010, ultimately strengthening his base. His big-breaking slider comes in at 83, pretty much in line with his career average.
The slider is his out pitch, and he uses it 30% of the time. Grilli credits Jeremy Bonderman with showing him the basics back in 2006 when he was converted to a reliever in Detroit. As his command of it increased, so did his K totals. Grilli has become purely a two-trick pony, as are most late inning guys. He's ditched his show-me changeup almost completely as a Pirate.
Nature/nurture might have played a role in it, too. His dad Steve pitched for the mid-seventy Tigers and Jays, coming out of Erie's Gannon University. Steve and Jason are one of just four father and son duos with MLB saves (the others are Julio & Jaime Navarro, James & Jeff Russell and Pedro Borbon Sr. & Jr.). Grilli is an only child; he and his dad still talk every night after a game, and Jason wore his dad's #49 as a Tiger.
Grilli and his wife, Danielle, who was his high school sweetheart, have one child, their son Jayse. The Grilli clan lives in Orlando, Florida during the offseason.
Baseball isn't his only iron in the fire. Grilli calls himself a "jeek," a cross between a jock and a geek, and knows techie stuff as well as he knows his release point. He has a popular twitter account @GrillCheese49 for you peeps, and been on a couple of live local webcasts.
He also runs a company called Perfect Pitch Marketing, which sells videophones and other telecomm stuff. PPM is also heavy into SEO and mobile/social media marketing. Oh, he's an author, too - his book is "9 Innings for Social Media Success."
But we wouldn't look for GoDaddy.Grilli to go on line full time anytime soon. The way he's dealing, he still has some tread on the wheels and a few more miles remaining on his MLB journey.
And if that's not enough, Grilli doesn't do it against the league's meatballs. Clint Hurdle calls on him as often as not to face the heart of the order before handing off the ball to Hanny. 40 of his Pittsburgh appearances have been during high leverage situations when the game can turn on one hung slider. His first Pirate appearance was against the Cards on July 22nd, 2011, and he pitched a scoreless ninth while facing Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman. Things haven't changed much; he started out jumping right into the fire and still is.
Grilli was chosen by the Yankees when he was tossing ball for the Baldwinsville Baker HS Bees, located in upstate New York between Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. The Bronx Bombers spent the 24th round of the 1994 draft to go after him, but he wisely passed on that offer.
In 1997, the Giants inked him as the fourth overall pick out of Seton Hall, where he once struck out 18 batters in a game, with a couple of years honing his craft in the Cape Cod summer league. It netted him a $1.9M bonus, allowing him to buy his first car. He was soon to embark on a journey that would cross a lot of interstates and turn over the odometer on that set of wheels.
In 1999, he was shipped by SF to the Marlins as the key component of the Livian Hernandez deadline deal. Grilli labored in their system, with a strong AA line but not so much in AAA while getting six Fish starts in 2000-01 and not looking very impressive. Then he lost 2002 to Tommy John surgery, his second elbow procedure.
The White Sox selected him as a Rule 5 player in 2003. The Sox gave him eight starts, and though he was 2-3, his ERA was 7.40. Two years later, Chicago released him as he again struggled in AAA, and he signed a minor league deal with the Tigers. He had a good year at AAA Toledo, going 12-9 with a 4.01 ERA,
Grilli pitched for Team Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (he has dual citizenship). He built on that with a strong training camp, switching to a long man's role and earning his first full time MLB job. Detroit fully converted him to the pen (his last start was in 2005 as a call-up), and he pitched pretty solid ball for them. In his four seasons, he appeared 120 times with a 4.31 ERA, inflated by a rough 2007 campaign.
Motown dealt him to the Rox for a minor leaguer in mid season 2008, and he climbed the hill for 52 outings and put up a 2.93 ERA for then Rox skipper Hurdle. It's also when he discovered his swing and miss stuff, averaging 8.7 K per nine; after that season, it would never dip under a strikeout per inning. But 2009 wasn't very kind to him, and Colorado sold him to the Rangers in June after being DFA'ed, where he continued to be less than stellar.
In the off season he inked a minor league deal with the Indians. That gig didn't last long; his knee gave out while zigging through cones during agility drills in spring training. Grilli broke his kneecap, rolled up his ligaments and tore his quadriceps muscle above the right knee, an injury usually associated with football. The surgery by Dr. James Steadman to repair it cost him the season. At the time, it was thought that it might cost him more than that; the injury was so severe that it was considered to be likely career-ending.
Grilli didn't agree, and began twice-a-day workouts to get back into baseball shape. He became a free agent after his rehab year and joined the Phillies. He posted a 1.93 ERA in 32-1/3 innings with 43 whiffs for the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, where he was stashed as an insurance policy for the big team. He had an opt-out clause in his contract if he were to receive a big league offer after June 1st, and in July of 2011, he did. Neal Huntington, facing a burnt out bullpen, came a' calling, major league contract in hand.
The big righty (6'5", 225 lb) was excited, not only to be in the show again but to come to a place on the upswing that valued his ability. He even tweeted ”Black & Yellow! Black & Yellow! Black & Yellow! Cannot wait to join the new squadron.”
He made his first appearance the day after he was signed, and on August 25th, he won his first game in nearly two years when the Bucs out-dueled the Brew Crew 2-0. Brought in as a middle inning, bridge-type guy, he quickly earned Hurdle's trust, as he went 2-1-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 10+ K per nine.
Arb eligible for the last time (he's a FA after the season), the Pirates inked him to a $1.1M contract for 2012 and then named him as the set-up man during spring camp. Some questioned if he could repeat at the age of 35, but so far he's made 39 trips to the bump with a 1.96 ERA, 1.064 WHIP and 13.7 K per nine using a fastball/slider combo.
He still has his faults; his control has never been pinpoint, and he's walked 4.2 batter per nine as a Buc. Ditto with the long ball; he yields 0.9 per nine innings as a Pirate, a little on the high side and an off-and-on sore spot throughout his career. Occasionally his stuff will be elevated, the bane of all tall pitchers.
But he has a back-end reliever's perfect mindset: a pit bull mentality that relishes a battle coupled with a short memory. His velocity generally lets him overcome any control issues, and that combination of speed and wildness keeps batters from settling in very comfortably in the box. Heck, he fuels up on peanuts and Red Bull before the fifth inning to get his metabolism going on game days.
His four seamer is clocked at 94 MPH, the same as it was in 2007, and its resurgence is probably because of all the leg work he did in 2010, ultimately strengthening his base. His big-breaking slider comes in at 83, pretty much in line with his career average.
The slider is his out pitch, and he uses it 30% of the time. Grilli credits Jeremy Bonderman with showing him the basics back in 2006 when he was converted to a reliever in Detroit. As his command of it increased, so did his K totals. Grilli has become purely a two-trick pony, as are most late inning guys. He's ditched his show-me changeup almost completely as a Pirate.
Nature/nurture might have played a role in it, too. His dad Steve pitched for the mid-seventy Tigers and Jays, coming out of Erie's Gannon University. Steve and Jason are one of just four father and son duos with MLB saves (the others are Julio & Jaime Navarro, James & Jeff Russell and Pedro Borbon Sr. & Jr.). Grilli is an only child; he and his dad still talk every night after a game, and Jason wore his dad's #49 as a Tiger.
Grilli and his wife, Danielle, who was his high school sweetheart, have one child, their son Jayse. The Grilli clan lives in Orlando, Florida during the offseason.
Baseball isn't his only iron in the fire. Grilli calls himself a "jeek," a cross between a jock and a geek, and knows techie stuff as well as he knows his release point. He has a popular twitter account @GrillCheese49 for you peeps, and been on a couple of live local webcasts.
He also runs a company called Perfect Pitch Marketing, which sells videophones and other telecomm stuff. PPM is also heavy into SEO and mobile/social media marketing. Oh, he's an author, too - his book is "9 Innings for Social Media Success."
But we wouldn't look for GoDaddy.Grilli to go on line full time anytime soon. The way he's dealing, he still has some tread on the wheels and a few more miles remaining on his MLB journey.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Notes, Grilli
RHP Jeff Karstens (8-4, 2.34) will take on the Reds RHP Johnny Cueto (5-3, 2.01) at 12:35 PM today in the series get-away match. Root Sports will show the game.
The lineup: Alex Presley LF, Chase d'Arnaud SS, Neil Walker 2B, Andrewc McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Garrett Jones RF, Brandon Wood 3B, Mike McKenry C, Jeff Karstens P.
d'Arnaud is back after missing a game because of a stiff neck. McKenry even works the get-away game, but the team is off tomorrow.
The lineup: Alex Presley LF, Chase d'Arnaud SS, Neil Walker 2B, Andrewc McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Garrett Jones RF, Brandon Wood 3B, Mike McKenry C, Jeff Karstens P.
d'Arnaud is back after missing a game because of a stiff neck. McKenry even works the get-away game, but the team is off tomorrow.
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