Article: Nolasco Presents a Big Problem

[Otto von Ballpark]

There is generally a reason that pitchers reach free agency. It is not just money, it is the poor supply in free agency, and those available are generally pitchers with warts.

 

Nolasco was pretty much a consensus top 5 free agent pitcher in the offseason. This is why building through free agency is so troublesome.

 

First of all, nobody "builds" through free agency or advocates doing exclusively that.

 

Second, the problem isn't free agents in general, it's paying a premium for a mediocre but supposedly healthy/durable pitcher. Was Nolasco really worth 1.5 times as much as Vargas? Twice as much as Hughes? 2.5 times as much as Kazmir? Nolasco was the 8th ranked SP on MLB Trade Rumor's top 50 free agent list last winter, but his contract with the Twins was in a virtual tie for 2nd biggest after Tanaka. I had hoped the Twins had identified some secret upside in Nolasco to justify the deal... but apparently, they couldn't even get the healthy/durable part right.

 

And of the 17 SP on that MLBTR list, only Paul Maholm has pitched as poorly as Nolasco, and he has spent most of his time in the bullpen. (You could also add Josh Johnson, who hasn't pitched at all due to injury.) Several others are having disappointing years.... but still pitching at or above Nolasco's established career level.

 

That's not free agency's fault, that's just a big, bad, conservative bet.

[jay]

First of all, nobody "builds" through free agency or advocates doing exclusively that.

 

I don't know anyone who exclusively advocates it, but when 4/5's of your rotation going into the season were signed as free agents in the last 2 seasons... it starts getting hard to not call that building through FA.

[TheLeviathan]

I don't know anyone who exclusively advocates it, but when 4/5's of your rotation going into the season were signed as free agents in the last 2 seasons... it starts getting hard to not call that building through FA.

 

I'd call that patching personally.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I'd call that patching personally.

So your telling me that Kevin Correia isn't a cornerstone to build your rotation around?