Relievers Seem to Be Hotter Than Ever in MLB
Last off-season period in MLB was one full of surprises and record-breaking deals with a total of 248 million dollars signed in just one week. In case you missed that, Chapman for 86 million, Janses for a total amount of 80 million, and Melancon for 62 million were the three relievers who changed baseball history.
Setting a new trend
If you were to analyze what happened in 2017 so far, you’d come to the conclusion that only three of the Major League outfits won 100 games in total and the thing that all three had in common are strong and reliable setup relievers. Los Angeles has Brandon Morrow, Andrew Miller or even Bryan Shaw are in Cleveland, and Houston pride themselves on Chris Devenski. But the thing is that Shaw and Morrow are free agents and they could also be joined by others in this already exciting Hot Stove season.
Inside info
A very reliable MLB agent predicted that the big teams will surely invest hard in such type of relievers, just like in the previous year. This year, however, the difference will be made by the number of players. If last season, the three managed to steal the spotlight and create a total expenditure of almost 250 million, this year – the agent thinks – MLB will witness an increased number of players that choose to become free agents. And even though they offer a cheaper alternative for the clubs willing to buy them, these free agents are nothing similar to free online slot games, in case you were wondering.
He took things even further and predicted that, when it comes to closers, a lot of influence can come from the Cardinals. He mentioned Tyler Lyons, a left-hander that saved three games in the 2017 season and would become the Cardinals’ closer if it was the match day. But even so, they are looking for some back-up outside after they, somehow, managed to miss the postseason for the second time in a row. A premiere that never took place in the last nine years.
Other interesting pursuits
The name of Giancarlo Stanton was all over the MLB executives’ mouths and the media as well. It appears that Saint Louis really needs an outfielder with the exact profile of Stanton. And he is not the only name that is linked to St. Louis. It also appears that J.D Martinez, who just so happens to be a free agent, might be the perfect target for the St. Louis executives. Also, Cardinals’ president John Mozeliak and manager Girsch might just need to wait and properly determine how much they will be allowed to spend before throwing an offer on the table to another top free-agent, Wade Davis. And speaking of quality, Davis is the only reliever in the MLB that saved more than 30 games in the season that just ended. His Earn Run Average is below 3 and that makes him very attractive to all the big names in MLB.
So, it just seems that the days when clubs were stealing players from each other are dead and gone now. This change may have happened in order for players to feel that they have a bit more liberty, however, the positive influence on the league is undeniable.
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