Joe Beimel Would be a Strong Signing by Toronto Blue Jays
GM Alex Anthopoulos has spoken all season about his desire to improve a Toronto Blue Jays bullpen that ranked 25th in 2014 ERA. While rumors have floated around here and there about potential trades or signings, AA is still twiddling his thumbs. Joe Beimel would make for a strong addition to Toronto’s ‘pen.
Beimel will be entering his age 38 season in 2015, which makes him a great candidate for a one-year incentive laden contract plus a club option for 2016, or a minor league deal for added depth.
His age and 2012 Tommy John surgery may be a red flag, but after missing 2013 , Beimel bounced back huge for the Seattle Mariners last season. The southpaw went 3-1 over 45 IP, posting a 2.20 ERA and recording 10 holds. He was a viable setup man to Fernando Rodney at times, allowing only two earned runs and two walks in 15 innings pitched in the eighth frame.
While Brett Cecil has a strong chance at being the setup man or closer should Aaron Sanchez be named vice versa, Beimel would still be a great left hander to have for late inning situational match ups. In his career, left-handed hitters have an OBP of only .312 against him and a batting average of .255.
During his three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006-08, Beimel was a fan favorite. Though not a superstar by any means, fans voted via the internet in 2008 that he should be immortalized in bobblehead form as part of the clubs regular season promotional efforts. During his time with the Dodgers, he had a 3.04 ERA in 186.1 IP.
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The Blue Jays have to add arms to their bullpen, if even only for insurance purposes. Cecil is their most veteran player there and thus, probably the most reliable. After that, right-hander Steve Delabar went from being an All-Star with a 2.72 FIP in 2013 to posting a 5.59 FIP last season. Before his debut in MLB came at age 28 in 2011, he suffered a fractured right elbow and had nine screws embedded to stabilize it in 2009. He is a question mark for 2015.
Aaron Loup appears to be another reliable source of left-handed innings like Cecil is. He has a 2.77 ERA and 3.27 FIP over three seasons with the Jays.
Marco Estrada, Kyle Drabek and Chad Jenkins are all question marks too.With Estrada, it’s grey area whether he will be competing for a rotation job or bullpen role in spring training.
Drabek has been a bust as an 18th overall pick by the Phillies in 2006. He was projected to me a middle-of-the-rotation arm for the Jays when they traded for him, but has only amounted to a minor leaguer and sporadic big league pitcher for the club entering his age 27 season.
Jenkins has lowered his ERA every year since breaking into the league in 2012 and has improved his K:BB ratio as well, be he has less than 100 innings to his name.
Beimel’s biggest advantage to a Toronto bullpen would be bringing added wisdom and a veteran point of view to the game. Cecil has only six years of big league experience, which is by far the most for any Jays relief pitcher. Also, I can imagine, given his time in L.A., that Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin would vouch for Beimel’s character and pitching repertoire. The two were teammates together with the Dodgers for the whole duration of Beimel’s stay there, so that would immediately bring a chemistry between catchers and bullpen pitchers to the Jays’ roster.
Beimel also claims his velocity is up from where it was at this time last year, which should be added incentive for a team to add him to their roster.
Anthopoulos should at least give Joe Beimel a speculative look. He would be a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a Francisco Rodriguez but could prove to be a bigger asset to a 2015 Toronto Blue Jays bullpen that needs a veteran arm to help mentor some of its young arms without bringing aboard a huge ego.
A relief pitcher with a dozen years of MLB experience who already has a relationship with the teams starting catcher feels like a win-win for the Jays.