Can the Chicago Cubs salvage Fernando Rodney?
By Tim Haberin
The Chicago Cubs have acquired veteran relief pitcher Fernando Rodney from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Rodney had been designated for assignment on August 22. It’s a roll of the dice for the Cubbies, as Rodney has endured nothing short of an awful season with the M’s.
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It was only a year ago that Rodney was among the game’s most productive closers, leading both leagues with 48 saves. Seattle expected more of the same entering the second season of Rodney’s two-year, $14 million deal, but the 38-year-old has been profoundly unreliable in 2015.
Rodney owns a bloated 5.68 ERA in 50.2 innings this season and has blown six of his 22 save opportunities. In fact, he lost his grip on the closer’s job back in June. Rookie Carson Smith (3.00 ERA, 13 saves, 11.5 K/9) and Tom Wilhelmsen (4-for-4 in save chances) have done a much better job in his stead.
One of Rodney’s main weaknesses this year has been his propensity to give up the long ball. He has served up eight homers in his 50.2 innings of work, factoring out to a 1.4 HR/9 rate, by far the highest of his career. His unseemly 16% HR/FB (home run to fly ball) ratio is also a career-worst by a wide margin.
Opponents have been hitting the ball quite well off Rodney this season in general, slashing .262/.358/.462 against him. Over his entire career that line stands at a much more modest .234/.330/.349.
The former closer has also seen several other key ratios move in the wrong direction in 2015. He is coughing up more than a hit per inning (9.1 H/9) and is walking more (4.4 BB/9) and striking out fewer (7.6 K/9) than he has in the past. All have been ingredients of a thoroughly disappointing campaign.
It’s been an ugly year and at his age it’s hard not to wonder if Rodney is just cooked. But there might be a couple reasons for the Cubs to hope that he can be fixed. He has always been a hard thrower and that hasn’t really changed despite his struggles. According to Fangraphs PitchF/X his two-seam fastball this season has averaged 94.7 mph, the same as a year ago. With relatively unchanged velocity, that could point to a command issue, something Chicago might feel it can straighten out.
Reliever reclamation projects aren’t new to the Cubs in 2015. The club signed Rafael Soriano in June, another former closer who once led the league in saves (45 for the Rays in 2010). That experiment hasn’t exactly gone well. Soriano has thrown only 5.2 innings in six games since joining the big league bullpen just after the All-Star break, serving up eight hits (including two homers) and four runs. The 35-year-old is currently working his way back from a shoulder injury that put him on the DL earlier this month.
As the Cubs seek to secure a spot in the postseason, the bullpen is one area which they aim to improve. Theirs has been largely middle-of-the-road this season, sporting a 3.55 ERA on the year (15th in MLB). Fernando Rodney likely won’t improve that, but at minimal cost the team figures he’s worth a look before the end of the year.