Philadelphia Phillies sign Ernesto Frieri to minor league deal
On Thursday night Jon Heyman reported that the Philadelphia Phillies had signed Ernesto Frieri to a minor league deal.
Ernesto frieri signs minors deal with phillies. 850K in majors.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2015
Frieri debuted in 2009 with the San Diego Padres, and was a solid reliever during his time there. In 2012 the Angels traded Alexi Amarista and Donn Roach to acquire Frieri. He became their closer and saved 23 games in 2012. However, at the beginning of 2013 Frieri experienced a drop in production that continued through this season.
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Part of Frieri’s struggles stem from a spike in the number of home runs he has allowed. In 2010 his HR/9 rate stood at 0.57 while this year it fell to 2.31. His HR/FB ratio paints a similar picture. In 2010 only 4.7% of flyballs hit off Frieri left the yard. This year that percentage was all the way up to 15.4% (his career high was 19.3% in 2014). Frieri’s struggles ultimately led to him losing the closer’s role in Anaheim. This season he pitched in 22 games for Tampa Bay.
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At this point Frieri isn’t much more than a lottery ticket for the Phillies. It is possible that he could find his way into the Philadelphia bullpen, but if his struggles continue this could be the end of the road for the reliever.