Right-hander Chad Cordero retired from baseball in 2011, but after signing a minor league contract with the Angels will make a comeback attempt. (Image Credit: Creative Commons Search via Wikipedia)

Former All Star reliever Chad Cordero is attempting to make a comeback and has signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels, according to an announcement on his own Twitter page. The deal does not appear to include an invitation to Spring Training.

Cordero was originally a 1st Round pick in the 2003 Draft by the Montreal Expos and was the on the fast track to the Major Leagues, making his debut before the season concluded. He made 305 appearances over the next six seasons, posting a 20-14 record with 128 saves for the Expos and Washington Nationals franchise. He added a 2.78 ERA and 1.198 WHIP over 320.2 IP. By the end of the 2004 season Cordero had assumed the team’s closer’s role. He’d make the NL All Star squad in 2005 while on his way to a franchise-best 47 save season.

Cordero would undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum following the 2008 season and has seen his career derailed since. He last pitched in the Major Leagues with the Seattle Mariners in 2010.

Prior to the 2011 season Cordero had signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, would be released in May, and would end up pitching for the Independent League St. Paul Saints. Mid-June he somewhat surprisingly announced his retirement. Cordero’s family had dealt with a terrible tragedy that Spring, the sudden death of his infant daughter, and it’s believed that he needed some time to cope with the unfortunate events.

Late last Spring it first became known that Cordero, now 30, was interested in potentially pursuing a comeback. There was some initial early speculation that such an effort could take place with the Nationals, but the two sides never appeared to be close to any sort of deal last season. Cordero will need to prove himself in the minor leagues, but assuming he is able to return to his pre-surgery form the Angels may have just found one of the biggest steals of the minor league free agent market.

June 14, 2010; St. Louis, MO. USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Chad Cordero (33) delivers a pitch to a St. Louis Cardinals batter in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. St. Louis defeated Seattle 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Cordero was once the closer of the Washington Nationals and was a good one, but injuries derailed his career; he never pitched in at least ten MLB innings after the 2007 season.

While with the Montreal Expos in 2004, Chad Cordero was worth 0.9 WAR with a 2.94 ERA and struck out 9.04 per nine innings. His control was shaky and he didn’t induce enough grounders, but he got out of jams and showed the potential to be a good closer in the Majors.

In 2005, when the Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals, Chad Cordero saved a career-high 47 games and had officially broken out as one of the better closers in baseball. In 74.1 innings, he had a 1.82 ERA and cut down his walks by half. He struck out about two batters less every nine innings, but he was still worth 0.6 WAR. Cordero did benefit from a .218 BABIP, but he has always had a low BABIP against him. In fact, Cordero’s career BABIP against is .257 in 330.1 innings.

Chad Cordero saved 29 games the following year, but he finished with a 4.59 FIP and was subpar overall in a down year. He bounced back in 2007 and had a solid year in what was an early swan song for the right-hander, because those 37 saves were the last he would make. It was a quality year for the Nats closer, as he had a 4.13 FIP and had the highest GB%.

But things went downhill from there, as the man who saved the second most games in the NL from 2005-2007 – 113, only the legendary Trevor Hoffman (131)had more- missed the entire 2008 season due to a labrum tear. He was not tendered by the Nationals, which led to a bad break-up courtesy of Jim Bowden, but he still loves the organization to this day.

Prior to the 2009 season, Chad Cordero latched onto the Seattle Mariners organization via a minor league contract. He was expected to become the closer after he recovered from the injury, but he stubbornly did not want to be optioned to the minors and left for the Mets.

In January of last year, Cordero signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that came with an invite to Spring Training. In mid-May, the Jays released him and Cordero signed with the St. Paul Saints team before retiring on the 20th of June last year.

I hope he decides to come back, because he was one of the best closers in the game in his three-year peak. Chad Cordero 30 years old and should still have a couple of decent years left in the tank, and I hope he gives it another shot next year.

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After an extremely active offseason, the Blue Jays are more set than most teams entering Spring Training 2011.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any interesting NRI’s around, though–it simply means that most of Toronto’s notable non-roster players are prospects with little or no shot and breaking camp with the Blue Jays. But there are still a few interesting veterans as well–anytime Winston Abreu is involved, I pay attention.

Let’s look at this bunch.

RHP Winston Abreu–What more does Abreu need to do to get an extended shot? He continued to carve up Triple-A hitters in 2010 (82/21 K/BB in 55 1/3 IP, just one homer allowed). He’s been at this for half a decade, and can’t seem to stick around regardless. Sure, his stuff is pretty generic (90-95 mph fastball, plus slider), but there’s a reason Triple-A hitters turn him into Carlos Marmol. The guy’s doing something right. Will the Blue Jays give him an extended shot?

RHP Chad Cordero–Once a top-flight reliever, Cordero was never the sort of guy who could afford to lose velocity, and once he did, he just wasn’t that interesting anymore. Now throwing in the mid-to-upper 80′s and mixing in the occasional 75-79 mph slider, Cordero’s fastball-heavy approach just doesn’t work with such little velocity. Call it Bartolo Colon-itis, if you will. A nine-game stint with Seattle didn’t work well, and moving to a more hitter-friendly ballpark in the AL East isn’t likely to help. Barring a surprising increase in velocity or a dramatic shift in approach for the soon-to-be-29-year-old, Cordero doesn’t really belong in the majors. It’s still interesting to see him try to work his way back.

OF Anthony Gose–Acquired for Brett Wallace last year, Gose is a ridiculously fast outfielder, but he also got caught stealing a whopping 32 times last year. Still just 20, Gose seems like he’s been around an awfully long time already, and while he hasn’t developed particularly quickly, he remains an interesting prospect with Carl Crawford-esque upside as a plus defender and plus-plus runner with average power. He’s likely to be overmatched by big league pitching in camp, however, as he struck out over 25% of the time in High-A last year.

3B Brett Lawrie–Blue Jays fans will get their first look at their prized prospect acquisition of the offseason this spring. Lawrie does come with a number of question marks, however. He’s got to show defensive aptitude somewhere, and it’s also time he shows some sort of statistical prowess–while he was young for his levels in 2009 and 2010, his triple-slash numbers of .274/.348/.454 and .285/.346/.449 were far from dominant. Now that he’s been moved off of second base, the 21-year-old will need to raise his offensive game to project as more than an average regular.

LHP Wil Ledezma–Ledezma, like Abreu, has dominated Triple-A of late, but unlike Abreu, the deceptive lefty has gotten plenty of big league shots (almost 400 career innings) and hasn’t done much (5.26 career ERA, 4.70 FIP, 1.7 WAR). Still, last season’s turn with the Pirates was encouraging, despite a 6.86 ERA, as Ledezma posted a 3.23 FIP and 22/6 K/BB in 19 2/3 innings. Just 30, he’s turned up his velocity in recent years, sitting around 94 mph and snapping off a good slider as well. If he shows up throwing strikes, Ledezma probably deserves his umpteenth chance.

1B Mike McDade–The Florida State League homer champion in 2010, McDade showed a far better approach in fall ball than he did in the regular season, putting him on the map as an interesting prospect. Obviously, AFL samples aren’t the best way to gauge someone’s approach, but if it was for real, McDade, 22, could emerge as a viable starter down the line. Considered a plus defender at first, he has obvious power, and could put on some batting-practice shows this spring.

RHP Deck McGuire–The eleventh overall pick in 2010, McGuire is considered a very polished pitcher who could be in the Majors quickly. How quickly he might get there, and where he starts his pro career, could be dictated with how he looks in camp. The four-pitch righty has #2 starter upside if everything goes right, and Jays fans no doubt will be interested to see how he looks against pro hitters.

OF Corey Patterson–Yep, he’s still kicking around. Patterson actually hit .269/.315/.406 for Baltimore last year, and he still runs and fields well, so at 31, perhaps he’s still worth looking at. Let’s not get carried away, though–Patterson’s 2008-09 redefined awful.

OF Eric Thames–A solid B-grade power prospect, Thames hit .288/.370/.526 in Double-A last year. The 24-year-old is fairly close to the majors after bashing 27 homers. Since he’s been a bit old for his levels, proving he can hit MLB pitching in the spring would go a long way toward shaking any potential Quad-A stigma.

The question on my mind now is; what will I do with the rest of my writing time?  Crank out another Roster Moves, do some research for a future column, or go to bed early?  Frankly that last option is looking real tempting right now …

(moves after the jump) (more…)

Phillis Making Noise

The two-time defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly closing in on a deal for Astros ace right hander Roy Oswalt. This news materialized quickly yesterday after multiple outlets commented on how slowly the market for Oswalt was developing. But it only takes one team, one GM, to show interest in order to stoke the flames.

FanHouse’s Ed Price says that talks between the Phillies and Astros are “heavy” and Houston may be ready to ask Oswalt for his approval for the deal. Oswalt carries a full no-trade clause in his contract, one that pays him $15 million this year and $16 million in 2011. Oswalt also has a club option for $16 million in 2012 and is rumored to want that option exercised in exchange for his approval of a trade. (we’ll dig deeper after the jump) (more…)