The Mariners have announced the signing of 29-year-old former Red Sox and Rockies reliever Manny Delcarmen to a minor league contract.
A stellar reliever from 2005-08, it was unthinkable two years ago that Delcarmen wouldn’t be heading into 2011 with a job locked up. Instead, he’s two years removed from any sort of sustained success and is looking to get back on track in Seattle.
Once a true flamethrower who could touch 98 mph with his heater, Delcarmen lost significant velocity the past two years; in 2010, his fastball averaged 2.4 mph below where it did in 2008. The righty also tosses an average curveball and changeup, but they’re much less effective without the huge fastball to set them up.
As a result, Delcarmen’s FIP went from 3.32 in 2008 to 4.62 in 2009 to 5.51 in 2010 as he shed velocity. A rising walk rate (all the way up to 5.50 BB/9) didn’t help matters; it took every bit of a .239 BABIP to keep his ERA under 5.00 last year.
If Delcarmen can regain his command (he only got a first-pitch strike to half the batters he faced last year), he still has enough stuff to be a solid middle reliever, and if he regains his old form (not impossible at 29), he could be a tremendous find. Seattle has nowhere to go but up after a disastrous 2010, and the addition of a low-risk, high-reward player like Delcarmen can’t hurt.
Seattle’s bullpen was 27th in baseball in FIP last year, as well, so Delcarmen could soon find himself high in the Mariners’ pen pecking order if he returns to anything near pre-2009 form.