Kevin Slowey Traded by Minnesota Twins to Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies acquired starting pitcher Kevin Slowey from the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later. Slowey earned $2.7 million last season and is arbitration eligible. He would remain under Rockies’ control through 2013. Slowey turns 28 years old in May and has little mileage on his arm. While the move gives the Rockies some added depth to their rotation, it could also call for an increase in home run balls for opposing hitters.
Slowey was in and out of the Twins’ rotation last season with awful results. He went 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA. Even after that record, Slowey sports a career mark of 39-29. His peripherals are not pretty but he generates wins, especially if he is given a pass for last season. Slowey’s stats are below.
| Year | Age | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | WHIP | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 | SO/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 23 | MIN | 4 | 1 | 4.73 | 13 | 11 | 66.2 | 1.395 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 6.3 | 4.27 |
| 2008 | 24 | MIN | 12 | 11 | 3.99 | 27 | 27 | 160.1 | 1.154 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 6.9 | 5.13 |
| 2009 | 25 | MIN | 10 | 3 | 4.86 | 16 | 16 | 90.2 | 1.412 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 7.4 | 5.00 |
| 2010 | 26 | MIN | 13 | 6 | 4.45 | 30 | 28 | 155.2 | 1.291 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 4.00 |
| 2011 | 27 | MIN | 0 | 8 | 6.67 | 14 | 8 | 59.1 | 1.399 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 5.2 | 6.80 |
| 5 Seasons | 39 | 29 | 4.66 | 100 | 90 | 532.2 | 1.295 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 6.7 | 4.70 | ||
| 162 Game Avg. | 14 | 10 | 4.66 | 36 | 32 | 191 | 1.295 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 6.7 | 4.70 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/6/2011.
Slowey pitches to contact evidenced by his low strikeout rate (6.7 SO/9 for career). His walk rate per nine is 1.4 which leads to a very nice SO/BB ratio of 4.7. He throws four pitches but none of them is a real plus pitch. The contact he allows heavily leans toward fly balls as his career fly ball rate of 47.9% attests. Add to this a career line drive rate of 20.5% and a 1.4 HR/9 rate provides insurance to the worms in Coors Field’s infield. Averages and homers for Rockies’ opponents will definitely increase with Slowey lobbing pitches in Coors Field.
His 2011 season still garnered him 0.4 WAR according to FanGraphs. They equate $4 million per 1 WAR for Slowey. This results in a $1.6 million value to the Twins and thus did not provide a positive return on investment. Arbitration usually yields a player some sort of raise even if they stunk up the joint like Slowey. A modest 10% raise would bring Slowey to $2.97 million for 2012. He would be under Rockies control through 2013 which keeps him on the less expensive side. In order for the Rockies to break even with Slowey at the salary suggested earlier, he would have to turn in a WAR of 1.5 using $4.5 million per WAR. Even if the number is raised to $5.0 million per WAR, Slowey needs just a 1.7 WAR season to break even. This is possible if Slowey returns to the form he exhibited in 2008 and 2010 when he recorded 3.2 and 2.4 WAR respectively.
This trade seems to be simply an innings eater for the Rockies. Quite honestly they could move Slowey to their bullpen to suck up middle relief innings if he is not performing adequately in the rotation and not lose much off the deal. The Rockies are probably not expecting any more than Slowey provided the Twins from 2008 – 2010. Essentially they hope he can be an effective 5th starter. The move to Coors Field, humidor or not, should give rise to an already high home run rate. Considering Slowey’s propensity to fly balls I am not sure why the Rockies honed in on him in the first place other than the cheap price tag.
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