Examining How the Highest Paid Relief Pitchers Are Playing in 2019

How are the highest paid relief pitchers in MLB doing in 2019, and are the results in the field matching up with how much they are being paid every week?

In MLB, relief pitchers can be a vital part to a teams success. The starting pitcher usually does not pitch a complete game in today’s day and age, and having a strong bullpen can make or break a season for any team in the league.

For example, look at when the Kansas City Royals won the World Series back in 2015. The bullpen was practically unstoppable, with Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis dominating opposing teams almost every time they took the mound.

The starting pitcher would go roughly 5-7 innings in a game, and then the bullpen would take over, giving up minimal runs and striking out batters left, right and center.

Mix that with a lineup that can put the ball in play and a starting pitching staff who could keep the team in the game, and you have a World Series team.

Relief pitchers can be a bit of an awkward bunch, with many of the older relievers being former starting pitchers who could just never make it in the rotation. While talented and still reliable, these guys were better suited to throw 1-2 innings, rather than 5+ required by starting pitchers.

Some even become Hall of Fame relief pitchers like Mariano Rivera, who too could not make it as a starting pitcher before becoming a dominant set up man, and then a HOF closer.

Then you have relief pitchers who spend their whole career in the bullpen and become well known for their ability to execute their roles to perfection, starting from when they were in college and high school ball.

While the bullpen can be debated by fans across the league, every team has a different approach when it comes to constructing and paying for a bullpen that will come in a shut down the opposing teams.

Some players will command a lot of money because of their pedigree and their stats, and while they may think they are worth a large sum of money, MLB teams may disagree and turn to cheaper, more controllable options to get the job done (sorry Craig Kimbrel).

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the three highest-paid relievers for the 2019 season (as per Sportrac).

 Highest Paid Relief Pitcher: Wei-Yin Chen

5-Years, $80M ($16M AAV)

Wei-Yin Chen is a case where a starting pitcher has lost their touch and went to the bullpen to find it again. The only problem is that Chen has had an abysmal 2019 campaign, so instead of finding his groove back to the starting rotation, he is playing himself further and further away from starting ever again.

At #1 on our list with a 2019 salary of an even $20 million dollars, Wei-Yin Chen was signed by the Miami Marlins to a 5 year-$80 million dollar deal that will see him in a Marlins uniform until he hits free agency in 2021.

When Chen came over to the Marlins, he was a starting pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles for 4 years already. With the Baltimore Orioles, Chen pitched to a 46-32 record with a 3.72 ERA.

While the 5-year deal may have been a bit of an overspend by the Marlins, the deal looked to be alright considering Chen was having some solid seasons within the tough AL East Division.

Since his arrival in Miami, his career has gone completely off the rails, with numerous injuries and poor starts over his past 3 seasons, forcing the Marlins to relegate Chen to the bullpen to begin the 2019 season.

While in the bullpen this year, Chen has been just brutal, appearing in 8 games and 11 innings, featuring an 11.45 ERA and giving up 5 home runs with 19 hits.

In a team in the middle of a rebuild, Chen is not helping the cause by any means. He is owed a lot of money over the next few years, and he is really not playing that well. If he were a younger player not signed to this long term deal, he would be in AAA right now or outright released.

With his rough start to the year, Chen has virtually made himself not only an expensive liability but virtually a worthless trade asset for others teams, so Derek Jeter and Co. will most likely never find a trade partner for his services (unless they pay his entire salary moving forward).

Of all MLB relief pitchers, I bet you didn’t guess Wei-Yin Chin was the highest paid in 2019, did you?

 Highest Paid Relief Pitchers: Mark Melancon

4-Years, $62M ($15.5M AAV)

Another surprising addition to this list, relief pitcher/closer Mark Melancon comes in at #3 on the list of top paid relief pitchers in the MLB at an even $19 million dollars. 

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Melancon is a weird case in that not only has he been a reliever his whole MLB career, he was also primarily used in the bullpen during his playing days with the University of Arizona.

His stats in college would intrigue the New York Yankees enough to draft him in the 9th round of the 2006 amateur draft, throwing him in the bullpen once again.

Melancon would make his debut with the Yankees in 2009 and would ride the options train all year between AAA and the MLB.

The following season, Melancon would be traded to the Houston Astros, and would again be traded in 2011 (to the Boston Red Sox) and in 2012 (to the Pittsburgh Pirates) before finally staying on an MLB roster for more than one year.

It was during his time in Pittsburgh that Mark Melancon would be used primarily as the closer, saving over 130 games with the Pirates in his 3.5 years with the team.

In mid-June of 2016, Melancon would be traded to the Washington Nationals before entering his free agency year and would go on to sign a 4 year, $62 million dollar contract with the San Francisco Giants.

For those of you who got bored and skimmed to this part of the story, he has played for 6 different teams since making his debut in 2009 and is now being used in more of a setup role with the Giants since signing his long term deal.

He has also won the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award once and is a 3-time All-Star.

Over the course of his 11 years, Melancon has pitched to a 2.74 ERA and has amassed over 182 saves with 5 different teams (he did not have a save with the Yankees).

With Melancon becoming a free agent after the 2020 season, he will be in a difficult spot in that teams may not be willing to fork over a lot of money to a premier relief pitcher who will be entering 36 years old.

Even though Melancon is not closing games with the Giants, he is still an effective reliever/set-up man, and has thrown in 13 innings this year and has a 2.03 ERA.

He should be able to secure a deal with a club when his contract expires, albeit for less money than what he previously signed, but still pitching in the major leagues.