Confirmed: Lackey Deal Imminent
Kudos to Ed Price, whose credibility in the baseball internet world was bumped up a few notches when he first scooped this one. All major outlets are now confirming that a physical did indeed take place, and a deal between the Red Sox and pitcher John Lackey is very close.
I have some mixed emotions here. Frankly, Lackey is (was?) one of my least favorite non-pinstriped players. I seem to remember a barrage of nonsensical blather spewing from his mouth on multiple occasions during post game interviews (both wins and losses). Of course, if he actually is a member of the Red Sox, my evaluation of Lackey will unapologetically change from “loud mouthed half-wit” to “fierce, emotional competitor”. Let’s face it; guys like Lackey, Joey Porter, and Rasheed Wallace are fun to watch if you happen to root for their teams, and despicable if you do not.
Anyway, let’s take a look at Lackey’s on field attributes.
Lackey, 31, is a big right-hander with four pitch arsenal. His best pitch might be the curveball, which he uses roughly in roughly 25% of his throws (only two AL pitchers used the deuce more frequently last year: Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett). He’ll also feature a slider and a changeup to supplement his above-average fastball, which he commands with very good accuracy (11th in the AL in BB/9 innings in 2009).
Some notes:
- Has struggled at Fenway Park throughout his career (5.75 ERA in 51.2 innings). Of course, a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that the Red Sox have had some scary lineups between 2003 and 2009.
- Missed time with an elbow-injury at the beginning of 2009, but seemed to get better/stronger as the year progressed, which is a positive sign for a guy who was once a lock for 200 innings per year. If you break his season down into thirds (9 starts each) it looks like this: first 9 starts: 5.9 innings per start, 5.06 ERA, next 18 starts: 6.8 innings per start, 3.29 ERA
- 3.12 ERA in 78 career playoff innings.
- Only started 1 game against the Yankees last year, but did well: a 7 inning, 2 run win
The terms of the contract are being reported as $85 million over 5 years. That’s that annual average of $17 million per year, making Lackey the highest-paid member of the team.
My take: for some reason, the AAV of $17 million seems like a very, very big number to me. I’ve known all along that Lackey was looking for a similar deal to A.J. Burnett, but I can’t help but feel some sticker shock here. That’s a very big commitment to make for a guy who might be (just ballparking this) the 15th best pitcher in baseball. It’s probably a sign that the inventory of available pitchers is thin; the next-most sought after free agent starter after Lackey is old friend Joel Pineiro.
It’s a relatively safe investment, since Lackey has been consistent and durable throughout his career (for the most part), but one can’t help but wonder what effect that $85 million commitment will have on the budget next winter, when several free agents of much greater value will be available.
In any case, the Red Sox are a much better team today than they were yesterday. A Red Sox team anchored by pitching and defense is not something I am used to, but I am very much looking forward to witnessing them in action next spring.
Coming up: thoughts on LF, now that it appears that Jason Bay is gone.
Looking forward to spring training too – should be interesting to watch the team evolve.
“Kiss our first round draft picks goodbye. Unless Jason Bay signs with a team other than the NY Mets, the Red Sox will not have one of the first 30 picks in the draft next year.”
Is this a brain fart?
The Boston Red Sox will receive the 20th selection from the Atlanta Braves as compensation for not signing type A free agent Billy Wagner.
Matt – definite brain fart. For some reason, I was thinking #20 went away with Lackey’s signing, but that isn’t the case.