Rick Porcello’s contract is nuts, and more
The Boston Red Sox are insane. On Tuesday, the franchise decided to lock up Rick Porcello, a promising pitcher who came over from the Detroit Tigers in a swap for Yoenis Cespedes.
Porcello, who has a career 76-63 record with a 4.30 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, was given a four-year, $82.5 million contract. No, that was not a typo. Porcello, 26, has never won more than 15 games and only one campaign with better than a 3.96 ERA.
Without question, Porcello has promise to become a top-end starter but he’s not an ace. The New Jersey native has a powerful arm and good stuff, yet nobody is projecting that Porcello is going to be leading Boston to the promised land any day soon. It is a contract which reeks of desperation and hoping to make a splash, exciting the fans about a pitching staff which can be described aptly as mediocre.
This is not the first time the Red Sox have handed $82.5 million to a pitcher. The team did the same with John Lackey to lure him away from the Los Angeles Angels in 2010, per Jack Andrade of Boston.com. It is amazing to see how contracts for pitching have exploded in the new millennium. Consider than when Boston inked Pedro Martinez – at the height of his dominance – in 1998, the future Hall of Famer received a six-year, $75 million contract. At the time, he was the highest-paid pitcher in the game.
You have to wonder if the Red Sox were bidding against themselves in this situation. Porcello is obviously under contract, so why offer such a huge sum of money? Even on the open market, it is hard to see a team ponying up that kind of cash for a hurler most see as a middle-of-the-rotation guy.
Marlins reeled in
The Miami Marlins were a trendy pick in Spring Training to make some noise in the National League. With a potent lineup led by Giancarlo Stanton and a starting staff brimming with potential, Miami has the talent to make noise. In their opening series against the sad-sack Atlanta Braves, the only sound heard from the Marlins was a thud. Miami was outscored 16-3 in a three-game sweep at home, losing in ugly fashion twice.
First hits everywhere
In the contest between the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, three players earned their first Major League hits. Tyler Ladendorf and Mark Canha of Oakland recorded knocks, with Ladendorf going 1-for-3 with two RBI while Canha went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and four RBI. Texas lost 10-0, but Delino Deshields Jr. pinch-hit for Leonys Martin and beat out an infield chopper, providing a great memory in his first at-bat.
