The Indians announced that right-hander Rick VandenHurk has declined his outright assignment and elected free agency. The team cleared roster space by designating the out of options 26-year-old for assignment last week.
It's been a busy couple of months for VandenHurk. The Orioles released the native of the Netherlands in February, the Blue Jays signed him to a Major League contract soon afterwards. The Indians then claimed him off of waivers only to designate his contract and outright him to the minor leagues.
VandenHurk spent most of the 2011 season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for last year's Orioles team. He has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.
I hope that VDH’s agent has told him that another team is interested in signing him. Otherwise, he’s an idiot for turning down the guaranteed money of a major league contract. He’s a borderline pitcher. His stuff is good enough to get AAA hitters out but not major league hitters, and he doesn’t command it well enough.
Very true. He has the stuff, but not the consistency. Late in his first year here, he came in against the Jays at OPACY and pitched 5.1 innings of two hit ball. He looked great, didn’t walk anyone, had great command. He was just like any number of marginal major league players who, for one appearance at least, looked like they belonged. The next time out, the Yankees bombed him for three runs in an inning that included two walks. His ERA rose almost two runs. And there went the feeling of belonging.
He’ll hang around the fringes for several years. He’s big, strong, can speak five languages, but a successful long term career looks unlikely.