Jonathan Broxton may have only thrown 12 2/3 innings last season, but his strong track record is keeping interest in him high, even in a stacked market for closers. SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that more than 10 teams have inquired on Broxton and requested his medical records.
Last week, there were reports that the Blue Jays and 4-6 other teams were in on the lifelong Dodger, but that number appears to have risen. From 2006-2009, Broxton racked up 303 1/3 innings of 2.79 ERA ball while whiffing 11.8 hitters per nine innings. Broxton has slipped to a 4.32 ERA over his last two seasons though, and his once blistering fastball has dropped from the 96-98 mph range (97.8 in 2009) to the 94.1 mph he averaged in his small 2011 sample size.
Broxton's strong track record landed him 47th on MLBTR's Top 50 free agent list, letting him just barely sneak into our Free Agent Prediction contest. Broxton underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in September but expects to begin throwing within the next two weeks. Ben Nicholson-Smith examined his free agent stock in late September and predicted a one-year deal with plenty of incentives.
Broxton is the cover boy for washed-up relievers. Buy very low, teams, and don’t expect more than 7th-inning or MAYBE 8th-inning setup work from him.
(This all stems from my fear that the Red Sox are going to horribly mangle the back end of their bullpen.)
Broxton is the cover boy for washed-up relievers. Buy very low, teams, and don’t expect more than 7th-inning or MAYBE 8th-inning setup work from him.Well what do you think about Brad Lidge.. he might be a set-up man in 2012, just like Broxton may be.
(This all stems from my fear that the Red Sox are going to horribly mangle the back end of their bullpen.) Didn’t they already do that in 2011. Theo thought Bard could get the job done and he couldn’t. Bobbie Jenks was beyond terrible last year and then he got injured. The only thing that you have left to fear is if Cherington decides to trade for Kevin Gregg. All I would want for Gregg from the Red Sox would be the eating of his salary and maybe a picture with the Green Monster (Mascot). However, your fear would have turned into a real life nightmare if the Sox did that.
Yeah, I mean I’m afraid they’ll make it worse. I’m not really that fond of most of the options out there (esp the “high profile” ones like Bell and Madson), but I’m afraid they’re going to put too much money into iffy setup guys anyway.
Wouldn’t mind the Padres signing him. Although, they do not give out incentive ladened deals, which he is reportedly looking for.
As a Dodger fan, I wouldn’t mind the Padres signing him either!
As a Phillies fan, I wouldn’t mind the Mets signing him.
Neither does AA in Toronto so expect them out of the deal also if he wants one…
Neither does AA in Toronto so expect them out of the deal also if he wants one…
I’m sure the RED SOX top that list of interested teams…
They already have a injury-prone overweight pitcher. I guess another couldn’t hurt..
It’d definitely give the Popeye’s franchises in Boston a boost
Blue Jays. Perfect example of players that Anthopoulos loves to get cheap.
Broxton won’t come cheap if more than 10 teams are after him! With the new rules more teams are going to be interested in players because they won’t have to give up draft choices. Supply and demand, more teams interested, more money to player.
Well, cheap-er than if he were healthy!
If he was healthy, he probably wouldn’t even be a free agent now.
Not sure how your theory applies to a player like Broxton who wasn’t going to cause a team to give up anything….he not a Type A….or B for that matter….I also suspect that after seeing his Med records that there won’t be 10 teams giving competitive offers to drive up the price that much….my guess is 3-5 w/ the Red Sox being one of them….
I agree, but with this much interest it might not be as cheap as people think. I wouldnt be surprised if he gets a 1 year deal at like 3.5-5mm guaranteed and a vesting option for a 2nd year if he stays off the dl for the whole year, PLUS performance incentives. Still a good gamble to take if im AA.
The incentive for Broxton is the opportunity to take on the closer role. The Blue Jays have absolutely nobody in their current bullpen who could play that role and even fewer options coming up in the minors who could as well.
If they Jays are willing to pony up the money they could give Broxton a 2 yr guaranteed commitment and an opportunity to take over the role if he shows he’s healthy. I think the additions of Broxton and possibly a K-Rod or Nathan could be a decent 2-3 year bridge for the team….but they’ll have to start developing some home grown talent for a change.
Well they do have Janssen, which i could see givin a chance if they dont end up getting Broxton/Nathan/K.Rod etc but id try for Broxton first, and see how he does during the season before Janssen is givin any kind of shot.
Obviously someone doesn’t know the farm system very well as the jays have a large surplus in pitching coming up from the minors, especially a lot of High velocity guys in the low minors, you have to think one of them can do it
Obviously someone doesn’t know the farm system very well as the jays have a large surplus in pitching coming up from the minors, especially a lot of High velocity guys in the low minors, you have to think one of them can do it
Isn’t this the player that AA wouldn’t want to go after? Incentive laden deals where the contract doesn’t give the club cost certainty. Also, depending on the incentives, players may try to act selfishly when it comes to performance just to get themselves more money.
Can anyone remember any contracts that AA has dished out with any incentives at all in the last 2 years? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think he’s given any of them out.
Most if not all free agent/ extension contracts have some incentives in them. But that being said I don’t think AA has given out a low base salary high incentive contracts b
There wasn’t any player that required an incentive laden deal though. This a different case where there are alot of closers out there , and in this case (Broxton) might have the biggest upside in relation to years and dollar amount. I dont think cost certainty is a huge deal considering the contract wouldnt be anywhere close to what you’d be paying Bell/Madson even K.Rod, and the Jays arent exactly operating on strict numbered budget, they operate on a player by player basis. Nathan is the only other guy i can see signing for fairly cheap and not have to be locked up for 3 years like the three i just mentioned.
He only pitched 12 innings last year dude… Broxton is the sh!ts. go for Nathan, Street, Bailey or even K-Rod played more than he did last year…
Im well aware how much he played, the reason im speaking about the incentive laden deal is because he was injured… hence y i said has the biggest upside in relation to years/dollar amount , if he returns to form it could be a bargain compared to the others. Nathan would be the only other choice i wouldnt mind. Bailey, street would cost prospects, K.Rod would cost more then broxton or nathan and most likely youd need to add a 3rd year as well.
He really hasn’t had any reason to do so. Two years isn’t exactly a lot to go on/ Broxton would be a perfect player to go after as long as he’s healthy. Chalk up 2011 to injuries. Go back to 2011. He had a 3.01 FIP and while his velocity did dip, it was still a respectable 95.3 mph. His walk rate is always going to be an issue but I think his struggles were more to do with an uptick in walks (more runners on base) and being unlucky (a .363 BaBIP which was .50 points above his career norm). I do think he would benefit from a bigger park that works in a pitchers favor though, even though his splits weren’t horrible in 2010.
nope, cause he hasnt. and wont. he doesnt like incentive deals i don’t know why everyone thinks he does lol i agree with you. i say nathan, street, bailey or someone within the organization should take on the role.
the Jays will make a mistake if they go for him. There better off keeping Frankie Fransisco before taking on Broxton. Plus he likes laden contract deals, which AA is against.
He’s still young, and a semi-recently dominant closer. I’d be interested….. at the right deal for a 7th inning spot
He’s a typical Torre reliever. He was overused until he burned out. That they got 5 good yrs out of him was a miracle
Imagine what Mo could of been if Torre hadn’t been his manager…….
haha.
Who did these supposedly interested teams ask for Broxton’s medical records? His agent? I’m confused because usually when they mention that, they refer to the team that the player belongs to, but my understanding was that Broxton was a free agent.
Good question, but I presume at this point, the player. The exact nature of Brox’s problems always were a bit of a mystery. With all the talk about his arm being blown out by Torre’s overuse (as if anyone really knows), the question of his emotional orientation has also been on the table. We can hardly expect him to be throwing 98 again and perhaps it’s going to be even tougher for him to regain the fear-nothing attitude that closers need to be dominating.
I was hoping the Dodgers would keep Broxton for at least one more year, though, and give him a late-inning spot if he didn’t re-claim his closer role during Spring Training. A shut down pen anchored by Guerra, Jansen, and Broxton, in no particular order, would allow the Dodgers to essentially reduce games they lead in to six innings.
Elbert and Lindblom > Broxton at this point. They both had fantastic seasons. 2.73 ERA, 1.045 WHIP, 8.5 K/9 for Lindblom and 2.43 ERA, 1.230 WHIP, 9.3 K/9 for Elbert.
If Guerra, Jansen, Elbert and Lindblom can keep it up, we’ll have a great bullpen. Guerrier and Hawksworth are both decent.
Kuo or Belisario could always make a return, and I wouldn’t be surprised by either of them having a better season than Broxton.
Tolleson and St. Clair waiting in the minors… both had great seasons, too.
What are you judging Broxton by, 12 IP last year?
Broxton and Chipper share an agent and Broxton is a local product. With Wren’s insistence on bringing in a veteran reliever and willingness to sign an injury risk, they could be one of the teams.
AA likes his players just like his women.. CHEAP AND EASY!
AA for effort.
…what are you trying to say about his wife?
Luckily this post plugs the Free Agent contest on MLBTR. Important information.
I think he’ll end up on an NL team, probably the Mets.
The back end of the Yanks bullpen is already cluttered with Mo, Soriano, RObertson and possibly Joba mid-season but Broxton is the kind of player every team should be in on as long as he’s not asking for a huge guarantee or more than 1 year. I know he would sign with us because we wouldn’t offer the right look for him to try and re-establish his value though.
He might be a great look for the Mets though. High visibility, huge park and they need a closer.
That was my pick as well.
I can’t tell if this was a fat joke or just a happy coincidence.
I’d like him on the Mets. Was a strikeout machine until he got hurt. I hope they can grab Joe Nathan also and have them compete for the closer job.
I want tus guy in cubies bullpen
I want tus guy in cubies bullpen
Boston makes sense. Atlanta too. I’m torn on who I want the Sox to pursue, Broxton of Nathan. Nathan struggled last year but he was only around the 12 month mark for TJS. Usually by the 18 month mark the player is back to full strength. A healthy Nathan could be very interesting option for Boston for the 8th or 9th inning role.
Also, I want them to saty far away from Madson and Bell. Bell doesn’t miss bats and moving to Fenway from Petco/Al East from the spacious NL West spells disaster IMO
look for jack z to bring broxton to seattle.