Bullpen help is typically the most volatile commodity in baseball. While many teams think they're set when Opening Day rolls around, that's often not the case. As such, free agents are often turned to for depth. While they often don't work out (there's a reason they're unsigned midseason, after all), sometimes teams reap the benefits of their low-risk investments. Here's a look at some of the more notable midseason bullpen signings…
- Kevin Gregg — The Cubs inked Gregg back on April 14, and he's served as their closer for most of the season. Gregg has a 2.85 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9, but he's stumbled tremendously since a lights-out start to the year. Even though he's pitched poorly since July 1, he's still managed to pick up 25 saves overall for Chicago.
- Francisco Rodriguez — The Brewers brought K-Rod back on April 17 and celebrated his 300th career save later in the season. He pitched to a 1.09 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 24 2/3 innings for the Crew before being flipped to the Orioles for Nick Delmonico — an infielder who entered the season as one of the Birds' Top 5 prospects.
- David Aardsma — Aardsma's numbers would've looked a lot better if this poll had been conducted 72 hours ago — just before he had a four-run meltdown against the Padres. Still, he's delivered a 4.50 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 18 innings since signing with the Mets on May 20.
- Brian Wilson – Wilson signed a Major League contract with the Dodgers but has yet to appear in a game. He should debut shortly after firing 4 1/3 scoreless innings of minor league relief with the team as he finalized his rehab.
- Jose Valverde — Valverde was lights out for the Tigers for a few weeks, posting a 0.75 ERA over his first 12 innings of work. Unfortunately for Detroit, he crashed and burned with 11 earned runs (and six homers) over his final 7 1/3 innings of relief.
With that said, let's open it up to a poll…
