The final inning thrown by John Lackey in his last outing brought him to 200 on the season, and that number has more meaning than just serving as a nice, round milestone, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As Goold reports, the Cardinals and Lackey reworked his 2015 contract so that he would earn a $400K bonus upon reaching 200 innings. Of course, Lackey’s 2015 salary will still be peanuts compared to his career earnings and the previous, $16.5MM annual salary on his five-year deal. That contract contained a clause that added a club option at the league minimum in the event that Lackey suffered a serious elbow injury, which he did midway through the deal when he required Tommy John surgery. Goold previously reported that Lackey would’ve earned $1.2MM in bonuses at 150 innings, so this next bonus figures to push him slightly over $400K when factoring in his $507K base. Even at ~$2.1MM, Lackey would be among the game’s best bargains. The 36-year-old has turned in a 2.79 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in his 200 innings this season.
Elsewhere in the NL Central…
- Eugenio Suarez has done a brilliant job filling in for injured Reds shortstop Zack Cozart since being recalled midway through the year, but there won’t be many at-bats for him at shortstop in 2016 when Cozart is back up to speed. The 24-year-old Suarez, though, is more than willing to switch positions to remain in the lineup, he tells MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “If they need me at another position, I would try to play there,” said Suarez. “For me, the important thing is to play in the big leagues.” Manager Bryan Price said that he thinks both Cozart and Suarez can be regulars for the Reds in the future. Suarez, who was acquired in the lopsided trade that sent Alfredo Simon to Detroit, has batted .284/.321/.458 with 11 homers in 81 games with the Reds this season. In my recent Three Needs piece on the Reds, I suggested that Cincinnati look to move Brandon Phillips to open playing time for Suarez at second base. Failing that, the Reds could try him in left field.
- The Brewers and right-hander Jimmy Nelson received excellent news on Thursday after Nelson was struck in the head by a 108-mph line drive, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. A CT scan somewhat incredibly revealed only a bruise, leaving the 26-year-old otherwise unscathed. Manager Craig Counsell wouldn’t commit to a plan of action for Nelson following the scare. Nelson has been one of Milwaukee’s most consistent starters in 2015, working to a 4.11 ERA (4.12 FIP, 4.07 xFIP) across 177 1/3 innings.
Lackey is even more of a bargain because the Cards don’t have to pay Allen Craig either.
I know it’s been said many times, but many isn’t enough. That trade was awful. Look at him this year. That’s not a man who ever wanted to retire. He tricked the Sox into trading him to the NL and they fell for it.
The info given on Lackey is incorrect. The $400k bonus he just got is only one of several bonuses. He’ll be earning closer to $2MM, I believe.
Link: m.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/lackey…
Thanks! Not sure I saw that amidst the trade deadline chaos, but I’ve updated the post with the correct info on his 2015 earnings. Much appreciated.
No problem! Thanks for the great content, day in and day out.
Appreciate the kind words. Your feedback was particularly well-timed, as I’ve been working on a post taking a look at Lackey’s free agent stock that would’ve otherwise had the wrong info on his 2015 salary, so I’m doubly appreciative!
still, a bargain. But Kelly rebounded this year and won eight in a row and and had a 1.88 ERA in his last seven victories. Kelly could still make that trade look good for the Red Sox.
Slight critique on the phrase “lopsided trade” above:
Simon is not going to win a Cy Young anytime soon. However, he replaced Scherzer on the roster and has actually has more wins than Max this year, on a team the is horrible.
He is the type of pitcher that has a high ERA, because when he is bad, he is really bad. However, the has a 1 hitter and another game where he took a no hitter into the late innings.
If the team around him was any good, he would be a very solid #3.
You’re resorting to wins to justify that trade?
Simon is the type of pitcher who has a high ERA because he is not very good. He’s had a few good games, but many more than were downright awful.
He could be a #3 in the NL with a good defense. Definitely doesn’t belong in the AL.
He is the statistical equivalent of Rick Porcello at 1/10th the contract cost.
Some fantastic starts counterpoised by some pathetic starts.
For both Porcello and Simon, ERA may not be the best measure of overall quality.
As for Simon/Porcello/Scherzer comparison:
Simon has TEN starts in which he has given up 0 or 1 run.
Porcello has 5.
Scherzer has 11.
Like I said, when he is ON he is ON. It is just that his bad games are horrible.
Back to the Porcello comps again? Porcello is making 12.25 million this year and Simon is making 5.5 million. How exactly is that 1/10th the cost? Unless you mean next years contract which will admittedly pay Porcello 20.125 million but what Simon makes is still to be determined (probably about half). Comparing one bad pitcher to another doesn’t really do much to prove anything though. Unless you’re going for both Porcello and Simon are terrible but at least Simon is cheaper, which isn’t a very good argument.
Fair enough. Total Contract value is what I was pointing to, but if you want to call Simon = Porcello, I am good with that. It is just that Simon is not a horrible pitcher. He is an OK #3 with big upside about 1/3rd of the time.
Porcello and Simon have high ERAs even though they are both excellent pitchers some of the time. Neither is very consistent however.
They’re not very comparable. Simon’s one good year (and only full season as a starter until this year) was one where his ERA outperformed most of his advanced stats by a wide margin whereas (before this year) Porcello typically underperformed his advanced stats until last year. There is a reason why they signed him to the extension, however foolish it was.
I am referring to 2015 stats. Had the Tigers been a powerhouse team and made it to the ALDS this year, he would have been pitching game 3 and would probably be favored in that game. Suarez for that kind of guy is not a bad trade at all.
Of course, the rest of the team vastly underperformed, so that will not happen.
Simon’s 2015 starts are terrible across the board, except wins of course… Singling out his few good games doesn’t suddenly make him a great #3.
Never saw Guru use the word “great”. Suarez wouldn’t have even been the utility fielder on the Tigers. Simon has provided innings on a team that doesn’t have a bullpen. Suarez fits better in Cincinnati, but Simon filled a role in Detroit. No regrets as Suarez probably wouldn’t have been worth any different this year after another year in AAA.
Wins for Simon or Porcello are a very valuable, despite what the pocket protectors declare. [Side note: absurd that Jack Morris is not in the hall of fame simply because he did not play in Boston/NY coupled with his “high ERA”….same issue].
2015, Simon had about the same probability of completely dominating (as define by giving up 0 or 1 runs) his opponent as $210MM Scherzer.
For a #3 pitcher, that is well above average. And I did not call him great.
Realistically are not Simon and Porcello #5 starters on a good team and innings eaters on a bad team. Porcello has joined a long list of those who have not lived up to their potential or their contact. Simon has discovered modest success at age 33.