John Lackey intends to pitch “for a couple of more years” after getting clearance from his family, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. Though Lackey turns 37 in October, he’ll still be in line for a multi-year deal in free agency this winter given how well he’s pitched over the last three seasons. Lackey has expressed an interest in remaining in the NL and ideally continuing to pitch for the Cardinals, who could be interested on a short-term deal.
- Jake Arrieta is represented by Scott Boras but that doesn’t mean the righty is destined to leave the Cubs when he hits free agency, ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers writes. Boras himself notes in the piece that he has had several high-profile clients who signed extensions with teams, while Arrieta said he has enjoyed his time in Chicago. “I came over to this organization and was embraced by everybody and they made me feel extremely welcome and the comfort level was there from the get-go. It was like a seamless transition,” Arrieta said.
- It seems like A.J. Burnett will return to the Pirates rotation perhaps as early as Wednesday against the Reds. GM Neal Huntington didn’t confirm any timeline with reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), though “we do have (a plan); we just need to have some conversations with those who are impacted by it. Those will take place over the next day or so.” Burnett has been sidelined for over a month recovering from a flexor strain in his throwing elbow but threw a simulated game on Friday and a bullpen session Sunday.
- Marc DelPiano is leaving his position as a special assistant to Pirates GM Neal Huntington to take a senior vice-president role with the Marlins, ESPN’s Keith Law reports (Twitter link). DelPiano has been with Pittsburgh since 2008, the latest stop in a 25-year career as a scout, coach and front office member with several different teams. DelPiano previously worked with the Marlins in various capacities from 2000-05, including serving as their director of player development during the Marlins’ 2003 World Series season.
Loria brings back someone who worked with him before…. no shocker there.
I think Lackey should take a short term deal with the cardinals, He has pitched very well for them.
He pitched well for Boston also, ones he was 100% healthy elbow wise. early years there, was just damage there in his elbow, or waiting for the surgery to heal and the fans only got to see him healthy for a season and a half.
He was hitting 95 a few times in Boston after the TJ surgery and filthy stuff. Bull dog mentality. Just the type of a staff needs in it’s #3 hole in it’s rotation with Lackey in his late 30’s and Lackey is one of the few pitchers it seems to realize he can do an awful lot more damage in the NL than he can in the AL with thinner lineups and another a pitcher to face. Seems few of his comrades realize this when they cross over to the AL and get.. Well Samardziad-ed.
I have not seen Lackey pitch like this since his angels days, and his last 2 years with the red sox. I think his bulldog mentality fits with the cardinals another veteran to go with wainwright and the young pitching staff of the cardinals, or I wouldn’t mind the angels bringing him back but he left on bad terms.
There’s been some talk of a big contract for Arrieta. I don’t see how one very good year adds up to a huge contract. Even with Bras as his agent, I can’t see it.
A lot of the good pitchers in the league has Boras as their agent
1. It’s now two very good seasons. He was a 5 WAR player in 25 starts last year and is already a 5.8 WAR player this year. Last year’s 2.53 ERA (2.26 FIP) was the worst he’s been in a Cubs uniform.
2. His peripherals said he could be a good pitcher in his previous major-league season with the Orioles as well.
3. He’s going to get paid one way or another. The Cubs control him for two more years through arbitration, but with an arbitration salary forecast at nearly $10MM already next year, the man’s going to get his money. If we can guarantee him the money he’s going to see there anyway and a get a bit of a discount on a handful of free agent seasons, why not?
4. His career profile right now looks a lot like Max Scherzer to me. Well-regarded; no results to write home about early in his career; changes teams and becomes dominant; scheduled for free agency in his early 30s. Scherzer was about a year younger when he hit the market, but he was dominant for roughly the same two seasons Arrieta has been before he signed for $210MM. I feel safe to say if Arrieta continues the path he’s on, he could be in line for something near $180-200MM in free agency. If we can extend him for, say, 5 years (2 arb + 3 FA) for something around $80-100MM, that’s a huge potential savings and a great risk reduction signing him into his mid 30s instead of his (or another FA starter’s) late 30s.
5. We know him better than any other team. If the Cubs front office and field staff feels like he’ll be worth the money for the next five years, I’m going to trust that judgement.