The Blue Jays are in agreement with veteran right-hander Al Alburquerque on a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Alburquerque is represented by the MVP Sports Group.
The 31-year-old Alburquerque was a fixture in the Tigers’ bullpen from 2011-15, appearing in a total of 241 games and totaling 225 innings of 3.20 ERA ball. Alburquerque has long shown a knack for missing bats thanks in large part to an excellent slider that he throws more often than his fastball (60.2 percent usage rate in his career).
Alburquerque averaged 11.0 K/9 and just 0.6 HR/9 in his run with the Tigers, but his control was also a persistent issue. Alburquerque averaged 5.0 walks per nine innings in that span, hit eight batters and uncorked 20 wild pitches. By the time he reached his fifth season in Detroit, his strikeout rate and swinging-strike rates had dropped off considerably from their peak levels (8.5 K/9, 11.1 swinging-strike rate in ’15).
Since that time, Alburquerque has bounced around the American League, spending time in the Angels, Mariners, Royals and White Sox organizations. (He did not pitch in the Majors with Seattle.) Alburquerque has totaled 20 innings in the Majors across the past two seasons, working to a 2.70 ERA with a less-encouraging 15-to-10 K/BB ratio in that time. He did post a strong 2.87 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against just 2.4 BB/9 in 37 1/3 Triple-A frames last season, though he was ultimately non-tendered by the White Sox in December.
This has been the slowest moving offseason I’ve ever seen. I hope some of these big names like Arietta/Darvish/Homser/JD price themselves out of their own markets.
Next off seasons historic market is also harming this years. Why spend huge money and years for this crop when. A much better one is not long off ? Not to mention this isn’t the sexiest class of feee agents either
Sexiest lol
this years class is the teen choice awards. next years class is the maxim top 100
Does anyone pay attention to either of those things?
Let’s go owners! Stop those greedy players who make the product enjoyable from earning what the market dictates!!!!!
Alburquerque has bounced around the American League, spending time in the Angels, Mariners, Royals and White Sox organizations and completely depleting those teams NOB letters.
Good low risk signing.
Now we get to see whether the Jays should have turned left at Al Alburquerque.
Bugs!
“Of course you realize this means war…”
link to youtu.be
Its anazing to me that a guy with a career 3.16 ERA over a rather substantial sample size still can’t get a guaranteed deal.
Mariano Rivera has a career 2.21 ERA, and no one has given him a guaranteed deal since 2013.
He lost his ability to strikeout batters at an elite level the last few years but retained his poor control.
yeah, guys like Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez can’t get contracts as well. Something fishy is going on
I like the deal, low risk, potential for high reward if he catches fire he can help the bullpen, if not we lose nothing
this slow off-season also has to do with the amount of talent that will be arriving next off season in the form of free agency. Many teams are also in the rebuilding stage as well.
Al has the coolest name in MLB.
Ah, Alburquerque, making rabbits forget to make left turns since 1945.
Was Albuquerque injured in 2016?