The Indians have a deal in place with righty reliever Tyler Clippard, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It’s a minor-league pact that would pay him $1.75MM in the majors with up to $1MM in incentives.
Clippard worked plenty of useful frames last year for the Blue Jays, compiling a 3.67 ERA in 68 2/3 innings. That’s well shy of his prime levels, when he was a late-inning stalwart for the Nationals, but still represents a productive campaign.
Interestingly, Clippard has become an even more extreme pitcher than he was in his heyday. The 34-year-old worked at a healthy 14.3% swinging-strike rate and carried 11.1 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. He also carried a 19.2% groundball rate last year, the lowest rate in all of baseball. Clippard still knows how to get hitters to chase and whiff on his change-up. The question remains what happens with his high heaters.
In each of the past three seasons, more than 12 percent of the balls put in the air against Clippard have ended up leaving the yard, breaking a string of six-straight years with a HR/FB rate of less than ten percent. As a result, Clippard has surrendered 33 dingers over his past 192 innings — a boost in long ball frequency that maps to a reduction in his average four-seam velocity.
On the other hand, Clippard did still bounce back to a well-above-average 16.3% infield fly rate, allowing him to rack up easy outs. When he keeps the ball in the yard, Clippard remains awfully tough to touch. In fact, he allowed earned runs in only five contests last year in which he did not also surrender a home run.
All things considered, it seems like an easy risk for the Indians to take. Clippard wasn’t well-loved by FIP (4.24) and xFIP (4.28) last year, or in the prior few campaigns, but checked in with an appealing 3.42 SIERA number in 2018. He also fared well in the eyes of Statcast, which credited him with a .278 xwOBA (compared with a .309 wOBA). Clippard is also the game’s most durable reliever, easily topping the league in total innings over the past decade.
Was just on the forgotten FA list… lol
Lol Eppler must have read it
I must not be able to read though cuz I thought it said Angels signed him.
Change that to Chernoff
Clippy Longstocking
he’s in Cleveland so he’s still forgotten
Yeah, best rotation in baseball and playoffs bound again, so easy to lose track of…
Boom!
since when was Tyler a SP? is tyler himself going to officially make them playoff bound? who is Brad Hand? In San Diago we always heard about Brad but now with the Indians he’s just another player…so yes Tyler’s name will be lost in the bullpen…..BOOM
He’s not a SP, but your dig was at being in Cleveland. He’ll be in the bullpen of the best rotation, so he won’t be forgotten. Find a better way to throw your digs next time.
PS: Hand was a nobody in Florida and a somebody in Ohio. Hand is not forgotten, everyone knows he’ll be the Tribe closer. Ever think you heard of Hand as a Padre because you’re in SD and/or a Padres fan genius?
actually I’m east coast ….we are talking about the popularity of the name. Before Cleveland you always heard of this Padres star(mlbtr, sports columns, etc)…brad hand…now in Cleveland and his name is now hurried along with thier other talent. Tyler will be burried in the pen and too just because a forgotten name worth mentioning in articles . so yes, he will be forgotten.
Because guys signing minor league deals after ST starts should be getting front page headlines…
so now you change your stance about it…btw mets have a better rotation
Sarcasm and no they don’t…
Best rotation…maybe. But hands down… now the worst hitting team in baseball. They subtracted …Brantley,Encarnacion,Gomes and Alonso. And this miserable ownership is depending on ….Greg Allen?…justin Luplow?…Kevin Plawecki?….Jake Bauer?…an encore of Tyler Naquin? Not one of these guys can hit, they have already proven it. And this is to say nothing of the fact that Roberto Perez struggles to hit above .200. This miserable ownership and Front Office has betrayed us. God help our pitching staff.
Playoff bound my foot. Who is going to hit? Look for a ton of 1-0 and 2-1 games. and that is if we still get good pitching. Remember, we lost Brantley…,Encarnacion…,Gomes…,Alonso…. And they are depending on Jordan Luplow…,Greg Allen… Leonys Martin…,Kevin Plawecki and Roberto Perez? …..What a joke!
Goodyear’s clubhouse is getting crowded.
No longer forgotten!
Indians must have read your list
A little surprised he couldn’t find a MLB deal. Been durable and above average basically each year
Could say that for many guys that signed minor league deals
Clippard is a HR waiting to happen. Combo’d With the age I’m not too shocked. If he’s good enough he’ll be up in the bigs. Especially with the pen he just signed on with.
Clippard is not the issue. We don.t need,,, or even need… to talk about yet another a washed up cheap reliever. We should be talking about our hitting. All the subtractions in the off-season has left this team offense-less.or should I say offensive. Look at the stats of our projected outfielders…Look at the stats of our two projected catchers..It is downright depressing. Here are the guys they expect to replace all the hitting we lost……Luplow,Flaherty,Allen,Bauer,Perez,Plawecki,Martin…These guys cannot hit. They never have. Look at their stats…It is downright depressing. I hope Indians fans boycott the games.
Would be intresting to make an all minor league deal team. Clippard would have to be in the pen for it
Clipboard a good BP guy.
Clippard is not the issue. The issue is …we lost almost all of our hitting. This miserable ownership has gutted the team in this off-season. Now they are back to the old tried and untrue tactics of signing cheap relievers. Tell me why? Tell me why we need any relievers when we will not be able to score anyway.? There will be no leads. Not with the cast of cheap characters they are bringing in.. They have betrayed us…the fan base. I intend and urge all Indian fans to boycott the games.
Should have gotten a guaranteed deal, although I don’t think it’s likely he doesn’t make the team. Clippard has been solid for the last decade.
His base salary on this is more than he made in Toronto last year. (1.5 v 1.75) He also got himself a million bucks worth of incentives. This isn’t a bad deal at all for him.
He comes and goes.
2016 horrible 1st half for arizona,
goes to Yankees, pitches great
2017 horrble 1st half for Yanks, traded
Great month for White Sox, traded
Horrible finish for Astros
2018 average year for Blue Jays
He is most suited for a bad team.
Man this guy gives up so many HR’s.
Can’t be worse than Josh Tomlin was last year.
I don’t think anyone in the history of the game gives up HRs at Tomlin’s pace.
I watched Tomlin start a game down in Columbus last year after he was finally demoted. It was raining baseballs out of the park all night until he got yanked.
Good signing.
The Yankee Clippard
He’s not bad, but if he could get that HR/9 down, he would go back to being great like he was for Washington.
Crazy to me that so many proven major leaguers are having to sign minor league deals.
Most teams have a full 40-man and they don’t want to chance losing the kids for one year of a questionable veteran. Doesn’t seem all that crazy to me, the kids are the future.
Because baseball teams realize with bullpen arms and spare parts you could take several of them to camp and see who shines.
Finally something!
Dammit. As a 50+ year Indians fan, I do not like this signing. I am too damn old to stay up late at night, and with the pace that Clippard works, he is still trying to close out his last game from last year.
Lol..as a Brave fan 60+ years so glad Braves can’t sign him now !!!
No risk signing. If he has anything left, he will make the team. If not, he will be gone.
^^^
He throws 7 mph slower than he did in his glory days. The velo drop does not work out well for high ball pitchers.
Well, we couldn’t go into the season with Josh Tomlin again, so we got the next best thing.
Oh yea you Indians fans are gonna absolutely love clippy !!!! Lmao
Ironically, we’ve taken Chief Wahoo off of the uniforms, and have signed a player whose delivery to the plate can be measured with a sun dial.
Instant upgrade to any one of their OF positions. Good move.
“This guy’s dead.” “Well, cross him off the list then”. – Rachael Phelps-Antonetti
It is possible Clippard gets his tater-total down thanks to that division and the cold weather in Cleveland, Chicago and Minnesota in April. Pitching in the AL East last year did not help.
It’s really frustrating that not only have the Dodgers not signed any notable relievers other than Kelly, they haven’t taken any fliers on guys like Clippard
Another reliever the Red Sox weren’t interested in? So confusing as to why DD won’t stock up the bullpen.
The Red Sox signing him would have made me ecstatic lol
Another reliever?…Period? This team has subtracted 4 good hitters and have nothing to replace them. And what are they talking about? ….Another cheap washed up veteran reliever? Where are the hitters?
as a Yankee fan, all I can say about Clippard’s time with us, is that he was the best advertisement for Tums.
Good thing you just wrote that article to remind the Indians.
It feels like over the last few seasons the Indians have signed or traded for about half of the Jays roster.
I feel like it’s more of the other way around. The Indians got Donaldson and Joe Smith for a short time and obviously had EE, but the Jays have had or still have Pannone, Merryweather, TJ House, Gio Urshela, and a few others I believe. Obviously having Shapiro and Atkins has something to do with that though.
That familiarity that TOR’s front office has with these guys hasn’t really paid any dividends. Granted none of these guys were really top prospects but they’ve got about nothing to show for all these deals. Thomas Pannome the crown jewel?
Yan Gomes worked out well for Cleveland…
Best rotation…maybe. But hands down… now the worst hitting team in baseball. They subtracted …Brantley,Encarnacion,Gomes and Alonso. And this miserable ownership is depending on ….Greg Allen?…justin Luplow?…Kevin Plawecki?….Jake Bauer?…an encore of Tyler Naquin? Not one of these guys can hit, they have already proven it. And this is to say nothing of the fact that Roberto Perez struggles to hit above .200. This miserable ownership and Front Office has betrayed us. God help our pitching staff.