From Minor League Deal To Top Reliever In The Upcoming Free Agent Class

Perhaps you haven't heard this before, but relief pitching is volatile. Reliever performance often fluctuates wildly from year to year. At times, that leads to rapid ascensions from obscurity to stardom for players. Look no further than last year's three-year, $33MM deal for Robert Stephenson with the Angels. He'd been designated for assignment less than a calendar year prior but was so dominant in 42 games with the Rays that the Angels ponied up that weighty three-year deal.

Stephenson is just one of many instances of this, of course. Liam Hendriks had been designated for assignment by four different teams before breaking out with the A's. In fact, Oakland was one of the four teams who'd chosen to DFA him. He went unclaimed on waivers. Drew Pomeranz had been bounced from the Giants' rotation in 2019 and was potentially on the cusp of being cut loose himself when a stretch of just four relief appearances prompted the Brewers to give up a legitimate infield prospect (Mauricio Dubon) to acquire him in a trade. Pomeranz dominated for Milwaukee for two more months and went on to ink a four-year, $34MM deal in free agency.

Reliever fortunes can turn quickly, and the upcoming free agent class offers the latest example. It's always fun to wonder who might be the next Hendriks, Pomeranz or Stephenson -- and in this instance, it's even more fun because the buzz name on the market was traded for one of those very relievers just a few years back.

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