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Joba Chamberlain

Joba Chamberlain: No Plans For Comeback Attempt

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Veteran right-hander Joba Chamberlain tells George A. King III of the New York Post that he won’t pursue further opportunities to continue his playing career. Chamberlain, who tells King it’s “time to be a dad,” will walk away from the game after parts of 10 big league seasons to spend time with his young family.

Joba Chamberlain | Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The 32-year-old Chamberlain was one of the game’s top regarded prospects after the Yankees selected him with the 41st overall pick in the 2006 draft. The Nebraska product spent barely a year in the minor leagues before debuting with one of the more memorable stretches of dominance for any rookie pitcher in recent memory.

Chamberlain debuted with the Yankees on Aug. 7, 2007 and went on to reel off 16 brilliant innings with a 0.00 ERA to open his career. He was eventually scored upon with one unearned run and a lone earned run, but his rookie season ended with a comically dominant 0.38 ERA and a 34-to-6 K/BB ratio in 24 innings of work.

Between that short sample and a strong overall rookie campaign in 2008 (2.60 earned run average, 10.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 in 100 1/3 innings between 30 relief appearances and 12 starts), Chamberlain appeared poised for greatness. However, a full-time move to the starting rotation in 2009 yielded middling results, and Chamberlain lacked his typical relief dominance when moved back to the bullpen in 2010.

Yankees fans can undoubtedly recall a divide within the organization as to which role best suited Chamberlain, and the dreaded “Joba Rules” that the organization put in place to protect the prized young righty’s arm ultimately failed to achieve their goal. A torn ulnar collateral ligament and Tommy John surgery in 2011 limited him to 48 2/3 innings over a two-year period. Chamberlain’s final season in Yankee pinstripes came in 2013 and resulted in an ERA just south of 5.00 with diminished strikeout and walk rates.

Over the next three seasons, Chamberlain bounced around the American League Central, spending time as a member of the Tigers, Royals and Indians while finding varying levels of success. He turned in a solid 2014 season with the Tigers and quietly gave the Indians 20 very strong innings of relief as recently as 2016. But the dominance that Chamberlain showed during his impressive minor league stint and his first 124 big league innings never really resurfaced following his surgery. He was in minor league camp with the Brewers this year but never signed another contract after failing to make the team out of Spring Training.

All said, Chamberlain’s career will come to a close with a 25-21 record, seven saves and a 3.81 ERA over the life of 555 1/3 innings between the Yankees, Tigers, Indians and Royals. Though he never reached the heights that many projected early in his career, Chamberlain still appeared in four different postseasons, taking home a World Series ring with the 2009 Yankees. Between his signing bonus out of the draft and his salaries over parts of 10 big league seasons, he took home roughly $12MM as a player. Best wishes to Joba and his family as he embarks on his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Brewers Release Joba Chamberlain, Ryan Webb

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The Brewers have released veteran righties Joba Chamberlain and Ryan Webb, per a club announcement. Both had been signed to minor-league deals over the offseason.

Though he allowed only three runs in his eight spring frames, Chamberlain managed only two strikeouts to go with five walks and ten base knocks. That was much the same story as his 2016 campaign, when he worked to a 2.25 ERA over twenty innings with the Indians but coughed up 11 walks (against 18 punch-outs) in the process.

In 342 career relief appearances, Chamberlain carries a 3.56 ERA and has held opposing hitters to a .247/.318/.379 batting line. But he last turned in a full and productive campaign in 2014 with the Tigers. Still, it seems likely he’ll catch on with another organization in the coming days.

Webb, meanwhile, only received three innings of work in camp, allowing just a single hit and earned run but failing to record a strikeout while issuing two free passes. Like Chamberlain, he’s a 31-year-old reliever who has had a fair bit of MLB success, with a 3.43 lifetime ERA in nearly 400 frames at the game’s highest level. But he struggled to a 5.19 ERA last year in his 17 1/3 innings with the Rays, coughing up 27 hits in the process.

Brewers To Sign Joba Chamberlain

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JAN. 23: It is indeed a minor league agreement for Chamberlain, and the contract is now complete, tweets Heyman. The 31-year-old right-hander has a $1.375MM base upon making the big league club and can earn additional incentives beyond that point, Heyman further reports.

JAN. 20: The Brewers have agreed to a deal with veteran righty Joba Chamberlain, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Though it’s not mentioned in the report, it seems likely that the contract is of the minor-league variety.

Chamberlain, 31, put up a 2.25 ERA in twenty frames for the Indians last year. Though he allowed only a dozen hits, however, he surely benefited from a .216 BABIP and posted a mediocre 18:11 K/BB ratio. After permitting three free passes in an outing in early July, he was designated and later released by Cleveland (after he refused an outright assignment).

While there were obviously some limitations in Chamberlain’s game, it was surprising that he did not end up joining another organization in 2016. He had managed to post a sturdy 11.6% swinging-strike rate, was not allowing much hard contact, and was averaging better than 93 mph with his fastball when he was cut loose.

Milwaukee now becomes the latest team to have a look at the one-time top prospect, who has spent time with four organizations over the last three years since leaving the Yankees. Chamberlain figures to join the battle in camp for a role in a Brewers’ pen that figures to have a few spots up for grabs this spring.

Twins Rumors: Dozier, Ervin, Bullpen, Perkins

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Twins second baseman Brian Dozier drew trade interest from multiple teams at this week’s GM Meetings, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. That’s hardly a surprise, considering Dozier finished the season with 42 home runs on a last-place team and is controlled cheaply ($15MM total) for two more seasons. While many rightly tout Dozier’s preposterous second half — he hit 28 home runs and slashed .291/.344/.646 in 72 games following the All-Star break — the 29-year-old has somewhat quietly been playing at a high level for quite some time, averaging 3.5 fWAR and 3.7 rWAR per season from 2013-15. The St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino noted earlier this week that the lack of teams with obvious holes at second base might make it difficult for new Twins CBO Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine to extract maximum value in a Dozier trade, but it’s still not a shock to see some teams kick the tires.

A few more notes on the Twins…

  • Berardino spoke to Falvey and Levine about the likely trade interest that the Twins will receive in right-hander Ervin Santana this winter, and the new Minnesota front office duo didn’t sound especially anxious to move him. “I think we look at him as the anchor of our starting rotation and certainly something we want to build around,” said Levine of Santana, who is owed $28MM over the next two seasons and has a club option for 2019 on his contract as well. “…We think (Santana) is one of the most attractive pitchers that could be in consideration, but we view him as the No. 1 starter on our team. That’s an area we’re trying to build, not subtract from.” Berardino spoke to execs from other teams that said the Twins haven’t been aggressively marketing Santana in trades.
  • Also via Berardino (Twitter links), the Twins met with agent Casey Close of Excel Sports Management this week and discussed several of Excel’s free agents, including Joba Chamberlain and possibly fellow right-handed relievers Joe Smith and Shawn Tolleson. Both Chamberlain and Smith pitched with the Indians while Falvey was a member of the team’s front office, and Levine of course is quite familiar with Tolleson, who spent the past three seasons with the Rangers. The Twins are almost certainly casting a wide net when looking at free-agent relievers, so it’s probably early to read too heavily into that trio of relievers. As can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database, Excel also reps free agents Alex Avila, Aaron Barrett, Jerry Blevins, Aaron Crow and Brian Matusz. Additionally, Dexter Fowler, Neil Walker, Steve Pearce and Colby Rasmus are all Excel clients, too, although there’s less of a fit in Minnesota for that group.
  • Twins closer Glen Perkins, who made just two appearances this season before hitting the disabled list and eventually requiring shoulder surgery, is about four and a half months through what is expected to be a nine-month rehab process, the left-hander tells Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Perkins tried to rehab the injury for three months before ultimately going under the knife and having screws inserted into the labrum of his left shoulder. Perkins conceded that given his age (34 in March) and the severity of the surgery, he’s not sure if he’ll recover all of his velocity, but he expects to be competitive next year and hopes to remain with the Twins beyond his current contract. (Perkins is set to earn $6.5MM next year and has a $6.5MM option for the 2018 season.) “I see myself being a part of this organization for a lot longer than my contract,” he said.
  • Also of note from Miller’s column, assistant GM Rob Antony offered praise for the job that right-hander Brandon Kintzler, who inked a minor league deal with the Twins last winter, did upon stepping into the ninth inning out of necessity in 2016. However, Antony suggested that the organization isn’t necessarily expecting Kintzler to reprise that role in 2017. “I’m not sure we see him as a closer,” said Antony, who also acted as the interim GM prior to the hiring of Falvey and Levine. “I don’t think we’ve penciled in anybody.” That would suggest that the Twins could potentially lure a bullpen arm to Minnesota by offering a chance to compete with Perkins and Kintzler for the ninth-inning job.

Indians Release Joba Chamberlain

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The Indians have released veteran reliever Joba Chamberlain, according to the team’s official transactions page.  MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link) that Chamberlain elected to become a free agent rather than an accept an outright assignment to the minors.  Cleveland designated Chamberlain for assignment earlier this week.

Chamberlain posted a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings out of the Tribe’s bullpen this season, though ERA predictors (3.83 FIP, 4.27 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA) weren’t as impressed with the right-hander’s work.  Chamberlain benefited from a .216 BABIP and he had some control issues, as evidenced by a 4.95 BB/9.  Still, the 30-year-old posted an 8.10 K/9 and 52.9% grounder rate, and was still averaging 93.4 mph on his fastball.

It was exactly one year ago that Chamberlain was released by the Tigers, and he has since pitched for the Blue Jays (in the minors), Royals and Indians in that timeframe. Despite his rather up-and-down track record as a reliever, Chamberlain’s 2016 numbers and past status as one of the game’s top prospects make him a pretty good bet to catch on with another team in need of bullpen help.  Chamberlain guaranteed himself a $1MM salary for 2016 (plus $2MM in incentives) by making Cleveland’s roster, so the Tribe will be on the hook for the approximately $460K still owed, while another team can sign Chamberlain for just a prorated minimum salary.

Indians Designate Joba Chamberlain, Tom Gorzelanny

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The Indians have announced a host of pitching moves, with the club clearing roster space by designating righty Joba Chamberlain and lefty Tom Gorzelanny. They’ll be replaced by southpaw T.J. House and righty Mike Clevinger.

[Related: Updated Indians Depth Chart]

Chamberlain, 30, had been generating results for Cleveland after signing a $1MM deal in the offseason. He owns a 2.25 ERA over twenty frames, with 8.1 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 and a 52.9% groundball rate. The veteran is still working with an average fastball of over 93 mph, and ought to draw some interest — particularly given the cheap salary.

Things hadn’t gone quite as well for the 33-year-old Gorzelanny, who was tagged for seven earned runs in just three innings of work over seven appearances. He had been useful at the Triple-A level, though, putting up 18 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA pitching with 9.2 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9.

Contract Notes: Francoeur, O’Flaherty, Ogando, Guthrie, Joba, Byrd

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There are some more contractual matters to run down for players who made rosters on minor league deals. These all come courtesy of Jon Heyman of MLB Network, and all links are to Heyman’s Twitter account.

  • Outfielder Jeff Francoeur is set to earn $1MM with the Braves after cracking the team’s Opening Day roster. He can also add another million via incentives in his contract. Francoeur received a hero’s welcome at Turner Field on Monday for his return to the organization with which he entered the league with much fanfare. At this stage, of course, the veteran is likely to serve as a fourth outfielder and bench bat.
  • Under the contract he originally signed with the Pirates — which the Braves acquired in a late-spring trade — lefty Eric O’Flaherty will earn a $1.75MM base salary and can add to that via unspecified incentives. O’Flaherty had eight strikeouts against just two walks in his 9 2/3 innings of spring action with Pittsburgh, but also allowed 15 hits and eight runs (though only three were earned). Of course, like Francoeur, he’s a former Atlanta standout who’s coming home in 2016.
  • Braves right-hander Alexi Ogando is in line for $2MM this year after he earned a pen job. He’ll also have the chance to tack on another $1.5MM if he can reach unreported milestones. (Previous reporting had suggested Ogando could only earn $1MM extra.) Ogando is looking for a bounceback after advanced metrics suggested he was actually rather fortunate to post a 3.99 ERA last year.
  • If and when he is called up to the Padres, veteran righty Jeremy Guthrie will pitch at a $1.25MM rate. Guthrie, who’ll turn 37 on Friday, joined on with San Diego after he failed to make the Rangers and opted out of his deal. Despite a rough 2015, Guthrie has a solid track record of delivering innings at the back of the rotation, and figures to have a shot at making some more MLB starts if and when a need arises.
  • Indians righty Joba Chamberlain will not only play at a $1MM base salary, but can earn up to $2MM via incentives. Chamberlain, 30, was a somewhat surprising choice to make the Cleveland pen after he allowed seven walks in his ten spring innings, though he did strike out eight while allowing only three earned runs. He was already coming off of a subpar campaign the season prior, though some advanced metrics (in particular, SIERA) viewed him as a still-useful pitcher and he did have a strong 2014 under his belt.
  • Finally, in addition to his previously-reported $1MM salary, Marlon Byrd can earn up to $2.5MM in incentives with the Indians. But he has agreed to an advanced consent clause that would allow Cleveland to dodge the bulk of its potential obligations if it cuts him loose within the contractually-specified number of days of Opening Day (the maximum advanced-consent length is 45 days, but it remains unreported in this case). Byrd could play an important role in the Indians’ outfield mix, as he has continued to mash left-handed pitching, but he’ll likely function in a platoon role.

Indians Select Joba Chamberlain’s Contract, Designate James Ramsey

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The Indians announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Joba Chamberlain and designated outfielder James Ramsey for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Additionally, catcher Roberto Perez has been cleared to play after undergoing concussion tests following a foul tip to the mask on Sunday.

Chamberlain, 30, inked a minor league deal with Cleveland this offseason and earned a spot on the club with a Spring Training that featured mixed results (MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reported in late March, however, that Chamberlain would make the club). Chamberlain yielded just three runs and struck out eight batters in 10 innings, but he also yielded a troublesome seven walks.

That type of control problem has never been much of a problem for Chamberlain, but the righty has endured his share of struggles over the past few seasons. Chamberlain logged a 4.93 ERA in 2013 in his final season with the Yankees, and after a strong first half in 2014 with the Tigers, he wilted and posted a 4.97 ERA down the stretch. Last year, he began the season with Detroit once again and posted a 4.09 ERA in 22 innings before being designated for assignment and eventually working back to the Majors with Kansas City, where he surrendered five runs in 5 2/3 innings. His Triple-A work wasn’t any better, as Chamberlain surrendered a combined 13 earned runs in 12 Triple-A frames between the Jays (for whom he never appeared in the Majors) and Royals. He’ll look for better results in Cleveland this season.

Ramsey, meanwhile, is a former first-round draft pick — 23rd overall by the Cardinals in 2012. St. Louis traded the outfielder to the Indians in exchange for Justin Masterson at the 2014 trade deadline. Ramsey was impressive in 2014 following the trade, but he batted just .243/.327/.382 in 503 Triple-A plate appearances as a 25-year-old at the Triple-A level last season. Baseball America ranked him as Cleveland’s No. 23 prospect this winter, noting that while he lacks standout tools, he has an intelligent approach that helps the tools he does have to play up. BA, however, noted that Ramsey could ultimately prove to be a fourth outfielder or platoon bat due to struggles against left-handed pitching. MLB.com rated him 27th among Cleveland farmhands, similarly noting that his ability to play all three outfield spots could make him a fourth outfielder.

The DFA of Ramsey comes just four and a half months after the FSU product was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. A Spring Training effort that saw Ramsey go just 2-for-21 with 10 strikeouts against one walk certainly couldn’t have helped his chances at remaining on the 40-man roster. He’ll now join 14 other players in DFA limbo, though Cleveland presumably hopes that he’ll clear waivers and remain in the organization.

Indians Roster Notes: Thatcher, Gorzelanny, Joba, Urshela

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Here are a few quick notes on recent Indians roster decisions:

  • The Indians have told veteran lefty Joe Thatcher that he will not make the team, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes. Thatcher was an Article XX(B) free agent, so he will get a $100K retention bonus and a June 1 opt-out date if he accepts a minor-league assignment. He has until Tuesday to decide if he’ll do so. Thatcher allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings in Spring Training and also got fairly good results in a partial season with the Astros last year, but that apparently wasn’t enough to earn a spot.
  • The Indians have also told one of Thatcher’s competitors for a bullpen job, Tom Gorzelanny, that he won’t make the team either, Bastian tweets. Gorzelanny, too, was an Article XX(B) free agent, but as the Akron Beacon Journal’s Ryan Lewis tweets, the Indians are hoping he winds up with them at Triple-A. The 33-year-old Gorzelanny was coming off a rough season in Detroit and struck out only three batters in 7 2/3 innings in Spring Training, during which he allowed three runs. If the Indians do carry a bullpen lefty, it appears it will be either Kyle Crockett or Ross Detwiler.
  • One veteran reliever who has made the team is righty Joba Chamberlain, Bastian tweets. The Indians signed Chamberlain to a minor-league deal in December after a mediocre 2015 season in which he posted a 4.88 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 27 2/3 innings with the Tigers and Royals. Chamberlain also walked five batters in eight Spring Training innings this season. At 30, though, he’s fairly young, and he’s demonstrated mid-90s velocity.
  • The team also optioned infielder Giovanny Urshela, pitcher Austin Adams, outfielder Joey Butler and infielder Erik Gonzalez. The most notable of those is Urshela, who played in 81 big-league games last season and hit well this Spring but didn’t figure to make the team thanks to the presence of Juan Uribe and Jose Ramirez.

Indians Sign Joba Chamberlain

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The Indians have signed righty Joba Chamberlain to a minor league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll receive an invitation to major league camp.

Last season was forgettable for the 30-year-old veteran. Over 27 2/3 innings with the Tigers and Royals, he worked to a 4.88 ERA. Though his overall K:BB rates were palatable — 7.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 — Chamberlain surrendered 38 hits and six long balls in that short span.

Of course, Chamberlain has shown more in the not-so-distant past, including a solid 2014 season in which he threw 63 frames with a 3.57 earned run average (and underlying numbers that metrics liked even better). And his velocity is still good, as he sat just under 94 mph with his average fastball.

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