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Will Ohman

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat With Former MLB Reliever Will Ohman

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If you regularly watched National League baseball from 2006-08, there’s a good chance you saw Will Ohman pitch.  The lefty reliever ranked 10th in the NL in ’06 by appearing in 78 games for the Cubs, and then second in the league with 83 appearances for the Braves in ’08.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany on a U.S. Army base, Ohman was drafted in the eighth round by the Cubs in 1998 out of Pepperdine.  He kicked off his big league career in 2000 by inducing Marquis Grissom to ground out as part of a scoreless inning.  Ohman underwent Tommy John surgery in 2002, but fully recovered and in total appeared in 483 games for the Cubs, Braves, Dodgers, Orioles, Marlins, and White Sox in his ten-year career.

Ohman put together a sub-4.00 ERA in three different seasons, including a 2.91 mark in ’05.  Among lefty relievers who tossed at least 100 innings from 2005-06, Ohman ranked sixth with a 25.2 K%.  The list of Ohman strikeout victims includes Ken Griffey Jr., Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Bobby Abreu, David Ortiz, Barry Bonds, David Wright, Adrian Beltre, and Derek Jeter.  In his career, Ohman held lefties to a .206 batting average.

Ohman’s website notes that he also “represented Germany in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier Tournaments in both 2012 and 2016.”  He later served as the pitching coach of the Palm Beach Cardinals.  Will now runs Ace Baseball, and he’s on Twitter @TheWillOhman.

Will told me he’s followed MLBTR since his playing days.  We were thrilled to host him for a live chat today; you can click here to read the transcript.

Also, if you’re a current or former MLB player reading this, come do a chat with us!  It’s fun and easy and only requires an hour of your time, and you choose which questions you publish and answer.  Click here to contact us.

Minor Moves: Mather, Ohman

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Today's minor moves..

  • The Phillies announced that they have released outfielder Joe Mather.  The 30-year-old, who hooked on with the club in January, hit just .209/.256/.324 across 103 games for the Cubs last season.  Mather has also played for the Cardinals and Braves and owns a career .219/.271/.357 slash line.
  • The Nationals have released reliever Will Ohman, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports. Ohman did not have an out clause, but the Nationals were unable to find Spring Training innings for him and had already cut him from major-league camp. Ohman pitched in 32 games for the White Sox in 2012, posting a 6.41 ERA with 4.39 K/9 and 1.69 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

East Notes: Cashman, Ohman, Kendrick, Yanks

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The Yankees announced today that general manager Brian Cashman broke his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle on the landing of a tandem skydive. Cashman was skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I’m in great spirits, and it was an awesome experience," Cashman was quoted as saying in the press release. "The Golden Knights are first class. While I certainly didn’t intend to raise awareness in exactly this fashion, I’m extremely happy that the Wounded Warrior Project is getting the well-deserved additional attention.” He is scheduled for surgery today. Here's more out of baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • Will Ohman does not have an out clause in his contract, but the Nationals would likely grant him his release if he asked for it, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). Ohman signed a minor league deal with the reigning NL East champs last month.
  • Phillies righty Kyle Kendrick was roughed up in his start Sunday, but he told David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he appreciates knowing the poor outing doesn't jeopardize his rotation spot. As Murphy notes, Kendrick hasn't experienced that type of security in recent years, as he's typically been on the fringe of Philadelphia's rotation.
  • Peter Botte of the New York Daily News writes that Robinson Cano's father, Jose, hopes his son will sign an extension that will make him a Yankee for life. Jose will be a bench coach for the Dominican Republic's WBC team on which Robinson will play. The Bombers' second baseman didn't get into contract talks, but did admit how important his father's advice is to him.
  • The Yankees are very likely to receive their worst offensive output from the catcher position since before Jorge Posada emerged in the late-90s, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues. The Bombers decided against acquiring a standout backstop this offseason and will pull from a group consisting of Chris Stewart, Francisco Cervelli, and Austin Romine.

Nationals Sign Will Ohman

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The Nationals signed left-handed reliever Will Ohman to a minor league deal, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The team confirmed its deal with the Beverly Hills Sports Council client (on Twitter).

Ohman pitched for the White Sox in 2012, the second year of a two-year, $4MM contract. The 35-year-old posted a 6.41 ERA with 4.4 K/0 and 1.7 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings of relief with Chicago before getting released in July. The Reds signed him later that month, but never called him up from Triple-A Louisville.

Reds Sign Will Ohman

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The Reds have signed left-hander Will Ohman, according to Assistant Director of Media Relations Jamie Ramsey (via Twitter).  The 34-year-old will report to Triple-A Louisville.

Ohman was released by the White Sox earlier this month after being designated for assignment.  In 26 2/3 innings for Chicago, Ohman posted a 6.41 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.  The veteran likely came to the Reds at a reasonable rate as he will collect on the $2.5MM owed to him on the backend of his two-year deal from the ChiSox.

White Sox Release Will Ohman

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The White Sox released Will Ohman, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. They had designated the left-hander for assignment late last month.

Ohman, 34, posted a 6.41 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings out of Chicago's bullpen this year. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client now earns $2.5MM in the second year of the two-year, $4MM contract he obtained before the 2011 season. He can now sign with any team for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary.

White Sox Designate Will Ohman For Assignment

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THURSDAY: The White Sox announced that they officially designated Ohman for assignment.

WEDNESDAY: The White Sox are set to designate Will Ohman for assignment on Thursday, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).  The 34-year-old has a 5.84 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 24.2 innings of work this year.

Ohman inked a two-year deal with the ChiSox in January of last year worth $1.5MM in 2011 and $2.5MM this past season.  For his career, the left-hander owns a 4.23 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 across ten big league campaigns.  Ohman's performance against the Twins this afternoon likely prompted the move as he allowed three runs in two innings of work.

Central Notes: White Sox, Hanrahan, Cespedes

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 A few notes from around MLB's Central divisions, where the Indians and Cardinals will enter first place entering Sunday's action …

  • The White Sox could look to trade one of their four left-hander relievers if they fall out of contention later in the season, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com, particularly Matt Thornton and/or Will Ohman. Thornton's contract calls for a $5.5MM salary in 2013 and includes a $6MM club option for 2014, while Ohman is a free agent at season's end.
  • Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan is becoming a likelier trade candidate with so many relievers suffering injuries, writes Tom Singer of MLB.com. Hanrahan, for his part, is aware of the possibility but hopes to remain in Pittsburgh, mentioning the Bucs' decision not to sell off players at last year's deadline. The right-hander is slated to become a free agent after 2013.
  • The Indians seriously scouted Yoenis Cespedes but were never close to signing the outfielder, who eventually inked with the A's, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. 
  • In an interesting piece for the New York Times, Tyler Kepner writes how Reds shortstop prospect Billy Hamilton's blazing speed is indicative of a trend in scouting and player development. With run production declining, speed is once again highly valued. Said Bill Bavasi, Cincinnati's vice president for scouting and player development: "We’re seeing the game go through a renaissance right now. We’re going to see some different bodies playing the game, and a premium is going to be placed on speed, on range and on doing all the little skills that were so important in baseball …"

White Sox Agree To Sign Will Ohman

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The White Sox and Will Ohman have agreed to a two-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $4MM total, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Ohman is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

The 33-year-old Ohman spent most of the 2010 season with Baltimore before being traded to the Marlins. The lefty reliever held same-side batters to a .229/.323/.313 last year, but .208/.298/.348 over his entire career. He's strictly a lefty specialist, because righties have tagged him for a .264/.360/.400 batting line in his career. Ohman has a 4.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in a big league career that began back in 2000.

Ohman, who earned $1.35MM in 2010, joins Pedro Feliciano, Randy Choate, Scott Downs, and Hisanori Takahashi as lefty relievers who received multiyear deals this offseason. Chicago has already added Jesse Crain to their bullpen this offseason, and the addition of Ohman gives Ozzie Guillen a lefty for the middle innings. Matt Thornton will of course handle late game situations.

We heard that the ChiSox were favored to sign him on Friday, after we learned that three AL teams were the finalists for his services.

White Sox Favored To Sign Will Ohman, Are “Close”

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The White Sox are the favorites to sign left-hander Will Ohman, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Ohman hasn't yet made a decision, but is "close."  Ohman had drawn some interest from the Orioles (among other clubs) this winter, but Connolly reports that the O's are not one of the three AL finalists for Ohman's services.

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