Pondering Brandon Webb
ByWhile Yankee fans do not often find themselves much concerned with the affairs of the Arizona Diamondbacks, this off-season may see a prized D-back pitcher hit free agency. Brandon Webb is Arizona’s equivalent to Chien-Ming Wang. A sinkerball specialist, who, by the way, like Wang, Webb has missed nearly all of 2009 with shoulder problems. His contract features an $8.5 million team option that may push Webb into a shallow free agent pitching pool.
Over the last week, news from the desert has focused around this bonus. The Arizona Front Office wants to restructure the option to be incentive-based. After all, there is no guarantee that Webb will rebound after throwing just four innings at the Major League level this year (and all on Opening Day). But Webb will have none of it. He says he’ll be healthy for 2010 and is more than willing to test the free agent waters.
Earlier today, Chris at iYankees pointed the way to a rumor linking Webb with the Yanks, among other teams. In a video post, Buster Olney reports that the Yankees could offer Webb a one-year deal come this off-season. The usual suspects — Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, and White Sox — also figure to keep an eye on Webb. That ought to keep Webb’s value up.
Olney’s report is contingent upon the D-backs’ desire to save $6.5 million. If they don’t pick up Webb’s option, the buy-out is $2 million, and sources in Arizona anticipate Webb returning next year. It is, however, nice to dream.
For his career, Brandon Webb has an ERA+ of 142 and a K/9 IP of 7.3. Before coming down with a shoulder injury this year, he had never missed a start. He throws a heavy and hard sinker similar to Wang’s, but unlike the Yanks’ injured pitcher, Webb has better command of his secondary pitches. He uses those pitches to get the strike outs that Wang doesn’t.
Heading into next year, the Yankees will have CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett atop their rotation. Joba Chamberlain, despite the posturing, will be there, and Andy Pettitte will probably return. The last spot then will go to some mix of Phil Hughes, Al Aceves, Ian Kennedy or Chien-Ming Wang. If Webb is a free agent, adding him to the mix would give the Yanks some stellar depth. As fun as it is to ponder, I wouldn’t count on it though.
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The Mason Williams Watch
woah, that’s a lot of linkage right there
Nah. Just a missed tag.
understandably that post has an ass-ton of tags
He was talking about a paragraph that was one big link because of a missed closed tag. It’s since been fixed.
Nah I know what you meant, I was just saying. Wasn’t trying to be insulting or anything.
Why???….Damaged goods from a weaker league? Here’s the better question. What pitcher that came over from the National League did as good or better in the stronger American League. Javier Vasquez, Derek Lowe, weren’t any where near as dominant in the AL and are in the NL. Peavy may be the biggest gamble the blanco’s have ever made. Like a used car….it’s all about condition and at this point neither CMW or BW are in condition.
I’d love to see Webb, although I’m not sure how crazy I would be about counting on him to be one of the starting five out of ST.
If we can get for cheap, yea sure. If he recovers completely, it’s a trememdous boost for out rotation.
I sure hope Phil Hughes is more of a staple in the rotation, rather than in the “mix” with Aceves, IPK, etc.
Are the Yankees going to buy some lottery tickets next year? Brandon Webb, Ben Sheets and Chien-Ming Wang are some of the available scratch-offs.
Sign me up. I’ll drive out to AZ and pick up Webb myself if I have to.
Hell, I’ll pay for your gas.
zig, i’m a pilot, lets rent a plane and make this easy
Because it worked so well for Boston, right?
HAH!
I was waiting for this comment…amazing.
Fair point. But Sheets and Webb are both better pitchers than Smoltz (current stage of career) and Penny.
scratch offs are a sink hole. you never win but sometimes you get enough back where it convinces you to keep playing.
Because Smoltz and Penny didn’t pan out for Boston doesn’t mean the idea behind it was wrong.
Holy Shit.
Well, I was just joking. Obviously just because Boston did something and it didn’t work doesn’t mean the Yankees should never try it. If we did that then there would be no team because there would be nothing left to try.
It’s just that shoulders worry me, hence the apprehension about Webb. Sheets is a different story. He’s just got a torn muscle near his elbow, it’s not a ligament or anything.
Arizona wouldnt be doing good business if they declined Webbs option. For a SP, hes on the cheap even coming off an injury.
Why not make a push for Ben Sheets or Rich Harden? We can count on one of them getting injured and that may actually be a good thing.Hughes is going to be on a innings limit just like Joba.
Anything Wang can give should be considered a bonus due to his injuries and no rotation makes it all the way through the year without at least two guys getting hurt.
What do you think about signing a guy who is high talent but also high risk of injury as a stopgap?
No, Hughes won’t be on the Joba plan. He’s thrown 146 innings before, and he’s off to winter ball this year.
Sheets hasn’t been healthy in a couple years. Harden is a 5 inning pitcher even in the NL. If they retain Wang, that’s one lottery ticket. If they do anything, I’d prefer that they look for a guy who’s low-risk, low-upside and then let a young pitcher force his way in.
Anything Wang can give should be considered a bonus due to his injuries and no rotation makes it all the way through the year without at least two guys getting hurt.
yes. and Anything
WangWebb can give should be considered a bonus due to his injuries and no rotation makes it all the way through the year without at least two guys getting hurt. This too. both shoulder injuries. same sitchThat’s true. I’d still take Webb’s upside over Wang.
I think Webb stays in Arizona, but if they decline his option then I see him pitching for a NL team over any AL team. Of course, it’s just a wild guess on my part.
especially given the success he’s seen penny, smoltz, lee have doing the same thing?
why on earth would ANY pitcher want to come to the AL east (lets say it: boston or new york)?!?!
oh yeah…get paid fat $ and have a shot at the WS every year…
CC, AJ, Andy, Joba, Hughes til he hits his limit/CMW if he comes back, IPK/Gaudin/insert current BP/AAA name here.
i dont think we NEED a guy like Webb, but it sure would be nice…i guess we have to take it in context:
given the money and 40 man slots coming OFF the books, how much will be available to come back ON the books?
Keep–andy, damon, matsui (yeah i said it!)
Lose–X, arent we paying giambi something, meat tray, bruney, towers, molina, miranda, duncan.
i know we lose some 40 slots because of R5 draft, but there should be enough $ and slots to take a flier on a guy like webb if he isnt astronomically expensive…
If Arizona wants to save pennies and they buyout Webb’s 2010 year to get him on a reduced dollar contract, then Cashman must act quickly and decisively.
Webb was the best pitcher in the NL before his injury. Three straight seasons of Cy Young contention makes this guy the ultimate GET this offseason if he hits the FA market. If he’s fine, then the Yanks are runaway favorites for 2010. Webb isn’t giving discounts, so a 1 yr-12MM offer could land him.
12 mil seems pretty reasonable.
I don’t think Webb has a no trade clause, so wouldn’t make a lot more sense to make a deal with Arizona where the Yankees pick up the $2MM buyout (a sunk cost for Arizona) for a B – or C level prospect?
All this talk about Webb; who said Wangs’ toast?
Torn labrum at his age is extremely serious. Any contribution whatsoever in 2010 would be a big surprise, assuming that the Yanks even decide to retain him.
No one did. We are just trying to hedge our bets.
If Wang comes back to form then we have a nice problem called “epic pitching depth”…which is 1 level higher than “historic pitching depth”…if we have Wang and Webb on our team then we have “Epically historic pitching depth”, which is 2 levels higher than “historic pitching depth”…now if we have Sheets, Webb, and Wang on our team then we have “Unbelievably epic-historic pitching depth”, which is 3 levels higher than “historic pitching depth”.
And, of course, if we were able to obtain Brad Penny for a “justin smoak type bat” to go along w/ Sheets, Webb, Wang, Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Hughes and Joba, then and only then could we be within spitting distance of the next level up, the penultimate paragon of pitching depth:
The Boston Red Sox.
That’s wrong. Our pitchers wouldn’t have a chance against their’s because they could just sign some boozeheads out of a local bar and the supercaptain would make them throw TEH NO-HITTAHS!!!
Wang’s toast alright.
Webb is throwing off a mound in OCtober and he should be fully recovered by Spring Training. Wang’s out for most of next season as it stands now. Forget about Wang.
RAB: Please, Omar, cool it with the insults.
By the way Webb is a smart gamble, there’s plenty of unknowns in the rotation next season…adding one more won’t hurt. If he does work out he’ll likely only replace someone who sucks.
“If he does work out he’ll likely only replace someone who sucks.”
Or someone who gets hurt. Someone always gets hurt.
I’ll forward this comment to Cashman. I’m sure he will listen. After all, he would be foolish not to heed the advice of someone who so elegantly employed the term “fat-tits” nary a comment ago.
The old adage ……. you can’t have enough pitching. Nothing is etched in stone what the 2010 pitching will be about until spring training is finished and the health is established.
Although a gamble, Brandon is at least a consideration.
I can’t see Arizona not picking up the option. Saving 6.5M is not worth the risk of possibly letting an Ace walk away for nothing. They’ll take the risk that he will be healthy because if he is that gives the D’backs a decent chance to make noise and if they can’t they can always trade him and get someone to pickup the salary and give them prospects.
If they don’t though singing Webb would be a great move. He’ll probably sign a 1-year deal. Even if he doesn’t work out he won’t be on the books for all that long and if he does he could be one of the best starters on any team he is on (AL or NL).
In what kind of a bizzaro universe is Brandon Webb considered a equivalent of Chien Ming Wang? Just because he throws groundballs and was hurt this year, and is about the same age?
As you point out later in the post yourself, the guy has a career ERA+ of 142, knows what a strikeout is (a K rate hovering around 7 for each of his major league seasons), walks guys at the same rate as Wang. Perhaps something has to be said about pitching in the NL, but even then, he is in a different category from Wang.
Maybe you need to edit your posts before you put them up.