1-year, $5 million. It's another risky move in an off-season full of head-scratchers by GM Ed Wade and the Houston Astros.
The article linked above suggests Myers will join their rotation, which is where he belongs. When healthy, Myers can be dominant, as evidenced by his 2006 season when he threw 198 innings with a 120 ERA+ and a 3.00 K/BB.
However, since 2006, Myers doesn't look as good. Considering that's 3 seasons, his 329 innings pitched is hardly impressive, although the Phillies occasionally tried Myers as a reliever. Also, his ERA+ over the period is 96, which is of course below average. Myers has seemingly lost his once terrific curve ball, which means hitters can sit on his fastball. That's bad.
It's unlikely Myers will find his 2006 form again, which makes this deal even more hard to grasp. Plus, for the Astros, $5 million is a bit much to pay for a third starter.
I suppose the Astros wanted Myers because he'd come cheaper than Ben Sheets or Joel Pineiro, but Myers isn't worth what he cost. Instead of the risk of another bad contract (it's only 1 year, but it's still $5 million less to spend on other things), why not just stick with Bud Morris or Brian Moehler. Sure, they suck, but the Astros aren't close to contention anyway.
The Astros biggest issue is their farm system, so why not save that money and go over slot in the draft? Perhaps Ed Wade doesn't think like that, but his team's fan base might wish he had if the Astros don't improve.
Adam can be reached at adamdadkins@gmail.com
Friday, January 8, 2010
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1 comments:
Meh. I think this signing is actually kind-of defensible, since the NL Central is so soft. If Berkman holds up, and if you you get the perfect combination of these guys to pan out...
Then again, the Astros should ALSO be paying over-slot for guys, similar to what the Tigers did to get Rick Porcello a few years ago. They're not doing that.
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