The Mets have claimed Ryan Reid off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Reid appeared in seven games for the Pirates last season. He threw 11 innings. He had a 1.64 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. He stands 5’11” and weighs 210 lbs. He throws right-handed and is 28 years old. He’s got four pitches: a (93 MPH) fastball, a sinker, a slider, and a change-up.
This is a non-headline grabbing move which could pay some nice dividends going forward. His ERA at AAA has decreased each year from 2011 (going from 4.55 to 3.52 and then to 2.73). FanGraphs (Steamer) is currently projecting a 2:09 K:BB ratio, a .85 HR/9 ratio, and 1.35 WHIP for next season.
In eight seasons in the minors, Reid has thrown 544 innings, struck out 543 and walked only 221 batters. He has been in the minors since age 21 and until last year’s call-up with the Pirates, he had never pitched at the major league level.
He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay organization in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. The Pirates signed him as a minor league free agent in 2012. It is quite possible that the Mets reviewed his profile while preparing for the Byrd-Buck/Herrera-Black deal last summer.
Do the Mets view him as a late-blooming reliever who could make some solid contributions out of the bullpen next year? I think this is probably safe to say since a ballclub would not otherwise claim a 28 year old with only seven games of major league experience. The Pirates made Reid available when they acquired Edinson Volquez and Clint Barmes.
With a non-dominating fastball, it usually seems to take guys a little while to figure out their roles. 93 is plenty fast enough to compliment his sinker and slider. And we all know from watching Johan that you don’t need a killer fastball to make the change-up work. Seems like a very low-risk, high-reward pickup. Nice work SA.
OK, so let’s get this out of the way. 11 innings is absolutely meaningless so throw those numbers out the window.
Never seen the guy and I would think most of us haven’t. A FB that tops at 93 isn’t going to make opposition’s middle of the order guy tremble, unless he’s got super offspeed stuff.
The numbers suggest he is growing, and perhaps his signing lessens the need to get a Major League ready arm for Ike Davis.
You might find misunderstood stuff in garage sales on the poor side of town, but its always better to dumpster dive where the wealthy live. Picking up excess pitching from good staffs is smart thinking, so for that, I’m intrigued with this guy.
Exactly, the best stocked teams will find it harder and harder to protect talent which isn’t pedigree.
There are three needed positions in a successful bullpen. The fireman, a high strikeout pitcher who comes in for the starter usually in the 7th inning with someone on base who douses the flames. A setup man that has a low FIP and WHIP and consistently gets you through the eighth inning. The closer, which is the lights out pitcher for the ninth inning. The other four spots are a revolving door throughout the season that give a team innings when the team is behind in the score.
The Reid pickup helps to fill that last need. The better these type pitchers the better the overall bullpen. Very astute points JG and Jim in regard to where to find these pitchers.
I’d love to see Brian or Joe Vasile come up with a statistical verification on whether the last six outs are any more valuable than the bridge outs that Edgin/Reid/et al will provide.
As a whole, baseball clearly values those outs more, based on pay structure. I just don’t know that it is fair.
I would like to see a study also. I really think that the most important outs are the ones that generally occur in the seventh inning with runner(s) on base, in a tight game, right after the starter departs. That spot should be the “lights out” spot in the bullpen. The average NL starter goes 6 innings or 18 outs. This “fireman” would normally follow the starter, mid inning, be it the 7th, 8th or 9th inning of a tied or led game.
The Mets should have enough depth in the minors to nurture a line of seventh inning firemen.