Joaquin Benoit had a great year for the Rays in 2010. Through 63 appearances, he posted a miniscule 0.68 WHIP while striking out 75 and walking 11. Solid numbers. The previous season, his ERA was 5.00. He turned that into $16.5 million over three years.
Matt Guerrier pitched for the Twins last season and did a fine job, as well. He was a type-A free agent who has posted solid numbers during his career. But not only did he cost the Dodgers a top draft pick, he also made them open their wallet up for $12 million over three seasons.
Some others:
JJ Putz: 2/$10MM, Arizona
Bobby Jenks: 2/$12MM, Boston
Jesse Crain: 3/$13MM, Chicago White Sox
A lot of money was tossed around to relief pitchers this offseason. Hell, even 41-year-old Arthur Rhodes got $4.1 million guaranteed from the Rangers.
The moral of the story is that Ruben Amaro did good, kid, did real good. None of those teams was able to wrangle in the top starting pitcher on the market; a guy who makes the bullpen less of a necess...
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