Why Your Team Shouldn't Invest In Relief Pitchers with Many Seasons of Excellent Work

Sounds counterintuitive, right?But it's not. The Yankees signed lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano in the off-season to improve their bullpen. Feliciano had pitched in 266 games over the past three seasons for the Mets, and that doesn't include spring training or the times he warmed up and then wasn't used. He was terrific (killed the Phillies), but now he's done for the year. And it's only April 14. Brian Cashman probably should have known better. As a diehard Phillies' fan, I always wondered why the team, when in need of a lefty reliever several years ago, didn't pursue Will Ohman, Joe Beimel or more recently John Grabow as free agents. The reason was that they were concerned both about overuse and about the price tag these pitchers would command after being used heavily (such as $3-$4 million a year for 3 years). I had even read one GM offer that his team was more interested in an underused reliever with a live arm coming off an injury-prone year (...