Yanks sign Farnsworth
After watching middle relievers be removed from the market left and right and the Yankees having their setup man options dwindle, the Yanks went out and signed hard-throwing Kyle Farnsworth to a three year deal worth $17 million dollars. Admittedly, $5.67 million a season is quite a bit for a setup man, but it’s the market that put that value on the relievers.
The Yankees spoiled themselves with Tom Gordon setting up the previous few seasons for Mariano Rivera. Gordon, when he signed his Yankee contract, wasn’t trusted enough to get the full cash he would have received as a major league closer, and had to either take the setup role with the Yankees or take similar money to close for a team that wouldn’t likely make the playoffs. Gordon signed with the Yankees, and after two years of almost but not quite, finally gave up and went to a team that offered him a closer role with good money and a decent team in Philadelphia. With Farnsworth the last of the A-level relievers available, the Yankees had to drop the closer-like money on him, or else go into the 2006 season with Danny Graves or Braden Looper pitching the seventh.
Will Farnsworth be successful in New York? Tough to say - Farnsworth did indeed have a breakout year in 2005, stringing together a 2.19 ERA in Detroit and Atlanta while averaging a little over 11 Ks per 9 innings, and keeping his walks and home runs under control. Farnsworth is excitable though, and has a bit of a temper. While some might dislike a player like that, that aggressiveness might pay off on a team that seems maybe a little too laid back.
Could Farnsworth completely blow up and fall apart with a few bad outings? Sure - that’s the unpredictability with pitchers. Hell, Mariano Rivera had two bad outings against Boston at the beginning of this past season, and people were already digging his grave. He didn’t end up playing too badly (1.38 ERA). Farnsworth played most of his career for the Cubs - a team that puts a decent amount of focus on its players - so media and fan scrutiny shouldn’t be anything new to him.
It’s still a risk, but it’s less money than the Yanks signed Steve Karsay for ($22.25 million) four years ago, a lot less than what the Blue Jays paid for B.J. Ryan ($47 million), and only a few million more than the Cubs paid for Bobby Howry ($12 million) or Scott Eyre ($11 million), whom I’d take Farnsworth over any day.
This area is an area where a large market team has an advantage, and I’ll plainly admit that. But while the big money teams can spend this money to acquire the players that the small market teams created, it’s evened out by the amount of failures that those teams run into and the money they have to spend to patch the hole they created by putting the misguided faith in the player in the first place.
I like the signing, though. But then again, it all depends on how he’s used. I liked the Jeff Weaver trade too.