Springer signing is official - now with Springer comments!
From Chronicle Staff Writer Susan Slusser
**second update** I just spoke to Springer and the 40-year-old said he hadn't been looking to move so far from his Louisiana home but he'd heard great things about the A's organization from former A's Jason Isringhausen, Mark Mulder, Chad Harville and even last year's rookie starter Greg Smith, who lives near Springer in the offseason.
He also said he's energized by young people - which is a good thing because the rest of the bullpen averages about a year's worth of service time.
Springer hasn't pitched in the AL since 1995, and, he said, "A lot of people say they don't want to go back to the AL but I told my wife was tired of eating in the same restaurants all the time - it will be nice to take another lap around the American League on my way out."
Don't read too much into that - Springer said he's declared every season each of the past three years to be his last, so it probably will depend on how the season goes.
Springer had his physical this morning in Houston and was returning to Lousiana this afternoon.
**original post**
The A's are about to have a conference call with assistant GM David Forst about the team's one-year deal with reliever Russ Springer. I'll try to provide some info from the call as it happens, if possible.
The deal is expected to be worth more than $3 million including incentives.
And yes, Andrew Brown came off the roster to make room for Springer. He's having shoulder surgery today in Birmingham, Ala.
**update** Forst said he felt bad for Brown and that the timing was unfortunate, but that the A's needed to clear a roster spot for Springer.
That's not always so easy to do - the 60-day DL is not available during the offseason. Brown told me yesterday that the A's had left open the possibility of a minor-league deal and Forst said today that the A's will have a better idea about Brown's future after the surgery. It's not yet known how extensive the damage is.
Springer was not on the call but I'm hoping to catch him later. Forst said that Springer's versatility and his sub 2.50 ERA the past two years were the primary reasons the team pursued him, rather than a desire to add experience to the A's young bullpen. Forst said Springer, 40, can handle the seventh, eighth and ninth innings and will provide a good bridge to Joey Devine and Brad Ziegler. He also pointed to Springer's ability to hold leads and strand runners.
Brown, by the way, has no hard feelings whatsoever. He understands the A's need to make a move and he said he loved playing in Oakland and loved his teammates. He's wishing them well.
I'm sure the feeling is mutual. Brown was popular in the clubhouse, a large and very funny presence. Well-informed and smart, too, always playing chess with Huston Street. The bullpen has lost a lot of personality with the departures of Street, Brown and Alan Embree, but a member of the St. Louis media tells me that Springer is terrific, too, one of the top 10 best guys he's ever covered.
| January 29 2009 at 11:55 AM
Comments
This is not a smart move. Not terrible - but it seems a waste. Lots of time and money being spent on the journeyman relievers.
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This is wasted money. Every few years there are pitchers who suddenly have 'sterling' numbers late in their career. Jay Witasick and Chris Hammond come to mind. They pitch garbage inning, not high-stress innings and compile good numbers.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=2670
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Springer was handled with kids gloves by Tony LaRussa the last two seasons. He is a 'ROOGY' (as opposed to a 'LOOGY' (Lefty-One-Out-GuY).
For example, last season Springer pitched to the bottom 3rd of a batting order much more than the top 3rd. Last season he faced a new batter after throwing more than 15 pitches in an inning 6 times. SIX!!!
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The Cardinals didn't even bother to offer him arbitration. Luckily for the A's he will not cost them a draft choice.
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Joe Biemel is out there to be had and the A's go after the 40 year-old pitcher whose best year came when he was 38. Don't forget Springer has been pitching in the light-hitting National league for YEARS.
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His walk totals are trending up and his strikeouts down. Springer is an extreme flyball pitcher.
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As far as Andrew Brown I don't think the A's are going to miss him on the field. Springer and Brown are arms the A's should be able to develop on their own - instead they have to trade away Andre Ethier to get Milton Bradley to get Brown to end up with nothing.
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Posted By: EiO | January 29 2009 at 01:41 PM
I also think that a relief pitcher is much less of a need than a starting pitcher, but I think they were looking for a veteran in the bullpen (not enough confidence in recently signed Chris Schroeder)? Springer has only really produced in the last few years. I agree with EiO that he will probably be a ROOGY. I hope they resign Andrew Brown to a minor league deal. I think he showed potential before his arm injury
Posted By: texasfan | January 29 2009 at 02:35 PM
Neither sounds that appealing, but I would rather be known as a ROOGY than a LOOGY.
Posted By: brian7906 | January 29 2009 at 03:45 PM
Nice guys finish last. I don't have to interview 'em, just watch 'em play. Give me winners and if they happen to be jerks like Clemens or Nolan Ryan so be it.
Posted By: friscojack | January 29 2009 at 04:06 PM
Good move by the A's. They needed a vetran on the relief staff to help the youngsters through the tough times. Now sign Cabrera to a 1 year 5 million deal and the team will be set. I have a feeling that Mulder will be in camp on a incentive base contract.
Posted By: arcman1121 | January 29 2009 at 04:24 PM
The guy was an average pitcher before Duncan helped him have two strong seasons, and 3 million is a lot for an ageing reliever.
Posted By: duane46 | January 29 2009 at 04:50 PM
pressure situations or not, the numbers over the last 3 years don't lie. its not surprising that any team wouldn't offer arbitration to a 40 year old. i wouldn't read too much into that. and he's the only vet in a young bull pen. good move.
Posted By: ptown | January 29 2009 at 10:16 PM
Good point, ptown. And if the Cards knew they wouldn't get any compensation for Springer, they have little reason to offer him arbitration. I don't care if you're facing the bottom of the Padres order everyday, a 2.32 ERA is damn good.
That doesn't mean I like the fact that he cost the team $3 million. He should be a valuable part of the bullpen though. We'll need him for the World Series. :)
Posted By: brian7906 | January 29 2009 at 10:23 PM
Isn't Springer the dude who threw at Bonds 4 times in one AB? I think it was when Bonds was one behind Ruth...
Posted By: twinfan | January 29 2009 at 10:52 PM
i'm very happy to see that the A's are continuing to spend, but pretty doubtful about dropping $3 million on a guy that pitches 50 innings/year. A new starter, please.
Posted By: nigelguest | January 30 2009 at 06:05 AM
It's not my money and it's not your money and there's no salary cap so who cares how much the A's pay Springer?
Posted By: unfazed | January 30 2009 at 07:26 AM
I agree unfazed that I don't think we should be concerned about what the organization is willing to spend for a 40-year-old pitcher. They cleared some spending this year and I am sure they still have money to land a back of the rotation veteran starter.
Posted By: texasfan | January 30 2009 at 07:57 AM
I understand your point, unfazed. It's not like we're going to see a jump in ticket prices this year because the A's just spent $3 million on a reliever.
But with a team as frugal as the A's, some of us think that money could be more wisely spent. The team has more pressing needs. It's also the contradiction we see from management. A year ago at this time, they were cutting salary like crazy. Now they're paying $3 million to a middle reliever.
Posted By: brian7906 | January 30 2009 at 08:25 AM
It's not the money. It's the money AND it's the roster spot. Springer can't start a game and won't face more than 3 batters a game. And he will likely appear in fewer than 40% of the A's games in 2009. Springer is getting $3 Million - Joey Devine, Brad Ziegler, Satiago Casilla, Jerry Blevins and Jeff Gray COMBINED won't make $3 Million in 2009.
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The A's are not going anywhere in 2009 without starting pitching and like it or not the A's fell apart in the 2nd half in large part because they lost innings eaters in Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin while replacing them with Sean Gallagher, Dallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez.
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2008 Pre-All Star Break
51 Wins - 44 Losses
ERA 3.39 (Best in MLB)
345 runs allowed (Best in MLB - next team was at 383 runs allowed)
2008 Post-All Star Break
24 Wins - 42 Losses
ERA 4.93 (24th in MLB)
345 runs allowed (21st in MLB - and how is that for creepy - exactly 345 Pre AND Post All Star Break?)
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The A's have been successful in large part buy getting the most bang for their buck. A 40 year-old reliever who pitches garbage innings that are not high leverage - innings a 'younger' pitcher could pitch and 'learn' with is a waste of money and a roster spot. Rather than grab a starter or even a relief pitcher (READ: JOE BIEMEL) that the A's can get more innings out of, have a higher trade value and overall worth they went with the 'veteran' label. The EXACT move a savvy front office should avoid.
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The A's are paying $3 Million for a pitcher who clearly not worth $3 Million. But look at the bigger pitcher - how much TRADE value does Springer have? None. How much trade value would a younger pitcher even if he was being overpaid have? More. It's $3 Million that the A's aren't going to have to help defray the cost of Bobby Crosby if they decide to trade him or flat out release him. It's $3 Million that the A's could have used to try and ensnare Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu or another free agent.
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But back to Springer - in only 26 of his 70 appearances did he face more than 3 batters. So, 44 times Springer came in a faced 3 batters or less. 29 appearances were 2 batters or fewer - in those 28 of those 29 appearances he was not charged with an earned run. 12 innings of work he allowed just one earned run - but he never faced more than 2 batters in any of those 29 appearances. Real easy to shave a run off your ERA when you only have to get two outs every third day over a full season. And again, not high-leverage innings and facing the bottom of the batting order most of the time.
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Springer might be the greatest guy who ever threw a baseball and fun as all get out in the bullpen. But that DOES NOT translate into wins or lower the number of runs a pitching staff allows.
Posted By: EiO | January 30 2009 at 11:25 AM
If that $3 million could have been tossed in to a contract for a starter or SS, then it might be wasted. But, a rookie still needs to get paid (a minimum of 400K, and the average salary is about 3 mil...the average reliever is paid 1.9 mil, but that is certainly weighed down by the larger portion of them that are rookies). But, perhaps Cabrera simply doesn't want the A's money. And, maybe there is an incentive-laden deal with Mulder in the works.
By itself, though, it seems a bit high to me, but not insane.
Posted By: mjarvis | January 30 2009 at 11:29 AM
EiO, Springer was better than Beimel in every category last year except ERA. He even had a lower BA against lefties than Beimel (who was actually more effective against righties) did. And when you consider than Beimel made $2 million last year, he's not a better option. Beimel hasn't started since 2002 (he wasn't even an effective starter) and he hasn't pitched over 70 innings since. Look at last years numbers:
Springer: 70 games, 50 IP
Beimel: 71 games, 49 IP
Their basically the same player. They just throw with different hands. On top of that, Beimel is probably looking for at least a two year deal. Springer, being at the end of his career, was happy with a one year deal.
Posted By: brian7906 | January 30 2009 at 04:05 PM
nice pun, eio
Posted By: friscojack | January 30 2009 at 11:50 PM
If the A's just invested $3M in Springer AND are willing to pay what it takes to get a solid starter - fine; otherwise, they'll end up with a marginally better bullpen, and a big hole in the rotation.
That's not fine.
Posted By: mrbacchus | January 31 2009 at 11:58 AM
Great, a 40 year old reliever is just what the A's need... NOT!!! I like the guy though, he nailed Bonds but good so I gotta respect the guy. He should have aimed for his head though.
Posted By: jj94583 | February 02 2009 at 12:55 PM