Hot Stove: 11/30

Record of the Day

Most saves in the '90s: John Wetteland, 295. 

Many great closers pitched in the '90s, like Dennis Eckersley (second on the list at 293), John Franco, and Trevor Hoffman, but in the end, three-time All Star John Wetteland comes out on top in this list. Though his 330 saves are overshadowed by Eck's 390, Franco's 424, and Hoffman's 601, Wetteland's career took perfect timing for reaching the top of this list. Wetteland played from 1989-2000, averaging more than 36 saves a year from 1992-2000. Mariano Rivera's predecessor led the AL in saves in 1996 with 43 in the midst of an incredible run in which he finished in the top five in his league in saves each year from 1992-2000. In those nine years, he finished in the top four seven times, the top three four times, was a two time runner up (1998 and 1999), and led the AL in 1996. His 330 saves place him eleventh all time. 

Free Agent Signings

Royals signed Jonathan Broxton (1-2, 5.68 ERA, .283 BAA, 7 saves, 2012 age: 28) to a one-year, $4 million deal (plus a possible $1 million in incentives).

Rays signed Jose Molina (3 HR, 15 RBI, .281 AVG, 2 SB, 2012 age: 37) to a one year, $1.5 million deal. 

The Royals were looking to add a veteran presence to their young bullpen, and that is exactly what they get in the 27-year-old Broxton, who is entering his eighth season in the majors. Broxton, who was considered to be in the very top tier of closers as recently as the start of 2010, experienced inconsistency that year and had elbow issues in 2011. If he can stay healthy and return to his 2006-2009 form, the Royals may have just earned the steal of the hot stove season. He first rose to success in 2006 as a 22-year-old set-up man for Takashi Saito, where he posted a 2.59 ERA and struck out 97 batters in just 76 1/3 innings. He continued as a set-up man in 2007, where he was 4-4 with a 2.85 ERA and struck out 99 batters in 82 innings. He became a part time closer in 2008 at 24 years old, where his ERA bloated just a bit to 3.13 while saving 14 and striking out 88 batters in 69 innings. Always a master of the strikeout, Broxton saw his best season in 2009 after taking over as full time closer. He was 7-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 36 saves, an incredible .165 BAA, and 114 K's in 76 innings (13.5 K's per 9 IP). After a strong first third of the season in 2010 in which he posted a 1.16 ERA and .207 BAA and saved 13 games, Broxton started to slide in June. In fact, his ERA jumped at least 1.64 points in each month from April to July (0.00, 1.84, 3.48, 7.45), eventually causing him to lose his closing job to Hong-Chih Kuo.  After an ugly September where he posted an 8.59 ERA, his season's ERA sat at 4.04; that was 0.93 points higher than it had ever been in a full season. He looked to bounce back strong in 2011, but a bone spur in his elbow limited him to just 14 games. He didn't quite make the most of them, posting a 5.68 ERA. He did save seven games in eight tries. Over his seven-year career, he is 25-20 with a 3.19 ERA and .221 BAA with 84 saves.

Trades

Rays traded John Jaso (5 HR, 27 RBI, .224 AVG, 1 SB, 2012 age: 28) to the Mariners for Josh Lueke (1-1, 6.06 ERA. .270 BAA, 2012 age: 27). 

I don't agree with this deal, at least on the Mariners' side. I do consider Jaso a better player than Lueke, but I don't feel this trade addresses any Seattle needs. The Mariners already have a fully capable catcher in Miguel Olivo, and if they really want an offensive boost, another mediocre player isn't going to do the trick. Jaso just doesn't provide the necessary offense. Jaso is still a young catcher who could see an improvement next season. After a string of successful minor league seasons, Jaso showed an impressive bat in his 2010 rookie season. In 109 games, he hit five home runs and batted .263 with four stolen bases. He didn't see as much success in 89 games in 2011, hitting five home runs but batting just .224. Over his career, equivalent to about one full season, he has hit 10 home runs and batted .245 with five stolen bases through 203 games (though he has only had 595 at bats). That includes a five-game stint in 2009 where he was 2-10 (.200 AVG).   

The Rays acquired a young gun to compete for a bullpen spot, and the 6'5" righty can deal. After serving jail time in 2009, Lueke's professional career took off as he moved through four levels from Class A to AAA in 2010, posting a 1.86 ERA with 17 saves along the way. He started 2011 with the Mariners, but after a rough April where he posted a 17.05 ERA, he was sent down to Tacoma to smooth things out. He was sent down to AAA Tacoma in late April and pitched 30 games for the Rainers until the All Star break, posting a 2.76 ERA and 11 saves while acting as closer. He was called up again in July and pitched well for the remainder of the year, posting a 3.42 ERA through 17 games upon his call-up. He finished the year with a 6.06 ERA. 

Other News

The Red Sox are reportedly close to bringing Bobby Valentine on as their next manager.

Astros dismissed general manager Ed Wade.

Giants extended the contracts of Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy through 2013.
 
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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman