*Photo from the Denver Post*
The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to make some upgrades to their league worst bullpen last season. They've at least taken one step in that direction now. The D-Backs and RHP Mark Melancon have agreed to a two year, $14 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal has been confirmed by the D-Backs.
Arizona GM Mike Hazen said of Melancon that "He's a proven back end bullpen guy. We talked about at the beginning of the offseason wanting to rebuild our 'pen. You know, it was a major issue for us last year and we've done some things on the edges and we're going to continue to do some things as we move through the offseason. But getting a guy in this spot was more important for us."
In his contract, Melancon will make $6 million annually in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. There is a team option for the 2024 season that is valued at $5 million, and has a $2 million buyout, so he could max the deal at 3 years and $17 million. He can also earn an additional $2 million in bonuses, that could push it up to $19 million.
Last season with the Padres, Melancon turned in an all star campaign, finishing with a 4-3 record with a 2.23 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, striking out 59 hitters while leading the majors with 39 saves, over the span of 64 2/3 innings pitched in 64 relief appearances for the Padres, allowing just 4 home runs against him all season, blowing 6 saves.
Across 13 major league seasons split between 8 different teams, Melancon has a 34-30 record with a 2.79 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, throwing 670 2/3 innings and saving 244 games, blowing 40 saves in 670 relief appearances. In 20 relief appearances in the playoffs, Melancon has a 1-1 record with 5 saves in 19 1/3 innings pitched.
Melancon said of joining the D-Backs that "I got to play against the Diamondbacks all year last year starting in Spring Training. I got to see that there is a lot of talent. I don't think that the record is indicative of the talent level that's here. It's sometimes hard to see that when a bad record shows up, but playing against them as many games as we did, I could see through that pretty easily."
The D-Backs had interest in signing Melancon since the beginning of the offseason, but it wasn't until near the end of November that talks really started to ramp up between the two sides, and, right before the lockout hit, a deal was in place. It's a necessary addition for the D-Backs, who finished with a 52-110 record in 2021, last place and 55 games out of the NL West division lead.
Comments
Post a Comment