Wednesday, January 13, 2021

White Sox sign Liam Hendriks; 3 year, $54M guarantee

 As you may have heard, the White Sox just signed Liam Hendriks to a 3 year, $54M guaranteed contract.  I personally think it was a pretty idiotic move. Which is not to say that he isn't a premier closer; he is. Over the last two years with the Athletics, he posted an 1.79 ERA with 39 saves in 99 games. His other stats are no less impressive: 13.1 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, and a 1.70 FIP. 

But I think closers are just too risky to warrant such a contract with only two years of top-notch performance. Liam has been incredible, but two years doesn't make you Mariano Rivera. History is littered with closers who are eye-popping for a year or two, and then got hurt or lost effectiveness or something. 

Hendriks may prove me wrong, and keep up his excellence, but I think that closers as a class are too risky to justify an $54M contract. 

2 comments:

  1. The guy's almost 32, and for most of his career, he's stunk. $54,000,000 for any player, any closer, any closer for three years, is absurd. "Idiotic" is pretty harsh, but also pretty accurate.

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    Replies
    1. Saying that for most of his career he stunk is a little harsh. Though his ERAs were unremarkable, his FIPs, which are generally more indicative of a pitcher's actual ability, were generally pretty good.

      And he has really become a better pitcher. But yeah, looking at it as a whole, I think it's a pretty bad move.

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