Thanks to Dusty for the tip: The Dodgers have signed Jeff Weaver to an $800,000 minor-league deal. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports calls Weaver "unsung," but fans who followed the Dodgers last season know Weaver's worth. Consider his 2009 regular-season performance:
- 7 starts
- 6 wins (3.13 ERA)
- 21 relief appearances (3.99 ERA)
- 108 ERA+
- a career-high 7.3 K/9 rate
Weaver was asked to fill all sorts of roles last season and performed them well and without complaint. I had clubhouse access for a game against the Mets in which Weaver started. He developed a blood blister and left after five innings; afterward he covered his hand while answering questions for the press, minimizing its effect.
Weaver also played a veteran presence in the Dodgers' bullpen; who else do you think was responsible for the only rookie hazing we saw last season? Oh, and he outdueled his younger brother Jered in the Freeway Series, and even got the win in Game 1 of the NLDS. And all while earning only $431,694, according to True Blue LA.
So welcome back, Jeff. See you at the stadium.
Some Jeff Weaver content at SoSG from 2009:
AP photo
6 comments:
I like it. Weaver will either be a super-sub-spot-starter or effective long man. He will also compete for the 5th starter spot.
1. Kershaw
2. Billingsley
3. Kuroda
4. Padilla
5. Weaver
I mean, that would look a lot better with Randy Wolf penciled in there, but I don't want to go down that road right now.
Weaver's numbers are decent, especially for a possible #5 and he also proved to be effective out of the bullpen.
Weaver's not going to compete for the fifth starter role. He doesn't even have a major-league contract. He's aiming to get the role he had last season. He knows that, and the Dodgers know that. We're just going to have to hope for Elbert or Stults, as opposed to the Two Ortizes.
I loved Weaver last year, especially how he wiggled out of jams. The problem was, he usually created those jams.
There were plenty of times, too, that DreamWeaver came in after other pitchers set up a jam and got us out of the woods. Countless times I was in the yard I saw this. So I'm stoked, as Jeff might say, about this news, and expect him to make the roster.
And if he gets one W this season, hopefully it's #2 against his little brother.
Why wouldn't Weaver be in the running for the 5th spot? If he's the best pitcher of that lot at the end of ST, he should be the guy.
Except Weaver never once passed the five inning threshold last season. He's a year older now, so can you really expect him to be able to start on a consistent basis and collect a large amount of innings?
We need a guy who could realistically go six or seven innings. They don't have to be spectacular innings, but they need to be innings none the less. Weaver in the rotation would just kill the bullpen.
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