COST FOR COVETED CLOSERS SKYROCKETING
Teams to spend lavishly now for saves later
HARBOR, MD. The NATIONAL World Series champion Chicago Cubs, who have already raised ticket prices and will be minting money for the foreseeable future, took a look at the pricy free agent market for closers and sought another option.
Even though Aroldis Chapman performed admirably after the Cubs dealt for him July 25 — general manager Jed Hoyer said they wouldn’t have won the title without him — they didn’t try to retain the game’s hardest thrower.
“You have to think long and hard about where you place your multiyear bets,” Hoyer said Wednesday after acquiring closer Wade Davis from the Kansas City Royals for promising outfielder Jorge Soler. “We decided to make a swap instead of extending ourselves on a long-term deal.” Not everybody has that luxury. Contenders such as the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins are lacking an established ninth-inning guy. Venturing into the realm of elite available relievers, such as Chap- man and fellow free agent Kenley Jansen, comes at a staggering cost.
The San Francisco Giants already felt the sticker shock when they had to pony up $62 million over four years to land Mark Melancon, a contract that set records for total value and average salary for a closer.
Melancon, at least two years older and less dominant than Chapman and Jansen, was widely expected to be the cheapest of the three. Some news media reports indicate Chapman has received multiple offers above $80 million, and with aggressive suitors in the New York Yankees and the Nationals, his price tag might approach $100 million.
Lest anybody question such massive outlays, they should have a chat with Giants manager Bruce Bochy, perhaps the giddiest man at the winter meetings after the club immediately addressed its glaring hole at the back of the bullpen.
San Francisco’s quest for a fourth World Series crown in seven years went up in smoke in Game 4 of the NL Division Series when five relievers failed to hold a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning against the Cubs, who rallied for a stunning 6-5 victory — saved by Chapman.
It was the 32nd and by far the most painful blown save of the year for the Giants, who became the fourth club to squander a ninth-inning lead of at least three runs in 828 postseason games. That’s right, clubs in such situations had gone 824-3 before that collapse.
No wonder Bochy is convinced that huge payouts to top closers are warranted — and will continue.
“I think more and more we’re realizing how important a closer is,” Bochy said. “They stabilize your season. Because when you lose games late, it’s a blow. It’s a shot to the chin. And you take enough of ’ em, it can wear your team out.”
The opposite is also true, as teams get a lift from escaping a jam in a tight game. The way that happened at times in the postseason brought to the fore questions about when teams should call on their top relievers and whether the role of closer should evolve.
The Cleveland Indians made a surprising run to Game 7 of the World Series on the strength of a bullpen that was not deployed in the traditional fashion, with the closer almost always opening the ninth inning in a save situation (ahead by three or fewer runs).
Having traded in late July for versatile reliever Andrew Miller — who saved 36 games in 2015 — the Indians instead brought him in to put out fires when the game was on the line, regardless of the inning. They also frequently summoned closer Cody Allen for saves of more than three outs.
Jansen, who had an epic 51- pitch appearance in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, and Chapman also had outings of multiple innings.
The moves became the talk of the playoffs, but there are questions as to whether they would work over a 162-game regular season, when the off-days are not as frequent as in October.
“I did that in the playoffs this year,” said Melancon, whose 98 saves over the last two seasons topped the majors. “I don’t know if you can do that for 162 games. I don’t think that’s realistic.”
And if it’s hard and expensive to land one top-level reliever, finding two presents an enormous challenge. That’s why Cleveland enjoyed such a distinct advantage in the postseason.
Plus, with Miller being in the midst of a four-year, $36 million contract, he didn’t have to worry much about racking up save totals. That consideration plays a role in how managers use their closers, as the Indians’ Terry Francona acknowledged during the postseason.
“People often look at that (the Indians’ setup) and say, ‘Well, maybe that’s going to be going forward the style of reliever you want with a type of bullpen you want to build around,’ ” Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “Well, the problem with that is that you’ve got to find an Andrew Miller, and they don’t grow on trees.”
Wherever elite relievers like him grow, they have become increasingly expensive.