February 09, 2007

Pen Report

Adam Rubin of the Daily News reported on the status of the bull pen today. With just a week to go before spring training it appears that all but two spots are set in the pen.


The bullpen locks, if everyone is healthy, appear to be Billy Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis and Pedro Feliciano. Depending on whether Sosa is a starter or reliever, that leaves one or two spots for Ambiorix Burgos, Juan Padilla and Jon Adkins. Adkins is out of options, so he'd have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors.


The curious item I found in this report is the status of Jon Adkins. In November 2006 Adkins was acquired along with Ben Johnson for Royce Ring and Heath Bell. Johnson was clearly the target of the trade, but at the time Adkins received most of the attention. Adkins has three years of major league experience between the White Sox and Padres. He will more then likely be pitching for a position on the staff or to impress another team for when he's placed on waivers. As seen when Standridge was DFA, there is a great demand for relievers and Adkins more then likely wouldn't make it through waivers. Below is a portion of Mike's Mets review of Adkins.

Still, the numbers scream inning-eating middle reliever. At age 29, Adkins is most likely as good as he will ever be. He also ran into some difficulty later in the year. After lowering his ERA to 3.06 in late July, he pitched to a 5.68 ERA over his last 22 appearances of the season.


Adkins throws a fastball (68%), slider (26%) and an occasional changeup (6%). His fastball is his most effective pitch (.274 OPP AVG). The changeup got lit up to the tune of a .367 OPP AVG, which makes you wonder why he uses it at all.

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