Pirates need to shop Joel Hanrahan
By Matt Gajtka
by Matt Gajtka
Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan recorded his 37th save of the season Monday night, as the Bucs completed a 6-5 comeback win over St. Louis and ended a three-game losing streak.
Although “the Hammer” ultimately held the lead, it wasn’t without drama as the Cardinals scored a run (on a wild pitch) and had runners on second and third with two outs before Hanrahan struck out Corey Patterson to close the deal.
After four months of outright dominance, Hanrahan has seen some of the polish rub off his game since the beginning of August, as he’s allowed multiple baserunners in six of his last 11 high-leverage (i.e. close and late) appearances. Moreover, the fastball that was routinely flirting with triple digits earlier in the summer is now more in the 94-96 mph range.
Still, his overall season numbers remain stellar (1.67 ERA and 1.01 WHIP) and the 6-foot-4, 245-pound righty looks to be one of the sure bets to maintain his role on the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates.
But should he be?
Having the proverbial “lights-out” closer certainly puts a manager and his team at ease, plus it can be very fun for the fans to cheer on the flamethrower for the final three outs of a close contest. But when a non-contending team like this year’s Pirates employs a sure-thing ninth-inning specialist, it has all the look of “spinner” rims on a Pinto.
This viewpoint is certainly not revolutionary, especially not in this sabermetric age. The very concept of shoehorning your best reliever into mainly save situations has become farcical to the enlightened baseball fan.
Logically, there should be agreement that the unneeded luxury provided to the Pirates by Hanrahan is one they should look to exploit in the trade market this offseason. Not that quality relief should only be enjoyed by teams with lofty aspirations, but perhaps a club that fancies itself as a piece shy of glory would be willing to part with some legitimate value in exchange for Hanrahan’s services.
Now in his fourth year in the major leagues, the 29-year-old Hanrahan could still be employed rather cheaply for the next two seasons before earning his unrestricted free agency. Maybe two years of elite-level righthanded relief would be worth an infield prospect or a young starting pitcher with potential to some unnamed team out there.
Considering the current state of the Pirates and their financial restrictions, taking advantage of market inefficiencies needs to be a way of life. For general manager Neal Huntington, the recent recipient of additional job security, the Joel Hanrahan poker chip could be the key to cost-efficient improvements to the Pirates this winter.