Jeremy Bonderman, who came back from 2008 shoulder surgery to pitch 171 innings last year, may not pitch at all in 2011. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick hears from a player who says Bonderman doesn't want to keep rehabbing or have to compete for a job in Spring Training (Twitter links).
"More than likely he's going to sit this year out," the player told Crasnick.
Bonderman started 29 games last year, posting a 5.53 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. The 28-year-old, who is about to begin his ninth big league season, is a free agent for the first time.
The Indians, Yankees, Rockies and Tigers were among the teams to show interest in Bonderman this offseason, though those clubs have all since added arms. The Tigers aren't re-signing Bonderman, but their opponents from the 2006 World Series could take a look at him. The Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery and could be intrigued by Bonderman, as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explained last week.
You had a 5.53 ERA, you’re Going to have to compete for a job. There are pitchers with better numbers who are, you certainly will have to. I don’t get why players use their name as a guarantee that they will get whatever they want (money wise and playing time wise). I see a good trend in baseball which is due to up and coming prospects that the names don’t as much matter as the production. Now I’d like to see a more fair pay scale, because this whole Pujols thing is a black eye and so is players getting absurd contracts. It’s time to rope it in, and if baseball needs to sit out a year to get it resolved, then so be it. That’s a talk for another day. The point is that just because Bonderman is Bonderman doesn’t assure him of a starting rotation spot, or for him to announce his demands and if they aren’t met he’s sitting out. Who cares? I’m supposed to go to work making $35 k a year and I’m suppose to lose sleep at night because Jeremy Bonderman can’t rope in a $300k plus job? Nope.
Well, for one thing the market determines their salaries so there isn’t any point in calling it wrong. They get what they get because they have skills that are in demand and that’s what the market pays for them. As far as Bonderman not wanting to compete for a job, well, you can’t really blame him for that and it sounds like he’s handling it by deciding to sit out. His choice. Really it’s just a bargaining chip to get more guarantees from teams which is also standard practice. If you were in a position to negotiate a higher salary and benefits wouldn’t you make use of every bargaining chip you had at your disposal?
I was a bit surprised myself when I read he doesn’t want to compete for a job and had to do a double-take. Either way if he wants any shot at playing in the bigs he will have to compete for a spot if he comes back in 2012 anyways.
I agree with you. Does a team really want a player that DOESN’T want to compete for his spot? Has Bonderman done anything as of late that says he’s gotta be in your rotation?
I don’t know. I think if I’m the one making decisions, I’d roll my dice with the guy that’s willing to put it on the line before he expects you to hand it to him.
Yeah, this sounds like a great idea. So does he think he’ll have a guaranteed job in 2012 or what? At least this year he could most likely get some ramped up incentives. Doubtful after a year on the couch.
Bonderman should have a talk with Jermaine Dye
I really think Bonderman’s stuff might play well in short relief.
He’s definitely good at plunking batters when the manager calls for it while rehabing. Other than that, not really effective out of the pen.
So you post a 5.53 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and you think you should be guaranteed a starting job? Enjoy retirement.
This isn’t like Roger Clemens sitting out or Pedro Martinez. You’re Jeremy Bonderman. If you sit out, you’ll be forgotten and you’re done. Don’t sugarcoat the fact that you’re stubborn and can’t accept that you suck and need to prove yourself to deserve to be on a MLB team.
He is awful – there are no secrets in baseball
He’ll be in the same exact position next year, perhaps worse having been a year away.
I’m sitting out this season too. Can I have a million dollars next year?
QQ I don’t wanna have to work for a spot and make less money…
So he’s not going to have to compete in 2012 if he sits out?
I don’t think that will help his chances for next year, why even bother?
Bonderman’s problem isn’t just the over inflated ERA. He was playing in a pitchers’ park and in a weak division and at his age his developmental curve doesn’t suggest that he has much left to learn. Even going to PETCO with their staff, park and improved infield isn’t a guarantee that he will be able to improve his performance nor his skill set. He should join some independent league team halfway through the year and work to become an impact reliever. And then ask for an incentive laden deal to return as a middle reliever to some team.
Comerica doesn’t rate as a pitcher’s park.
Really? That park is huge
It’s pretty consistantly middle of the road.
espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor/_/year/2010
It didn’t rate last year, but consider how powerful Detroit’s offense is compared to, for example, The Mariners (and ESPN’s rating doesn’t seem to consider the difference between park influence and a team’s particular offensive). My point is that the park is very big and it factors positively for a pitcher, and that might have hurt Bonderman’s value for teams that evaluated him through the offseason.
Nope, try again. The Tigers were a middle of the pack AL team based upon runs scored in 2010, and bottom third in 2009.
baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2010.shtml
Comerica plays as a middle of the road ballpark, neither friendly to hitters or pitchers. It really hasn’t been a pitcher friendly park since a season or two after it opened. I believe they moved LF in at that time, if my memory serves correctly.
Also, comparing anyone to the Mariners is really not a comparison at all. Seattle has been pretty pathetic in scoring runs for several years.
Bonderman talked of retiring during 2010. He wanted a major league contract from the Tigers or Mariners… Or would go hunting and fishing. Looks like he opted for the latter. This is really no surprise at all.
As far as his 2010 stats, he wasn’t as bad as they indicate. Clearly he wore down at the end of the season and got pounded to close out the year. After two years of hardly pitching, this was somewhat expected. There was a 6-8 week period from May-June that he was the 2nd best SP on the staff, after Verlander. I really thought he might be poised for a solid 2011 season. Oh well. Good luck Jeremy, the 2006 ALDS win against the Yankees won’t soon be forgotten.
“As far as his 2010 stats, he wasn’t as bad as they indicate.”
Yeah he was.