Longtime Orioles starter Chris Tillman underwent surgery to “clean up” the labrum in his right shoulder last June, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The right-hander did not pitch in 2019.
Tillman, 32 in April, is currently on the mend and hoping to throw for clubs in Spring Training, per Sherman. It’d be a surprise to see him land anything other than a minor league deal at that point, but he’ll be an intriguing rebound candidate for a club that’s willing to take on a reclamation project.
From 2012-16, Tillman was the Orioles’ best and most consistent starter, working to a combined 3.81 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.12 HR/9 and a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate over the life of 844 2/3 innings. That stretch included a 2013 All-Star appearance and four straight seasons of 30-plus starts for the former second-round pick.
Things began to go south for Tillman in 2017, though, when a bout of shoulder bursitis delayed the beginning of his season. The velocity on Tillman’s four-seamer was down more than 1.5 mph when he did return, and he struggled enormously that year, limping to a 7.84 ERA in 93 innings of work. Tillman returned to the O’s in 2018 on a one-year deal in hopes of bouncing back, but his velocity was down another 1.5 mph in ’18, when he averaged just 89.6 mph on a fastball that once averaged nearly 93 mph. Tillman allowed 31 runs in 26 2/3 innings before being shelved with a back injury, and he still hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since May 10 that season.
Tillman’s track record and relative youth make him well worth a speculative look in Spring Training. No club is going to immediately entrust him with a rotation spot, but starting pitching is always in demand, and few depth plays can boast a track record as sharp as his half-decade run with the O’s.
Marner#16
Perfect candidate for the Blue Jays.
jimmertee
I was thinking the same thing. Atkins will be watching Tillman’s workout on his laptop to complete his thorough research.
stewartnbuck
sounds like a perfect Billy Eppler acquisition?!
jbigz12
His arm looked like it had nothing left. Unless he gets that velo back, he’s fighting an uphill battle. I wouldn’t bet on his comeback, unfortunately. He was probably the best O’s starter of the last decade.
J leathal86
Jaimie Moyer
bross16
That’s not this decade
rememberthecoop
It’s crazy how just a couple of mph can make such a difference. Shoulders are not like elbows – pitchers routinely come back from TJ; in fact, sometimes better than they were. But labrums, not so much.
macstruts
The Tigers or KC should look in on him. For any pitcher they are good landing spots. Reasonable parks and opposing offenses that wont blow you away and a chance to reestablish value. It’s still the best division in baseball to pitch.
.
adlund09
You clearly haven’t seen the Twins or White Sox lineups of late….
macstruts
I have. Twins have a good lineup. The White Sox are improving, they have promise, but there are still some holes there. Do you think the AL Central is one of the stronger divisions in baseball?
Do you think the AL East or West lineups are inferior? The three NL divisions?
If you were going to choose a team that would allow you a chance, what teams would you choose? If I was going to try to reestablish my value, those are the two teams I’d choose. .
scarfish
Best comeback from shoulder repair I can recall is Schilling. Didn’t Halladay have his shoulder redone as well?
Marner#16
jlbgz12,
That’s not saying much that franchise is a joke right now.
Baseball 1600
They were a really good team when Tillman was pitching well for them.
jbigz12
The Orioles were a really good team despite the starters. They cobbled together good seasons from Tilly, Gonzalez, Bud Norris,Gausman etc. As a Jays fan I’m sure you remember. Not completely dissimilar to what the Brewers are doing. The O’s had an elite bullpen w Givens, Oday, Brach and Britton. You can say whatever you like about how they were ran but they had the most wins in the AL from 2012-2016. So they did something right at that point.
Failure to rebuild and develop a sustainable pipeline of prospects is why they’re in the toilet now.
ronnsnow
This has Pirates written all over it. Essentially no risk, high reward given the state of their pitching staff.
Marner#16
ronnsnow,
Will see … he would be facing weaker NL hitters so I could see that.
ronnsnow
As of now, the Pirates rotation stands as Keller, Archer, Musgrove, Williams, then possibly one of Brault/Kuhl. With Kuhl coming back from TJ surgery and Brault being inconsistent, they could plug Tillman in and flip him if he can be decent, kind of like they did with Jordan Lyles in 2019.
DirtyWater04
They seem to strike gold on a reclamation project every year, credit to their pitching coaches. Wouldn’t shock me at all if they gave a look to someone like this to see if he can hold down the fort until they decide a young guy is ready to join the rotation.
tug17509
Are the NL hitters weaker than the AL, or is the NL pitching better than the AL? What’s your basis for saying NL is weaker with hitting?
DirtyWater04
Well the obvious difference is the NL has pitchers bat instead of a DH which is theoretically easier and probably what he’s basing his claim on.
Per Fangraphs the cumulative AL batting line last year was .253/.323/.439, WRC+ of 99.
NL was .251/.323/.431, WRC+ of 94. Which is damn near identical, with the marginally less production probably accounted for by that difference of pitchers vs DH’s batting.
I know that’s just one season and I’m too lazy to go back and look and type out half a dozen years of this to see if a pattern emerges from it, but at least with the most recent season’s data there is no reason to believe the hitters of one league are clearly any better than the other.
DirtyWater04
Also, AL pitchers cumulatively posted an 8.81 K/9, 3.29 BB/9, 1.45 HR/9, 4.58 xFIP, and 219.7 WAR.last year.
NL pitchers were at 8.94 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.36 HR/9, 4.43 xFIP, and 210 WAR.
Again, obvious caveat being that this is one year’s worth of data, but taking into consideration the NL pitchers get to pitch to pitchers and AL pitchers have to pitch to DH’s, I see nothing here to support concluding that either group is decisively better than the other.
DarkSide830
i dont think the hitters in the NL are any weaker than those in the AL anymore.
dynamite drop in monty
Yeah that argument died in the naughts
shortytallz
Angels will nab him and call him their ace.
layventsky
And watch, the Dodgers will sign him to pitch out of the bullpen.
TheMick7
You forgot they will then chastise the ChiSox fans for overestimating their own team after the WSox good offseason, and then talk about the total war equaling +35 games because of the pitching which culminates in the obvious 1st place Halos.
Thats objective observation as a Yankees fan. It’s not all Angels fans, probably not even most…..But it’s pretty prevalent on this website.
macstruts
The Mick… What are you talking about? Is there anyone that thinks the Angels are a first place team. Is there anyone that thinks the Angels have good starting pitching?
Seriously, I don’t know what you are talking about?
TheMick7
It’s been on multiple forums; actually you’ve been on the same forums. Not sure if you read all the comments, but there have been lengthy conversations about how good the Angels starting pitching will be with the additions of Bundy and Teheran, and how much WAR per pitcher they add, how that equates to wins, etc…
Plus there have been a plethora of pro-Angel, anti-ChiSox comments, in short, bashing the Sox fans for their sentiments that Sox will significantly improve.
As I stated, most Angels fans are not that way, but there some pushing that narrative a lot throughout recent forums. WSox fans will attest to it, I’m sure. I think ChiSox or however his name is written is involved in most of them, defending his team.
macstruts
I have no problem with your takes. I can’t believe anyone would come on a thread about the White Sox or Angels and just snipe with no analysis. It’s old. But it happens all the time. Are these people in the 4th grade?
I don’t know anyone who thinks that Angels will win the West. I think the Angels can be wild card competitive. I don’t think their pitching is all that bad. But just as importantly, I don’t think the A’s and Texas are all that good.
Quickly. In the NFC. Ohtani is being drafted before Luzardo, Canning before Puk, Teheran before Fiers, Heaney before Manea. The big difference is Montas vs Bundy, and how good is Montas? He was horrible before last year and he was tested for PEDs last year. Maybe he’ll be an ace, maybe he needs the PEDs.
TheMick7
Yup, I agree with you. Like you, I really try to take any emotion out of it and just look at what’s before me as the best way to formulate an opinion. I’ve seen many of your posts…. I think you’re a fair guy and speak from a position of knowledge during discussions.
Anyway, if you like the Angels that wasn’t directed your way. Just tired of seeing the ChiSox fans get pummeled for being positive about their team making moves. I think they did a good job, comparatively, and should be congratulated for it, not disingenuously criticizes because they have high hopes.
charliex2012
I hope Tillman can rebound with some team. His stuff just kind of fell off a cliff suddenly.
Berischa
Orioles could use him if he shows something, they need cheap veteran starting pitchers while rebuilding
Jim Carter
Elias has shown zero enthusiasm for reunions with former Orioles. Tillman’s only hope is a BIG ballpark. The Camden Yards launching pad is not suited for his skill set.
dynamite drop in monty
Kneel before Zod?
gorav114
Tilly could be a nice bounceback candidate. He looked done before but certainly possible the injuries accumulated on him making him less effective. I could see the Os being a fit since he’s familiar with the organization, including their minor league parks, and the Os need a few starters on minor league deals.
Jim Carter
How many former Orioles has Elias signed so far?
gorav114
None that I can think of but don’t know the relevance. He has resigned guys that were in organization before he got there and he’s only been there a year so I don’t think we can say either way he would or wouldn’t sign former Orioles.
bobtillman
Dunno about this one…he had NOTHING left at the end…slo pitch softball….
OTOH, he’s got a bit of bulldog in him, and it says here that even an outside shot a 600K a year beats “Welcome to Wal Mart”…..
GoAwayRod
Tillman made $25M+ in his time in the majors. I sorta doubt his situation is quite that desperate. Or at least, I’d certainly hope it’s not.
bobtillman
Ya, and that was when 25M was REAL money…….
GoAwayRod
I can’t help but feel bad for some of these guys. It feels like even in the 4 years or so since Tillman was somewhere between serviceable rotation guy and ace-on-a-bad-staff, the game has changed an awful lot.
He just doesn’t strike me as somebody who is going to majorly benefit from the launch-angle obsession and the strikeouts it creates. Unless he’s got some serious life back in his arm, I suspect it’s going to be rough sailing for him. Still, wish him the very best. Seemed like a solid dude for the O’s.
gorav114
His fb was a little flat but he threw a lot up in the zone. It seems like going up in the zone is more effective against the launch angle craze. It’s different then what every pitcher is ever taught (down down down) but might actually help Tillman
dimitrios in la
Tillman is a fly ball pitcher. Without velo that high fastball will get launched.
pjsportsdude85
nice risk for detroit to take. they made him an offer a few seasons ago before he resigned with baltimore. hope it works out for him
dman07
Jays will be in on this at a one year deal plus incentives.
southern lion
Tim Lincecum 2.0.