Right-hander Craig Stammen is a free agent and will turn 39 years old in March. However, that doesn’t mean he’s hanging up his spikes. “I just love playing,” Stammen tells Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I wasn’t ready. I want to go out a little better than I went out last year. I’m going to try to give it another go.”
Stammen has been a mainstay of the bullpen in San Diego over the past six years. In the four full seasons from 2017 to 2021, he logged at least 79 innings in each campaign and kept his ERA between 2.73 and 3.29. He doesn’t generally get huge strikeout totals, but he does induce a lot of ground balls and limits free passes. He hasn’t had a walk rate above 5.6% since 2017 and has posted a ground ball rate of 45% or higher in each season of his career.
He seemed on track for another solid year in 2022 before a shoulder injury got in the way. He had a 3.34 ERA through 32 1/3 innings when he went on the IL in July due to right shoulder inflammation. He missed about two months, returning to the team in September, but didn’t finish strong. He logged another 8 1/3 innings down the stretch but posted an 8.64 ERA in that time.
It’s possible that he was still dealing with some lingering effects of the injury or was perhaps just rusty after the absence. Stammen himself doesn’t seem to think so, however. “I felt great at the end of the season,” Stammen said. “I’ve continued to throw. … I feel too good to not keep playing.”
It’s possible that Stammen returns to the Padres club he’s been with for the past six years, but Acee also notes that Stammen has begun the process of speaking to other teams. The free agent market for relievers has been robust in the early parts of this offseason, with Edwin Diaz getting $102MM over five years, Robert Suarez getting $46MM over five years and Rafael Montero getting $34.5MM over three. Not all teams will want to spend at that level, however, and some will inevitably look to other options. The last time Stammen was a free agent was going into 2020, when he and the Padres agreed to a two-year deal with a $9MM guarantee and a club option for 2022 that they eventually exercised. Based on Stammen’s age and shoulder injury, he will likely be limited to one-year deals this time around.
Craig Stamina
Damm!!t Manny I had a canned response along those lines ready to go! You beat me!
He’s always chugging.
Little known fact: his name is not really pronounced STAM men, its STAH men. Western Ohio German name.
Weird right, and Brett Favre name is somehow pronounced ‘Farve’. Rednecks, am I right?
It is pronounced Favre naturally. People, including Brett and his family choose to pronounce it as Farv without altering the spelling. It is a French last name.
I believe my ‘redneck’ explanation dots the ‘i’s and crosses the ‘t’s.
Who has never dotted their “i’s” and never crossed their “t’s?”
Rednecks?
Dont give up, i won’t give up
Craigs got Stamina.
You guys got marathons to in Diego’?
He should go back to Cleveland so he can actually play for the franchise, unlike in 2016.
He was born, raised, went to college, met and got married to his wife Audrey, and still lives in Ohio. Maybe he can finish his career out with an Ohio team.
But not the Reds. They suck.
I could actually see the Guardians signing him to a one year deal. Just feels like a Guardian type of signing.
If he doesn’t get the offers he’s looking for from contending teams I think Pittsburgh could be a mutually beneficial fallback plan. For Stammen it’s as close to Ohio as you can get without being in the state and if he’s healthy and throwing reasonably well a veteran reliever on a one year deal in Pittsburgh is virtually guaranteed to be pitching in a playoff race for some other team. The Pirates need a couple veteran relievers and can maybe get a prospect or two at the trade deadline.
This news pleases hitters.
I plan to play next season, too!
He would be an awesome signing for a team that knows when to use him. His stuff is clearly not knockout level but he will take the ball anytime, can induce groundballs and has a few different pitches to work with. Rays, Guardians, Brewers, Cardinals all come to mind. Maybe the Rangers too.
Nothing but a low leverage reliever at best.
Well yeah, he’s not going to be saving games. You’re so smart, maybe you noticed that not everyone in a bullpen has to save games…
Great news! Now, equally important, does any MLB team plan to sign him for the 2023 season?
They need a Pistil for the team to bear fruit
Padres should sign him as a vet presence, he’s a leader, and will on e day be in a front office if not a coach.
Padres should sign him as a vet presence/ innings eater, he’s a leader, and will one day be in a front office if not a coach.