Allow me to present a couple reasons why you should give a darn that Major League Baseball's non-tender deadline came and went Tuesday night:
Justin Turner, Chris Coghlan, Sam Fuld and Ryan Webb.
What these four have in common is that they were non-tendered ahead of last year's deadline and also that they went on to be productive players for cheap in 2014. Particularly Turner, who (PUN INCOMING) turned a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers into a .340 average and .897 OPS.
When it comes to the non-tender process—which, for the record, is when teams have to decide whether they want to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players or cut them loose on the free-agent market—there's no doubt that success stories like these are the exception to the rule.
Nevertheless, they're a solid excuse to comb through this year's non-tenders in search of intriguing buy-low options. And from this particular perch, there are a few worth discussing.Why the Atlanta Braves deemed right-handers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy expendable on Tuesday is no big secret. Medlen and Beachy both underwent Tommy John surgery in March. One concern is that they missed all of 2014 as a result, but the much bigger concern is that it was the second Tommy John operation for both of them.
In light of that, it's hard to blame the Braves for not wanting to spend the $7.3 million that MLB Trade Rumors projected it would have cost to keep the two of them.
Of course, prospective buyers for Medlen and Beachy will be aware of their injury histories. But they'll also be aware of two other things:
When healthy, Medlen and Beachy have been pretty good.
It's not out of the question that both will be able to produce in 2015.
In 43 starts across 2012 and 2013, Medlen authored a 2.47 ERA and a 4.27 K/BB ratio. That was mainly thanks to excellent fastball command and one of the game's best changeups.
As for Beachy, he was only able to make 18 starts between 2012 and 2013. But that's a sample size containing a 2.00 ERA in 13 starts in 2012, and an impressive 5.75 K/BB ratio in five starts in 2013.
Looking ahead to 2015, the word from the Associated Press (h/t USA Today) is that the Braves were expecting Medlen and Beachy to be ready to return by May or June. Maybe that's still in play, which opens up an especially fascinating door where Medlen is concerned.
It's possible Medlen could be eased into action with a bullpen role before being turned loose in a rotation role. That would be repeating Atlanta's model for his 2012 season, which ended with him posting an 0.97 ERA in 12 starts down the stretch.
In short: Signing Medlen could mean adding an ace midway through 2014, while adding Beachy could mean adding a solid mid-rotation starter. That obviously comes with a big "health permitting" caveat, but there's more than enough upside with both to attract buy-low attention.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2288335-france-should-grant-legend-thierry-henry-a-farewell-appearance
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