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| You remember these guys? They're not here. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
In 2007, Fausto Carmona, now known as Roberto Hernandez, was a better starting pitcher than Cliff Lee. It would seem fitting that the Phillies of 2014 would sign a guy seven years removed from his best stuff, on what is increasingly looking like a nursing home reprise of the 2013 version of the team.
Roberto Hernandez had a 4.89 ERA in 151.2 innings, while he struck out 6.7 per 9 innings, and walked 2.3. It's not all doom and gloom though, as he had a 53.2% ground ball rate in 2013, and has a 57.8% ground ball rate for his career. He's coming over from the AL East, where he faced better line-ups. His numbers also appear to be a bit unlucky- 20.9% of his fly balls left the park, which is a bit high. Both his xFIP (3.60) and SIERA (3.66) suggest he was unlucky in Tampa.
I have no terms of the deal yet, though no terms are going to dress up a very mediocre move. This doesn't move the needle much in terms of expectations. The Mets picked up Bartolo Colon, and the Phillies answer was this.
In other news, in the tradition of David Herndon, Michael "Mini-Mart" Martinez, and Ender Inciarte, the Phillies selected Kevin Munson in the Rule 5 Draft from Arizona. He has some hope as a reliever, especially given the Phillies uncertainty in the bullpen. Seth Rosin became the second piece of the Hunter Pence trade to leave, being drafted by the Mets, and traded to the Dodgers already.
Has anyone told the Phillies you don't have to tank your season to get into the "draft lottery" in MLB?
