An in depth look at RP Jeremy Affeldt

Today I will be looking at newly acquired relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt.

Affeldt was the first free agent signed this offseason. The Giants and Sabean must think highly of Affeldt as he was the first of 171 available free agents signed this offseason.

When signed, Bochy said, “I’m thrilled to have Jeremy. He is going to make our bullpen that much stronger. I’ve seen him from the other side and I never liked him with his power arm. He’s resilient. Jeremy is getting in his prime.”

I feel much the same as Bochy does. Affeldt reaches the mid-nineties from the left side and has the ability to strike batters out. Here is a graph of his career H/Inn, BB/Inn, K/Inn.

Click to Enlarge

In 2008, JA was about 3/1 for his K/BB ratio. In his earlier years you can see that he was a starter for the KC Royals while also making appearances out of the ‘pen, which means JA should be able to go longer than one inning from time to time.

JA signed a two-year deal on November 17th with the Giants where he received a $1M signing bonus and will earn $3M in ’09 and $4M in ’10. This makes JA the highest paid relief pitcher on the Giants’ staff.

Affeldt should make a vast improvement for bullpen that struggled in 2008. If all goes to plan and he remains a consistent pitcher, the Giants should be better at holding down leads late in games or keeping the game close.

This signing has been ranked as the #10 best offseason acquisition in all of baseball by MLB Outsider.

 Sabean gets my approval for this move.