The Kansas City Star is reporting that the Royals have signed Sidney Ponson to a Minor League deal, with an invite to the big-league camp.
This struck me as being completely out-of-the-blue, but it’s really not a bad experiment. When the desperate scramble for a left-handed starter inevitably ends in Horacio Ramirez getting shelled for about five starts, it will be nice for the team to have another arm – even an extra, filler-type starter – stashed away in Omaha. It’s nice insurance in case of injury, a bad April/May by someone else, or Brandon Duckworth.
ZiPS and CHONE both have Ponson throwing a little over 100 innings in 2009 – roughly 20 starts. I’m sort of hoping the Royals don’t need 20 starts out of him, because that would mean someone’s injured for a long time, or maybe that Kyle Davies’ September to Remember wasn’t the real thing, or that Luke Hochevar isn’t rocking it out, or some other rotational unpleasantry.
Then again, if Ponson “has anything left,” as Dutton says, there’d be no harm in having him as part of the Ryoals rotation for their 2009 dash toward glory (or glorious mediocrity. Whichever comes first).
Ponson made 24 starts for the Rangers/Yankees last year, averaging about 5 2/3 innings per start. (He also made a 1-inning relief appearance late in the season, which I took into account for that average!) He strikes out more batters than he walks, but that has declined over the last several seasons to a career-low 1.21 K/BB ratio in 2008.
His FIP (which is like ERA, but is defense-neutral – here’s a great, easy-to-follow explanation) last year was 4.83, which is fine if you’re just using him as a #5-type starter but might be a little high if you need him for a more prominent role.
Overall, this is a fine signing. Since it’s a minor league deal, the financial risk is slim-to-none. The upside is that Ponson could be a nice insurance policy; if he fails, it would only hurt at the AAA level.
A few links before I go:
- Chris Hayes needs your help, if you know some funny jokes.
- Vote for your favorite non-Brett Royals hall of famer.
- Reaction and discussion of the Ponson signing at Royals Review.
- The Royals’ farm system is climbing right up to the middle of the pack!
- In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day*, here are some of the luckiest in sports.
- UPDATE: Another high-quality link – the impending Cheeseburger Crisis! Head for the hills!
*I’m not Irish, but I grew up in a parish named after St. Patrick. Sounds like a good enough reason to celebrate, right?
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