On April 8th, he turns 30 years-old..
2007 – 175.1 IP, 165 hits, 123 k’s, 47 walks, 23 homers, 711 OPS, 1.21 G/F
2008 – 190.2 IP, 176 hits, 120 k’s, 58 walks, 24 homers, 693 OPS, 1.17 G/F
He has 56 career starts as an Oriole…
0 earned runs allowed – 2 times
1 earned run allowed – 17 times
2 earned runs allowed – 13 times
3 earned runs allowed – 11 times
4 earned runs allowed – 5 times
5 earned runs allowed – 6 times
6 earned runs allowed – 1 time
7 earned runs allowed – 1 time
After missing most of September 2008, Guthrie returned for one last start against Toronto… where he went 4IP, allowed 3er…
At the time, Trembley stated the following:”Well, on a positive note, it’s good that Guthrie is healthy. So we can leave and know that.”
Guthrie is Arbitration eligible in 2010, and not eligible for Free Agency until 2013… meaning the O’s do not have to reward Guthrie with a signed extension, and a raise…. He competes, he stays prepared…. he was more active in providing leadership in 2008… and he is good with the community.
You do have to account for his somewhat ‘advanced’ age, the injuries the last 2 years, and the limited k’s per IP… But I think a case can be made that the O’s should reward him with a reasonable guaranteed contract.
While his injuries the last two years have to be considered, I do not think his health is reason not to do a guaranteed extension.
Pitching is an unnatural motion that causes injuries to arms… we should all agree with that.. should also all agree that with continued use, pitchers are more like to suffer subsequent injuries… im also aware that he is 30, and not 24.. and everything that represents…
Still, he has avg 182.5 IP the last two years and that should count for something as well…
I said that I do not think health is a reason not to do a guaranteed extension, because any deal would require a full-physical.
If the O’s were concerned with the results, or believed there was structural damage… The contract would never be signed.
There are possible benefits to signing him. For one, you provide a message to your players that you will reward performance… on and off the field.. two, it is pay you can slot… and for three, you can avoid arbitration in the coming years…
For an organization that has to pay a premium to FA’s to consider Baltimore, I think it is a good PR move to be noted as an organization that rewards their own.I am thinking something like 4yrs $24-$30M… Which plenty would argue would be too-high.
The biggest negative I can point to signing him to that type of contract, is that I am partly stating the O’s should be paying for previous results. You can not make large decisions as an organization that way.. You have to be paying for likely future performance.
So perhaps the question to be asking, is how much do you believe in Guthrie during the next 4 years?
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.