Brad Ziegler
Position: Right-handed reliever
Bats: Right – Throws: Right
Born: October 10, 1979 (Age 37)
Brad Ziegler hits the open market at a time when teams are prioritizing bullpen help more and more these days, after watching what the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians did in this year’s postseason, and how the Kansas City Royals relied upon its dominant relievers in 2014-15.
Ziegler, 37, has played nine seasons in the majors with the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, and a half season helping the Boston Red Sox clinch their first A.L. East division title in three years in 2016.
Between Arizona and Boston this season, Ziegler posted a record of 4-7 in 69 appearances, tossing 68 innings and holding opponents to a .258 batting average, with a 2.25 ERA (19th among all relievers). Ziegler fared better against right-handed hitters, holding them to a slash line of .252/.301/.329 in 155 at-bats in ’16, compared to .275/.380/.343 in 102 at-bats against lefties. The splits are even more pronounced for his career, as Ziegler has held right-handed hitters to a .559 OPS in over 1300 at-bats, compared to a .757 OPS against lefties in over 800 at-bats.
The submarine throwing right-hander offers a unique release point in his motion; inducing a high number of groundouts (63.3%, 4th best in majors among relievers) and movement on his pitches. Ziegler features a fastball, slider, sinker, and changeup, and relies on the slower speeds and deception to fool batters at the plate.
In 2016, Ziegler recorded his best swinging strike percentage of his career according to FanGraphs, at 11.7%, beating his previous season high of 10.9% in ’14. Ziegler also recorded his best O-Swing %, which refers to the percentage of pitches a batter swings at outside the strike zone, which was at 37.9% in ’16. In turn, his O-Contact % which calculates the percentage of times a batter makes contact when swinging at pitches outside the zone, was also a career best at 61.7%.
From 2011-’16, Ziegler has been the model of consistency and health, recording the second highest number of games with 424 behind only Tyler Clippard‘s 431, fourth most innings pitched at 403, fourth best HR/9 with 0.33, the second best groundball rate at 69.1%, and stranding the third most runners with 190 during that six-year stretch.
Ziegler also has experience closing out games, as he’s closed for all three of the major league teams he’s been on, recording a career high 30 saves in 2015 with the Diamondbacks, out of 32 chances. This past season, Ziegler was 18-for-20 in save opportunities with the Diamondbacks, and 4-for-8 with the Red Sox.
Contract:
Ziegler’s coming off a two-year $10.5 million deal from Arizona, and one in which he lived up to his side of the deal. Ziegler has been one of most dependable relievers in baseball, appearing in at least 66 games in the last six seasons, and only posting an ERA north of 3.00 once during that span. He should be in line for at least another two-year deal, especially after posting even better numbers in the AL East as a member of the Red Sox. Look for a two-year, $12-15 million deal for the 37-year-old. Similar deals for relievers include Pat Neshek‘s two-year $12.5 million contract with the Houston Astros in ’14.
Recommendation:
The Mets should be inquiring about Ziegler, and looking to potentially bring him in for 2017 and beyond. His age hasn’t slowed him down, especially since he doesn’t rely on velocity for his success. I also love the idea of having a sidearm/submarine type arm on the team, as it rattles the hitters and gives them a harder time to pick up the angle and movements on his pitches. Chad Bradford and Joe Smith are recent Met examples of guys who had success with sidearm pitching. With the recent news of Jeurys Familia facing domestic violence charges in New Jersey, and the prospects of losing the closer for a prolonged period of time in ’17, the Mets need to bring in a bevy of arms that can compete in camp, and Ziegler would offer a ton of value in Queens in 2017.
