Red Sox agree on minor league deal with Francisco Cordero
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
According to the Boston Herald’s John Tomase, the Boston Red Sox and reliever Francisco Cordero have agreed on a minor league contract. The right-handed pitcher is coming off of shoulder surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, which he underwent early in 2013.
Cordero, 38, is reportedly already in Fort Myers, seeking to prove his health and worth to big league clubs. It is a longshot that Cordero will make it out of the gate, given the Red Sox pitching depth. It almost seems virtually impossible that Francisco has any chance of being a member of the 25-man roster on March 31st, but I see this more as a tryout, so that other teams can depict the seasoned veteran’s value.
The three time All-Star is one of the elite’s to be a member of the exclusive 300 saves club, as he collected 329 saves in 14 big league seasons.
His most recent season between the Astros and Blue Jays was a challenge for Cordero. He posted a ghastly 7.55 ERA and 6.02 FIP in 39 and 1/3 innings. The decline in performance is most likely credited to his inflated HR/9 ratio. His HR/9 ratio was 2.06 in 2012, compared to a career 0.70 HR/9. Taking a gander at his xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching), you can clearly see that he was the recipient of a lot of bad luck. His BABIP (batting average on ball in play) also rose drastically in 2012 to .394. He owns a career .300 BABIP, which is somewhat distorted by his anomaly 2013 season.