Rick Porcello led the American League in home runs allowed and that is something 29-year-old right-hander A.J. Griffin accomplished with the Oakland Athletics in 2013 when Griffin watched 36 of his pitches leave the yard. Not very promising.
Griffin reads like a script to a medical show with multiple arm issues that certainly have derailed his career. In 2017 with the Rangers Griffin did little to merit attention with a 6-6 record and 5.94 ERA. A 6.26 FIP explains there is nothing statistically misleading regarding Griffin’s ERA.
Attempting to find a positive in Griffin’s 2017 season is like trying to find the Holy Grail or a sane Tweet from you know who, but there is one nugget of note – lefties hit “only” .242 to righties .263. But those home runs! Last year the 2.1 HR/9 ties directly to a 28.5 GB%. For his career, it is a 31.7 GB%. So why even look at this guy?
Griffin, when he was 100%, was a rather respectable pitcher who went 14-10 for the A’s in 2013. This is not a pitcher to have any elevated hope to once again achieve that level of performance, but this is a search for roster filler or minor league depth and Griffin meets that criteria.
The contract would be inconsequential, and the chances of career recovery may be enticement enough for Griffin to enjoy all the pleasures of Pawtucket as he attempts to reconstruct his career. A very low-risk investment.
Signing Possibility: Low