Bring Back Pat?

The preverbal baseball “hot stove” continues to burn at a steady pace with eager fans awaiting their club to pull off the perfect signing/trade before the unexpected start of spring training.

But somehow, no significant sparks or flares have surged inside the offseason furnace signaling a move altering the landscape for the upcoming season. The big boppers and well-advertised power arms of the sport remain untouched but seek offers involving the culture within an organization that preaches winning and skill development ( AND the right amount of money to play for that team as well).

It is another breed of players, however, who proves to be the consummate “x-factor” for THE club willing to go the distance as a determined contender bound for postseason play: Relief Pitchers.

Quirky, Eccentric, Odd, & Zany? Yes indeed; but, these traits fuel their performance on the mound at a maximum level unsurpassed by any position player fielding their line drive outs. They are the strikeout artists, ground-ball masters, pop-fly producers, etc. called upon as the last line of defense to secure a victory. In the end, all varieties are linked together forming one common bond essential among the baseball front-office contingent: Prevent the opposing batter from reaching first base.

Enter Pat Neshek.

The Brooklyn Park, MN righty fits the aforementioned criteria regarding bullpen inhabitants: He possesses an unorthodox yet effective delivery, collects baseball cards and autographs, calls out players who refuse to sign autographs, sports a majestic beard, wears a smile big enough to spot at any ballpark, and he is a switch-hitter according to his Baseball-Reference page (jack of all trades, man).

Oh, let’s not forget his invaluable statistics as well.

2017 was perhaps one of Neshek’s remarkable campaigns over the course of his 11-year career. In 62.1 innings pitching in 71 games for Philadelphia and Colorado, Neshek tallied a 1.59 ERA along with 69 strikeouts and six walks to boot. According to Tommy Meyers of Baseball Prospectus, Neshek led the majors with the lowest walk percentage among relief pitchers who pitched at least 50 innings in 2017 with a 29.4 percentage mark.

With the Phillies, Neshek proved to be the team’s perennial star out of the bullpen and on the field. He managed to strike out 45 batters, notched a 1.12 ERA and allowed five free passes in 40.1 innings of work as the Phillies’ lone All-Star selection.

The Phillies traded him to Colorado before the Trade Deadline so the Rockies could enhance their bullpen depth to make an eventual postseason appearance. The now two-time All-Star fared well amidst the notorious air surrounding Coors Field, tallying 22 innings with 24 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA pitching for the team on Blake Street.

It’s no surprise Neshek’s performance in 2017 has made him a marquee bullpen arm this winter. MLB Trade Rumors foreshadows the 37-year-old receiving a two-year, $12 million deal in regards to being a productive middle relief, right-handed specialist (Righties hit .201 against Neshek in 2017). FanRag Sports writer Ryan Davis lists Neshek as one of his top five underrated free agents this offseason, urging teams to sign the veteran as a way to minimize their opponents’ bats in later innings.

So, where might you ask did Neshek learn to harness his skills as a dominant and coveted relief pitcher? It all starts in St. Louis.

By now a seven-year hurler (Minnesota, San Diego & Oakland, respectively), Neshek initially signed a minor-league contract with the Redbirds along with an invitation to Spring Training in 2014. After perfecting his fastball’s velocity to strengthen his pitching arsenal, Neshek’s contract was purchased by the Cardinals, thus earning him a role in the bullpen. He proceeded to experience a breakout season in which he struck out 68 batters, allowed only nine walks, flaunted a 1.87 ERA during 67.1 innings of work in 71 games, receiving his first All-Star nod to pitch in his home state of Minnesota.

STL Cardinals on Twitter

STLCards holds leaders: (Past 5 years) ’17 – Matt Bowman 23 ’16 – Kevin Siegrist 17 ’15 – Kevin Siegrist 28 ’14 – Pat Neshek 25 ’13 – Trevor Rosenthal 29

“I owe everything to the Cardinals,” he said to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier this year. “I owe a lot to Yadi (Molina) for calling awesome games. I owe (Mike) Matheny for throwing me and trusting me to get lefties. That was always the knock on me. When they let me do it, I excelled at it. The Cardinals – they gave me that opportunity. Yadi knew what I did well. He didn’t say anything. He just showed me how to pitch.”

The projections swirling around the web see Neshek as a reliable bullpen arm for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, and Colorado as well. He does raise a few concerns regarding his age factor, career versus lefties, and his mediocre tenure with the Houston Astros. Compared with his time in St. Louis, Neshek put up sub-par statistics pitching in Houston. For two season (2015-2016), he allowed 11 or more walks, struck out less than 60 batters, and went fewer than 60 innings pitched tossing for H-Town.

As for this writer, it wouldn’t hurt the Redbirds to pursue a player like Neshek to upgrade an underperforming bullpen from the previous year. Regardless of his stint in Houston, Neshek brings a much-needed veteran presence commanding the late-innings, where it comes down to securing a lead or preventing a bigger lead. With Molina behind the plate, Neshek has a signal caller that gives him full trust in his stuff and when to utilize it for certain situations. His velocity reigns supreme and his slider is still super effective with him nearing the age of forty. Despite the stats in Houston, he has shown solid consistency, appearing in 60 or more games since 2014. Not to mention, he has surrendered only 21 home runs in the course of that span.  Plus, with specialists and set-up man usually collecting short-term contracts, this shouldn’t cause major hysteria as to why the Cardinals spent valuable money on a player like Neshek.

Echoing what my fellow scribe at Arch City Aaron Mullins suggested in his recent Cardinals offseason piece in regards to Neshek, “Yeah, just sign the guy.”