Following a bounceback year in 2014 with the Atlanta Braves, veteran Aaron Harang has caught on with Atlanta’s main contender for fourth place in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies.
phillies have a deal with aaron harang, who had a nice year with braves in '14
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 5, 2015
The Phillies have signed Aaron Harang to a one-year, $5 million deal.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) January 5, 2015
In 2014 1/3 innings with the Braves in 2014, Harang had a 3.57 ERA, striking out 161, and walking 71. He’ll turn 37 in May.
Naturally, this is going to get spun as “the Phillies are wasting money on veterans and aren’t committed to rebuilding!” The team needed starting pitching – the only sure thing in their rotation for 2015 is Cole Hamels, the subject of numerous trade rumors. Cliff Lee’s health is a question mark. A.J. Burnett went back to Pittsburgh. Kyle Kendrick is a free agent. Roberto Hernandez was traded to the Dodgers in August. Why *not* sign a veteran innings eater and then ship him off in the summer, much like the team did with Hernandez last season?
If everything falls into place correctly, Philadelphia’s rotation will be headed by Hamels, Lee, and Harang, with David Buchanan likely sliding into the fourth spot and Jerome Williams taking the fifth spot. The Phillies don’t exactly have much talent at the upper levels of the minors to take over in the rotation – Miguel Gonzalez worked exclusively in relief in 2014, Jonathan Pettibone had shoulder surgery in June, Adam Morgan had shoulder surgery last January, Jesse Biddle was erratic, and 2014 first rounder Aaron Nola threw just 24 innings above high-A. What the hell else is the team supposed to do?
I’m actually surprised that the Phillies got Harang for the price they did. I thought it would be a lock that Harang would end up getting two years. Paying him $5 million for one year isn’t a bad deal at all – remember, Gavin Floyd got $4 million a year ago from the Braves coming off Tommy John surgery, and got $4 million *again* from the Indians this offseason after breaking his elbow during the 2014 season. Brett Anderson threw 43 1/3 innings in the majors in 2014, and got $10 million guaranteed from the Dodgers. Justin Masterson got $9.5 million after a disastrous 2014, and the aforementioned Burnett got $8.5 million following his own ugly campaign. Hell, Chris Capuano was given $5 million by the Yankees, and he spent the entire first half of the season as a reliever!
The Phillies aren’t suddenly abandoning their rebuild by signing Harang, and they shouldn’t be lambasted as such. This is a perfectly reasonable signing, and is nothing more than a stopgap for a couple of months.
