Believe it or not, 41-year-old reliever Eric Gagne is considering an MLB comeback
Gagne fell of the Hall of Fame ballot in 2014, his first year of eligibility
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The 2017 World Baseball Classic will begin in just two short weeks. Pool play opens are March 6. The Championship Game will be played on March 22 at Dodger Stadium. Here is the full WBC schedule, and here are the rosters.
Among those who will represent their country in the tournament is 2003 NL Cy Young award winner Eric Gagne. The former Dodgers closer will suit up for Team Canada. He is currently in camp with the Dodgers serving as a guest instructor, and he’s also throwing bullpen sessions to prepare for the WBC.
Gagne, who turned 41 last month, told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick he feels so good it’s “almost scary.” Wynston Sawyer, the catcher who caught Gagne’s recent bullpen, told Gurnick he had good life on his fastball and depth to his trademark split-change. “Without knowing it was Eric Gagne, just based on catching him, it was a normal bullpen by a big league pitcher,” said Sawyer.
At the moment Gagne feels so good he is considering a comeback attempt. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2008, though he has made sporadic appearances in the independent Canadian-American Association in recent years. Last season Gagne struck out six and allowed one run on two hits and no walks in five innings with the Ottawa Champions. Gurnick has more on the comeback attempt:
Gagne’s representative, Scott Leventhal, said Gagne has either thrown or will throw for multiple teams this month and is willing to throw on back-to-back days to satisfy concerns about his durability. Leventhal said Gagne was clocked at 93-95 mph when he pitched five innings in a Can-Am League Game last September.
If nothing else, the WBC will give teams a chance to see Gagne in game action. It’s great his agent said he was 93-95 mph in independent ball last season, but, you know, it’s his agent. Of course he’s going to talk him up. Teams will get a chance to see Gagne in action for themselves in a few weeks.
At his peak from 2002-04, Gagne threw 247 innings with a 1.79 ERA (223 ERA+) and off-the-charts strikeout (13.3 K/9) and walk (2.1 BB/9) rates. He also set a new major league record by converting 84 straight saves. Injuries sabotaged his career, limiting Gagne to only 113 2/3 innings from 2005-08. He had an 4.28 ERA (104 ERA+) during those 113 2/3 innings.
I can’t say I’m optimistic about Gagne coming back and being a useful bullpen arm, but I do know this: if he looks decent during the WBC -- not even good, just decent -- a team(s) will offer him a minor league contract. Teams are always looking for pitching depth and former stars like Gagne always seem to get another chance, even after such a long layoff.
