Cubs roll the dice with Jason Motte, hope his velocity returns in 2015
The Cubs signed Jason Motte to a one-year contract on Monday. They're hoping his velocity returns as he gets further away from Tommy John surgery.
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The Cubs introduced new ace Jon Lester at a press conference on Monday afternoon, and later in the day they may have added their new closer as well. The team agreed to a one-year contract with ex-Cardinals closer Jason Motte. The deal includes lots of incentives:
Source: Jason Motte contract $4.5 million one year deal with $2.5 million performance bonus package . Neither team or agent have responded
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 16, 2014
The bonuses are reportedly tied to games finished, meaning the Cubs are at least open to the idea of using Motte in the ninth inning at some point in 2015. He was the closer in St. Louis during their World Series run in 2011 and also in 2012 before blowing out his elbow and needing Tommy John surgery, which kept him out for all of 2013 and the first few weeks of 2014.
When he did return to the Cardinals in late May this year, the 32-year-old Motte looked nothing like the guy who closed out the 2011 Fall Classic. He had 4.68 ERA in 25 innings with 17 strikeouts, nine walks and seven home runs allowed. Those rates are 6.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 2.5 HR/9 (!). From 2010-12, Motte had a 2.43 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9.
Needless to say, Motte was not the same guy after elbow reconstruction, though it could just be a sample size/coming off surgery thing. It does usually take some time for pitchers to get back to where they were before Tommy John surgery. That said, losing three miles an hour off his fastball is pretty scary (via Brooks Baseball):
Velocity usually isn't everything, but it is for a guy like Motte. This is guy who threw roughly 66 percent four-seam fastballs, 20 percent cutters and 10 percent sinkers before the elbow injury. He didn't throw a whole lot of changeups or breaking balls. It was pure heat out of the bullpen. Hit it if you can.
Velocity is very important for Motte. He is excellent when he can pump 97+ mph heaters in the zone. But when it's only 93-94 mph, he's much more hittable. Those few extra miles an hour make a big difference. Motte's a different animal when he's sitting in the upper-90s. His performance bears that out.
The Cubs didn't take on much risk in this deal -- one-year and $4.5 million guaranteed is nothing -- so if Motte can't help the bullpen, they can cut him loose. If his velocity does return as he gets further away from surgery though, this has the potential to turn into a very shrewd signing.
