Although reliever Joba Chamberlain's 2014 MLB season didn't reach an ideal conclusion, there is still a place for his live arm in the big leagues.
The eight-year veteran is finally off the market as he has agreed to a one-year major league deal with the Detroit Tigers, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:
Chris McCosky of the Detroit News confirmed Rosenthal's report and noted that the deal was officially done.
Rosenthal reported that the deal was worth $1 million, plus incentives.
After a great deal of back-and-forth early in his career with the New York Yankees, Chamberlain has settled in as a relief pitcher over the past several seasons. He has never been able to replicate the success he had as a rookie in 2007 when he posted a 0.38 ERA in 19 appearances, but he acquitted himself well in 2014.
Chamberlain signed with the Detroit Tigers last offseason after seven campaigns in pinstripes. He proceeded to post his best statistical season since 2011 as he finished with a 3.57 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 63 innings.
In many ways, he could be considered a bright spot within a bullpen that struggled mightily as a unit. Had Chamberlain's season ended there, then the narrative would have been much different than it is now. That wasn't the case, though, as the 29-year-old righty proceeded to implode in the playoffs.
The Tigers were swept from the American League Division Series by the Baltimore Orioles, and Chamberlain's poor outings in Games 1 and 2 had a lot to do with it. According to SportsCenter, Joba sported an astronomically high ERA:
In all, he surrendered four earned runs on three hits in just 0.1 innings pitched. To Chamberlain's credit, he didn't attempt to run from the criticism, per ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick:
If nothing else, Chamberlain displayed a good attitude after getting knocked around in those outings. According to Brendan Savage of MLive.com, he insisted that his confidence wasn't shaken despite getting chased twice:
I feel great. I feel physically better than I have ever. I want the ball no matter what, whether I've thrown 10 good ones or 10 bad ones. That's the name of the game. ... There's always a point where it comes in your career where you're gonna go through this stuff and that's part of the game. But you get knocked down seven, you get back up eight. And that's all that matters.
Chamberlain's demeanor is something that may have appealed to his new team. Based on how he pitched in the postseason, however, it is difficult to imagine the organization giving him a role greater than a sixth-inning middle man.
Perhaps Chamberlain could handle setup situations during the regular season, but there has to be a great deal of concern regarding his ability to get the job done come playoff time.
His awful showing this year was somewhat indicative of his overall postseason record. In 16 career playoff innings, Chamberlain has a 5.06 ERA and bloated 1.81 WHIP. Even so, he has immense potential that was worth gambling on.
It can be argued that he is still living off the reputation he built in 2007 to some degree, but he most definitely has the ability to be dominant when he is on top of his game.
Chamberlain likely damaged his chances of a big, long-term contract during the playoffs; however, he is now in a spot where he can be a valuable innings eater.
Joba filled that role over the course of 69 appearances during the 2014 regular season, and a similar performance would make this signing very much worthwhile.
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