Cleveland Indians Should Add Free Agent Reliever Boone Logan
Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Free agent reliever Boone Logan could be the final piece to the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen giving them another outstanding lefty to pair with Andrew Miller.
The Cleveland Indians shocked the baseball world last summer when the team swung a deal for New York Yankees star southpaw reliever Andrew Miller. He provided the Indians with something they were missing all year, a bona fide left-handed reliever in their bullpen.
They began the year with Ross Detwiler as their lone lefty in the pen, though that experiment didn’t last long. Kyle Crockett got a few looks throughout the year and while not bad, was too inconsistent to be counted on and never made it onto a postseason roster (injury hurt him as well).
Veteran Tom Gorzelanny got a shot too but like Detwiler failed to stick around long. The Indians even gave starter Ryan Merritt time in the pen, though that was more in a long-relief role.
While many are still fixated on improving the outfield (and rightfully so), the bullpen is still an area the Indians should look to bolster, especially from the left side. Even with Miller, who is arguably the best reliever in all of baseball, in the fold for the full season, adding a second lefty would be in the club’s best interest.
For as great as Miller is, he can’t pitch every day. One such lefty the Indians should strongly consider adding is free agent Boone Logan. The 32-year-old lefty has proven to be a very effective and would make a great addition to the club for a multitude of reasons.
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Boone Logan: The Lefty Killer
While Boone Logan will not be in the same breath as Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, and Zach Britton, he put up some numbers against left-handed hitters that compare very nicely to that trio of studs. For example, in 2016 he had a .139 batting average against versus left-handed hitters. That was lower than both Miller (.178) and Britton (.182) and just behind Chapman (.135). Even more impressive, his wOBA (weighted on-base average) against left-handed hitters was just .215, besting Miller (.220), Britton (.226), and Chapman (.226).
Over the last two seasons, his numbers aren’t quite as eye-popping, but he still bested Miller in batting average against left-handed hitters (.172 vs .197) and Chapman in WHIP against left-handed pitching (0.99 vs 1.10).
Logan also struck out over one-third of left-handed hitters he’s faced the last two years (34.2 percent), which was the 14th highest mark among all pitchers (minimum 20 innings pitched), and just ahead of Britton (34.1-percent). No matter what stat you look at, strikeouts, average against, WHIP, etc, Logan comes out near the top among relievers against left-handed pitching.
A True “LOOGY”
There’s a reason that I only talked about his numbers versus left-handed hitters above. As lethal as Logan is versus same-sided hitters, he’s equally as bad against righties. Over the last two years, he’s posted an ugly 1.72 WHIP and .351 wOBA. His strikeout rate was just 20.7 percent while his walk rate was a disturbing 12.7 percent.
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Throw in the fact that right-handed batters hit .275 off him in that time and it’s clear that Logan is a true “LOOGY”, or lefty one-out guy. In 2016, he faced nearly twice as many left-handed hitters (119) as right-handed hitters (68).
Thanks to the presence of “bullpen ace” Andrew Miller, though, a LOOGY is just what the Indians need in the bullpen. While it was great seeing Miller come in during the fifth or sixth inning to face a David Ortiz or Anthony Rizzo, it was equally worrisome when those guys would come up again later in the game when Miller was out.
Logan would give the Indians two effective lefties to use late in games in 2017 instead of just one, and his presence would turn an already great pen into arguably the best in baseball. Plus the Tribe are in a position to carry a LOOGY, thanks to the ridiculousness of Miller and his ability to pitch in any role at any time.
Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Logan Too Expensive?
As with any free agent signing though, it could come down to money (and years) with Boone Logan and the Cleveland Indians. Logan is coming off a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies.
He struggled in 2014, which hurt his value over those three seasons, and by the numbers was only worth his salary in 2016. However, we’ve seen how inflated free agent reliever salaries have been this winter so it wouldn’t be a shock to think Logan is looking for another deal in the $5-6 million AAV (average annual value).That could prove to be too rich for the Tribe’s blood as they seemed to be out on Rajai Davis who just signed for $6 million with the Oakland Athletics.
Perhaps the Cleveland Indians could get him for closer to $3-4 million, though, especially if it’s a two-year backloaded deal, say something like a two-year, $9-10 million with him getting paid more in 2018.
Even with the Tribe’s inflated 2017 payroll after the Edwin Encarnacion signing, the Indians should be able to swing that type of deal. Perhaps they could even do it as a one-year deal with an option of some kind, though I’m not sure Logan is that desperate for a deal yet (though it is approaching the end of January).
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What About Crockett?
Perhaps too the Indians would be hesitant to pay Logan, thinking they could get by with Kyle Crockett in the role. Crockett did some similar numbers against left-handed pitching in 2016, including a nearly identical walk rate (7.1 percent versus 7.6 percent). However, he struck out fewer hitters (28.6 percent versus 33.6 percent) and posted a batting average against over 100 points higher than Logan (.256 versus .139). Crockett did pitch in way fewer innings and is much younger at just 25 years old, but he’s also proven to be pretty inconsistent since first coming up in 2014.
Meanwhile, the veteran Logan appears to have found his niche in a big league bullpen and gives the Tribe more of a sure bet in the back of the pen. And even if Crockett finally puts things together in 2017, it’s not like the Indians are overflowing with left-handed relief options in the minors. Depth never hurt a bullpen in the history of baseball.
So while Logan may not be anywhere near as flashy a signing as Edwin Encarnacion was, he could still prove to be an essential piece to the puzzle as the Indians look to win their first World Series title in nearly 70 years. He, along with Miller, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, and Dan Otero would form arguably the best back five in baseball, giving manager Terry Francona plenty of options and give him an even greater ability to mix-and-match late in games.
So what do you think, should the Cleveland Indians sign Boone Logan to bolster and already stellar bullpen? Should they roll the dice with Crockett or a rookie like Merritt or Shawn Morimando? Do you buy into Rule 5 pick Hoby Milner or waiver wire pickup Tim Cooney? Or perhaps there’s another pitcher out there that fits the bill?
