Francisco Liriano looked like David Price last night. As the Pittsburgh starter in the one game wild card, Liriano threw seven strong innings in the Pirate victory.
Liriano was 16-8, 3.02 ERA and 1.224 WHIP this season. The Pirates signed the free agent last off season for 2 years, $7 million deal. Liriano had been coming off an injury rehab season with the White Sox.
Liriano was available to all teams. The Cubs chose to sign Scott Baker for one year, $5.5 million contract. Baker was coming off Tommy John surgery. He spent almost the entire season in rehab. Baker came back in September to pitch a total of 15 innings in 3 starts.
This is a question of management judgment. The Cubs signed Baker for the sole purpose of flipping the 32 year old pitcher at the trade deadline. However, Liriano, 29, had already completed his "rehab" season with the White Sox, throwing actual major league games, so all he needed to do was regain his control and not his health.
Liriano signed for significantly less than Baker. Liriano, as a left handed starter, is a more valuable asset at the trade deadline. Clearly, Liriano had a better season than Baker. This was a missed opportunity for the Cubs.
This is also a question of talent evaluation. Baker had a significant injury. He had not recovered from surgery. Even though Tommy John surgeries are now common place, there is no guarantee that a pitcher will recover fully. It may take 12 to 18 months to know the results. Why would the Cubs think that a 32 year old pitcher who has not thrown a pitch in a year would be more valuable to the club than a 29 year old lefty starter who has worked his way back from his injury?
Ricketts and his business handlers keep saying that Epstein and Hoyer are the "smartest guys" in baseball. They know what they are doing. They are building an organization. But the bottom line will always be can the Cubs properly evaluate talent. This is not a question of developing talent because Baker and Liriano were known commodities. In this litmus test, the Cubs failed when they did not go strong to sign Liriano over Baker.
