If the Cubs are looking for affordable starting pitching. the Marlins may have given them a chance.
Just one year after making the All-Star team and finishing 12th in NL
Cy Young voting, starter Henderson Alvarez has been cut loose by the
Miami Marlins, Yahoo Sports reports.
Miami non-tendered Alvarez on Wednesday night to release him into free agency. Alvarez can now sign with any team.
Alvarez is a five-year pro who had his worst season in 2015. He went
0-4 with a 6.45 ERA before having season-ending shoulder surgery in
June.
Alvarez made the All-Star team in 2014 and finished 12-7 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts. He has a 3.80 ERA in 92 career games.
The shoulder issue could be a big problem for Alvarez, as it's not
often teams give up on players this early. Alvarez is only 25 and was
one of the NL's best pitchers just a year ago. But some team will take a
chance on the right-hander, who will look to revive a once-promising
career.
The Cubs have not been afraid to sign injured pitchers with the hope of rehabbing them. However, shoulder injuries are more problematic for pitchers because the shoulder is the weakest body part in the mechanics of throwing.
For example, Labral tears is an injury to the labrum of the shoulder in a thrower is not something is significant. . Labral tears are just part of the territory for a major
league pitcher; it's just a question of degree and disability. In other
words, if you were to look through a surgical scope at the inside of a
thrower's shoulder, including those that had no reported symptoms, you
would find damage to the labrum more often than not. Some pitchers manage to throw and throw well despite the
presence of significant tissue damage. Other pitchers have relatively
minor injuries, but are completely incapacitated. The reason for this is
unclear. It is not necessarily a question of pain tolerance; rather it
appears to be a much more complicated mechanical picture.
The
labrum is a ring of cartilage that surrounds the glenoid or the
"socket" portion of the shoulder joint and actually serves to enhance
shoulder joint stability. When torn, the labrum can catch, causing the
shoulder to be painful and potentially feel unstable. The biceps tendon
has an attachment to the labrum, so if the biceps is involved, it can
lead to problems at the labrum. The labrum undergoes great strain where
it attaches to the biceps at the extremes of motion, when the shoulder
is at its fully cocked position before ball delivery, and at the end of
ball release (during follow through). Since a pitcher repeats that
motion time and again -- not only during a game but also during
warm-ups, bullpen sessions and any other episode of throwing -- the
labrum is constantly subject to stress.
Surgical repair may be the
eventual treatment in a thrower who does not respond to a period of rest
and conservative rehabilitation, and the recovery is lengthy. Pitchers
do return from labral repair, but their timetable to return and their
effectiveness when they do come back is variable. A pitcher coming off of labral
surgery in the offseason should recognize that there is a bit of a risk
involved until the athlete shows that he has indeed fully regained his
form.
The Miami Herald reports that according to projections provided by
mlbtraderumors.com, Alvarez is positioned to receive about $4 million
through arbitration. Alvarez is coming off shoulder surgery and -- assuming there are no
setbacks along the way -- likely wouldn't be ready to pitch again until a
month or two into the season.
Even if the Marlins felt convinced
that Alvarez will make it back and give them 20 or so starts, there's no
guarantee he'll be the same pitcher he was before. On the other hand,
$4 million isn't a lot to pay for a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. Now the Cubs have to determine whether the Marlins were correct in passing on an injured former All Star pitcher.
