Our pitching woes have been solved. Today Doug announced the signing of John Halama to a minor league contract. He hasn’t pitched in the Pros since 2006, but has similar numbers to Braden Looper. In fact his HR/9 rate is actually a bit worse then the Looper. It appears to be a move to protect for long term injuries by stocking up the Sounds, and hopefully nothing else. But you don’t see why he has been signed… he has never played on the Rangers, and he’s not a washed up ex-Cardinal. The connection is that in 2003 he pitched under Ken Macha, so be prepared to see him used a lot if he makes it to the Pros.
The other move is Chris Capuano is back with the Brewers again. He signed a one year minor league contract with a spring training invite. He’s recovering from his second TJ surgery and looks to break to the pros with the club. It’s also a move to bolster the minor league system for any kind of extended injury. I like Cappy. His pick off move is the sweetness, but two TJ surgeries are pretty hard to come back from. Plus if he does crack the pros, he’s going to be limited big time to IP.
So what do these moves mean? Using our press conference media templates, I would have to say that these are going to be the internal candidates for the last starting pitcher spot once all of the good pitchers are off the market, and our salary pressures due to crappy contracts finally shows it’s ugly heads to the fan base. I for one welcome our new Capuano overlords.
Thank you for the article. I really enjoyed the read.