Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheese
why didnt they just keep Casey?
|
There are a few reasons.
1: Anthopolous really wants that Closer with big time stuff. Casey got the Closer role later then he should have because AA wants that exploding fastball/wipeout slider type. Witness the acquisition of Frank Francisco & Sergio Santos... by the numbers Casey should have been the Closer over either of those guys but he only got it after Fransisco had departed and Santos flamed out (several times). He basically got it by default.
2: Closer tag comes with a payday premium. The team probably (hopefully) doesn't want to pay it for a guy that will give you 60ish innings per year.
3: Casey has some serious red flags. His K/9 way down last year, his groundball rate way down last year, his ERA (or his FIP/xFIP if you want the fielding independant stats) way up, his HR/9 way up. He lost a few MPH on his fastball.
I'd take Casey back but I'd take him back (and pay him as) more as a low leverage 6th/7th inning BP guy then as a backend high leverage guy. Casey likely isn't going to accept that.