Garrett Richards always seemed like he was just on the cusp of turning into a very good pitcher. He had a couple of great seasons in 2014 and 2015, then suffered significant injury setbacks over the next few years. He was finally mostly healthy in 2020 and had some decent pitching metrics. It allowed the Red Sox to take a flyer on him in 2021, signing him to a one-year deal.
Richards started the 2021 season in the rotation. He was very inconsistent, seemingly alternating poor starts and good ones. He seemed to be trending in the right direction after a start in which he struck out ten over seven one-run innings against the Mets. But early in the season, MLB announced new rules which were meant to crack down on substances used for gripping the ball. Richards was one of the pitchers who suffered greatly from this change. After his ERA increased to over 5.00, he was removed from the rotation and put in the bullpen.
Richards flourished for awhile in the bullpen and even notched three saves, even though he was not the primary closer. Two of those saves involved him pitching three innings of scoreless ball. Both times he struck out four batters. His final numbers in the regular season were a record of 7-8, an ERA of 4.87 in 136.2 innings pitched (his most since 2015). He struck out 115 batters and walked 60. He only appeared in the postseason for a third of an inning against the Rays in the ALDS, allowing no hits or walks. After the season, Richards signed a deal with the Rangers and pitched mostly out of the bullpen.
So, how does he measure up on my All-Time One-Year Wonder post? He qualifies more as a starter than a reliever, but it does not really matter where you put him. He is not unseating either Hideo Nomo or Takashi Saito.
No comments:
Post a Comment