One arb case down, one to go. Vinnie Chulk has signed for $837,500. The guy’s got great stuff — mid ‘90s fastball and wicked slider — but he seems to suffer from the one-bad-pitch syndrome. He’ll be mowing guys down, then, boom, he hangs one slider or grooves one fastball at the worst possible time. Lack of concentration? Poor mechanics? Whatever the cause, if it’s fixable and he stays healthy he could be a closer someday.
The last unsigned player is Kevin Correia, who’s asking $1.3 million against the Giants’ offer of $850,000. Split the difference, folks, and let’s move on. Even better, offer Correia two years and $4 million with a comfy third-year option that kicks in based on innings pitched. Not sure he would go for something like that, but the way the cost of pitching is going up, up, up, up, up, it’s worth trying to lock up his arb years in case he continues to pitch well. He certainly showed great promise last August and September. In case you don’t remember:
7 starts / 41.2 IP / 34 H / 3 HR / 12 BB / 31 K / 2.80 ERA
Get your GM/agent hats on: what do you consider fair for a long-term contract for Correia? Discuss.
