Analysis Of Todd Coffey’s 1 Year/$1.3 Million Contract With The Dodgers

As I mentioned earlier, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed right-handed relief pitcher Todd Coffey to a one-year dear that will carry a team option for 2013.

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that Coffey’s 2012 salary will be $1 million and will come with a $300k buyout clause on the 2013 team option. If the team option is exercised, it will be worth $2.5 million.

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Fat jokes aside, he’s a middling relief pitcher who carries a 4.08 career ERA and a 4.17 career FIP, both of which represent his skill level, past and present. His strikeout rate is average (~17%-18%) and his walk rate is average (~7%-8%), basically everything is around average or below average.

So why sign him? Probably to eat innings (har har) and because his career platoon split looks like this:

Coffey has 2.0 career WAR, so it’s not exactly a stretch that he’ll end up in the 0.2-0.4 WAR range in 2012 when looking at his season-by-season numbers.

Little reason to get excited, little reason to criticize.

It’s about a neutral move, which is all too appropriate for Coffey.

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As Mike Petriello points out though, it will cost the Dodgers somebody off the 40-man roster, and we all seem to agree that it’ll probably be Trent Oeltjen.