The Third Lefty

I can’t add a whole lot to this excellent Hardball Times analysis by Jeff Sackmann of the Mets’ overpaying for Scott Schoenweis, signed for $10.8 million (slightly larger, albeit for two more seasons, than Tom Glavine’s contract). Schoenweis might turn out to be a valuable contributor, but I’d be very surprised if he is good enough to justify the expense. I would add one ameliorating factor that Sackmann overlooks: yes, Schoenweis has walked a lot of guys recently, but as is often true of guys who pitch a lot of partial innings in middle relief, 11 of his 49 walks the past two years were intentional; his actual rate of unintentional walks in that period is 3.15 per 9 innings.