Pirates Sign Wil Ledezma to Minor League Deal

by Charlie on Nov 30, 2009 2:39 PM EST Comment 29 comments

The Pirates have signed former Tigers, Braves, Padres, Diamondbacks and Nationals pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma to a minor league deal. Ledezma can start, throws pretty hard (his fastball averages about 93), has a reasonable slider, is a lefty and will be just 29 in January, but he has never pitched very well in the majors and seems to encounter control problems there. He also has pronounced flyball tendencies, and he doesn't shut down lefties, which would make him less than ideal as a LOOGY (lefty one-out guy). I think the Pirates just signed him for depth--in case of emergency, he can start or relieve. Given the Bucs' bullpen troubles, I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he came north as a reliever, but I don't want him to. He's a perfectly capable AAA pitcher, but that's about it.

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nutting cheap, sign lackey, done with this team, etc, etc

by johnnycuff on Nov 30, 2009 2:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Sign Lackey????

What leads you to believe that Lackey would sign with the Bucs? It is unlikely that any free agent who has a recognizable name would sign with the Bucs. It is hard to criticize the FO for not signing guys we could never sign. Until the Bucs get better “from within”, no free agent of any import is coming here.

by Batavia on Nov 30, 2009 8:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ummmmmmmmm

I think you missed the sarcasm

by BadAndy on Nov 30, 2009 8:41 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

You beat me to it.

Hey, an out is an out - unless you're Mario, in which case it's probably two outs. -UtesFan89

Why can't Mendy bust a long TD run? We could use it.

by wg1of5 on Nov 30, 2009 8:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m fairly certain he was being sarcastic, mocking these folks.

Hey, an out is an out - unless you're Mario, in which case it's probably two outs. -UtesFan89

Why can't Mendy bust a long TD run? We could use it.

by wg1of5 on Nov 30, 2009 8:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no cause for alarm. just a joke.

by johnnycuff on Dec 1, 2009 11:50 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe the left out of the pen

i hope

Vikings 4 the superbowl

by RaysOfHope on Nov 30, 2009 2:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Any obvious reason he hasn’t succeeded in the bigs? I mean, you mention flyballs and control, but is this a AAAA guy or someone with deep flaws who has gotten advanced due to being a hard-throwing lefty?

Just trying to get a handle on whether he could be straightened out (like he has a funky motion that harms his control, or something). I’m really anxious about our bullpen – I feel like we’re in danger of having 2 marginally OK guys, a couple who are just marginal, and then a parade of losers coming up from AAA all summer long. This team is bad enough without a crew of arsonists out in the bullpen.

by JRoth95 on Nov 30, 2009 3:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

4.4 BB/9 in 370 ML innings.

He doesn’t throw enough strikes. Simple as that.

It’s way, way too early to worry about the bullpen. How many people went into the 2009 season expecting Meek and Chavez to be among the most important relievers on the staff?

by Vlad on Nov 30, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But they were important because ‘most everyone else sucked. I mean Chavez came out of nowhere, but Meek wasn’t a total shock. But, as well as they pitched, they should have been no more than useful 7th inning guys in a decent bullpen.

Actually, while we’re on the subject, is there any reason to expect Jackson to get any better? I assume that he is what he is.

by JRoth95 on Nov 30, 2009 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why only 7th inning guys?

Meek had a 3.45 ERA with 8 K/9. Other than the price tag, what’s the difference between him and the setup guy on a good team, or the closer on a marginal one?

I think you greatly overestimate the general level of quality of a “decent bullpen”.

by Vlad on Nov 30, 2009 4:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh come on

5.5 BB/9? .261 BABIP? 0.3 WAR? He had a nice year, but let’s not pretend the guy would have been pitching high-leverage 8th innings for teams with good bullpens (and by “decent,” I meant above-average – say 60-75 percentile – not merely average). A “useful 7th inning guy” is basically your 3rd or 4th best reliever – that’s not an insulting role, but it’s nothing brilliant.

by JRoth95 on Nov 30, 2009 10:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

When you hold opponents to a .209 BA and allow a HR only every 24 IP, as Meek did last year, you can get away with walking some guys. And his BB and K numbers improved steadily throughout the year. If he hadn’t gotten hurt, he’d have been the main setup guy and I see no reason to think he wouldn’t have done OK. The guy is very hard to hit and just needed to develop decent control. He misses a lot of bats and he’s an strong groundball pitcher, which is a highly desirable combination. I think you’re selling him short.

by WTM on Nov 30, 2009 10:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

.209 BA with a .261 BABIP – he was ~.040 lucky.

Look, I like Meek – I said above that his breakout wasn’t shocking. He got a bit lucky*, but he had a nice season. I’ll be ecstatic if he keeps improving. But I’m not ready to crown him the next Frankie Rodriguez just yet.

Check his HR/FB ratio

by JRoth95 on Dec 1, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Because

WTM was clearly calling him the next KRod and all.

by Slizeezyc on Dec 1, 2009 9:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn straight

He’s the next Rivera.

by WTM on Dec 1, 2009 10:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He doesn't have to be the next K-Rod...

…to be a productive setup guy. Even with a little good luck last year, he still had a 3.71 FIP.

I’d like it if the walk rate came down, of course, but as WTM notes you can be a pretty solid reliever with a high walk rate if you do all the other stuff well. Armando Benitez had 4.7 BB/9 for his career, and he put up 289 saves in a 15-year career. Mike Fetters had 4.6 BB/9 for his career, and he had 100 saves and a 115 ERA+ in a 16-year career as a setup guy and occasional closer. And then there’s Turk Wendell (4.5 BB/9), and Mike DeJean (4.2), and Rudy Seanez (4.5), and Felix Rodriguez (4.3), and Alan Mills (5.6), and Paul Shuey (4.7)…

Even if you go back to our three-year run at the top of the division in the early ‘90s, you had Stan Belinda putting up 4.5, 4.0, and 3.7 BB/9 from ’90-’92.

by Vlad on Dec 1, 2009 10:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No not a Stan Belinda reference...

I just had a bad flashback to Leyland bringing him into the 9th in game 7!!! Damn you Belinda!!!!!!!

by Slick1 on Dec 1, 2009 8:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I met him once, when I was a kid

Really nice guy.

He’s got multiple sclerosis now, unfortunately.

by Vlad on Dec 1, 2009 8:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Some context, and an anecdote:

The Tigers took Ledezma from Boston in the Rule 5 draft while Greg Smith was Detroit’s scouting director. That might shed some light on our current interest in him.

Ledezma is also the guy who two years ago went home to Venezuela over the All-Star break, and then got stuck in the country for a couple of weeks after he left his passport and visa in his pants when he put them in the wash. (Link)

by Vlad on Nov 30, 2009 3:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

and via dejan's link

One of the most bizarre moments of the 2006 season occurred when Ledezma was given a rare spot start on September 8. After giving up five earned runs in 4.1 innings, an obviously distressed Ledezma returned to the dugout and proceeded to dismantle and, literally, eat his hat.

by johnnycuff on Nov 30, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If that kind of behavior spreads, the Pirates are gonna pay a fortune for hats.

by WTM on Nov 30, 2009 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nah

Nutting’s too cheap. I heard he’s moving to visors

The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.

by glass0941 on Nov 30, 2009 7:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs