Royals sign Ron Mahay

[AmarilloRed]

Lefty Mahay, Royals reach two-year deal
Ken Rosenthal
FOXSports.com, Updated 2 hours ago

The Kansas City Royals, fortifying their bullpen, have reached preliminary agreement with free-agent left-hander Ron Mahay on a two-year, $8 million contract, according to major-league sources.

The deal, which is pending a physical, will give the Royals three left-handed relievers — Mahay, John Bale and Jimmy Gobble. The depth should prove an asset in the A. Central, which is loaded with left-handed sluggers such as the Twins' Justin Morneau, the White Sox's Jim Thome and the Indians' Travis Hafner.

Mahay, 36, was one of the few left-handed relievers left on the open market, along with Jeremy Affeldt and Trever Miller. Another left-hander, J.C. Romero, signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Phillies earlier this off-season.

The Royals have been active bidders for free agents, signing outfielder Jose Guillen to a three-year, $36 million deal but failing to reach agreement with outfielder Andruw Jones and Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, both of whom went to the Dodgers.

Mahay turned down three-year deals from other clubs to accept a higher average salary from the Royals, sources said. He split last season with the Rangers and Braves, going a combined 3-0 with a save and 2.55 ERA in 67 innings. An 11-year veteran, his career ERA is 3.77.

The Royals will be his seventh major-league team.

The Royals seem to be doing better lately in attracting free agents.

[Handofdeath]

As a Royals fan, I love this signing. Mahay is an absolute quality lefty reliever. The Royals are really starting to try and build a quality organization. David Glass just needs to stay out of the way and let Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman do their jobs. Still not a fan of the Guillen signing though but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The Royals are poised to do pretty well next season. They have 3 quality SP's in Meche, Bannister, and Greinke and one of the top relief staffs in the AL. They could use another big bat but I hear Hillman likes to play small ball. I really believe the Royals have a decent shot at the Wild Card next season but that offense is going to have to step up and I think they will.

[mlbfan30]

As a Royals fan, I love this signing. Mahay is an absolute quality lefty reliever. The Royals are really starting to try and build a quality organization. David Glass just needs to stay out of the way and let Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman do their jobs. Still not a fan of the Guillen signing though but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The Royals are poised to do pretty well next season. They have 3 quality SP's in Meche, Bannister, and Greinke and one of the top relief staffs in the AL. They could use another big bat but I hear Hillman likes to play small ball. I really believe the Royals have a decent shot at the Wild Card next season but that offense is going to have to step up and I think they will.

Do you really think the Royals can beat either the Indians or Tigers and also the Yanks or Red Sox next season? They could beat the White Sox, and have a chance to beat the Twins, but there is no way they will get the WC.

The Yanks and Red Sox both have far superior teams next year, and it isn't close.

With 100+ AB, the Royals had 0 guys with an 800 OPS
Yanks had 6
Red Sox had 6
Tigers had 6
Indians had 4

Guillen had a .813 OPS last year

[*BaseClogger*]

As a Royals fan, I love this signing. Mahay is an absolute quality lefty reliever. The Royals are really starting to try and build a quality organization. David Glass just needs to stay out of the way and let Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman do their jobs. Still not a fan of the Guillen signing though but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The Royals are poised to do pretty well next season. They have 3 quality SP's in Meche, Bannister, and Greinke and one of the top relief staffs in the AL. They could use another big bat but I hear Hillman likes to play small ball. I really believe the Royals have a decent shot at the Wild Card next season but that offense is going to have to step up and I think they will.

smallball=what you do when you arn't good at hitting

[fadetoblack2880]

As a Royals fan, I love this signing. Mahay is an absolute quality lefty reliever. The Royals are really starting to try and build a quality organization. David Glass just needs to stay out of the way and let Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman do their jobs. Still not a fan of the Guillen signing though but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The Royals are poised to do pretty well next season. They have 3 quality SP's in Meche, Bannister, and Greinke and one of the top relief staffs in the AL. They could use another big bat but I hear Hillman likes to play small ball. I really believe the Royals have a decent shot at the Wild Card next season but that offense is going to have to step up and I think they will.

They may look good on paper, but they're playing in the American League. I wouldn't count on them being all that great. They would probably be a contender in the NL.

[will5979]

Who is Ron Mahay?

[*BaseClogger*]

Who is Ron Mahay?

a journeyman relief pitcher who had one good flukey year and now is cashing in on it at age 36. This is not how you build a bullpen...

[Handofdeath]

a journeyman relief pitcher who had one good flukey year and now is cashing in on it at age 36. This is not how you build a bullpen...

Interesting comment. He's pitched 11 seasons. He's had 3 bad ones. One season where he was traded and switched leagues and two other seasons when he was hurt. The other 8 seasons his ERA was

2.52
3.46
1.86
2.61
3.18
2.55
3.95
2.55

You see, you build a bullpen by bringing in effective pitchers who have had success. Mahay has a lifetime 3.89 ERA and averages a little less than a K per IP. This while pitching mostly for Boston, Texas, the Cubs, and Atlanta. Those are 4 teams with parks not known for being particularly kind to pitchers. The Royals signed him because he's an effective pitcher. And if they hadn't the Yankees, Astros, Giants and Devil Rays were thinking seriously about signing him and some were offering a 3 year deal. To quote Dylan, " Don't criticize what you don't understand."

[*BaseClogger*]

Interesting comment. He's pitched 11 seasons. He's had 3 bad ones. One season where he was traded and switched leagues and two other seasons when he was hurt. The other 8 seasons his ERA was

2.52
3.46
1.86
2.61
3.18
2.55
3.95
2.55

You see, you build a bullpen by bringing in effective pitchers who have had success. Mahay has a lifetime 3.89 ERA and averages a little less than a K per IP. This while pitching mostly for Boston, Texas, the Cubs, and Atlanta. Those are 4 teams with parks not known for being particularly kind to pitchers. The Royals signed him because he's an effective pitcher. And if they hadn't the Yankees, Astros, Giants and Devil Rays were thinking seriously about signing him and some were offering a 3 year deal. To quote Dylan, " Don't criticize what you don't understand."

He has 207 BB in 419 innings and has pitched more than 50 innings 3 times in his career- all of which are within the last 4 years in Texas. 36 years old. Career WHIP is 1.41. 36 years old. No Thanks...

EDIT- exactly how often do high-priced middle relievers work out? The Padres model of building a bullpen from within is the best in my opinion. Just because other teams wanted to sign him it doesn't mean he is good. Is J.C. Romero a good signing too just because he was good last year?

[Stephenk29]

What's Todd Jones? 40? You gotta start somewhere to build a bullpen. I'm sure the Reds FO would take him. You can never have to much pitching. 6 million a year might be questionable but he's a solid addition none the less for the Royals.

[*BaseClogger*]

What's Todd Jones? 40? You gotta start somewhere to build a bullpen. I'm sure the Reds FO would take him. You can never have to much pitching. 6 million a year might be questionable but he's a solid addition none the less for the Royals.

So was Mike Stanton. he had a track record.
Just Sayin'

[Stephenk29]

So was Mike Stanton. he had a track record.
Just Sayin'

There are always examples for both arguments. Maybe it was the fact that TJ liked beer more than roids.