Reds Sign Sean Doolittle

[SoTxRedsFan]

C. Trent Rosecrans
@ctrent
The #Reds are close to a deal with free-agent reliever Sean Doolittle, sources tell me and
@Ken_Rosenthal
.

[DocRed]

If the price is right then would be a good time to buy low..thinking about $2-3M for a couple years.

[JFLegal]

sorry in advance for the low-hanging fruit here:

perfect name of a player to describe the reds' offseason.

[Kc61]

Very good move for the 2018 season.

[Wonderful Monds]

Very good move for the 2018 season.

It’s also a good move for the 2021 season.

[WrongVerb]

Yeah, hopefully the Reds aren't paying full retail. Still, could be a great pickup if Doolittle has anything left in the tank.

[DocRed]

Just noticed his FB Velo went down to 91.2mph last year from a career average of 94-96MPH. Also FB usage down to 81% from about 88-90% average.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/se...pitch-velocity

[Rolando]

Just noticed his FB Velo went down to 91.2mph last year from a career average of 94-96MPH. Also FB usage down to 81% from about 88-90% average.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/se...pitch-velocity

Not saying he has anything left in the tank. But it's hard to judge anything on seven innings

[UPRedsFan]

Better than Biddle or Raley (I hope)

[Kc61]

Doolittle was a good lefty reliever with Oakland and then the Nats. In 2019 he did ok in 63 appearances but the HR rate of 1.7 would be high coming into GABP.

Last year he struggled early, they DL’d him for awhile, then looked better, but suffered a right oblique injury ending his season.

He’s 34 and a free agent.

[westofyou]

Dolittle and Votto gives the Reds two of the most thoughtful voices in the game, that in itself should be interesting

LH off the board if he inks

We may have flipped the calendar to February. But here, for your left-ification, is the complete list of left-handed non-closers who have signed major-league free-agent contracts over this entire offseason:

Aaron Loup
Ross Detwiler

Astonishingly, that’s the entire list. Detwiler, whom the White Sox rescued from the Atlantic League two years ago, got a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Marlins. Loup, who has pitched for four teams in the last three years, reeled in a one-year, $3-million contract from the Mets. But that’s a wrap.

It was just one year ago that Drew Pomeranz was inspiring the Padres to award him with $34 million over the next four seasons. But if Doolittle, Pérez, McGee, Watson, Álvarez and their friends were thinking there would be any Drew Pomeranz bonanzas coming their way this winter, well, apparently not. We’ll let two great front-office minds explain this one.

THE NL CLUB VIEW: “I think some of this has to do with the three-batter minimum. It’s just creating less desire for clubs to hone in on left-handers. In a world where 60 to 65 percent of all hitters are right-handed and you’re not bringing in those left-handers to face one left-handed bat, I think that’s the reason teams are concentrating on right-handers. Then again, there are a lot of relievers, period, out there.”

THE AL CLUB VIEW: “You have a lot of uncertainty about the rules right now. Are we still going to have the three-batter rule? Are we going to be limited to 13 pitchers on a staff? If we are, then trying to jam a niche reliever onto your roster is going to be really hard … I mean, Tony Watson is going to get signed. Sean Doolittle is going to get signed. Jake McGee is going to get signed. The good left-handed relievers are going to get signed. But remember, even though Jake McGee just had a really good year, that was after two horrible years. So I think the upshot is, teams just are not willing to place huge bets on a position as volatile as relievers tend to be.”

https://theathletic.com/2361156/2021...er-of-2020-21/

[Kc61]

It’s also a good move for the 2021 season.

We have different standards for “good.”

Looking on the positive side, it’s a worthwhile gamble on a once-very good reliever. Assuming, as is likely, that the cost is low.

[WildcatFan]

Good article on spin efficiency, including Doolittle's vertically moving fastball: https://prospects365.com/2020/01/01/...ement-profile/

The main difference between Doolittle and Hader’s fastballs is spin axes that create the differences in movement. Because Doolittle throws from a higher arm slot, he is able to achieve a spin axis almost at 12:00, creating above average vertical movement. Hader throws from a lower 3/4 arm slot, which creates a spin axis closer to 10:30—naturally leading to more horizontal movement.

[Tom Servo]

I like Doolittle, thought he was a good change of scenery candidate similar to our old friend Raisel. He’s a good guy to boot.

[M2]

If the Reds can get his stuff to rebound (and a year with minimal work will help on that front), he's a quality arm. Could be a modern Arthur Lee Rhodes signing.

Also, do it just for the Pixies references.