Ehh, I am not so sure. That has been Cishek's M.O. the past 4 seasons now, weak contact and keep the ball on the ground and in the yard. He's a fancier Hughes. He had the 3rd lowest hard hit % in the league last season, 3rd lowest average exit velocity (tied with Lorenzen). The walk rate is a tad concerning as it has been trending up for 3 years now, it could be a sign of trying to pitch around a decline in stuff, but the difference is also 2 extra BB in 6 fewer innings compared to his 2018 rate.
For $6.5M committed to one season I would be fine with the Reds doing it, but I am also not going to cry foul that they didn't, especially because I don't know the rest of their off-season plans. I think it is a good pickup for the White Sox.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
*BaseClogger* (01-08-2020),DocRed (01-08-2020),REDREAD (01-08-2020)
Not sure how he can be a fancier Hughes when he has both a higher BB rate and a lower GB rate. Both of those are kinda Hughes' calling card. Sure, he may be fancier in that he Ks at a slightly higher rate, but Hughes is better at both of the things that make Hughes successful. I expect both to be similarly replacement-level players in 2020.
Rdirtypirates (01-08-2020)
Fancier in the sense Cishek is a heavy ground ball guy (around 50%) who relies on getting weak contact and keeping the ball in the yard, which seems very much like a description for Jared Hughes. Cishek has a higher propensity to strike guys out and gets weaker contact than Hughes. Which is probably the result of Cishek utilizing a two pitch mix where Hughes is basically a one pitch guy. Hughes isn't exactly allergic to the ball on base, he is typically around 3 BB/9 while Cishek is around 3.5 BB/9, so I don't think it is fair to say a lack of BB is Hughes calling card.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
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