2008 Projection: Juan Rincon March 15th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Continuing with relief pitchers in the 2008 projections series, today we meet Juan Rincon, a guy trying to bounce back from a difficult 2007. Let’s look at his 2008 ZiPS projection and his previous two years’ numbers:
| Year | Age | ERA | W | L | INN | HR | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 ZiPS | 29 | 3.68 | 4 | 3 | 71.0 | 6 | 26 | 66 |
| 2007 | 28 | 5.13 | 3 | 3 | 59.7 | 9 | 28 | 49 |
| 2006 | 27 | 2.91 | 3 | 1 | 74.3 | 2 | 24 | 65 |
After Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon was the Twins’ best relief pitcher from 2004 to 2006 when he consistently posted sub-3 ERAs while striking out opposing hitters at a clip of nearly 10 K/9. He was the eighth inning man that every team dreamed of having. However, things began to deteriorate for Rincon in 2006 when he was suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. He then had minor offseason surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow before the 2007 season.
2007 was an all-around bad year for Rincon. He saw Pat Neshek take his role as the #2 to Nathan and he left many Twins fans wondering if maybe the Twins should’ve tried harder to deal him before the season.
After a horrible middle of the season in 2007, Rincon did show a glimmer of hope in the final month as he cut down his walk totals and posted a 2.31 ERA in Sept/Oct. The Twins are hoping he can carry that into the 2008 season and help the Twins put back together what was once one of the best bullpens in baseball.
The Twins and Rincon agreed to a 1-year $2.475 million contract for the 2008 season. This will likely be his last year in Minnesota as he’ll become eligible for his first year of free agency following the season.
Other 2008 projections
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our RSS feed.
Search
Similar Entries
Partners