Burke Badenhop

It's admirable sometimes to want to avoid paying the exorbitant market rates that relief pitchers command on the open market, when often as an organization the best option is to convert a struggling starting pitcher instead and make your own Wade Davis. It's another thing however to flout the qualities that most teams are looking for in finding a shutdown reliever — namely, the ability to throw hard and miss bats. When you do that, you end up signing the likes of Badenhop at the onset of spring training and crow about how great of a bargain it was. The fruits of that bargain were a disastrous first half when the team was still somewhat competitive. Badenhop pitched well after the Reds were out of it, but only netted a mediocre 3.93 ERA in low-leveraged settings. There's nothing in his profile that suggests he will take on a meaningful role with his new club.