Chad Gaudin

Gaudin hits free agency after registering a 4-2 record with 4.54 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 46 relief appearances (69.1 innings pitched) for the Marlins in 2012. Now that teams seem to have given up on the idea of making him a back-end starter, the veteran right-hander continues to have some utility in a long-relief role, which is a spot he will try to earn after signing a minor league deal with the Giants in December.

Gaudin posted a 4.50 ERA with a 33:20 K:BB ratio in 48 innings for the Yankees last season. Manager Joe Girardi seemed to have little faith in him and rarely used him in high-pressure situations, so it was no surprise when the Yankees let him walk in the offseason. His history of poor K:BB ratios and propensity to give up the long ball won't make him a very valuable fantasy commodity as he battles for a place in the Nationals' bullpen this spring.

Surprisingly, Gaudin was a significant contributor for the Yankees down the stretch, making six starts (New York won them all) after being acquired from the Padres in August. He probably showed enough to get a shot at the back end of the rotation heading into spring training, but his 34:20 K:BB ratio and seven homers allowed in 42 innings as a Yankee don’t give us much confidence that he’d be able to hold down a rotation spot even if he earns one to start the season. A more likely scenario has him pitching in long relief and making spot starts as needed.

Gaudin had an unimpressive second half where he allowed too many hits and home runs. He's essentially an innings eater without much upside. He'll compete for a middle-relief role.

Gaudin pitched nearly 200 innings for the A's, making 34 starts, and managed a decent 4.42 ERA. He did so despite issuing 100 walks and pitching poorly against lefties (111 hits, 49:68 K:BB ratio in 101.1 innings). It caught up with him pretty quickly, as his post-break numbers (103 hits, 86:52 K:BB ratio in 90 IP) were poor. He has value in an innings-eater role at the back of the rotation, but his value takes a big hit as he's asked to move forward in the rotation. He might get you 10 wins again, but they'll be expensive. He had surgery in December to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and a sesamoidectomy on his right foot where they will remove the lateral sesamoid bone. It's not clear if he'll be ready for the start of the season, so watch his progress in spring training.

How Gaudin managed a 3.09 ERA with a poor 36/42 K/BB rate in 64 innings boggles the mind. He's not a good bet to repeat the feat, and he's way down on the A's depth chart as far as bullpen arms go. The A's don't seem interested in seeing if he can return to a starting role, so a year in long relief seems inevitable.

Toronto needed 40-man roster room in December and traded Gaudin to Oakland, where he's also blocked. He's been tossed around twice now (traded for Kevin Cash and then a PTBNL), but he's better than that: those Triple-A numbers came at age 22.

Gaudin suffered from gopheritis in 2004. After giving up just 11 HR to 1,051 pro batters through the end of 2003, Gaudin gave up 12 taters to just 406 batters in 2004 between Triple-A and the majors. He's still got stuff, but was traded to Toronto for Kevin Cash and will likely start 2005 at Triple-A.

Gaudin started 2003 at high Single-A and finished it in the majors, becoming the youngest player to start an MLB game in 2003. He might get a chance to bid for a rotation spot in 2004, but he'll likely wind up as either a long man or set-up reliever, with a chance to put up good WHIP numbers and get a few vulture wins in limited innings. He is a pretty good pitcher who'll likely have more real-life baseball impact than he will in the roto world.

Posted a 2.26 ERA in 26 games (17 starts) at Single-A Charleston in 2002. He's a short kid (5-11 righty), but he had 106 K's in 119 innings. Turns 20 in the spring, and probably spends the year at Double-A. No roto impact this year, but a promising pitching prospect for the Devil Rays.