Rick Porcello, Mr. Met

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
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Apr 12, 2001
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One of the more unlikely Cy Young award winners in recent memory, not saying that he didn't deserve it, but I think that Porcello had a good to very good Red Sox career and while he could be maddening at times, for the most part he was more than a decent pitcher.

I don't think that I'm going to miss him now, but I might in July.
 

donutogre

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Jul 20, 2005
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"Very good" might be a little of a stretch -- over 5 seasons he put up an ERA+ of 102... and that's including his ridiculous 2016. Not going to run the numbers without that year, because it happened and absolutely counts, but it definitely is not close to his true talent level. He was fine third to fourth starter fodder, but I think we're getting rid of him at the right time for sure. Perhaps a move to the NL will mask his deficiencies for a few more seasons.

But he pitched some big postseason innings in 2018 and obviously had a hell of a 2016. At this point, I am glad we're moving on, but I'll tip my cap to him and thank him for 2018 for sure.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Aug 15, 2006
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I'll always remember unhinged Kate Upton. Thank you Rick for 2016 and 2018. Good luck in NY.
 

JohnnyTheBone

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I have no quarrel with Porcello's career as a Red Sox. A Cy Young and a championship will do just fine. Good luck in the NL, where your power bat will be appreciated regularly.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Any other year, a 1/10 contract for Porcello would be exactly what I want the Sox to do. Sure he's not an ace, but he's an innings eater. Given their desires to cut payroll, I understand why he's going to Queens. Hopefully they can find a cheaper version to give them 170-200 innings of generally competent starting pitching.

The Red Sox paid him $95M over 5 years. Fangraphs says he produced $104.5M in value. A good deal all around.

Farewell, Rick.
 

P'tucket rhymes with...

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Any other year, a 1/10 contract for Porcello would be exactly what I want the Sox to do. Sure he's not an ace, but he's an innings eater. Given their desires to cut payroll, I understand why he's going to Queens. Hopefully they can find a cheaper version to give them 170-200 innings of generally competent starting pitching.

The Red Sox paid him $95M over 5 years. Fangraphs says he produced $104.5M in value. A good deal all around.

Farewell, Rick.
If the Sox didn't want him back at 1/$10, I'd hope Bloom already has something up his sleeve in terms of a replacement; digging up 170-200 innings with a guesstimated fWAR of 2 or so for less than $10 million isn't an easy feat. The Sox might have been looking at a higher price tag to keep him in the AL generally and the cozy confines of Fenway specifically.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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If the Sox didn't want him back at 1/$10, I'd hope Bloom already has something up his sleeve in terms of a replacement; digging up 170-200 innings with a guesstimated fWAR of 2 or so for less than $10 million isn't an easy feat. The Sox might have been looking at a higher price tag to keep him in the AL generally and the cozy confines of Fenway specifically.
In a vacuum, I don't think there's any doubt that having him back at 1/$10M would have been something the Sox would not say no to. But we're not in a vacuum. I don't think they let him go because Bloom has something up his sleeve. They let him go because they've overspent in other areas and can't reduce salary any other way.
 

P'tucket rhymes with...

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In a vacuum, I don't think there's any doubt that having him back at 1/$10M would have been something the Sox would not say no to. But we're not in a vacuum. I don't think they let him go because Bloom has something up his sleeve. They let him go because they've overspent in other areas and can't reduce salary any other way.
Oh, I get the cost-cutting motive completely, but they have to pay somebody something to go out and pitch every five days. If they're thinking about maximizing the savings by running a Hector Velasquez at League Minimum out to the mound every five days, we're in for a lot of Very Ugly Baseball next season.
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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I'll always remember unhinged Kate Upton. Thank you Rick for 2016 and 2018. Good luck in NY.
Was worth memorializing in my sig. We got the better of her hubby in 2013, 2018, and ol' Poor Cello got him in 2016 too.

Good luck to him, don't wait too long to cash any checks from the Wilpons.
 

shaggydog2000

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Apr 5, 2007
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One great year. 4 league average ones. (Fangraphs have him between 1.7-2.4 War in those 4 years, with 2 being an average starter)

I think overall he was worth his contract, even if he had some rough stretches in there. Thank him for all his contribution, he never complained that I can remember, and he pretty much always showed up to work. Hard to get mad at a guy like that. And he had his occasional flash as well. And one great season. But if costs have to be cut, last year's #4 starter seems like a good place.
 

mauf

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Oh, I get the cost-cutting motive completely, but they have to pay somebody something to go out and pitch every five days. If they're thinking about maximizing the savings by running a Hector Velasquez at League Minimum out to the mound every five days, we're in for a lot of Very Ugly Baseball next season.
We’re in for ugliness regardless, but I’d rather see the Sox put Velazquez in the rotation and spend $9 million somewhere else than see them give Porcello 1/10. Porcello’s stuff appeared to slip a bit last season, and he hasn’t adapted well to the launch angle revolution; this is going to end badly for the Mets.
 

nvalvo

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Any other year, a 1/10 contract for Porcello would be exactly what I want the Sox to do. Sure he's not an ace, but he's an innings eater. Given their desires to cut payroll, I understand why he's going to Queens. Hopefully they can find a cheaper version to give them 170-200 innings of generally competent starting pitching.

The Red Sox paid him $95M over 5 years. Fangraphs says he produced $104.5M in value. A good deal all around.

Farewell, Rick.
This is exactly right. Pitchers like Porcello get underrated, because people forget how rare his kind of IP totals are. He pitched here during 5 seasons. Here are the MLB IP leaders during that time.

Max Scherzer
Justin Verlander
Zack Greinke
Rick Porcello
Jacob deGrom
Chris Sale
Jose Quintana
Jon Lester
Gerrit Cole
Mike Leake
Trevor Bauer
Julio Teheran
Jake Arrieta
Clayton Kershaw
Madison Bumgarner
Cole Hamels
Corey Kluber
Kyle Hendricks
Chris Archer
Masahiro Tanaka

Now, quality matters, too. Only Leake and Teheran posted higher FIPs than Porcello among that group. But innings pitched are incredibly valuable, and Porcello has provided them in spades. Great trade-and-sign.

(For those wondering, Porcello has 13.1 fWAR with the Red Sox; Cespedes has 12 in that time, for more money.)
 

budcrew08

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Mar 30, 2007
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Oh, I get the cost-cutting motive completely, but they have to pay somebody something to go out and pitch every five days. If they're thinking about maximizing the savings by running a Hector Velasquez at League Minimum out to the mound every five days, we're in for a lot of Very Ugly Baseball next season.
This is my fear, since we’ve heard nothing about anything yet.
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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A complete game one hitter on 86 pitches against the Yankees no less. Thanks and good luck Rick.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G48APW8MmNs
I remember being at that game. Probably the best start he had in a Sox uniform. The one hit was a homer (similar to Pedro in the Chili Davis game) and he didn't walk anybody. He didn't even get to a single three-ball count. Just super impressive that night.

I've always liked Porcello and felt like his ability to go out there every 5 days and soak up innings was a touch underrated. The results weren't always what we wanted them to be, but you knew Porcello would be there to take the ball. That's more than you can say for some of the other starters over the past few years.

I work with a big Mets fan and had nothing but good things to say to him about Porcello. When he can locate his stuff where he wants to, he can be real tough on hitters. He just doesn't do it consistently. Even then, he's still an innings eater. And that counts for something.
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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Yes, Porcello's innings were certainly valuable over the past few seasons. However, he really wasn't very good last year, and he will be 31 next season. And you do have to wonder if all those accumulated innings over the past 11 seasons will catch up to him injury-wise. So, it seems like letting him walk is the right move, given the team's budget constraints.