Amongst the myriad of 2016 MLB postseason storylines was the relief ace returning to prominence in the bullpen. This is a reliever that is as dominant as any top closer, but can adapt to different scenarios.
Instead of pitching within the framework of the save rule, the relief ace enters a game when the circumstances call of it. Those usually include a close game with the opposing team’s best hitters coming to the plate. Often times, a relief ace will work more than just one inning.
This past October and one day of November, that role was played by Andrew Miller, Kenley Jansen an Aroldis Chapman.
Most MLB teams that have a good chance of making the postseason in 2017 and do not have a reliever such as Jansen, Miller, Chapman or Mark Melancon will be looking to sign them or one like them.
All four are free agents, and with the demand for relievers up after this past postseason, the price tag could jump.
Talk has started to circulate that a relief pitcher could demand as much as $100 million. That would double the current record for a reliever held by Jonathan Papelbon who signed for $50 million in 2011.
Another big reason that might help a top reliever to sign a nine-figure contract is that the crop of pitchers available as free agents is very weak. Starting pitchers are few and far between on this year’s free agent list.
The most likely to sign a nine-figure contract would be either Jansen or Chapman. Melancon is a very strong reliever but will be 32 starting next season and does not have the overwhelming dominance that Jansen and Chapman possess.
Jansen has a cut fastball that is one of the most dominant pitches in baseball. He is just 29 and has struck out close to 40% of all the opposing batters he has faced.
He has also been seen as being flexible. Of the seven appearances he made during the postseason, only two were for an inning or less. In three games, he went two innings and in one three.
Chapman has 636 strikeouts in just 377 innings pitched. He is also less than 30 years old. He also is seen as being able to be flexible with how he pitches and for how long. He pitched in 13 games during the postseason and in 7 entered prior to the 9th inning and pitched more than one inning in five games.
