Don't you hate it when your editor says everything you were going to say and says it better than you would have in the first place? Yeah, bugs me, too. That said, you really should read Jesse's piece from last night about the Perkins deal and what it means to the Twins bullpen in 2012 and onward. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Done? Okay. I agree with Jesse that it's a smart deal for the club and the polar opposite of what I consider the ill-advised contract given to Matt Capps. Perkins is the best arm in the bullpen, which is damning with faint praise, but shouldn't take away from the fact that he was very good for a very bad team in 2011. As noted by friend-of-the-blog Parker Hageman yesterday, Perkins had the 6th-best WAR among AL relievers last season, and his chase rate was third-highest in all of baseball. For non-SABR types, this means Perkins was #pmki. The fact that they didn't pay an unreasonable amount to keep him also limits the damage if he blows out his arm, if 2011 was an outlier, if he abandons baseball to become a charming gadabout who woos dowagers and spinsters, etc.
Of course, if Perkins remains just the set-up man, then this contract is riskier/more expensive than need be. But the sense I get, and I think most everyone else is getting, too, is that he is the closer-in-waiting, potentially as soon as this summer. As the not-too-nonplussed Aaron Gleeman notes, if Perkins starts notching saves, his price tag would rise significantly, because everyone loves Raymond saves.
A couple other notes:
- I don't usually reference my RandBall stuff here, but I think it's important that you all know that the Southeast Texas Baseball Academy exists and that it is co-owned by one-time Piranha and 2006 ALDS designated hitter Jason Tyner.
- Another friend of the blog, Lindsey Guentzel, will be living in a cave or something. But this is a good cave, I've been told, so congratulations to her.