Free agent starter Todd Wellemeyer, who had reportedly drawn interest from a small handful of teams, has settled on San Francisco, agreeing to a minor league contract with a spring training invite.
Todd Wellemeyer Invited To Spring Training With Giants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Adding a veteran who should deepen competition for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation, the Giants signed free agent right-hander Todd Wellemeyer to a Minor League contract that includes a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training.
Wellemeyer is coming off a miserable season with St. Louis that saw his strikeouts come down and his walks shoot up. The 31 year old righty has a complete repertoire, including a low- to mid-90s fastball, but his velocity last year struggled to match up with his velocity in 2008, with the result being a worse performance. Not only did batters make more contact against Wellemeyer than they did the season before, but they also chased fewer pitches out of the strike zone, implying that he also lost some of his deception.
While Wellemeyer has gone on the record as saying he’s in great physical shape, he was also a free agent looking for a contract, so you have to take what he says with a grain of salt. What we know is that Wellemeyer had a lousy 2009, and even a return to his 2008 level of performance would leave him as a good but unexceptional back-of-the-rotation starter. He’ll compete for that fifth spot in San Francisco, but he’ll be competing against better talent.
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