A bad as Jeff Suppan was for the Brewers, it seems that Randy Wolf has been just as bad. Some people criticized Doug Melvin for Wolf’s three-year, $29.75 million contract, but the team was so desperate for pitching and the market was so bleak that he felt like he had to sign him.
Does this story seem familiar?
Back in 2006, the Brewers were also desperate for starting pitching since Ben Sheets was their ace, much like Yovani Gallardo is today. The market was terrible, so it seemed like Suppan was the best guy the Brewers could get. Suppan had an incredible post-season for the St. Louis Cardinals, so it looked like he would at least give the Brewers another solid starter in the rotation, right? Wrong.
The same thing has happened with Randy Wolf. Wolf has had a career much like Suppan. He has bounced between several teams and has a career ERA of 4.18. He hasn’t had back-to-back solid seasons since 2001-2003. He has never been a guy that batters fear before they step in the box.
Much like Suppan, the Brewers signed Wolf when he was clearly out of his prime. He had a fluky contract year for the Dodgers, pitching in the light-hitting NL West and in a pitcher’s ballpark. He is also 33 years old.
It’s hard to blame Melvin for signing Wolf since they had no reliable starter after Gallardo, but this already looks like a bad signing, and there is no turning back on this contract now.
Even if they wanted to trade Wolf, I doubt there would be many takers. He almost had as many walks as strike-outs with 49 Ks to 39 walks. Not many teams would be interested in that.
Just more bad luck for general manager Doug Melvin as he turns his attention to possibly trading Prince Fielder and Corey Hart to try and gain some kind of young starting pitching. Melvin is also trying to get anything he can for guys like Dave Bush and Doug Davis.
Good luck Mr. Melvin.
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