Mark Hendrickson

Background
The Orioles have signed free agent LHP Mark Hendrickson to a 1-year $1.5 million contract. Hendrickson is a 6'9" 34-year-old swing man, who spent the 2008 season with the Marlins and who has also pitched for the Blue Jays, Rays, and Dodgers in his seven professional seasons. He also played 114 games in the NBA before pursuing his baseball career.

Stats

Year	Tm	G	W	L	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	ERA+	WHIP
2008	FLA	36	7	8	0	133.7	148	87	81	17	48	81	5.45	78	1.47
7 Yr		215	50	63	0	977.7	1133	610	551	119	286	545	5.07	89	1.45

GG's Take
We got our Mark... Hendrickson, that is. One year, $1.5 million - same as he made last year. He can make about $400,000 more if he stays in the rotation all year. A tall, soft-throwing lefty, he's been a below-average pitcher as long as he's been in the league, with ERAs routinely topping 5.00. He did have some success out of the bullpen last year with the Marlins when facing lefties; it seems doubtful, however, that the O's leave Hendrickson in the pen, rested and reserved for optimal matchups.

The Orioles have no illusions about Hendrickson's upside but are hoping he can soak up innings and help justify leaving the high-upside kids (Arrieta, Matusz, Tillman, David Hernandez, and even perhaps Liz) in the minors that much longer, a model the O's used successfully with Steve Traschel in 2007 and far less so when they tried to squeeze Traschel's usefulness into 2008. It's not likely that he'll perform any better than the unready prospects, but at this minimal cost, the O's are wise to let the AL East tee off on Hendrickson instead, thereby sparing damage to the young guys' psyches. Let's hope Hendrickson can keep it together well enough to pitch five innings on a regular basis. It's pathetic that veteran mediocrity is what we O's fans are reduced to hoping for, but that's a discussion for a different thread.

ND's Take
The Mark Hendrickson signing is only a big deal in that it's the first pitcher we've signed in an offseason in which we need to sign at least 2-3 veteran arms. This is not a guy who can be counted on for anything more than a few consecutive games in which he awes you with his size, teases you with his stuff, gets away with walking too many guys, and then implodes. Sound familiar?

Hendrickson has never had the potential of Daniel Cabrera, but he's essentially Cabrera Lite. Taller, doesn't throw as hard, better control, but the same infuriating tendancy to tease you into wanting to believe in him.

Last season, Hendrickson started out on fire. On May 8, he was 5-1 with a 3.56 ERA for the Marlins. By the All-Star break, he was 7-7 with a 6.24 and banished to the bullpen. He's put together similar up-and-down stretches before (in his first four career starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over 26 IP; his next 6 starts, he was 1-4 with a 7.26 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 31 IP), just as Cabrera was known to do for us.

Unlike Cabrera, though, Hendrickson can't be forgiven with the old "maybe he needs a change of scenery" excuse. The O's will be his fifth organization in eight years. So why sign him? We just rid ourselves of Cabrera; why bring in his lesser baseball doppleganger?

The simple answer is that we need warm bodies. Before this signing, the 5-man rotation would have been Guthrie, Olson, Liz, Burres, and Waters. The other options include guys bouncing back from injuries, like Patton, Sarfate, Penn, and Albers. And we're not going to throw the next class of promising arms to the wolves. So someone has to pitch.

Hendrickson is cheap, he's capable of giving us four or five innings per outing, and he's not altogether terrible. (How's that for a compliment?) As long as that remains the expectation, no one will be disappointed.

P.S. Does this signing set a record? Do the Orioles now become the first franchise to have had two Sixers second round draft picks play for them (Hendrickson and Minor)?