It's one thing to have good pitching in baseball, and quite another to have durable pitching. The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to trend towards the latter while loading up on the former. Enter Tyson Ross, the newest Cardinal.
The acquisition of former San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ross Sunday should help the cause. While he doesn't scream showstopper upon arrival, Ross should supply the Cardinals with an inning-eating arm with the possibility of more. The former second-round draft pick and nine-year veteran needed a change of scenery, but will it work?
Let's establish some order to this column and give five reasons to like the Ross add with a hint of devil's advocate at the end.
5) The Cardinals didn't lose any prospects
When the Cardinals lost out on Chris Archer, there was a sense of disappointment. However, the Pirates gave up two high-quality prospects to acquire Archer. The Cardinals gave up NOTHING to take a flier on Ross. If he is good, then it's another steal by John Mozeliak. If he is bad, it's a cut and dry loss.
4) He's a cheap addition
Ross' standard $1.75 million deal for 2018 got a special bonus when he reached start No. 22. The minor league deal with San Diego included an incentive if he reached the majors and made a certain number of starts. For starts 22 through 29, he gets an extra $200,000. In the end, the cost to the Cardinals for two months of Ross is a non-whopping $1.9 million. Thanks to @lilbonest for this helpful bit.
If he rebounds, it will come at a bargain.
3) He's better than John Gant
Gant hasn't looked terrible in his limited starts this season, but he wasn't exactly eating innings. As a fifth starter, you don't have to throw complete games during your turn, but failing to reach five innings is not cool. I feel like with the injury to Carlos Martinez and rough Gant start in Pittsburgh forced the team to look outside the organization.
2) Ross keeps Dakota Hudson and/or Daniel Poncedeleon in the bullpen
At least for now. Listen, I want to see these two guys get starts, but having them as starter fireman is a nice asset during a playoff push. When a starter gets winded or runs into a wall, like Luke Weaver or Austin Gomber recently, Hudson and Poncedeleon can be deployed to seal up the wound. It's a unique opportunity. Instead of pushing them into a starter role, Ross can swoop in and provide a respite. If he struggles, there's the kids waiting to help.
1) There's a good arm in there somewhere
Once upon a time, Ross was a sought-after pitcher on the market. He was a tall, solid righthander with a power arm pitching in a Major League dead-end street. You look at the two years of 196 innings and 30 starts, but also keep an eye on the quality fielding independent pitching (FIP) he put up in 2013-15. Ross doesn't give up a lot of home runs, once averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and had a 3.5 WAR season back in 2015. Mike Maddux should be able to find something from that stretch and make it stick for a couple months.
Devil's Advocate: Ross may end up only slightly better or as good as Gant. While better overall with more weapons, Ross may continue to struggle. The wow factor in his arm is gone, so there's a chance he does stumble and struggle in St. Louis. He hasn't been very good since 2015.
I don't see Ross being a long-term fixture here unless Maddux turns him into Woody Williams 2.0. He's 31, heading down the hill, and far from elite status. Ross is pitching to show that he's still got it. The 4.45 ERA and 1.3 WHIP isn't helping, but if Maddux can help trim that down to 4.00 and 1.15, he could churn a few more wins out of the guy.
Look at it this way. Archer was 3-5 with a 4.49 ERA before he was traded to Pittsburgh, so Ross' 2018 season isn't as bad as you think. Each pitcher had one great season with a WAR of 3.0 or higher. Archer is overall the better pitcher, but by how much is quite an interesting question. Both are on the wrong side of 30. One has a contract with three possible years attached while the other is on a yearly lease.
Is Tyson Ross as good as Chris Archer? No. Could he be with a Maddux cleanse and some fresh digs?Once again, it's not outlandish to bet on. The Pirates gave up a lot and the Cardinals gave up zilch.
Tyson Ross won't blow your mind, but he could help an ailing Cardinals rotation. No, he can't play third base and slug .450, but he can strike guys out and should have something left in the tank.
It's a good move by the Cardinals that has little downside and a lot of upside.
