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Pittsburgh Pirates Should Pursue Kris Medlen

By @Tweets_ByJ

Kris Medlen

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the hunt for starting pitching this offseason. They have already made offers to their two free agent pitchers, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez, and have also checked in on possible alternatives. One alternative that just became available for the Pirates to pursue is Kris Medlen.

The Pirates like to look for bargains when hunting for pitchers on the free agent market. In some way or another, they go after players like Liriano and Volquez because they think there is more value than what appears. Medlen, who was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, fits this category perfectly because he could be a bargain, requiring at most $7 million a year for a two-year term. This is cheap for a starting pitcher, especially one of Medlen’s caliber.

Medlen missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but in the two previous seasons, he pitched like one of the best starters in baseball. He went 25-13 in those two years with the Braves, averaging about seven strikeouts per nine innings while walking only two batters in the same time frame. And in those two seasons, Medlen had an ERA of 2.34 that was backed up by advanced statistics as his xFIP was 3.26. These numbers are better than Volquez and Liriano, making him a better free agent target, but Medlen has one big issue.

The one thing that makes Medlen a possible bargain is that he is very injury-prone. He has gone through two Tommy John surgeries and has only thrown more than 140 innings once in his career. So while Medlen is an ace caliber pitcher, he isn’t on the mound enough for any team to pay him a large sum of money. This is a risk the Pirates are likely to take on because of their pitching depth. If Medlen were to continue his pattern of getting injured, the Pirates have players like Jeff Locke and Vance Worley who could step up and replace him.

Medlen and the Pirates just seem like they need each other. Pittsburgh can get a potential ace if he stays healthy, and Medlen will get the fair contract that he is looking for. So with the Pirates still needing starting pitching and Medlen now available, don’t be surprised if he signs in Pittsburgh this winter.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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