Frank McCourt was quoted yesterday as saying that, yes, the Dodgers would get another pitcher before spring training. That plan obviously failed, but they did sign Vicente Padilla to a one year deal worth $4 million today.
OK, that’s not fair. Padilla pitched well for the Dodgers down the stretch last season — 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA in seven starts and two great playoff performances — and he’s not even close to the worst pitcher the Dodgers have signed this winter. Still, that late season performance was a mirage — he hasn’t had an ERA lower than 4.46 since 2003 — and of course, he is a notorious clubhouse cancer, having been released by the Rangers last year after he was deemed “a disruptive clubhouse presence.”
$4 million isn’t too much to spend for a reliable, average pitcher. With Padilla, though, it’s the reliable part that I’d worry about.