Looper, Redding Possibilities

[love_that_reefer]

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Orioles are making strong pushes for Braden Looper and Tim Redding.
The O's need innings, and Looper and Redding would be cheaper alternatives to Jon Garland. The Boston Globe thinks Looper is close to a deal with the Brewers, but offers nothing to back that up.

Redding had a good first half last year but completely fell apart in the second half. Maybe his toe gave him problems. Redding had surgery on his teo this offseason and should be ready to go for Spring Training. He went from a 3.85 ERA in the first half to a 6.85 ERA in the second half. Redding also had a 3.64 ERA in 15 games last year for the Nats. Going to the AL East would be a bad decision for the O's and Redding.

Looper has done a decent job going from the bullpen to the rotation. He's no Smoltz or Dempster but a decent back of the rotation guy. He actually did better in his second year away from the pen than in his first. I personally thought he would break down in that second year but he proved me wrong going 33 starts with a 4.16 ERA. He too would suffer from going to the AL East but like his chances better than Redding's.

[CrazyEights]

Looper has done a decent job going from the bullpen to the rotation. He's no Smoltz or Dempster but a decent back of the rotation guy. He actually did better in his second year away from the pen than in his first. I personally thought he would break down in that second year but he proved me wrong going 33 starts with a 4.16 ERA. He too would suffer from going to the AL East but like his chances better than Redding's.

I like Looper's chances a LOT better than Redding, because he is a much better pitcher than Redding is. Although, he would be an expensive "back of the rotation" type of guy. He will probably receive $8-10Mil a year.

[ljshorty89]

I hope that the O's take Looper...Redding's better than you think, he beat the Phillies a couple of times last year, and would be a cheap option for the Mets.

[love_that_reefer]

Looper would be a $6-7 million guy who would probably be their #3 guy.

[ljshorty89]

Yeah, the Mets need a 4 and maybe a 5. I'd love Garland, but after that, I'll take Redding for 2 years, 3-5 million per

[CrazyEights]

Looper would be a $6-7 million guy who would probably be their #3 guy.

At least $6-7Mil.

[CrazyEights]

I hope that the O's take Looper...Redding's better than you think, he beat the Phillies a couple of times last year, and would be a cheap option for the Mets.

Nothing against Redding. Looper is just the better pitcher. I'd love to see the Cardinals sign Redding too, because he is probably one of the best value pitchers out there. I was really hoping the Cardinals would resign Looper, but I have a feeling he will receive a big contract this year from someone.

[ljshorty89]

I would never trust Looper in NY. Sorry. He embarrassed me as a Mets fan, and I'll never fully forgive him.

[Kingdom]

So Looper is on a very long list eh?

[love_that_reefer]

At least $6-7Mil.

I don't see him getting much of a raise in today's market.

[ljshorty89]

So Looper is on a very long list eh?

Honestly, despite lack of success, there's a fairly short list of Mets who I have a disdain for:

Braden Looper
Mel Rojas
Armando Benitez
Kaz Matsui
Roberto Alomar
Aaron Heilman

I may be missing one or two, if I think of them I'll add them.

[CrazyEights]

I don't see him getting much of a raise in today's market.

It's getting hard to tell what today's market is really like. It seems like it is changing weekly. Randy Wolf has been looking for a deal of $10Mil per for 3 years. Braden Looper is a better pitcher than Wolf and made more last year than Wolf did. So if Wolf gets a raise like that, then Looper should get something similar. Having said that, I don't see Randy Wolf getting anything near what he is looking for. I think the Brewers will probably sign Looper for at least $8Mil per year.

[love_that_reefer]

Yeah Wolf isn't getting his $10 million nor should he. Looper made under $6 million last year and didn't have a great year. Add that with the market and I just can't see a significant raise. The Brewers could definitely use him. I even posted under my checklist for the Giants to take a look at Looper.

[CrazyEights]

I even posted under my checklist for the Giants to take a look at Looper.

I think a lot of teams will be taking a look at Looper. He had a solid year for the Cardinals. He is getting better as a starter. I would love to see him back, but he will cost more than he did last season.