Dodgers sign reliever Mike Adams to minor league deal

By Ethan Finkelstein | Mar 1, 2015

Aug 12, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Los Angeles Dodgers hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed RHP Mike Adams to a minor league deal which includes an invitation to the team’s spring training camp.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to bolster their bullpen heading into the 2015 Major League Baseball season. At least that is what all indications appear to amount to. The organization signed veteran relief pitcher Mike Adams to a Minor League Baseball contract on Sunday. The deal includes an invitation to the club’s spring training.

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Should Adams make the team, he would join an already talented bullpen which features three formidable names at the back end. Closer Kenley Jansen saved 44 games in 2014 for the club, while striking out 101 hitters in just 65.1 innings pitched, which translates to about 13.9 per 9 IP. Perhaps most interesting to note is that fielding might have actually hurt Jansen’s ERA. His FIP (fielding independent pitching) metric stood at a ridiculous 1.91.

Brandon League rebounded from a rough 2013, cutting his ERA in half with a 2.57 mark for 2014. J.P. Howell picked up where he left off in 2013. His 2.39 ERA (147 ERA+) led all Dodgers relievers with at least 15 innings pitched last season.

Though Adams has been battling his own body in recent years, when healthy he still provides quite an arm for any team. Though injuries cost him a good portion of his 2014 campaign with the Philadelphia Phillies, he was still able to strike out 21 batters in 18.2 innings of work to the tune of a 2.89 ERA (2.86 FIP).

For his career, Adams sports a 2.41 ERA (165 ERA+), with 409 strike outs in 407.1 innings pitched. Early on a power pitcher, capable of overpowering batters with a mid 90’s fastball among his arsenal, he has developed into somewhat more of a finesse guy in recent years.

Many people forget just how dominant a pitcher Adam has been though. From 2005-2011, his ERA stood at 1.85 (208 ERA+), and his WHIP was a stifling 0.956. And at age 36, he might very well have a few more productive years left in the tank. Is it a gamble? Certainly. But it is a risk that could prove to pay major dividends should Adams’s body hold up.

H/T Los Angeles Times

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