It appears that Kerry Wood, who we looked at yesterday in tandem with Rafael Soriano as potential lockdown bullpen solutions for the Yankees, is going to re-join the Chicago Cubs. However, another former flamethrowing Chicago relief pitcher from the other side of town is apparently on the Yankees' radar -- the recently non-tendered Bobby Jenks.
Jenks was a surprising non-tender, considering that he's been the fourth-most valuable relief pitcher in the American League since 2005, but the White Sox didn't feel he was worth more than the $7.5 million he made in 2010 and as a result didn't want to risk having to pay whatever raise he would've received had they gone to arbitration. As Jenks was worth $6.1 million in 2010 according to Fangraphs, I understand the reasoning behind the Sox's move, especially considering that most-valuable-reliever-in-the-AL-in-2010 Matt Thornton will presumably move into the closer role, although it still seems like a surprisingly penny-pinching move from a team that doesn't strike me as cash-strapped.
Jenks probably didn't help his case on the South Side by posting the worst ERA of his six-year career in 2010; however, a closer look at the numbers reveals strong peripherals (Jenks appears to have pulled something of a Joba Chamberlain in 2010) -- including the second-best FIP (2.59) of his career -- and whichever team signs him is going to end up with one of the better relief pitchers in the game.
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