Breaking News: Yankees Sign Chan Ho Park to a One-Year Deal

by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 9:31 AM EST

Credit to bobr for his fanshot, and to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Chan Ho Park hit his stride out of the pen for the Phillies in 2009 after spending most if his MLB career as an average starter. The biggest statistical change? A HR/9 of .54, well below his career average of 1.03. Owning a career HR/FB of 11.9%, Park only allowed 6.3% of fly balls to leave the yard in 2009. Part of the decrease is most likely owned to coming out of the pen. We know that relievers have more control over HR/FB% than starters who typically will allow 10.5% HR/FB. The other factor was a good bit of luck that will likely regress. Let's go back to the fact that he can reduce his HR/FB% coming out the pen. Moving to the band box that is the new Yankee Stadium as a right-hander will probably offset the advantage of coming out of the pen. The other issue for Park will be adjusting back to the American League. We saw firsthand just how difficult that adjustment was for Joe Nelson in 2009 when his FIP jumped from 3.45 to 5.65.

The Yankees signed Park for $1.2 million with possible incentives adding another $300k. This is basically what the Rays gave to Lance Cormier sans the incentives. Per Sherman, they are only looking at Park for a relief role. I was an advocate of the Rays pursuing Park for the right price. While I would probably prefer Park to Cormier for the Rays, I would rather see the Yankees have Park than Cormier due to the stadium issue and Cormier's greater grounder-inducing ability.

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Are there any type of numbers to project or adjust his 2009 numbers for park-related issues?

You mention that relievers can control their HR/FB % better than starters. Is there a mean or constant for relievers similar to the ~10.6% for starters?

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by Buc Wild on Feb 22, 2010 9:39 AM EST reply actions

There is no proven constant for relievers

Keep in mind due to about 1/3 of the work as a starter, it takes some time to get a good grasp on the true ability of the pitcher. I haven’t seen any factors for the stadium yet. As a team, the Yanks top-flight 2009 pitching staff kept hitters to a 9.3% HR/FB% which seems pretty amazing.

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 9:48 AM EST up reply actions

*mean would have been a better choice of words than constant

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 9:49 AM EST up reply actions

Lets hope that 9.3% is due for some serious regression this year. Perhaps when the Rays visit New York would be a good time.

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by Buc Wild on Feb 22, 2010 9:52 AM EST up reply actions

Err.....11.1% was 2009

9.3% was 2008 in the old stadium

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 9:56 AM EST up reply actions

They strike so many guys out I can't help but think that that helps them

I’ve got their starters 9th in HR/Batter Faced, 9th in HR/9, and 16th in HR/Fly Ball. This doesn’t attempt to differentiate talent vs. park, but merely to see how they did last year. For comparison, the Rays were 19th, 18th, and 14th. This would seem to tell me that the Yankees were less than league average at giving up a fly ball (/9 & /BFwere down, while /FB was up they must have given up less FB to not get as hurt) where the Rays were a little more fly ball prone. Which can be confirmed HERE which shows the Rays Starters giving up the 5th highest percentage of fly balls, whereas the Yankees gave up the 9th lowest percentage.

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by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 22, 2010 1:11 PM EST up reply actions

Would've been nice to add park especially this cheap

But a healthy Benoit is likely a better pitcher.

With incentives Park can make 1.5 mil, or the same as Brian Bruney got in arb with the Nats.

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by Tommy Rancel on Feb 22, 2010 9:42 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Champagne makes guy on the right have happy sleeps.

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by PlayOnWords on Feb 22, 2010 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Good luck to Chan Ho.

I look forward to the Rays going off on him!

Blah!

by thebaddancingraysfan on Feb 22, 2010 10:13 AM EST reply actions

I continue to be amazed at how far the going rate for talent has fallen due to the state of the economy as a whole.

This is great value for the Yankees. It makes me very curious as to what it might actually take to extend Pena for a year or two. I would have to thing that he will have a hard time making in 2011 and 2012 what he will make in 2010. I don’t see any way that Crawford drops to our price range, but I could see us being able to afford Pena in this depressed market.

by acelion on Feb 22, 2010 10:14 AM EST reply actions

I, as well.

I’ve come around on it and think it would be a good move if we could get him on a 2-year deal with an option for a 3rd. Getting the same deal he just got (3/24) wouldn’t be so bad, if that last 10M year was an option.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 22, 2010 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

Would it make sense to just front load that type of a deal?

They are dropping so much salary for the 2011 season why not just front load the contract thus making his last year more affordable.

One more year Brett. One more year.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Feb 22, 2010 1:32 PM EST up reply actions

It would definitely make sense from a total payroll figure perspective, but with time value of money, would

you rather have a 30M payroll today and 70M tomorrow, or 50M both years? It’s just a number, the bigger concern should be how much value you are getting out of that number and does it give you a chance to make the playoffs.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 22, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not sure if you've noticed but...

take a trip over to the 2/17 OTTOTD. You have a visitor.

One more year Brett. One more year.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Feb 22, 2010 1:56 PM EST up reply actions

I went ahead and looked at the Yanks HR/FB% by handedness

RHP allowed a total of 12.1% HR/FB
LHP allowed a total of 9.1% HR/FB

Makes sense with the balls flying out in RF. These are based on the aggregate, not the average HR/FB

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 10:21 AM EST reply actions

Is there anywhere to get stadium specific numbers?

Meaning, could we look at all pitchers that pitched there and see what the HR/FB # was?

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by Buc Wild on Feb 22, 2010 10:26 AM EST up reply actions

It would be easiest to do it for Yankee pitchers only

You’d need to take each pitcher’s HR total for home and away and divide it by his HR/FB% home and away to get the FB #. You’d need to aggregate the pitchers HRs and FBs and then divide. FG does not offer team splits to my knowledge and no other site that I know of offers dual splits meaning home/away and batted ball data.

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

Also of 181 HRs allowed by the Yanks, 101 were at home or 56.1%

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 10:28 AM EST up reply actions

I'm correct to say they played 50% of their games at home, right?

So that would mean, basically, they surrendered 6.1% more at home.

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by BWoodrum on Feb 22, 2010 10:45 AM EST up reply actions

If you were to asume the same # of flyballs on the home and the road

(which I’m not sure I would), you could infer that the Yankees allowed 11.98% HR/FB at home vs 10.6% on the road (funny, 10.6% is the number used in xFIP).

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 11:12 AM EST up reply actions

Not exactly

If they surrendered 56.1% at home, 43.9% woudl have been surrendered on the road, a 12.2% difference.

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 10:50 AM EST reply actions

reply fail to B Ray

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by FreeZorilla on Feb 22, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions

As i commented in the fanpost, i think Park's chances of making the 25 man roster is greater with the Yankees

by sternfan1 on Feb 22, 2010 11:17 AM EST reply actions

That's quite the compliment to our current team, me thinks.

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by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 22, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions

I call it at least equal

Both clubs likely have a final opening in their pens, with a some competitiors. Admittedly I come from the opposite side of the fence as all here, but looking at the pen rosters I see:

NY: Rivera TB: Soriano
       Hughes or Joba Balfour
       Robertson Wheeler
       Marte Howell
      Aceves Choate
      Gaudin Cormier

Then it comes down to the final spot, with NY having Park likely beating L Boone Logan and S. Mitre starting in reserve in AAA, plus a few guys on the 40 man in AAA and an invite or 2. Tampa has a not necessarily healthy invitee Benoit, Thayer, Eckstrom, some other minors invites (mostly depth pieces), or Sonnanstine, who I’d bet they’d rather keep stretched out in AAA as a starter in reserve.

Personally I’d lean towards NY perhaps being tougher – and based on contract dollars, Park’s likely in – but I’m biased. But for my money, unless Benoit is healthy and at prior effectiveness, Park would have to be the favorite for the last spot in Tampa too.

by nyyfaninlaaland on Feb 23, 2010 2:34 AM EST up reply actions

Sorry about the mess with the pen rosters above

should have stacked vertically I guess.

Last name in each line obviously the Rays’ guy.

by nyyfaninlaaland on Feb 23, 2010 2:35 AM EST up reply actions

I think I prefer our guy in every spot, but CL and last guy.

I would switch JP, Wheelz, and Balfour though.

Rivera>Soriano
Howell> Hughes or Joba
Balfour> Robertson
Wheeler>Marte
Choate=Acevas?
Cormier=Gaudin?
Park>Rays fill in

The two question marks are more due to usage than anything. I think that’s one benefit of our BP. We have a few situational guys that I have a lot of faith in if used properly. We’ll see obviously, but I think we’ll have the better BP next year.

by rglass44 on Feb 23, 2010 9:49 AM EST up reply actions