Azru: I received this post in an e-mail and it’s about a former and perhaps future Cardinal prospect. Stats are as of 3/19. FR welcomes well-written posts as guest submissions.
Is Luis Perdomo coming back to the Cards?
As most of you know the Cardinals received relief pitcher Luis Perdomo from the Indians last season in exchange for Anthony Reyes.
Perdomo will be 25-years-old next month, has a big sinking fastball and a good slider. He has racked up over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings in his minor league career, but has never pitched above AA and was older than most of his opponents at each level.
Chone and ZIPS both project Perdomo’s 2009 big league numbers to be around a 4.85 ERA with 30 walks and 45 K’s in approximately 60 innings. Not an eye popping projection, but Perdomo could certainly outperform those numbers and be a valuable cost controlled asset over the next few years.
The Giants obviously think the Perdomo has some value because they picked him in the Rule 5 draft this winter. This looked like a solid pick for a rebuilding team, but the Giants front office took something of a “win-now” approach in free agency. Now it’s unclear if the G-men will be able bring Perdomo north with the big club. Further complicating matters the Giants are considering an 11-man bullpen, meaning Perdomo could be facing an uphill battle for one of the teams last roster spots.
Perdomo hasn’t set the world on fire this spring, but has kept his head above water posting a 4.91 ERA with 7 K’s and 4 BB’s in 7.1 IP (small sample size but these numbers are similar to his Chone and ZIPS projections).
To get a better idea of where Perdomo stands I decided to email two Giants insiders to find out.
When asked if he thought Perdomo would make the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News responded saying “I think Perdomo will be traded or offered back to the Cards — especially if the Giants are serious about keeping 11 pitchers.” Baggarly also added that he’s been told the Cardinals want Perdomo back. Henry Schulman of the San Fransisco Chronicle thinks it’s still up in the air saying, “I don’t even think the team knows yet. I know they like him. We’ll have to wait til the end of camp to find out.”
If Perdomo misses out on a shot with the Giants due to a roster crunch, then it appears that the Cardinals will have a good chance of getting him back. While the Cardinals bullpen already has plenty of right handed arms, there is still some upside to a player like Perdomo who could go to Memphis and offer insurance in the event of an injury and provide even greater organizational depth.
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