Free Agent Watch: Jeremy Accardo

Orioles reliever Jeremy Accardo elected free agency earlier today. In 2011 (which he split between the majors and AAA) he registered a -.1 WAR. In 2010, he had a -.2, and a .6 WAR in 2009. In his AAA stint, he threw 33.1 innings (all in relief), and posted a -1.89 PE. This is a good number for a relief pitcher before you factor in that this is AAA. He was also helped out by a low BABIP (.266) and his FIP was almost a full run higher than his ERA, meaning he got some help from his fielders. In the Majors, he was pretty bad, with a PE of 4.76, and a TR of 5.92 which is simply not good at all. He struggled with walks, walking 4.3 batters every 9 innings (this is despite throwing strikes 62% of the time, this suggests he had periods where he just couldn't throw strikes to save his life). He managed the worse combination with the walks as well, struggling with the long ball, giving up 1.19 HR/9IP. In AAA, he only gave up .27 HR/9IP, which suggest that maybe his skills aren't translating between levels. However, the Mark Reynolds infield wasn't exactly helping him out, as his FIP was about .70 below his ERA, making you question the .317 BABIP as well. It doesn't help that he gave up more flyballs than groundballs though. Accardo may be the definition of a "replacement player", with good AAA numbers, but bad major league numbers. He may just be an  AAAA guy. He can be a guy to come in and fill up a spring training roster or a AAA roster filler, and an extra arm to bring up when needed, but I wouldn't invest much money in him, especially if I am in a home-run friendly park.