The Pittsburgh Pirates are close to making their first addition of the off-season, agreeing to sign Scott Olsen to a one year, incentive laden deal, per Jennifer Langosch. Â The deal is not official yet, and is contingent on Olsen passing a physical. Â Dejan Kovacevic mentions that Olsen’s base salary will be in the $1 M range. Â Last year, Olsen received a $1 M base salary with Washington, with a potential $2.85 M in incentives.
On the field, Olsen has been nothing special. Â His fastball in the early part of his career could touch 94 MPH, although in recent years he has only touched 92, and averages 89 MPH. Â He has two somewhat good seasons under his belt. Â The 2006 season, when he put up a 4.04 ERA in 180.2 innings, and 2008, when he had a 4.20 ERA in 201.2 innings. Â The 2006 season was somewhat legit, with a 4.07 xFIP, although his 2008 season was a fluke, with a 4.95 xFIP. Â Olsen was lucky in 2008, thanks to a .266 BABIP.
Off the field, Olsen has some well known attitude problems. Â He was even suspended by the Florida Marlins for getting in to fights with teammates on multiple occasions. Â He’s been limited to 143.2 innings the past two seasons due to labrum surgery in 2009, and a set back on his left shoulder in 2010. Â He did put up a 4.39 xFIP in 2010, as he was unlucky with a .321 BABIP and a 63% strand rate.
The deal is low risk, with only around $1 M owed to Olsen, but I’m still not a fan of the move. Â Overall you’ve got a guy recovering from an injury, with a history of attitude problems and conflicts with teammates, and who wasn’t exactly a strong starter before the injury issues came up. Â I have no problem with taking a guy coming off an injury, but Olsen wouldn’t have been my choice, mostly due to the attitude and the poor results before the injury. Â I would have rather seen the Pirates use the money to sign Jeff Francis, who has a similar injury to Olsen, or Justin Duchscherer, who is very injury prone, but has top of the rotation numbers when healthy.
