Let's talk about Randy Wolf.
Don't believe it? It's hard to blame you. Nobody believed in Wolf last year when he had just come out of a one-year contract with the Padres, was traded to the Astros at midseason and had put up respectable numbers for both. He was looking for work, and no one was willing to give it to him. Wolf went unsigned through January before he finally found a one-year contract with the Dodgers on Feb. 6, 2009 worth $5 million.
He then spent the next eight months proving he was worth a lot more than that. Wolf was a bona fide ace for the Dodgers in the second half of 2009, putting up a 2.98 ERA after the All-Star break and emerging as a true leader on an otherwise young pitching staff. Under Wolf's guidance, the Dodgers worked to hold off the surging Rockies, ran away with the NL West and reached the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.
After doing all that, the 33-year-old hurler is sure to get himself a raise. Wolf has been at least an average starter over the course of the past decade, and he's capable of being much more.
His age shouldn't deter anyone. Wolf is just as good a pitcher now at 33 as he was at 23. He's not a flame-throwing youngster — he's a finesse guy who's managed to redefine himself in his thirties. He's developed his slider, improved his control and become an all-around smarter pitcher.
Five million bucks won't be enough this time. Suitors will be lining up this winter — they want the good Randy Wolf, the one that can carry a team to the playoffs.
The Dodgers have a shot at keeping him. The only problem, though, is that L.A. has been moving away from granting multiyear deals to aging players, and Wolf will surely be looking for a more secure contract situation than the one-year deal the Dodgers gave him last winter.
The Mets, too, are serious contenders. In fact, they came close to stealing Wolf away last year, but they decided at the last minute to change their plans and go after Oliver Perez instead. Ollie gave the Mets a 3-4 record and an ERA of 6.82; Wolf went 11-7, 3.23. That's a mistake worth fixing.
The Diamondbacks are another possibility. Like the Dodgers, they've got a young pitching staff in need of a veteran leader. Dan Haren and Max Scherzer are the future — but in the present, Wolf is the kind of guy that could help them out. Arizona won 90 games in 2007 and still has much of that playoff team intact. One more quality arm could take them a long way.
All of these teams have good reasons to take a serious look at Randy Wolf. But they're all National League clubs, and one thing we don't know is whether anyone from the Junior Circuit will be willing to take a chance on the veteran hurler. In 11 major-league seasons, Wolf has never pitched in the American League — his tour has taken him to Philadelphia, to L.A., to San Diego, to Houston and then back to L.A. again. No one's ever given him a chance to face DHs and lineups packed with slugging catchers and powerful middle infielders.
It's a whole new ballgame. And when you're already past the formative years of your career, it's difficult to make the switch over to the American League brand of baseball. But with the results of this past season, Wolf has proven that he's capable of taking that plunge. If only there were an AL executive willing to let him.
That could be Theo Epstein. With the health of Daisuke Matsuzaka and the age of Tim Wakefield always in question, the Sox would no doubt love to bring in one more quality arm. Wolf, for the right price, could be that arm.
He's not without his question marks. He's not young, he's not prone to three-year stretches of dominance, and he's not experienced in the American League. But at this juncture, he's more of a sure thing than just about anyone else out there. The Sox could take a chance on Randy Wolf.
