KC Royals: Joba Chamberlain Could Help Royals This Season
By Alec Tilson
The KC Royals signed veteran relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain this week, according to the team’s website. The right-hander pitched most of the season with the Detroit Tigers, posting a 4.09 ERA in 22 innings pitched.
Not promising numbers, but Chamberlain is yet to turn 30 years old, and he’s pitched in the postseason in five different years for the Tigers and New York Yankees.
Despite the struggles this season, could Chamberlain help the Royals bullpen down the road in 2015, especially when MLB rosters expand on September 1st?
When the Royals are allowed a 40-man roster, Chamberlain could replace a current member such as pitchers Michael Marriot or Yohan Pino. He might also have to beat out prospects like Kyle Zimmer and Miguel Almonte, and injuries could present yet a different opportunity for him. But that’s just speculation at this point.
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Actually Chamberlain isn’t far removed from a solid 2014 season, and he’s a career 3.82 ERA pitcher in 529 and 2/3 innings pitched.
In 2014 Chamberlain posted 3.57 ERA in 69 games for the Tigers. He struck out 8.4 batters per-nine-innings and allowed just three home runs all season, according to Baseball Reference. He was a workhorse for the A.L. Central champions, a team that won 90 games.
He’s got a storied history with Royals left fielder Alex Gordon, according to Fox Sports, so there’s an interesting angle there. They’ve played with or against each other at some level of baseball since they were seven years old.
"Chamberlain pitched at Division II University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2004 before joining Gordon back in their hometown at the University of Nebraska.“We’d played at rival high schools,” Gordon said, “and the improvement he made in the one year before coming to Nebraska was incredible. It was like a total transformation.”"
Throughout his career, Chamberlain has been a power fastball-slider reliever who will mix in a curveball. He started 31 games for the Yankees in 2009 but has been a reliever since then.
He was a big-time prospect out of the University of Nebraska, drafted in the first round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft, the same year the Royals selected pitcher Luke Hochevar.
Still, Chamberlain has been up and down for most of his career. He’s pitched more than 50 innings just one time in the last five seasons (including 2015). When he’s good, he’s an effective late-inning reliever. When he’s bad, he’s usually walking too many batters.
He’s a big presence on the mound at 6-feet-2 and 250 pounds and he’s always sported some of the mangier facial hair in the business, a compliment to any relief pitcher.
It’s odd that as Royals fans we’ve basically had to dislike Joba his entire career based on the teams he’s played for, but now that he’s come to the light in Kansas City, it’s all about how he can help this year’s Royals.
How do you think Joba Chamberlain fits into the Royals’ roster this season and into the postseason?