SIGNED ROBBIE ERLIN TO ONE-YEAR, $1.25 MILLION DEAL
There weren’t a whole lot of options out on the market, but after trading Taylor Guilbeau to the Angels, we wanted to bring in another left-handed reliever into the bullpen competition. Enter Robbie Erlin, 29-year-old southpaw who’s probably ‘just a guy,’ but hey, he’s our guy.
Don’t let the 5.37 ERA last year fool you, though; Erlin wasn’t flat-out terrible. He averaged just under a strikeout per inning and wound up with a modest 3.61 FIP in 55.1 innings of work. He was also worth 1.6 fWAR in an underrated Padres bullpen in 2018.
He’s never been much of a LOOGY, often fairing worse or about the same against lefties as he does against righties. He’s not an overpowering force by any means, but has a solid enough arsenal that gets him by, led by a strong curve that held hitters to a .182 average last season.