MLB rumors Four-year deals for relievers a big gamble even f

The market for relief Paul Goldschmidt Jersey pitching is starting to heat up, with reports from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that both and are likely to get four-year deals when they sign as free agents.
There is no doubting how good Miller was in posting a WHIP of 0.802 with 103 strikeouts in 62.1 innings this year between Boston and Baltimore, nor can enough be said about how deftly Robertson handled the job of taking over the closers job with the Yankees after Mariano Rivera retired, with 96 strikeouts and a 1.057 WHIP in 64 Caleb Joseph Jersey .1 innings.
Both high-profile free agent bullpen aces will turn 30 early in the 2015 season, so age is not a concern in handing out a four-year deal. What should be a concern is the volatility of relief pitching in general.
Jarrod Dyson Jersey Robertson is one of the few pitchers who has established himself as truly reliable at the back end of a bullpen. In the last four years, , the right-hander is one of only seven pitchers to be worth at least one win above replacement every season while starting fewer than five games per campaign.
The other pitchers joining Robertson in the club of elite and dependable relievers since 2011 are Joaquin Benoit, Greg Holland, Craig Kimbrel, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Smith and Koji Uehara.
There are another 15 relievers who were good for 1 WAR or better in three of the Patrick Corbin Jersey last four years, but among them are Grant Balfour and Jim Johnson, who dramatically flamed out in 2014. For a combined $14 million, those two former All-Star closers were two wins below replacement level this year. Edward Mujica, Zack Greinke Jersey at 0.0 WAR in 64 appearances, was a comparative bargain for the Red Sox in the first season of his two-year, $9.5 million deal.
When things go south for a relief pitcher, it happens in a hurry, and it happens dramatically. Robertson has done enough to inspire the kind of confidence required for a long-term deal as a reliever, a rare occurrence. Miller, as good as he has been since becoming a Steven Souza Jersey full-time reliever in 2012, still has to be seen as more of a risk. Untouchable relievers do not often stay that way for four whole years.