After missing the entire 2009 season with a torn flexor tendon in his pitching arm, Ben Sheets looks to make a prodigious return to big leagues for the upcoming 2010 season. In 2009, Sheets was expected to return to game action after the All-Star break and sign and two year contract with the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, teams felt that he would need at least a full year to regain full strength in order to pitch on the big league level. Sheets has a history of missing significant time over the last couple of years due to various injuries. Appearing in only 17 games in 2006, 24 games in 2007 and a career high 31 games in 2008, it's a shame to see such a talent be riddled by injuries. In 2006, Sheets missed 72 games due to a shoulder injury and in 2007 missed 40 games due to a right finger injury as well as other various stints on the DL.Even though his number of appearances has increased significantly from 2006, this past year was a major set back. There is no dispute that when Sheets is healthy he certainly has ace like stuff. When Sheets is on his game, he delivers a fastball in the low to mid 90’s with excellent life up and down the strike zone.
He also has the ability to locate pitches on either side of the plate. Sheets also possesses a power curveball, that he uses consistently as his strikeout pitch, with excellent life and 12 to 6 downward movement as well as a slow fading changeup, which he disguises extremely well. In his last full season, which was 2008, Sheets posted a 13-9 record while pitching 198.1 innings, striking out 158 and recording an impressive ERA of 3.09.
The 31 year old right hander began throwing off flat ground this past October and feels he can be at full strength by the start of the 2010 season. Is it worth the risk? According to Sheets’ agent, Casey Close, a number of teams have contacted him regarding his health and ability to come back strong in 2010. Sheets is currently targeting 12 million per season but that is an incredibly high demand for a guy who missed the entire 2009 season and comes along with the laundry list of DL stints throughout his career. Taking a risk on Ben Sheets is not a bad idea if, AND ONLY IF, he signed to an incentive laden contract and passes all physicals. He is set to throw a bullpen session for numerous scouts Tuesday in Louisiana. Some teams that have been linked to Sheets this offseason have been the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles among a few others. Ben Sheets is looking to come back strong and might be the diamond in the rough of this year’s free agent market.
