Now that Homer Bailey is off to Oakland, I’m realizing that I may have underappreciated him a bit. I mean, it’s hard to get excited about a 33-year old on a one-year contract who puts up back of the rotation numbers on a losing team. Unless Kevin Merrell crashes through his projected ceiling and becomes a star, I’m likely to forget all about this trade – and the Homer Bailey era of Royals baseball, for that matter – before the season’s even over.
But pitchers of Bailey’s caliber are valuable, even if they’re not particularly exciting. For Oakland, he’ll help solidify a rotation that’s been in flux all year.