Over the last few years, it has become more and more common for teams to sign free-agent pitchers who are recovering from Tommy-John surgery. Pitchers like Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, and Edinson Volquez have all received two year contracts with clubs knowing they will miss the entirety of the first year of those contracts. In fact, some have wanted the Pittsburgh Pirates to even take a chance on a few of those names. Still, the teams who signed those notable pitchers hope that they will bounce back to form in year two of the contract and that the team will get really positive value from the somewhat risky signing.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Do Not Forget about Pitcher Tom Koehler
