From midges to Goodyear, relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain has had quite the career arc.
The next step will be with the Indians in Goodyear, Ariz., as Chamberlain on Tuesday was signed to a minor-league deal with a non-roster invitation to spring camp.
Chamberlain, 30, spent the first seven years of his career with the New York Yankees and was originally billed as one of the better up-and-coming relief pitchers in the game. As a 21-year-old rookie with a 97-mph fastball, Chamberlain allowed just one run and struck out 34 in his 24 innings pitched in the 2007 season.
As it pertains to the Indians that year, Chamberlain is remembered as playing a key role in the infamous Game 2 of the American League Division Series. That night, a swarm of midges seemingly unnerved Chamberlain on the mound, allowing the Indians to tie it in the eighth inning on a wild pitch and eventually win in the 11th on Travis Hafner’s walk-off single.
Chamberlain was again a quality pitcher for the Yankees in 2008 but after that season, he never recaptured that success on a consistent basis. He switched between the starting rotation and bullpen and as his average fastball, per FanGraphs, dipped below 95 mph. He split last season between the Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals, amassing a 4.88 ERA in 27⅔ innings pitched with a 7.5 strikeout-per-nine-innings ratio, tied for the lowest of his career.
Chamberlain joins the mix of contenders to make the Indians’ 2016 Opening Day bullpen, along with closer Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Jeff Manship, Zach McAllister, Nick Hagadone (when healthy), Austin Adams, Shawn Armstrong, Kyle Crockett, Giovanni Soto and the recently acquired Kirby Yates.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.