Danny Farquhar

The White Sox swooped in to add Farquhar after the Rays let him go in July. In 15 appearances after joining Chicago, Farquhar cut his walk rate from 5.7 BB/9 to 3.8 BB/9, although he was striking batters out at a slightly reduced clip (7.5 K/9). At his skills peak, he averaged 94.5 mph on his fastball with the Mariners in 2013, but he's leveled off between 92-93 mph over the four seasons since, and his struggles have been fueled by surges in walks or homers allowed. As their rebuilding effort continues, the White Sox will be among the teams willing to reboot veteran relievers with the hope of getting prospects back via trade. If pitching coach Don Cooper can lead Farquhar to regain his 2013-2014 skills, his path to becoming a closer again is surprisingly clear, but he's more of a wait-and-see type as a potential in-season pickup if things begin to click, as opposed to being worth of a reserve pick in deep leagues on draft day.

Farquhar proved to be a steadying veteran presence in the middle innings for the Rays, bouncing back from a forgettable 2015 in Seattle. He turned his season around in the second half in particular, posting a 1.46 ERA, .204 batting average against and .284 opponents' wOBA over 24.2 innings after the All-Star break. His 2.04 HR/9 was uncharacteristic and largely a product of a rough first half, while his 11.7 K/9 was his best since 2013. Farquhar stranded a career-high 93.1 percent of his baserunners, and such a high rate is probably unsustainable moving forward, but he certainly did enough to hold onto a regular role heading into 2017. However, it's hard to imagine he will get a chance to close in Tampa Bay, so his appeal is limited mostly to leagues that count holds.

Farquhar struggled all last season, looking nothing like the 2.66 ERA pitcher from 2014, nor the one who saved 16 games in 2013. The Mariners sent him to Triple-A in late May, and he spent the rest of the year bouncing between Tacoma and Seattle. Back with the Mariners thanks only to September callups, he was awful to the bitter end, allowing 10 hits, six runs, and three homers in his last 6.2 innings. His strikeout rate fell to below league average at 21.9% and his home-run rate more than doubled. An unimposing figure at 5-foot-9, Farquhar keeps batters guessing with a four-pitch arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, a nasty cutter, a curveball, and a changeup. Perhaps fortunately, he was traded in November to the Rays, a team that actually might be able to fix him. If so, they'll have to figure out how to deal with a fastball velocity that has dropped the last three seasons (from 94.5 to 92.9 mph) as his K/9 has done the same, tumbling from 12.7 to 8.5.

Farquhar lost his ninth-inning job last offseason when the Mariners signed Fernando Rodney, but he was probably more suited to setup work anyway with only two months of closing in 2013 on his resume. The resulting domino effect of moving Farquhar to the eighth inning helped a strengthened bullpen post the fifth-lowest ERA (2.59) in the last 40 years in the American League. Farquhar's strikeout rate dropped a bit from the previous year but was still strong, as was his strikeout-to-walk ratio. He stranded 24 of 30 inherited runners (80 percent) and held right-handed batters to a .206 average. His peripherals – a similar 2.93 FIP and a relatively high .308 BABIP – support his numbers, suggesting he should be effective again this season. Farquhar is only 5-foot-9, but he has a four-seam mid-90s fastball, in addition to a nasty cutter and curverball. He'll again be first in line to close behind Rodney.

A non-roster invitee to spring training last year, the 5-foot-9 Farquhar was the unlikely successor to Tom Wilhelmsen as closer, but he made the most of his opportunity. After taking the job for good in early August, Farquhar saved 16-of-18 games and struck out 29 with 14 hits and eight walks allowed in 22.2 innings. He commanded his mid-90s four-seam fastball effectively, holding opposing batters to a .175 BAA. Acquired in the 2012 Ichiro Suzuki trade from the Yankees, Farquhar's 12.8 K/9 ranked fourth among AL relievers. Unless the Mariners shake up the bullpen in the offseason, the closer's job appears to be Farquhar's to lose in spring training.

Farquhar didn't take kindly to the Pacific Coast League as he continues to struggle against lefties but still flashes plenty of gas with a mid-90s four-seam fastball. He'll need to better harness his command and come up with a pitch to handle lefties better if he wants to take the next step. He'll compete for a low-leverage bullpen spot this spring.