Jonathan Broxton

St. Louis picked Broxton up just before the trade deadline to bolster a bullpen that had suffered a rash of injuries. The veteran reliever pitched fairly regularly down the stretch, totaling 23.2 innings over the final two months of the season while posting a 2.66 ERA and 26 strikeouts, a marked improvement from his first four months of the season with Milwaukee (5.89 ERA). His FIP, however, tells a different story as it was only 15 points lower with St. Louis than with Milwaukee (3.56 versus 3.71). The Cardinals declined Broxton's option for 2016 but re-signed him to a more team-friendly two-year deal. He could be a sneaky source of holds in 2016 while working in front of closer Trevor Rosenthal.

Broxton split last season between the Reds and the Brewers and worked in a setup role for each club. He sat with a nifty 0.95 ERA after July, but faltered late, giving up 11 of his earned runs over the season’s final two months. His fastball averages just 93 mph these days, but he does not give up many home runs and has plenty of high-leverage experience. Broxton will return to the eighth-inning role with the Brewers bringing back Francisco Rodriguez on a two-year deal, and will likely only see an opportunity to close if Rodriguez gets hurt or struggles for a prolonged stretch.

If you had an early draft last season, Broxton was among the bigger busts even before the season began, thanks to the Reds reversing course with Aroldis Chapman. Instead of becoming Cincinnati's closer, Broxton failed to record a single save, before going on multiple trips to the disabled list. He underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor mass in his right forearm in August, making him questionable for the start of the season. Even if Chapman moves into the rotation this year, Broxton is far from guaranteed to fill his shoes as the closer.

The Royals' one-year gambit with Broxton paid off, as it netted them two prospects (J.C. Sulbaran and Donnie Joseph) after he filled in as their closer for a half-season, following Joakim Soria's spring training arm injury. He's not quite the same dominant pitcher that he was before his elbow surgery, throwing two miles per hour slower and striking out fewer batters than he used to. But he's remained effective by inducing more groundballs and allowing fewer homers when he does elevate the ball. After the trade to Cincinnati he was especially effective, walking just three batters in 22.1 innings. He signed a three-year deal to return to the Reds in November as the team's primary closer with incumbent Aroldis Chapman moving to the starting rotation for 2013. With the Reds' quality offense and generally strong pitching staff, Broxton should have a good chance to put up 30 saves.

For the first four-and-a-half years of his career, Broxton had been among the league's elite relievers, eventually taking over the closer role from Takashi Saito in 2008 and being named to the National League All-Star squad the subsequent two seasons. Since the All-Star break in 2010, however, Broxton has been limited to 36.2 innings and a 6.63 ERA, lacking the velocity and command he had exhibited in prior years. Broxton eventually underwent elbow surgery in September after tossing just 12.2 innings in 2011. He's reportedly expected to be healthy come spring training, where he'll don a Royals jersey via a one-year, $4 million contract. The Royals have Joakim Soria (as of this writing) and seemingly Greg Holland ahead of him in the closer pecking order, but a healthy Broxton could be in line for saves at some point in 2012.

It was a tale of two halves for the 2010 All-Star, as Broxton posted a 2.11 ERA before the break and subsequently collapsed once July rolled around. Over the second half, Broxton's ERA was an alarming 7.13 and he walked more batters than he struck out (18:21 K:BB in 24 innings). Broxton had just two saves after July while Hong-Chih Kuo took over as closer and dominated. Broxton lost a couple ticks off his fastball compared to 2009, but it was his command more than anything that was his undoing. Broxton is set to earn $7 million in the final year of his contract, so the motivation should be there, but expect Kuo and impressive rookie Kenley Jansen to be gunning for the closer job as well come spring training.

Broxton put himself in the upper tier of baseball’s closer fraternity in 2009, winning seven games and saving 36 with a 2.61 ERA and a major league-leading 114 strikeouts (for relievers) in 76 innings. With four years service time, Broxton is starting to get expensive for the Dodgers, but he'll once again return as their closer and should again be among the league's elite stoppers.

Broxton's third full year in the big leagues was another success for the 290-pound 24-year-old fireballer. "The Bull" can dial up his fastball into triple-digits, thus resulting in a lofty strikeout rate (11.5 K/9IP -- seventh in the majors among pitchers who threw at least 1,000 pitches). Last season we also got a chance to view his future as a closer, as Broxton stepped in for the injured Takashi Saito and saved 14 games. He looks set to take over the closer role after the Dodgers cut ties with Saito and he could become of the the NL's best.

Broxton (a.k.a. "The Bull") worked in 83 games in 2007, tying for third in MLB in appearances. In his 82 innings, Broxton posted a 2.85 ERA and excellent 99:25 K:BB. He dealt with a sore arm in September, something that likely contributed to a run of walk-off home runs allowed, but there shouldn't be any worries there. He figures in as the organization's closer-of-the-future, though that will probably have to wait another year or two, as Takashi Saito is showing no signs of slowing down. Still, relievers with a solid ERA and WHIP, and 100-strikeout potential are highly valuable.

With his bulky frame and power repertoire, Broxton was converted from the rotation to the bullpen in 2005, a move that paid huge dividends last season. After an unimpressive 14-game stint with the Dodgers in 2005, Broxton opened last year in Triple-A and promptly tossed 11.2 scoreless innings before being promoted. He uses his mid-90s fastball/slider combination to produce excellent strikeout numbers (97 Ks in little more than 76 innings). Broxton was even better after the All-Star break with a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings, and with only the 37-year-old Takashi Saito ahead of him, could be the team's closer as early as sometime in 2007.

Originally drafted and developed as a starter, Broxton moved to relief last year and saw immediate improvement, with his fastball gaining 2-3 mph. He's the first of an impressive class of pitchers who dominated at Double-A Jacksonville to make it to the big leagues, but he might start 2006 back in the minors. He still has a few rough edges, as indicated by his 12 walks in 13 2/3 innings with the Dodgers in two brief stints.

Broxton dominated at Single-A Vero Beach in 2004. He's considered a potential top of the rotation starter if he can develop an off speed pitch to go along with his mid-90s fastball and sharp slider. At worst he's a potential late-innings reliever. The Dodgers will have him start 2005 at Double-A.