{"id":90074,"date":"2024-11-20T17:24:40","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T22:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=90074"},"modified":"2024-11-20T17:24:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T22:24:40","slug":"workhorse-jalen-beeks-free-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/20\/workhorse-jalen-beeks-free-agent\/","title":{"rendered":"Relief Pitcher Looks for New Contract After Workhorse Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time, left-handed relief pitcher Jalen Beeks<\/a> is a free agent after turning in a workhorse 2024 season. Beeks and his \u201ctake-the-ball\u201d attitude will surely draw some suitors once teams get active in the market.<\/p>\n

Jalen Beeks Free Agent Profile<\/h2>\n

Highlights and Statistics<\/h3>\n

In 2024, Beeks, 31, pitched for the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, who he joined in a deadline trade<\/a> for Double-A pitcher Luis Peralta<\/a>. Overall, Beeks was 7-4 with a 4.50 ERA, 10 saves in 19 opportunities, eight holds, and a 1.486 WHIP. His 100 ERA+ and 4.00 FIP indicate major-league average pitching. Hey, anybody can have a 98 ERA+ of 98 or a 4.02 FIP. Try pitching precisely to the league average sometime. Beeks was better as a Pirate than as a Rockie in 2024. With Pittsburgh, his ERA was 3.92, although his 3.12 FIP indicates he pitched better than the ERA would suggest.<\/p>\n

Even so, there were positives to Beeks\u2019 2024 performance, even if it wasn\u2019t the stuff of which legends are made. He established himself as a workhorse, appearing in 71 games, tying him for ninth in the major leagues. Previously, he had never appeared in more than 42 games in any major league season. The most games he\u2019d pitched in a season, counting minor leagues, was 50 in 2023 when he split time between the Tampa Bay Rays and Triple-A Durham. Furthermore, with his funky delivery that appears like he\u2019s pushing the ball to the catcher, Beeks held left-handed batters to a .202\/.283\/.287 slash line in 2024.<\/p>\n

Beginnings<\/h3>\n

Beeks was a 12th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 2014 June Amateur Draft. The Bosox called him up to the big club in 2018. However, after only two appearances with Boston, he was dealt to the Rays, where he pitched through 2023. For his major league career, which included missing all of 2021 with an injury, he\u2019s 23-15 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.421 WHIP. His best season was 2022 with the Rays, when he turned in a 2.80 ERA and 1.164 WHIP. The Rays waived him after a 5.95 ERA in 2023, but his 3.82 FIP suggested perhaps they should have released some of the players who played behind him instead.<\/p>\n

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Jalen Beeks: cold blooded pic.twitter.com\/iIBBnR2xrS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n