Chris Capuano

Capuano was set to begin the 2015 season out of the starting rotation, filling in until Ivan Nova returned from Tommy John surgery, but suffered a strained right quad early in spring training that held him out until mid-May — only the start of what would be a tumultuous year for the 37-year-old. The lefty made four starts, going 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA and 2.25 WHIP in those appearances, and was only slightly better out of the bullpen, working to a 7.24 ERA in 27.1 innings of relief. It's clear the lefty's best days are behind him. His struggles led to the Yankees to designate the veteran for assignment four times in August alone, and now a free agent, he seems unlikely to be wearing pinstripes next season. Wherever he does land, Capuano will probably be fighting for a spot on the major league roster as a long-relief option out of the bullpen.

The simple fact that Capuano is still pitching at the major league level is an upset in itself. He has undergone two Tommy John surgeries, he missed two years back in 2008-09, and he has outlasted five other DL stints aside from the elbow reconstructions. All of that guile and determination doesn’t really help your fantasy team and so his below league average work as a swingman the last two years hasn't been of much use in our game. There are still some useful skills there as evidenced by his ERA indicators, but he is just too hittable to extract full value from his strikeout and walk rates. His 26% line drive rate was second-highest among pitchers with 90+ innings last year (Josh Tomlin, 27%) which was a big reason behind his 9.3 hits per game rate. Even though Capuano has seen his velocity jump in each of his last seven seasons, he is still only working with 89-90 mph. He is capable of some decent spurts, but holding onto him too long will eventually be costly.

Capuano battled a variety of injuries and had his 2014 option declined by the Dodgers after going 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 105.2 innings. He was pretty effective (3.72 ERA) in 33 starts back in 2012, creating a limited market for his service. He eventually signed a one-year deal with Boston and is expected to fill a role as a long reliever/spot starter.

Capuano's first season in Los Angeles went about as well as can be expected - 3.72 ERA, 12 wins and 162 strikeouts. For a guy who made just nine big league starts from 2008-2010 around his second career Tommy John surgery, the late-career renaissance has been impressive. While he saw a slight decline in his strikeout rate (to 7.3 from 8.1 K/9), most of his peripheral stats were the same as the prior two seasons. The only worry was a 4.76 ERA after the All-Star break. However, he enters the spring in a logjam of starters with the Dodgers and may have to win the final rotation spot or could be traded.

Capuano came all the way back from his second Tommy John surgery to post the best strikeout rate of his career while starting his most games since 2006. That said, Capuano was inconsistent from start-to-start and posted a 5.08 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star Game. Part of that might have been due to an extremely low strand rate, and it's worth noting that his FIP was a third of a run below his ERA. Capuano signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers, so he gets to pitch in another pitchers park, which should help his overall numbers.

Capuano made a remarkable comeback from a second Tommy John surgery and actually pitched decent for the Brewers. Nearly all of his rate stats were similar to before his pre-surgery marks, though he did get a little lucky with his strand rate. Capuano is a free agent this winter and the Brewers are trying to bring him back. He'll try to find a team that will give him a shot at a rotation spot.

Capuano missed all of the 2008 season and most of the 2009 season after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career. He returned late in 2009 and pitched in six games at the rookie level for the Brewers. No one really has any idea what to expect from him in 2010, but the Brewers will bring him to spring training and take a look. He'll need to prove himself and might need to start in the minors before getting another chance with the Brewers.

Capuano missed the entire 2008 season due to Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. It's the second time he's had the surgery and he'll attempt a comeback, but don't expect much.

Capuano's decline appears to have started right after he pitched in the All-Star game in 2006. Since that time he's gone 5-12 with a 5.13 ERA and was removed from the starting rotation late in 2007. A closer look at Capuano's BB/9IP and K/9IP numbers show that they were very similar to his 2005 season when he was 18-12 with a 3.99 ERA. The biggest difference was in BABIP, which jumped from .291 to .340 and may be related to a poor defense behind him. The Brewers appear ready to trade him if they can find a taker. Still, don't expect him to put up 18 wins with any team, even though he could have a bounceback season.

Capuano rode a hot start to an All-Star game appearance, but faded down the stretch. After going 10-4 with a 3.21 ERA in the first half of the season, he finished with a 5.17 ERA in the second half. It was the second year in a row where his first half stats were better than his second half stats, which may or may not be a trend. He was victimized by the long ball in the second half of the season, allowing 19 home runs in just 92.1 innings. The Brewers will slot him second in their rotation behind Ben Sheets and hope that he can find his good stuff for an entire season.

Capuano rode some of the best run support in the league to an 18-12 record in 2005, despite a 3.99 ERA. Many owners will overpay for him because of the wins, but they mask the fact that he was otherwise not much better than league average.

Capuano was a solid back of the rotation starter in 2004 when he was healthy. His biggest problem was the long ball, giving up 18 home runs in just 83 1/3 innings pitched. The Brewers will slot him as the fourth or fifth starter to begin the year.

Capuano came back from Tommy John surgery in 2002 to put up decent numbers in 2003, going 9-5, 3.34 in 23 starts at a hitter-friendly Triple-A park in Tucson, then putting up a 4.64 ERA and a fine 1.15 WHIP in 33 innings of swingman duty for the D-Backs. He's a prime candidate to make Milwaukee's rotation in 2004 after going over in the Richie Sexson deal.

Capuano, 24, went a promising 4-1, 2.72 in six starts at Triple-A early last season before going down with a severely torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. Capuano was considered probably the best rotation prospect in the Arizona organization before his injury. He won't be back until June 2003 at the earliest, and he'll rehab in the minors when he does return.