2012 Free Agent Watch: Jonathan Broxton

Even though I’ve been on the left-handed reliever bandwagon for the past few weeks I think the Sox are long overdue for another fat closer-type person. After scanning the free agent list I saw that Jonathan Broxton, a tree trunk of a man, is available. Bobby Jenks 2.0?

Standing 6’4 with a weight of elephant, Broxton has been the closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last four years. Jonathan suffered a pretty bad case of mediocrity beginning in 2010 which carried into his 2011 season. With Javy Guerra now taking the closer position Broxton’s stint in LA is over. So where will the fella amble to now?

A really attractive stat to me is his career 3.09 strikeout to walk ratio. And to be honest that’s about the only good-looking stat he boasts. His career 3.19 ERA through 386 games isn’t too shabby but his 4.04 ERA in 2010 and his 5.68 last season are terrible. Several teams are reportedly interested in him – none of them being the White Sox. As I said in the beginning, though, we’re due for another guy that’s worth three spins on the scale. Broxton is that man.

If you ignore the bad left-handers in the bullpen then we have a lot of righties. The Sox should be looking for another left-hander if they want to stay competitive in the division (I say Mike Gonzalez would be a perfect pickup). However, if Broxton should sign with the Sox, I’ll pay for the tuba player that will follow him around.

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