2012 Phillies Player Preview: Dontrelle Willis

by WholeCamels on Feb 11, 2012 12:00 PM EST in 2012 Player Previews

Contract status: 2012 - One year, $850,000
Signed by Philadelphia Phillies as free agent on December 15, 2011

2011 Statistics:

Reds -
75.2 IP
57 SO
37 BB
5.00 ERA
4.10 FIP
4.08 xFIP
4.29 SIERA

Player Pages: Fangraphs; Baseball Reference.

If the Phillies front office poobahs are to be believed, newly acquired left-handed pitcher Dontrelle Willis will be assuming a new full-time role in 2012, that of middle reliever. It's been quite a fall from Willis's career year in 2005 while pitching for the Marlins, when the then 23 year old Willis won 22 games, posted a 2.63 ERA and finished second in Cy Young balloting. The mercurial Willis has had a rough road recently, including a well-publicized stint on the disabled list in 2009 due to social anxiety disorder.

Willis signed a minor league deal with the Reds in 2011 and had a just so-so run as a starter. Peel back the layers and there are some very promising indicators for Willis in the bullpen. Specifically, his ability to get left-handed batters out. For his career, lefties have only managed a .200/.274/.288 line against Willis, whose delivery has surely been described by one Mr. Chris Wheeler as "funky." Left handed batters were even more hapless against Willis in 2011: .127/.169/.200, with 20 strikeouts against 60 batters faced, and only two walks.

So, it doesn't take a baseball supergenius to see that Willis could have a very bright future in the league as a lefty specialist, the elusive LOOGY the Phillies have been seeking.

Willis just turned 30 in January, and on a one year deal for a measly $850,000, it's hard to imagine how the Phillies relationship with Willis could turn out poorly. With minimal risk and substantial upside, the Phillies could be the beneficiaries of a terrific career resurrection if Willis is able to harness his lefty-killing abilities and reinvent himself as an elite left-handed relief pitcher.

Oh, and the career .665 OPS at the plate doesn't hurt, either.

1 year/$0.85M (2012)
- signed by Philadelphia as a free agent 12/15/11
- performance bonuses: $25,000 each for 5, 10 games started. $50,000 each for 15, 20 GS. $0.1M each for 25, 30 GS. $0.1M each for 125, 150, 175 IP. $25,000 each for 15, 25 relief appearances. $50,000 each for 35, 45 relief appearances. $75,000 each for 55, 65 relief appearances. $25,000 for 30 PAs.
- award bonuses: $25,000 each for Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. $50,000 each for All-Star, LCS MVP. $0.1M each for WS MVP, Cy Young, Rolaids ($75,000 for 2nd in vote, $25,000 for 3rd.)

Contract details courtesy Cot's Contracts.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
2000	18	CHC-min	Rk	3	1	.750	3.86	9	1	3	0	0	0	28.0	26	15	12	0	8	1	22	1	0	0	118		1.214	8.4	0.0	2.6	7.1	2.75	CBZ · ARIZ
2001	19	CHC-min	A-	8	2	.800	2.98	15	15	0	0	0	0	93.2	76	36	31	1	19	0	77	3	1	5	374		1.014	7.3	0.1	1.8	7.4	4.05	BOI · NORW
2002	20	FLA-min	A,A+	12	2	.857	1.83	24	24	0	3	2	0	157.2	115	36	32	5	24	0	128	9	3	9	606		0.882	6.6	0.3	1.4	7.3	5.33	KNC,JUP · MIDW,FLOR
2003	21	FLA-min	AA	4	0	1.000	1.49	6	6	0	0	0	0	36.1	24	6	6	2	9	0	32	0	0	1	133		0.908	5.9	0.5	2.2	7.9	3.56	CAR · SOUL
2003	21	FLA	NL	14	6	.700	3.30	27	27	0	2	2	0	160.2	148	61	59	13	58	0	142	3	1	7	668	127	1.282	8.3	0.7	3.2	8.0	2.45	AS,MVP-34,RoY-1
2004	22	FLA	NL	10	11	.476	4.02	32	32	0	2	0	0	197.0	210	99	88	20	61	8	139	8	0	2	848	102	1.376	9.6	0.9	2.8	6.4	2.28
2005	23	FLA	NL	22	10	.688	2.63	34	34	0	7	5	0	236.1	213	79	69	11	55	3	170	8	1	2	960	152	1.134	8.1	*0.4*	2.1	6.5	3.09	AS,CYA-2,MVP-11
2006	24	FLA	NL	12	12	.500	3.87	34	34	0	4	1	0	223.1	234	106	96	21	83	6	160	19	1	6	975	112	1.419	9.4	0.8	3.3	6.4	1.93
2007	25	FLA	NL	10	15	.400	5.17	35	35	0	0	0	0	205.1	241	131	118	29	87	4	146	14	1	9	942	84	1.597	10.6	1.3	3.8	6.4	1.68
2008	26	DET-min	AAA,A+	3	4	.429	4.47	12	11	0	0	0	0	56.1	64	31	28	4	25	1	38	0	0	3	249		1.580	10.2	0.6	4.0	6.1	1.52	TOL,LAK · IL,FLOR
2008	26	DET	AL	0	2	.000	9.38	8	7	0	0	0	0	24.0	18	25	25	4	35	1	18	1	1	5	122	49	2.208	6.8	1.5	13.1	6.8	0.51
2009	27	DET-min	AAA,A+,AA	2	3	.400	4.58	7	7	0	0	0	0	37.1	33	19	19	3	20	0	23	1	0	2	158		1.420	8.0	0.7	4.8	5.5	1.15	TOL,LAK,ERI · IL,FLOR,EL
2009	27	DET	AL	1	4	.200	7.49	7	7	0	0	0	0	33.2	37	28	28	4	28	0	17	1	0	1	160	61	1.931	9.9	1.1	7.5	4.5	0.61
2010	28	SFG-min	AAA,Rk	0	1	.000	6.14	8	0	1	0	0	0	7.1	6	5	5	2	5	0	7	4	0	1	37		1.500	7.4	2.5	6.1	8.6	1.40	FRE,GNT · PCL,ARIZ
2010	28	TOT	MLB	2	3	.400	5.62	15	13	0	0	0	0	65.2	72	41	41	6	56	0	47	5	2	8	316	76	1.949	9.9	0.8	7.7	6.4	0.84
2010	28	DET	AL	1	2	.333	4.98	9	8	0	0	0	0	43.1	48	24	24	3	29	0	33	2	0	4	202	85	1.777	10.0	0.6	6.0	6.9	1.14
2010	28	ARI	NL	1	1	.500	6.85	6	5	0	0	0	0	22.1	24	17	17	3	27	0	14	3	2	4	114	63	2.284	9.7	1.2	10.9	5.6	0.52
2011	29	CIN-min	AAA	5	2	.714	2.63	13	13	0	0	0	0	75.1	71	29	22	5	20	0	67	1	0	5	310		1.208	8.5	0.6	2.4	8.0	3.35	LOU · IL
2011	29	CIN	NL	1	6	.143	5.00	13	13	0	0	0	0	75.2	78	42	42	6	37	2	57	2	0	8	334	78	1.520	9.3	0.7	4.4	6.8	1.54
9 Seasons				72	69	.511	4.17	205	202	0	15	8	0	1221.2	1251	612	566	114	500	24	896	61	7	48	5325	101	1.433	9.2	0.8	3.7	6.6	1.79
162 Game Avg.				12	12	.511	4.17	34	34	0	3	1	0	204	209	102	95	19	84	4	150	10	1	8	890	101	1.433	9.2	0.8	3.7	6.6	1.79

FLA (5 yrs)				68	54	.557	3.78	162	162	0	15	8	0	1022.2	1046	476	430	94	344	21	757	52	4	26	4393	111	1.359	9.2	0.8	3.0	6.7	2.20
DET (3 yrs)				2	8	.200	6.86	24	22	0	0	0	0	101.0	103	77	77	11	92	1	68	4	1	10	484	64	1.931	9.2	1.0	8.2	6.1	0.74
ARI (1 yr)				1	1	.500	6.85	6	5	0	0	0	0	22.1	24	17	17	3	27	0	14	3	2	4	114	63	2.284	9.7	1.2	10.9	5.6	0.52
CIN (1 yr)				1	6	.143	5.00	13	13	0	0	0	0	75.2	78	42	42	6	37	2	57	2	0	8	334	78	1.520	9.3	0.7	4.4	6.8	1.54

NL (7 yrs)			NL	70	61	.534	3.93	181	180	0	15	8	0	1120.2	1148	535	489	103	408	23	828	57	6	38	4841	106	1.388	9.2	0.8	3.3	6.6	2.03
AL (3 yrs)			AL	2	8	.200	6.86	24	22	0	0	0	0	101.0	103	77	77	11	92	1	68	4	1	10	484	64	1.931	9.2	1.0	8.2	6.1	0.74

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/10/2012.

Tweet Comment 23 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I loved this signing, both because it’s easy to see how Willis makes a major contribution to the bullpen given his performance record against lefties, and because it seems to indicate a degree of creativity we haven’t always seen in Amaro’s roster construction.

I also bet he wins at least one game with his bat for us. The guy has a flair for the dramatic, and you know Jimmy’s going to be ribbing him nonstop until he gets some knocks.

by dajafi on Feb 11, 2012 12:37 PM EST reply actions

if you think about it, that adds a dimension to how we use him thats different that other years. Essentially, there will be a lot of situations where he comes in with two outs to face a lefty, gets the third out, and actually can HIT in the bottom of the inning, rather than having to use a PH in the 6th or 7th inning.

It also gives Charlie the option of using him like that in multiple innings where, say, he comes in to face a LH batter and has R,L,L leading off the next inning…

I think this is probably a more valuable part to the signing than most give credit to.

"Sometimes, the balls that fall in are jam shots"...Hunter Pence, on BABIP

by Joecatz on Feb 11, 2012 2:25 PM EST up reply actions

I hope Charlie actually uses him like that, rather than, you know, PHing for him anyway because because.

by Phrozen on Feb 11, 2012 10:20 PM EST up reply actions

We all know it’s going to turn out this way, with a substantial number of those PH appearances going to Nix, Pierre, or Martinez.

Fare thee well, JM. In my book, you were the Greatest.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7890127&c_id=mlb

by Missing Jamie Moyer on Feb 12, 2012 12:50 AM EST up reply actions

With Willis and Savery, we’ll have the best hitting LOOGYs in baseball.

by Cormican on Feb 13, 2012 10:40 AM EST up reply actions

I’m lukewarm on the signing because while he has the potential to be a very valuable piece against lefties so did J.C. Romero.

In Charlie I don’t particularly trust.

by 88Lindros88 on Feb 11, 2012 4:58 PM EST up reply actions

I say he has a really nice year, becoming the 3rd man in the pen with a spot start or two. That, and I say he gets at least ONE chance to bat.

‎"I'm terrible" - Ilya Bryzgalov

by JpH89 on Feb 11, 2012 12:54 PM EST reply actions

So in reality, his likely salary assuming he is healthy and on the team all season is between $1M and $1.075M with an outside shot at $1.15M and $950k. Still a steal if he is effective and close to a rounding error on a $170M payroll, but still something to keep in mind for those trying to nail down the luxury tax number to the nearest cent. If he doesn’t stick due to either health or effectiveness, the prorated salary of his replacement is likely to be more than his bonuses.

I wonder how many other players on the luxury tax payroll this applies to.

by pretzalz on Feb 11, 2012 1:11 PM EST reply actions

How is he a steal given what other situational lefties got this year including Sherill? Not saying it was a bad contract but it wasn’t necessarily a ‘steal’ either.

by MG77 on Feb 13, 2012 12:58 PM EST up reply actions

If he uses this as his entrance music He will be my favorite Philly for 2012.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=choo+choo+soul+themesong&mid=63795599AEC34793A95063795599AEC34793A950&view=detail&FORM=VIRE6

"Sometimes, the balls that fall in are jam shots"...Hunter Pence, on BABIP

by Joecatz on Feb 11, 2012 2:18 PM EST reply actions

This would be incredible and I’d immediately go buy a Willis jersey.

by esentman on Feb 11, 2012 6:19 PM EST up reply actions

There is a longer version of the song. It would be incredible.

I picture d-train walking out slowly, then raising his hands in the air when the whistle blows, then sprinting to the mound.

My 5 year old would be in heaven. Heaven I tell you.

"Sometimes, the balls that fall in are jam shots"...Hunter Pence, on BABIP

by Joecatz on Feb 11, 2012 7:55 PM EST up reply actions

Would be better than Locomotion, that’s for sure

by taco pal on Feb 12, 2012 12:44 AM EST up reply actions

Not that I don’t like that choice, but I’m quite partial to this (though it’s a far better live song, when it doesn’t sound so slow).

by Cormican on Feb 13, 2012 10:53 AM EST up reply actions

It’s a low-risk high reward signing, so it’s hard not to be a fan of it. His control concerns me though. D-Train will definitely be someone to keep your eye on during Spring Training

Life ain't nothin' but a dream...

by coop_sauce on Feb 11, 2012 8:55 PM EST reply actions

He looks like the coke head mets pitcher.

"Learning to eat soup with a knife"

by h2o_34_35_44 on Feb 12, 2012 7:57 AM EST reply actions

award bonuses: $25,000 each for Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. $50,000 each for All-Star, LCS MVP. $0.1M each for WS MVP, Cy Young, Rolaids ($75,000 for 2nd in vote, $25,000 for 3rd.)

Did Willis put that in there? Or are you guys expecting something from him?

"Tim Tebow isn't a quarterback, he's a tight end lining up in the wildcat." -Daniel Tosh

by ChopMaster on Feb 12, 2012 8:52 PM EST reply actions

what kind of question is that?

by yolacrary on Feb 12, 2012 10:21 PM EST up reply actions

Something tells me you don’t quite understand how incentive-laden contracts work.

Some people don't think it be what it is, but it do.

by TheOrangeCone on Feb 12, 2012 10:55 PM EST up reply actions

We’re expecting quite a lot. It’s going to take some real digging for TheGoodPhight to raise all that cash, but we’re committed now!

by Phrozen on Feb 13, 2012 1:12 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Dude was so good

for that brief period of time.

Twitter
Buried Treasure - #7 Prospect Tony Sanchez
Buried Treasure - High School to the Majors: Positional Players

by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Feb 13, 2012 8:48 PM EST reply actions

“it’s hard to imagine how the Phillies relationship with Willis could turn out poorly” – really?

I can imagine it easily. He’s a superstar LOOGY but gets used repeatedly against righties as well. And they mash him. Charlie Manuel never adjusts though, and Willis loses many games for the team while being put in situations that he shouldn’t be in. See, e.g., JC Romero.

by David S. Cohen on Feb 13, 2012 10:11 PM EST reply actions