Phillies announce signing of Aaron Harang to one-year deal

The Philadelphia Phillies announced today that they have signed right-hander Aaron Harang to a one-year, $5 million deal. The team had reportedly been interested in Harang as a short term starting pitching fit, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com said last week. 

Harang is a 13-year Major League veteran with seven different teams, including the Athletics, Reds, Padres, Dodgers, Mariners, Mets, and most recently the Braves. He has a career 4.21 ERA and a 99 Adjusted ERA+, along with a 4.13 Fielding Independent Pitching, which says that Harang's ERA may be just a bit inflated due to luck factors, including poor defense. 

The 36-year-old Harang went 12-12 with a 3.57 ERA and 102 Adjusted ERA+ in 204 1/3 innings pitched last season in Atlanta's rotation. He worked to a 161/71 strikeout to walk ratio. Harang's 3.57 FIP suggested that his ERA had not been effected by any luck whatsoever, either positive or negative. Against National League East opponents last season, excluding the Phillies, Harang posted a 3.24 ERA in 80 2/3 innings.

"Aaron brings a wealth of experience and durability to our rotation," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a press release. "He had a very solid season for the Braves last year and will complement the left-handers in our rotation nicely."

The signing of Harang represents a low-risk for the Phillies rotation, that lost A.J. Burnett to the Pirates and will likely lose Kyle Kendrick in free agency as well. As it stands, the Phillies rotation includes Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, David Buchanan, Jerome Williams, and Harang, along with wild card Miguel Gonzalez. The Phillies are in complete rebuilding mode, having already dealt Marlon Byrd, Jimmy Rollins, and Antonio Bastardo this offseason. 

--Devan Fink

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