Danny Coulombe, fresh off the two best seasons of his career, is mow an unrestricted free agent and looking for a new contract.
Coulombe, 35, spent the majority of the early stage of his career bouncing between the major leagues and minor leagues. His MLB debut came for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014. Then, Coulombe headed to the Oakland Athletics, where he spent the next five years of his career. In 2017, he had a career year, appearing in 72 games for the Athletics, while posting a 3.48 ERA. After Oakland, Coulombe found his way to the New York Yankees’ minor league system, then to the Minnesota Twins, where he appeared in 41 games over parts of three seasons.
Just before the start of the 2023 season, Coulombe was traded to the Baltimore Orioles and immediately made the MLB roster. During his two seasons in Baltimore, Coulombe became a shutdown reliever and was a key part of the team’s back-to-back postseason appearances.
However, the Orioles non-tendered Coulombe following the 2024 season. Now, he is a free agent looking for a place to provide his services.
Danny Coulombe Free Agent Profile
Coulombe’s Time In Baltimore
In Baltimore, Danny Coulombe was excellent. The soft-throwing lefty was extremely reliable and consistent and was ready to step up whenever the Orioles needed him.
In 2023, Coulombe pitched in 61 games and finished with a 2.81 ERA. He struck out 58 batters while walking just 12, and had just a 1.110 WHIP.
Although he dealt with an elbow injury during a large part of the 2024 season, Coulombe managed to appear in 33 games. In those outings, Coulombe had just a 2.12 ERA and a minuscule 0.674 WHIP.
Coulombe was dominant in every sense of the word when he pitched over his two seasons in Baltimore.
What Coulombe Brings To The Table
As a shutdown lefty, Coulombe already has a lot of value. The advanced side of the veteran’s stats shows how truly dominant–and valuable–he is.
Although his fastball velocity is consistently in the bottom 10 percent of MLB, Coulombe routinely shuts down opposing hitters. He does this by limiting hard hits and forcing ground balls. His cutter, his primary pitch, constantly forces low exit velocity. In 2023, Coulombe was in the 96th percentile for average exit velocity allowed. Then, his offspeed pitches force a lot of whiffs.
Danny Coulombe, Filth.
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— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2024
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Overall, the skillset of Coulombe is a valuable one to have. His ability to force weak contact and generate outs is incredibly impressive.
Projected Contact for Coulombe
As an older reliever, Coulombe will not command much. Spotrac projects Coulombe to earn a one-year contract worth $1.2 million. That is about $1 million lower than the deal he was on in 2024. It makes sense that the price would be a tad lower due to Coulombe’s injury in 2024 and his age.
Coulombe is a Strong Option For Bullpen Neady Teams
Although he is already 35 years old, Coulombe has just begun to hit his peak. He should be widely sought after by a variety of teams, including many playoff contenders.
The Orioles may want to bring him back, but teams like the Kansas City Royals or Boston Red Sox, whose bullpens struggled during the 2024 season, could also use his services.
Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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