Boston Red Sox: Newly Signed Pitcher Justin Germano Already Has Credentials

Hardly a ripple disturbed the pond of offseason baseball when the Red Sox announced (via MLB Trade Rumors) their latest signing: a 29-year-old righty starter/reliever named Justin Germano.

That is in spite of the fact that a ball he pitched is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And, believe it or not, Germano also broke one of Mark McGwire's home run records.

Only the biggest of trivia buffs would know that the ball is in Cooperstown because it was the first pitch ever thrown in an MLB game in China. Germano was the exhibition game starter for the San Diego Padres against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 15, 2008.

The home run record that Germano broke was McGwire's Claremont, California Little League record for most home runs in a season.

More recently, Germano was the property of the Korean League’s Samsung Lions. According to CBSsports.com's Jon Heyman on Twitter, Germano turned down a $1 million offer to re-sign with the Lions—opting for the far more risky opportunity to make the Red Sox roster.

This signing is another example of GM Ben Cherington sticking to his guns about seeking pitching diamonds in the rough. If there is any pattern to these recent low-cost acquisitions, it is their ground ball rate. Like Aaron Cook and Carlos Silva, Germano is a sinkerball specialist who doesn't strike out very many batters, but he can keep the ball on the ground.

There is no question Germano can be a good pitcher when he is focused: on July 26 of last year, he pitched a perfect game for the Columbus Clippers, Cleveland's Triple-A farm team. He struck out seven Syracuse Chiefs in facing the minimum of 27 batters. 

It was the first perfect game in Clippers history, and the fifth of all time in the 127-year history of the International League. It was the first since Bronson Arroyo's 2003 gem for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Lindsay Kramer described Germano's outing on syracuse.com as:

"

…a powerhouse effort that Germano, who has pitched in 79 career Major League games, made look so light and breezy. The right-hander pounded the outside corner of the plate against righty batters with an arching, rainbow curve that twisted Chiefs hitters into pretzels. He went to a three-ball count just once, two balls seven times and tossed 69 of his 95 offerings over the plate.

"

The other nugget to take away from that description is "79 career Major League games." For whatever reason, Germano has been maddeningly inconsistent in those games, amassed over parts of six seasons with the Padres, Reds and Indians. He owns a 5.02 ERA in 253 career big league innings. His best season was 2007 with the Padres: He finished that year 7-10 with a 4.46 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

The only reason he was even in Columbus last July was because he had been demoted from the Indians after allowing eight runs in 12.2 innings bullpen innings, struggling to a 5.68 ERA to start the season. 

Playing on a contract that paid him $415,000 in 2011, he was sold to the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization on August 5, 2011.

His willingness to give up better money overseas in exchange for the chance to prove he can be an MLB pitcher should not be surprising.

He spent the 2009 season with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan. The Hawks offered Germano a contract for 2010, but he turned it down—saying he wanted to come back and pitch in the U.S.

One reason for his past inconsistency is the fact that he has been shuffled back and forth between starting and relieving. Columbus Clippers broadcaster Scott Leo wrote, "Germano has always seen himself as a starter, it fits him better because of the routine involved between outings."

Perhaps the chance to compete for the fifth starter slot for the Red Sox will settle him down enough to produce.