Godley, Tigers have incentive-filled deal

DETROIT -- Zack Godley was a pitcher seemingly on the rise with the D-backs a few years ago and a 15-game winner in 2018. He will head to Spring Training in a couple of months hoping to regain that trajectory with the Tigers, who signed the right-hander to a Minor League contract on Friday.

Godley’s deal includes a $1.5 million base salary and another $1.5 million in potential incentives, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Godley will report to big league camp as a non-roster invite and compete for a rotation spot alongside Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris, Spencer Turnbull and Jordan Zimmermann. Godley is more of an upside player than a veteran stabilizer, but if he can find his old form, he has the chance to be a relative bargain.

Godley entered this past season with a 33-25 record, 4.41 ERA, 3.91 FIP and 444 strikeouts over 444 2/3 innings. His 30 wild pitches in 2017 and '18 were concerning, but he looked very much like a big league starter. Then came '19, and by season’s end, Godley was not only out of the rotation but out of a job.

While Godley’s curveball and sinker became the increasingly prominent pitches in his arsenal -- they accounted for more than 75 percent of his pitches in 2019 according to Statcast -- opposing hitters adjusted. His swing-and-miss percentage off the curveball dropped, and his slugging percentage off the pitch rose from .305 to .396. He allowed a .620 slugging percentage off his sinker, and his strikeout rate plummeted to 6.8 per nine innings.

Godley had a 3-5 record and a 6.39 ERA in nine starts and 18 relief appearances for the D-backs before they designated him for assignment on Aug. 5. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers and put him in their bullpen, where he allowed seven runs on 15 hits over 16 innings before he was DFA'd Sept. 3 and elected free agency five days later.

Though Godley’s has less than six years of Major League service time, he can elect free agency at the end of the season.