The Continued Demise of the Left-Handed Reliever

In 2022, left-handed relievers performed worse relative to their right-handed compatriots in nearly every significant category. They didn’t experience a dramatic dip in strikeout rate or strikeout-minus-walk rate, but their ERA and FIP were at a ten-year high. Even when you isolate their performance when holding the platoon advantage, left-handed relievers performed worse last year than they had since before the three-batter rule was implemented; their league-adjusted ERA against left-handed batters rose 11 points from 2021 to ‘22, and their FIP- and wOBA- both saw smaller rises as well.

Without the ability to guarantee a run of left-handed batters, teams have had to reconsider the value of rostering a lefty in their bullpen when a potentially more effective right-handed reliever could be available instead. There will always be a place in the game for genuinely effective left-handed relievers, but those with significant platoon issues or a spotty track record are facing a tough future.

This trend has had an impact on the free-agent market this year. Among the 25 left-handed relievers listed on our offseason tracker, just five have signed a major league contract thus far, and only two have been multi-year pacts. Nearly half (12) of those southpaws have yet to sign with a team. This isn’t an artifact of a generally slow market either; just four of our top 50 free agents remained unsigned, and it appears that the hot stove has reduced to a simmer just a few weeks ahead of spring training.