Pitcher Cla Meredith was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2004 draft. Sox fans will remember him as a promising young pitcher who, in his three years in the Sox system, moved up and down the ranks like a yo-yo before being shipped to the Padres to rescue Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball from a season spent resting at the backstop. In retrospect, the trade was a desperation move: after Josh Bard’s catching debacle, the Sox brass seemed to believe Doug Mirabelli was the only human being capable of catching a knuckler thrown by Wakefield. Not so, but at least we didn’t have to suffer through Bard anymore. But was it worth it? What’s happened to Cla Meredith since then?
First, a little history: after being drafted in ‘04, Meredith made short work of each of the Sox’ single-A affiliates, pitching 13, 16, and 1 games with each team before moving to the next level. In 2005, Meredith pitched for single A Wilmington, AA Portland, AAA Pawtucket, and the major league club. So much for not rushing young pitching, Theo. Meredith’s stint in Boston was nothing short of disastrous (and is it any wonder?) - he racked up an ERA of 27.00 in only three appearances - and he opened the 2006 season in Pawtucket before being shipped to San Diego.
Once with the Padres system, Cla Meredith played 24 games in triple A Portland, posting an impressive 1.39 ERA before being promoted to the bigs. There, he pitched 45 games with a 1.06 ERA, holding batters to a .170 average. Obviously, the California sun did this boy some good. He even set a franchise record by pitching 33 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Where was that when he pitched in Boston? Oh yeah, he probably left his out pitch somewhere between Portland and Pawtucket after being shipped between the two cities so fast.
Things didn’t continue to improve for Meredith, however. In 2007, he had a disastrous spring training, allowing 8 runs in 8.1 innings pitched for an 8.64 ERA but managed to stay with the major league club the entire year and posted a respectable 3.50 ERA in 80 appearances. Meredith is one of those guys who probably would have benefitted from a little patience from his club. Instead, he was bumped to a different minor league team every time he got his suitcase unpacked, which probably helped lead to him to run out of gas toward the end of the 2008 season, when his MLB ERA was 4.10, and his subsequent demotion back to triple A.
Meredith is still somewhat of a question mark. He’s spent parts of four years in the majors, but only one complete season. Lefties hit .351 against him last year, which marked the third consecutive year that number has increased. He does have good command and the ability to induce lots of groundballs, ideal for a relief pitcher, particularly a setup guy. Meredith - whose first name I will forever read as “Claw” - is not eligible to become a free agent until 2013, and is not even eligible for arbitration until 2010. His success or lack thereof this season will be worth watching and will certainly have an enormous effect on how he fares in arbitration next season. Meredith has the potential to become a dominant setup man, but has to work on his consistency issues and approach against lefties. Keep an eye on this Sox draft pick.
