We know he had a great 2011 for the Yankees. Debuting on June 15th, Wade went 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA out of the bullpen. We also know that the Rays, always looking for a bullpen bargain, and a pretty good eye for talent, let him go instead of bringing him to the Majors.
At this point, let's take a step back. Corey Wade was drafted by the Dodgers in the 10th round in 2004. From 2004 through 2006, ranging from Rookie Ball to A+ ball, Wade was a lousy minor league pitcher, spending much of that time as a starter. In 2007, he was shifted almost exclusively to the bullpen, 2 starts in 39 appearances, and he had a huge year split between A+ and AA ball. He threw a reliever-heavy 99 innings, going 7-1. He had a 2.45 ERA in 66 A+ innings, and a 1.36 ERA in 33 AA innings.
With a strong 2008 Spring Training, on top of his 2007, Corey Wade skipped AAA altogether and debuted on April 24th. He had no problems with the transition, having a big year for the Dodgers. In 71.1 relief innings, Wade had a 0.925 WHIP and a 2.27 ERA. During that season he had also thrown 15.2 minor league innings, and another 7.1 postseason innings, for a total of 94.1 relief innings as a rookie, a year after throwing 99 innings mostly in relief the year before. That's a tremendous workload for a young reliever. His manager in 2008 was Joe Torre, who we all know has a bit of a history with that.
In 2009 Wade was horrible and in spring training of 2010 he had shoulder surgery and did not return to the Majors that season. The Dodgers would release him at the end of the year. 4 days later he signed with the Rays and had a chance to make the team out of spring training. He had a very odd spring, surrendering 5 home runs in 11.1 innings, although he had just a 0.97 WHIP. Wade was sent to the Rays AAA affiliate in Durham where he posted impressive numbers, including a 1.23 ERA in 36.2 innings. The Rays still weren't ready to call him up, so they granted him his release on June 11th and he signed with the Yankees 2 days later. After 1 game with Scranton the Yankees called him up. That brings us back to his impressive 2011 season with the Yankees and his 2.04 ERA. Between the minors and majors in 2011, Wade pitched 80 innings (when you include his 2 shutout postseason innings as well). Down from his '07, '08 levels, but a full reliever workload, for sure.
This leads to a couple of questions:
1) Can Wade stay healthy following a full season?
One of Joe Girardi's strengths is handling a bullpen. Although the Yankees had injuries to Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano, neither seemed at all to be related to an unusual workload. With Girardi managing him, there is definitely reason to believe he can stay healthy.
2) Was the 2011 Wade, who also seemed to be the 2007 and 2008 Wade, the real Corey Wade?
His 2011 performance was in the American League East, so impressive, but as the hitters see a pitcher more, it gets harder. Wade being a relief pitcher, who did not appear until mid-June wasn't seen that much by the hitters (although his September/October numbers were his best). Depending on his role, he may actually be able to repeat his 2011 performance. Right now he's the 6th inning guy until Joba Chamberlain gets back. The more he gets his own inning, the less likely he can maintain an ERA like that. Once Chamberlain gets back he becomes the righty part of righty/lefty match-up time of games, where the Yankees can take advantage of his .541 opponents OPS vs. right-handed batters, Wade could put up some impressive numbers again in 2012, continuing to be a huge steal for the Yankees as he is entering his final pre-arbitration season.
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