PHILADELPHIA – When the Braves signed Aaron Harang to a one-year, $1 million contract in the final week of spring training, they figured the journeyman would be an upgrade over Freddy Garcia for a while as a fifth starter, and then be better suited to move to the bullpen than Garcia after other starters got healthy.
What they’ve got instead is a consummate pro who’s not just been a steadying influence in a youthtful rotation, but a season-long key contributor to a rotation that’s surpassed expectations. The Braves have been a top-five rotation statistically despite losing two of their projected top starters, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, during spring training, and another, Gavin Floyd, after nine starts.
Harang (11-12) takes a 3.60 ERA into his final start of the season Saturday against the Phillies, and his 32 starts and 197 2/3 innings are already his single-season highs since 2007 – back when he was a 29-year-old Reds veteran completing a second consecutive season of 16 wins and more than 230 innings pitched.
“Aaron’s been terrific,” Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell said. “Coming down to spring training, not knowing him from a day-to-day basis but seeing him from across the field, and what he’s done in the past when he’s pitched at the so-called top of the rotation before, and he’s pitched 200 innings, and all the things he’s accomplished.
“He came right over here and fit right in. He’s a good mentor to the young players and young pitchers, and he went out there and went out there and kind of showed the way on a nightly basis.”
The hitting-challenged Braves have flamed out as a team, missing the playoffs and lugging a 77-82 record into Friday’s series opener at Philadelphia and the last three games of the season. But the starting rotation has more than held up its end of the bargain, cranking out a majors-leading 109 quality starts and fashioning a 3.42 ERA that was fifth-best in the majors before Friday.
“They’ve been good,” said McDowell, with typical modesty.
Asked if this season has been satisfying for him from the standpoint of his pitchers overcoming adversity and staying strong despite the team’s struggles, McDowell said, “It’s not really personally satisfying when you’re going home at the end of 162 (and not advancing to the postseason). But they’ve gone out there every fifth day and competed, and they’ve stayed on an even keel throughout the course of the year and controlled what they can control.”
None has been more even-keeled than Harang, 36, who went to spring training on a minor-league contract with the Indians, then asked to be released in the last week of spring training after they said he wouldn’t be on their opening-day roster. Cleveland granted his wish and the Braves signed him the next day after releasing Freddy Garcia.
Harang quick showed he could be far more than a temporary No. 5 starter fill-in, taking a no-hitter to the seventh inning in the third game of the season at Milwaukee, and posting a 0.85 ERA and 3-1 record in his first five starts, with the Braves scoring one or no runs while he was in three of those games. (No one knew at the time that it would be a blueprint of their season-long offensive woes.)
He had another stretch in which he was 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA in nine starts from June 24 through Aug. 9, and Harang is 2-5 with a 3.89 ERA in his past seven starts, with the Braves failing to score at all while he was in five of his past six games. Through it all, he’s never once complained about a lack of offense. Quite the contrary.
“You’ve got to go out and control what you can control, is what it comes down to,” he said. “You know, after the ball’s released it’s out of your control. So I’ve got to go out and execute pitchers and keep us in the game. And when you do that you’re going to win the tough…. You’re going to have those tough-luck losses, but you’re also going to have the ones where you’ve got a laugher game where they score 10 runs, but your guys are battling for you and come back and score 10 runs too. So there’s a lot of give and take.
“The biggest thing is going out, taking the ball every fifth day, going as deep as I can and giving us an opportunity to win. I mean, I had a manager tell me that – if you just stay right in the middle, never get too high or too low, you’re going to have a long career. And obviously, I’ve been fortunate to be around as long as I have. I’ve been on some good teams, I’ve been on some bad teams, I’ve been on some teams where we run into bad luck. That’s what makes this game fun, there’s a lot of luck involved.
“There’s balls falling in, then there’s balls getting caught that are hit well. But that’s what makes it fun. When you’re out here having fun, that’s the good part. When you’re not having fun, it’s time to go find something else to do.”
Harang hit all the incentives in his contract, earning himself an extra $1 million. Still, $2 million for a veteran producing as he has this season is bargain-baseman price in the majors today. And Harang said he’s had a great time pitching for this Braves team and is thrilled he’s been able to rejuvenate his career after going 5-12 with a 5.40 ERA in 2013 with the Mariners and Mets.
“It feels awesome,” he said. “I went from the first day of spring training not even having a job, to getting a minor league invite, to ending up coming over here and pitching the way I have. It makes you feel good that you kind of look at last year as one of those off years, there was a lot of movement (between teams) and just never fully got comfortable in one spot. The minute I got here everybody had open arms, I was able to find a place to live and get settle in real easily. That makes it a lot easier.”
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Harang will get consideration from the Braves — and other teams — for next season. He won’t have to sign a minor league deal, safe to say. Harang said he’d be interested if the Braves make an offer.
“I mean, obviously it depends on what (the Braves) have going on,” he said. “Right now they’re looking for the next GM, so it’ll be one of those things, a waiting game to see what happens. I’ve loved it here, my family loved it here, and a good group of guys in the clubhouse. Good fans — they keep the energy going. So yeah, sit back and wait and see what happens.”
