Surprising Carlos Silva

When the Chicago Cubs traded troubled outfielder Milton Bradley to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Carlos Silva, some people wondered if the Cubs were just trading one set of problems for another.  But Silva has been a pleasant surprise.  As the Cubs were stumbling around the first quarter of the season, Silva won his first six decisions, becoming the first Cubs pitcher in 43 years to start the season 6-0.

Photo Credit: Paul Connor/AP

Following the 2007 season, the Mariners overpaid for Silva, signing him to a four year deal worth between $44 and $48 million.  I say he was overpaid because in the previous two  seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Silva went 11-15 with an ERA of 5.94 in 2006 and 13-14 with a somewhat better ERA of 4.19.  Nothing there to indicate a guy worth $11 million or $12 million per year for four years.  And Silva did nothing to show he was worth the money in his time in Seattle.  In 2008 he was a woeful 4-15 with an ERA of 6.46 in 28 starts.  He suffered a shoulder injury and missed much of the 2009 season, going just 1-3 in 8 games.

As a result, many observers expected little from Silva this season.  Silva has been excellent at times in his career, enough to keep baseball people excited about his potential, but seldom following through for long.  He seems happy in Chicago, and sometimes all a player needs is a change of scenery to revive a moribund career.  Carlos Silva’s best season was in 2004, when he was 14-8 with the Twins.  If he continues to pitch well, he could very well exceed that and finally turn his potential into results.

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Tags: carlos, chicago cubs, milton, seattle mariners