Least Time Spent Per Franchise, On Average

This spring, Octavio Dotel

will suit up in an MLB game for his 13th franchise. In his honor, this post focuses on the players who’ve spent the least time on average with each of many franchises.

For the purposes of this post, I’m using plate appearances (for hitters) and batters faced (for pitchers) as a way of measuring how much “time” a player spent with a franchise. This allows me to offer a level playing field to compare hitters, starting pitchers, and relievers (though I’ve put hitters and pitchers in separate lists for clarity’s sake). The players are divided into tiers based on the number of franchises they’ve played for, and then ranked by fewest PAs/BFs.

The lists below cover the “modern era,” dating back to the founding of the American League in 1901. Before that year, franchises (and even leagues) were ephemeral, making it much easier to bounce from franchise to franchise in a short period of time.

Let’s start by looking at the most efficient travelers among the group that played for exactly 4 franchises:

4-Franchise Players

Hitters:

Pat Veltman

played 6 seasons in MLB. He had 5 or fewer PAs in 5 of the 6 seasons.

Pitchers:

Ben VanRyn

pitched for 3 teams in 1998 and didn’t top 8 IP for any of them. Dummy Leitner ‘s feat is in some ways more impressive, though. He pitched for 4 teams in 2 seasons: 2 games with the Giants and 1 each for the A’s, White Sox, and Bronchos (the future Indians). Three of Leitner’s 5 games were starts, which explains how his batters faced total is so much higher than VanRyn’s.

Eulogio De La Cruz

was part of the Miguel Cabrera trade (he went from Detroit to Florida). Last year, he pitched for the Brewers, and he’s still with that franchise. If he pitches more for the Brewers, he could drop off of this list.

5-Franchise Players

Hitters:

Though Gustavo Molina

is a catcher named Molina, he is not related to the famous Catching Molinas (Yadier Molina , Bengie Molina , and Jose Molina ). He remained with his 2011 team (the Yankees) this past offseason, so he will lose his lead in this group if he gets 46 more PAs with them. Of course, that would be more than twice as many PAs as he’s had with any team so far (he maxed out with 21 on the White Sox), so maybe it isn’t very likely.

The “Joe Morgan

” above isn’t that Joe Morgan . It’s the other one.

Pitchers:

Ensign Cottrell

sounds like one of those Star Trek characters who is introduced 5 minutes before perishing on an alien planet. He actually appeared in just 1 game for 3 different franchises.

Randy Williams

was released by the Red Sox after last season. So far as I know, he hasn’t signed with another team. This may be it for him, since he’s now 36 years old.

6-Franchise Players

Hitters:

Jorge Velandia

played 8 seasons in MLB. In 3 of them, he had a negative OPS+, and only once did he post an OPS+ above 55. That one year was a doozy, though: a 150 OPS+ in 60 PAs for the 2007 Devil Rays.

In August of 2000, Velandia was traded from the A’s to the Mets. The player who went the other way was none other than current Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz

, who had just turned 20 years old and had yet to play in the States.

Pitchers:

Rich Sauveur

pitched 6 seasons in MLB, each with a different team, and only two of those years consecutively (1991-2). He was relegated to the minors in 1987, 1989-90, 1993-95, and 1997-99. That’s some serious perseverance for not much gain. Sauveur’s final season came with the 2000 A’s, where he was teammates with Velandia for about a week.

7-Franchise Players

Hitters:

Being a catcher likely aided Marcus Jensen

in his quest to play for more teams. For instance, he only played 1 game for the Red Sox: an emergency start with Tim Wakefield on the mound and Jason Varitek injured.

Josh Wilson

is still active, and what’s more, he’s with a new team this spring (the Braves), trying to play for his 8th franchise as a utility man. He’s a longshot to make the Opening Day roster, but it’s certainly possible that he’ll get a few PAs at some point and move up to the next tier of players.

Pitchers:

Andrew Lorraine

, like many of the pitchers on these lists, was left-handed. He pitched more than 30 innings for just 1 of his 7 franchises, a 19-game stint (16 starts) for the Cubs in 1999 and 2000.

8-Franchise Players

Hitters:

Orlando Mercado

, or as I call him, Orlando Market, was another catcher. He had a negative WAR at every MLB stop in his career except one: a 6 PA, 3 hit stint with the Dodgers in 1987.

Pitchers:

Ed Vosberg

had  a really strange career. After couple cups of coffee in the ’80s, he spent the 1992 season in Italy. He returned to the majors in 1994, at age 32, and proceeded to string together an 8-year second act, including some pretty good seasons. He even won a World Series with the Marlins in 1997, which makes him one of a select few players to have won a Little League World Series, College World Series, and MLB World Series.

9-(or more)-Franchise Players

To create a level playing field for the few guys with 10 or more franchises, these lists are sorted by fewest PA or BF per franchise rather than the total.

Hitters:

Trent Hubbard

may be better remembered as Trenidad Hubbard; I know that’s the name I associate with him. Sal Fasano is, of course, best-remembered for his epic facial hair .

Pitchers:

Scott Service

really put the “Service” in “serviceable reliever.” His career ERA+ was 92, which screams “just good enough to pitch the sixth inning.” Also: don’t confuse him with Scott Servais , the longtime catcher who played at the same time.

Dennys Reyes

‘ attempt to add another team to his resume fell short this spring. The 34-year-old was cut by the Orioles a few days ago. While it’s unlikely that another team will want him if the Orioles deemed him to be not good enough after such a short look, he could still find his way back to the majors with another team.

Oh, and Octavio Dotel? He’s currently at 313.5 batters faced per franchise. Once he faces his first batter with the Tigers, he’ll be at 289.5, which will temporarily vault him into 3rd on the above list for pitchers with 9+ franchises. However, if he stays with the Tigers all year, that average will rise again, and he could easily find himself just outside the top 5 by season’s end.