In recent years, we have seen a certain fashion among launchers. Several established relievers take the chance to return to the starting rotation and change roles.
The most popular example in 2024? Garrett Crochet, in Chicago – and now in Boston.
And on this subject, it is interesting to note that the guys from show Foul Territory, in an interview with Éric Gagné, asked the Quebecer the question: would he have liked, along the way, to become a starter again, as some do today?
Basically, that wasn’t what Gagné was most interested in.
It depends on how much money we're talking about. – Éric Gagné on the possibility of becoming a starter again
It must be remembered that in his first three seasons in Los Angeles, Gagné was a starting pitcher. It wasn't working out great for him and sending him on relief changed everything.
-As closer, Gagne made history by saving 84 games in a row between 2002 and 2004. He even won the Cy Young in 2003, something no reliever has managed to do again since.
In short, he was strong… and when Welcome To The Jungle played in Los Angeles, the chances of seeing the opponent recover were over.
But what Gagne is saying is that he had the mentality of a late-game reliever in the majors. He would have agreed to listen to a team that wanted to make him a starter, but not at all costs.
If he had received big money, he would have thought about it. But for a small raise, he wouldn't have wanted to change roles because the recipe worked for him.
Remember that when he played in the Can-Am League (Quebec, Trois-Rivières and Ottawa), he was a starter. But in the MLB, other than in his early days, he never returned to the rotation.
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