Marc

Kroon

Although Kroon has been awesome in Mexico the last two winters and he also pitched well for Triple-A Colorado Springs last season, his control problems resurfaced when the Rockies called him up. He was only going to get a minor league contract if he stayed in the U.S., but he’ll make about $400,000 in Japan.

“I would like to thank,” Kroon wrote on Twitter, “the N.Y. Mets (who drafted me), Padres (Major League Debut), Reds, Mariners, Dodgers, Angles, Tomoteros (Mexico), Yokohama Baystars, Tokyo Giants and the S.F. Giants for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love.” Kroon, 38, appeared in only 26 major league games in his career, posting a 7.43 ERA. Kroon last pitched in the major leagues in 2004 as a member of the Rockies, but had a successful resurgence pitching in Japan before returning to the States.

A brilliant Mexican Pacific League campaign resulted in the Rockies taking a chance on Kroon last season. Once he was called up in June, he gave up four runs and 10 walks in six innings. Now he’s a minor league free agent again. He’ll get another minor league deal if he wants one, but it’s unlikely that he’ll return to the majors.

Kroon was supposed to be a sleeper candidate for a bullpen spot, but he allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings this spring. That’s the same number of runs he gave up in 34 1/3 innings in the Mexican Pacific League.

The 30-year-old right-hander also walked 23 batters, so he’s no lock for a spot in the Colorado bullpen next season. Still, he has a much better chance of making it back to the majors than he did a few months ago.

Kroon has a 0.95 ERA and has given up 10 hits, walked 19 and struck out 37 in 28 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old right-hander last appeared in the majors in 1998, but if he keeps throwing like this, he has a chance of making it back in 2004.

Kroon was designated for assignment five days ago.

Interesting. Kroon, 38 in April, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2004 as a member of the Rockies, but is coming off a brilliant run as a closer with the Yokohama BayStars and Yomiuri Giants in Japan, posting a 2.68 ERA and 417 strikeouts over 305 1/3 innings, spanning six season. He was clocked at 101 mph during the 2008 season, breaking his own record for the fastest pitch in Japanese baseball history.