MVN: Most Valuable Network

...because I need your help on this one.

I, like mostly anyone else who will be reading this, go through the news each day and like to sort through the "hot stove" reports that every media outlet has. Today, I ran across this little bit that caught me by surprise.

It's a report written by Jason Beck, who covers the Detroit Tigers at MLB.com. In it, the agent for left-handed reliever Joe Beimel claims that at least six different teams have interest in the journeyman pitcher.

"Across the board, things are starting to pick up some," agent Joe Sroba said Wednesday. "That's to be expected [after the signings]."

Sroba estimated that at least a half-dozen teams have had talks with him on Beimel, including the Tigers. He would not confirm whether he has received an offer from any, nor would he speculate whether Beimel could sign soon. Still, it was clear that talks have progressed this week.

Six teams!?! Really!?!

For those who don't know me, I'm from Pittsburgh, meaning I'm still a Pirates fan. But that also means I was around to see Beimel pitch in the 'Burgh. While I think it's great that the Duquesne product made it big, I find it hard to see how he is this valuable of a commodity.

Is this the relief market we're in? Or, Dodgers fans, has Beimel completely turned himself from a Pittsburgh disaster to a reliable reliever?

In his first year as a Pirate, Beimel started 15 games and worked in relief for 27 others to a tune of a 5.23 ERA, 1.561 WHIP performance. He struck out 58, walked 49 and allowed 131 hits in 115 innings. Not good. His second season? Much of the same. His third? Again, much of the same. The following year he appeared in three games for the Twins (43.20 ERA). In '05 he worked 11 innings with the then-Devil Rays -- finishing with a 3.27 ERA, but a 1.727 WHIP.

Obviously, not the work of a pitcher you'd look at signing in the free agent pool. And I find it hard to believe that over the last three years in Los Angeles, that he's figured out how to be much better.

His performance through 2006-08 I think gets blown out because of a low ERA. He was under 4.00 earch year, including a 2.96 and 2.02 mark in '06 and '08, respectively. He did, however, still allow his fair share of baserunners. And he strikes next to no one out (101 strikeouts in 207 innings). His best number is the fact he's allowed only eight home runs in those 207 innings, which is respectable.

Though again, I stress, I don't believe this is a case of someone figuring it out. I think he's a soft-tossing lefty that is very hittable. I think he's getting lucky and is due to resort back to his actual self, meaning he's not worh risking $3-4 million on over the next couple years.

Because let's face it, if this is the market, and he made close to $2 million in 2008, he'll certainly want a raise.

Then again, perhaps Beimel is having his agent spread news like this to Beck (the Tigers reporter) in hopes of joining his former Pirate buddies.

In the case of the Tigers, it's worth noting that Beimel is familiar with much of the coaching staff. A Pirates pick in the 1998 First-Year Player Draft, he came up through Pittsburgh's farm system and appeared in Spring Training while current Detroit third-base coach Gene Lamont was manager. He cracked Pittsburgh's pitching staff in 2001 under then-manager Lloyd McClendon, now the Tigers' hitting coach. And Tigers manager Jim Leyland was scouting for the Cardinals out of Pittsburgh while Beimel was part of the Pirates bullpen.

It has to be that. There's no way anyone would reach out to him. At least, I think not.

But maybe I'm missing something. Dodgers (or any) fans, is he worth it? Has he completely transformed himself? Convince me...