Keith Foulke Is Attempting a Comeback

I've always thought Keith Foulke was under-rated as a closer. It wasn't until he helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 that he finally started to receive his due, but even then he was at the tail-end of his prime. He was more or less horrible the next two years, and even the Indians were willing to let him compete for the closers job last spring (if you recall, Joe Borowski was nothing more than a contingency play this time last year) he opted to retire soon after signing.

Or so we though. Turns out that "retirement" was actually just a prolonged vacation to get his body right, and he's now trying to return. He threw in front of reps from over 20 teams last week, and the D'Backs are among those who walked away impressed. And according to Foulke's agent, the feeling is mutual:

"Yeah, definitely they are one of his top choices," said Dan Horwits, Foulke's agent. "If it works out, he would love to pitch there. There are other teams he is interested in as well, but Arizona is on the top of the list.

Foulke lives in Arizona, so it'd certainly be the most convenient. He shouldn't expect to close, though. Considering his "fastball" barely gets into the mid-80s, he's probably not going to be much of a late-inning pitcher even if he does sign.