Brandon Lyon - Pitcher - #37

PERSONAL/MISCELLANEOUS

He, his wife Sara and two sons Isaac and Andrew reside in St. George, UT during the off-season.

• Graduated from Taylorsville High School -- named Utah Player of the Year.

• Attended Dixie Junior College in Utah -- tabbed Junior College Player of the Year in 2000.


SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Selected by Toronto in the 14th round of the June 1999 draft.

Made his professional debut with Single A Queens after signing with the Blue Jays as a draft-and-follow selection on May 28, 2000.

• Topped all New York-Penn League starters with 0.95 walks per nine innings and 7.99 baserunners per nine innings, while he was fourth with a .205 batting average against.

• Named the 16th-best prospect in the Blue Jays organization following the season by Baseball America.

Saw action with Double A Tennessee and Syracuse in 2001, before seeing his first action at the major league level in August and September with Toronto.

• Opened the season with Tennessee -- tabbed the Southern League Pitcher of the Week for April 13-19 after winning both of his starts during the week, compiling a 0.57 ERA (15.2IP/1ER) and fanning 14 batters.

• Had his contract transferred to Single A Auburn on May 28 -- did not appear in a game with the club before his contract was transferred to Syracuse on June 1.

• Selected the International League Pitcher of the Week twice during his time with Syracuse, June 11-17 and July 9-15 -- finished 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (14.0IP/3ER) in two starts June 11-17 ...won his only start during the week of July 9-15 on July 15 versus Buffalo, fanning eight batters as he allowed two unearned runs in seven innings of work.

• Fired a four-hit shutout in the second game of a doubleheader on June 17 versus Columbus -- tied for second in the International League with one shutout.

• Had his contract purchased by Toronto from Syracuse on August 3 -- earned the win in his major league debut on August 4 versus Baltimore, allowing one run in 7.1 innings of work ...established a career high with 7.1 innings pitched, a best he would match on September 7 at Detroit.

• Established a career best with a four-game winning streak August 21-September 7.

• Fanned a career-high eight batters on October 7 versus Cleveland.

• Limited righthanded batters to a .239 batting average (26x109) with Toronto, while lefties hit .289 (37x128) against him.

Made the Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day roster in 2002, marking the first time he appeared on an Opening Day roster at the major league level.

• Established a career high with 3.1 innings of relief on May 28 versus Boston.

• Optioned to Triple A Syracuse by the Blue Jays on June 21.

• Recalled from Syracuse by the Blue Jays on September 30, but he did not appear in any games with Toronto before the season concluded.

• Claimed off waivers by the Red Sox from the Blue Jays on October 9.

Fanned a career-high 50 batters during the 2003 season for the Boston Red Sox.

• Struck out a season-best four batters in a season-high three innings on April 1 at Tampa Bay -- matched the high with four strikeouts on June 15 versus Houston.

• Recorded his first major league save on April 16 versus Tampa Bay.

• Compiled a 1.98 ERA (13.2IP/3ER) in 11 appearances during April.

• Acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Red Sox in a four-player deal on July 22 -- landed on the disabled list on July 24 with a partial tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament, an injury which would sideline him until September 1.

• Traded back to the Red Sox by the Pirates in a five-player deal on July 31.

• Assigned to Triple A Pawtucket for an injury rehabilitation assignment August 16-30.

• Acquired by the Diamondbacks from the Red Sox in a five-player deal on December 1.

Spent the entire 2004 season on Arizona’s disabled list following ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his right elbow on March 24, a procedure performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum.

• Assigned to Tucson for an injury rehabilitation assignment July 26-August 13 -- saw action in six games with Tucson before he was recalled from the assignment by the Diamondbacks after he suffered a flexor strain.

Limited to 32 outings with the Diamondbacks during the 2005 season due to a three-month stint on the disabled list.

• Opened the season as Arizona’s closer -- was leading the National League with 13 saves when he landed on the disabled list on May 13.

• Sidelined May 13-August 13 with a flexor mass injury -- assigned to Triple A Tucson during an injury rehabilitation assignment July 28-August 13.

• Compiled a 1.96 ERA (18.1IP/4ER) in 18 games prior to the all-star break...posted a 13.91 ERA (11.0IP/17ER) in 14 appearances following the all-star break.

• Posted a 3.78 ERA (16.2IP/7ER) in 18 outings at home...compiled a 9.95 ERA (12.2IP/14ER) in 14 games on the road.

Brandon Lyon signs with Houston

by billfer on December 9, 2009

in Free Agents, Winter Meetings

There goes one potential closer option for the Tigers with Brandon Lyon inking a 3 year, $15 milion deal with the Houston Astros pending a physical. It’s a great deal for Lyon, but probably a year longer than the Tigers would have preferred to go.

Earlier in the evening Ken Rosenthal reported that with the context of LaTroy Hawkins deal with the Brewers Lyon was looking for 2 years and $9 million. Maybe Ed Wade should have been on Twitter.

Lyon was signed just before the start of spring training last year on a one year deal and given a shot to be the Tigers closer. He struggled in spring training and those struggles extended through April. Then something clicked and Lyon was lights out. From May 19th until the end of the season he threw 63 innings with a 1.86 ERA.

The Tigers other free agent reliever, Fernando Rodney, is attracting attention from the Phillies. If it was going to take a multi-year deal to get either I would have preferred Lyon from a durability perspective. The Tigers are also reportedly still interested in Kevin Gregg.

Lyon will net the Tigers a sandwich pick. But for a team that can’t afford Curtis Granderson you have to wonder if they’ll be able to sign him.