Dodgers Set to Sign a Lefty- JP Howell

It is being reported that James Phillip Howell, otherwise known as JP Howell, will soon be a Dodger.  Via Buster Olney of ESPN on twitter:

(twitter link)

The exact value of the deal is not yet known, but early indications are that it is somewhere between $2.75Mil to $3Mil for a 1-year contract.

So, what do we know about Howell?  Well, based on a wikipedia entry this is what he throws:

Howell is a soft tosser. He throws his sinker in the mid 80's, topping out at 90 MPH. He also throws a knuckle-curve that has been described by scouts as "heavy" because of its extremely sharp downward break, and some even classify it as a slider. He throws a change-up that breaks away from right-handed hitters. Howell has solid command of all three pitches.

From Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

Left-handed batters have hit just .209/.295/.304 against Howell in the last two seasons, and in his career the southpaw has held lefty batters to a .241/.323/.351 line in his seven-year career.

Howell missed all of 2010 and the first 44 games of 2011 after left shoulder surgery, and posted a 6.16 ERA in 46 games in 2011 with a career high walk rate of 13.0% of batters faced. He improved to a 3.04 ERA in 2012, with 42 strikeouts and 22 walks in 50⅓ innings.

Check out JP Howell's career stats below, via Baseball Reference:

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