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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The D-backs have outrighted left-hander Adam Loewen to Triple-A Reno following last week’s DFA. The 32-year-old has spent time as both a pitcher and an outfielder over the life of his pro career but has returned to the mound for the past few seasons. He yielded 10 runs in six big league innings with the D-backs this year but had a 3.43 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with Reno prior to the original purchase of his contract. Loewen has whiffed 44 batters in that time, but he’s also walked 28, demonstrating some significant control problems.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners. He, too, was designated for assignment last week but, like Loewen, ultimately cleared waivers. The 30-year-old can handle all three outfield positions and has a solid .289/.361/.394 batting line in parts of five Triple-A seasons to go along with a .277/.322/.325 slash in 298 big league PAs.
  • The Angels have outrighted second baseman Sean Coyle to Double-A after he was designated for assignment last weekend. The Halos picked up the former Red Sox prospect on waivers earlier this year, but his .140/.252/.237 slash in 110 plate appearances with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate led to the loss of his 40-man roster spot.
  • The Angels also released fleet-footed outfielder Quintin Berry from their Triple-A affiliate. The 31-year-old Berry batted .270/.348/.325 with 35 stolen bases in 45 attempts over the life of 100 games/395 plate appearances this season. Berry’s wheels have landed him a big league job in each of the past three Septembers, and another club could look to add him to the 40-man roster when rosters expand in September in order to give its manager a late-inning weapon on the basepaths.
  • Left-hander Josh Outman has been released by the Pirates. The 31-year-old inked a minor league deal with Pittsburgh earlier this summer and wound up posting a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. That number isn’t exactly eye-catching, but Outman did post a solid 15-to-3 K/BB ratio and, in 23 plate appearances, limited left-handed hitters to a miserable .100/.217/.100 batting line with eight punchouts, so perhaps a team in need of a lefty specialist will consider him for the season’s final month.

Spoiler Season Is Upon Us

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Burke Badenhop made his Major League debut on April 9, 2008 when he tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Marlins. In the eight years that followed, he pitched 512 1/3 innings of 3.74 ERA ball with the Marlins, Rays, Brewers, Red Sox and Reds. He’s been a part of four trades (most notably the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis blockbuster), tested Major League free agency and been in more than a dozen Major League and minor league clubhouses. We were thrilled to have Burke bring some of that unique perspective to MLB Trade Rumors when he discussed the importance of September roster expansion and are happy to welcome him back for another piece.

You haven’t heard it yet, but pretty soon someone on an MLB broadcast is going to mention a team’s “magic number” — that oh-so-important combined number of wins and rivals’ losses necessary for said team to clinch a spot in the postseason.  Magic number talk means that the playoff race is here and that players will soon start to scour the Internet for the best ski goggles to wear for playoff-clinching celebrations.  So much is written about those teams, and rightfully so, but the season doesn’t end for the rest of the league, even if their only use for ski goggles will be if they plan on snowboarding this winter.  Regardless of how much has gone wrong for a team in a given season, September offers a chance to play the role of spoiler, and teams in position to do so aren’t always as easy to topple as they might have been a couple months ago.

Burke Badenhop

Throughout my big league career I played on a couple of teams in the hunt as September neared.  Unfortunately, I played on far more teams that were at the bottom of the standings when playoff baseball was on the horizon.  There are, however, certain advantages a losing team gains when it’s time to play spoiler.  First off, you have nothing to lose.  Playing with that kind of freedom can bring out the best in some teams.  What’s one more loss when you’ve been losing all year?  Playing with nothing to lose is also compounded by the fact that the teams in the hunt have everything to lose.  They are expected to beat you.  If they lose now, they could ruin all the success they’ve had all year.  With those added expectations, they’ll play tight, while you can play loose.  It’s practically a recipe for spoiler success.

Playing the role of spoiler is also fun.  It may sound terrible to say, but ruining another team’s season is kind of exciting.  You can’t tell me the Orioles weren’t having fun when they dashed the Red Sox’ playoff hopes on that famous last day of the season in 2011.  For a losing team, it may have been months since you played baseball and legitimately had fun.  Losing all season is not fun.  Playing spoiler, to borrow the slogan from Bryce Harper, can “make baseball fun again.”  A team with a renewed sense of fun will certainly play better and is far more dangerous to face this time of year.

Teams also gain a greater sense of pride and meaning toward the end of the year.  There’s an inherent pride that comes along with playing our national pastime.  Despite your spot in the standings, it’s your responsibility to the game to continually try your best and not roll over just because you won’t make the playoffs.  It’s practically your unwritten duty to try and play spoiler.  Doing so can add a lot of meaning to an otherwise meaningless season.

As a teammate, you take pride in giving your best for your team, your coaches and yourself.  Jobs can be won and lost based on how you play at the end of the season.  It’s your final opportunity to give coaches, scouts and executives a lasting impression of the type of player you are as you head into the offseason.  That type of personal pride will often bring out the best in a player.

In 2014, I was playing for a Red Sox team that wasn’t going to make the playoffs.  I had pitched well all season and was going to be a free agent at the end of the year.  The stats that I finished with would be very important in determining what type of jobs I’d be looking at in the winter.  Fall apart and teams might write you off.  Stay the course and teams might continue to be impressed.  Develop a sudden bout of wildness on the mound and red flags will rise.  As any reliever would know, it doesn’t take much to lose control of an inning and see a team put up a five spot on you.  I wanted nothing to do with any of that.  My focus never wavered until I knew I got the last out of my last appearance.  Having the finish line in sight gave me something to focus on this time of year, and it’s a prime reason for the fact that teams won’t roll over when you’d expect them to.

There’s one last little advantage a spoiler type team will also have this time of year that is probably easily over looked by fans: the element of surprise.  Teams out of the playoff race are comprised of far more guys that you’ve never heard of.  As an opposing team, this can make preparation difficult.  I remember a pre-series pitchers’ meeting where a rookie hitter was about to be discussed.  We had no video on him.  One of our pitchers had faced him one time two years ago in the minors, and that was about it.  About our only info on him was that he was 6’2” and hit right-handed.  Sometimes you might get lucky and have some minor league video on a guy to get a sense of his approach in the box.  Unfortunately, that video usually isn’t an HD Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.  It’s probably video from a center-field camera at some Double-A park that has the quality of elevator security footage.  Without the ability to prepare for a team, they can easily sneak up on you.

So when you’re watching a last place team beat up on a playoff contender in a few weeks, don’t be so surprised. Know that there are a few extra factors at play now that it’s magic number time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Braun, D’Backs, Marlins, Rodney

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Here’s the latest from around the National League…

  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), Brewers GM David Stearns said that his team will continue to listen to other teams about Ryan Braun.  This doesn’t represent much of a change from Milwaukee’s pre-deadline stance, as the team wasn’t shopping their slugger though several teams were checking in on his availability.  Even if the Brewers did want to actively move Braun, his 23-team no-trade clause is a major obstacle, especially given that Braun may have a particular desire to stay put since his family is expecting a new baby.
  • The process behind the Diamondbacks’ already-infamous trade for Shelby Miller is recapped by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, as the Snakes were intent on adding another top-caliber arm to pair with Zack Greinke last offseason.  Names such as the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez and the Indians’ Danny Salazar were discussed but GM Dave Stewart said those clubs were asking for more than the D’Backs eventually gave up to land Miller from the Braves; both teams wanted A.J. Pollock and Miami also wanted Patrick Corbin.  Once the Braves moved off Pollock themselves and the D’Backs made it clear that pretty much anyone else (including first overall pick Dansby Swanson) could be had, the trade came together quickly.
  • The value of Fernando Rodney’s 2017 team option has risen to $3.5MM due to Rodney reaching various incentive clauses for game played and games finished, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  Rodney’s appearance on Sunday was his 53rd of the season, so he is well on pace to earn another $500K bonus for hitting the 60-game plateau.  Today was also his 35th game finished, and Rodney will also earn another $500K if he finishes 40 games and then $500K more for every five finishes thereafter.  Though he got a save today, Rodney will likely return to his role as setup man for the Marlins now that A.J. Ramos is back off the DL.   Jackson isn’t sure if the Fish will exercise Rodney’s option or buy him out for $400K.

D’Backs Ownership Stopped Shelby Miller Trade With Marlins, Hale Firing

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The Diamondbacks and Marlins had worked out a trade that would have sent Shelby Miller to Miami in exchange for three starting pitchers, only for Arizona ownership to shoot down the deal, a Marlins executive tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  The two sides had been linked in talks about Miller, with Miami right-handed pitching prospect Luis Castillo reportedly mentioned as a trade chip before Castillo was dealt to San Diego as part of the Marlins’ deal for Andrew Cashner.

As Nightengale writes (semi-facetiously), the reason given by D’Backs ownership was that such a trade “just wouldn’t look good,” considering the stunningly big trade package the Snakes gave up last winter to acquire Miller from the Braves.  The same “wouldn’t look good” reasoning also impacted another ownership decision, as D’Backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and GM Dave Stewart were considering replacing manager Chip Hale with Triple-A skipper Phil Nevin before being told that a managerial change wouldn’t happen.

Nightengale uses these ownership interventions to argue that La Russa, Stewart and senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson shouldn’t be blamed for the Diamondbacks’ struggles this season, nor should the trio be fired after less than two years on the job.  The fate of Arizona’s front office is yet to be decided, as 2017 options for Stewart and Watson are up on August 31 and La Russa’s option is up after the season.  As Fan Rag Sports’ Jon Heyman noted earlier this week and Nightengale reiterates here, D’Backs upper management is hoping to let August 31 pass without a decision so they can delay their choice until after the season.

Without knowing what exactly the Marlins were offering for Miller, it’s hard to say that ownership necessarily made the wrong move in nixing the trade.  Obviously, Miami’s offer wouldn’t have come close to matching Dansby Swanson/Ender Inciarte/Aaron Blair, though the feeling could have been that La Russa and Stewart were selling low on Miller.  The three pitchers on Miami’s end of the deal would have almost certainly been prospects, and there wouldn’t have been any blue chip arms in the group given the Marlins’ low-rated farm system.

Hale’s name has been on the hot seat for weeks, and a managerial change would’ve been less surprising than the D’Backs cutting bait on Miller after less than a season.  It’s unknown if La Russa and Stewart were specifically planning to fire Hale or if they were still discussing the idea.  Hale has a 130-156 record as Arizona’s manager and is is under contract for the 2017 season.

Blue Jays Notes: Sanchez, Payroll, Front Office

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Here’s the latest from Toronto…

  • The Blue Jays made their latest move to conserve Aaron Sanchez’s innings when they optioned the young righty to Single-A Dunedin today, a move Sanchez and GM Ross Atkins discussed with reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi).  The plan to send Sanchez to Dunedin came up a few weeks ago, and Atkins said it hinged on Sanchez’s agreement.  The right-hander had no issue, noting that “if I’m just going to be sitting here knowing that they’re going to skip my start, why don’t we bring somebody up to help continue to win ballgames.”  The ten-day demotion will cost Sanchez some salary, which Davidi figures the club will make up when renewing Sanchez’s contract for the 2017 season.
  • With so many key players owed raises in 2017 or headed to free agency, Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun opines that Jays ownership should raise payroll into the $165-$170MM range in order to keep the team competitive.  This would represent a sizable increase in spending (the Jays’ Opening Day payroll stood just over $136.7MM, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts) though it’s an increase the club should be able to afford, given that TV ratings and attendance have risen so sharply over the last year.
  • In another piece from Davidi, Atkins discussed the Jays’ changes in the scouting and player development departments from earlier this week.  The club hopes to have a new scouting director and “someone in a similar capacity to” the national crosschecker job in place within the next month, according to Atkins.  Several names from the MLB Scouting Bureau and from the front offices of the Pirates, Indians, Mets and Athletics are reportedly under consideration for the two jobs, according to Davidi.

Cafardo’s Latest: Moreland, Leon, Red Sox, Gomez, Puig

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The latest news and notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…

  • The Astros have a lot of interest in Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, though Cafardo doubts a trade is likely given Texas’ lack of first base depth in the wake of Prince Fielder’s retirement.  (It would also be very unusual to see a trade between two division rivals in a pennant race, even if Houston has fallen well behind Texas in the AL West.)  The Astros already have a left-handed hitting first baseman in rookie A.J. Reed, though Reed is still a work in progress despite some improved hitting over the last couple of weeks.  While it doesn’t seem like Texas would deal Moreland, he has cleared trade waivers, so he can freely moved to any other club.
  • The Nationals’ trade of Sandy Leon to the Red Sox for cash considerations in March 2015 drew little attention at the time, though it has become an unexpectedly important deal given how Leon has blossomed in Boston.  Leon entered the day with a stunning 1.088 OPS over 158 plate appearances this season, completely dwarfing anything he’d done at the major or minor league levels.  “I personally signed Sandy Leon when he was 16½ years old…My name is on that one,” Nats GM Mike Rizzo said.  “He was a good catch-and-throw kid, and what a kid.  He’s one of the greatest young men I’ve ever been around.  I’m so happy he’s doing well especially offensively, but I never saw it coming.”
  • The Red Sox could fill David Ortiz’s big shoes by DH at pursuing free agents Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Mike Napoli or Mark Trumbo this winter, as Cafardo feels the team will look for an external solution.  The simplest move would be to move Hanley Ramirez to DH, though that leaves both corner infield spots up in the air given the uncertainty around Pablo Sandoval’s weight, Travis Shaw’s ability to play every day and the development of prospects Yoan Moncada and Sam Travis.
  • Carlos Gomez drew interest from several teams before signing with the Rangers, with Cafardo adding the Indians and Blue Jays to the list of clubs already known to have been looking at the veteran outfielder.  Gomez likely would’ve served as platoon partner for Tyler Naquin in center for the Tribe, though despite Michael Brantley missing virtually the entire season, Cleveland’s outfield has actually been pretty solid thanks to unexpected contributions from Naquin, Rajai Davis and (when he hasn’t been at third) Jose Ramirez.  Gomez could’ve filled in the Jays outfield while Bautista and Kevin Pillar are on the DL, though his role would’ve been rather unclear once both returned.
  • Yasiel Puig “is considered toxic at the moment” and it seems unlikely that another team will take him off the Dodgers’ hands.  One Dodgers official isn’t entirely closing the door on Puig remaining in L.A., saying “At some point, the talent, the maturity is going to take hold.  Someone will benefit from it.  We hope it’s us, but it’s hard to envision it right now.”

Royals, Danny Duffy Open To Extension Talks

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The Royals and left-hander Danny Duffy have yet to engage in negotiations for a long-term deal, The Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd reports, but it seems as enough those talks could take place after the season.  Royals GM Dayton Moore said talks would be held “at the appropriate time,” adding that “Danny has been a very important part of our organization and our pitching staff, and we’ll work very hard to keep him a part of what we’re doing going forward.”

For his part, Duffy is also excited at the prospect of spending potentially his entire career in Kansas City.  “I don’t picture myself wearing anything but a Royals jersey….I’m not trying to pull out the violin, but I want to be here,” Duffy said. “They’ve been really good to me, good to my family.  And it would just be absolutely devastating if I ever had to leave. In a perfect world, I would be here forever.”

Duffy, who turns 28 in December, is arbitration-eligible for the third and final time this coming offseason and he’ll be a free agent following the 2017 campaign.  He and the Royals avoided arbitration last winter by agreeing on a one-year, $4.225MM deal, and Duffy is sure to be in line for a sizable raise given his breakout season.

After tossing a quality start and earning the win against the Twins today, Duffy now has a 2.66 ERA and 9.54 K/9 (against only 1.88 BB/9) over 138 2/3 innings in 2016.  His .275 BABIP and hefty 84.1% strand rate indicate some good fortune and his 3.75 xFIP is over a run higher than his ERA, though it seems as if Duffy has finally not only solidified his place in the K.C. rotation, but could potentially become its ace.  Dodd’s piece is well worth a full read, detailing how Duffy has used a newly-developed breaking ball to great effect and is now more or less bailing out the Royals’ struggling rotation.

While extension talks are usually saved for the offseason in most cases, the Royals front office may be more willing to take their time with the southpaw just to see how he finishes the full year.  Duffy also pitched well in 2014 and seemed on the verge of a breakout before scuffling through much of 2015 and receiving a demotion to the bullpen in late September and through the playoffs.  Innings could also be a factor, as Duffy already has one Tommy John operation under his belt and he is set to easily top his previous career high (in both the majors and minors) of 155 1/3 innings in 2014.

The coming offseason will be a particularly fascinating one for Moore given how many key Royals (Duffy, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Wade Davis) will all be free agents after the 2017 campaign, and a score of other important names (such as Alcides Escobar) could join them depending on whether or not the Royals exercise club options this winter or next.  Clearly the Royals won’t be able to extend or re-sign all of those players, and there has been much discussion about how the 2016-17 seasons may be the last years of Kansas City’s so-called “contention window” with this core of players.  Alex Gordon’s struggles after the Royals re-signed the homegrown star to four-year/$72MM deal last winter could also factor into the club’s wariness about other pricey contracts.

As one would expect from a smaller-market club, the Royals’ history of extensions in recent years has focused around locking up young talent to early-career deals or in gaining cost certainty over established stars by extending them through their arbitration years.  (Salvador Perez’s extension from March is a bit of an outlier, given that the Royals almost seemed to be compensating the catcher for how overtly team-friendly his original contract ended up being.)  It could be difficult for the Royals to convince Duffy to sign an extension and forego a big score on 2017-18 free agent market, or Duffy could be inclined to take his big payday this winter rather than risk injury or another inconsistent year in 2017.

Braves GM On Matt Kemp, Matt Wisler And Aaron Blair

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In addition to declaring that the rebuilding, last-place Braves need to start winning in 2017, general manager John Coppolella touched on the statuses of three of his team’s players in a Sunday interview with MLB Network Radio (Twitter links). Specifically, Coppolella mentioned outfielder Matt Kemp and a pair of right-handers, Matt Wisler and Aaron Blair.

Coppolella believes Kemp, a much-maligned defender, will be able to contribute more in the field if he gets in better shape.

“A big part of why he isn’t real good in left field is because he’s out of shape,” Coppolella said. “If he gets in shape, he’ll be much better.”

Unless Kemp has been out of shape since his major league career began with the Dodgers in 2006, there doesn’t seem to be much reason to expect a significant defensive turnaround. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and UZR/150 have regularly given Kemp negative grades in the field. So far, the 31-year-old has compiled minus-98 DRS, minus-116.6 UZR and minus-12.6 UZR/150 in the big leagues.

Given his power-hitting ways, Kemp has fewer limitations at the plate, but he’s still batting just .261/.292/.480 in 510 plate appearances this season. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that Kemp has the ninth-worst BB/K ratio (.21) in baseball among 158 qualified hitters. In combining the flaws in his game with his salary, it’s not surprising that Kemp passed through revocable trade waivers unclaimed. The Braves, who acquired Kemp from the Padres prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, owe the ex-MVP candidate $18MM per year through 2019. Kemp entered Sunday with a .242/.320/.379 line and one homer through his first 66 at-bats as a Brave. Now, having only traded the toxic Hector Olivera for Kemp, Coppolella will hope his high-profile pickup improves his conditioning and becomes a legitimate producer in Atlanta.

As for Wisler and Blair, they’ll have to fight for rotation spots next season. During his interview Sunday, Coppolella named starting pitching and the catcher position as two areas the club will focus on upgrading in the offseason. In doing so, he described Wisler and Blair as “hard to count on” at this juncture.

Wisler, also a former member of the Padres organization, has not fared well since debuting with the Braves last season. In 231 career innings, Wisler has posted a 4.95 ERA/4.96 FIP/4.99 xFIP trio to go with a 36 percent ground-ball rate. The 23-year-old, once a well-regarded prospect, hasn’t pitched for the Braves since July 28. Wisler has since been at Triple-A Gwinnett, where he has fared better in 26 2/3 frames. Still, Wisler’s 3.71 ERA, 7.43 K/9 and 1.69 BB/9 in the minors haven’t earned him another big league shot yet and won’t guarantee him a place in the Braves’ starting five next season.

Like Wisler, Blair’s quality prospect status hasn’t yet transferred to the majors, and he’ll have to earn his place in the Braves’ 2017 rotation. After joining the Braves last offseason as part of their return from the Diamondbacks in the famous Shelby Miller trade, Blair has recorded a 7.99 ERA with a matching K/9 and BB/9 (5.15) in 50 2/3 big league innings. As a result of that disastrous output, the 24-year-old Blair has spent the past two months at Gwinnett. While his 4.59 ERA at the Triple-A level isn’t inspiring, Blair has put up much better strikeout and walk rates (9.18 and 3.78) than the ones he compiled in the majors before his late-June demotion.

Thanks in part to the early struggles of Wisler and Blair, Coppolella will have his work cut out for him during the winter as he tries to find complements to the Braves’ ace, Julio Teheran.

Billy Butler Injured In Clubhouse Altercation With Danny Valencia

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TODAY, 6:08pm: Butler will also receive a fine, GM David Forst told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). The veteran DH is headed to the 7-day concussion DL as well.

5:14pm: Valencia will be fined for his role in the ruckus, Slusser tweets.

4:04pm: Slusser now reports the full details of the altercation, which you can find here. In essence, it seems, both players engaged in a verbal dispute after Butler made comments that may have interfered with an endorsement deal for Valencia. It escalated to the point of physical contact before Valencia struck his teammate with one or more punches.

While Butler initially reported being fine in the immediate aftermath of the dust-up, he began exhibiting nausea and vomiting thereafter. Neither player agreed to comment on the matter.

Notably, Slusser adds, Valencia could end up being punished later today. She suggests that he could be suspended or even given his release. The team’s handling of the matter will certainly be closely watched, as it could impact Valencia’s future in the organization and availability to other teams — though clearly this incident hasn’t increased his appeal.

YESTERDAY: 9:48pm: In an update to her original story, Slusser reports that the dispute between Butler and Valencia stemmed from Butler informing “an equipment representative that Valencia had not, in fact, been wearing the spikes that Valencia had told the representative that he was using.”

6:45pm: Billy Butler missed the Athletics’ last two games due to injuries suffered in a clubhouse altercation with teammate Danny Valencia on Friday night, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  A’s manager Bob Melvin said Butler was absent due to nausea and vomiting, and neither Melvin or Valencia was willing to comment about the alleged incident.  As Slusser writes, “no one in the Oakland clubhouse would discuss the matter on the record, but no one denied that it occurred, either.”

The exact nature of the altercation isn’t known, though since Valencia played on Saturday, one could conclude that the A’s didn’t consider it major enough (at least not immediately) to warrant punishment.  Valencia didn’t play on Sunday, though Slusser notes that could also have been a baseball decision given Valencia’s poor career numbers against White Sox starter Jose Quintana.

Clubhouse issues have plagued Valencia in the past, which could in part be why he wasn’t dealt at the trade deadline when the A’s unloaded several other veterans.  Valencia wasn’t even expected to get regular playing time as Oakland focused on younger players, though he has gotten the bulk of starts in right field in August since he is still swinging a solid bat.  The veteran has 15 homers and a .302/.351/.478 slash line through 387 plate appearances this season, and is currently on a streak of two hits in each of his last six games.

Valencia would seem to be a prime August trade candidate if he can clear waivers, though this latest incident isn’t likely to help his reputation around the game.  The 31-year-old is eligible for arbitration this winter before hitting free agency after the 2017 season, and his good numbers will earn him a raise from his $3.15MM salary from 2016.  It seems like the A’s will pursue a trade against this winter, and a non-tender could even potentially be in the cards (despite Valencia’s strong season) if the club wants to clear the roster for younger talent.

Reunion Unlikely For Red Sox, Jonathan Papelbon

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A reunion between the playoff-contending Red Sox and their former closer, free agent Jonathan Papelbon, doesn’t appear to be in the offing, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Papelbon, whom the Nationals released last Saturday, hasn’t pitched in two-plus weeks (Aug. 6) and there’s concern within the Boston organization that he won’t have enough time to prepare for the rest of the season in the event they do pick him up. The Red Sox believe Papelbon would need at least a week-long tuneup in the minors if they were to sign him.

General manager Mike Hazen said earlier this week that the club was “just kind of in a wait-and-see” situation with Papelbon, whom manager John Farrell has spoken with since he hit the open market. Farrell also acknowledged then that team brass broached the idea of adding Papelbon.

“We’ve talked about it, there’s some real strong points to ’Pap’ that could be an addition here,” he said.

There wouldn’t be much financial risk in adding Papelbon, who would cost the Red Sox the prorated portion of the league minimum. But the 35-year-old is only in position to sign for a cheap sum because his effectiveness has dwindled, which caused the playoff-bound Nationals to drop him. In his final five appearances with the Nats, Papelbon’s ERA rose from 2.56 to 4.37 as he yielded nine runs in 3 1/3 innings. That’s a far cry from the Papelbon who pitched for the Red Sox from 2005-11. During that seven-year period, the 2003 fourth-round pick threw 429 1/3 frames and registered a 2.33 ERA, 10.67 K/9 and 2.41 BB/9. He also helped Boston to a World Series title in 2007 and converted a franchise-record 219 regular-season saves in 248 attempts – good for a sterling 88-plus percent success rate. However, Papelbon’s fastball velocity, strikeout and walk rates, and ground-ball percentage have all declined significantly since then.

Regardless of whether they bring back Papelbon, the Red Sox will have some questions at the back end of their bullpen. To name a trio of prominent ones, Junichi Tazawa has allowed seven earned runs over his past four appearances (two innings); July acquisition Fernando Abad hasn’t yet carried his success from Minnesota to Boston; and 41-year-old Koji Uehara hasn’t pitched since July 19 because of a pectoral strain. Even before landing on the disabled list, Uehara’s ERA was a career-worst 4.50 across 36 innings, during which he yielded eight home runs and posted a personal-low 19 percent ground-ball rate. Moreover, Uehara excelled at generating infield pop-ups in previous years, but that figure has dropped from 16.1 percent in 2015 to 8.2 percent this season.

As Mastrodonato notes, though, the Red Sox have potential in-house solutions in a pair of right-handers, Heath Hembree and Joe Kelly, and lefty Brian Johnson. Hembree is currently in the club’s bullpen, while Kelly and Johnson are candidates to come up when rosters expand in September.

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