10:06PM: The Blue Jays are one of the teams with some interest in McHugh, as TSN’s Scott Mitchell (Twitter link) reports that the right-hander “has been discussed internally” within Toronto’s front office.
11:03AM: Free-agent righty Collin McHugh has recently been cleared to begin a throwing program after undergoing a (non-surgical) tenex procedure on his right elbow, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. A wide range of clubs have recently checked in on his status.
The latest update on McHugh — and really the first of the offseason — indicates that he’s a ways behind pitchers who are currently in camp, so he’s not likely to be plugged into a team’s pitching staff from the outset of the season. McHugh missed about a third of the 2019 season due to ongoing discomfort in his right elbow and didn’t look like himself when he was healthy enough to take the mound. In 74 2/3 innings of work, he was hammered for a 4.70 ERA and a 4.43 FIP with 9.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.45 HR/9 and a 38 percent grounder rate. The 32-year-old’s average fastball sat at 92.1 mph in 2018 but dipped to 90.8 mph in 2019. His swinging-strike rate, opponents’ exit velocity and opponents’ hard-hit rate all went in the wrong direction.
That said, McHugh was lights out in a bullpen setting in 2018, spinning a pristine 1.99 ERA through 72 1/3 innings with averages of 11.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 0.75 HR/9. And from 2014-17, McHugh was a quality rotation piece in Houston: 606 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA (3.60 FIP) with 8.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. He was one of the first spin-rate darlings in MLB, as the huge spin on his curve is reportedly what prompted the ’Stros to pluck him out of the Rockies organization via a 2013 waiver claim.
It’d be easy to make the case for how McHugh could help virtually any club in baseball. The price tag on him shouldn’t be too high at this point — if he requires a big league deal at all — so it’ll be more a question of where McHugh feels comfortable and feels he’s presented with the best opportunity. That could mean signing on with a rebuilding club that’ll give him rotation innings or suiting up for a win-now club with fewer innings to offer but greater promise of a return to the postseason. Those preferences will be for McHugh and agent Mike Moye to sort out, but interest in the right-hander should be robust now that he’s able to get on a throwing program and give prospective new teams a clearer timeline for his return.
White Sox should be in on this
They’ve got 7 pitchers already in the rotation with more on the way. Why should the Sox do this?
Some guys just want every player who hits the market.
Because it’s better to have 8
why shouldn’t they
ever heard of a bullpen?
He is a reliever.
Angels should be in on this
ulnar collateral ligament
Yankees
Lol if the Yankees are worried about dudes getting hurt then McHugh probably shouldn’t be on their list
Nationals should sign him to a minor league deal and be the 5 th starter
The Nationals already have a three-way battle for a 5th starter (Joe Ross, Austin Voth, Eric Fedde).
Then sign him to the bullpen. The Nationals can always use bullpen help.
There are about 25 teams that need bullpen help more than the Nata
Mariners
But they wont they wont sign n e one that could possibly help them
With their rotation issues and payroll inflexibility, this screams Cubs to me.
Red Sox are set to open the season with 3 starting pitchers. Chaim Bloom should send the private plane for him!
I agree.
I agree, and it would be a good landing spot for him. There is not a lot of certainty in the BP, and even if we are healthy, there will be at least one rotation slot open.
_______ team should be in on this guy!!!’
Lol beat me to it!
I actually didn’t realize he was injured, I was surprised he wasn’t signed yet.
Hasn’t thrown a baseball yet, so no teams would offer him anything. If he waits to showcase himself, he may get a major league offer.
He’s had shoulder problems in Houston and then elbow last year on top of him just collapsing at starter (maybe related, of course). Unfortunately that’s just how it goes
Come back to the Mets
Yes.
The Syracuse Mets
Wonder where all the articles went. With all the complaining about this type of article and that type of article I thought, if MLBTR cuts out those articles we’ll get 3 or 4 a day instead of 7-10. Well, here we are. This is what it could be like if MLBTR cuts out those articles. Careful what you wish for.
Well, some of the articles just don’t stick with the crowd. I liked the two articles about bounce back players in the A.L West, those were good. But some of the ones for example, the Mookie Betts / A’s one, just didn’t stick. I like the creativity of some of MLBTR’s articles, but some just don’t fit the crowd. Personally I’d like to see a series of articles about the different parts of an MLB organiation, and what each part does. I know what pretty much everything does, but if there are casual baseball fans that read it, they could learn how much goes into the workings of an organization.
Let’s go Cleveland. let’s get on this
He could be McHuge if a team came Collin on him.
I guess you tried.
Redsox should be all over this dude
angles .. literally just sign another 5 arms plz
I’d love to see him in a Tribe uniform.
He got hammered to a 4.70 era? So in a terrible, injury plagued season he is still as good as Matt Boyd.
Mets should offer a minor league deal with $1M salary if he makes the major league squad by July.
And about 10 other teams will as well
Am I the only guy who sees the Astros starting rotation teetering on the edge??…Two veterans with a lot of mileage on them (JV and Greinke) and three question marks….I think this team struggles to play .500 ball this season…
The Red Sox should take a flier on him — they could use him either in the rotation or bullpen… or in some sort of hybrid/opener/etc role. There’s no denying his talent and effectiveness when healthy and with the Sox other pitchers health concerns (Sale, Eovaldi, etc) adding another arm with the upside of McHugh could definitely be a benefit for the club.
Bloom probably should be in on this. Sox need to start adding pitching somewhere.
McHugh was never a particularly hard thrower. The Astros used an injury to stick him in the bullpen, he wants to start. He was a strikeout machine, he is a smart guy, and if you are say the Angels or Padres and you want a low risk high ceiling guy, he’s it. If he struggles as a starter but pitches well in a bullpen roll or opener, he brings a great deal of value, even as a potential trade piece. He’ll go where he will be able to be a starter.
The Yankees should sign this guy
I’m going to go the opposite route of everyone else. I hope he goes anywhere EXCEPT Colorado. Even though the Rox could use someone like McHugh, I saw enough of him in 2012 to do me. I don’t wish him bad luck, but I do wish he stays away from my team.
8 years is a long time.
Actually pitchers like McHugh might benefit from the thin Colorado air if it allows for just that much more break on his curve
Would not be a bad move whatsoever if the Blue Jays acquired him.
No team needs him more than Boston. Of course, his agent undoubtedly knows this.