In an appearance on the podcast of Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (audio link), veteran hurler Collin McHugh discussed his opportunity with the Red Sox and the potential return of baseball. It’s an interesting listen from a thoughtful ballplayer.
McHugh joined the Boston organization on an incentive-laden, one-year MLB deal in early March. That means he spent only a brief amount of time in camp before the spring activities were halted.
Still, McHugh says he was glad to get rolling with his new organization at the time. A December elbow procedure “cut a lot of options” that he had been exploring. Once he began to build back up, “a lot more interest started to snowball really quickly” and McHugh was able to join the Boston organization.
Now, there are signs or progress even as McHugh works out remotely. He says he’s “about a month into my throwing program” — which certainly bodes well for his availability once the season gets underway. McHugh is engaged in daily contact with the team.
Once the 2020 campaign gets started, McHugh says, he anticipates functioning in a flexible capacity for the team — perhaps moving between the rotation and the bullpen or working in a role that he described as a “hybrid-type thing.” That’ll surely depend upon the precise needs of the roster and McHugh’s progress by the time play resumes.
As ever, it’s also interesting to hear the different perspectives of players on when and how MLB can return to action. Most of the interview involves McHugh’s well-considered thoughts regarding the timing and nature of a return of the sport.
Cheater.
Redsox? I agree
Jealousy and envy are incurable diseases. You have both.
What rule did he break?
Being an Astro in 2017
Doug,
What rule did Collin McHugh break?
Well he did go 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts that year at the plate…,
That’s over. They’ve been punished. Even though I think they should have taken their title away but that’s neither here nor there. You sound like the girlfriend who brings up crap from 2 years ago. I said I was sorry I threw away my black book I devoted myself to you why do you keep bringing it up?
Are you going to give us a chance to move forward? Or you just going to stay in the pit 2 years ago? Bring it up one more time and I’m out you can go cry to your mother like you do about everything else. Your choice.
That’s what I would say to that (perfect analogy.)
Some people just need something to complain about….complaining makes them happy….I ignore those people, because they are downers. I dated a girl whose family loved debating issues…..i dumped faster than ……
Don’t you think he was trolling, making fun of his own team? For an Astro fan to call him a cheater would be like a Sox fan doing the same had Big Papi signed late in his career with the Yankees. You just can’t do it with a straight face. I have no idea what if any role McHugh had but it just doesn’t matter. The team cheated its way to a title and the lack of penalties gives the organization as of today, the last laugh. Who knows if they would have beaten Boston in 17 if they didn’t cheat? I also wanted a full investigation into the Sox for both 17 and 18. I don’t want Papi in the HOF nor do I want titles that aren’t deserved.
So do you give the World Series trophy for 2017 to the Dodgers……pretty hollow victory…..or just say there was no 2017 WS winner…..???
I am not a Dodger or Astro fan, but taking it away the trophy does not take away the memory of Astros receiving it instead of the Dodgers. Just like Lance Armstrong standing on the podium 7 times in his yellow jersey…….the memory is still there
Leave the trophy where it is and fine the team. The negative stigma and public opinion will be the worse part of the penalty. GMs and managers can be replaced, so they miss a few draft selections…..the boos and negative reaction will be a bigger penalty, and when free agents decide they do not want to sign with Houston for a few years that will be the biggest outcome from the cheating. No penalty can make them “unwin”
Gary – I loved the comment about the girlfriend from two years back…..21 years after the fact, my wife still occasionally tell me I wasn’t romantic enough when I gave her the ring…..I swear a lot of the commenters must have too much estrogen……
Guess you didn’t see the report mlb released they did nothing and in fact not even Cora has sense joining the sox
Omg give it a break already! It’s because of you self-righteous “fans” who continue to comment about things 10 years later that MLB decided to halt the investigation after 2 teams. A whole lot of other teams cheated too, but they want to avoid having people make snide remarks about every team for the next 10+ years because they just CANNOT let stuff go. I am SO tired of hearing these types of remarks every single time the Astros, Red Sox, Big Papi, Ryan Braun or whoever else gets mentioned in an article…STILL!
Collin McHugh is a pitcher…he DID NOT benefit from having people bang on trashcans like the hitters did, nor was he mentioned anywhere in the report. He just had the misfortune of being on the same team as the people who did cheat. God help you if someone at the company you work for murders their wife or something….because wouldn’t that make you a murderer, too? NO IT WOULD NOT!
Troll.
This is one of the few moves Mr Bloom has made that has a shot at turning out.
ALL of these moves are “turning out.” The goal was to get under the luxury-tax for 2020 season. Done.
Actually…it’s only done if they have a season this year. If they don’t play in 2020, the Sox salary figures revert to last year’s number and they’d still be over.
My guess is they will at least start the season or the rules will be adjusted. Free agency this year is iffy as it is and the MLBPA needs Boston to be a spender in the off season.
dr0 yes that’s what I’ve been reading. But still Bloom made those moves in November through January that was his goal. Get under the tax for 2020. That’s done. If we don’t have a season then it’ll be for 2021, but I think we’ll have a season.
I was/still am intrigued by this move, and by McHugh altogether. He was bad, god awful last season, but in previous years he was quite good. With his surgery- and obvious extra resting time- I think he could be one of the more valuable signing of this past winter, and a good start to Bloom’s tenure on the Sox.
Yeah I agree with you…I think he could end up being a big part of Boston’s pitching staff this year and a potentially great under-the-radar signing for the Red Sox..
I agree too. I think McHugh could be seen as a comeback player of the year candidate. With that said, the only signing i find very interesting and frankly, disagree with, is Martin Perez. At the time of the signing on December 19, the RedSox already had 3 left handed starters (Sale, Price, Rodriguez). Perez with the exception of his 2014 rookie campaign when he went 10-6 3.62 in 20 starts, has never been more than an average 5th starter. Signing him to a deal worth 6 million is interesting too, given Brett Anderson, a much better left handed starter, had been signed six days earlier to a 1 year 5 million dollar deal. If the sox were interested in acquiring a left hander for the rotation, I would much rather them have obtained Anderson over Perez. Or not signed perez at all. Brian Johnson is a cheap left hander that could give the sox Perez’ back end production for much cheaper. … perez and his career 4.72 ERA, ARE NOT worth 6 million per year. May i mention that while Perez did finish 6th in the AL ROY voting in 2014, he didn’t exactly finish behind any studs. Wil Myers won having not totalled 100 hits. Jose Iglesias should have won and he only hit 3 homers. Chris Archer finished 3rd, Dan Straily 4th and JB Shuck 5th. .. Reliever Cody Allen tied in 6th with Perez. And David Lough finished after them in a season which he hit .286 with only 5 homers and 5 stolen bases…. perez has never been good or even in good company the one time he finished fairly high in a voting
Bloom’s goal was to get under CBT, and every contact was either one year or one year with an option. He can reassess what their needs are after 2020 and will have much greater financials flexibility
123Redsox, this signing is all about upside. That’s What Bloom was hired for. Not to plug holes with mediocre, overpriced vets. Your not getting Cy Young at that price pint. He liked something.
From Bosox Injection:
Perez can go the distance. In 3 of the last 4 seasons, he’s played in 32+ games. Add the fact that he’s a lefty which is especially important to note. As BoSox Injection’s Sean Penney points out, there’s optimism around the increased strikeout rate of Perez. After working on his cutter, Perez had a .214 BA for pitchers against him on that pitch.
He’s coachable and learned a lot last season from coach Johan Santana. Working together, he was able to hit the 97mph mark during a few games, altering his pitch stance based on biomechanics to rely more on using his entire body in his pitches.
Greg Harris 2.0