Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray is drawing interest from “a few teams” as a bullpen possibility, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. The 28-year-old left-hander has only made three relief appearances in his career (none since his first season in 2014); however, after several respectable seasons as a starter, the soon-to-be free agent has tanked in 2020. He owns an awful 8.33 ERA/7.77 FIP with 8.33 BB/9 across 27 innings this year, though some clubs may have hope that Ray’s high-strikeout ways will lead to success in the bullpen during the stretch run of the season. That said, there’s no guarantee the Diamondbacks will move Ray before the Aug. 31 deadline, as they entered Monday a manageable two games back of a wild-card spot.
- More on the Diamondbacks, who made righty Merrill Kelly a late scratch before his start Monday. It was easy to speculate on a potential trade when that happened, but it turns out Kelly is dealing with a nerve impingement in his pitching shoulder, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The club has placed Kelly on the 10-day injured list as a result and recalled righty Riley Smith. Kelly has been quite effective this season, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained Monday, so losing him is a blow to the D-backs’ playoff hopes and perhaps a less-than-ideal development heading into the deadline.
- Cubs southpaw Jose Quintana and righty Tyler Chatwood will come off the injured list Tuesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports. Quintana, who has been out all season after undergoing left thumb surgery, will work from the bullpen upon his return. That’s relatively new territory for Quintana, who has totaled just four relief appearances out of 250 in his career. As Wittenmyer notes, though, Quintana could find himself back in a starting role soon if Chatwood or Alec Mills falters (Mills didn’t in a win over Detroit on Monday). Chatwood, who will start Tuesday, turned in a pair of great outings to open the season, but he went on the IL with a back issue after the Royals shellacked him for eight earned runs on 11 hits in 2 1/3 innings on Aug. 6. He’s now set to rejoin Mills, Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester in the Cubs’ rotation.
- It has been nearly a month since the Astros shut down ace Justin Verlander because of a right forearm strain, but the reigning AL Cy Young winner continues to make progress in his recovery. Manager Dusty Baker issued an update on Verlander on Monday, saying to Mark Berman of Fox 26 and other reporters: “I think he threw 20 pitches yesterday. He said he felt pretty good. That’s a positive sign.” It’s still unknown whether Verlander will make it back this year, especially with only about a month remaining in the regular season. Houston has started 15-13 despite only one appearance from Verlander (and several other notable injuries), putting the team two games back of a wild-card spot.
Ray could be the long man the Phillies need
Ray just seems like a guy who would be an all-star closer.
He had a BB9 of 4.3 in 2019 and 5.1 in 2018. He would probably make for a VERY exciting closer for BOTH teams. =)
Ray has an opponent .688 OPS through the first time of the order. He’d make a fine relief pitcher.
What do the D-Backs have to lose by keeping him for the rest of the season hoping he straightens things out and then offer him a QO?
A comp pick is likely more than he’d bring back in a trade right now.
They would only get a comp pick if he signs a contract with another team worth more than $50 million, which unfortunately seems unlikely right now. If they do offer a QO to him, I’d be shocked if he didn’t accept it and look for a rebound year on a ~$18MM salary for 2021
He wouldnt even get the Qo in fear that he would accept the QO , which he probably would-
Idk why everyone always thinks a 18 mill per year contract will be given out automatically –
The way hes pitching Now he’d be lucky to scratch 5-6 mill next yr
Semantics, but there’s not really a wild card for the Astros to be concerned with since the top 2 teams make the playoffs in each division
Exactly!
Is Kelly done for this shorten season with about 30 games left?
I remember these same rumors about Ray last season, so I definitely understand why they’d pop up again during a 60 game season, and the fact that he’s struggled this season. However, does anyone actually think Ray should make a permanent move to the bullpen??
Absolutely not. His career is kind of at a crossroads right now, he could fade into obscurity or he could lock into a higher gear like Scherzer did at this age after producing similar results. Not saying he’s going to put up Scherzer numbers, but I don’t think we’ve seen everything Ray has to offer as a starter yet, he might just need a change of scenery.
If they get Verlander back the Astros will be very dangerous.
Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier have been pitching great so far.