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Pitching Notes: Woodruff, Verlander, Wainwright

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Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff had an MRI on his right shoulder and remains shut down until doctors map out a path forward, manager Craig Counsell relayed to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The team has already placed Woodruff on the IL.

There was initial hope that it’d just be a short stint on the IL, and that hasn’t been ruled out yet, but obviously the uncertainty over how best to proceed is a little concerning. Woodruff made another strong start to the season, giving up just one earned run across two starts and 11 1/3 innings. An injury for any length of time would be a significant blow to the Brewers, who have made a strong start to the season.

Woodruff has blossomed into one of the game’s better starting pitchers in recent years, compiling a 2.97 ERA across 94 starts since the 2019 season. While he did miss some time for a high ankle sprain last year, he’s never missed time in the big leagues with an arm-related injury.

Here’s a few more notes:

  • Sonja Chen of MLB.com relays an update from Mets manager Buck Showalter on injured starter Justin Verlander. The veteran is scheduled for a bullpen in Florida, and then if that goes well he’ll throw another side before facing live batters. Once he’s ticked off those, he could be ready for a Mets debut. Verlander hit the shelf after suffering a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle towards the end of spring training. While there’s no firm timetable for his return just yet, it does appear that Mets fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see their star off-season recruit make his debut. The 40-year old Verlander signed with the Mets on a two-year, $86.67MM deal this winter after making 28 starts of 1.75 ERA ball for the Astros last year.
  • John Denton of MLB.com tweets that Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright threw a 50-pitch simulated game prior to last night’s game against the Pirates at Busch Stadium. Wainwright is working his way back from a groin injury suffered in spring training. It’s not entirely clear what the next step for Wainwright is, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go and make a rehab start at some point. The 41-year old has remained a steady presence in the Cardinals’ rotation, making 32 starts in each of the past two seasons and working to a combined 3.37 ERA. Jake Woodward made a strong start against the Pirates last night, but he would appear the likeliest to drop out of the rotation once Wainwright returns.

Red Sox Notes: Duvall, Bello, Paxton

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Adam Duvall’s hot start to the season was cruelly halted when he sustained a distal radius fracture in his left wrist. There was relief initially that Duvall wouldn’t require surgery, but it still appears it’ll be a lengthy recovery time, with Duvall telling Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he won’t be able to swing the bat for six weeks.

“[It’s] maybe six weeks before I can swing again. I’m going to keep running and keep throwing to stay in shape,” Duvall said.

It’s still hard to pinpoint exactly when Duvall might be ready to return to action, but certainly six weeks plus time to build back up again would suggest a return well into the summer. Duvall, a lifetime .233/.292/.472 hitter, went 15-for-33 over his first eight games of the season, slugging four home runs while manning center field for the Red Sox.

It’s a much shorter timeline for starter Brayan Bello to return to the team. The youngster is slated to return on Monday against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels on Boston Marathon day, per Speier. Bello was slowed this spring discomfort in his elbow. Such discomfort is usually hugely alarming in a young pitcher, but it seems it was in fact minor and Bello will only miss the first few weeks of the season.

Bello worked to a 4.71 ERA over 57 1/3 innings last year with a 20.5% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. Bello was tagged for a .404 opponent BABIP, which suggests he might expect to be a little more fortunate in that department over a larger sample size, and indeed his FIP sat at 2.94.

It’ll be intriguing to see how Boston’s rotation shapes up over the next few weeks. Bello’s return will likely be followed by veteran James Paxton, who made another minor league rehab start as he works his way back from a hamstring injury. According to Speier, manager Alex Cora expects Paxton to make at least one more rehab start, but it seemingly won’t be long before he too can be activated from the IL.

Since 2020, Paxton has made just six starts for the Yankees and Mariners, getting tagged for a 6.65 ERA in that small number as he battled injury. He signed with the Red Sox last season, but Tommy John recovery and a lat strain prevented him from ever taking to the mound. He exercised a $4MM player option ahead of the 2023 campaign, but the hamstring injury sustained in spring training delayed his debut.

When he does return the Red Sox will have some decisions to make in their rotation. Chris Sale and Corey Kluber likely aren’t going anywhere, which would leave Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock as the options to be forced out. The Sox seemed determined to give Whitlock a shot at becoming a starter, but if he struggles he might be an easy option to return to a relief role where he found tremendous success. Of course, given the injury history of a number of Boston’s starters, it’s possible all of this just figures itself out or they opt to go with a larger rotation to reduce the workload on their arms.

Giants, Logan Webb Agree To Five-Year, $90MM Extension

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The Giants announced that they have agreed to a five-year, $90MM extension with right-hander Logan Webb. Webb will make $8MM next year, $12MM in 2025, $23MM in both 2026 and 2027, then $24MM in 2028. Webb, an ACES client, had previously been slated to reach the open market after 2025, so this deal buys out three free agent years.

Webb, 26, was selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. His path to establishing himself as a big league starter was tumultuous, as he had Tommy John surgery in 2016 and received an 80-game suspension in 2019 due to a positive test for the banned performance-enhancing substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. He then struggled in his first tastes of the majors, with a 5.22 ERA in eight starts in 2019 and a 5.47 ERA in the shortened 2020 season.

2021, however, was a huge breakout for the righty. He made 26 starts and one relief appearance, eventually logging 148 1/3 innings with a 3.03 ERA. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced while walking just 6%. He also got ground balls at an incredible 60.9% of balls in play, the highest such rate of any pitcher with at least 140 innings pitched that season. Last year, he proved that it was no fluke, throwing 192 1/3 innings over 32 starts, dropping his ERA to 2.90. His strikeout rate dropped to 20.7% but he still got grounders at an excellent 56.7% clip. He finished 11th the National League Cy Young voting.

In addition to establishing himself as the ace of the staff in San Francisco, Webb also crossed the three-year service time mark last year. That allowed him to go through the arbitration process for the first time, with he and the club settling on a $4.6MM salary. He would have been able to go through that two more times but it seems there was mutual interest in getting a long-term deal done instead. It was reported back in February that he and the club had previously had some extension talks, though a deal didn’t get done until today.

Looking to some recent comparables for pitchers in this bracket suggests that Webb did quite well for himself with this deal. Aaron Nola was between three and four years of service when he and the Phillies agreed to a four-year, $45MM deal with a club option. Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins agreed at five years and $56MM with a club option when he was in the same service bucket. Cristian Javier recently set a service record for pitchers between three and four years when he landed a five-year, $64MM guarantee. Webb’s deal trounces that number, although it’s not a perfect comparison, as Webb already had a salary locked in for this year and his new deal doesn’t start until 2024.

Looking to pitchers in between four and five years of service makes it harder to find a great comp. Jeffrey Springs and Chris Paddack recently signed deals in that window, though the Paddack was just embarking on rehab from Tommy John surgery while Springs had only recently moved from the bullpen to starting. In recent years, the Rockies gave five-year deals to both Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela, though neither pitcher is as good as Webb. Jacob deGrom got four years and $120.5MM from the Mets a few years ago, though he was coming off an otherworldly season where he posted a 1.70 ERA while striking out 32.2% of batters faced. However you want to slice it, Webb’s extension stacks up quite favorably when viewed through a historical lens, either topping all three-plus pitchers or falling shy of only deGrom among four-plus pitchers.

Had Webb gone year to year, he would have been a free agent after 2025, his age-28 season. If he continued performing as he has in the past two seasons, he likely could have topped the $70MM he now has locked in for his post-arb years. Even mid-rotation starters like Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon got guarantees in that range this past winter. However, there’s always the risk that injuries or underperformance could have dealt a blow to his earning power in between now and then. Instead, he locks in a decent chunk of change and is still slated to reach the open market after his age-31 season, when he could potentially still be highly sought after, depending on his performance between now and then.

For the Giants, they are betting that Webb will indeed continue to serve a top-of-the-line arm. They don’t have a lot of long-term certainty in their rotation, as they’ve largely relied upon short-term deals for mid-range starters in recent years. Anthony DeSclafani signed a one-year deal for 2021 and then re-signed on a three-year pact that goes through 2024. Alex Wood and Alex Cobb are each in the final season of their respective two-year deals, though the club has a 2024 option for Cobb. Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling each signed two-year deals in the most recent offseason, but they both will have opt-out opportunities in a few months. That gives the club plenty of solid options right now, but all of those guys are in their 30s and potentially departing this year or next. Prior to this deal, Webb would have been slated to follow them out the door not long after, but the Giants can now keep him around through 2028.

The Giants have mostly kept themselves to those short-term deals in recent years, not exactly on purpose. They made attempts to sign marquee players like Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, though those deals didn’t end up coming to fruition. That’s been a source of frustration for many fans, but the upside is that their long-term slate is quite open. Webb now joins Mitch Haniger and Taylor Rogers as the only players locked in for 2025, though Wilmer Flores does have a modest player option for that season as well.

They’ve used some of that payroll flexibility to lock up Webb, who is now the only player written into the ledger for 2026 and beyond. There should still be plenty of room to add other significant salaries next to Webb going forward. After a disappointing 81-81 season last year that followed the 107-win campaign of 2021, the Giants are hoping for better here in 2023. Whether they succeed or not, they have plenty of financial wiggle room to be aggressive in offseasons to come.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Giants Planning To Use Ross Stripling Primarily In Relief

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The Giants went into the season with a somewhat fluid rotation. San Francisco added Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea to a staff that already included Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. That left some question about how skipper Gabe Kapler would divvy up the starts, though there’s more clarity a few weeks into the season.

In an appearance on KNBR radio yesterday, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said the Giants would primarily use Stripling out of the bullpen for now (link via Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News). The front office leader indicated Stripling could take an occasional start as needed to keep others rested, essentially functioning in a swing capacity.

The veteran righty is plenty familiar with that kind of role. Stripling has 105 starts and 102 relief appearances at the big league level. He’s worked at least partially in relief during each season of his career. Stripling logged a career-high workload with the Blue Jays last season, tossing 134 1/3 innings over 32 outings. He’d worked in a swing role through the end of May before assuming a full-time rotation job with Toronto. Stripling posted an excellent 3.01 ERA while keeping his walks to a meager 3.7% clip during that season.

San Francisco added Stripling and Manaea on matching contracts — two years and $25MM with an opt-out after the first season. Manaea came out of the bullpen for his first appearance on April 3 but has started his last two outings, including tonight’s extra-inning loss to the Tigers. Stripling, conversely, started on April 2 and was called upon in relief for his next two appearances. It seems that arrangement will continue, at least assuming everyone’s healthy.

Stripling is off to a tough start to his Giants tenure. He’s been tagged for ten runs in as many innings, serving up a staggering six longballs. His velocity and swing-and-miss rates remain in line with last season’s respective marks but the volume of hard contact in the early going has been untenable.

It’s obviously far too early to make any definitive judgments on the acquisition. There’s plenty of time left in the season. Stripling figures to get consistent rotation run at some point again since virtually no club makes it through a full season without encountering starting pitching injuries. Still, it’s not the start the Giants or Stripling had envisioned — particularly since the inclusion of the opt-out clause in his deal gave Stripling a path to retesting free agency after replicating last year’s success as a starting pitcher.

Manaea’s early results have also been a little rocky. The southpaw has surrendered six runs in 11 1/3 frames, albeit with a solid 13:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Manaea has come out with an early-season velocity spike, though, offering optimism he’ll improve his performance over the coming weeks. He entered play Friday averaging 94.5 MPH on his sinker. That’s more than three ticks above last year’s 91.2 MPH average heater. Manaea topped the 97 MPH mark for the first time in his career during his relief outing, per Brooks Baseball. His velocity predictably wasn’t quite that high during his first start but the 94.2 MPH average fastball he demonstrated was higher than in any of his outings last season.

Austin Wynns Elects Free Agency

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The Giants announced this afternoon that backstop Austin Wynns has elected minor league free agency (relayed by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). He went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier in the week. As a player who has been outrighted multiple times in his career, Wynns had the right to refuse a minor league assignment.

Wynns only appeared in one game for San Francisco this year. The 32-year-old had gotten into 66 games for the Giants last season. He held his own with a respectable .259/.313/.358 line in a depth capacity. Wynns didn’t hit for much power or walk very often but he did a decent job putting the ball in play. He’d preceded his time in San Francisco with an otherworldly .365/.504/.500 line in 33 games for the Phillies’ top affiliate.

The Fresno State product has a more modest overall track record in ten professional seasons. He’s a .230/.274/.335 hitter in 510 major league plate appearances. Wynns owns a .279/.374/.401 line through 163 career games at the Triple-A level.

San Francisco lost veteran catcher Roberto Pérez to a season-ending rotator cuff injury earlier this week. With Wynns no longer in the organization, they’re down to Joey Bart and Rule 5 selection Blake Sabol as catchers on the 40-man roster. They’ll have a little more than two weeks to make a call on Gary Sánchez, who can opt out of his minor league deal on May 1 if he’s not promoted.

Jeffrey Springs Expected To Miss Multiple Months With Arm Injury

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Rays southpaw Jeffrey Springs left yesterday’s start with ulnar neuritis in his throwing arm. That indicated some degree of nerve inflammation in the area and the issue is apparently serious. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Springs is expected to miss two months at a minimum.

The club is still seeking further evaluation, but Topkin ominously adds that the issue extends beyond the nerve. It’s not out of the question that surgery could be required, which would obviously extend Springs’ recovery timetable. Even in a best case scenario, Tampa Bay will be without one of its top starters for an extended stretch.

Springs went for an MRI this morning. Specifics on imaging aren’t clear, though manager Kevin Cash acknowledged to reporters before tonight’s game that he’d miss time. Springs will surely land on the 15-day injured list and seems likely to find himself on the 60-day IL at some point.

It’s a brutal development for a Tampa Bay club that has been firing on all cylinders. Springs has played his part in the Rays’ 13-0 start with a brilliant start to the season. He’d allowed only one run in 16 innings, punching out 24 while walking just four. He’d looked on his way to backing up last year’s breakout showing, when he moved from long reliever to key rotation piece after pitching to a 2.46 ERA through 135 1/3 innings.

The Rays are now down another important starter. Tampa Bay will be without Shane Baz for most or all of the year after last summer’s Tommy John surgery. Tyler Glasnow went down with an oblique strain in Spring Training and isn’t expected to return at least until the middle of May. Offseason signee Zach Eflin hit the 15-day injured list with back tightness earlier in the week.

Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen are locked into the rotation. Josh Fleming has operated at the back of the staff and figures to have a long leash given the injuries. The Rays called upon top prospect Taj Bradley for his MLB debut this week. Bradley was optioned back to Triple-A Durham after that start but can be recalled to replace Springs once he lands on the IL. Luis Patiño and Yonny Chirinos are on the 40-man roster as options for the back end.

A potentially serious injury to Springs would be a tough blow from a longer-term perspective as well. The Rays bet on Springs sustaining last year’s breakout, inking him to a $31MM extension over the offseason. He’s under contract through 2026 with a club option for the ’27 campaign.

Retraction On New Balance Fresh Foam 3000

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Today, we posted a story about how New Balance Fresh Foam 3000 cleats violated regulations set by the Japanese High School Baseball Federation, and are therefore not allowed in Japan’s high school Koshien tournament.  While that is true, we wrote that the cleats were “marketed as a Shohei Ohtani product,” which is not correct.  We regret the error.

Nationals Sign Nomar Mazara, Richie Martin To Minor League Contracts

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The Nationals announced they’ve signed outfielder Nomar Mazara and infielder Richie Martin to minor league deals. Both players have been assigned to Triple-A Rochester.

Mazara has logged MLB time in seven consecutive seasons. The former top prospect never emerged as the middle-of-the-order bat that evaluators and Rangers fans had expected after he mashed through the minor leagues. Mazara had serviceable numbers as a rookie but didn’t take the anticipated step forward over the next few seasons. The left-handed hitter was a slightly below-average offensive player for four seasons before being dealt to the White Sox going into 2020.

Since leaving Arlington, Mazara has fallen on particularly hard times. He’s suited up for the White Sox, Tigers and Padres, logging between 100 and 200 plate appearances in each season. Going back to the start of 2020, Mazara owns a cumulative .235/.295/.324 line with only six home runs and a 25.7% strikeout rate in 501 plate appearances.

The 27-year-old (28 later this month) signed a minor league deal with the Orioles over the winter. He spent the spring with Baltimore, hitting .231/.286/.308 in 39 at-bats. After failing to crack the roster out of camp, he was released at the end of Spring Training. A couple weeks later, Mazara catches on with the Nationals — the sixth organization of his career.

Martin’s only MLB experience has come in Baltimore. Selected out of the Oakland organization with the first pick of the 2018 Rule 5 draft, he hit .208/.260/.322 over 309 plate appearances as a rookie. That enabled the Orioles to retain his long-term contractual rights but he only appeared in 50 more games for the club over the following three seasons.

The University of Florida product is a career .212/.261/.311 hitter over 170 big league games. Martin carries a .240/.336/.366 line at the Triple-A level. Despite the tepid offense, he’s drawn interest as a depth option for his defense throughout the infield. He’ll add some insurance behind the middle infield tandem of CJ Abrams and Luis García with Rochester.

Mariners Select Tommy Milone, Designate J.B. Bukauskas

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The Mariners announced that they have selected left-hander Tommy Milone. He will take the active roster spot of fellow lefty Marco Gonzales, who has been placed on the paternity list. To open a spot on the 40-man for Milone, right-hander J.B. Bukauskas was designated for assignment.

Milone, 36, is a veteran journeyman who has suited up for the Nationals, Athletics, Twins, Mets, Mariners, Orioles, Braves and Blue Jays in his career. Though he was capable of holding down a full-time rotation spot earlier in his career, he’s mostly been called upon for emergency spot start duties or long relief in recent years. Since the end of the 2019 season, he’s made 22 appearances, including 10 starts, posting a 6.33 ERA over 69 2/3 innings. He doesn’t rack up strikeouts but has strong control, with a 5.6% walk rate in his career.

Last year, Milone made seven appearances for the M’s, posting a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings. He also tossed 40 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 2.68 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the club over the winter and has already made one Triple-A start here in 2023, tossing five scoreless innings back on April 4.

The Mariners went into the season with six solid starters, pushing Chris Flexen to a long relief role in the bullpen. However, Robbie Ray landed on the injured list just a few days into the season, with a rough expectation of an absence of four to six weeks. That required putting Flexen back into the rotation and now Milone will step up to start tonight’s game while Gonzales steps away for the birth of his child. Stints on the paternity list are allowed for between one and three days, so it seems likely this will be just a single spot start for Milone.

That roster shuffling results in Bukauskas being designated for assignment for the third time in as many months. The former first round pick was let go by the Diamondbacks over the offseason. Seattle grabbed him off waivers but quickly DFA him themselves. He went unclaimed that time and stuck in the organization. The M’s brought him back last week but will take him back off the roster following one appearance.

Bukauskas has 22 MLB games under his belt. He’s allowed 21 runs in 18 2/3 innings at the highest level, though he did post a 2.66 ERA over 20 1/3 Triple-A frames last year. The Mariners will have a week to deal him or put him back on waivers. Because he’s already gone unclaimed once, Bukauskas would have the ability to elect minor league free agency if he clears waivers.

Athletics Select Tyler Wade, Designate Cal Stevenson

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The A’s announced a series of roster moves today, recalling left-hander Hogan Harris and selecting utility player Tyler Wade. In corresponding moves, righty Adam Oller and infielder Nick Allen were optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. To open a spot for Wade on the 40-man roster, outfielder Cal Stevenson was designated for assignment.

Wade is back in the majors for what’ll be a seventh straight year. A longtime prospect of some regard with the Yankees, the left-handed hitter settled into a depth role in the Bronx. He never tallied more than 145 plate appearances in a season, though he got into 103 games as a frequent pinch-runner and defensive replacement in 2021. Wade’s plus speed has allowed him to swipe 38 bases in his MLB career.

The 28-year-old got his most notable playing time after being traded to the Angels heading into 2022. He picked up 163 trips to the plate but only connected on one home run with a .218/.272/.272 batting line. The Halos outrighted him off their 40-man roster and traded him back to the Yankees last summer. He didn’t return to the majors with New York and elected minor league free agency at year’s end.

Wade hooked on with the A’s on a non-roster deal and has appeared in ten games for Las Vegas. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit but has walked six times while striking out on just seven occasions. Between his contact skills, speed and ability to cover any infield position and all three outfield spots, he’s earned a look on the big league bench. Wade doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so the A’s will have to keep him in the big leagues or designate him for assignment now that he’s secured a spot on the 40-man roster.

While Wade steps into the infield mix, Oakland sends Allen out for the moment. The defensive specialist has long been regarded as one of the better prospects in the A’s system. He’s an excellent gloveman at both middle infield positions but faces questions about his offensive upside. Allen limped to a .207/.256/.291 line over 326 plate appearances as a rookie last season. He’s gotten starts in just five of the first 13 games this year and opened the season in a 1-16 slump. Oakland has given Aledmys Díaz and Kevin Smith most of the shortstop run in the past few days.

Wade’s promotion necessitated bumping a player from the 40-man roster. Stevenson loses his spot despite starting the season with eight hits and six walks over 29 plate appearances for Las Vegas. The 26-year-old outfielder hasn’t gotten much run at the major league level, appearing in 23 games last season with the A’s and struggling to a .167/.261/.217 line after being acquired in the Christian Bethancourt trade.

A former tenth round pick, Stevenson has been involved in a few trades as a professional. He’s also appeared in the Blue Jays, Astros and Tampa Bay organizations and put together an impressive .294/.409/.420 line over parts of five minor league seasons. Stevenson has never gotten much favor from prospect evaluators despite his plate discipline, largely because of limited power potential in his 5’9″ frame. Oakland will have a week to trade him or look to run him through waivers.

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