Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2024

Pirates To Select Domingo German

By | at

The Pirates will select the contract of right-hander Domingo German from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to tomorrow’s game with the Dodgers, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez (X link).  The move comes a day before German’s opt-out date in his most recent minor league contract with Pittsburgh.

It was just over a year ago that German began treatment for alcohol abuse, following a reported incident of an intoxicated German entering the Yankees’ clubhouse and arguing with teammates.  The Yankees placed German on the restricted list and outrighted him off the roster following the season, with German opting to become a free agent.  The trip to the open market led to his first minor league deal with the Pirates, and after his exercised an opt-out clause in mid-July, he re-signed with the Bucs a few days later.

German’s results in Indianapolis have been mixed, as he has a 5.29 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, and 10.3% walk rate in 68 Triple-A innings.  Some of the heavier damage did occur earlier in his Triple-A tenure, though it could be that the Pirates’ hand is being somewhat forced by the pending opt-out date.  It isn’t clear if German will start tomorrow’s game against Los Angeles, or if the Pirates might view him as something of a piggyback starter or long man behind an opener.

Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, and Bailey Falter are lined up to start during the three-game series, so if German does get the start, he could push everyone back a day just to provide the regular rotation members with some extra rest.  Pittsburgh doesn’t play on August 15 and then embarks on a string of 13 games in as many days, so a de facto six-man rotation could help keep everyone fresh for that stretch.  Skenes’ workload has been a big subplot of his incredible rookie season and Jared Jones just started a rehab assignment and could be back from the IL in a couple of weeks, further shaking up the Pirates’ pitching plans as the club also tries to contend for a wild card berth.

German’s first appearance with the Pirates will mark his first Major League game with a team besides the Yankees, as the righty posted a 4.41 ERA over 522 1/3 innings with New York from 2017-23.  German missed the 2019 postseason and the entire 2020 season due to an 81-game suspension for a violation of the MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy, and his checkered resume also includes a 10-game suspension in 2023 for using foreign substances on the ball, as well as the aforementioned stint on the restricted list.  In between those two absences last season, German entered the record books by throwing a perfect game against the A’s on June 28, 2023.

Dodgers, Rangers Had Interest In Blake Snell Prior To Trade Deadline

By | at

Blake Snell was still wearing a San Francisco uniform once the July 30 trade deadline passed, as the Giants’ big asking price and the team’s own desire to retain its ace for the playoff hunt ended whatever chance existed of a blockbuster move.  Reports linked such teams as the Orioles, Padres, Yankees, Mets, and Cubs to Snell’s market in some capacity, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that the Dodgers and Rangers also among the clubs “to check in” on Snell’s availability.

The degree of interest shown for either club isn’t known, and Heyman’s “check in” phrasing implies something of a due-diligence exploration to see how open the Giants might’ve been about moving Snell, and what it might’ve taken to land the southpaw.  Snell would naturally be an upgrade to any rotation, particularly for teams like the Dodgers and Rangers who have been dealing with pitching injuries all season.

Considering how the Giants and Dodgers have made only two trades with each other since the 1968 season, it is hard to imagine San Francisco seriously considered dealing an ace pitcher to their arch-rivals down the California coast.  Even though Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi worked as the Dodgers’ GM before being hired in his current job, it’s probably safe to guess that whatever talks Zaidi had with his old boss Andrew Friedman about Snell were fairly brief in nature.  Los Angeles instead landed Jack Flaherty as its biggest pitching prize of deadline season, and will be counting on Flaherty and some injured pitchers returning from the IL to bolster the staff heading down the stretch and into October.

Landing Snell would’ve completely overturned an otherwise quiet deadline for Texas, as the Rangers brought Andrew Chafin and Carson Kelly into the fold in separate trades with the Tigers, while Michael Lorenzen was dealt to the Royals.  The modest set of moves underscored the Rangers’ uncertainty about making a push with a roster that has underachieved for most of the season.  Texas had gotten up to a 51-52 record on July 25, but have since lost nine of their last 12 games, probably closing the door on a defense of their World Series title.

Similar to the Dodgers, Texas has also been playing without most of its first-choice rotation for the better part of the year.  Several arms were slated to make returns at midseason, but Max Scherzer’s return was short-lived, and other pitchers (such as Jon Gray) have since gotten hurt in the interim.  A win-now move like acquiring Snell might’ve backfired if the rest of the roster wasn’t up to par, so it could be that the Rangers also had something of a cursory interest in Snell’s services.

Beyond just this trade deadline, however, these teams’ interest in Snell could extend to the offseason.  Snell can opt out of the second year of his Giants contract to re-enter free agency, which now seems to be likely given Snell’s incredible results since returning from the IL last month.  (As Heyman hears from two rival general managers, “it would take a ’catastrophic’ or ’debilitating’ injury for Snell to exercise” his 2025 player option and remain in San Francisco.)  Texas has a lot of money coming off the books this winter and Los Angeles is always open to signing top free agents, so these could be two teams to monitor if and when Snell hits the open market.

Diamondbacks Notes: Kelly, Moreno

By | at

Merrill Kelly’s last big league pitching appearance was on April 15, as the Diamondbacks right-hander looked terrific in his first four starts before being sidelined by a right shoulder strain.  After almost four months on the shelf, Kelly now looks to be nearing a return, with manager Torey Lovullo hinting to reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) that Kelly will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list in time to start on Sunday when the D’Backs host the Phillies.

It won’t be official until Kelly gets through a bullpen session slated for Friday, but as Lovullo put it, “you guys can read between the lines” about the team’s plans.  “You get to a certain pitch count…when things get beyond three innings [in rehab starts], it gets real.  We like when it gets in that 80-pitch range.  We fire downrange when we’ve gotten into that spot before.  So stay tuned.”

Kelly already passed the three-inning threshold in his first minor league rehab assignment last Tuesday, when he threw 62 pitches over four innings with the high-A Everett affiliate.  Given both his long layoff and the fact that he has faced only A-ball competition, it is a little surprising that this will apparently be Kelly’s only rehab outing, but Lovullo said that “reports were really good” and that Kelly “did exactly what we wanted him to do.”  The manager noted that Kelly would be on something of a limited pitch count on Sunday, in the range of 75-80 pitches as the D’Backs ease him into action.

Now in his sixth season with Arizona, Kelly has become a rotation stalwart for the Snakes, posting a 3.75 ERA over his 775 1/3 regular-season innings.  The righty’s first MLB season (in 2019) saw him post 183 1/3 innings, and he then averaged 179 frames over the 2021-23 seasons, as Kelly missed a couple of months in that stretch with some relatively minor injuries but was otherwise a durable arm.  He gained more national attention during the Diamondbacks’ run to the NL pennant last fall, posting a 2.25 ERA in 24 playoff innings.

With Kelly on the verge of returning and Eduardo Rodriguez making his season debut earlier this week, the D’Backs will finally have their first-choice starting rotation intact for the first time all season.  Ironically, this reinforced rotation comes just as the team has taken a big blow behind the plate, as Gabriel Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with a left adductor strain.

Moreno will miss “several weeks” recovering, Lovullo told Arizona Sports (video link), and a more solid timeline could be known once the catcher “gets some second opinions” and a broader examination of his MRI results.  While Lovullo didn’t give any indication that Moreno’s injury could end his season, such a possibility can’t be ruled out simply due to the calendar and the fact that Moreno looks to be out until September at the earliest.  Any kind of setback could shut Moreno down entirely for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, and perhaps into whatever postseason activity could await the Diamondbacks.

The former star prospect has continued to impress in his second full Major League season, hitting .262/.344/.385 with five home runs over 314 plate appearances while delivering impressive defense.  There wouldn’t have been an easy way for the D’Backs to replace Moreno even if he’d gotten hurt before the trade deadline, but if he is looking at an extended absence, the pickings are slim for the Snakes to bolster the catching ranks.  Jose Herrera and rookie Adrian Del Castillo comprise Arizona’s catching corps, but Andrew Knizner was just claimed off waivers from the Rangers today to give the Snakes a bit more experienced depth behind the plate.

No Extension Talks Yet Between Orioles, Anthony Santander

By | at

Anthony Santander is slated to become a free agent following the season, and the outfielder told reporters (including Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com) that the Orioles haven’t yet had any extension talks.  The lack of negotiations didn’t seem to bother Santander since he is “just focusing on helping my team win right now,” but he reiterated that he wanted to remain in Baltimore.

“This is the team that gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues,” Santander said.  “I like where we are right now.  We are a really good team.  This team is about to get in a World Series soon, hopefully this year.  Of course I would like to stay here for the rest of my career….So happy and thank you for the fans that want me to stay here.”

Santander began his pro career in Cleveland’s organization, but he came to the Orioles in the December 2016 Rule 5 Draft, and has subsequently become one of the most-cited examples of how the R5 can add talent to a team’s roster.  After making his MLB debut in 2017, Santander struggled in his first few tastes of big league action before finally breaking out during the shortened 2020 campaign.  After a dropoff in 2021, he got back on track in 2022-23 and has now stepped up again with the best full season of his career.

Aaron Judge is the only player with more homers than Santander this season, as the O’s stalwart has left the yard 34 times — already a career high even in early August.  Santander’s power has fueled his 137 wRC+ and overall .248/.311/.540 slash line.  The batting average and OBP almost exactly match his career averages, but while consistent hitting and getting on-base isn’t always easy for Santander, he has an above-average strikeout rate and makes the most of his contact.  He ranks in the 92nd percentile of all hitter in barrels this season, with an even 40 over his 110 games.

Between this offense, a solid right-field glove, and the fact that 2025 will be Santander’s age-30 season, the outfielder figures to land a very nice payday on the free agent market this winter.  The Orioles will surely issue him a qualifying offer, and Santander will just as surely reject that one-year offer in search of a longer-term deal, so the O’s would land a compensatory draft pick if Santander signed elsewhere.

With David Rubenstein now owning the Orioles, it is no longer a foregone conclusion that Santander will be wearing another uniform in the coming years.  Rubenstein already okayed a modest payroll increase to fund the Orioles’ trade deadline moves, and GM Mike Elias figures to have considerably more money to work with as the front office figures out the best route to sustaining and building on its outstanding core of young talent.  Since Rubenstein only officially took over the club last spring, this offseason represents a new era for the franchise in terms of how the O’s will approach trades, free agent signings, and the possibility of retaining productive stars like Santander.

To this same end, it isn’t surprising that Elias and company haven’t yet explored a contract extension with Santander’s reps, given the overlap of Rubenstein’s purchase and Spring Training (when most teams hash out extensions with impending free agents).  Players generally prefer to eliminate distractions by halting contract talks once the season begins, so there’s nothing unusual in the two sides not holding any discussions.

That said, Santander’s future in Baltimore has long been considered a question mark exactly due to that young core.  Santander’s name surfaced in trade speculation back when the Orioles were still rebuilding, but the club held onto him due to his veteran presence and the continued production that Santander brought to an O’s team that got back to contention a little earlier than expected.  The longtime outfeld trio of Santander, Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays was officially broken up at the trade deadline when Hays was dealt to the Phillies, and Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad are now viewed as the outfield staples of the future.  With this duo already getting big-league action and notable outfield prospects Dylan Beavers, Enrique Bradfield, and Jud Fabian down on the farm, Baltimore might opt to let Santander walk, and replace him either from within or with a short-term veteran outfield bat.  Ryan O’Hearn’s club option for 2025 seems like a strong bet to be exercised, giving the Orioles more corner outfield depth.

Rich Hill To Throw For Interested Clubs On Friday

By | at

Free agent left-hander Rich Hill is going to be throwing for interested clubs on Friday, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s not known which clubs will attend the throwing session but Hill has already reportedly received interest from the Yankees and Dodgers.

Hill is attempting a fairly unique mercenary mission this year, something that he’s had in mind for a while. Back in August of 2022, he told Rob Bradford of WEEI that he wanted to skip the first half of 2023 but then participate in the second half. The idea would allow him to both spend more time with his family, choose a team in playoff contention and also theoretically give him more firepower as he wouldn’t need to pace himself for the grind of a full season.

Though the idea was in his head over a year ago, he didn’t follow through on it in 2023. He signed with the Pirates on a one-year, $8MM deal, making 22 starts with a 4.76 earned run average. He got flipped to the Padres at the deadline but then both he and the club faltered. He got bumped to the bullpen and was even put on waivers at one point but went unclaimed. He ultimately recorded an 8.23 ERA in his ten outings with the Friars.

He has been more committed to the plan this year. In October of last year, he mentioned it to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and hasn’t diverted since. In May of this year, he told Ian Browne of MLB.com that he had turned down offers from three clubs in the offseason but was still throwing to keep his midseason plan afloat. Last month, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reported that Hill was throwing from a mound and had interest from the Yankees and Dodgers.

It’s an intriguing experiment and the timing is also perhaps not a coincidence. With the trade deadline now in the rear-view mirror, teams are fairly hamstrung in how they can go about upgrading their rosters. There are still a few ways, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently laid out, but most of them involve making moves around the margins.

The recent trade deadline was often characterized by observers as having a lack of clear sellers, which seemingly led to high asking prices on the few players that were available. For clubs that balked at those prices, they may be intrigued by the opportunity to acquire Hill for nothing more than cash.

A source tells Murray that Hill isn’t even doing this for the money but more a desire to win. Hill has already banked over $75MM in earnings, per his Baseball Reference page, but doesn’t have a ring. He pitched in the postseason for the 2007 Cubs and then the Dodgers from 2016 to 2019, but he was with the Twins in 2020 when the Dodgers won the World Series.

Hill could potentially be an impact addition if the self-shortened season allows him to get back to his old self. He’s already had one of the more unique trajectories, as he debuted way back in 2005 and had one of his best seasons in 2007, tossing 195 innings for the Cubs with a 3.92 ERA.

But his results tapered off from there and he struggled to get a lengthy opportunity for almost a decade. From 2008 to 2015, he didn’t hit 60 innings pitched in any of those major league seasons due to a combination of injuries and underperformance. He came roaring back with the Dodgers in 2016, his age-36 season, and kicked off a remarkable second act. From that year and through 2020, he had a 3.01 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate in 476 innings.

In 2021, his age-41 season, his ERA climbed to 3.86. Then it was 4.27 in 2022 and 5.41 between the Pirates and Padres last year. Perhaps Hill’s ERA would have continued climbing if he tried to pitch another full season but he’s hoping that acting as a late-season hired gun will help him deliver better results with less volume.

How that plays out will be an interesting situation to monitor. There are only about seven weeks remaining in the regular season schedule at this point. Though Hill is throwing on his own, he will probably require a few weeks of ramp-up once he signs, a sort of belated Spring Training. In a best-case scenario, he can bolster a club’s rotation down the stretch and then factor into their postseason rotation as one of the freshest October arms around, despite now being 44 years old. Per Murray, Friday’s throwing session takes place at 10am Eastern time at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Diamondbacks Claim Andrew Knizner

By | at

The Diamondbacks have claimed catcher Andrew Knizner off waivers from the Rangers and optioned him to Triple-A Reno, per announcements from both clubs. The backstop was designated for assignment by Texas earlier this week. Arizona designated right-hander Luis Frías for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Knizner, 29, was non-tendered by the Cardinals at the end of last year then signed with the Rangers, agreeing to a $1.825MM salary. He’s not considered a strong defender but put up a respectable .241/.288/.424 batting line with St. Louis last year while hitting ten home runs in 241 plate appearances. The resulting 92 wRC+ indicates he was 8% worse than the league average hitter but that’s not bad by backup catcher standards.

The Rangers were likely hoping for something in that ballpark but didn’t get it. They sent him to the plate 93 times this year as backup to Jonah Heim but Knizner slashed .167/.183/.211. He only hit one home run and drew walks at a tiny rate of 1.1%, a far drop from last year’s 5% clip, which was already subpar. Texas acquired Carson Kelly from the Tigers prior to the deadline and nudged Knizner off their roster.

For the Diamondbacks, there’s sense in putting in the claim and hoping for a bounceback. Most of their playing time behind the plate this year has gone to Gabriel Moreno and Tucker Barnhart but neither is on the active roster now. When Moreno was on the injured list earlier in the year due to a sprained left thumb, José Herrera was recalled to pair with Barnhart. When Moreno was ready to return, the club decided to keep Herrera, so Barnhart was designated for assignment and released last month. But Moreno went back on the IL again earlier this week, this time due to a left adductor strain.

Adrian Del Castillo was added to the roster to take Moreno’s place and pair with Herrera. The Snakes evidently feel okay riding with that duo for now, but sending Knizner to Reno gives them some extra depth and gives Knizner a chance for some regular plate appearances in a hitter-friendly setting.

The length of his optional assignment could have impacts for him personally. He came into this season with four years and 21 days of service time. A new year rolls over at 172 days, meaning he needs 151 days in the majors this year to hit the five-year mark. He added 123 days to that before the Rangers optioned him prior to his DFA, so he’s still shy of the line but could get over it if he’s recalled at some point for a few weeks.

Frías, now 26, has spent his entire professional career in the Diamondbacks’ organization. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, he climbed his way through the minor league system and was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, keeping him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

He has spent the past four years providing the Diamondbacks with an optionable relief arm. Players normally only have three option years but are sometimes granted a fourth. As MLBTR covered previously, a club is granted a fourth option on a player who has exhausted the first three but without playing five full seasons, with a “full” season defined as 90 active days either in the majors or minors. The shortened 2020 season reportedly does not count. It appears Frias didn’t play a “full” season until 2019, then 2020 didn’t count, so he only had four “full” seasons after 2023.

Over his four seasons being shuttled between the big leagues and the farm, he has thrown 57 2/3 major league innings with a 6.55 earned run average. His 18.1% strikeout rate, 15.6% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate are each a few ticks worse than league average.

In the minors, he’s racked up more strikeouts but with the control still being an issue. From the start of 2021 to the present, he has thrown 215 1/3 innings on the farm with a 4.43 ERA. He has struck out 28.5% of batters faced but given out walks at a 10% clip.

Frías will be out of options next year, so perhaps he was running out of time with the Diamondbacks. Since the trade deadline has passed, they will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. If another club puts in a claim, they could option him for the rest of the year but he would have less roster flexibility starting next year. He has between one and two years of service time and therefore has five extra years of club control still won’t be arbitration eligible this winter.

Blue Jays Acquire Tommy Nance From Padres

By | at

The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Génesis Cabrera has been placed on the paternity list with right-hander Tommy Nance selected to take his place on the active roster. The Blue Jays’ 40-man roster count was at 37 after their deadline dealings but now jumps to 38. Nance had been with the Padres on a minor league deal but the Jays acquired him for cash yesterday, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on X.

Though the trade deadline has passed, certain swaps are still allowed. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored the different ways teams can still add to their rosters after the deadline and noted that trades are still allowed if the players involved have not been on a 40-man roster this year.

Nance, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Padres in December and had been with their Triple-A club all year until this trade. He has thrown 33 1/3 innings over his 26 appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 4.05 earned run average. He struck out 23.3% of batters faced, limited walks to a 5.3% clip and got batters to hit grounders at a 51% rate.

Despite that decent performance, he wasn’t likely to crack the San Diego bullpen, especially after they bolstered it at the deadline by trading for Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing. The Toronto bullpen, on the other hand, is far more open. They traded Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson prior to the deadline. They also placed Jordan Romano on the injured list and now will be without Cabrera for at least a brief spell.

That will give Nance the opportunity to build upon his career numbers. He pitched for the 2021 Cubs and 2022 Marlins and currently has a 5.47 ERA in 72 1/3 innings. His 10.5% walk rate in that time was a tad high but his 26.9% strikeout rate and 50.5% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. His .324 batting average on balls in play, 68% strand rate and 18.9% home run to fly ball ratio all helped put some more runs on the board. For what it’s worth, his 4.23 FIP and 3.48 SIERA suggest he may have deserved better than the ERA would indicate.

Nance was still with the Marlins last year but missed the first few months of the season with a shoulder strain. He was reinstated from the IL in August but then optioned to Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. He was then returned to the IL due to an oblique strain, making it mostly a lost season for him. He was outrighted by the Marlins at season’s end, elected free agency and then signed his aforementioned deal with the Padres.

The righty is now out of options but has just over two years of major league service time. If he can hang onto his roster spot until the end of the season, he still won’t be arbitration eligible and can be cheaply retained into the future.

Germán Márquez Won’t Return In 2024

By | at

Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez landed on the 15-day injured list last month due to elbow inflammation. Manager Bud Black tells Manny Randhawa of MLB.com that Márquez won’t be able to make it back to the mound this year. As Randhawa relayed on X, the righty’s ulnar collateral ligament is fine but he has a stress reaction in his elbow and won’t be able to throw for six to eight weeks. Since there’s just over seven weeks remaining in the regular season, he won’t be coming back this year.

2024 will ultimately go down as a mostly lost season for the righty. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and was able to come off the injured list in July. He made just one start, allowing three earned runs in four innings, before going back on the IL.

Today’s news is somewhat positive in the sense that the righty’s UCL is not affected and he can have a normal offseason in preparation for 2025. But it’s also less than ideal for him to be going into next year with just four innings thrown this year. Ideally, he would have had the last couple of months of the schedule to compile a decent workload to build off next year, but that won’t be possible now.

The Colorado rotation has been an issue this year, to put it mildly. The club’s starters have a collective 5.45 earned run average, worst in the majors. That’s not necessarily a surprise, between the usual challenges of pitching at Coors Field and the injury issues the club has had. In addition to Márquez, Antonio Senzatela has also missed the entire season thus far due to his own Tommy John surgery recovery. He’s slated to start a rehab assignment tonight. Kyle Freeland also missed a couple of months due to an elbow strain and has only made 12 starts this year.

With Márquez unable to come back this year, the group is unlikely to get back on track anytime soon. Just today, another domino fell as Ryan Feltner was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, though it’s not yet known exactly how much time the club is expecting him to miss.

It’s theoretically possible to imagine the group being in better shape next year with with full and healthy seasons from Márquez, Senzatela and Freeland. The Rockies signed all three of those pitchers to extensions as they envisioned that trio as their rotation core. Márquez was in the final season of his deal last year when he went under the knife, but he and the club subsequently reunited on a second extension that goes through 2025.

The extended absence from Márquez complicates things somewhat. He only tossed 20 innings last year, meaning he’ll be going into 2025 with just 24 innings thrown in the previous two seasons. That could lead to tricky questions about how to handle his workload next year. He did toss 975 1/3 innings from 2017 to 2022 with a 4.38 ERA, tossing between 162 and 196 innings in each full season of that stretch as well as 81 2/3 frames in the shortened 2020 campaign, but it’s fair to wonder if his elbow will allow him to simply jump back to that level.

There are other questions to be answered as well. As mentioned, Senzatela will be rehabbing and could get some major league starts under his belt before the season ends. Freeland has been off the IL for about six weeks now and seems healthy apart from a blister he’s been dealing with lately, but he could finish with an ERA above 5.00 for the second straight season. Though to be fair, his .348 BABIP and 62.4% strand rate might be clouding things this year. His 4.13 FIP and 4.24 SIERA suggest a sunnier outlook.

Cal Quantrill figures to be in the mix since he has one more arbitration season left and wasn’t traded prior to the deadline. He has a 4.56 ERA over his 23 starts this year. Feltner is having a decent season and will be part of the calculus as well, as long as this shoulder injury doesn’t linger into next year. His even 5.00 ERA doesn’t look great but his .321 BABIP and and 62.9% strand rate are both on the unlucky side. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a bit low but his 7.3% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate are both solid, which is why he has a 4.30 FIP and 4.26 SIERA. Austin Gomber, like Quantrill, can be retained for one more arbitration season and is having decent campaign with a 4.66 ERA in 21 starts.

Though this year has been rough, the club arguably has six decent starters on hand for its 2025 rotation between Márquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Quantrill, Gomber and Feltner. Baseball rarely allows clubs to follow a script, however, and the picture will undoubtedly change between now and then. The latest on Márquez already puts a bit of a wrench in their plans, though ideally things will progress well after his upcoming shutdown period.

Jesus Luzardo Won’t Pitch Again In 2024

By | at

Aug. 8: Luzardo tells Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base that he is indeed done for the 2024 season and has already set his sights on rehabbing and preparing for a full season in 2025.

Luzardo acknowledged some frustration and disappointment with how the 2024 season has progressed for him. He’s still riding a bike and performing various exercises to keep in shape, but there’s simply not enough time left on the calendar for him to get back on the mound this year.

Aug. 6: Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo hasn’t pitched since June 16 due to a stress reaction in his lower back. The team never announced a formal timeline for his return, but Luzardo was moved to the 60-day injured list just a week after his initial IL placement, suggesting he’d be down for at least two months. It now seems his absence will extend even further, as the Marlins revealed yesterday that Luzardo’s no-throw period is expected to last another six weeks (X link via Isaac Azout of Fish On First).

Miami hasn’t said as much officially, but a six-week timeline simply to resume throwing all but eliminates the possibility of Luzardo making it back to the mound before the end of the season. Six weeks from yesterday would put Luzardo on about Sept. 16 before he even picks up a ball. The regular season ends just 13 days later, on Sept. 29.

If the back injury indeed proves season-ending, it’ll close the book on a frustrating year for the talented but inconsistent Luzardo. The 26-year-old southpaw pitched to a flat 5.00 ERA in a dozen starts spanning 66 2/3 innings. He missed time early with elbow tightness that led to concerns of another major arm injury — Luzardo had Tommy John surgery in high school — but he returned strong, posting a 3.98 ERA in 40 2/3 innings between IL stints. Half the damage against him (nine of his 18 earned runs in this stretch) came in one brutal June 4 outing against the Rays. His other six starts ranged from good to excellent.

The injury complicates the outlook of a pitcher who earlier this year looked like a surefire trade candidate. Even if Luzardo had been able to come back healthy for four to five starts late in the season, that might’ve been enough to showcase his health to potential offseason suitors. It’d hardly have been an ideal platform year, but other clubs could’ve felt reasonably confident they’d be getting a healthy version of the pitcher who from 2022-23 pitched 279 innings of 3.48 ERA ball while punching out nearly 29% of his opponents with a walk rate that sat a bit better than average.

Instead, teams eyeing Luzardo will have to factor in not only the early elbow issue but also the back injury that torpedoed his season. That previously referenced 2022-23 production is still alluring, as are the remaining two years of club control over Luzardo, but the health risk will be just as great a focus (if not greater).

Marlins president of baseball ops Peter Bendix and his staff will need to weigh offers this winter against what they think they could theoretically receive in a midseason deal. It’s possible, if not likely, that a healthy version of Luzardo in June/July could command more than the offseason version with significant health concerns — even though in the offseason Miami would be peddling two full seasons of club control as opposed to 1.5 seasons next summer. The Tigers went down a similar path with fellow lefty Matthew Boyd several years ago, fielding offers at multiple deadlines and through multiple offseasons while injuries continued to impact his stock. They ultimately wound up non-tendering Boyd in 2021 and losing the left-hander for nothing.

Holding Luzardo into the 2025 season could carry similar risk, but the front office also surely wants to avoid taking what’s perceived as a light package — only to see Luzardo bounce back with a healthy first half in 2025. It’s a fine line to walk and will be one of the most complex decisions for the Miami baseball operations staff this winter.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

By | at

MLBTR's Steve Adams hosted a live chat today at 2:00pm CT, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Click the link below to read the transcript.

 

 

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top