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Latest On Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez

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SEPT. 25: The Red Sox received “really good news” regarding Rodriguez on Friday, Roenicke told Ian Browne of MLB.com and other reporters. Rodriguez has been cleared to start walking again in a couple of weeks, and the Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to have a normal offseason.

SEPT. 24: The Red Sox have gone all season without their two best starters, left-handers Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, because of health problems. Thanks in part to their absences, the Red Sox have gone a horrible 22-34 – the second-worst record in the American League. However, the hope is that the Red Sox will have one or both of the Sale-Rodriguez tandem back when the 2021 campaign commences.

Manager Ron Roenicke issued updates on Sale and Rodriguez on Thursday, saying (via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic; Twitter links) that the former is coming along well in his recently started throwing program and the latter will meet with doctors in the coming days to determine next steps. Sale has been on the shelf since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March, while Rodriguez has been down with myocarditis after a bout with the coronavirus.

For Boston’s starting staff, there’s no doubting the importance of Sale or Rodriguez. Sale, a longtime ace, signed a five-year, $145MM extension before the 2019 season, and while his numbers dipped after that, he remained an above-average starter. He still has four guaranteed seasons left on that deal. Rodriguez has given the Red Sox solid production since he debuted in 2015, and with next season being his final year of arbitration eligibility, it could be a crucial campaign for him.

Without Sale and Rodriguez, the Red Sox’s rotation has struggled to the majors’ second-worst ERA and FIP in 2020. They’ve completely lacked solutions beyond Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez, who could return to the team next year as complements to Sale and Rodriguez if the latter two are well enough to pitch by then.

Mike Clevinger Suffers Sprained Right Elbow

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SEPT. 25: Clevinger doesn’t have any UCL damage, per Robert Murray. Rather, he has been been diagnosed with a right elbow posterior impingement has received a cortisone shot, Cassavell tweets. The Padres haven’t given up on a wild-card return for Clevinger, according to manager Jayce Tingler (via Cassavell). “We’re optimistic that he will be able to pitch going forward,” said Tingler. 

SEPT. 24: Clevinger has a sprained elbow, and the Padres won’t know until Sunday or perhaps at the beginning of next week whether he’ll be able to resume throwing this season, according to Acee. The likelihood is that Clevinger will at least miss the wild-card round, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

SEPT. 23, 5:56pm: The Padres are worried they’ll lose Clevinger for the playoffs because of a muscle strain or tendonitis, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI.

4:18pm: Padres right-hander Mike Clevinger threw a 1-2-3 first inning with two strikeouts against the Angels on Wednesday, but he departed after that for an undisclosed reason. The Padres were not planning on pulling Clevinger that soon in the game, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets.

It’s worth noting that Clevinger had his previous start last Saturday pushed back because of bicep tightness, so this situation could be especially alarming news for the playoff-bound Padres. San Diego sent a haul to Cleveland for Clevinger at the Aug. 31 trade deadline, and the 29-year-old has since been highly effective over three starts. As a member of the Padres, Clevinger owns a 3.00 ERA with 17 strikeouts and three walks across 18 innings.

Based on what he has done as a Padre (not to mention his performance with the Indians over the past couple seasons), Clevinger could be a major difference maker in the playoffs for San Diego. The Padres do boast two other front-end starters in Dinelson Lamet and Zach Davies, while Chris Paddack and Garrett Richards offer another pair of proven options, but they won’t be at their best if they have to enter the postseason without Clevinger.

J.D. Martinez Doesn’t Expect To Opt Out

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Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez will face an opt-out decision at season’s end, but the slugger told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic and other reporters Friday that he’s unlikely to leave behind the remainder of his contract.

“Given the situation, I’m probably not leaning that way,” said Martinez, who will discuss the matter with agent Scott Boras.

It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Martinez stay put, as he’d otherwise be vacating the final two years and $38.75MM left on his deal. Martinez is slated to earn that money as part of the five-year, $110MM contract he signed before 2018, at which point the former Astro, Tiger and Diamondback was one of the sport’s most feared sluggers. Martinez continued to thrive in his first year in Boston, which he helped to a World Series then, but has since seen his production tumble.

While Martinez remained a terrific hitter last year, when he slashed .304/.383/.557 with 36 home runs in 657 plate appearances, those numbers still fell well shy of the otherworldly output he managed from 2016-17. Martinez could have opted out after last season, but he elected not to do so.

As for this season, it’s shocking how poorly Martinez has performed, as the 33-year-old owns a .217/.293/.389 line with a mere six homers over 222 trips to the plate. It’s the worst production Martinez has offered since 2013, his final season with the Astros and the last year before he broke through as a star offensive player.

Even if Martinez had another fine campaign, opting out would have been risky because of the uncertain economic landscape a pandemic-shortened season will present for baseball. Martinez even expressed leeriness about the upcoming free-agency period three weeks ago. Now, it looks even less likely he’ll return to the open market in the coming weeks.

Mariners Claim Ian Hamilton

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The Mariners have claimed right-hander Ian Hamilton off waivers from the White Sox, per an announcement from Seattle. The White Sox designated Hamilton for assignment Sept. 18.

Thanks in part to shoulder problems, the 25-year-old Hamilton – who attended high school and college in Washington state – hasn’t taken the mound since Aug. 11. So far this season, he has thrown four innings of two-run ball with five walks against four strikeouts. In all, between this season and his debut in 2018, Hamilton has tossed 12 frames, given up seven runs (six earned), and totaled nine strikeouts against seven walks. The former 11th-round pick (2016) didn’t pitch at all in the majors last season on account of shoulder and jaw injuries.

While his MLB career hasn’t gone that well so far, there’s little harm in taking a chance on Hamilton from the Mariners’ perspective. After all, Hamilton remains a promising flamethrower who was dominant at the Triple-A level as recently as 2018. That year, Hamilton put up a 1.71 ERA/2.76 FIP and notched 9.57 K/9, 1.37 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent groundball rate in 26 1/3 innings.

Twins Designate Homer Bailey

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The Twins announced that they have designated right-hander Homer Bailey for assignment and selected fellow righty Edwar Colina.

This is a surprising outcome for Bailey, a former Red who revived his career between Kansas City and Oakland last year. The Twins, fresh off an AL Central title, then signed Bailey to a one-year, $7MM guarantee last offseason. Minnesota only got two starts and eight innings from Bailey this year, though.

Bailey, 34, landed on the injured list with biceps tendinitis after his first start of the season July 28, and he returned from nearly a two-month absence on Tuesday. Bailey threw three innings of one-run ball in that game – a win over the Tigers – but it wasn’t enough to save his job with the playoff-bound Twins, who count Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Rich Hill and Michael Pineda as their top four starters.

Colina, meanwhile, is a hard-throwing 23-year-old who ranks among the Twins’ 20 best prospects at MLB.com (No. 16) and FanGraphs (No. 16). MLB.com writes that while Colina has a chance to turn into a major league starter, “an impact reliever” role may also be in his future. Colina divided last year among High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, where he combined for a 2.96 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over 97 1/3 innings.

Reds Release Nate Jones

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The Reds have released right-handed reliever Nate Jones, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com was among those to report. The Reds previously designated Jones for assignment on Tuesday.

Jones, a native of nearby Kentucky, joined the Reds on a minor league contract in the offseason and wound up throwing 18 2/3 innings out of their bullpen this year. While the 34-year-old managed excellent strikeout and walk rates (11.09 K/9, 2.89 BB/9), averaged just under 96 mph on his fastball and posted a personal-best 15.3 percent swinging-strike rate, he was nonetheless victimized for a 6.27 ERA/5.49 FIP. A career-worst .400 batting average on balls in play helped cause Jones’ issues, though it’s worth noting he had a miserable 2020 from a Statcast perspective, including ranking in the league’s bottom one percentile in average exit velocity against.

Of course, it wasn’t that long ago Jones a key part of the White Sox’s bullpen. At his best, he tossed 70 2/3 innings of 2.29 ERA/2.93 FIP ball with 10.19 K/9 and 1.91 BB/9 in 2016, but a series of injuries have helped derail him since then. Jones, in fact, has only combined for a matching 70 2/3 frames over four seasons since his career campaign.

Brewers Place Corbin Burnes On IL With Oblique Strain

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The Brewers have placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, the team announced. They recalled infielder Ryon Healy and righty J.P. Feyereisen in corresponding moves.

Burnes left his final start of the regular season Thursday, a crucial loss to the Cardinals, with an injury, though it was reported to be a back issue at the time. It was unclear then whether Burnes would pitch again this season for a Brewers team that’s vying for a playoff spot, but it now appears he definitely won’t return to the mound in 2020.

Regardless of whether the Brewers make the playoffs, 2020 will go down as a resounding success for Burnes. He was among the majors’ least successful hurlers in 2019, when he pitched to a horrific 8.82 ERA/6.09 FIP in 49 innings, but turned around his fortunes during a breakout regular season this year. The 25-year-old performed like one of the game’s premier starters with a 2.11 ERA/2.03 FIP and 13.27 K/9 against 3.67 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings.

Monte Harrison Changes Representation

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Marlins outfielder Monte Harrison has changed agencies and hired MVP Sports Group as representation, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. MLBTR has made a note of it in our Agency Database.

Harrison, who turned 25 in August, became a pro when the Brewers chose him in the second round of the 2014 draft. He eventually turned into a top 100 prospect, ranking as Baseball America’s 75th-best farmhand in 2018, though the Brewers traded Harrison to the Marlins in January of that year in part of a deal that delivered outfielder Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. Yelich has since made two All-Star appearances and won an MVP, while the Marlins haven’t gotten much major league value from Harrison or any of the other players they received in the deal.

In fairness to Harrison, this is just his first season at baseball’s top level, so it’s far too soon to determine whether he’ll evolve into a capable major leaguer. He hasn’t produced across his first 47 plate appearances this season, though, having batted .140/.213/.233 with one home run and 24 strikeouts.

Corbin Burnes Exits Start With Lower Back Issue

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Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes left his start Thursday with lower back discomfort, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com was among those to report. Burnes, making his final start of the regular season, lasted just 3 2/3 innings and yielded three earned runs on six hits against the division-rival Cardinals.

Thursday’s performance was among the worst outings of 2020 for Burnes, who has unexpectedly turned into one of the game’s premier hurlers this season. Including Thursday’s rough showing, the 25-year-old gave the Brewers 59 2/3 frames of 2.11 ERA/2.03 FIP pitching with 13.27 K/9, 3.62 BB/9 and a 46.4 percent groundball rate during a breakthrough regular season. It’s a far cry from the dreadful 8.82 ERA Burnes posted across 49 innings in 2019, when he yielded home runs on 38.2 percent of fly balls.

At 27-28, the Brewers are fighting for their playoff lives in a crucial five-game set in St. Louis. If the Brewers do make the postseason, they’ll obviously want Burnes to factor into their rotation, which he and Brandon Woodruff have led. However, it’s unclear whether Burnes will be healthy enough to return by then.

Kevin Gausman Open To Staying With Giants

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Although he’s soon to become one of the top free-agent pitchers in the majors, right-hander Kevin Gausman has interest in remaining with the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As Schulman points out, you’d expect that type of sentiment from a pending free agent. However, Gausman noted that the presence of Giants icon and catcher Buster Posey was among the reasons he signed with them, and he’d like to pitch to Posey next season.

[RELATED: 2020-21 Free Agents]

Unfortunately for Gausman, he hasn’t gotten an opportunity to team with Posey yet. The backstop opted out of the season before it began because of coronavirus concerns. In the absence of the six-time All-Star, the Giants have turned to a combination of touted prospect Joey Bart, Chadwick Tromp and Tyler Heineman behind the plate. The Giants hope Bart will end up as the long-term successor to Posey, but the latter is still under contract for 2021. That means Gausman could get his wish to work with Posey if he re-signs in the offseason.

Less than a year ago, the Giants bought relatively low on Gausman – a former Oriole, Brave and Red – with a $9MM guarantee, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old has since turned in one of the best seasons of his career. Through 58 2/3 innings, the hard-throwing Gausman has logged a 3.68 ERA with 11.81 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9. He ranks seventh among qualified National League starters in both strikeouts per nine and FIP (3.15).

Considering his output with San Francisco, there’s little doubt Gausman will do land a much bigger payday during the upcoming winter. In fact, it’s quite possible the Giants will hand Gausman a qualifying offer before free agency commences.

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