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J.D. Martinez’s Ex-Representative Suing Over Agency Switch

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In November 2017, at the start of what became a lucrative but drawn-out trip to free agency, slugger J.D. Martinez changed representation and hired famed agent Scott Boras. Now, 14-plus months after Martinez scored a five-year, $110MM guarantee from the Red Sox in February 2018, his former rep –  RMG Sports Group president Bob Garber – is crying foul on his ex-client’s switch. Garber is suing Merrill Lynch; Bruce Lee, one of Merrill Lynch’s Chicago-based financial advisers; and Pierce Fenner & Smith, “alleging tortious interference with contractual relations,” Scott Holland of the Cook County Record reports.

Garber had represented Martinez since 2010, the year after the Astros drafted him, but he claims in the lawsuit that Lee helped influence Martinez to hire Boras. According to Garber, he introduced Martinez to Lee, and the outfielder later hired Lee and Merrill Lynch “to provide wealth management services,” Holland writes. However, Garber alleged, “Upon learning of Boras’ impressive book of clients. Lee decided to grab an opportunity to get a foothold into the lucrative list of baseball clients represented by Scott Boars by using Martinez as his bait.”

Garber continued that in October 2017, shortly before Martinez defected to the Boras Corporation, the player engaged in phone discussions with Lee in which Lee “told Martinez to terminate his contractual relationship with RMG and Garber, telling Martinez, among other fabrications, that Bob is done, Bob is a hack and that Bob will sell him short.” As Holland writes, Garber added that Lee met with the Boras Corporation in November “to discuss referrals for his financial advising services,” indicating the two sides employed underhanded tactics that led to Boras stealing Martinez’s business from Garber.

This is somewhat of a similar situation to one in 2018 that saw Juan Carlos Nunez sue the ACES Agency, where he formerly worked as an independent contractor. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained at the time, Nunez alleged that “ACES founders Sam and Seth Levinson guided and funded him in a scheme to attract clients and connect them with performance-enhancing drugs.” Nunez sought “millions” in damages, but wrongdoing on the part of ACES was never proven.

Likewise, it may be difficult to show real evidence that Lee did anything to help sway Martinez to Boras. Regardless, though, Martinez’s switch to Boras had negative financial ramifications for Garber. Had Garber kept representing Martinez, RMG Sports Group would have continued to earn a 5 percent commission on his baseball-related income. Therefore, had Martinez inked the same $110MM contract with Garber on his side, RMG would have raked in $5.5MM.

It’s anyone’s guess whether Martinez would have landed the same deal had he kept Garber in place, of course. Even though Martinez entered the market as a superstar-caliber hitter, concerns over his defense and age (30 at the time) helped lead to a lack of suitors on the open market. He and the Red Sox wound up engaged in a months-long standoff, during which it seemed like only a matter of time before he’d head to Boston. That’s exactly what happened, and the Red Sox have since reaped the rewards in the form of elite production from Martinez and a World Series championship in his first season with the club.

Going forward, it’s possible the Boras-repped Martinez will collect another major payday in the coming years. His current pact includes a pair of opt-out chances, one after this season and another at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign. But if Martinez takes advantage of that opportunity during the upcoming offseason, he’d be leaving a guaranteed $62.5MM on the table.

Red Sox Sign Right-Hander Dylan Thompson Out Of Indie Ball

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  • The Red Sox signed right-hander Dylan Thompson to a minor league contract, per an announcement from the independent American Association (Twitter link). Thompson had been slated to open the season with the AA’s Winnipeg Goldeyes before his contract was purchased by the Red Sox. A former Rockies farmhand, Thompson spent the past three seasons pitching for the AA’s Sioux Falls Canaries — primarily as a reliever in 2017 but exclusively as a starter in 2018. While his overall numbers don’t immediately jump out, the right-hander’s sinker movement is eye-opening, to say the least (as depicted in GIF form by Rob Friedman, on Twitter). Whether Thompson can parlay that wiffle-esque movement into success in affiliated ball remains to be seen, but he’ll make for an interesting addition to the lower levels of Boston’s system. He’s opened the year with Class-A Advanced Salem and allowed a pair of runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings.

Red Sox Designate Chandler Shepherd For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced Friday morning that they’ve designated right-hander Chandler Shepherd for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Oscar Hernandez, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Pawtucket. Hernandez will join the active roster in place of catcher Sandy Leon as he departs for paternity leave.

Shepherd, 26, has struggled through a brutal start to his 2019 campaign, pitching to a 10.01 ERA through 29 2/3 inning of Triple-A ball. He’s yielded a staggering 53 hits in that time, including 11 home runs, issued 16 walks and also been tagged for another 10 unearned runs. Shepherd, to his credit, has punched out 30 hitters in those 29 2/3 innings and did turn in a solid 2018 season in Pawtucket when he logged a 3.89 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Despite this season’s alarming home run woes, he allowed just 13 long balls in 2018.

The 25-year-old Hernandez was the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft back in 2014 but saw only minimal time with the D-backs over the next two seasons and hit .167/.239/.262 in a tiny sample of 47 plate appearances in the big leagues. The defensive-minded backstop has thwarted 43 percent of stolen base attempts against him in his minor league career and has consistently drawn above-average framing marks, but he’s just a .190/.2440/.344 hitter in 431 plate appearances at the Double-A level and a .203/.282/.284 hitter in 225 plate appearances at Triple-A. Lack of production in the upper minors notwithstanding, Boston needs a backup catcher with Leon away from the club for a few days, so Hernandez will return to a big league roster for the first time since 2016.

Dustin Pedroia To Continue Rehab Assignment

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  • After his rehab assignment was shut down over the weekend, Dustin Pedroia will be back playing on Friday, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets.  Pedroia experienced some discomfort in his bothersome left knee, though things have improved enough for the longtime Red Sox second baseman to begin games at Triple-A (Pedroia had previously been rehabbing for Boston’s Double-A affiliate).  Knee problems have kept Pedroia out of action for all but nine games since the start of the 2018 season, and with rookie Michael Chavis on fire at the plate, it will interesting to see how the Sox handle things when Pedroia is finally ready to resume regular duty.

Details On Madison Bumgarner’s No Trade List

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The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has the details on Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner’s limited no-trade list, which, per the five-year, $35MM extension (plus 2018 and ’19 option years) he signed prior to the 2013 season, may contain up to eight teams. The four-time all-star may reportedly block trades to the Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Brewers, Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals at the upcoming trade deadline.

If the list seems curious for its contender bent, it’s by design: Bumgarner’s reps seem to have carefully selected the teams most apt to pursue the lefty for a pennant push later this season. High-profile players can often negotiate some sort of compensatory bonus if they’re moved to a team on their restricted list at any point during that contract, and the former World Series hero seems no exception.

Atlanta, it seems, is the dead giveaway here – Bumgarner grew up deep in the North Carolina hills, the nether regions of the far-reaching heart of Braves country, and was raised a die-hard Atlanta devotee. He’d surely jump at the opportunity to join a pennant-chasing Braves team, one that will likely have rising stars Mike Soroka and Max Fried on a strict innings limit as the season progresses, though whether the suddenly stingy Atlanta front office will have interest is an altogether different conversation.

As Alex Pavlovic of NBC Bay Area explains, there’s been no indication that Bumgarner will block deals to any of the teams included on his list, though explicit comments from the hurler on the matter are as yet in the dark. SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that the Yankees, Bumgarner’s most-connected suitor, are “not particularly high” on the lefty, an impression that could certainly shift with another couple months’ strong performance, coupled with a continued depletion of the team’s starting staff.

After two injury-riddled seasons, in which Bumgarner’s peripherals slumped considerably, the one-time ace has rekindled some of his mid-decade mojo: his 84 xFIP- and 91.8 average fastball velocity are his best marks in the categories since the 2015 season, and his 11.5% swinging strike rate has jumped to above his career average. He’s again striking out over a batter per nine, and his BB rate has swung back to barely-traceable levels, with the 1.45 mark actually the lowest of his career.

If there’s an area of concern, it’s the ground-ball rate, which has plummeted to a career-low 36.8%, leaving the 10-year vet more vulnerable than ever to the longball. There’s also, of course, his status as a rental: teams are more loath than ever to give up high quality talent for just two-plus months of even a star player, and Bumgarner, even during his heyday, was always closer to third starter than ace.

His postseason reputation precedes – no, surrounds – him, though modern front offices won’t fall prey to the blue ox beside his Paul Bunyan October lore, and are now much more likely to consider the sample in which it was done. Indeed, Bumgarner’s 93 career xFIP- in the postseason – interestingly a mark considerably worse than late-season whipping boy Clayton Kershaw’s 82 figure – is a fact which, if ever relevant at the outset, almost certainly won’t be dismissed in considerations.

There’s also the matter of Giants majority owner Charles Johnson, of whom Bumgarner is said to be a favorite, and an ownership group that’s always willing to shell out for hometown stars of seasons past. The Bumgarner saga may drag on well into the summer, but it’s still a distinct possibility the lefty will stay in San Fran for the long haul.

Red Sox Exploring Possibility Of Using Michael Chavis In Outfield

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When injuries pushed the Red Sox to promote top prospect Michael Chavis earlier this season, the length of time for which he’d stick in the Majors was uncertain. Dustin Pedroia, Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez all represented veteran options at second base — a position which Chavis was and is still learning — and the promotion of any prospect never comes with a guarantee of permanence.

But Chavis has burst onto the scene in Boston, hitting at a .293/.423/.638 clip with six long balls through his first 71 plate appearances. His 26.8 percent strikeout rate and 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate are higher than the organization would prefer, but Chavis has also already drawn a dozen walks, demonstrating some selectivity at the plate.

Boston has already played him at second base, third base and first base, and the team is at least tinkering with the idea of using Chavis in the outfield, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report. Chavis doesn’t have professional experience at any of the three outfield slots but he’s been working on tracking some fly-balls during batting practice. Manager Alex Cora was clear to state that Chavis isn’t yet working at learning the outfield. But, Cora added, “It’ll be good for him just to stand there and see the flight of the ball.”

It’s a notable for the Red Sox for a number of reasons. Keeping Chavis at the big league level would keep one of their hottest hitters in the lineup on a regular basis and could help to spell regulars at multiple spots. Furthermore, it’d create an interesting roster dilemma in the event that the Red Sox ever manage to get all of their infield options healthy. Chavis, to this point, has produced more offense than could be expected of either Holt or Nunez, both of whom would stand to lose playing time to him in an injury-free scenario. It’s not yet clear when Holt will return to the club, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that following a recent painkilling injection in his shoulder, Holt is hopeful he’ll begin a new minor league rehab assignment soon. Nunez is currently healthy but has hit just .189/.200/.264 through a small sample of 56 PAs.

Pedroia, meanwhile, is already on a minor league rehab assignment. The veteran has long been one of the cornerstones of the franchise but has played in precisely nine games dating back to Opening Day 2018 due to injuries of his own. A return to form for Pedroia would give the Sox the cliched “good problem to have,” but at this point it’s hard to know what to expect from the 35-year-old.

From a service time vantage point, the decision to keep Chavis in the big leagues has its own ramifications. Chavis was promoted with enough time having lapsed that the Sox will control him for one more season than they would have had he broken camp with the club, but he lines up as a surefire Super Two player. Barring an early-career extension, that’d give Chavis a bite at his first seven-figure salary in 2022 rather than 2023, and his three subsequent arbitration salaries would be greater based on that early entry into the process.

Of course, even if Chavis sticks in the big leagues for the time being, he’s not immune to being optioned out later in the season. A prolonged slump could land him back in Pawtucket long enough to alter his arbitration or even his free-agent trajectory. But it’s plenty notable that he’s already impressed to the point where he’s forcing the issue and setting the Sox up for some tough decisions about playing time and potentially even roster spots.

Red Sox Place David Price On Injured List, Select Ryan Weber

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7:38pm: It seems there’s not much concern that Price is dealing with a significant injury, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to report. Price calls it “nothing,” though he declined to say how long he had been dealing with the issue and there’s no clear timeline for his return.

10:52am: The Red Sox announced Monday that they’ve placed lefty David Price on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his left elbow. Right-hander Ryan Weber’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Pawtucket, and he’ll replace Price on the active roster for the time being. Boston had an opening on its 40-man roster, so there are no additional corresponding moves needed.

Price, 33, has gotten out to a solid start in 2019, logging a 3.75 ERA with a 10.5 K/9 mark that would be a career-best in a full season and a 2.5 BB/9 mark that would be his lowest since signing in Boston. He’s been one of the steadiest arms in a surprisingly vulnerable Red Sox rotation, but he’ll now join fellow starter Nathan Eovaldi on the shelf. Price’s placement on the IL is retroactive to May 3, so he could be eligible to return in as little as a week, though Boston’s press release made no mention of how long Price is expected to sit out with the elbow ailment.

In his place, Boston will turn to longtime Braves farmhand Weber — a 28-year-old who spent the 2017-18 seasons with the Mariners and Rays, respectively. Weber has a 5.01 ERA in 73 2/3 frames at the big league level, but he owns a lifetime 2.61 ERA in 307 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Weber won’t overpower any opponents — he’s averaged just 90 mph on his fastball in the Majors — but he boasts strong control and ground-ball tendencies in both Triple-A and in the bigs.

Jake Peavy Retires

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Right-hander Jake Peavy last pitched professionally in 2016, and though he was angling to return to the majors last summer, that attempt has come to an end. Recent reports from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report indicate the 37-year-old Peavy has decided to hang up his cleats.

Peavy spent his final two-plus seasons in San Francisco, but his peak came as the ace of NL West rival San Diego’s staff.  In a move that ranks among the wisest in franchise history, the Padres used a 15th-round pick in 1999 on Peavy, who debuted in 2002. Just two years later, he emerged as one of the majors’ premier pitchers.

During a 1,050-inning run in San Diego from 2004-09, Peavy pitched to a 3.02 ERA/3.16 FIP with 9.44 K/9 against 2.74 BB/9 and helped the Padres to their two most recent playoff berths (2005-06). He also earned a pair of All-Star nods and twice led the National League in both ERA and strikeouts in that period, during which he accumulated the majors’ fifth-highest fWAR among starters (26.4). Only luminaries Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay outdid Peavy in that category.

In the crowning personal achievement of his career, Peavy beat out Oswalt and others for the NL Cy Young Award in 2007, when he fired 223 1/3 innings of 2.54 ERA/2.84 FIP ball, amassed 240 strikeouts and led all big league pitchers in fWAR (6.7). It was the third straight season of at least 200 innings for Peavy, who exceeded that mark twice more later in his career.

Peavy was unquestionably the Padres’ most valuable player during his seven-plus years in their uniform. However, his reign in San Diego came to an end in August 2009 when the non-contenders traded him to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

Save for Richard, who had a long but unspectacular run in San Diego, no one from that group panned out for the Padres. Meanwhile, despite Peavy’s presence, the White Sox never secured a playoff berth during his stint with the franchise. It didn’t help that Peavy often battled injuries throughout his tenure as a member of the White Sox, with whom his numbers declined. Still, he did log a respectable 4.00 ERA/3.70 FIP in 537 2/3 frames with the Pale Hose and pick up his third and final All-Star appearance with the club in 2012.

In July 2013, a year after his last truly great season, Peavy changed Sox when Chicago dealt him to Boston in a three-team, seven-player trade that also included Detroit. Peavy wasn’t any kind of rotation savior by then, but he was still a solid starter whose acquisition paid dividends for the Red Sox during their run to a World Series championship that season. However, Boston couldn’t defend its title in 2014, a season in which it nosedived in the standings and ended up dealing Peavy to the Giants for pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.

For the second straight season, Peavy was a midsummer acquisition for a franchise that went on to a championship. Peavy gave the 2014 Giants the vintage version of himself in terms of run prevention over 78 2/3 regular-season innings (2.17 ERA), and he helped the club to NLDS and NLCS victories. Although Peavy struggled in both of his World Series starts, a pair of losses to the Royals, the Giants nonetheless triumphed in a seven-game classic. They then brought back Peavy on a two-year, $24MM contract, which will go down as the last deal of his career. While Peavy pitched well in the first of those seasons, injuries held him to 110 2/3 innings. He was only able to manage another 118 2/3 frames in 2016, a career-worst campaign that included a demotion to the Giants’ bullpen.

Although Peavy’s time in the majors didn’t end on a high note, he enjoyed a prolific career that most pitchers would sign up for without a second thought. Along with his personal and team awards, Peavy registered a 152-126 record, 2,207 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA/3.65 FIP in 2,377 innings en route to 44.1 fWAR/37.5 rWAR and upward of $127MM in earnings. MLBTR congratulates Peavy on an outstanding career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Sox Claim Joey Curletta

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Per a team announcement, the Red Sox have claimed 1B Joey Curletta off waivers from Seattle.

Curletta, 25, was placed on the Mariner 40-man after a solid (.282/.383/.482) showing for Double-A Arkansas last season. Baseball America, who ranked the 6’4 righty 22nd overall in a poor Seattle system entering the year, noted that the husky first-baseman “draws comparisons” to current Mariner DH Dan Vogelbach.

A poor early-season showing on the bandbox circuit that now serves as the Pacific Coast League, where a staggering 38 players currently boast an OPS north of .900, left Curletta, who’s been old for the level since repeating High-A for the third time in 2017, expendable.

The former sixth-rounder will reportedly be assigned to AA-Portland in the Boston system.

Red Sox Activate Eduardo Nunez, Tzu-Wei Lin Placed On Injured List

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The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.

Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so it’s not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesn’t start producing – though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.

Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.

In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.

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