Red Sox Activate Nate Eovaldi, Option Ryan Weber
The Red Sox activated Nathan Eovaldi from the 60-day injured list today, per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham (via Twitter). Optioning Ryan Weber to Triple-A will be the corresponding roster move. The team announced the moves as well.
Eovaldi will step into the closer’s role, as has been the plan coming out of Boston since the beginning of this month. Eovaldi certainly has the chops to cover the back-end innings for the BoSox, but the decision was surprising because of Eovaldi’s stated preference for the rotation. The injury history, his success out of the pen in last year’s World Series, and the middling production from the Red Sox pen (4.56 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 4.35 xFIP) add up to a fairly compelling case to support Boston’s decision, however.
Ryan Brasier leads the team in saves with seven, but his recent struggles landed him back in Pawtucket earlier this week. Freeing Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes from regular closing responsibilities will lengthen the bullpen and give manager Alex Cora weapons to deploy earlier in ballgames. Given the scarcity of natural sellers in this year’s trade market, the Red Sox already sidestepped the long line of teams angling for bullpen additions by finding an easier get for their rotation in the form of ex-Oriole Andrew Cashner. Rather than mortgaging the farm to outspend the many of pen-hungry buyers, the Red Sox are hoping Eovaldi can settle a relief core than has been the worst in the majors by ERA (6.88) over the last month.
As for Weber, he made two appearances in this most recent go-round with the major league club, struggling through 4 2/3 innings of work. For the season, he’s made three starts and five relief appearances for the Red Sox, amassing 24 innings and a 5.25 ERA (4.31 FIP). The 28-year-old righty returns to Pawtucket for the time being, where he owns a 5.16 ERA this season across 11 starts.
Latest On Steve Pearce
Steve Pearce proved to be a brilliant in-season pickup by the Red Sox a year ago, when they acquired him from the division-rival Blue Jays in late June. Pearce not only put up excellent regular-season production with Boston, but the first baseman dominated during the Fall Classic to earn World Series MVP honors in a five-game victory over the Dodgers. The Red Sox and Pearce could have gone their separate ways then and ended their relationship on a high note, but a couple weeks after the team won its latest title, it re-signed the 36-year-old to a $6.25MM guarantee.
While Boston undoubtedly expected the good times to continue rolling for Pearce in 2019, he has instead trudged through a season defined by underperformance and injuries. After starting the campaign on the shelf because of a strained left calf, Pearce debuted in early April and proceeded to hit a ghastly .180/.245/.258 (29 wRC+) with one home run in 99 plate appearances through May. The Red Sox sent Pearce back to the IL on June 1 with back problems. Pearce hasn’t returned to action since then, owing largely to the posterior ligament knee injury he suffered while on a rehab stint. A month and a half later, he’s still not slated to make his way back to the majors anytime soon, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Manager Alex Cora issued an update Thursday on Pearce, saying he’s “just rehabbing” at the team’s complex in Fort Myers, Fla., and not “even close to (being) back.” As of now, Pearce isn’t “participating in many baseball activities” and is only hitting off a tee, Smith writes.
The absences of Pearce and Mitch Moreland (who has taken two at-bats since late May) have thrown a wrench into the plans Boston had at first base entering the season. The righty-swinging Pearce and the left-handed Moreland were supposed to be the Red Sox’s solution at the position. Rookie Michael Chavis, who had been at second base, has instead emerged as the team’s starter at first with Pearce and Moreland unavailable. Meanwhile, Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez have taken the reins at second, which played a part in the Red Sox’s decision to to designate struggling veteran Eduardo Nunez for assignment this week. Moreland’s due back soon, Smith notes, though it’s not yet clear how the Red Sox will dole out playing time at first and second when he returns.
Red Sox Likely To Activate Nathan Eovaldi On The Weekend
Starter-turned-possible closer Nathan Eovaldi will join the Red Sox for their upcoming series in Baltimore beginning on Friday, as per multiple reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). Eovaldi may not necessarily be activated from the 60-day injured list on Friday, since his final minor league rehab outing came today and the Sox could be hesitant about having Eovaldi pitch on consecutive days in the wake of elbow surgery in April.
Eovaldi tossed just 21 innings (of 6.00 ERA ball) before going under the knife this season, and rather than extend his rehab process by stretching him out in preparation to start, Boston will instead try to solve its season-long issues at the back of the bullpen by deploying Eovaldi as a closer. It’s a creative solution that has some real upside, though using Eovaldi as a reliever surely wasn’t on Boston’s mind when the club re-signed Eovaldi to a four-year/$68MM deal last winter.
How Eovaldi performs even in the short term will be of significant consequence to the Red Sox as they approach the trade deadline. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested that the team’s recent acquisition of Andrew Cashner to address the back of the rotation (more or less filling the hole left by Eovaldi) could potentially be the sum total of Boston’s pre-deadline moves. It’s possible Dombrowski’s stance could change should Eovaldi get off to a rough beginning out of the bullpen, even if it’s adding one more lower-tier arm to further bolster the pen.
Injury Notes: Mondesi, Hembree, A’s, Webb
Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is headed for an MRI on his left shoulder after sustaining an injury on a diving attempt at a foul pop in yesterday’s game, writes Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Mondesi told teammate Hunter Dozier that he thinks he dislocated his shoulder upon impact, and the video of the injury makes it apparent that the shortstop immediately knew something was wrong in his shoulder; Mondesi briefly attempted to lift his left arm before leaving it still and motioning toward his left shoulder with his right hand. The Royals obviously aren’t contending for a postseason berth, and Mondesi himself was never a trade candidate, but a prolonged absence would still be deflating for the club. The 23-year-old Mondesi has slumped a bit lately but generally been a bright spot since claiming an everyday role in 2018. Dating back to last season, Mondesi is hitting .270/.299/.462 with 21 home runs and a whopping 62 stolen bases in roughly a full season’s worth of work (156 games, 648 plate appearances).
- Red Sox right-hander Heath Hembree‘s average fastball velocity is down roughly 2.5 mph since his return from the injured list, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com observes. As one would expect, Hembree’s decreased velocity and his potentially related struggles — three runs on three hits and no outs recorded Tuesday — raised red flags with manager Alex Cora and the coaching staff. Cora said after the game that the Sox would “check in” Hembree to gauge how he’s feeling, acknowledging some concern over the right-hander.
- Stephen Piscotty, on the injured list due to a sprained MCL in his right knee, is confident that he can return to the Athletics on the shorter end of his initial four- to six-week timeline, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He could begin a minor league rehab stint next week and potentially return before month’s end. Meanwhile, lefty Sean Manaea will make a third rehab start with Class-A Stockton on Thursday before transferring his rehab to Triple-A — likely for another three starts. That’d put Manaea in line for an August return — an encouraging timeline for an A’s club that once feared he’d miss the entire 2019 season.
- An MRI on Jacob Webb‘s right elbow did not reveal any structural damage, writes Andrew Wagner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As such, the Braves are hopeful that the right-hander, who was placed on the IL with an elbow impingement Monday, can begin playing catch within a matter of days. Webb, 25, has been a breath of fresh air for an Atlanta ‘pen that struggled early in 2019. Through 32 1/3 innings, he’s pitched to a 1.32 ERA with nine holds and a pair of saves. Beyond the bottom-line results, Webb’s numbers are a bit of a mixed bag. He sports pedestrian strikeout and walk rates, and he’s benefited from a .233 average on balls in play and an 86 percent strand rate. However, his swinging-strike rate (13.1 percent) suggests more punchouts could manifest in the future, and Statcast is bullish on the low quality of contact he’s allowed to opponents (.281 xwOBA).
Red Sox Option Ryan Brasier
The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve optioned struggling right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier to Triple-A Pawtucket. Southpaw Darwinzon Hernandez is up from Pawtucket in his place.
Brasier’s demotion is the latest in a series of suboptimal outcomes for a Boston relief corps that the front office neglected to address in the offseason. Brasier and fellow righty Matt Barnes opened the season expected to share closing duties, but neither has performed up to expectations. Brasier’s last couple of weeks have been particularly rough, as he’s allowed runs in four of his past seven outings — including four runs in two-thirds of an inning last night. In all, he’s sitting on a 4.24 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.56 HR/9 and a 28.8 percent ground-ball rate. ERA alternatives like FIP (4.72) and xFIP (5.40) paint an even uglier picture than Brasier’s lackluster ERA.
The bullpen will receive a boost when Nathan Eovaldi returns from the injured list later this month and assumes closing duties. Boston re-signed its postseason hero on a hefty four-year, $68MM contract with the idea that he’d serve as a key rotation piece, but he’s been out since late April due to elbow surgery and will now return in a bullpen role. The Red Sox already acquired Andrew Cashner to step into Eovaldi’s rotation spot alongside Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez, but additional bullpen help will surely be on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s radar in the 15 days leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
Pitcher Notes: Fried, Eovaldi, A. Wood, Brewers, Rangers
Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start Monday with a blister on his left index finger, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes (subscription link). The Braves will re-evaluate Fried on Tuesday, per O’Brien, who points out blister issues have “plagued” the 25-year-old in the past. Blisters can be serious enough to lead to injury list stints, though Fried is optimistic he’ll avoid an IL placement. The Braves’ 58-37 record and 7 1/2-game lead in the National League East have come thanks in part to Fried. He turned in five shutout innings in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday, giving him a 4.08 ERA/3.86 FIP in 103 2/3 frames on the season.
The latest on a few other hurlers…
- Red Sox soon-to-be closer Nathan Eovaldi will embark on a rehab stint Wednesday or Thursday, likely with Triple-A Pawtucket, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Eovaldi could rejoin Boston’s staff sometime this week. Eovaldi, who has been out since late April because of right elbow surgery, will be pitching in a full-time relief role for the first time in his career when he returns. The 29-year-old has started in 152 of 160 appearances thus far.
- Reds lefty Alex Wood will make his third Triple-A rehab appearance Wednesday, when he’ll throw four innings and 60 to 65 pitches, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a good sign for Wood, whom back problems have stopped from pitching in in the majors in 2019. His return, if it comes, could be a boon for a Cincinnati team that isn’t waving the white flag on a playoff push despite a 43-48 record.
- The Brewers placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list Monday because of shoulder irritation, recalling fellow righty Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to take his place. The club put Burnes on the shelf in the wake of his most recent blowup Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs on four straight hits and failed to retire a batter in a loss to the Giants. Even though the 24-year-old Burnes has struck out just better than 13 batters per nine innings this season, struggles preventing home have led to an ineffectual 9.00 ERA/6.12 FIP across 46 frames. Burnes didn’t give up any homers Sunday, but he has allowed HRs on an astounding 39 percent of fly balls this season.
- Rangers pitching prospect Yerry Rodriguez is done for the season because of a UCL sprain in his right elbow, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The club will shut Rodriguez down for six to eight weeks and then re-evaluate him. Rodriguez, who entered the season as FanGraphs’ 14th-ranked Rangers prospect, notched a brilliant 2.08 ERA/3.16 FIP with 10.38 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 in 73 2/3 Single-A innings this season.
Red Sox Designate Eduardo Nunez For Assignment
The Red Sox announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder Eduardo Nunez for assignment and optioned right-hander Hector Velazquez to Triple-A Pawtucket. In a pair of corresponding moves, right-hander Ryan Weber and first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis were called up from Triple-A.
Now 32 years of age, Nunez proved to be an excellent pickup for Boston when the Sox acquired him from the Giants prior to the 2017 non-waiver trade deadline. He gave the lineup a strong jolt that season, hitting .321/.353/.539 through 173 plate appearances down the stretch before his season came to a close with an ALDS knee injury that saw him helped off the field. Nunez re-signed with the Sox for a two-year guarantee, the second season of which was a player option, and simply has not been the same player.
In 676 plate appearances for the Sox over the past two seasons, Nunez has scuffled to a dismal .255/.277/.366 batting line with a dozen homers and steals apiece. His struggles and Dustin Pedroia‘s career-altering knee injury prompted the Red Sox to also trade for Ian Kinsler last summer in a move that now looks quite lopsided. Boston won last year’s World Series, so the end result of all their moves was as good as can be hoped, of course; but Kinsler didn’t hit much with Boston, and the Sox would surely like to have righty Ty Buttrey in their bullpen this season following his breakout with the Halos.
The Red Sox will have a week to trade Nunez, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and retain his salary even in the event that he clears waivers, so this seems likely to spell the end of his time with the organization. Nunez is still owed about $2.07MM of this season’s $5MM salary, making it a near certainty that he won’t be claimed. In all likelihood, he’ll soon become a free agent and be granted the ability to explore opportunities with other clubs.
Red Sox Activate Andrew Cashner, Place Steven Wright On IL
The Red Sox have placed right-hander Steven Wright on the 10-day injured list to make room for newly-acquired pitcher Andrew Cashner on the active roster, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com. Cashner is in line to make his first start for Boston on Tuesday.
Wright suffered a contusion on his right foot after being hit by a comebacker in last night’s game. X-rays came back negative on Wright’s toe, but evidently the injury was significant enough to keep him out of commission for the time being, leaving the door open for Cashner to make his Red Sox debut.
Cashner, 32, was acquired yesterday from the Orioles, soundly ushering in trade season, one of baseball’s most exciting couple of weeks. He’s played the last season and a half in Baltimore after earning a two-year contract prior to 2018. He struggled mightily in the first year of that deal, though results have been slightly more promising in year two—evidently, enough to make the veteran righty desirable to a contending club. He’ll slot in as the team’s fifth starter, with Nathan Eovaldi shifting into the closer role when he makes his return to Major League games in the next week or so.
Wright’s stay on the active roster was a relatively brief one, after a suspension kept him out of action for 80 games and he made his return on June 26. Once again, though, he’ll find himself unavailable to play, this time owing to an injury. In 6 1/3 innings with the Red Sox, he’s allowed three home runs and four walks, compared to five strikeouts—all told, good for an 8.53 ERA.
Latest on Red Sox Bullpen
TODAY: Wright was knocked out of last night’s game when he was struck by a comebacker off the bat of Max Muncy. Per a team announcement, he has been diagnosed with a right foot contusion, but x-rays fortunately came back negative. As Cotillo notes, Wright’s health status bears monitoring, as any long-term injury to the knuckleballer might force Dombrowski to reevaluate his confidence in the club’s end-of-game options.
SATURDAY, 11:08pm: The Red Sox addressed their rotation Saturday with the addition of veteran right-hander Andrew Cashner, whom they acquired from the AL East rival Orioles. There had been a need for another starter in Boston, which has lacked a true complement to Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Rick Porcello for most of the season. The role was supposed to go to Nathan Eovaldi, one of the many heroes of Boston’s 2018 World Series-winning campaign, but the right-hander has seldom pitched since re-signing on a four-year, $68MM contract over the winter.
Eovaldi underwent surgery on his pitching elbow in late April, three weeks into the season, and his recovery has taken far longer than the team anticipated. Now, with just two and a half months left in the campaign, the Red Sox don’t believe Eovaldi has enough time to stretch back out as a starter. Therefore, Eovaldi will return as a closer – a decision the playoff-contending Red Sox hope will give them a legitimate Craig Kimbrel successor for the rest of 2019. And the 28-year-old Eovaldi is finally on the verge of rejoining the club. Eovaldi could slot into Boston’s bullpen “within about a week,” assuming the short rehab stint he embarks on early next week goes well, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com).
Eovaldi sputtered out of the gates this year before his surgery, pitching to a bloated 6.00 ERA/7.10 FIP with 6.86 K/9 against 4.71 BB/9 in four starts and 21 innings. But Eovaldi held his own over a much larger sample size a year ago, and he brings a 97 mph fastball to the table that could play up in short outings this summer. If it does, Eovaldi would add a a much-needed end-of-game solution to a maligned bullpen that has tallied as many blown saves as saves (18). Boston’s relief corps hasn’t been a statistical disaster on the whole, though its 12th-place K/BB ratio, 13th-ranked FIP and 16th overall ERA are hardly indicative of a dominant unit.
The Red Sox, including their bullpen, took an 11-2 beating at the hands of their 2018 World Series foes – the Dodgers – on Saturday. While the Sox are a respectable 50-42, they’re currently a game and a half out of a wild-card spot and nine back in the AL East after rolling to 108 wins a season. Nevertheless, with Cashner and Eovaldi set to join Boston’s starting staff for most of the second half, Dombrowski suggested Saturday he could pass on further pickups before the July 31 trade deadline.
“We might (stand pat),” Dombrowski said, who later remarked (via Cotillo), “We like how our club looks, but we’ve liked how our club looks for a long time.”
In regards to his team’s bullpen, Dombrowski pointed to Eovaldi’s imminent return and the recent activation of Steven Wright from an 80-game PED suspension as reasons for contentment. Of course, that was before the Dodgers trounced Wright for three earned runs on three hits in a third of an inning Saturday. The knuckleballer has now surrendered at least one earned run in three of six appearances since his activation, and has yielded six ER on 11 hits (including three homers) in 6 1/3 frames on the season.
Despite Wright’s struggles, if we’re to believe Dombrowski, the righty may be someone Boston leans on down the stretch in lieu of outside help. Even if Dombrowski wants to make more additions to his pitching staff or anywhere else, though, there’s a question of how much more money he’ll be able to spend. The Red Sox are running an estimated luxury tax payroll upward of $245MM after trading for Cashner, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Exceeding the highest threshold, $246MM, would subject the Red Sox to the harshest penalties – a 75 percent tax on every dollar spent over the limit and a 10-spot fall for their top 2020 draft pick.
Also of great relevance: Owner John Henry said two weeks ago the franchise is “not going to be looking to add a lot of payroll” this summer. With two-plus weeks left before the deadline, we’ll find out soon if Henry sticks by that statement.
Red Sox Acquire Andrew Cashner
7:35pm: The Orioles are picking up exactly $1.78MM, per Rosenthal. They’ll also cover “most” of the performance bonuses Cashner could earn, according to Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com.
5:30pm: Baltimore will pay approximately half of the ~$3.36MM in guarantees left on Cashner’s deal, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The Orioles also owe Cashner $1.5MM in signing bonus money in both 2020 and ’21.
4:32pm: The Red Sox have acquired righty Andrew Cashner and cash considerations for prospects Elio Prado and Noelberth Romero, the Orioles have reported.
Cashner, 32, was famously swapped straight-up for Anthony Rizzo in a 2011 trade between the Cubs and Padres. After a breakout 2013 campaign, in which the hard-throwing righty posted a 3.09 ERA/3.35 FIP (2.6 fWAR) in 26 starts, it’s been mostly unfulfilled promise for the former first-rounder. The TCU product was smashed in the first season of a two-year, $16MM deal he signed with Baltimore prior to the 2018 campaign, with a near-league-low 5.82 K/9 against 3.82 BB/9 en route to a 0.6 fWAR season in 28 starts.
He’s been better this year, though his K rate remains among the league’s lowest and peripheral markers (4.25 FIP, 4.88 xFIP) are non-believers in the sustainability of his 3.83 ERA. Cashner’s average fastball velocity, once an eye-popping 98.8 MPH in predominant relief for the 2012 Padres, now sits at a barely-above-league average 94.0. He’s mostly scrapped the bread-and-butter sinker he featured so prominently from 2013-18, overhauling his repertoire back to the four-seam/changeup/slider mix with which he began his career. Returns have been positive: his 8.7% swinging-strike rate is his highest since transitioning full-time to a big-league rotation, and his chase rate’s bettered the standard he established from 2016-18. Cashner’s grounder-heavy repertoire should play well in Fenway Park, with any opposite-side power somewhat neutralized by the ballpark’s spacious right-field dimensions.
Our own Steve Adams offered ample justification for transitioning the righty back to a late-inning role, but it appears such a move won’t be in the short-term cards for the Bo Sox. Cashner will apparently start Tuesday’s game for Boston, with GM Dave Dombrowski noting that the move eases the undue stress the club’s bullpen has endured thus far. Cashner’s two-year deal includes a $10MM vesting option for 2020 should the righty eclipse the 187 inning mark this year, a fact of which his acquiring club is surely aware.
Boston’s rotation has been solid this season, though it’s true that the fifth spot has been a sore one. Hector Velazquez, Brian Johnson, Ryan Weber, Josh A. Smith and Darwinzon Hernandez have each tried their hands, to less-than-stellar results, and the club had no clear fill-in at the minors’ upper levels. Nathan Eovaldi is set to return soon, but the team expects to plug him straight in to its beleaguered closer’s role.
Both Prado and Romero, 17, will transition from the Red Sox Dominican Summer League affiliate to that of the Orioles. Neither are big-time bonus babies, and reports are scarce, but Orioles GM Mike Elias does have ample experience scouting in Latin America from his time with the Cardinals and Astros organizations.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.