Red Sox Rumors

Outrighted: Red Sox, Angels, ChiSox, Braves, Pirates, Giants

By Connor Byrne | November 3, 2016 at 3:50pm CDT

The seventh game of the World Series rightly dominated the baseball landscape Wednesday, but there were also several outrights from around the majors. Here are those assignments:

The Red Sox announced that they’ve activated Josh Rutledge from the disabled list and outrighted him off the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old hit .265/.345/.388 in 56 plate appearances with the Sox this season and is a lifetime .262/.312/.397 hitter in 1088 Major League PAs. Capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop, Rutledge should find opportunities to make a club as a bench piece next spring when he inevitably elects free agency following his outright assignment.

Earlier Updates

The Angels have outrighted left-hander Brett Oberholtzer to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club previously designated Oberholtzer for assignment Oct. 28, which came after he logged a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Phillies and Angels this year. Overall, Oberholtzer has posted a 4.36 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 major league innings.
The White Sox have outrighted outfielder J.B. Shuck to Triple-A Charlotte. Shuck has over 1,000 major league plate appearances to his name, and 406 of those have come with the White Sox since last season. In 241 PAs this year, Shuck batted a woeful .205/.248/.299.
The Braves have outrighted right-handers Casey Kelly and Brandon Cunniff to Triple-A Gwinnett. Kelly placed anywhere from 24th to 76th in Baseball America’s prospect rankings from 2009-12, but injury- and performance-related issues have beset the former Red Sox and Padres farmhand. Notably, Kelly went from Boston to San Diego in 2010 in a deal involving then-Padres prospect and current Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo. That trade brought first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. The Padres then sent Kelly to the Braves last offseason for catcher/pitcher/outfielder Christian Bethancourt. The 27-year-old Kelly subsequently amassed 21 2/3 frames of 5.82 ERA pitching with matching strikeout and walk rates (2.91 over nine innings) this season. Cunniff has logged 52 big league innings – all with the Braves since last season – and recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.17 K/9 and 5.37 BB/9.
The Pirates have outrighted infielder Pedro Florimon, catcher Jacob Stallings and southpaw Zach Phillips to Triple-A Indianapolis. The most notable member of the group is Florimon, a defensive specialist who has collected a combined 752 major league plate appearances with the Orioles, Twins and Pirates. Only 50 of those PAs have come with Pittsburgh since he joined the organization via waivers prior to the 2015 season. Stallings, whom the Pirates chose in the seventh round of the 2012 draft, took his first 15 major league trips to the plate this year. Phillips also got some work with the Bucs this season, impressing over 6 2/3 innings (two earned runs, six strikeouts, one walk). The 30-year-old previously racked up 15 2/3 total frames with the Orioles and Marlins.
The Giants have outrighted catcher Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez has accumulated just 155 major league PAs since Pittsburgh drafted him fourth overall in 2009. He divided 2016 between the Triple-A affiliates of the Blue Jays and Giants and combined for an ugly .201/.298/.317 line across 228 PAs.

Red Sox Exercise Clay Buchholz’s Option, Decline Option On Ryan Hanigan

By Connor Byrne | November 3, 2016 at 2:30pm CDT

8:09pm: The Red Sox have also announced that they’ve picked up their 2017 option on David Ortiz. The move is a formality, since Ortiz is expected to retire.

2:30pm: Drellich also writes that the Red Sox plan to pick up Clay Buchholz’s $13.5MM club option, and Heyman tweeted that the team will indeed do so. Buchholz had a $500K buyout on the option, so the decision boiled down to a $13MM call for Boston. (The team has announced both option decisions.)

Buchholz, who turned 32 in August, struggled with the Red Sox for much of the season and at one point lost his spot in the starting rotation. However, despite a brief demotion to the bullpen, Buchholz finished the year quite strongly, logging a 3.14 ERA in 28 2/3 innings in September and a 2.86 ERA over his final 44 innings. He’s also a season removed from 113 1/3 innings of 3.26 ERA ball that came with outstanding peripherals. Given the lack of quality options on the free-agent market and the fact that Buchholz generated summer trade interest even before his strong finish to the year, there was an argument to exercise Buchholz’s option even if he’s traded elsewhere this offseason, as MLBTR detailed a couple of weeks ago.

1:56pm: The Red Sox have declined catcher Ryan Hanigan’s $3.75MM option for 2017 in favor of an $800K buyout, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reported earlier Thursday that the Red Sox were likely to let Hanigan go.

Hanigan joined the Red Sox in December 2014 in a trade that sent third baseman Will Middlebrooks to the Padres, with whom Hanigan never actually played a game. The Red Sox didn’t lose much in dealing Middlebrooks, but Hanigan was still a disappointment in Boston. After establishing himself as a defensively capable backstop with solid offensive skills in Cincinnati and Tampa Bay, Hanigan batted just .219/.298/.294 in two years and 319 plate appearances with the Red Sox. He finished third among Boston’s catchers this year in PAs (113), trailing Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez, and posted an unusable .171/.230/.238 line. That was poor enough for Boston to wave goodbye to Hanigan, who will try to hook on elsewhere in free agency.

In addition to Leon and Vazquez, the Red Sox also have Blake Swihart as a potential catcher option for next season. The outfield/backstop missed most of this year with an ankle injury. Alternatively, Boston could look to free agency for help, especially if it doesn’t trust Leon’s unexpected breakout.

Diamondbacks, Rockies Close To Hiring Managers

By Connor Byrne | November 3, 2016 at 9:08am CDT

9:08am: The D-backs are choosing between Lovullo and their Triple-A manager, Phil Nevin, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). They and the Rockies are likely to hire managers within the next 24 to 48 hours, per Nightengale. Wakamatsu, Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach, Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez and Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. are among several candidates who have come up as possible successors to Walt Weiss in Colorado.

7:52am: The Diamondbacks have already taken executives Mike Hazen (general manager) and Amiel Sawdaye (senior vice president/assistant GM) from the Red Sox in recent weeks. Next to emigrate from Boston to Arizona could be Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, who interviewed for the Diamondbacks’ vacant managerial position Sunday, reports Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald.

The 51-year-old Lovullo has been regarded as the favorite for the Arizona job since Hazen took over the club’s baseball operations Oct. 16. Lovullo’s experience as a manager includes several minor league stints and interim work with the Red Sox in 2015, when skipper John Farrell was undergoing treatment for lymphoma. If Lovullo does join the Diamondbacks, he won’t be able to pilfer anyone from Farrell’s coaching staff to join him in Arizona, according to Drellich.

Lovullo is the third known managerial candidate who either has interviewed or will meet with the D-backs, joining Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu and broadcaster/former major league player Alex Cora. There could be more names, too, as Hazen has expressed a desire to interview five to seven candidates.

World Series Notes: Trades, Rizzo, Martinez, Rebuilding

By charliewilmoth | October 30, 2016 at 7:06pm CDT

Andrew Miller has thrived with the Indians and Aroldis Chapman has done well with the Cubs, but that doesn’t change the Yankees’ sides of the trades that sent those relievers packing, writes the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Even if the Indians and Cubs had missed the World Series, the Yankees had two top-notch relievers to deal and needed to get peak value from them. The Yankees need to hit on their acquisitions of Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Gleyber Torres, but the spotlights on Miller and Chapman shouldn’t cause Yankees fans to become increasingly impatient. Sherman notes that many key Indians players (including Corey Kluber, Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Bryan Shaw) were acquired in veterans-for-prospects deals much like the ones the Yankees made in dealing Miller and Chapman. Here’s more on the World Series, and what, if anything, teams that aren’t in the Series can learn from the teams that are.

The Cubs had similar success in veterans-for-prospects trades, getting Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Addison Russell, Pedro Strop and Travis Wood in such deals. But just as important was the 2012 deal that sent Andrew Cashner and a minor leaguer to the Padres for Anthony Rizzo and a prospect, as SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee notes in a list of key trades for both World Series teams. For awhile, Cashner looked like one of the NL’s better young starters, but the deal eventually tilted in the Cubs’ favor as Cashner struggled despite his excellent stuff and Rizzo became a force in the middle of Chicago’s lineup.
It’s doubtful whether Theo Epstein would have been able to rebuild the Red Sox the way he did with the Cubs, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. The Red Sox faithful would not have shown much patience for such a rebuild, MacPherson argues. Of course, Boston has had its share of losing seasons in recent years, but never were such losing seasons part of a broader rebuilding project, and MacPherson highlights the differences between some of the big trades the Cubs have made during losing periods and those of the Red Sox. When they traded Jon Lester, Jon Lackey and Miller in 2014, for example, the Red Sox got veterans like Yoenis Cespedes, Joe Kelly and Allen Craig. They did get youngster Eduardo Rodriguez in the Miller deal, and had success with the Lester deal too, in that they traded Cespedes and Alex Wilson for Rick Porcello. But it’s clear the Red Sox took a fundamentally different approach. Of course, it’s arguable that a full rebuild wasn’t necessary for the Red Sox at that time — by 2014 they were one year removed from a World Series victory and were already in the process of integrating youngsters like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley into their lineup, and they had an excellent season of their own in 2016, just two years later.
Regardless of what happens in the World Series, the Cubs plan to ask coaches to return in 2017, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers writes. They are, however, considering the possibility that bench coach Dave Martinez could depart, since Martinez appears to be a candidate for the Rockies’ open managerial job. Maddon says Martinez’s current job has prepared him well. “When the guy does the bench coaching properly, I absolutely believe it sets him up to be a manager,” says Maddon. “He should be there to let the manager intellectualize the day.”

Red Sox Haven’t Told Clay Buchholz Whether Option Will Be Exercised

By charliewilmoth | October 30, 2016 at 5:35pm CDT

The Red Sox haven’t told righty Clay Buchholz whether they plan to exercise his option, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes. Buchholz’s contract calls for a $13.5MM option or a $500K buyout for 2017. The Red Sox have until five days after the World Series to decide. They also had an option on Buchholz for this past season, and by this point last year, they had already told him they planned to exercise it, Bradford notes.

Whether Boston would exercise Buchholz’s option after a disappointing season (4.78 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 3.7 BB/9) in which he lost his rotation spot has lately been a topic of speculation. Most recent reporting, though, has indicated that the Sox are leaning toward picking up the option.

That would seem to be a defensible decision, depending on how the Red Sox feel about Buchholz’s performance down the stretch. After making mechanical adjustments and taking a two-week break from appearing in games in early July, Buchholz fared well in the second half (when he had a 3.22 ERA). His struggles early in the season could perhaps be seen as related to a flexor strain that cost him the last two and a half months of an otherwise-strong 2015 campaign. He’s also only 32 and has a long record of at least modest success as a starter. Also, with a weak free agent market for starting pitching, he could potentially have trade value even if the Red Sox don’t have concrete plans for him.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Indians, Astros, McCann, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | October 30, 2016 at 4:38pm CDT

This year’s World Series representatives, the Cubs and Indians, have benefited from the Red Sox’s September collapse in 2011, as Ken Davidoff of the New York Post observes. After the Red Sox blew a nine-game lead in the wild-card race that year, the team parted with two-time World Series-winning manager Terry Francona, who is now one victory away from helping the Indians to their first championship since 1948. The executive who hired Francona in Boston, Theo Epstein, departed after that season to take over the Cubs, with whom he has built what should be a long-term contender. And two of his veteran free agents signings in Chicago, starters Jon Lester and John Lackey, were at the center of a memorable controversy with the Sox in 2011. Along with fellow starter Josh Beckett, Lester and Lackey made a habit of drinking beer, eating fried chicken and playing videogames in the clubhouse during games in which they weren’t pitching. The Red Sox didn’t ax any of those pitchers because of it, though, as each was on the team in 2012. They eventually traded Beckett to the Dodgers in August 2012, while Lester and Lackey were part of the franchise’s latest championship squad in 2013.

Cafardo’s Latest: Bautista, Davis, Cespedes, Balentien

By Mark Polishuk | October 29, 2016 at 3:13pm CDT

Some hot stove items from Nick Cafardo in his latest Boston Globe notes column…

Jose Bautista isn’t likely to accept a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays, a major league source tells Cafardo. Bautista had two DL stints, a rough postseason and (for him) a subpar regular season that saw him hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers over 517 PA. There was some thought that Bautista could accept the one-year, $17.2MM QO in order to try for a better free agent platform season in 2017, but Bautista feels he’ll be able to find solid multi-year offers this winter.
If the Royals were to trade Wade Davis, a team source says they would want controllable young pitching in return. The Royals floated Davis’ name in trade talks at the deadline but put a very high price tag on his services, including a big ask for young pitching in the form of star prospect Lucas Giolito from the Nationals. Kansas City also reportedly tried to attach Davis with Ian Kennedy in trades, which would’ve gotten K.C. lesser prospects in return but quite a bit of payroll relief from Kennedy’s large contract.
Don’t count on Yoenis Cespedes signing with the Red Sox this winter, as the outfielder didn’t particularly enjoy his previous stint in Boston in the last two months of the 2014 season. Cespedes also wasn’t popular with the Red Sox coaching staff. Cespedes didn’t really seem like a fit for the Sox anyway, given how they have star prospect Andrew Benintendi slated for left field in 2017.
Wladimir Balentien is considering a return to the big leagues after six seasons in Japan. Balentien last played in the majors in 2009 and has since produced some huge power numbers for the Yakult Swallows, including a Nippon Professional Baseball league record 60 homers in 2013. This past season, the 32-year-old Balentien posted a .269/.369/.516 slash line and 31 home runs over 537 PA.

Red Sox Notes: Hazen, Sawdaye, Rodriguez, Travis

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2016 at 8:57am CDT

Red Sox president Sam Kennedy spoke to MassLive.com’s Jen McCaffrey about the team’s loss of executives Mike Hazen and Amiel Sawdaye, who signed on the become the new general manager and senior vice president/assistant general manager of the D-backs, respectively, last week. Kennedy acknowledged that both are big losses to the organization but doesn’t feel that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s leadership style had anything to do with their exit from the organization. “I think the opportunities that have come up are a real credit to the Boston Red Sox,” Kennedy told McCaffrey. “The Arizona Diamondbacks had a need at general manager and the top baseball operations job was open and they contacted us right away because they know the Red Sox have talented folks.”

Kennedy went on to discuss the decision not to name a new GM, noting that the GM title and president of baseball ops title can be interchangeable, and the most important element is to have one person accountable for baseball operations, which for the Red Sox, is Dombrowski. As McCaffrey notes, both Hazen and Sawdaye were integral parts of the Sox’ player development efforts, with Sawdaye overseeing the 2011 draft that netted Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Blake Swihart, Matt Barnes, Travis Shaw and Henry Owens.

AL Notes: Mariners, Moncada, Zimmer, Orioles

By Steve Adams | October 26, 2016 at 12:11pm CDT

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes that Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has a hard-throwing lefty reliever — “a legit late-inning presence” — on his offseason wishlist. It’s not the first time that Dutton has reported Seattle’s interest in adding such an arm to its relief mix, and a flamethrowing southpaw would indeed be an imposing complement to sensational rookie Edwin Diaz late in the game. Previously, Dutton noted that the team’s search wasn’t likely to be focused on Aroldis Chapman, whose free-agent price tag will be staggering. The trade market may not be flush with readily available late-inning southpaws, though from a purely speculative standpoint I’d personally wonder if Seattle might match up with San Diego in a deal for either Brad Hand or Ryan Buchter. While neither possesses the velocity of a Chapman or Andrew Miller, each sat at better than 92 mph with his heater this season (92.8 mph for Hand) and delivered a breakout season. Hand proved capable of pitching multiple innings while also showing better control and ground-ball tendencies than his teammate — ultimately tossing 89 1/3 frames with a 2.92 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate.

A few more notes from around the American League…

Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada suffered a thumb injury while batting in the Arizona Fall League recently, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moncada didn’t suffer any fractures but has been out for a few days already and could undergo further testing today. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Drellich that while it’s the same hand that Moncada has injured in the past, the issue isn’t believed to be serious at this time. Maintaining his health will be a key for Moncada as he looks to force his way back onto Boston’s roster in 2017. The 21-year-old struggled tremendously in his brief September call-up, collecting four hits and striking out 12 times in 20 plate appearances.
Royals right-hander Kyle Zimmer completed a four-week throwing program as part of his rehab protocol following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery back in July, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. The former top five overall pick has battled shoulder problems throughout his minor league career, though the hope is that the TOS operation can help Zimmer return to health. Selected fifth overall in 2012, Zimmer has been a mainstay on Top 100 prospect lists even as he’s battled through injuries, but he tossed just 5 2/3 innings this season and has logged just 222 1/3 total innings since the 2012 draft. Only 67 2/3 of those innings have come at the Double-A level, so even if the 25-year-old is healthy next year, he’ll need further seasoning in the minors before he can be considered a Major League option in Kansas City. Flanagan notes that Zimmer is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
An Orioles official tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko that he doesn’t believe any of Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez or Yovani Gallardo is well-suited to handle a bullpen role. Kubatko writes that while it’s something of an overstatement to imply that the O’s have a surplus of rotation arms, the team could consider dealing one of that trio this offseason. Each is a change-of-scenery candidate after struggling greatly this year, and Baltimore only has two open rotation spots behind Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy.

D-Backs Name Amiel Sawdaye Senior VP, Assistant GM

By Jeff Todd | October 25, 2016 at 6:10pm CDT

OCT. 25: The Diamondbacks have announced the hiring of Sawdaye and confirmed that his title will be senior vice president/assistant general manager.

OCT. 24: The Diamondbacks will hire another Red Sox executive as they continue to fill out a new-look front office, according to several reports. Amiel Sawdaye will join the Arizona organization as senior VP and assistant general manager, joining new GM Mike Hazen in making the move from Boston.

Sawdaye had been under consideration for an assistant GM role in Boston, too, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He had served as the Red Sox’ VP of international and amateur scouting, which was essentially the same role Hazen held before he moved up to AGM and, eventually, GM. Before that, Sawdaye was Boston’s director of amateur scouting, overseeing the team’s drafts from 2010 through 2015.

There won’t be any compensation between the teams for either of the executive transfers. While Hazen technically stayed in the same title, his new role came with a significant increase in responsibility, and Sawdaye’s new job seems clearly to represent a promotion.

It’s not clear at this time what additional plans Hazen may have for building out his front office team, but no further Boston execs are expected to go west, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Hazen is rumored to be interested in speaking with Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, but Drellich tweets that the D-Backs still haven’t asked for permission to speak with him — preferring to await Sawdaye’s decision first. Presumably, that’ll change soon. In other D-Backs’ front office news, via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the club has parted ways with Ed Lewis, a former veterinarian and long-time acquaintance of executive Tony La Russa who somewhat improbably ran the team’s fledgling analytics department.

Given that the Red Sox were considering Sawdaye only for an assistant GM role, it seems all the more clear that the team likely won’t hire a GM to serve under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Instead, perhaps, multiple front office members will receive AGM tags — or, at least, will take on the various responsibilities that typically fall under that general role.

Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweeted that the move was expected to occur after Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reported earlier tonight it was a strong possibility. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic confirmed that Sawdaye would indeed be hired on Twitter.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Red Sox Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect