Red Sox Unhappy With MLB Decision On Pomeranz Deal
8:45pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has more on the Red Sox’ perspective. Boston became aware of the issues with Pomeranz after conducting an MRI on his shoulder and elbow, per the report, identifying “an injury he was receiving treatment for” that hadn’t been logged.
The club still felt it needed to move forward with the July 14th trade, and evidently didn’t feel the issue was severe enough to scuttle the deal. Still, though, Boston “sought compensation in the form of a player but didn’t succeed,” a source tells Cafardo. It is not immediately clear whether the team pursued that remedy directly with the Padres or through the league in some form.
7:55pm: Red Sox chairman Tom Werner had harsh words today for the decision of the commissioner’s office relating to withheld medical information in the summer trade for lefty Drew Pomeranz, as Tom Caron of NESN reports (Twitter links). (Video link via NESN.)
“We were extremely disappointed in the decision,” said Werner. “We felt that some wrong was committed and that it’s important to have a level playing field. The Padres didn’t play on it.”
After allegations from four teams arose regarding the Padres’ insufficient provision of medical investigation, the league opened an investigation. The league announced a 30-day suspension of Padres GM A.J. Preller yesterday, specifying that it related to the Pomeranz deal, but otherwise did not punish the San Diego organization or provide compensation to the Red Sox.
At the time the investigation itself was reported, indications were that Boston was not seeking any modification of the swap. Another Padres deal was partially unwound, with Colin Rea being traded back from the Marlins to San Diego. But that arrangement was apparently worked out between the teams. Since that time, reports have suggested that the Padres attempted to evade medical reporting requirements, suggesting to their trainers that doing so would help the organization to gain an advantage in trade talks.
It is not known whether the Red Sox specifically sought any particular recompense arising from the Pomeranz-related concerns. And it’s fair to note that Werner did not make clear whether that was the cause for his view on the suspension. Some have suggested that the Padres were handled less harshly in this instance than the Red Sox were recently, and the frustration could stem from that potential disparity. Boston was hit with a signing ban and was forced to give up its rights to several international free agent signees after a finding of a rules violation.
Meanwhile, Padres manager Andy Green defended his organization as well as Preller, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Insisting that Pomeranz never had any issues of which he was aware, Green went into extensive detail on his view of the situation — which you’ll find in full in Lin’s report. “I see it as that we had all our files in one place and they were not where they needed to be and we accepted responsibility for that and paid honestly a steep price for that,” the first-year manager explained.
At base, Green asserted that there was no “malicious intent to deceive anyone in the process” by the San Diego organization. “There was never this belief that we’re trading anybody that was hurt,” he continued. “There was never this belief that we’re trying to pull one over on the rest of Major League Baseball. … [E]very mistake that’s been made was well-intentioned. Mistakes have been made. We’ve owned them.”
Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers, Puig-Braun, CarGo, Cespedes, EE, Santana, Red Sox, Mariners
Dodgers righty Kenley Jansen says he is grateful to the team for all it has done for him, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports, but notes that he fully intends to explore the open market this winter. “We’ll have to see what’s good for the family,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough decision. It’s not going to only be me.” Infielder Justin Turner, meanwhile, says he’d “love to stay” in Los Angeles, as Heyman provides in his weekly notes column. Both figure to be targets for the Dodgers in free agency, but also ought to draw wide-ranging interest from other organizations.
Here are some of the other highlights from Heyman’s latest post:
- Heyman pushes back on recent reports suggesting that the Dodgers nearly shipped Yasiel Puig to the Brewers as part of a package to acquire Ryan Braun. A source tells him that “there was a lot of dialogue but [a swap] was never close.” Regardless, it seems that there’s still merit to the idea that the teams could revisit the scenario this winter.
- “No great offers” emerged last winter for Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, according to the report. But Colorado may be wise to shop him again in a few months, Heyman writes, as the team’s glut of left-handed-hitting outfielders could represent an opportunity to improve in other areas. Gonzalez is hitting a productive .300/.350/.523, even if it is aided by playing at Coors Field, and is owed a reasonable $37MM over the next two seasons. It’s worth noting, too, that the club could potentially not only turn that contract into some intriguing, younger assets, but would also free up a good bit of payroll space to deploy on the open market.
- The upcoming market for free agents is obviously short on star power, but Heyman provides some preliminary guesses on the contracts for the top players. He suggests four years and $100MM for Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets as the biggest deal that could be had (assuming, as seems likely, that he’ll opt out of his deal). From my perspective, another star campaign from Cespedes has likely boosted his market beyond that level. The Cuban slugger rates as the top overall free agent on the free agent power ranking of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes.
- Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays is fourth on Dierkes’s most recent list — he rates Aroldis Chapman and Jansen higher — while Heyman rates him second to Cespedes. But the veteran slugger is headed for a monster contract regardless, and Heyman notes that the continued belief around the game is that Toronto won’t extend itself to retain him. Instead, the Jays seem to be angling to put together a younger roster.
- Whether Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons is interested in staying on with more change possibly afoot remains to be seen, but Heyman says that the club has been impressed with his work. An internal team source suggests that the team will attempt to retain him — at least as long as a postseason berth is secured — and sources with ties to the skipper say that he likely prefers to stick in the position rather than hunting for another opportunity elsewhere.
- Carlos Santana is highly likely to return to the Indians, per the report. His $12MM club option is a “no-brainer” for the club, a source says. The 30-year-old never seemed very likely to be allowed to test the market: he carries a .243/.353/.471 batting line with 31 long balls and has struck out only one time more than he has walked thus far in 2016.
- The Red Sox are expected to pursue relief help on the upcoming free agent market, Heyman says. That’s not surprising to hear, of course, as depth and quality have both been in question at times and the team is set to watch pitchers such as Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara, and Junichi Tazawa depart via free agency.
- With a group of talented, high-performing players on hand, the Mariners are “talking behind the scenes” about taking advantage of a window of contention, according to Heyman. That could position the club to strike out on the free agent market in search of a “complementary piece,” he says. There are several areas the team could target, but I wonder whether the time may be right to add a slugging first baseman; there are several available, and the team is set to lose its primary tandem of Adam Lind and Dae-ho Lee to free agency.
MLB Nearing Completion Of Investigation Into Padres’ Medical Processes
Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Padres’ medical information practices is nearing its completion, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney, and the Friars could face penalty as a result of the findings. Olney reports that multiple sources have informed him that the Padres instructed their medical staff to compile two separate reports on each player — one for industry usage (i.e. medical reviews in trade talks) and one to be kept internal.
The difference between the two files, according to Olney, would be that the file for industry consumption would only contain information on injuries that required trips to the disabled list, whereas the in-house file would contain data on more minor injuries/maladies and preventative treatments that occur over the course of a given season. Three teams with which the Padres executed trades — the Red Sox (Drew Pomeranz), White Sox (James Shields) and Marlins (Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, Fernando Rodney) were “enraged” and felt they were knowingly deceived by San Diego, Olney writes, adding that a fourth unspecified club filed a complaint with the Commissioner’s Office as well. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that punishment for the Padres should be expected, adding that a common point he’s hearing in digging on this matter is that Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “is [the] wrong guy to cross.”
The Marlins’ case, of course, is the most well-publicized. Rea departed his first start as a Marlin in the fourth inning due to elbow discomfort, and a subsequent MRI revealed ligament damage that ultimately required a platelet-rich plasma injection and may eventually lead to Tommy John surgery. The Padres ultimately traded highly touted minor league right-hander Luis Castillo back to the Marlins in exchange for Rea, and Olney now reports that Rea revealed to the Marlins that he’d been receiving treatment on his elbow for weeks leading up to the trade. That information, according to Olney, was not contained within the Padres’ medical records on Rea, therefore giving the Marlins no opportunity to back away from the deal due to concerns surrounding the young right-hander’s elbow.
As Olney explains, virtually any form of treatment — everything from DL trips down to the use of aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications — is supposed to be logged in a player’s medical file, and those files are logged to MLB’s central database and are available for review in trade talks. One source told Olney that an average team will have filed somewhere in the vicinity of 60 submissions to the database by the All-Star break, but the Padres had filed fewer than 10 submissions this season.
Perhaps most damning, Olney cites multiple sources with direct knowledge of meetings held by the Padres in Spring Training in reporting that the team specifically told its training staff that keeping separate files on the players would ultimately prove beneficial in trading efforts. If proven to be true, this would be far from the first controversy surrounding general manager A.J. Preller’s career as a Major League executive. Preller was suspended for violating signing guidelines and practices while heading up the Rangers’ international department and, per Olney, has also been reprimanded by the league since joining the Padres for violating industry regulations while conducting a workout with an unsigned player.
Those interested in the story are highly encouraged to read Olney’s full column, which goes into considerably greater detail on the matter and contains quotes from multiple unnamed executives on the Padres scandal.
Injury Notes: deGrom, Holliday, Benintendi, Wright, Pollock, Kazmir
The Mets are understandably anxious to get righty Jacob deGrom back on the big league hill, and with minor league seasons wrapping up, they may allow him to ramp up fully while pitching from the bullpen, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. DeGrom threw 35 pitches at full tilt today as he recovers from a recent bout of forearm tightness, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter, and it seems he could be back in uniform in a few days. It’ll be interesting to see how deGrom is deployed, but regardless, it’s obviously good news for the Mets as they battle for a Wild Card berth.
- One of New York’s primary competitors, the Cardinals, appear set to welcome back an important piece of their own in outfielder Matt Holliday, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. The veteran reported that his injured thumb felt good after an on-field BP session today. It still seems unlikely that St. Louis will pick up its $17MM club option on Holliday for 2017, though team and player could always work out an alternative arrangement.
- Likewise, the Red Sox will get back an outfielder for the stretch run. Rookie Andrew Benintendi may be ready to go by the middle of the week after making good progress following a knee injury, manager John Farrell told reporters including Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. The left-handed hitter is likely to return in a time share, despite his immense early production, as the righty-swinging Chris Young is hitting well since he was activated from a DL stint.
- The news wasn’t as good for Red Sox righty Steven Wright, who is dealing with shoulder issues, ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber reports. The knuckler may be able to begin throwing soon, but Farrell suggested that it will be a “challenge” for him to return to full duty in time to play a role late in the regular season or even the playoffs. Wright, 32, hasn’t maintained his breakout first-half production, managing only a 5.06 ERA in 42 2/3 innings over his most recent seven outings.
- Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock is expected to return at some point over the next few weeks, Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweets. After working back from a broken bone in his elbow that took most of his season, Pollock went down recently with a groin strain. But it seems he’ll be able to log a few more plate appearances late in the year, with the training staff saying that he is ahead of schedule in recovering.
- It’s still unclear what, if anything, the Dodgers can expect from southpaw Scott Kazmir, who has been diagnosed with thoracic spinal inflammation. Manager Dave Roberts says that he hasn’t been updated as to Kazmir’s status, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The entire campaign has been a struggle for the veteran lefty, but he has been hit harder (.277/.333/.493) in seven starts over the second half and it’s not at all apparent whether he’ll be a factor in the postseason. With two years and $32MM left on his contract, Kazmir seems unlikely to trigger his opt-out clause after the season.
Cafardo’s Latest: Sox, Dozier, Votto, Jays, Puig, Braun
Here are the latest rumblings from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who’s looking ahead to the offseason:
- The Red Sox will be in the market for a big bat to replace retiring designated hitter David Ortiz, which could lead them to pursue free agents-to-be Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Mark Trumbo and Mike Napoli. Boston is quite familiar with all of those players – Encarnacion, Bautista and Trumbo are currently in its division, while Beltran was in the AL East until the Yankees traded him to Texas in July. Napoli, who’s in the midst of a bounce-back year in Cleveland, is the only member of the group with past Red Sox experience. The soon-to-be 35-year-old was with Boston from 2013-15 and was a key part of its latest World Series-winning team in his first season with the club.
- If the Twins shop slugging second baseman Brian Dozier during the winter, they’ll likely want front-line pitching in return, per Cafardo. Dozier, who is one home run shy of joining Rogers Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg and Davey Johnson as the only second basemen to hit 40 in a season, is on an eminently affordable contract over the next two seasons. The 29-year-old power and speed threat is owed a combined $15MM through the 2018 campaign.
- Even though the Blue Jays have undergone a regime change since they tried to acquire first baseman Joey Votto from the Reds last summer, talks could restart if Toronto loses both Encarnacion and Bautista in free agency. Cincinnati would also have to eat some of the $192MM left on Votto’s contract to make a deal possible, according to Cafardo. Votto, a Toronto native, is enjoying yet another brilliant season, having slashed .315/.433/.525 with 23 homers in 589 plate appearances.
- While the White Sox will listen to teams’ proposals for left-handed ace Chris Sale after the season, a deal seems unlikely. “The odds of getting what we feel we need to get are slim. That’s why I think Chris will be with us in 2017,” a White Sox source told Cafardo. That jibes with an earlier report from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, who relayed that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t want to move Sale.
- The Brewers and Dodgers are likely to revisit talks centering on outfielders Ryan Braun and Yasiel Puig in the offseason, a Dodgers source told Cafardo. Los Angeles placed Puig on revocable waivers in August, and the Brewers won the claim. The teams then discussed him and Braun, but a deal didn’t come to fruition.
AL Notes: Shoemaker, Tigers, Red Sox
Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker was admitted to an Anaheim-area hospital Saturday to check for swelling in his brain, Austin Laymance of MLB.com was among those to report. Shoemaker underwent surgery last Sunday on a small skull fracture and a hematoma to stop the bleeding on his brain after taking a 105 mph line drive off the head. The CT scan Shoemaker had Saturday came back negative, fortunately, though he did stay at the hospital overnight for observation.
More from the American League:
- Tigers righty Jordan Zimmermann returned Saturday from a month-plus absence stemming from a neck strain, but the 30-year-old put up a disastrous showing in an 11-3 loss to Baltimore. Zimmermann allowed six earned runs on four hits, including three home runs, and three walks in an inning of work. After the game, manager Brad Ausmus wasn’t willing to commit to Zimmermann for another start, relays Katie Strang of ESPN.com. Fellow righty Michael Fulmer‘s status complicates matters, though, as Evan Woodbery of MLive.com details. With the Tigers monitoring the AL Rookie of the Year front-runner’s workload, they might not be able to pull Zimmermann from their rotation. If Detroit elects to send Zimmermann to the bullpen and skip at least one Fulmer start, it could open the door for veteran Mike Pelfrey, but he has been out for over a month and isn’t stretched out. Whatever the Tigers ultimately decide, the production they have gotten from Zimmermann (4.94 ERA, 5.49 K/9 in 94 1/3 innings) clearly isn’t what they had in mind when they signed the ex-National to a five-year, $110MM deal in the offseason.
- Manager John Farrell said Saturday that the first-place Red Sox are likely going to use elite infield prospect Yoan Moncada as a reserve for the rest of the season, writes Ian Browne of MLB.com. While Moncada has picked up five starts at third base since debuting Sept. 2, the 21-year-old has struck out 11 times and walked only once in 19 plate appearances. At the same time, fellow third baseman Travis Shaw has been swinging a hot bat, which doesn’t bode well for Moncada’s chances to garner playing time. “This is a great learning experience for Yoan,” Farrell said of Moncada. “I think while he got a boost of confidence by coming to the big leagues, you get challenged a little bit and you have to take a step back to rebuild that. Still, our primary goal is to win. Development in this situation does not take a front seat.”
- Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, out DL since Aug. 6 after fracturing his left hand on a hit by pitch, hopes to return next week. “My goal is to be back before the 18th,” he stated (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press). Castellanos, who has been taking ground balls and hitting in cages, will take batting practice Monday. If that goes well, the Tigers will set up a simulated game, per Ausmus. At the time of his injury, Castellanos was in the midst of a career year, having hit .286/.331/.500 with 18 home runs in 432 plate appearances. Replacements Casey McGehee and Erick Aybar haven’t come close to matching those numbers for the Tigers, who are a game out of of a wild-card spot.
Latest On Steven Wright’s Shoulder Injury
A second opinion on Steven Wright‘s ailing right shoulder from renowned orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache showed no damage beyond the initial diagnosis of bursitis, Red Sox manager John Farrell tells Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. However, the Red Sox still aren’t certain whether the breakout knuckleballer will pitch again this season. “He’s able to pick up a ball when the symptoms he might be feeling are subsided,” said Farrell. “So I can understand and respect the next question of will he return this year. I don’t have that answer yet.”
While some believe that the Sox rushed Wright back from a DL stint — he returned after three weeks and surrendered nine runs in 10 innings over two starts — president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski strongly rejects that notion. “We don’t rush guys back,” said Dombrowski. “We don’t really do that. The doctors felt he was comfortable to (return), he said he was comfortable to do that. No. I’ve never rushed a guy back.”
Wright recently told reporters, including MassLive.com’s Jen McCaffery, that he’s been pitching at about “50 percent” strength since returning from the DL, and while Dombrowski declined to go into specifics on his conversations with Wright, he did say today that Wright did not express that level of severity to the team. “Well, I’m really not going to get into every step of our conversations with the player and all that,” said Dombrowski (via Drellich). “We would never put a player out there that we thought was only 50 percent. … I can’t say it’s a mistake for guys, but I think most pitchers try to pitch through things at times. It just depends what it is.”
The circumstances of Wright’s injury, of course, are somewhat notable as well. Wright didn’t incur the damage to his shoulder while on the mound — on the contrary, he threw a shutout in his last start prior to the injury — but rather on the basepaths after being used as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning of an Aug. 7 game against the Dodgers. Wright dove back into second base when right-hander Joe Blanton spun to throw to the bag and suffered the injury upon hitting the dirt.
The Red Sox, currently in possession of an American League Wild Card spot but also just a half-game out of the division lead, would love to have a healthy Wright back in the mix not only for the remainder of the regular season but also for the postseason roster. The Sox can still turn to David Price, Rick Porcello and Drew Pomeranz in the event that they reach the divisional series, but Wright, who has a 3.33 ERA in 156 2/3 innings even after the aforementioned drubbing he took in his two most recent outings, certainly would’ve been in the mix as well. In the meantime, the Red Sox turned to Clay Buchholz to start in Wright’s place tonight, and Buchholz has answered the challenge with aplomb so far. He’s through six innings and has yielded just a run on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/4/16
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- Red Sox right-hander William Cuevas has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was among those to tweet. Cuevas, whom the Red Sox designated for assignment Friday, has thrown just five of his 136 innings this year in the majors. The 25-year-old has compiled a 4.19 ERA, 5.84 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 in 131 frames with Pawtucket.
- Reds outfielder Kyle Waldrop has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville, according to a club announcement. Cincinnati designated Waldrop for assignment Friday. Since the Reds picked him in the 12th round of the 2010 draft, Waldrop has collected only 26 major plate appearances. Nearly all of his time, including the majority of 2016, has been spent in the minors. The 24-year-old, who shares a name with a former Twins pitcher, has hit a less-than-stellar .254/.302/.365 in 351 plate appearances with Louisville this season.
Injury Notes: Wright, Cole, Bailey, Floyd
Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright continues to deal with right shoulder issues, leading the club to scratch him from his scheduled Tuesday start in San Diego, manager John Farrell said Saturday (Twitter link via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe). Clay Buchholz is likely to replace Wright, who hurt his shoulder while pinch running in early August and will next go for a second opinion on it. Wright has endured a stint on the disabled list and two poor starts since suffering the injury, though his numbers began going downhill toward the end of June. The pristine 2.01 ERA he had through June 20 is now up to 3.33 (still a terrific number) through 156 2/3 frames.
More injury updates:
- Pirates ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday for the first time since Aug. 24, his most recent start, and tossed 30 pitches – all of which were fastballs. “It went really well. I felt pretty good,” Cole said afterward (via Andrew Erickson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Cole has been on the DL since Tuesday, retroactive to Aug. 25, with right elbow inflammation – which is the latest in a series of ailments that have troubled him this year. He was previously on the DL for a month earlier this summer with a right triceps muscle strain. The earliest Cole can return from his current injury is Friday. Despite an ugly four-start stretch prior to his DL placement, Cole has still notched a 3.55 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.53 BB/9 in 114 innings this season.
- The Reds don’t expect the tightness Homer Bailey is dealing with in his right biceps to end his season, writes Cody Pace of MLB.com. “At this point, we’re not discussing that,” manager Bryan Price said in regards to the possibility of shutting down Bailey. “But it would be something that we would discuss. We’re not going to force this to happen. That’s not the goal. The goal is to get him healthy and not have to look back and not have to be as conservative as we have on the front end of this rehab.” Bailey, who exited his start last Sunday after just one inning, returned July 31 on the heels of missing nearly all of last season and the first four months this year because of May 2015 Tommy John surgery. Bailey’s latest injury is unrelated to his elbow, fortunately, but his comeback hasn’t gone smoothly this year. In 23 innings, the 30-year-old has allowed 17 earned runs on 35 hits, though he has amassed a prolific 27 strikeouts against seven walks. The Reds owe him $68MM through 2020.
- The sprained right shoulder capsule that has kept Blue Jays reliever Gavin Floyd out since late June will likely end his season, per Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The injury, which was initially diagnosed as a torn lat muscle, shouldn’t affect Floyd’s ability to pitch in 2017. The impending free agent turned in a respectable performance this year as part of Toronto’s bullpen, recording a 4.06 ERA, 8.31 K/9 and 2.32 BB/9 in 31 innings.
East Notes: Gamboa, Red Sox, Howard
Rays righty Eddie Gamboa made his big-league debut Friday at the age of 31, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes. Gamboa spent his entire career in the Orioles organization before signing a minor league deal with the Rays last offseason. He had a strong season for Triple-A Durham (2.68 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 94 innings), finally earning his shot in the Majors as the oldest Rays player to debut in the bigs since “The Rookie” Jim Morris in 1999. Gamboa throws about 80% knuckleballs, so he joins R.A. Dickey and Steven Wright as one of the very few knuckleballers currently in the big leagues. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- Yoan Moncada‘s debut is exciting news, but the Red Sox need relief pitching, not more offense, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Sox have already added Brad Ziegler and Fernando Abad this season, although Abad has struggled. Koji Uehara is close to returning from a right pectoral injury, and could potentially provide the bullpen with a boost. Red Sox relievers have posted a 4.68 ERA with 9.7 K/9 but also with 4.3 BB/9 over the past 30 days.
- Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard met with manager Pete Mackanin earlier this week to discuss Howard’s playing time, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Mackanin has said he wants to get Tommy Joseph more looks at first base as the season comes to a close. “I’ve got one more month here and I just want to play and finish out playing,” Howard told Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week. “So, it’s like I’m just trying to do my time, finish out this last month, and try to keep playing somewhere else.” The Phillies will pay Howard a $10MM buyout rather than exercising his 2017 option. He’s batted .199 this season, although he’s hit 20 home runs in just 305 plate appearances.