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Clay Buchholz Leaves Start With Elbow Tightness

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SATURDAY: The Red Sox have placed Buchholz on the 15-day DL, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets. He does not have any ligament damage, however, which looks like good news for the Red Sox. It appears the newly promoted Brian Johnson will start in his absence, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald implies (Twittter links), although he’ll be in the bullpen today. The official diagnosis on Buchholz’s injury is a right flexor strain.

FRIDAY: Red Sox righty Clay Buchholz has left tonight’s start against the Yankees in the fourth inning. The Sox have since announced that he is dealing with right elbow tightness.

Trade rumors earlier this summer had connected teams like the the Astros and Pirates, to Buchholz. The Red Sox have won nine of their last 12 games and aren’t entirely out of the playoff race, however, and they hold options on Buchholz for 2016 and 2017 at reasonable prices, so it’s not surprising that rumors about Buchholz haven’t been particularly active lately. In fact, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported in late June that the Red Sox had no interest in dealing Buchholz. As the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson tweets, though, the threat of injury was one key reason a trade might have made sense.

The Red Sox’ recent surge has them only five games back of the second Wild Card spot in the American League, although they remain in last place in the AL East and are just two games up on the Athletics, who have the AL’s worst record. Buchholz’ excellent season (he has a 3.26 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 113 1/2 innings thus far) is one of the key reasons the Sox remain on the fringes of contention, and losing him for any significant period of time would be a serious blow to the Sox’ pitching staff and to their season as a whole.

Red Sox Promote Brian Johnson

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The Red Sox have lefty pitching prospect Brian Johnson, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports (Twitter links). Johnson’s role this weekend is uncertain, MacPherson writes, although he’s likely to join the Red Sox’ rotation after the All-Star break. Eduardo Rodriguez and Wade Miley are scheduled to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Clay Buchholz left last night’s start with an elbow injury. Whether or not Buchholz needs to be placed on the disabled list, Johnson appears to be a reasonable choice to try to stabilize a shaky Sox rotation.

Baseball America ranked Johnson the No. 82 prospect in baseball heading into the season. MLB.com, meanwhile, currently ranks Johnson the No. 90 prospect in the game, noting that Johnson throws 88-94 MPH but with good sinking action, strong secondary pitches and a good feel for pitching.

Johnson, 24, excelled at Double-A Portland last season and has continued to make progress this year at Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a 2.73 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 85 2/3 innings. He was the No. 31 overall pick in the draft out of the University of Florida in 2012.

AL Notes: Refsnyder, Feliz, Hahn, Kelly

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The Yankees are promoting middle infield prospect Rob Refsnyder today, a move originally reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Refsnyder hasn’t wound up on many top prospect lists, but he’s been a strong hitter throughout his minor league career and was hitting .290/.387/.413 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so there’s hope he might provide the Yankees with a bit of extra offense. Chad Jennings of the Journal News looks at the implications of the move, wondering what it means for incumbent second baseman Stephen Drew, who has 12 homers but is batting .182/.257/.372 this season. In the short term, Drew could move to a utility infielder role, but in the longer term, there might not be a role for him. Jennings also wonders whether the Yankees might look for a second base upgrade like Ben Zobrist on the trade market if Refsnyder doesn’t hit immediately. Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Twins have also shown interest in free agent Neftali Feliz, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Neal notes that several other clubs have interest as well. That’s not surprising, since it’s rare that a young big-league reliever with Feliz’s pedigree is available as a free agent at this point in the season. Feliz opted for free agency after the Rangers outrighted him last week, and beyond Glen Perkins, Blaine Boyer, Brian Duensing and J.R. Graham, the Twins’ bullpen has struggled lately. An unconfirmed report last night had Feliz agreeing to terms with another club, however. We’ll likely know more about his status as the day unfolds.
  • The Athletics have placed starter Jesse Hahn on the 15-day DL with a forearm strain, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes. Chris Bassitt will start for the A’s today. A forearm strain sounds ominous, but A’s manager Bob Melvin sounds hopeful that the injury isn’t serious. “This time of the season, typically starters who have logged a lot of innings have some aches and pains and that’s where he is right now,” Melvin says. “It wasn’t getting better in the fashion where we were comfortable having him make another start, so we tried to be proactive here in giving him some time off.” Hahn, who the A’s acquired in an offseason trade with the Padres, has a 3.35 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a strong 52.6% ground ball rate in his first season with Oakland.
  • The Red Sox’ weak rotation has strained their bullpen, and the Red Sox have leaned hard on pitchers like Alexi Ogando and Junichi Tazawa. But the Red Sox do not want to move the hard-throwing Joe Kelly, who’s currently starting with Triple-A Pawtucket, into a bullpen role, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. “As long as we think he can start, we want to give him every opportunity to do that,” says GM Ben Cherington. The 27-year-old Kelly has posted a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with Pawtucket, striking out 11 batters and walking five. His last start ended prematurely after he got hit in the hand with a line drive, although the Red Sox hope he can make his next start on schedule, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/9/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • Somerset Patriots outfielder Scott Cousins has retired, Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com writes. The announcement was made as Cousins was removed from the Atlantic League All-Star Game on Wednesday. Cousins played parts of four seasons with the Marlins and Angels from 2010 through 2013, hitting .179/.230/.285 in 193 career plate appearances. He says he’d like to finish his college degree, then become a hitting coach or scout. “I’d love to be an area scout; it’s a simple lifestyle, I get to watch baseball and I get to mentor guys where I used to be,” Cousins says. “I’m not going to get rich at it, and I’m perfectly OK with that.”
  • Giants pitcher Brett Bochy is currently listed on the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats roster, so it appears he has been outrighted after being designated for assignment last week. Bruce’s son has produced a 4.30 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings with the River Cats this season. He briefly appeared in the big leagues last year.
  • The Reds have acquired righty Miguel Celestino from the Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs broadcaster Mike Antonellis tweets. Celestino, 25, posted a 4.53 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. He’s spent most of the past three seasons pitching in relief. He did not rank in MLB.com’s list of the Red Sox’ top 30 prospects.

AL East Notes: Rays, Smyly, Cueto, Jays, Napoli

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Rays GM Matthew Silverman says that he remains confident in his club despite its recent slide, and indicated that he does not see the need for significant deadline additions, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. “If we’re a healthy team there isn’t a glaring need for us at the deadline,” said Silverman.

  • The Rays expect to welcome back both outfielder Desmond Jennings and lefty Drew Smyly in August, Silverman added. While the former has been expected to return this year, it was not at all clear that Smyly would do so. Per a Topkin tweet, there is some chance that the labrum tear identified in Smyly’s pitching shoulder is an old injury, and the team is reasonably optimistic of getting him back in 2015.
  • Among the teams watching Johnny Cueto throw yesterday were three AL East clubs — the Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays — per a tweet from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. All three line up as possible acquirers of pitchers, of course, so it’s not at all surprising to hear that they would be interested in taking a look at the prized righty (as, no doubt, are plenty of other teams). Who’ll land Cueto remains a hot topic; be sure to check out MLBTR’s Instagram post on just that topic.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos continues to publicly address his teams’ needs with some regularity, this time in an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca; Twitter links). Anthopoulos certainly did not leave the impression that he is plotting a run at Cueto, saying that the market for pure rental players is “the last aisle that I’d want to shop in.” Rather than going after a single player, it seems, Toronto is exploring a number of possible options. “Anybody that’s going to be out there in trades, we’re going to have interest in,” he said.
  • Mike Napoli increasingly looks like an odd man out with the Red Sox, but it’s far too soon to tell where things are headed. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes that the first baseman has already lost time with the team playing David Ortiz and rookie Travis Shaw at first, while colleague Brian MacPherson explains the appeal of utilizing Ortiz at first in order to slot Hanley Ramirez as the DH. Manager John Farrell says that he is “not turning from” Napoli, as WEEI.com’s Justin Pallenik reports. And Ortiz himself hardly seems interested in anything more than spot duty in the infield, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. While it remains at least theoretically possible that Boston could look to move Napoli, his $16MM annual salary and lack of an obvious replacement make that a complicated proposition.

Red Sox Acquire Ramses Rosario From Nationals

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The Nationals announced today that they’ve traded minor league right-hander Ramses Rosario to the Red Sox in exchange for the No. 66 international bonus slot. That slot is valued at $327,700, per Baseball America.

Rosario, 19, was signed by the Nats in the 2012-13 international signing period and has worked exclusively in the Dominican Summer League from 2013-15. He’s posted a combined 4.11 ERA in 72 1/3 innings across 34 games (31 relief appearances) in that time, averaging 6.2 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. Rosario did not rank among Washington’s top prospects per Baseball America, MLB.com or Fangraphs.

The Nationals’ $1,985,400 international bonus pool (also per BA) was the second-smallest in the Majors this year. The additional $328K will allow boost that figure to $2.31MM, which is more than enough to give them some breathing room to reach additional agreements beyond Dominican outfielder Juan Soto, who reportedly has a $1.5MM bonus agreed upon with the team.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, are restricted from signing an international amateur for more than $300K after absolutely shattering last year’s budget to sign Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada, so it makes sense to see them trading their slots.

Angels, A’s Talked Reddick, Zobrist Before Dipoto Resignation

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10:16pm: The A’s gave the Halos “a flat ’no'” when Reddick was brought up, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds. Notably, per the report, Los Angeles also inquired about Ben Zobrist, adding to the laundry list of teams with at least some interest in the useful veteran.

5:44pm: The Angels have been on the lookout for corner outfield help, and MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports that the team had discussions with the Athletics regarding Josh Reddick prior to the resignation of now-former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto (all links to Twitter). According to Gonzalez, the Angels tried to get the Red Sox involved to act as a liaison — acting in a similar fashion to the Dodgers in the team’s essential three-team Howie Kendrick trade this winter — but Boston wasn’t interested.

Specific names that were discussed haven’t been revealed, but Gonzalez reports that talks never got too far off the ground. However, the report is interesting in light of Reddick’s more recent comments regarding the Athletics’ front office and his playing time (or lack thereof) against left-handed pitching. Via CSN Bay Area’s Joe Stiglich, Reddick expressed frustration recently that he’s been held out of the lineup against left-handed pitching. In a radio appearance with Ray Fosse on 95.7 The Game in Oakland, Reddick was not shy about voicing some displeasure:

“It doesn’t come from anywhere in this clubhouse. Everybody knows what situations our general manager puts up there. … There’s probably so many numbers they could dig into their computers with and try to find one just to keep me out of the lineup. … I know [manager] Bob [Melvin]’s in there fighting for me. The other day I was supposed to play against De La Rosa, and Bob texts me at around 1:30 and told me he had been ‘trumped,’ was the word he used. I understood right away. … It still frustrates me beyond belief when I don’t play.”

Melvin told Stiglich that he is the one responsible for the lineup card, not the front office, and that he “got ahead of himself” in telling Reddick he’d be playing that day. “…I backtracked and told him you’re not playing now. And maybe to an extent he thought I was so-called trumped.”

Reddick did walk his comments back slightly, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, though he did not waver from his feelings on playing time. “Bottom line, I want to be out there every day, no matter who’s on the mound,” said Reddick. “That was the message. How it came out may not have been how I wanted it to come out. Some miscommunication between me and Bob. I probably just assumed too much. … Who knows at this point how things are worked out? But I talked to Bob and we got a handle on it between the two of us.”

Platoons have long been commonplace in Oakland, and it seems that players there generally buy into the idea of part-time roles, though it’s not surprising to hear that any player would want to be in the lineup on a more regular basis. Reddick’s struggles against left-handed pitching, though, have been extensive. He’s batting .329/.384/.527 against righties this year but just .159/.227/.232 in 75 plate appearances against lefties. While a 75-PA sample is far too small to make a full assessment, Reddick’s lifetime slash line against same-handed pitching is .220/.283/.379, and the vast majority of that production came back in 2011-12. It’s certainly possible that fewer reps and more limited exposure to left-handed pitching have caused his skills in that regard to diminish, of course, but dating back to 2013, Reddick is hitting .198/.276/.296 in 328 turns at bat vs. lefties.

To what extent the Angels will remain interested following the abrupt departure of Dipoto isn’t known. The team still has a need to acquire left-handed bats and has received only a collective .220/.279/.319 batting line from its left fielders in 2015. Reddick is primarily a right fielder — and a good one at that, though defensive marks are a bit down on him in 2015 — so perhaps Kole Calhoun could slide to left field in the event that the division rivals match up down the road.

As for the A’s, it remains to be seen how interested the club will be in dealing away Reddick if it comes time to sell. The 28-year-old is controllable for another season through arbitration after earning a rather reasonable $4.1MM this year. Players like Ben Zobrist and Scott Kazmir have received more attention as possible trade pieces, in large part because they will become free agents after the season. But Oakland will surely at least entertain the possibility of a move involving Reddick, who could be in fairly high demand.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/6/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Mariners have released utilityman Willie Bloomquist, the club announced (via MLB.com’s Greg Johns, on Twitter). Bloomquist was designated for assignment recently after a tough .159/.194/.174 start to the season. Seattle will owe the versatile defender the rest of his $3MM salary for the year.
  • The Red Sox outrighted right-hander Zeke Spruill after recently designating him, per a club announcement (h/t to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, via Twitter). As he’s never before been outrighted and has little service time, Spruill did not have the opportunity to elect free agency after clearing waivers. The 25-year-old will continue working at Triple-A, where he’s worked 53 1/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA with 3.9 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 over 53 1/3 innings for Pawtucket.

East Notes: Ramirez, KBO, Red Sox

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Matt Harvey is just the latest reminder that recovery from Tommy John surgery is a process, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com writes.  In his comeback campaign, the Mets pitcher has had flashes of brilliance but he has also struggled at times.

“It’s definitely hard,” Harvey said after Saturday’s loss to the Dodgers. “It’s like one batter to the next batter, the arm slot, staying back, just trusting that my arm will stay healthy. It’s been a lot different than I thought it was going to be.”

John Smoltz, who will be the first pitcher to have had the surgery to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame, has talked with Mets skipper Terry Collins about the best way to manage a pitcher coming back from TJ.  In time, Smoltz believes that Harvey will return to his old form.  Here’s more from the East divisions..

  • The Mets tried hard to pry Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox a decade ago and at one point it seemed like there was a good chance of a deal happening, as David Lennon of Newsday writes.  “We weren’t able to match up and give them enough,” former Mets exec Jim Duquette said. “They were looking for more younger players in return. We wanted them to give more money. We weren’t going to take the full freight on that one. I don’t think they thought [Lastings] Milledge was the right guy. That’s why we were trying to bring in a third team.”
  • Ex-Blue Jays pitcher Scott Richmond has been embroiled in a nightmare legal battle with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization League, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes.  The pitcher signed a guaranteed one-year, $700K deal with the KBO team in 2013 but he has yet to receive a dime of that money.  Richmond was good to go for the start of the season after suffering a knee injury, but he was turned away without payment.  RJ Hernandez, Richmond’s representative at Legacy, believes that this situation will dissuade other players from going overseas, particularly if the pitcher is unsuccessful in his suit.
  • For months, there has been talk about the Red Sox’s need for an ace.  Right now, Clay Buchholz looks the part and he could be a big difference maker for Boston, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes.

Cafardo’s Latest: Revere, Kennedy, Hamels, Jays

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The Angels were first linked to Ben Revere in trade rumors in May but the rumors almost became a reality.  Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Phillies and Angels came close a few weeks ago on a trade that would’ve sent Revere to Anaheim for right-hander Trevor Gott.  The Phils thought the deal was done but the Halos “pulled out of the deal at the last minute and tried to redirect the Phillies toward a starting pitching prospect.”  Talks fell through after that.  Here’s some more from Cafardo’s weekly notes column, with a particular focus on news from Toronto…

  • Ian Kennedy has a 2.31 ERA over his last six starts and the Padres right-hander has begun to generate some trade interest in his services.  Kennedy had an ugly 7.15 ERA over his first eight starts and owns a 4.86 ERA for the season, though his peripherals (8.51 K/9, 3.04 K/BB rate, 3.74 xFIP, 3.70 SIERA) are are pretty solid, aside from a 22.1% homer rate that more than double his career average.  Kennedy is a free agent this winter and would be a natural trade chip for San Diego if the Friars decided to sell.
  • Cole Hamels has publicly said he’s willing to consider deals to any team but is reportedly unlikely to waive his no-trade clause if he’s dealt to the Astros or Blue Jays.  Cafardo wonders if Hamels would remain adamant against a move to Houston or Toronto, however, if those were the only deals on the table and his only avenues away from the rebuilding Phillies.
  • Attracting free agents north of the border has long been an issue for the Blue Jays, as Cafardo cites higher taxes, customs delays and the Rogers Centre’s artificial surface as factors that can sometimes make Toronto a tough sell.  (Josh Donaldson and Jose Reyes both praised their city, though Reyes admitted he isn’t a fan of the turf.)  The bigger problem for the Jays, however, is that they have barely contended since their last playoff appearance in 1993.  “It just seems GM Alex Anthopoulos has to go through corporate layers to OK big expenditures, slowing the process considerably,” Cafardo writes.  “Players always want to know that their ownership is doing all it can to produce a winner.”
  • Braves closer Jason Grilli is one of the Blue Jays’ targets as the team looks for bullpen help.  Grilli would cost less in both salary and trade chips than Jonathan Papelbon or Francisco Rodriguez, two closers who have also been connected to the Jays this summer.  Atlanta isn’t yet looking to move Grilli, however, as the team is still in the race.
  • Other have asked the Blue Jays about several players in trade talks, including young talent like Miguel Castro, Daniel Norris, Roberto Osuna, Kevin Pillar, Dalton Pompey, Aaron Sanchez and Devon Travis.
  • “Every indication is that” R.A. Dickey is in his last year with the Blue Jays, as the team will either use their $1MM buyout of Dickey’s $12MM club option for 2016 or Dickey may just retire.  The 40-year-old knuckleballer had a tough start today against the Tigers and now owns a 5.02 ERA over 107 2/3 innings this season.
  • Jeff Samardzija “may be the first starting pitcher moved ahead of the trading deadline” since “scouts are constantly at his games,” Cafardo writes.  The White Sox aren’t ready to start selling yet, but they’ll find a strong market for Samardzija’s services that includes the Royals, Astros and Tigers.  (Cafardo cited several more teams in the Samardzija market in his column last week.
  • “Nobody knows what the Red Sox are going to do because they don’t know what they’re going to do,” one NL executive said.  Boston has played modestly better as of late, winning 10 of its last 16 games, though the Sox are still just 38-45 on the season.  Koji Uehara is cited by the executive as one of “a few players teams would want” if the Red Sox decided to start selling.  The team is known to be looking for young pitching on the trade market.
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