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Red Sox Designate Kyle Barraclough For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves this morning. The club activated right-hander Zack Kelly from the 60-day injured list, and in corresponding moves optioned righty Nick Robertson to Triple-A while designating fellow right-hander Kyle Barraclough for assignment.

Kelly’s return, while not necessarily unexpected, is surely a major relief for both the Red Sox and Kelly himself. The 28-year-old righty has been on the 60-day injured list for most of the season to this point thanks to an ulnar nerve transposition revision in his throwing elbow he underwent at the beginning of May. Despite battling injuries to this point in his big league career, Kelly has been effective on the mound when healthy, with a career 3.86 ERA in 21 innings of work that includes a 3.68 ERA across six appearances this season. In returning for the final games of the season, Kelly should have the opportunity to test his arm ahead of the offseason and prepare himself for a typical offseason regimen with an eye on returning to the club’s bullpen in 2024.

The move spells the end of Barraclough’s tenure with the Red Sox. Once a quality reliever with the Marlins who posted a 3.21 ERA (122 ERA+) and 3.45 FIP to go with a 29.8% strikeout rate from 2015-18, Barraclough has struggled in limited big league opportunities ever since. In 63 1/3 innings of work since the start of the 2019 season, Barraclough has seen his strikeout rate dip to 23.1% despite an elevated 12.7% walk rate. As a result, his ERA has ballooned to 6.11 with a 6.45 FIP during that time. To make matters worse, Barraclough’s strikeouts have all but evaporated this year: he’s punched out just four of the 46 batters he’s faced with Boston.

While Barraclough’s results at the big league level have been rough for several seasons at this point, he figures to look ahead to the offseason with a solid chance of landing a minor league deal somewhere, should he choose to do so. After all, the veteran righty has a track record of past success in Miami and has never stopped performing at the Triple-A level, with a career 3.44 ERA in 170 innings of work at the level. Robertson also figures to look toward translating success in the minors to big league production headed into 2024, as the 24-year-old hurler sports a brutal 6.33 ERA in 21 1/3 career innings as a major leaguer despite a sterling 2.98 ERA in 51 games at the Triple-A level.

Red Sox Notes: Imanaga, Breslow, Turner, Jansen, Rafaela

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NPB standout Shota Imanaga will be posted for Major League teams this offseason, and MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam reports that the Red Sox have “heavily scouted” the Japanese left-hander.  Imanaga has a 3.17 ERA over eight seasons and 990 2/3 innings with the Yokohama DeNa Baystars, though North American fans might know him best from his work with Japan’s national team in this year’s World Baseball Classic.  Imanaga had a 3.00 ERA over six innings and three appearances, and was the starting pitcher (earning the win) in Japan’s gold-medal game victory over the United States.

MLB Trade Rumors readers are also familiar with Imanaga from our NPB Players To Watch series, as Dai Takegami Podziewski has regularly written about the southpaw as Imanaga looks to be on the verge of heading to the majors.  Imanaga will draw plenty of attention from pitching-needy teams, and the Sox certainly figure to make rotation upgrades a major part of their offseason plan under their next head of baseball operations.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the top name available among NPB pitchers this winter, but with at least ten MLB clubs (including the Red Sox) interested in Yamamoto’s services, it is possible Imanaga might be something of a solid backup plan for teams that either can’t land Yamamoto or can’t afford his big price tag.

More from Fenway Park…

  • Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow might be joining the Red Sox front office as the head of pitching development, as per Peter Gammons (on X).  The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma (also via X) has a contradictory report, saying there has been “zero contact” between the Cubs and Red Sox involving Breslow.  A veteran of 12 MLB seasons, Breslow has been working in Chicago’s front office for the better part of five years, becoming the team’s director of pitching in October 2019 and then receiving the AGM title in 2020.  Breslow spent parts of five seasons pitching for the Red Sox and he hails from Connecticut, plus Gammons notes that Breslow and his family live in nearby Newton, Massachusetts.
  • Justin Turner told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo that he hasn’t yet decided about whether or not to exercise his $13.4MM player option for the 2024 season, as his focus is still on finishing the rest of the schedule.  As to the possibility of staying with the Sox in general, “I love playing in Boston and I’ve had a great experience here so obviously, it would be fantastic if I was still here,” Turner said.  Even at age 38, Turner is still a very solid bat, hitting .278/.348/.463 with 23 homers over 600 plate appearances in his first season with the Red Sox.  It figures that the Sox would love to bring Turner back, though they might have to sign him to a new contract altogether — as Cotillo notes, the odds are high that Turner will take the $6.7MM buyout of his option and test free agency again in search of a bigger deal.
  • Kenley Jansen is back on the active roster, as the Red Sox activated the closer from the seven-day COVID-related injured list today.  (Righty Zack Weiss was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.)  Like Turner, Jansen was also a productive signing from the 2022-23 offseason, joining the Sox on a two-year/$32MM deal and delivering 29 saves and a 3.63 ERA over 44 2/3 innings in his first season in Beantown.
  • The Red Sox rank 27th of 30 teams in second base bWAR this season, as Boston’s second basemen have combined for a sub-replacement level -0.1 bWAR.  The Athletic’s Chad Jennings looks at how the Sox might address the position next year, and how perhaps the easiest solution would be to give Ceddanne Rafaela some regular time at the keystone.  The top prospect has played a few games at second base already, and while the Sox prefer to see what Rafaela’s glove can do in center field, using Rafaela at second base in at least a part-time capacity would open up center field to see if Jarren Duran can build on his promising 2023 campaign.  As for Boston’s other in-house second base options, Jennings writes that the club hasn’t yet decided on whether or not to tender Luis Urias a contract this winter, as Urias is set for at least a minimal arbitration raise on his current $4.7MM salary.  As Jennings notes, the next front office boss will probably be the one making the call on Urias, and it is possible the Sox might non-tender the infielder and then look to re-sign him at a lower price.

Red Sox’s David Hamilton Undergoes Thumb Surgery

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Red Sox infielder David Hamilton underwent surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb, the club announced this morning. The team didn’t provide any indication if the injury would affect his readiness for Spring Training.

Hamilton, 26 next week, made his major league debut this summer. The Texas product appeared in 15 games, hitting .121/.256/.182 over 39 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitting middle infielder put together a solid year in Triple-A Worcester. He posted a .247/.363/.438 line with 17 homers and a huge 15.1% walk rate across 469 trips to the dish.

One of two prospects acquired from the Brewers in the Hunter Renfroe/Jackie Bradley Jr. swap just before the lockout, Hamilton is a speedster with a chance to carve out a utility role. He stole 70 bases in Double-A a year ago and swiped 57 bags with Worcester, although he was also caught 14 times.

Brian O’Halloran Accepts New Role With Red Sox

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When the Red Sox announced last week that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom had been fired, the team also added that general manager Brian O’Halloran had been offered a new role within the baseball operations department. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic now reports that O’Halloran has decided to accept a new role and will move forward as the team’s executive vice president of baseball operations. O’Halloran will report to whomever the Red Sox eventually hire to oversee the baseball ops department.

O’Halloran joins assistant GMs Eddie Romero and Raquel Ferreira as longtime staples of the Red Sox front office who’ll remain with the club even after the recent restructuring. He’s spent more than two decades with Boston’s baseball operations department, originally joining the club as an assistant back in 2002 and gradually working his way up the ladder. He’d previously held titles of assistant general manager, vice president of baseball operations and director of baseball operations.

As a Boston-area native, O’Halloran surely found some additional appeal in remaining with the Red Sox even amid the turnover. Given his considerable front office experience and years working alongside names like Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski, he’d likely have drawn plenty of interest from other teams had he opted to explore opportunities in other organizations for the first time since 2001, when he was breaking into the business as an intern with the Padres. He’ll instead remain with his hometown organization in a high-ranking position and continue to work to get the Red Sox back on track in future seasons.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Front Office Changes in Boston and New York, and the New Rays’ Stadium Agreement

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

Check out our past episodes!

Diamondbacks, Mike Hazen Have Discussed Contract Extension

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Diamondbacks president/CEO Derrick Hall said Monday and he and general manager Mike Hazen “are always having conversations about his future,” and that the two had talked about a possible extension.  “I can’t envision us going a different direction with what he’s built and his [leadership] team, too….I’m more than willing to have conversations with him at any point,” Hall told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Hazen is nearing the end of his seventh season in change of the Diamondbacks’ front office, and the Snakes are on pace (79-72) for their fourth winning season of Hazen’s tenure.  Arizona entered today’s action in possession of the second NL wild card slot, though three other teams remain within a half-game of the D’Backs in the tightly contested playoff race.  (The Phillies hold the top wild card possession and are 3.5 games ahead of Arizona.)  Should the D’Backs crack the postseason field, it will mark their first playoff appearance since 2017, when they claimed a wild card berth in Hazen’s first season with the team and then advanced to the NLDS to face the Dodgers.

With winning records in his first three seasons in the desert, Hazen received a contract extension in September 2019, which locked up him up through at least the 2024 season (the D’Backs have a club option on his services for 2025).  However, the Snakes struggled badly in the immediate aftermath of Hazen’s new deal, going 77-145 over the 2020-21 seasons.  Opting against a full rebuild in the wake of those two seasons, Hazen instead retrenched to some extent, signing Ketel Marte and Merrill Kelly to new extensions and hoping for a relatively quick turn-around.  That rebound seems to be taking place this season, and NL Rookie of the Year favorite Corbin Carroll leads a crop of well-regarded prospects that could provide the franchise’s next wave of talent.

It isn’t surprising that Hall is interested in retaining Hazen, nor that other clubs have noticed the Diamondbacks’ progress.  Hall noted that he and Hazen had discussed an extension prior to the firing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom last week, and ESPN’s Buster Olney reported over the weekend that the Sox had some interest in perhaps bringing Hazen back to Fenway Park.  Hazen is from Massachusetts, and he previously worked in the Red Sox front office from 2006-16.

The D’Backs would have grant permission to any other team for an interview with Hazen, and Hall said the Red Sox “haven’t contacted me, and I hope they don’t.  He’s under contract and we like him.”  When asked by Piecoro how the D’Backs would approach a situation where Hazen showed interest in an interview, Hall admitted “that would be a tough one.  I feel like we both negotiated a contract for a reason; contracts protect him just as they protect us.  He’s aware of that.  He’s meant a lot to this franchise.  I really like the situation he has navigated and created here, so I just can’t see us going in a different direction.”

Triston Casas Shut Down, Likely Done For The Year

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Two days after placing Triston Casas on the IL, the Red Sox have shut down the rookie from baseball activities, the team confirmed to reporters (including Pete Abraham and Alex Speier of The Boston Globe). With only 12 games remaining on the schedule for Boston, this likely marks the end of the young first baseman’s season.

The team is still waiting for MRI results, but they do not yet have any reason to believe the injury is more serious than the initial diagnosis of “right shoulder inflammation.” Still, they are choosing to play things safe with the 23-year-old slugger. While the Red Sox have not been mathematically eliminated, their postseason chances are beyond slim. Sitting 8.5 games back of a Wild Card berth with 12 to play, FanGraphs has their playoff odds below 0.1%. Thus, the club has little need to rush one of their brightest young players back from injury.

If indeed he doesn’t play another game, Casas will finish with 502 plate appearances, giving him just enough to qualify for the batting title. He currently ranks first among qualified AL rookies in OPS and wRC+, although the red-hot Gunnar Henderson could surpass him in either category before the year is up.

Bobby Dalbec started at first base on Sunday in place of Casas, and he is slated to start again this evening. The 28-year-old will have a chance to make a good impression over the next two weeks, as he tries to work his way back into a regular role with the big league club. After a disappointing 2022 season with Boston, he has spent much of 2023 at Triple-A. The righty batter has played well for the Worcester Red Sox (.938 OPS in 114 games) but has been blocked at the MLB level for most of the season.

NL West Notes: Hazen, Red Sox, Cobb, Freeland

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The Red Sox have started looking for a new front office boss, and a familiar face might be on their radar since ESPN’s Buster Olney (X link) reports that Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen “is one of the names discussed” as a potential candidate.  Hazen is a Massachusetts native and he previously worked for the Sox from 2006-16, including a stint as the club’s general manager during the 2016 season.  Hazen was the top lieutenant under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that year before Arizona hired him away to lead their front office.

Hazen’s time in the desert has included the lows of two brutal seasons in 2020-21, and the highs of a playoff appearance in 2017, three winning records in six full seasons, and a club that is fighting for another postseason berth with a 79-72 record this year.  Between this season’s success and the wealth of quality young talent in Arizona’s farm system, Hazen might not necessarily be too eager to consider a job change, especially considering that the D’Backs have him under contract through the 2024 season (with a club option for 2025).

As Olney notes, Hazen could potentially leverage any interest from the Red Sox into a new extension from the D’Backs, though one would imagine that Arizona was already looking to retain an executive who has seemingly gotten the team back on track.  Since the Diamondbacks would have to give permission for Hazen to be interviewed by another club, it’s possible Boston’s interest might go unexplored if the D’Backs aren’t willing to give that consent.  It also isn’t known if Hazen is seen as a prime candidate for the Sox, or if they were doing some natural due diligence early in their front office search on an experienced executive with many past Boston ties.

More from around the NL West…

  • Alex Cobb recently revealed that he has been pitching through hip discomfort for over three months, though he has still posted a respectable 4.20 ERA over his last 13 starts and 70 2/3 innings pitched.  The Giants have been trying to manage the injury with a cortisone shot and some extra rest, as Cobb had eight days between his most recent two starts, and will be working on eight more days of rest when he is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday for a big game with the Diamondbacks.  Cobb underwent hip surgery in 2019, though he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn’t believe he’ll need another procedure to address his current impingement (which is in his left hip, whereas his right hip previously received the surgical repair).  However, Cobb did add “I should get more clarity on it, honestly,” which is something of an ominous admission for the veteran hurler.  Trying to tough it out carries some extra risk for Cobb since he technically isn’t under contract for 2024 — San Francisco holds a $10MM club option ($2MM buyout) on his services for next year.
  • The Rockies placed left-hander Kyle Freeland on the 15-day injured list today due to a right oblique strain, so Freeland won’t pitch again during the 2023 season.  The oblique injury forced Freeland to make an early exit from Saturday’s game, and continued the season-long string of pitching injuries that has devastated the Rockies’ staff.  It was a frustrating year overall for the veteran southpaw, who posted a 5.03 ERA and one of the sport’s lowest strikeout rates (13.9%) over 155 2/3 innings.

AL East Notes: Montas, Jansen, Bautista, Mountcastle

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The Yankees announced this morning that right-hander Frankie Montas will begin a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level this evening. Montas has not yet appeared in a professional game this year after undergoing shoulder surgery back in February.

Montas joined the Yankees at the trade deadline last year in a deal that sent a package of prospects headlined by left-hander Ken Waldichuk. The deal proved to be an ill-fated one for the Yankees, as Montas made just eight starts to the tune of a 6.35 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 17.8%. With just 12 games left on the regular season calendar and New York all but eliminated from postseason contention, the window is tight for Montas to return to the big leagues this year at all, much less for a full-length start. Nonetheless, with the 30-year-old righty poised to hit the open market this November, even a brief return to the big leagues where Montas can prove his health to clubs ahead of the offseason could be valuable as he looks to join a crowded free agent class for starting pitchers.

More from around the AL East…

  • Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has been on the COVID-19 injured list for the past week, but could be nearing a return. As manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Jansen is playing catch and is currently expected to rejoin the team in Texas on Wednesday, as soon as he’s eligible to return from the IL. The 35-year-old closer has had a solid season in Boston, with a 3.63 ERA and 29 saves in 44 2/3 innings of work. Chris Martin, Garrett Whitlock, and John Schreiber have handled the late innings for the Red Sox while Jansen has been out.
  • Orioles closer Felix Bautista has been on the IL since late August with a UCL injury, though the club hasn’t given up hope on the 28-year-old returning this year. That hope is still alive today, as manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Dan Connolly of Sportsnaut) this afternoon. Bautista threw a 20-25 pitch side session, which Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun was noted was his third consecutive day of throwing. Bautista was perhaps the most dominant reliever in the sport prior to going down with injury. In 61 innings of work this season, he’s posted a 1.48 ERA with an incredible 46.4% strikeout rate.
  • Sticking with the Orioles, Hyde told reporters (including Jake Rill of MLB.com) that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who has been dealing with shoulder soreness in recent days, tried swinging a bat yesterday but that “it didn’t go great.” Hyde added that he still doesn’t consider Mountcastle as a candidate to hit the injured list. Mountcastle has slashed .269/.327/.453 in 459 trips to the plate this season. The Orioles have been relying on Ryan O’Hearn at first base in Mountcastle’s absence.

AL East Notes: Verdugo, Sale, Misiewicz, Hamilton, Mountcastle, Cimber

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Alex Verdugo’s name surfaced in trade rumors around the deadline, with at least one unknown AL team reportedly having interest in the Red Sox outfielder.  WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that the Yankees and Astros had some talks with the Sox about Verdugo, but naturally no deal was completed.  The Astros instead focused on adding pitching (Justin Verlander and Kendall Graveman) at the deadline but have gotten a lineup boost from Michael Brantley’s return from the injured list, while the Yankees only made a couple of lower-level bullpen additions.  While it has been an inconsistent season for Verdugo, New York’s decision to not add any batting help backfired, as the near team-wide hitting slump in August sunk the Yankees’ playoff chances.

Boston’s deadline strategy over the last two seasons has been the subject of criticism, and undoubtedly factored into the team’s decision to fire chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom earlier this week.  With the Red Sox on the outskirts of the wild card race in both seasons, Bloom didn’t pursue a clear selling-or-buying direction in either year, opting for a more cautious approach rather than going all in on contending or moving any high-profile names.

Most surprisingly, Bradford also reported that Bloom turned down an unknown club’s offer to acquire Chris Sale and all of the remaining money on Sale’s contract at the 2022 deadline.  “The Red Sox wanted better players than were offered and no deal was done,” Bradford writes, yet an argument can certainly be made that getting Sale’s salary off the books would’ve represented enough of a win for the Sox that the player return might have been a secondary concern.  Sale is making $27.5MM this season and in 2024, with a $20MM club option for 2025 that looks very unlikely to be exercised given how Sale has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees placed left-hander Anthony Misiewicz on the seven-day concussion IL today while reinstating righty Ian Hamilton from the 15-day IL.  Misiewicz was carted off the field yesterday after being struck in the head with a Ji Hwan Bae line drive, but manager Aaron Boone told the YES Network today that Misiewicz was released from hospital and “all things considered, I think he’s doing pretty well.”  More will be known once Misiewicz undergoes further testing, and while there is no timetable for concussion-related symptoms, it would seem like Misiewicz’s season might be over.  The southpaw has a 9.00 ERA over 11 total innings with the Diamondbacks, Tigers, and Yankees this season, and Friday’s game marked Misiewicz’s third game in the pinstripes since being claimed off waivers from Detroit back in July.  Hamilton returns after a minimal 15-day absence due to a groin strain.
  • Ryan Mountcastle isn’t in the Orioles’ lineup today, and hasn’t played since leaving Wednesday’s game due to left shoulder discomfort.  Manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Mountcastle was feeling “just okay” when trying to take some swings yesterday, and was hopeful Mountcastle might be available to pinch-hit in today’s game.
  • Blue Jays reliever Adam Cimber will start a Triple-A rehab assignment today, manager John Schneider told The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath and other reporters.  A pair of shoulder-related injuries have limited Cimber to 20 2/3 innings this season, and he hasn’t pitched due to June 18 due to an impingement in his right shoulder.  This lengthy stint on the 60-day IL means that Cimber will need a few rehab games to ramp up, but he should be able to return to the Jays’ bullpen before the season is through.  After posting a 2.53 ERA over 142 1/3 innings with the Marlins and Blue Jays in 2021, Cimber has only a 7.40 ERA this year, though his shoulder issues have likely contributed to those struggles.
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