Details On Madison Bumgarner’s No Trade List
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has the details on Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner‘s limited no-trade list, which, per the five-year, $35MM extension (plus 2018 and ’19 option years) he signed prior to the 2013 season, may contain up to eight teams. The four-time all-star may reportedly block trades to the Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Brewers, Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals at the upcoming trade deadline.
If the list seems curious for its contender bent, it’s by design: Bumgarner’s reps seem to have carefully selected the teams most apt to pursue the lefty for a pennant push later this season. High-profile players can often negotiate some sort of compensatory bonus if they’re moved to a team on their restricted list at any point during that contract, and the former World Series hero seems no exception.
Atlanta, it seems, is the dead giveaway here – Bumgarner grew up deep in the North Carolina hills, the nether regions of the far-reaching heart of Braves country, and was raised a die-hard Atlanta devotee. He’d surely jump at the opportunity to join a pennant-chasing Braves team, one that will likely have rising stars Mike Soroka and Max Fried on a strict innings limit as the season progresses, though whether the suddenly stingy Atlanta front office will have interest is an altogether different conversation.
As Alex Pavlovic of NBC Bay Area explains, there’s been no indication that Bumgarner will block deals to any of the teams included on his list, though explicit comments from the hurler on the matter are as yet in the dark. SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that the Yankees, Bumgarner’s most-connected suitor, are “not particularly high” on the lefty, an impression that could certainly shift with another couple months’ strong performance, coupled with a continued depletion of the team’s starting staff.
After two injury-riddled seasons, in which Bumgarner’s peripherals slumped considerably, the one-time ace has rekindled some of his mid-decade mojo: his 84 xFIP- and 91.8 average fastball velocity are his best marks in the categories since the 2015 season, and his 11.5% swinging strike rate has jumped to above his career average. He’s again striking out over a batter per nine, and his BB rate has swung back to barely-traceable levels, with the 1.45 mark actually the lowest of his career.
If there’s an area of concern, it’s the ground-ball rate, which has plummeted to a career-low 36.8%, leaving the 10-year vet more vulnerable than ever to the longball. There’s also, of course, his status as a rental: teams are more loath than ever to give up high quality talent for just two-plus months of even a star player, and Bumgarner, even during his heyday, was always closer to third starter than ace.
His postseason reputation precedes – no, surrounds – him, though modern front offices won’t fall prey to the blue ox beside his Paul Bunyan October lore, and are now much more likely to consider the sample in which it was done. Indeed, Bumgarner’s 93 career xFIP- in the postseason – interestingly a mark considerably worse than late-season whipping boy Clayton Kershaw‘s 82 figure – is a fact which, if ever relevant at the outset, almost certainly won’t be dismissed in considerations.
There’s also the matter of Giants majority owner Charles Johnson, of whom Bumgarner is said to be a favorite, and an ownership group that’s always willing to shell out for hometown stars of seasons past. The Bumgarner saga may drag on well into the summer, but it’s still a distinct possibility the lefty will stay in San Fran for the long haul.
Red Sox Exploring Possibility Of Using Michael Chavis In Outfield
When injuries pushed the Red Sox to promote top prospect Michael Chavis earlier this season, the length of time for which he’d stick in the Majors was uncertain. Dustin Pedroia, Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez all represented veteran options at second base — a position which Chavis was and is still learning — and the promotion of any prospect never comes with a guarantee of permanence.
But Chavis has burst onto the scene in Boston, hitting at a .293/.423/.638 clip with six long balls through his first 71 plate appearances. His 26.8 percent strikeout rate and 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate are higher than the organization would prefer, but Chavis has also already drawn a dozen walks, demonstrating some selectivity at the plate.
Boston has already played him at second base, third base and first base, and the team is at least tinkering with the idea of using Chavis in the outfield, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report. Chavis doesn’t have professional experience at any of the three outfield slots but he’s been working on tracking some fly-balls during batting practice. Manager Alex Cora was clear to state that Chavis isn’t yet working at learning the outfield. But, Cora added, “It’ll be good for him just to stand there and see the flight of the ball.”
It’s a notable for the Red Sox for a number of reasons. Keeping Chavis at the big league level would keep one of their hottest hitters in the lineup on a regular basis and could help to spell regulars at multiple spots. Furthermore, it’d create an interesting roster dilemma in the event that the Red Sox ever manage to get all of their infield options healthy. Chavis, to this point, has produced more offense than could be expected of either Holt or Nunez, both of whom would stand to lose playing time to him in an injury-free scenario. It’s not yet clear when Holt will return to the club, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that following a recent painkilling injection in his shoulder, Holt is hopeful he’ll begin a new minor league rehab assignment soon. Nunez is currently healthy but has hit just .189/.200/.264 through a small sample of 56 PAs.
Pedroia, meanwhile, is already on a minor league rehab assignment. The veteran has long been one of the cornerstones of the franchise but has played in precisely nine games dating back to Opening Day 2018 due to injuries of his own. A return to form for Pedroia would give the Sox the cliched “good problem to have,” but at this point it’s hard to know what to expect from the 35-year-old.
From a service time vantage point, the decision to keep Chavis in the big leagues has its own ramifications. Chavis was promoted with enough time having lapsed that the Sox will control him for one more season than they would have had he broken camp with the club, but he lines up as a surefire Super Two player. Barring an early-career extension, that’d give Chavis a bite at his first seven-figure salary in 2022 rather than 2023, and his three subsequent arbitration salaries would be greater based on that early entry into the process.
Of course, even if Chavis sticks in the big leagues for the time being, he’s not immune to being optioned out later in the season. A prolonged slump could land him back in Pawtucket long enough to alter his arbitration or even his free-agent trajectory. But it’s plenty notable that he’s already impressed to the point where he’s forcing the issue and setting the Sox up for some tough decisions about playing time and potentially even roster spots.
Red Sox Place David Price On Injured List, Select Ryan Weber
7:38pm: It seems there’s not much concern that Price is dealing with a significant injury, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to report. Price calls it “nothing,” though he declined to say how long he had been dealing with the issue and there’s no clear timeline for his return.
10:52am: The Red Sox announced Monday that they’ve placed lefty David Price on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his left elbow. Right-hander Ryan Weber‘s contract has been selected from Triple-A Pawtucket, and he’ll replace Price on the active roster for the time being. Boston had an opening on its 40-man roster, so there are no additional corresponding moves needed.
Price, 33, has gotten out to a solid start in 2019, logging a 3.75 ERA with a 10.5 K/9 mark that would be a career-best in a full season and a 2.5 BB/9 mark that would be his lowest since signing in Boston. He’s been one of the steadiest arms in a surprisingly vulnerable Red Sox rotation, but he’ll now join fellow starter Nathan Eovaldi on the shelf. Price’s placement on the IL is retroactive to May 3, so he could be eligible to return in as little as a week, though Boston’s press release made no mention of how long Price is expected to sit out with the elbow ailment.
In his place, Boston will turn to longtime Braves farmhand Weber — a 28-year-old who spent the 2017-18 seasons with the Mariners and Rays, respectively. Weber has a 5.01 ERA in 73 2/3 frames at the big league level, but he owns a lifetime 2.61 ERA in 307 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Weber won’t overpower any opponents — he’s averaged just 90 mph on his fastball in the Majors — but he boasts strong control and ground-ball tendencies in both Triple-A and in the bigs.
Jake Peavy Retires
Right-hander Jake Peavy last pitched professionally in 2016, and though he was angling to return to the majors last summer, that attempt has come to an end. Recent reports from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report indicate the 37-year-old Peavy has decided to hang up his cleats.
Peavy spent his final two-plus seasons in San Francisco, but his peak came as the ace of NL West rival San Diego’s staff. In a move that ranks among the wisest in franchise history, the Padres used a 15th-round pick in 1999 on Peavy, who debuted in 2002. Just two years later, he emerged as one of the majors’ premier pitchers.
During a 1,050-inning run in San Diego from 2004-09, Peavy pitched to a 3.02 ERA/3.16 FIP with 9.44 K/9 against 2.74 BB/9 and helped the Padres to their two most recent playoff berths (2005-06). He also earned a pair of All-Star nods and twice led the National League in both ERA and strikeouts in that period, during which he accumulated the majors’ fifth-highest fWAR among starters (26.4). Only luminaries Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay outdid Peavy in that category.
In the crowning personal achievement of his career, Peavy beat out Oswalt and others for the NL Cy Young Award in 2007, when he fired 223 1/3 innings of 2.54 ERA/2.84 FIP ball, amassed 240 strikeouts and led all big league pitchers in fWAR (6.7). It was the third straight season of at least 200 innings for Peavy, who exceeded that mark twice more later in his career.
Peavy was unquestionably the Padres’ most valuable player during his seven-plus years in their uniform. However, his reign in San Diego came to an end in August 2009 when the non-contenders traded him to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.
Save for Richard, who had a long but unspectacular run in San Diego, no one from that group panned out for the Padres. Meanwhile, despite Peavy’s presence, the White Sox never secured a playoff berth during his stint with the franchise. It didn’t help that Peavy often battled injuries throughout his tenure as a member of the White Sox, with whom his numbers declined. Still, he did log a respectable 4.00 ERA/3.70 FIP in 537 2/3 frames with the Pale Hose and pick up his third and final All-Star appearance with the club in 2012.
In July 2013, a year after his last truly great season, Peavy changed Sox when Chicago dealt him to Boston in a three-team, seven-player trade that also included Detroit. Peavy wasn’t any kind of rotation savior by then, but he was still a solid starter whose acquisition paid dividends for the Red Sox during their run to a World Series championship that season. However, Boston couldn’t defend its title in 2014, a season in which it nosedived in the standings and ended up dealing Peavy to the Giants for pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.
For the second straight season, Peavy was a midsummer acquisition for a franchise that went on to a championship. Peavy gave the 2014 Giants the vintage version of himself in terms of run prevention over 78 2/3 regular-season innings (2.17 ERA), and he helped the club to NLDS and NLCS victories. Although Peavy struggled in both of his World Series starts, a pair of losses to the Royals, the Giants nonetheless triumphed in a seven-game classic. They then brought back Peavy on a two-year, $24MM contract, which will go down as the last deal of his career. While Peavy pitched well in the first of those seasons, injuries held him to 110 2/3 innings. He was only able to manage another 118 2/3 frames in 2016, a career-worst campaign that included a demotion to the Giants’ bullpen.
Although Peavy’s time in the majors didn’t end on a high note, he enjoyed a prolific career that most pitchers would sign up for without a second thought. Along with his personal and team awards, Peavy registered a 152-126 record, 2,207 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA/3.65 FIP in 2,377 innings en route to 44.1 fWAR/37.5 rWAR and upward of $127MM in earnings. MLBTR congratulates Peavy on an outstanding career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Red Sox Claim Joey Curletta
Per a team announcement, the Red Sox have claimed 1B Joey Curletta off waivers from Seattle.
Curletta, 25, was placed on the Mariner 40-man after a solid (.282/.383/.482) showing for Double-A Arkansas last season. Baseball America, who ranked the 6’4 righty 22nd overall in a poor Seattle system entering the year, noted that the husky first-baseman “draws comparisons” to current Mariner DH Dan Vogelbach.
A poor early-season showing on the bandbox circuit that now serves as the Pacific Coast League, where a staggering 38 players currently boast an OPS north of .900, left Curletta, who’s been old for the level since repeating High-A for the third time in 2017, expendable.
The former sixth-rounder will reportedly be assigned to AA-Portland in the Boston system.
Red Sox Activate Eduardo Nunez, Tzu-Wei Lin Placed On Injured List
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.
Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so it’s not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesn’t start producing – though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.
Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.
In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
East Notes: LeMahieu, Holt, Inciarte, Cano
The Yankees announced today that an MRI showed inflammation in the right knee of infielder DJ LeMahieu. He suffered a contusion on Friday night and has been limited since. It’s a tough balance for the Yanks, who are already pressing numerous players into unexpectedly significant roles. While the preferred course might be to put LeMahieu on the shelf and bring in a replacement, the club is surely wary of keeping him out longer than needed and must also keep a close watch on 40-man roster pressures. It’s a tough spot — one that makes the club’s ongoing success all the more impressive (and frightening for the rest of the American League East).
Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:
- Brock Holt‘s path back to the majors has encountered another roadblock. The Red Sox utilityman is now dealing with a shoulder injury, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to report. Details aren’t yet known — he’s due for a medical exam tomorrow — but it seems Holt came down with the ailment recently. He has been working back after suffering a scratched cornea. Holt, 30, turned in a strong .277/.362/.411 slash in 367 plate appearances last year. His absence is amplified by the fact that both Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Nunez are also on the injured list at the moment.
- Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte left tonight’s game with a hamstring injury. Initial indications are that he is in good shape, skipper Brian Snitker told reporters including David O’Brien of The Athletic (Twitter link), but the true condition of the muscle will be more apparent tomorrow. It’s conceivable that a roster move will be needed. The club wouldn’t necessarily need to bring up an outfielder, though it’s already running out an eight-man bullpen. Adam Duvall surely wouldn’t mind an opportunity. He’s playing at Triple-A for the first time since 2015 and doesn’t seem to want to stay (.306/.388/.647 with seven home runs and 16:11 K/BB through 98 plate appearances).
- It seems that Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has avoided a significant injury after being struck by a pitch on Sunday. X-rays on his hand were negative, so it seems the club needs only to wait for the swelling to subside before it’ll be able to slot him back in the lineup. Cano is off to a solid but hardly overwhelming start to his tenure with New York’s National League entrant. Through 108 plate appearances, he carries a .270/.324/.430 slash line with three home runs. UZR and DRS have soured on his glovework a bit in the early going, though it’s tough to put too much stock in a short-sample run of defensive metrics.
AL Injury Notes: Ohtani, Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani won’t make his season debut during their homestand from April 30-May 5, manager Brad Ausmus told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters Sunday. The two-way star is still on the mend from the Tommy John surgery he underwent on his right elbow last October, which will keep him from pitching this season but won’t prevent him from helping the Angels’ offense. Los Angeles entered Sunday with a middle-of-the-pack offense, though designated hitters Albert Pujols and Kevan Smith have only combined for average hitting to this point relative to their position. Ohtani was far better than that as a rookie in 2018, when he slashed .288/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 10 steals over 367 plate appearances.
- The injury-ravaged Yankees may have to start dipping into the Double-A level to fill their roster at this rate, as a couple more of their players – infielders DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela – left Sunday’s game against the Giants with ailments. LeMahieu departed with right knee inflammation, while Urshela exited after Giants reliever Nick Vincent hit him in the left hand with an 88.5 mph pitch. Luckily for New York, X-rays came back negative in both cases, though LeMahieu will undergo an MRI on Monday (via ESPN.com, Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). LeMahieu and Urshela have handled third base with aplomb in place of Miguel Andujar, who’s one of 13 Yankees currently on the injured list.
- Red Sox infielders Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Nunez are set to embark on rehab assignments, manager Alex Cora said Sunday. Meanwhile, fellow banged-up infielder Brock Holt was scratched from his Triple-A rehab game Sunday because of right shoulder soreness (links via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com). Pedroia landed on the IL on April 18 with yet another left knee injury, but he’s “a lot better” now, according to Cora, who announced he’s likely to play with Double-A Portland beginning May 2. Nunez, down since the 19th with a mid-back strain, will go to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday and could be back in Boston by May 6, Cotillo writes. Holt has been on the IL since April 6 with a scratched right cornea, and there’s no word on how serious his shoulder problem is. When healthy, Pedroia, Nunez and Holt have posted pitiful production this year, which helps explain why Boston second basemen have recorded the AL’s worst fWAR (minus-0.9).
- Athletics first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha suffered a wrist sprain Sunday and may require a stint on the IL, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser notes the A’s could recall Skye Bolt or Dustin Fowler to replace Canha, who has hit .200/.377/.375 with a pair of HRs in 53 trips to the plate this year.
Red Sox Select Josh Smith
The Red Sox have selected the contract of righty Josh Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll make a start today for the club if the scheduled contest isn’t rained out. Reliever Travis Lakins was optioned down to open active roster space.
Smith, 31, saw 127 1/3 innings of big-league action from 2015-17 but failed to make it back up last year. He owns a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at the game’s highest level. (Note: another hurler by the same name also pitched in the upper minors last year with the Red Sox. He’s now with the Indians.)
Though he has never posted dominating numbers in the upper minors, Smith has struck out better than a batter per nine at the Triple-A level since the start of the 2017 season. He has racked up 23 strikeouts against five walks in 16 2/3 innings in three starts for Pawtucket to open the present season.
Prospect Notes: Hernandez, Sheffield, Senzel, Bichette, Vlad Jr., Luzardo
Here’s the latest on some prospects of note from around the game:
- The Red Sox brought up top pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez for his first taste of the majors, with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reporting the move. Hernandez, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, still needs to iron out his command but has shown some impressive swing-and-miss capabilities. It was on display tonight, as he allowed five baserunners but also racked up four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings in relief.
- Left-handed pitching prospect Justus Sheffield will join the Mariners on Friday for his first action with his new club, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter. He’s expected to piggyback with Yusei Kikuchi for a start; it’s possible he’ll be dropped back to Triple-A thereafter, though that’s not yet clear. While he already has 13 days of MLB service on his odometer, Sheffield won’t be able to reach a full year of service even if he stakes a permanent claim to a big-league roster spot. Sheffield hasn’t been himself thus far at Triple-A, carrying an 11:14 K/BB ratio through 18 1/3 innings.
- It’s possible the Reds will soon welcome top prospect Nick Senzel to the majors. As Fletcher Page of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, Senzel is back in the lineup at Triple-A after recovering from a sprained ankle. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be promoted in the near-term, but the organization doesn’t have much cause to hesitate at this point. Senzel can no longer achieve a full year of MLB service in 2019; the club is sitting at five games under .500 and can’t wait long to make its move. Once Senzel gets his timing down and gets comfortable in the outfield — he’s lined up in center field tonight for Louisville — he’ll likely be called up.
- The Blue Jays got some unwelcome news on exciting infield prospect Bo Bichette. Robert Murray and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported on Twitter that Bichette had suffered a broken hand. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, the fracture was to the second metacarpal of his left hand. Widely considered one of the game’s very best prospects, Bichette will now need to get back to health before he can begin pressing for a major-league promotion. Meanwhile, anticipation grows that teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will soon get the call; Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs tweets that some around the game anticipate it’ll come this week.
- Top Athletics prospect Jesus Luzardo is beginning to work back toward the hill, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). He’s moving from 75 feet to 90 feet tomorrow, so it’s still rather early in his progression back from shoulder soreness. Slusser estimates that it could take four to six weeks before the prized southpaw could be ready for game action. In all likelihood, he won’t be seen as a candidate for a MLB promotion until he has at least a few Triple-A starts under his belt and the club feels confident there aren’t any lingering issues with the joint.