Tim Hudson Says He’ll Retire After The Season
Giants righty Tim Hudson says he’s hanging up his cleats after the season, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Previously, the 40-year-old had indicated that he was likely to retire, but it now appears he has made up his mind.
“This is definitely my last year, for sure,” said the veteran. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s the right time for me and my family.”
This season hasn’t been quite the send-off that Hudson might have hoped for (though he had quite a memorable outing last night). He has missed time due to injury and is carrying an ERA over four per nine for just the third time in 17 seasons.
But Hudson is still remarkably useful given his age. He has continued to generate a groundball rate of over 50% and would undoubtedly draw plenty of interest as a free agent were he to consider signing.
Still, it’s not terribly surprising to hear that Hudson has decided to call it quits. He has made clear throughout the year that things were likely headed in that direction. And as he and his wife discussed in the above-linked piece, via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, a variety of considerations beyond pitching capability have driven the decision.
We’ll have to wait until the end of the year to make a final tally of Hudson’s overall body of work, but needless to say, it will be impressive. Hudson broke into the league with the Athletics back in 1999, spent nine years with the Braves, and capped it off in San Francisco. All told, he has racked up over 3,000 innings with a lifetime earned run average of less than 3.50 runs per nine innings.
Those results came mostly via a sterling 58.0% career groundball rate rather than dominant strikeout tallies. In fact, Hudson has averaged only 6.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in his career. He nevertheless managed to compile over fifty wins above replacement over his career as a consistent, quality, and durable rotation piece.
That body of work is probably not enough to get him into Cooperstown, but Hudson undoubtedly rates as one of the best pitchers of his era.
West Notes: International, Leake, Morneau
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the international bonus pool game undertaken each year by major league clubs. The Mariners, for instance, were able to free some extra spending capacity in the recent Austin Jackson deal, taking a slot from a team (the Cubs) that had already committed to exceed its own limit and take on the resulting penalties. It’s a good breakdown of a somewhat convoluted system for those who wonder how it works.
Here are a few notes from out west to end the evening:
- There appears to be some mutual interest in a continued relationship between the Giants and recently-acquired righty Mike Leake, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports on Twitter. Manager Bruce Bochy likes what he’s seen from the 27-year-old workhorse, who has pitched to a 3.16 in his 25 2/3 frames with his new club. And it appears that Leake is pleased thus far with his new environs. Of course, he figures to receive a wide range of interest on the coming free agent market. Though he’s never been a dominant pitcher, Leake offers a nice package of youth, health, and consistently solid production.
- Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau discusses his latest comeback effort with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby, saying that he understands the need to careful given his history of concussions. Those unfortunate injuries changed his career trajectory, of course, but he’s still a useful big league player at age 34. Morneau says he’s increasingly worked to take excellent care of his body as he’s gotten older, but like most regulars has always played through typical bumps and bruises. He will return to the open market after the season unless both he and Colorado exercise a $9MM mutual option.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/7/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Righties Brandon Kintzler and Preston Guilmet were outrighted off of the 40-man roster by the Brewers, the club announced. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains, the 31-year-old Kintzler has dealt with injuries after serving as a reliable bullpen piece in recent seasons. Over the last two years, he contributed 135 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA pitching with 5.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Guilmet, 28, has bounced around quite a bit on the waiver wire and ultimately saw action in four teams’ systems this year. While he struggled in limited big league action, Guilmet worked to a 2.19 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in his 49 1/3 Triple-A frames. Milwaukee also selected the contract of catcher Nevin Ashley, who will see his first big league action at 31 years of age after putting up a solid .306/.374/.442 batting line in 381 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
- Also outrighted today was righty Jake Buchanan of the Astros, per a club announcement. Recently designated for assignment, the 25-year-old Buchanan owns a 4.06 ERA over his 44 1/3 innings with Houston since the start of 2014. He has struck out 5.1 and walked 3.2 batters per nine in that span.
- The Yankees announced that they have once again selected the contract of left-hander Chris Capuano. This should be the final 40-man transaction of the season for Capuano, whose tumultuous season has seen him jettisoned from the 40-man roster numerous times. Capuano was, in fact, designated for assignment four times within one calendar month from late July through late August, though the DFA roller coaster should be over for him thanks to expanded September rosters. The 37-year-old veteran has struggled with the Yankees in 2015, totaling a 7.71 ERA in 35 innings. He posted a solid 4.25 mark in 65 2/3 innings for the Yankees last season but has seen his control take a step back, among other issues, in 2015. To clear room for Capuano on the 40-man roster, lefty Jacob Lindgren was activated from the minor league DL, recalled to the Majors and placed on the 60-day disabled list.
- The Giants announced that they’ve transferred Tim Lincecum to the 60-day disabled list to clear a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Brett Bochy, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A. Bochy, 28, has just 3 1/3 innings of big league experience — all of which came in 2014. He’s spent the 2015 campaign at Triple-A, where he’s recorded an impressive 2.95 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 58 innings of relief. He is the son of Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
NL West Notes: Johnson, Rockies, Anderson
After Josh Johnson ended a Friday rehab start after four pitches due to elbow discomfort, the Padres confirmed that they’ve shut Johnson down for the rest of the season, assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Johnson will meet with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday for further evaluation. The right-hander is trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, and Friday’s abbreviated start marked the first competitive pitches Johnson has thrown since August 2013. Here’s some more from around the NL West…
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that despite Carlos Gonzalez‘s red-hot bat, there has been only “a little uptake on calls” from teams interested in acquiring the outfielder. Suitors may be more eager in pursuing Gonzalez this winter now that he’s stayed healthy and kept hitting, though Bridich notes that the Rox weren’t and aren’t actively shopping Gonzalez. “It wasn’t like we were doing a full-court press internally to make the trade. We treated him like everyone else on the team,” Bridich said. “We would think about it and have a discussion when it was warranted. It wasn’t like it was some huge orchestrated effort on our part. And, with the pedigree of CarGo, it can be tough to find dance partners in a trade.” For another interview with Bridich, check out his recent appearance with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast.
- In another piece from Saunders, he thinks the Rockies will try to trade Jose Reyes this winter in order to create a spot for shortstop prospect Trevor Story. Reyes is owed $44MM through 2017, plus his contract has a $22MM club option for 2018 that can be bought out for $4MM. Colorado is prepared to eat a major piece of Reyes’ remaining salary to make a deal happen, Saunders believes.
- Brett Anderson left today’s start in the sixth inning after a trainer’s visit to the mound, yet the injury-plagued southpaw told reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) that he only suffered a cramped calf and doesn’t expect to miss any time. Anderson has stayed healthy and effective for the Dodgers this season, posting a 3.36 ERA, 5.92 K/9 and 66.7% grounder rate over 158 innings. Just today, as noted as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Anderson added his second $300K bonus of the year for passing an innings-pitched threshold. He seems like a solid bet to collect a huge chunk of the other $3.4MM still available in total incentives, as per his one-year, $10MM contract.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts (via Twitter) Tim Lincecum will return to the Giants on a minor league deal for 2016. Lincecum recently underwent season-ending hip surgery and since he’ll have trouble finding a Major League contract, it makes sense that he could return to familiar surroundings, especially since Bruce Bochy and CEO Larry Baer both seem open to the idea.
Injury Notes: Harvey, Stanton, Pedroia, Aoki, Susac, Sanchez, Feldman
The still-brewing shutdown controversy between Matt Harvey and the Mets still has an uncertain conclusion, but there are plenty of incremental updates to share. Noted Tommy John expert Neal ElAttrache, who is said to have consulted with agent Scott Boras on Harvey, spoke about the matter with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. He explained that there could be a reasonable path for Harvey to throw in the postseason by “spacing out his starts and keeping his arm live, using him if necessary in September to keep him competitive and save some bullets for the postseason.” But ElAttrache also noted that even 180 innings pitched “does start to raise some flags, because now he’s in no man’s land” in comparison to past pitchers recovering from a TJ procedure. Boras, meanwhile, said that both the team and the player want him to continue throwing, and that his concern “is that the medical experts are involved in the process of determining what Matt Harvey can do.”
Here’s more on Harvey and some other injury situations around the game:
- It remains unclear where things will go from here, but one Mets official indicated to ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin that the team strongly expects to utilize its righty in October (Twitter link). Mike Puma of the New York Post adds on Twitter that Harvey “didn’t anticipate the backlash” and “might have a few second thoughts about his comments” from yesterday. Meanwhile, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider link) are among those who have suggested that the current situation could — and, perhaps, should — provide impetus for the team to trade Harvey over the coming winter.
- Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton acknowledges that there’s a chance he won’t return this year, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Stanton, who is still trying to work back from a broken hamate bone, is still holding out hopes of a return, and at worst should certainly be at full speed next spring.
- Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox, meanwhile, could play as soon as Tuesday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. The veteran second baseman has been working back from a hamstring injury.
- Giants outfielder Nori Aoki is dealing with recurring concussion symptoms that could jeopardize his season, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. The 33-year-old, who owns a .287/.353/.380 slash and 14 steals over 392 plate appearances on the year, has struggled to remain healthy and productive in the second half. He can be controlled through a $5.5MM club option next year, which looks to be an appealing price tag so long as he is able to recover from the injury.
- The Giants are also going to be without promising young catcher Andrew Susac the rest of the way, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Susac, 25, has suffered ligament damage to his wrist which will also cost him a chance to play winter ball, though it seems he should be ready for Spring Training. It’s another blow to San Francisco’s depth as the club struggles to remain in the hunt down the stretch. Susac has seen his name come up as an acquisition target for other clubs, particularly given the presence of Buster Posey behind the dish for the Giants. The injury could take him out of such consideration for at least some time, though the team’s level of interest in dealing him has never been clear. Fellow backstop Jackson Williams has had his contract purchased, with Susac hitting the 60-day DL to clear 40-man space.
- Fellow Giants backstop Hector Sanchez may also be out of action until 2016, as Shea tweets. The 25-year-old Sanchez has an injured ankle and hamstring.
- The outlook for Astros righty Scott Feldman “doesn’t seem good,” according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The 32-year-old is dealing with right shoulder inflammation, and while a recent MRI revealed no structural damage, it seems that his throwing session yesterday did not go well. Fortunately for Houston, the club has a variety of rotation options to fill in, though it certainly hurts to lose another solid arm. Houston has Feldman under contract for one more season after this one at a $8MM salary.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Giants have outrighted outfielders Justin Maxwell and Ryan Lollis to Triple-A Sacramento, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. They had designated both for assignment last week. The veteran Maxwell is a solid defender but a somewhat light hitter who batted .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances in the big leagues this year. It’s unclear whether he’ll accept the Giants’ assignment. The 28-year-old Lollis has had a breakout season in the minors, batting .325/.377/.459 in 299 plate appearances for Sacramento, but he had a somewhat sketchy track record before that and only has 13 plate appearances’ worth of big-league experience.
- The Cubs have released veteran reliever Rafael Soriano, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. They had designated him for assignment in a flurry of roster moves last Tuesday. Soriano, 35, did not sign until June and then pitched only 5 2/3 innings for Chicago, allowing four runs before hitting the DL with shoulder trouble. Soriano has a 2.89 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 14 seasons also spent with the Mariners, Braves, Rays, Yankees and Nationals.
- The Rays have outrighted infielder Hak-Ju Lee to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Lee, a former top prospect and a key part of the 2011 Matt Garza trade between the Rays and Cubs, has struggled to hit at Durham in recent seasons, posting a .220/.303/.304 line in 360 plate appearances there in 2015. (Of course, the Rays still did just fine in that deal, also getting Chris Archer and Brandon Guyer.) The Rays designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
- The Orioles have selected the contract of veteran outfielder Nolan Reimold, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles outrighted Reimold last week, but as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets, Reimold accepted the outright after the Orioles told him they would promote him this month. As Kubatko points out, the righty might prove useful as the O’s face two lefties (David Price and Mark Buehrle) this weekend. He’s hit .227/.306/.340 in 108 plate appearances with Baltimore this season.
NL West Notes: Lincecum, Myers, Castillo, D-Backs
The Giants aren’t ruling out the possibility of a reunion with Tim Lincecum following the 2015 season, CEO Larry Baer and manager Bruce Bochy told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I don’t think Timmy is ruling it out, and I don’t think we’re ruling it out,” said Baer. Bochy added: “My door will always be open for Tim Lincecum. That’s how much I think of him. That’s a decision that’s made on the baseball side, obviously with everybody. I appreciate what he’s done and the time I’ve had to this point with him. It doesn’t mean that won’t continue.” Baer called Lincecum’s contributions to the Giants franchise “endless.” The 31-year-old underwent season-ending hip surgery yesterday that will require about five months of recovery time. A free agent at season’s end, it’s possible that Lincecum’s days with the Giants are done.
Elsewhere in the division…
- Padres outfielder Wil Myers spoke with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick about the frustration of the past two season’s wrist injuries and the accumulation of the “injury-prone” reputation that’s now become attached to his name. “It’s the worst,” said Myers of the label. “I see it on Twitter and I hear it all the time. Everybody is like, ‘He’s too injury-prone,’ but it’s not like I have a hamstring injury where every time I run, I’m cautious about it. I had a bone spur taken out, and once this heals I won’t have to deal with this injury anymore.” Myers is confident in his ability to rebound once the wrist injury is fully healed, but as Crasnick notes, there’s a question as to where he will play. Myers was probably miscast as a center fielder this season, so he could slide over to left field if Justin Upton departs via free agency. Another possibility is first base, if the Padres are looking for an upgrade over Yonder Alonso’s low power numbers. One NL scout told Crasnick he feels Myers could be a Gold Glove caliber first baseman, based purely on his athleticism.
- Welington Castillo has positioned himself as the Diamondbacks‘ catcher of the future, but as Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Repbulic writes, Castillo nearly gave up baseball at the age of 16 when faced with the realization that his future was behind the plate. Castillo grew up playing shortstop but lacked the speed or quickness to play there at a high level as he grew. When a Phillies scout asked for a private workout based on Castillo’s bat and then asked him to make some throws from behind the plate, Castillo was impressive but also uninterested. He walked away from the game for three months before being coerced into returning, only to receive an offer of just $10K after another Phillies scout deemed him “too short to catch.” Castillo eventually signed with the Cubs for a meager $22K bonus — a number that, in hindsight, looks like a considerable bargain for Chicago.
- Buchanan’s colleague, Nick Piecoro, examines the budding logjam in the D-Backs infield. Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jake Lamb have all shown flashes of potential but lack consistency, Piecoro writes, and now the progress of second baseman/third baseman Brandon Drury has muddied the picture. Manager Chip Hale told Piecoro that teams frequently ask about Lamb in trades, and they’ve also received inquiries on Drury and Owings. The presence of multiple seemingly big-league-ready infielders will give Arizona GM Dave Stewart some options as he navigates the trade market this offseason.
Tim Lincecum Undergoes Season-Ending Hip Surgery
7:04pm: Club trainer Dave Groeschner says that Lincecum is expected to require about five months to recover from the procedure, as Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports (Twitter links). Lincecum underwent both a labrum repair and a shaving of bone to address an impingement. “The doctor was pretty confident this will help him, and help him return to pitching next season,” said Groeschner.
11:43am: Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum underwent season-ending hip surgery this morning, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Giants GM Bobby Evans said Thursday in a KNBR radio appearance that Lincecum is out for the season, though he did not definitively mention Lincecum’s surgical procedure (hat tip: Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Said Evans:
“He won’t be able to come back this season. That’s evident. He went to Colorado to see a specialist and get a second opinion and get an evaluation with the prospect that he will have surgery. The next step for him is to do everything he can and get back and get well, but it’s going to take him out for the season. What that leads to in terms of his progression healthwise will dictate what opportunities he has with us or elsewhere.”
As Schulman notes, the injury may very well bring to a close Lincecum’s historic career as a member of the Giants.
Selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2006 draft, Lincecum debuted in 2007 as a hard-throwing 23-year-old, tossing 146 1/3 innings of 4.00 ERA ball and averaging better than a strikeout per inning with initially shaky control. The control woes quickly dissipated, however, as Lincecum won consecutive Cy Young Awards in his next two seasons. From 2008-11, there were few pitchers in the game that were decisively better than “The Freak,” whose unorthodox delivery and dominant results won the hearts of Giants fans. Over that four-year stretch, Lincecum posted a 2.81 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 881 2/3 innings, earning All-Star honors each year.
Since that time, though, Lincecum’s career has gone in the opposite direction. He’s lost the mid-90s fastball that he had in his early to mid-20s, and he averaged just 87.2 mph on his vastly diminished heater this year. Lincecum inked a two-year, $35MM extension after the 2013 season despite marginal bottom-line results (sabermetric stats pegged him in a more optimistic light), but he hasn’t lived up to that deal. In the end, he’ll have pitched just 232 innings with a 4.54 ERA to show for it under that contract.
Schulman writes that Lincecum “surely will not get a Major League deal” from the Giants this offseason, and if that’s the case, it does seem likely that his days with San Francisco are coming to a close. Barring an exorbitant recovery timetable from this operation, it’s tough to imagine that no team would give Lincecum a big league deal, his lack of recent results notwithstanding.
Heyman wrote earlier this week that Lincecum was seeing renowned hip specialist Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo. Per Heyman’s report, surgery would most likely have Lincecum ready in time for Spring Training, and there’s a belief among some doctors that the dip in velocity is partially tied to his hip troubles.
Giants Designate Justin Maxwell For Assignment
The Giants announced that they have designated outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for September callup Nick Noonan.
Maxwell, 31, batted .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances with the Giants this year. He’s soaked up a number innings in the outfield as San Francisco has dealt with injuries to its entire starting outfield — Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan and Nori Aoki. Maxwell is capable of playing all three outfield spots and is a particularly good defender in the corner outfield positions. As Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets, the move is at least somewhat surprising, as the team could’ve transferred Tim Lincecum to the 60-day disabled list. Lincecum has been on the DL since late June.
Giants Acquire Alejandro De Aza
The Giants have officially acquired outfielder Alejandro De Aza from the Red Sox, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported on Twitter. Lefty Luis Ysla will return to Boston in the deal, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Twitter.
The Red Sox will pay $650K of De Aza’s salary in the deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Having agreed to a $5MM salary to avoid arbitration in his final year of eligibility, De Aza is still owed just under $930K the rest of the way. But Boston reportedly only took on around $1MM in total commitments to De Aza when it added him on June 4. With $650K said to be going with the veteran to San Francisco, it appears that the Giants will not be paying much (if anything) of the tab.
De Aza, 31, turned around a sluggish start upon his move to the Red Sox. The free agent-to-be has slashed .292/.347/.484 over 178 plate appearances since that trade. Once an everyday center fielder with the White Sox, De Aza now profiles more as a platoon corner defender. He’s continued to perform much better against right-handed pitching, with increasing platoon splits in 2015.
For San Francisco, the month of August has required some injury-driven leak plugging. The club reportedly pursued infield help, including Chase Utley, before adding Marlon Byrd and now De Aza to help account for injuries to outfielders Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence.
By squeezing in the deal in advance of midnight eastern time tonight, San Francisco will be able to utilize the veteran De Aza on its post-season roster, if it qualifies. He has now changed teams via trade for the second time this summer and for the third time in the last two seasons.
Ysla, 23, turned in a nice season last year as a starter at the Class A level, but has struggled in High-A ball this year. Serving mostly out of the pen, Ysla has allowed 12.3 hits per nine and 4.6 BB/9 while retiring 10.7 opposing batters via strikeout per nine innings thrown. In 79 2/3 frames, he’s worked to a 6.21 ERA.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.