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Collin McHugh

Rays To Sign Collin McHugh

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FEB. 12: The Rays have finalized a $1.8MM deal with McHugh, pending a physical, Topkin reports.

FEB. 11, 9:55pm: If finalized, it will be a one-year major league pact, Topkin writes.

9:15pm: The Rays and right-hander Collin McHugh are closing in on an agreement, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. There’s “work to be done” on both sides prior to the deal becoming official, though, Topkin adds.

McHugh was largely successful with the Astros as a starter and reliever from 2014-19, but elbow issues negatively affected him in the last of those years and continued to do so in 2020. McHugh signed with the Red Sox before last season, but he was ultimately not healthy enough to pitch for the club. The 33-year-old has recovered since then, though, according to Topkin, and his history indicates he could be a useful pickup for the Rays if he is indeed back from his arm problems.

McHugh, also a former Met and Rockie, would bring a lifetime 3.95 ERA with almost a strikeout per inning and fewer than three walks per nine across a lifetime 800 2/3 frames to the Rays. Considering McHugh established himself in Houston as someone capable of filling long- and short-inning roles, it seems he would fit in well on a Tampa Bay team known for its flexibility with its pitching staff.

Free Agency Notes: McHugh, Tigers, Sugano, Red Sox

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Free agent right-hander Collin McHugh will throw in front of interested teams on January 16, reports Jake Kaplan of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 33-year-old opted out of the 2020 season after failing to recuperate as hoped from a December 2019 elbow surgery. However, McHugh is again drawing interest from teams after recovering from that procedure, Kaplan notes. The former Astro had plenty of success from 2015-18, working in both a starting and relief role.

Some more notes on the open market:

  • The Tigers are hoping to sign another free agent pitcher, general manager Al Avila told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive). Detroit already added former Marlins right-hander José Ureña on a one-year deal this offseason. Ureña joins fellow rebound hopefuls Matt Boyd and Michael Fulmer in a rotation mix that also includes Spencer Turnbull and a handful of very highly-regarded pitching prospects. That wouldn’t make the rotation a seeming area of need for the Tigers on paper. However, with a projected significant increase between 2020 and 2021 in the number of innings teams will need, the Tigers are looking to stockpile pitching depth. Avila noted the organization is considering adopting a six-man rotation at points next season to help shoulder heightened workloads.
  • Star NPB pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano made the decision to return to the Yomiuri Giants yesterday, agreeing on a four-year, $40MM contract (with three opt-outs). Obviously, no major league team put forth an offer big enough to woo Sugano to MLB. At least a pair of clubs did put a formal proposal on the table, though. The Padres and Blue Jays each offered Sugano a contract before the right-hander made the decision to stay in his home country, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
  • While the Red Sox were among the teams that liked Sugano, they are “uninterested” in offering any pitcher a four-year deal this winter, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. They are, however, willing to offer two-year or three-year terms to certain hurlers. As Speier writes, that dovetails nicely with the team’s ongoing Jake Odorizzi pursuit. Arguably the second-best free agent starter remaining on the market, Odorizzi is expected to land a three-year deal in the $36MM — $42MM range.

Collin McHugh Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh has announced his intention to opt out of the 2020 season, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. Per Browne, McHugh said that his arm hasn’t recovered as well as he’d hoped after an elbow procedure in December.

As such, McHugh expected to spend a portion of the season on the injured list, and manager Ron Roenicke relayed (video courtesy of Rob Bradford of WEEI) that McHugh felt it best to spend that time at home with family during the pandemic. McHugh will be removed from the Boston 60-man player pool and 40-man roster.

The 33-year-old appeared to be making progress towards a return to action, but that progress seems to have stagnated recently, preventing McHugh from throwing live batting practice and ramping up into intrasquad game action.

McHugh signed on with the Red Sox in March, agreeing to an incentive-laden contract that only guaranteed him $650K for the season, but that would have allowed him to earn up to $3.625MM based on innings pitched and time spent on the active roster.

Interestingly, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes, McHugh already received the entirety of his guaranteed salary for the season through the preseason advance; by opting out the season, he is forfeiting only pay from those incentives, which were far-fetched given the injury.

With McHugh choosing to sit this season out, he’ll once again enter free agency in the coming winter, hopefully at full health and ready to contribute to a Major League club. Interested teams won’t have data and footage from 2020 to rely on, and they’ll have to weigh whether to deploy McHugh as a starter or reliever. Speculatively, a contract similar to the one he signed last winter sounds feasible.

McHugh has spent the last six years of his career with the Astros, toggling between a role in the bullpen and in the starting rotation. He has succeeded in both roles in the past, though last year he faltered as a starter, shifting to relief before injury prevented him from playing in the last third of the season. He posted a mediocre 4.70 ERA in 35 games—8 starts. 2018, on the other hand, was McHugh’s best as a pro, as he excelled in a full-time relief role, notching a 1.99 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 72 1/3 innings of work.

From a baseball perspective, the loss of McHugh will no doubt make a dent in the depth of the Boston pitching staff, which was already looking thin. Nathan Eovaldi will start on Opening Day, but beyond him, there are a bunch of question marks. Free agent signing Martin Perez is probably next in line, with Ryan Weber, Brian Johnson, and Matt Hall all in the mix. Eduardo Rodriguez, back in Red Sox camp after contracting the coronavirus, will hopefully join the rotation in short order, and Zack Godley might find himself thrust into a bigger role.

McHugh is one of many players who have chosen to spend this season on the sidelines amidst the pandemic, joining the likes of David Price, Buster Posey, Ryan Zimmerman, among others. An ongoing list of players opting out can be found here.

Happ, Hill, McHugh Among Players Excluded From Vesting Clause Agreement

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6:39pm: Red Sox righty Collin McHugh is also excluded from the agreement, Martino tweets. McHugh, who’s still working back from the nonsurgical procedure he underwent on his pitching elbow over the winter, signed an incentive-laden deal with Boston in March. Back when McHugh inked the contract, it included $3.625MM in available incentives based on between 30 and 115 innings pitched; it also featured roster bonuses for 15 to 90 days on the team’s active roster.

1:02pm: It emerged yesterday that the league and union had agreed upon how to handle vesting clauses and certain bonuses in a highly modified 2020 season. But it seems the general agreement includes carve-outs for certain players.

Among those known to be excluded are Yankees lefty J.A. Happ and Twins southpaw Rich Hill, according to reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY.tv. In those cases — and, it seems, a few unidentified others — the team and player will have to reach modified agreements or submit cases to an arbitrator to decide how their contracts should be treated.

In Happ’s case, his original contract included a $17MM vesting/club option for the 2021 season. It would become guaranteed if he made 27 starts and/or threw 165 innings this year. As for Hill, there aren’t any options. But his deal included generous incentive pay for accumulating relatively small numbers of games started and/or innings pitched (maxing out at $9.5MM with 15 starts and/or 75 innings).

It’s still not fully clear just why certain players were excluded from the broader deal. A source tells Martino it relates to health situations at the start of the season, though as he notes that doesn’t quite align with Happ’s case.

Quick Hits: Round Numbers, Red Sox Rotation, Astros

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If there’s something fans and baseball players can agree on, it’s a love of round numbers. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic-shortened seasons, many of baseball’s legendary Latino contemporaries may have to put away their obsession with certain benchmarks, writes ESPN’s Enrique Rojas. Albert Pujols needs 44 home runs to reach 700. Miguel Cabrera is 185 hits from 3,000 and 23 home runs from 500. Robinson Cano is just under 500 hits away from 3,000. Their ability to reach these markers is taking a hit with a shortened 2020. Given the changes in the game, there’s certainly a question about how long milestones of the past will continue to be held in such particular esteem. Rate statistics like wRC+ have already taken hold in some parts of the baseballsphere, and it’s certainly worth wondering if similar metrics will start to be used more in conjunction with traditional statistical benchmarks (300 wins, 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, etc.). Now let’s see what’s happening on the field…

  • It’s looking less and less likely that Eduardo Rodriguez will be back in time to start the Red Sox Opening Day contest, per Chris Cotillo of masslive.com. That puts Nathan Eovaldi in line to get the Opening Day nod. The rest of the Red Sox rotation remains a bit of a mess, certainly a far cry from the squad the took the team to the World Series just two seasons ago. But with Chris Sale on the shelf, David Price and Rick Porcello both gone, Boston is turning to the likes of Martin Perez, Ryan Weber, Chris Mazza, Jeffrey Springs, Colten Brewer and Matt Hall for rotation consideration. Collin McHugh, signed at the tail end of free agency, will not be ready by Opening Day. The Red Sox are counting on less-heralded performers than in year’s past, but there’s room for someone (or a few someone’s) to step up and stake their claim to a locker in Boston.
  • The Astros canceled their workout today after someone on staff became exposed to COVID-19, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). GM James Click released a statement: “As part of MLB’s testing and reporting plan, we were alerted that a staff member was potentially exposed to a COVID-positive individual outside the organization. Out of an abundance of caution, we have cancelled today’s workout.” These sorts of snow days may become commonplace, at least in these early days. Still, it’s an important measure. Credit the Astros for taking the necessary amount of caution here. [UPDATE: the Astros announced that workouts at Minute Maid Park will resume on Sunday.]

Quick Hits: Fans In Stands, Red Sox, Marlins, Cardinals

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Major League Baseball will allow its teams to decide whether they’ll allow fans in the stands this season “based on local, state ordinances and procedures,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Schulman expresses doubt that either the Giants or Athletics will play in front of fans in their stadiums in 2020, though.

It may be a different story for the Marlins, as Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez told Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 that he’ll at least consider allowing spectators at their stadium. The Marlins will first have to come up with an effective social distancing plan, however, and that could be especially difficult with coronavirus cases in Florida rising at an alarming rate.

Meanwhile, speaking with Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald and other reporters Wednesday, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said “it’s a possibility” that Fenway Park will be able to host fans sometime this year. Kennedy added “there are clubs around Major League Baseball that are anticipating having fans in their ballparks,” though it remains to be seen whether that will prove to be wishful thinking.

Here’s more from the majors…

  • Kennedy and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom offered further updates on the franchise, as Mastrodonato was among those to cover on Twitter. Bloom revealed the Red Sox have had one player test positive for the coronavirus, but that individual is no longer exhibiting any symptoms. Those who do test positive are required a 14-day quarantine/monitoring period, and then they have to test negative on multiple occasions before returning, Bloom said.
  • Bloom also spoke on on outfielder Alex Verdugo and right-hander Collin McHugh, two players who have dealt with injuries. A stress fracture in Verdugo’s back slowed him during the first version of spring training, but one of the key components of the Mookie Betts trade will be a full go for Boston when camp resumes in July. And McHugh, still on the mend from elbow problems that limited him in 2019, is making progress. The Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to pitch this season, which is his first with the club. Boston signed the ex-Astro to a one-year, incentive-heavy deal in free agency.
  • Back to the Marlins, who recently had a player and a staff member test positive for the virus at their Jupiter, Fla., complex, Craig Mish of Sports Grid reports. Both people are now asymptomatic.
  • The Cardinals have become the latest team to make a financial commitment to their minor leaguers until the conclusion of the campaign, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Wednesday they’ll pay their minors talent $400 a week through August, the end of a season those individuals likely won’t be able to play.

Collin McHugh On Rehab Progress, Red Sox Role

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In an appearance on the podcast of Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (audio link), veteran hurler Collin McHugh discussed his opportunity with the Red Sox and the potential return of baseball. It’s an interesting listen from a thoughtful ballplayer.

McHugh joined the Boston organization on an incentive-laden, one-year MLB deal in early March. That means he spent only a brief amount of time in camp before the spring activities were halted.

Still, McHugh says he was glad to get rolling with his new organization at the time. A December elbow procedure “cut a lot of options” that he had been exploring. Once he began to build back up, “a lot more interest started to snowball really quickly” and McHugh was able to join the Boston organization.

Now, there are signs or progress even as McHugh works out remotely. He says he’s “about a month into my throwing program” — which certainly bodes well for his availability once the season gets underway. McHugh is engaged in daily contact with the team.

Once the 2020 campaign gets started, McHugh says, he anticipates functioning in a flexible capacity for the team — perhaps moving between the rotation and the bullpen or working in a role that he described as a “hybrid-type thing.” That’ll surely depend upon the precise needs of the roster and McHugh’s progress by the time play resumes.

As ever, it’s also interesting to hear the different perspectives of players on when and how MLB can return to action. Most of the interview involves McHugh’s well-considered thoughts regarding the timing and nature of a return of the sport.

Red Sox Provide Updates On Injured Players

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Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke and pitching coach Dave Bush held a conference call with reporters Tuesday, providing updates on a trio of injured Sox players (all Twitter links via NESN’s Guerin Austin and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo).

Perhaps most notably, Roenicke explained that right fielder Alex Verdugo has been swinging a bat, throwing and running as he rehabs a stress fracture in his lower back. Moving his workouts away from the Red Sox’ spring facility following its shutdown has made it more difficult for the club to closely monitor the 23-year-old’s progress, and Verdugo hasn’t yet been able to undergo an MRI to ascertain that his injury has completely healed. However, the Sox remain hopeful that if play is able to resume this year, Verdugo would be ready to participate fully. The centerpiece in Boston’s return for Mookie Betts and David Price, Verdugo slashed .294/.342/.475 with a dozen homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 377 plate appearances with the Dodgers last year.

[Related: What happens to the Mookie Betts trade if the season is canceled?]

As for right-hander Collin McHugh, he’s moving more slowly through the early stages of a strengthening program. McHugh underwent a nonsurgical elbow procedure over the winter after finishing the 2019 season on the injured list and has been brought along slowly. The Sox aren’t rushing him through anything with the season in limbo at the moment, and Roenicke indicated that the 32-year-old righty, who signed a one-year deal with Boston in early March, still has quite a ways to go in his rehab. Boston’s final couple of rotation spots remain fairly unsettled — Ryan Weber is the likely fourth starter, and there’s no set fifth starter — although given where McHugh is in his rehab, perhaps he’s better viewed as a potential bullpen piece.

Regarding former franchise cornerstone Dustin Pedroia, it doesn’t seem that the shutdown has provided any new optimism that he could make a return. While he’s still under contract through the 2021 season, Pedroia’s 2020 status has been up in the air since he suffered a “significant” setback in his recovery from repeated left knee troubles that have necessitated a trio of surgeries. He’s played in just nine games over the past two seasons thanks to his increasingly problematic knee, and Roenicke was rather blunt in casting doubt on a potential return for the 36-year-old: “He’s still not a point where he’s thinking about trying to be ready to come back and join us.”

Ryan Weber Likely To Be In Red Sox’ Rotation

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Red Sox right-hander Ryan Weber entered camp hoping to win a battle for the fifth and final spot in the rotation, but manager Ron Roenicke has suggested that the 29-year-old now looks like the team’s fourth starter, per the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato.

Weber inked a minor league deal with the Red Sox in December 2018 and found himself in the big leagues as early as May, when now-former Sox lefty David Price hit the injured list. He spent the rest of the season bouncing between Pawtucket and Boston, ultimately appearing in 18 games and pitching to a 5.08 ERA in 40 2/3 innings. That’s not a particularly appealing number, of course, but Weber’s 4.20 FIP was much more palatable, and there’s reason to think he could be more effective yet.

Among the 436 pitchers who had 100 balls put into play against them in 2019, Weber posted the 17th-lowest hard-hit rate, per Statcast. Weber exhibited good control both in Triple-A and the Majors, and over the course of his pro career, his sinker has generated above-average ground-ball rates each year. The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham wrote earlier in the month that the Sox were intrigued by the small handful of cutters that Weber threw last season and believe the pitch could develop into a quality offering with more use. To his credit, Weber also has an excellent Triple-A track record, having pitched to a 2.85 ERA in 360 1/3 innings there.

Even if Weber does surface as a serviceable rotation piece, Boston’s collection of starters is shaky following yesterday’s announcement that Chris Sale will miss the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery. Eduardo Rodriguez turned in the finest season of his career in 2019 and should be a solid leader of the group. But right-hander Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t made more than 21 starts in a season since 2015, and lefty Martin Perez is fresh off a second consecutive sub-par season. The fifth spot in the rotation could go to an opener, although Mastrodonato and other reporters that spoke with Roenicke yesterday noted that he also mentioned lefty Brian Johnson as a possibility.

Sox fans may hope that righty Collin McHugh, signed as a free agent earlier this month, could eventually emerge as an option. However, The Athletic’s Chad Jennings wrote yesterday (subscription required) that McHugh still hasn’t begun a throwing program as he works back from elbow troubles of his own. He’s reportedly been cleared to do so, although workouts for all players are in limbo to some extent, given the suspended state of play. Perhaps by the time the season eventually gets underway, he’ll be built up, but it’s difficult to pencil him in even as a tentative rotation piece for the time being.

The Red Sox’ lineup should still be solid even without Mookie Betts, anchored by a formidable trio of Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez. But between Sale’s surgery, the trade of Price and the lack of a steady addition in the offseason, Boston’s starting staff looks like it’ll be a patchwork unit.

Red Sox Sign Collin McHugh, Designate Hector Velazquez

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8:45am: McHugh’s deal comes with $3.625MM available via incentives, tweets Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. Heyman tweets that those incentives beginning at 30 innings pitched and run up through 115 innings pitched. McHugh’s roster bonuses begin at 15 days on the active roster and range up through 90 days.

8:22am: McHugh’s base salary will be $600K, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He’ll be able to boost that sum by unlocking bonuses based on innings pitched and days spent on the active roster.

8:15am: The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Collin McHugh to a one-year, Major League contract. In order to open a spot on the roster for the Moye Sports client, Boston has designated righty Hector Velazquez for assignment.

Collin McHugh | Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

Boston’s announcement on McHugh coalesces with growing uncertainty surrounding the status of ace Chris Sale, who this week underwent an MRI on a problematic right elbow that has since been assessed by some of the industry’s leading surgeons. While Sale is reportedly expected to avoid going under the knife for the time being, he’ll open the year on the injured list and be sidelined for a yet-to-be-determined period of time. Adding some depth in the form of McHugh is certainly a sensible approach and arguably would’ve been necessary even had Sale been healthy.

That said, McHugh himself isn’t a lock to step right into the rotation and contribute as a starter. The 32-year-old missed about a third of the 2019 season due to elbow discomfort and finished out the year on the injured list. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported last week that McHugh had been cleared to begin throwing after undergoing a non-surgical “tenex” procedure on his elbow over the winter. His exact timetable to get on a big league mound isn’t yet clear, but he may have to begin the season on the injured list himself if he’s only recently begun throwing.

McHugh made eight starts last year but spent the rest of the 2018-19 seasons in the Astros’ bullpen. His 2019 effort was dragged down by those elbow troubles, which surely contributed to the downward trends in his velocity, swinging-strike rate, opponents’ exit velocity and opponents’ hard-hit rate. McHugh tossed 74 2/3 innings for the ’Stros last year but turned in a 4.70 ERA that was his highest mark since 2013.

In 2018, though, McHugh was utterly dominant out of the Houston ’pen. Through 72 1/3 frames, he recorded a stellar 1.99 ERA with averages of 11.7 strikeouts, 2.6 walks and 0.75 home runs per nine innings pitched. And prior to that he was a steady rotation piece, racking up 606 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball (3.60 FIP) with 8.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 from 2014-17.

The manner in which the Red Sox utilize McHugh has not yet come to light, though he could conceivably be deployed in a variety of roles. As noted, he has extensive experience both starting and relieving. With Sale sidelined, the Boston rotation currently has Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez locked into starting gigs. Boston has discussed utilizing one or even two openers in the remaining two slots, and manager Ron Roenicke recently revealed that the club will consider stretching left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez out to pitch in lengthier stints. McHugh could function as an opener, a bulk reliever who follows an opener or simply as a conventional starter, depending on the status of his elbow and on how the organization best believes his talents can be maximized.

For now, the Red Sox still appear likely to rely on a hodgepodge of journeymen and fringe prospects to round out their pitching staff, but the ability to eventually insert a health McHugh into the thick of that mix holds clear appeal.

As for Velazquez, he’ll either be traded, run through outright waiver or released within the next seven days. The 31-year-old right-hander was knocked around to the tune of a 5.43 ERA through 56 1/3 innings in 2019. And although he notched a 3.12 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 47 percent grounder rate in 109 2/3 innings from 2017-18, Velazquez’s secondary metrics are less encouraging than that earned run average. His 4.28 FIP was noticeably higher, and he ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of spin rates, hard-hit rates and opponents’ exit velocity. He has a minor league option left and has worked as both a starter and reliever, so it’s possible another club will take him on as a depth piece.

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