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Several Veterans On Minor League Deals Have Sunday Opt-Outs

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The latest collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association is rife with contractual intricacies, as one would expect. MLBTR has confirmed that one of the new wrinkles set forth in this latest agreement stipulates that any Article XX(B) free agent — that is, a player with at least six years of service time who finished the prior season on a big league roster or injured list — who signs a minor league contract will have three uniform opt-out dates in his contract, so long as that minor league deal is signed 10 days prior to Opening Day. Those opt-out dates are five days before the start of the regular season, May 1 and June 1.

As the MLBPA announced at the onset of the most recent offseason, there were 188 players who became Article XX(B) free agents. The majority of those players signed Major League contracts. A handful retired, and some have yet to sign a contract at all. There were still more than two dozen players who signed minor league contracts, however, which makes them subject to the new uniform opt-out dates. Several of those players — Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Moore and Wily Peralta, to name a few — have already had their contracts selected to the Major League roster. Others signed their minor league deal after March 28, meaning they’re not covered under the uniform opt-out provision.

By my count, there are a dozen players who qualified as Article XX(B) free agents, signed minor league deals on or before March 28, and remain with those organizations but not on the 40-man roster. Each of the following veterans, then, will have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if they’re not called up to the current organization’s big league roster:

  • Tyler Clippard, RHP, Nationals: The 37-year-old Clippard had a strong 2019 season in Cleveland and pitched brilliantly with Minnesota in 2020. His 2021 campaign with the D-backs was solid but truncated by a strained capsule in his right shoulder. He missed nearly four months to begin the year but pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 innings upon activation — albeit with subpar strikeout and walk rates (19.8% and 9.9%, respectively). He’s had a rough go in Triple-A Rochester so far, yielding seven runs on six hits and a whopping 11 walks in 8 1/3 innings. He’s also picked up a dozen strikeouts.
  • Austin Romine, C, Angels: Romine is 2-for-15 with a pair of singles so far in Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s never provided much with the bat, but the longtime Yankees backup is regarded as a quality defender and receiver. He spent the 2021 season with the Cubs but only logged 62 plate appearances thanks to a sprained left wrist that landed him on the 60-day injured list for a significant portion of the season. Romine hit .217/.242/.300 when healthy last year and is a lifetime .238/.277/.358 hitter in 1313 Major League plate appearances.
  • Billy Hamilton, CF, Mariners: At 31 years old, the former top prospect is what he is now: an elite defender and baserunner who’s never been able to get on base consistently enough to capitalize on his 80-grade speed. Hamilton slashed .220/.242/.378 in 135 plate appearances with the White Sox last season and is out to a 7-for-32 start with one walk and 11 strikeouts so far with the Mariners’ top affiliate. Hamilton has four seasons of 55-plus stolen bases under his belt, but he also has a career .293 OBP  that’s gotten even worse (.269) over the past three seasons (524 plaste appearances).
  • Blake Parker, RHP, Cardinals: Parker, 36, has yielded three runs in 7 1/3 Triple-A frames but is brandishing a far more impressive 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. He split the past two seasons between Philadelphia and Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate. Parker has had an up-and-down career since debuting with the Cubs as a 27-year-old rookie in 2012, but the cumulative results are solid. He carries a career 3.47 ERA with 34 saves and 47 holds. When Parker’s splitter is working well, he can be a very effective late-inning option.
  • Derek Holland, LHP, Red Sox: The veteran southpaw has provided innings, but not necessarily at quality since transitioning into a bullpen role in 2019. Last season he appeared in 39 games for the Tigers, tossing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.07 ERA/3.96 FIP. Holland’s time with Triple-A Worcester hasn’t been smooth, as he has a 5.79 ERA and six walks over 9 1/3 innings.
  • Steven Souza Jr., OF, Mariners: Due to an ugly knee injury and some struggles at the plate, Souza hasn’t been a truly productive big leaguer since 2017. Looking to revive his career with the Mariners, Souza has hit .200/.383/.333 over 60 PA with Triple-A Tacoma.
  • Kevin Pillar, OF, Dodgers: This season marks Pillar’s first taste of Triple-A ball since 2014, and the veteran outfielder is overmatching pitchers to the tune of a .313/.415/.627 slash line over 82 plate appearances. One would imagine this performance will earn Pillar a look in Los Angeles or perhaps another team if the Dodgers don’t select his contract. Pillar’s minor league deal guarantees him a $2.5MM salary if he receives a big league call-up, which could be a factor for a Dodgers club that may be trying to stay under the third tier ($270MM) of the luxury tax threshold.
  • Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Phillies: After signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia last July, Bedrosian posted a 4.35 ERA over 10 1/3 innings with the club despite recording almost as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (eight). The righty inked a new minors deal with the Phillies over the winter but has yet to pitch this season due to injury.
  • Shelby Miller, RHP, Yankees: The former All-Star pitched well with the Cubs’ and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates in 2021, and he has kept up that strong Triple-A performance now working as a full-time reliever.  Over eight innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barres, Miller has a 2.25 ERA with outstanding strikeout (31.3%) and walk (3.1%) rates. He also hasn’t allowed any homers, a notable stat for a pitcher who has had great trouble containing the long ball over the last few seasons.
  • Matt Carpenter, INF, Rangers: Carpenter got a late start to Spring Training, and upon Opening Day, he expressed a desire to take the necessary time to get himself up to speed. Through 52 plate appearances in Triple-A, Carpenter has slashed an improved .239/.327/.457 with a pair of home runs. While not standout numbers, they are an improvement over the .203/.235/.346 slash line Carpenter posted in 901 PA from 2019-21 with the Cardinals.
  • Carlos Martinez, RHP, Giants: Another former Cardinal looking for a fresh start, Martinez has yet to pitch for Triple-A Sacramento, as he is still rehabbing from the thumb surgery he underwent last July. With injuries and a nasty bout of COVID-19 factoring into matters, Martinez has only a 6.95 ERA over 102 1/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season.
  • Keone Kela, RHP, Diamondbacks: Kela has also been ravaged by injuries over the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery last May. Given the usual TJ recovery timeline, Kela isn’t likely to be a factor for the D’Backs until at least midseason.

Of course, players remain free to negotiate additional out clauses into their minor league contracts. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports, for instance, that lefty Adam Morgan has an opt-out provision in his contract with the Astros today. Morgan doesn’t have enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, but he’ll nevertheless have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if he doesn’t like his chances of eventually being added to Houston’s roster.

Third Woman Brings Forth Assault Allegations Against Trevor Bauer

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A Columbus woman has come forward with assault allegations against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. Speaking with Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post, the woman claimed that Bauer had assaulted her during sex on multiple occasions between 2013-14. Further details can be found in the source article; readers are warned that the article contains disturbing allegations. Bauer’s representatives declined to be interviewed by the Post, although he did “unequivocally (deny)” the woman’s allegations as part of a statement. Bauer responded to the Washington Post article in a Twitter post this evening.

The Columbus woman becomes the third person to bring forth assault allegations against Bauer. Last year, a California woman filed for a temporary ex parte restraining order against him after claiming he had assaulted her during sex. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied her request for a permanent restraining order, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in February it would not pursue criminal charges. “After a thorough review of the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the DA’s Office stated at the time.

The Washington Post reported last August that an Ohio woman — not the same woman of today’s report — had filed for and was granted an ex parte temporary civil stalking protection order against Bauer in June 2020. That woman alleged that Bauer had struck her “without her consent during sex in 2018,” in the words of the Post.

While the Columbus woman’s allegations are being publicly reported for the first time, her attorney tells Garcia-Roberts she cooperated with Major League Baseball during its recent investigation. (Garcia-Roberts adds that the Ohio woman who had received an ex parte restraining order against Bauer in 2020 also cooperated with MLB investigators, according to her attorney). This afternoon, MLB handed down a 324-game suspension after determining that Bauer violated the league’s and MLBPA’s Joint Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault policy.

Bauer announced plans to appeal that suspension, and the Columbus woman tells Garcia-Roberts she is willing to testify at an arbitration hearing during the appeals process. MLB declined comment to the Post and said during its announcement of Bauer’s suspension this afternoon it would “not issue any further statements at this point in time.”

A note from MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes: Though our normal policy is to close comments on posts relating to domestic violence, I have chosen to leave them open on this post.  Given the magnitude of the news, MLBTR readers are going to discuss it no matter what, and leaving comments open here will help contain the discussion to this post rather than unrelated ones.

This is by nature a sensitive topic.  Some readers may want to avoid the comments section on this post entirely, while others may employ use of the mute button.  MLBTR’s commenting policy still applies.

Trevor Bauer Receives 324-Game Suspension

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Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced Friday that Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer has received a 324-games suspension — two full seasons’ worth of games — effective today. That the suspension is effective today, rather than beginning retroactively last summer from the point Bauer was placed on administrative leave, indicates that Bauer will be suspended, without pay, through April 2024. Bauer, unsurprisingly, announced that he intends to appeal the commissioner’s decision. He tweeted the following statement:

“In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy. I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”

The Dodgers issued the following statement in reaction to commissioner Manfred’s decision:

“Today we were informed that MLB has concluded its investigation into allegations that have been made against Trevor Bauer, and the Commissioner has issued his decision regarding the discipline. The Dodgers organization takes all allegations of this nature very seriously and does not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence or sexual assault. We’ve cooperated fully with MLB’s investigation since it began, and we fully support MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy, and the Commissioner’s enforcement of the Policy. We understand that Trevor has the right to appeal the Commissioner’s decision. Therefore, we will not comment further until the process is complete.”

Major League Baseball originally placed Bauer on administrative leave on July 14, 2021, in the wake of sexual assault allegations from a California woman who filed a temporary ex parte restraining order against him. For months, Bauer remained in limbo as the legal process surrounding the allegations played out. In August, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a permanent restraining order to the alleged victim, bringing a close to that civil hearing. Potential criminal charges loomed as a possibility, however, dependent on the findings of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

That process dragged into the new year, but on Feb. 8, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office announced that criminal charges would not be brought forth. The DA’s office did not declare Bauer innocent nor guilty, but rather determined that, “After a thorough review of the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Bauer, who announced this week that he has filed a defamation lawsuit against his accuser, has been on administrative leave throughout the first several weeks of the 2022 season as Manfred and his office have conducted their own investigation into the matter. The league ostensibly opted not to begin conducting that investigation until the outcome of the legal proceedings were known, which has regularly been the case in past instances pertaining to the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse policy.

Today’s suspension for Bauer is the longest ban ever handed out under that policy, which does grant the commissioner’s office the authority to unilaterally impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges. In essence, the suspension absolves the Dodgers of the remainder of the commitment owed to Bauer, who signed a three-year, $102MM contract in the 2020-21 offseason. That could change, depending on the outcome of Bauer’s forthcoming appeal.

A note from MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes: Though our normal policy is to close comments on posts relating to domestic violence, I have chosen to leave them open on this post.  Given the magnitude of the news, MLBTR readers are going to discuss it no matter what, and leaving comments open here will help contain the discussion to this post rather than unrelated ones.

This is by nature a sensitive topic.  Some readers may want to avoid the comments section on this post entirely, while others may employ use of the mute button.  MLBTR’s commenting policy still applies.

Giants Claim Darien Nunez From Dodgers

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The Giants announced to various reporters, including Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle, that they have claimed left-hander Darien Nunez off waivers from the Dodgers. (Reporter Francys Romero relayed the Giants-Nunez connection earlier today.) The Giants don’t need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move at the moment, as a couple of players have recently hit the Covid-related injured list and won’t take up roster spots until reinstated.

It was reported a few days ago that the 29-year-old would require Tommy John surgery, thus keeping him out of action for the remainder of this season and at least part of next year as well. The next day, he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers in order to open up a roster spot for Reyes Moronta. Nunez was in the minors at the time of his injury, meaning that the Dodgers could have merely placed him on the minor league injured list. However, in that scenario, he would continue to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. They also had the option of placing Nunez on the major league 60-day injured list. Doing so would have opened up a roster spot, but also would have meant Nunez would earn an MLB salary and service time over the remainder of the year. In the end, they opted merely to cut him loose. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, meaning Nunez was on release waivers, before being claimed.

For the Giants, this is situation has many parallels with their acquisition of outfielder Luis Gonzalez. Last year, Gonzalez was injured while in the minor leagues with the White Sox. The Sox opted to designate him for assignment and place him on waivers. The Giants put in a claim and placed him on their major league injured list, thus earning him MLB pay and service time. The club non-tendered him after the season but were able to re-sign him on a minor league deal, with Gonzalez presumably appreciating the treatment he received from the team. He recently had his contract selected and has been playing well in his first few games as a Giant.

With Nunez, the Giants announced that he has been optioned to Triple-A for now. However, it seems likely that, whenever they need to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, they will move Nunez to the 60-day IL. He currently has 30 days of MLB service time, a number that will start climb once he’s on the 60-day IL.

An amateur signing out of Cuba in 2018, Nunez worked his way up the ranks and made his MLB debut last year, throwing 7 2/3 innings with an 8.22 ERA. In Triple-A, however, his ERA was a much nicer 2.42 over 52 innings, along with a 39.8% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. The Giants will surely be hoping that he can get back to that kind of production once he recovers from the surgery, and then carry it from the minors into the majors.

Dodgers Select Reyes Moronta, Designate Darien Nunez, Place David Price On COVID-IL

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6:36PM: Price tested positive for COVID-19, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).  Price is showing symptoms but is vaccinated, and Roberts doesn’t expect anyone else on the team to hit the COVID-IL due to infection or close-contact situations.

3:05PM: McKinstry has now been quickly recalled from his Triple-A assignment since David Price has been placed on the injured list. No specific reason was given for Price’s placement.

2:43PM: The Dodgers made a few roster moves prior to today’s game, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Right-handed pitcher Reyes Moronta had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, utility player Zach McKinstry was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. To clear a spot for Moronta on the 40-man roster, left-hander Darien Nunez was designated for assignment.

Moronta seemed to emerge as an elite bullpen weapon for the Giants in 2018 and ’19. Over those two seasons, the righty threw 121 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA. His 13.8% walk rate was certainly concerning, but he paired that with a 29.3% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery caused him to miss the entirety of the shortened 2020 campaign. Last year, a flexor strain limited him to four innings in the majors and 18 innings in Triple-A.

The Giants outrighted him at the end of the season, with Moronta electing free agency. He signed a minors deal with the Dodgers that would guarantee him $1.5MM if he cracked the roster. With his selection today, the 29-year-old has now secured himself that salary. As of today, Moronta has exactly four years of MLB service time, as well as still being able to be optioned to the minors. If he can hold onto his 40-man roster spot through the remainder of the season, the Dodgers could opt to keep him around via arbitration. In six Triple-A innings so far this year, he has an ERA of 1.50, with 10 strikeouts but 4 walks.

As for Nunez, it was announced yesterday that he will need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Nunez was in the minors at the time, meaning that the Dodgers could have merely placed him on the minor league injured list. However, in that scenario, he would continue to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. The club also had the option of placing Nunez on the major league injured list. Doing so would have opened up a roster spot, but also would have meant Nunez would earn an MLB salary and service time over the remainder of the year.

The Dodgers have instead decided to designate him for assignment. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, meaning Nunez will have to be placed on release waivers. A team could theoretically claim him if they were willing to give him the service time and MLB pay that the Dodgers opted against. A similar situation occurred last year when the White Sox designated Luis Gonzalez for assignment, who was claimed by the Giants, with the latter club placing him on the MLB injured list. However, that situation happened in mid-August with just about six weeks remaining in the season. Since Nunez is undergoing Tommy John surgery, he won’t be back for at least a year and probably longer, which likely reduces the chances of him following in Gonzalez’s footsteps.

Dodgers’ Darien Nunez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Dodgers left-hander Darien Nunez will undergo Tommy John surgery this week, according to reporter Francys Romero (Twitter link).  Given the usual recovery timeline for TJ surgery, the 29-year-old Nunez will be sidelined until at least May or June 2023.  Nunez is on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster, so his inevitable placement on the 60-day injured list will give the Dodgers another 40-man spot to work with for future moves

Nunez was an amateur signing out of Cuba in 2018, as the southpaw followed five seasons in the Cuban National Series with a couple of years away from the game, as he was trying to secure his release from the CNS and his eligibility for playing in the majors.  Over 126 1/3 innings in the Dodgers’ farm system, Nunez has a huge 39.57% strikeout rate and a 2.49 ERA, though his 9.45% walk rate is slightly on the high side.

This production resulted in Nunez getting a call to the big leagues last season, though he posted only an 8.22 ERA over 7 2/3 innings of work.  Still, between Nunez’s ability to miss bats and toss multiple innings, he was seen as an interesting bullpen depth option for the Dodgers down on the farm, though now his career will be put on hold for the next 13-15 months.

Injury Notes: Gray, Treinen, Urias, Herrera

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The Rangers are placing starter Jon Gray back on the 10-day injured list, tweets Levi Weaver of the Athletic. The right-hander just returned after a minimal IL stint due to a blister on Tuesday, but he’s now suffered an MCL sprain in his left knee. General manager Chris Young didn’t sound concerned, suggesting this next stint might also be a minimal absence and could cost Gray just one start. Texas announced that righty Glenn Otto is being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to make his first MLB start of the season this evening. Gray, signed to a four-year deal over the offseason, has made two starts in Arlington thus far, allowing seven runs in nine innings.

The latest on some other injury situations around the game:

  • The Dodgers announced this afternoon that reliever Blake Treinen has been placed on the 10-day IL due to right shoulder discomfort. Treinen hasn’t pitched in eight days after experiencing some soreness in his arm. The team didn’t announce a timetable for his return, though that they elected against placing him on the IL for over a week indicates they were initially of the belief he wouldn’t miss more than a few days. Treinen is among the top arms in the L.A. bullpen, coming off a stellar 2021 campaign in which he posted a 1.99 ERA with a 29.7% strikeout rate and a 52.6% grounder percentage. He has made three appearances this season, serving up a game-winning homer to the Rockies’ Connor Joe on April 9 but otherwise not allowing a baserunner and punching out five.
  • Brewers third baseman Luis Urías began the season on the injured list due to a left quad issue. He’s moving closer to a return, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that the 24-year-old is set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Biloxi over the weekend. Urías is coming off a solid 2021 season, hitting .249/.345/.445 with 23 homers and a strong 11.1% walk rate across 570 plate appearances. The righty-hitting infielder posted excellent minor league numbers during his days as one of the sport’s most promising prospects, so the Brewers can reasonably expect him to build off last year’s showing when he’s healthy. In the meantime, Milwaukee has relied on a Jace Peterson – Mike Brosseau platoon at the hot corner. That duo has combined to hit just .108/.233/.108 in 43 trips to the plate.
  • The Phillies announced they’ve reinstated center fielder Odúbel Herrera from the injured list. Fellow outfielder Simón Muzziotti was optioned to Double-A Reading in a corresponding move. Herrera, re-signed to a modest one-year deal after the club declined a pricer option, entered Spring Training as the presumptive favorite for the center field job. He suffered a right oblique strain in late March that wound up costing him a month, though. After also losing Mickey Moniak to injury before the start of the season, the Phils have turned to Matt Vierling and Muzziotti through the season’s first two weeks. That hasn’t gone well, as Phils’ center fielders are hitting .118/.205/.147 through 40 plate appearances.

Trevor Bauer’s Administrative Leave Extended Through April 29

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APRIL 21: The league and union have agreed to extend Bauer’s administrative leave period through April 22, reports Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic (Twitter link).

APRIL 15: Last month, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association jointly agreed to extend Trevor Bauer’s paid administrative leave period through April 16 while MLB continues its investigation into assault allegations made against him by a woman last year. On Wednesday, multiple reporters (including Jon Heyman of the New York Post) relayed that the league and union had jointly agreed to extend the leave again through next Friday, April 22.

That seems to push back any determination on his status for at least another six days, but Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported this afternoon that Bauer is “exploring whether there is in fact a binding agreement in place.” It isn’t clear what Bauer may be looking into, but a source tells Shaikin there is a written agreement between MLB and the MLBPA codifying the leave extension through next Friday — one MLB considers binding.

The administrative leave period is not considered disciplinary; it’s a measure designed to afford the league more time to investigate possible violations of the Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Sexual Assault policy. Bauer was not charged criminally, but the policy allows commissioner Rob Manfred to levy a punishment even in the absence of charges if the league determines there was a violation. Players have the right to appeal a disciplinary action to an arbitrator.

Bauer is in the second season of a three-year, $102MM contract. He is playing this year on a $32MM salary and has an opt-out clause at the end of the season.

Dodgers Place Andrew Heaney On Injured List, Recall Zach McKinstry

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The Dodgers have announced that Andrew Heaney has been placed on the injured list with left shoulder discomfort. Utility player Zach McKinstry has been recalled to take his place on the roster. No timetable was given for Heaney’s return.

It’s a bit of a surprising move as Heaney had made two excellent starts on the season so far, with no signs of distress. Through 10 1/3 innings on the campaign, he’s racked up 16 strikeouts against three walks, without allowing an earned run. In his MLB time thus far, mostly with the Angels, Heaney has shown tantalizing potential with tremendous strikeout numbers but continually being hampered by the long ball. In the six seasons from 2016 to 2021, he had a strikeout rate of 24% or above in each of them. However, his lowest ERA in that time was 4.15. Despite those inconsistent results, the Dodgers took a chance on him, signing him to a one-year, $8.5MM deal for this season. The early results were clearly excellent, with Heaney adding a slider that has helped him have two great starts to begin his Dodgers tenure. However, he and the club will now have to wait at least ten days to continue the experiment.

The Dodgers have an off-day tomorrow and another one a week later on the 28th, which will help them weather Heaney’s absence. It’s possible that Tyler Anderson will make the jump from long relief into the rotation for the time being.

As for McKinstry, the 26-year-old (27 next week) has appeared in games for the Dodgers in each of the past two seasons. In 179 career plate appearances, he has a slash line of .218/.264/.406, while playing second base, third base and both corner outfield spots.

Tony Watson Announces Retirement

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Veteran left-handed reliever Tony Watson is retiring after 11 seasons at the Major League level, he tells Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Watson issued a statement thanking his teammates, peers, coaches and support staff members, as well as the four teams for which he pitched — Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, Angels — and his family and friends for their support throughout his career. Nesbitt further tweets that Watson originally hoped to continue on for at least a 12th season, but shoulder issues led him to call it a career.

As Nesbitt points out, Watson will step away from baseball as the all-time leader in holds (a statistic which has been recorded since 1999), having racked up 246 of them throughout his big league tenure. That’s a testament to the southpaw’s consistency and effectiveness. Not only did his reliability convince managers to give Watson the ball with small leads year-after-year, he frequently passed them along into the later innings by keeping runs off the board.

Watson exceeded 40 innings in ten of the the past eleven seasons, with only the shortened 2020 schedule keeping him from hitting that mark every year of his career. Only once did he post an ERA north of 4.00, and he allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings on four separate occasions. That included three straight excellent campaigns with the Pirates in 2013-15, during which time the University of Nebraska product tossed 224 1/3 innings of 1.97 ERA ball, stifling opposing hitters to a .212/.265/.297 slash line.

Amidst that run, Watson earned a deserved selection to the 2014 All-Star game. He struck out 26.6% of opposing hitters that year — the second-highest rate of his career — while posting a 1.63 ERA and leading the National League with 78 appearances. Watson remained eminently productive throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, which concluded at the 2017 trade deadline when the non-contending Bucs shipped the impending free agent to the Dodgers. (That deal looks as if it’ll be a meaningful one for years to come in Pittsburgh, as now-top prospect Oneil Cruz went from L.A. in return).

As he was throughout his career, Watson proved an effective late-season addition for the Dodgers. He then signed a three-year deal with the division-rival Giants, where he remained a solid bullpen option. Between 2018-20, Watson posted a 3.20 ERA in 138 frames. He signed with the Angels in free agency last winter, but San Francisco brought him back via a deadline trade. Watson had run into some uncharacteristic struggles in Orange County, but he righted the ship for what’ll prove to be his final run in the Bay Area.

Even as he neared his 37th birthday, the Iowa native was one of the better left-handed relievers in this year’s free agent class. He reportedly drew some interest from the Mets last month, but his shoulder will prevent him from giving it another go. Nevertheless, Watson steps away from the game as one of the more quietly effective relievers of the past decade. He posted a 2.90 ERA in 648 1/3 innings across 11 major league campaigns. In addition to his aforementioned holds record, he saved 32 games and struck out 570 batters. MLBTR congratulates Watson on his long, successful run and wishes him all the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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