Click here to view the transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Anthony Franco.
Tyler Clippard Elects Free Agency
AUGUST 25: Clippard has cleared waivers and refused an outright assignment, according to a team announcement. As expected, he’ll return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.
AUGUST 23: The Nationals are designating reliever Tyler Clippard for assignment, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The move frees an active roster spot for Erick Fedde, who is back from the 15-day injured list. The club also swapped out backup catchers, recalling Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester while optioning Tres Barrera. Washington’s 40-man roster tally drops to 39.
A two-time All-Star, Clippard has been a durable and effective reliever for the bulk of his 16-year big league career. He spent an extended chunk of that run in the nation’s capital, pitching with the Nats between 2008-14 before bouncing throughout the league. The changeup specialist remained productive through 2020, but he’s had some injury woes over the past couple years. He lost a good chunk of last season with the Diamondbacks due to a capsule sprain. Clippard returned late in the year and posted a solid 3.20 ERA over 25 1/3 innings, but his peripherals weren’t especially impressive.
The 37-year-old returned to Washington on a minor league deal over the winter. He impressed with Rochester, posting a 2.23 ERA with an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage through 40 1/3 frames. That earned him another big league call last month, but he quickly suffered a groin strain that sent him to the injured list. Clippard returned a couple weeks ago, but the Nats moved on after just four MLB appearances. He tossed five innings of four-run ball with four strikeouts and walks apiece, averaging a career-low 87.5 MPH on his fastball.
Washington will place the veteran on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Clippard would have the right to elect free agency and look for another opportunity elsewhere. If he lands with a new organization by September 1 — either via waiver claim or new free agent deal upon clearing waivers — he’d be eligible for postseason play this season.
James Paxton Diagnosed With Grade 2 Lat Tear, Will Not Pitch This Season
Red Sox left-hander James Paxton has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 tear in his left lat muscle and will be shut down for the season, manager Alex Cora informed reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). It’ll go down as a completely lost season for the left-hander, who hasn’t pitched in a big league game since April 2021.
Paxton has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career. He’s spent time on the IL in every year since 2014, including an extended absence for a left lat strain that season. Paxton has also been plagued by hand, forearm, chest, knee and elbow concerns. The arm injuries, in particular, have proven problematic over the past few years. The southpaw missed most of the shortened 2020 campaign trying to rehab from a flexor strain in his forearm. While he avoided undergoing surgery at the time, he blew out in the second inning of his first start the following year and required Tommy John surgery.
That procedure ended Paxton’s reunion tour with the Mariners last year before it got far off the ground, but the Red Sox nevertheless signed him to a $10MM guarantee this past offseason. That rather complex arrangement paid him a $6MM salary for this season and contained a pair of successive $13MM club options — essentially a two-year, $26MM deal — for the Sox to decide upon in conjunction this winter. If the team declines the options, Paxton would receive a $4MM player option for 2023 alone.
On the heels of a third straight injury-wrecked season, there’s essentially no chance the Red Sox commit $13MM salaries for the upcoming two years. It seems likely that Paxton will accept his $4MM option, although there’s at least a small possibility he foregoes that figure in search of an incentive-laden pact on the open market. If Paxton declines the player option, the Sox would’ve committed him $6MM for no return on their investment.
That’s not to say it was an entirely illogical bet for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and his staff to take last winter. At the time of Paxton’s signing in December, the club anticipated he’d contribute for the second half and a possible playoff push. Despite a minor delay as he dealt with elbow soreness in May, he indeed seemed on track to get on the mound for the season’s final month. Paxton had ramped up a throwing program and begun a rehab assignment last Thursday, but he faced just two batters before suffering the lat injury.
It has now been three years since Paxton was healthy, but he was an effective starter for the Yankees during his last extended stretch of action. He made 29 appearances in 2019, tossing 150 2/3 frames with a 3.82 ERA and an excellent 29.4% strikeout rate. A trio of teams (New York, Seattle and Boston) have taken successive shots to see if he can replicate that well above-average production in the years since then, but the series of injuries has unfortunately kept that from happening.
Boston is facing a fair bit of potential turnover in the rotation this offseason. Paxton has the aforementioned dual team/player options, while Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill will all be free agents. Chris Sale is under contract through 2024 but coming off another injury-plagued season of his own. Aside from Nick Pivetta — whose 4.24 ERA this season is a career-low — there isn’t much rotation certainty moving forward. Bloom and his staff will have their work cut out for them in overhauling much of that group, regardless of whether Paxton elects to return.
Phillies To Activate Bryce Harper From Injured List On Friday
Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper will return to the Phillies’ active roster prior to their game with the Pirates on Friday, Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including MLB.com’s Todd Zelecki). The initial plan for Harper’s minor league rehab assignment planned for activation from the 60-day injured list on Monday, but Harper will instead return a bit earlier, as suggested by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi earlier today.
The Phillies first placed Harper on the 10-day IL due to his fractured left thumb back on June 26, so he’ll end up missing only slightly beyond the 60-day minimum. Harper has been making steady progress with his recovery ever since undergoing thumb surgery, and he will now again get to contribute to a Phillies team that has become one of baseball’s hottest teams.
The firing of Joe Girardi and Thomson’s installation as interim manager was the obvious turning point in Philadelphia’s season, as the Phils went 22-29 under Girardi and are currently 47-26 under Thomson. Not even losing one of the sport’s best hitters slowed down the Phillies, since they have a 31-20 record since Harper was sidelined.
Harper’s thumb was broken by a Blake Snell pitch on June 25, interrupting an unusual but still highly successful season for the 29-year-old. Due to a small UCL tear in his right elbow, Harper hasn’t played a game in the field since April 16, but his bat hasn’t been impacted by his new role as a full-time DH. Harper has 21 home runs and a .318/.385/.599 slash line over his first 275 plate appearances, with that .985 OPS standing as the fourth-highest of Harper’s career.
2022 will go down as another Harper season cut short by injury, but that will be a footnote if he is able to help the Phillies reach their first postseason since 2011. Philadelphia holds the second NL wild card slot, well back of the Braves for the first wild card but with a 3.5-game cushion over the Brewers (the top team outside the playoff picture).
Twins Sign Billy Hamilton To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league contract, according to multiple reporters (including The Athletic’s Dan Hayes). Hamilton elected to become a free agent earlier this month, rejecting an outright assignment to the Marlins’ Triple-A team.
Minnesota becomes the 11th different big league organization of Hamilton’s 10-year MLB career, and he has been action at the big league level with seven of those teams. Hamilton’s stint in Miami lasted 20 games and consisted of 15 plate appearances, as the Marlins mostly used him as a pinch-runner and late-game defensive replacement.
It’s safe to assume that Hamilton will be utilized in similar fashion with the Twins if he reaches their active roster, and the 31-year-old will at least provide some center field depth now that Byron Buxton has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Hamilton’s lack of hitting has turned him into a bench player in recent years, but he still brings plenty of his signature speed and excellent defense, making him a sought-after player by multiple teams.
Outfelders Buxton, Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, and Royce Lewis are all on Minnesota’s IL, with Garlick perhaps only a few days away from a return and Kirilloff and Lewis both already done for the season. Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Jake Cave, Gilberto Celestino, and utilityman Tim Beckham comprise the Twins’ outfield options on the active roster.
Florida Notes: Marlins, Rays, Lopez, Rojas, Yankees, Franco, Baz, Cooper
The Yankees were known to be targeting Pablo Lopez prior to the trade deadline, and reports suggested that Gleyber Torres was involved in the talks between New York and Miami. One trade proposed by the Marlins would’ve seen Lopez and Miguel Rojas head to the Bronx in exchange for Torres and infield prospect Oswald Peraza, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports, but the Yankees rejected the offer.
Anthony Volpe is considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, so while Peraza is a top-100 staple in his own right, he could’ve been more of an expendable piece in trade talks. New York was still resistant to moving Peraza, and while the club was reportedly open to moving him in a possible Frankie Montas trade, the Yankees ended up landing Montas from the Athletics for another trade package that didn’t involve Peraza. The inclusion of longtime Miami staple Rojas is an interesting wrinkle, as presumably the Marlins offered Rojas as a replacement for Torres in the Yankees’ infield mix, and perhaps sought to give the veteran a chance at winning a ring with a contender. It makes for an interesting deadline what-if, and any of these players could potentially be part of different trade talks should the two teams rekindle negotiations this winter.
Some rumblings from the Marlins and Rays, as we check in on both Sunshine State teams…
- After some fielding drills and batting practice on Wednesday, Wander Franco told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “I feel super good right now and [am] getting better,” in regards to his injured right hand. Soreness in that hand led Franco to be taken off his rehab assignment earlier this week, and the Rays will continue to monitor Franco’s injury before deciding when to restart his minor league work. Speaking with Topkin and company today, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday would be the earliest date for Franco to resume his rehab assignment. Franco has played in only 58 games this season due to a quad strain and then hamate-bone surgery, and his return would be a big boost to a Rays club that is trying to secure a wild card berth.
- In other Rays injury updates from Topkin, Josh Fleming and Matt Wisler each started minor league rehab assignments within the last two days, while J.P. Feyereisen will throw a live batting practice session before the team decides on his rehab assignment. This is a good development for Feyereisen, who had a brief setback due to shoulder soreness earlier this month. Shane Baz also told Topkin and other reporters that he’ll start a throwing program on Monday, but it remains to be seen if Baz can get fully ramped up in time to return to big league game action before the season is over. An elbow sprain sent Baz to the 15-day IL and then the 60-day IL retroactive to July 14, so it will still be a few weeks before he is even eligible to be activated.
- Garrett Cooper is two games into a minor league rehab assignment and could be back on the Marlins’ active roster as soon as Friday. Manager Don Mattingly told reporters that Cooper was slated to play three games as part of his recovery from a stint on the seven-day concussion IL, and Cooper is no longer experiencing any symptoms. Cooper’s IL placement was retroactive to August 17, and it doesn’t look like he’ll miss much more time beyond the seven-day minimum.
Angels Claim Rob Zastryzny From Mets
The Angels have claimed Rob Zastryzny off waivers from the Mets, and the left-hander has been optioned to Triple-A. New York designated Zastryzny for assignment earlier this week.
The Mets signed Zastryzny to a minors contract in May, and he made a single appearance for the Mets (tossing one inning in the Mets’ 4-1 loss to the Phillies last Sunday) before being designated for assignment. While a brief stint, it was surely a welcome return to the bigs for Zastryzny, whose last MLB appearance came with the Cubs back in 2018. The left-hander tossed 34 2/3 innings for Chicago in 2016-18 before bouncing around to multiple teams and eventually landing his next chance at the Show.
Zastryzny spent 2019 in the Dodgers farm system, and he’ll now head back to SoCal for an opportunity with Los Angeles’ other team. He’ll provide the Halos with some relief depth in the minors, and with Jose Quijada increasingly getting some save chances, there could be room for the Angels to call up Zastryzny for more of a traditional lefty relief role.
Angels Place Jared Walsh On 60-Day Injured List
1:16PM: Walsh has been placed on the 60-day IL, the Angels announced. This officially ends the first baseman’s 2022 season.
10:06AM: The Angels announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game with the Rays, including the news that Jared Walsh has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome. Infielder Phil Gosselin was also designated for assignment. Filling the two roster spots are catcher Matt Thaiss (called up from Triple-A), and first baseman Mike Ford, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition much more commonly seen in pitchers, making Walsh something of an outlier as a position player. While Walsh drew some attention as a two-way player early in his career and during his time in the Angels farm system, he has only 26 2/3 professional innings pitched, and none since 2019. Most pitchers who undergo surgery to correct TOS aren’t the same performance-wise after returning to the mound, but it remains to see if Walsh will indeed need surgery, or how such a procedure could impact his future production given that he isn’t pitching.
Even if Walsh opts for treatment without going under the knife, it would seem like the remainder of his 2022 season could be in jeopardy. With the Angels out of contention, they would seemingly not have any reason to rush Walsh back into action.
Walsh hit .280/.338/.531 over 693 PA with the Angels in 2020-21, earning a seventh-place finish in 2020’s Rookie of the Year balloting and a slot on the 2021 AL All-Star team. However, 2022 has been much more of a struggle, as the 29-year-old has contributed only 15 home runs and a .215/.269/.374 slash line. Despite some decent defense at first base, this poor offensive production has resulted in an overall sub-replacement level performance for Walsh, who has -0.5 fWAR and -0.6 bWAR.
Even in 2020-21, Walsh has below-average walk and strikeout rates, but those numbers have sunk further downward in 2022 — Walsh’s 30.4% strikeout rate puts him in only the sixth percentile of batters. He is also hitting with far less power, with an Isolated Power metric of only .158 (down from .354 in 2020 and .232 in 2021). This decline has robbed the Angels of a key bat in their lineup, as Los Angeles has gotten very little from any players besides Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Taylor Ward, and the emerging Luis Rengifo.
Gosselin had enough MLB service time that he can reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, assuming that he clears waivers and the Angels don’t release him. The Angels claimed Gosselin off waivers from the Braves in mid-July, and the veteran utilityman ended up playing 22 games with Anaheim, mostly as a third baseman. Unfortunately, Gosselin provided very little offense, with only a .269 OPS over 51 plate appearances.
Gosselin has only sporadically delivered at the plate over his 10 Major League seasons, with a career .254/.305/.349 slash line over 1199 PA. The 33-year-old has suited up for seven different big league teams, and this is his second stint with the Angels, after playing 104 games with the Halos in 2021.
Ford is in today’s starting lineup as the cleanup hitter, putting Ford on pace to see action for a fourth different Major League team this season. The first baseman has appeared in 22 games combined with the Giants, Mariners, and Braves, with San Francisco and Seattle ping-ponging him back and forth between their rosters a few times earlier in the season and Atlanta releasing Ford earlier this month. He signed a new minor league contract with Los Angeles in mid-August, and might now in line for some consistent playing time if Walsh does miss most or all of the remainder of the season.
In 2019, Ford burst onto the scene with 12 home runs and a .909 OPS over 163 PA as a rookie with the Yankees. Since that initial breakout, however, he has scuffled to a .138/.267/.253 slash line in 206 PA since the start of the 2020 season, and the Yankees dealt him to the Rays in June 2021. Ford also ended up heading to the Nationals on a waiver claim later in the 2021 season, making it quite a whirlwind of organizational change for the Princeton product in just 14 months’ time.
Nationals Claim Tommy Romero From Rays
The Nationals have claimed right-hander Tommy Romero off waivers from the Rays, and assigned Romero to Triple-A. Both Romero and Kevin Herget were designated for assignment by Tampa Bay on Tuesday, and the Rays announced that Herget been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers.
Romero has a 7.71 ERA over three appearances and 4 2/3 innings for the Rays this season, marking the 24-year-old’s first bit of Major League experience. A 15th-round pick for the Mariners in the 2017 draft, Romero has been in the Rays organization since 2018, and posted some quality numbers down on the farm. He has a 2.66 ERA and 25.91% strikeout rate over 473 2/3 career innings in the minor leagues, with some variance both well above and well below that K%.
Romero has started 80 of his 108 games in the minors, though some of those were rather abbreviated outings, as the Rays experimented with some opener/piggyback starter scenarios. Most recently, Romero has been working only as a reliever, with Tampa eyeing him as bullpen depth rather than rotation help if he got another call later in the season.
The waiver claim now makes that a moot point, and it seems likely the Nationals will stretch Romero out again as a starting pitcher. The Nats have been aggressive on the waiver wire (as noted by the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty) in recent months, as the team has used the high waiver priority afforded to Washington’s low position in the standings to audition and check out several players. There isn’t much risk for the rebuilding Nats in seeing if they can find a hidden gem amongst these waiver claims, and in Romero’s case, his age (25), solid minor league track record and his full set of minor league options make him an interesting candidate.
Yankees To Place Nestor Cortes On 15-Day Injured List
The Yankees will place left-hander Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list prior to tomorrow’s game, according to The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler. Cortes is suffering from a groin injury. As reported earlier today, New York was preparing to place a then-unknown pitcher on the IL to make room for the promotion of minor league right-hander Greg Weissert.
While any pitching injury would’ve been a setback, losing Cortes for any amount of time is a tough blow to the Bronx Bombers. “Nasty Nestor” has been arguably the Yankees’ best starter this season, and one of the better pitchers in all of baseball. After surprisingly emerging as a rotation stalwart in 2021, Cortes has kept on rolling, posting a 2.68 ERA and above-average strikeout (25.9%) and walk (5.8%) rates over 131 innings of work. Despite a low-velocity four-seamer, Cortes’ fastball has been extremely effective, and his cutter isn’t far behind in terms of sheer effectiveness.
Though Cortes’ 131 innings is a new career high for the 27-year old over any pro season, there hasn’t been much sign that Cortes is slowing down, and he was expected to be a big weapon for the Yankees in October. This 15-day IL stint could perhaps serve as a bit of break in terms of keeping Cortes’ arm fresh, though naturally his groin issue is now a new concern. The severity of the injury or a possible timeline for Cortes’ return isn’t yet known.
New York enjoyed a great run of pitching health over the first half of the season, but several injuries have cropped up in recent weeks. The bullpen has taken the brunt of the injury woes, but the rotation hasn’t been immune, with Luis Severino out until mid-September due to a lat strain and now Cortes’ injury. The Yankees acquired Frankie Montas from the A’s at the deadline but also moved Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals in another trade, plus Domingo German has been a little inconsistent (if generally solid) since making his season debut in July, after shoulder problems kept him on the sidelines.
Clarke Schmidt was recently called back up to the active roster, and the former first-rounder seems like the probable candidate to step into Cortes’ rotation spot. Over 22 games and 45 2/3 career innings at the MLB level in 2020-22, Schmidt has only made three starts, but the Yankees have mostly been using him in long relief this season and were stretching him out at Triple-A.
