Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mariners Reinstate Evan White, Expected To Activate Matthew Boyd

By | at

The Mariners announced this afternoon that first baseman Evan White has been activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Left-hander Matthew Boyd seems on the verge of following White in returning from the IL, as Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports that he’ll be active for the M’s series in Detroit that kicks off tomorrow.

White has yet to play in the majors this season. The former first round pick underwent sports hernia surgery in March, and he’s spent the year on the IL. White initially began a minor league rehab assignment in mid-May, but he suffered a setback and was pulled off the assignment on two separate occasions. It wasn’t until the second week of August that he was able to get back into game action, returning to Tacoma on August 9.

Position players are allotted up to 20 days on rehab stints, so the Mariners had to activate White once that window closed. He still has all three minor league option years remaining, though, so they can keep him in Tacoma even as he reclaims his spot on the 40-man roster. White has struggled in 22 Triple-A games this season, although that’s largely to be expected as he tries to regain his timing after an extended absence. He underwent season-ending surgery on his left hip last July. The 26-year-old hasn’t had a consistent run of playing time since May 2021, so it’s only naturally he’d battle some rust in the early going.

The Mariners signed White to a $24MM guarantee in November 2019, committing to the then top prospect before he’d ever played a major league game. The club clearly believed he’d be their everyday first baseman for an extended stretch, moving to buy out three potential free agent years. That hasn’t transpired, as White has stumbled to a .165/.235/.308 line with a massive 37.6% strikeout rate in 306 MLB plate appearances between 2020-21. Ty France has long since passed him on the depth chart, but White is still guaranteed $18MM over the next three seasons. He’d only appeared in eight Triple-A games before this season, so he figures to be in line for an extended stretch against upper minors pitching now that he’s back to health.

Boyd has also yet to play in the big leagues this season, and his first appearance will be his team debut. The left-hander has spent the bulk of his career with the Tigers. He was a generally durable member of the rotation between 2017-20, starting 25+ games in all three full seasons and taking a full slate of 12 turns during the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Boyd struck out over 30% of opponents in 2019 and emerged as an in-demand trade candidate that summer, but the Tigers never found an offer to their liking and held onto him.

That didn’t pan out, as Boyd was hit hard in 2020. He looked on his way to a bit of a bounceback last year, but he began battling arm discomfort in June. An August return proved short-lived, and Boyd underwent flexor tendon surgery last September. That led Detroit to non-tender him after the season, and the Giants added him on a $5.2MM guarantee over the offseason. San Francisco intended for him to contribute to a playoff push, but the Giants struggled enough they dealt a few veterans at this summer’s trade deadline. Boyd was part of the sell-off, joining Curt Casali in heading to Seattle for a pair of minor leaguers.

While Boyd never suited up in black and orange, he’s now in position to pitch in a pennant race. Boyd has allowed just two runs with 14 strikeouts and no walks in eight innings of relief for Tacoma on a rehab stint in the past few weeks. He’ll step into a Seattle bullpen that skews extremely right-handed, giving manager Scott Servais a southpaw complement. The Washington native will look to help the Mariners snap their two-decade playoff drought while showing well in advance of a return trip to the open market.

The Mariners had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary to accommodate White’s reinstatement. The club will only need to make an active roster transaction to finalize Boyd’s return.

Twins Do Not Expect Kenta Maeda To Return During Regular Season

By | at

It’s unlikely the Twins will welcome back Kenta Maeda from the injured list during the regular season, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey informed reporters (including Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). While Maeda hasn’t suffered any kind of setback, it seems the organization is just running out of time to get him back on a major league mound.

Maeda underwent an internal brace Tommy John surgery last September, making it viable that he’d miss the entire 2022 campaign. He and the Twins had expressed hope he’d be able to make it back to the mound in September this year, with the internal brace procedure having a slightly more expedited recovery timeline (around 9-12 months) than a typical complete UCL reconstruction. Maeda has been throwing bullpen sessions but hasn’t yet started out on a minor league rehab assignment. He’d surely need multiple weeks to build back up in the minors, and with just five weeks remaining in the regular season, the Twins are apparently disinclined to push him back.

The mention of Maeda not returning in the regular season at least leaves open the possibility of a playoff comeback. Minnesota sits two games back of the Guardians in the AL Central race. They’re firmly in the mix for a postseason spot but far from a lock, so it’s possible Maeda won’t have any playoff games to target. If the Twins do reach the postseason, that’d extend the window for his potential return, although there’d be real risk in installing a player who hasn’t thrown a big league pitch in 14 months directly into a playoff series. It seems more likely that 2022 will wind up going down as a lost year entirely for Maeda. He’s under contract for a modest $3MM next season, and the Twins will presumably pencil him into the season-opening rotation if he has a normal offseason.

While the news on Maeda is a bit discouraging, the Twins provided positive updates on both right-hander Bailey Ober and outfielder Trevor Larnach (Park links). Ober, who has been out since June 1 with a groin strain, is set to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. The club plans to deploy him as a multi-inning reliever for the stretch run, as building him back to starting would require too lengthy a rehab stint. Larnach, who has been out since undergoing core muscle surgery in late June, is also expected to start a rehab assignment this week.

Astros To Promote Hunter Brown, Yainer Diaz

By | at

The Astros are set to bring up two of their most talented young players in the coming days. Both Hunter Brown and Yainer Diaz are reportedly getting their first major league calls. Brown’s promotion is expected to come when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Thursday, while the specific timing of Diaz’s call isn’t clear.

It’s a fantastic birthday present for Brown, who turned 24 today. A fifth-round pick out of Wayne State University in 2019, Brown has outperformed that relatively modest draft status. He struggled with his control late in his draft year, and his first full professional season was wiped out by the pandemic. The Detroit native began the 2021 campaign in Double-A and generally overpowered upper level hitters. He fanned 35% of opponents and induced ground-balls at a quality 47.7% clip to earn a midseason bump to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Brown returned to the Space Cowboys to open the 2022 campaign. He’s spent the whole year there, working 106 innings over 23 outings (14 starts). He’s posted a 2.55 ERA that is the lowest mark among the 50 Pacific Coast League hurlers with at least 60 frames. Brown has punched out an impressive 31.5% of batters faced and racked up grounders at a huge 54.2% clip. His 10.6% walk rate is a couple points higher than average, but the combination of strikeouts and grounders hints at the elite stuff he brandishes.

Baseball America recently placed Brown as the sport’s #40 overall minor league talent. BA credits the right-hander with a plus-plus fastball (a 70 on the scouting scale) that sits in the mid-90s and can reach 99 MPH. The outlet praises his plus low-80s curveball and suggests both his slider and changeup could be average MLB offerings. With that kind of arsenal, it’s little surprise Brown has racked up strikeouts in the minors, but evaluators raise questions about his strike-throwing consistency. Whether he’ll have good enough command to stick in an MLB rotation long-term remains to be seen, but it seems likelier the club will break him into the majors as a possible relief weapon for the stretch run.

Houston has a bit of uncertainty in the starting staff at the moment. Luis Garcia has struggled of late, while Justin Verlander is set to undergo an MRI after leaving yesterday’s start with calf discomfort. Even if Verlander requires an injured list stint — which hasn’t yet been determined — the club could work Cristian Javier back into a rotation with Framber Valdez, José Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr. and Garcia. Brown’s ability to work with high-octane stuff for multiple innings could make him a key bullpen piece for manager Dusty Baker, and September could serve as an audition for a spot on the club’s postseason rosters.

Brown’s promotion is the headlining news for Houston, but Diaz’s call-up also marks a noteworthy transaction. A right-handed hitting catcher, Diaz was acquired from Cleveland in last summer’s deadline trade that sent Myles Straw for Phil Maton. Not generally regarded as a huge piece of the deal at the time, the native of the Dominican Republic played out the 2021 campaign in High-A. Despite a massive showing at the plate, he was left off the 40-man roster last winter and would’ve been available to other clubs had the Rule 5 draft not been canceled due to the lockout.

Remarkably, Diaz has gone from being left unprotected to one of the organization’s top prospects in a matter of months. BA placed him as the organization’s #2 farmhand on their midseason re-ranking of the system, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him third among Houston’s minor leaguers last month. Both outlets praise his offensive upside, noting that he’s primarily a bat-first catcher. That’s been fully on display during what has been a breakout season in the upper levels.

Diaz began the season in Double-A Corpus Christi. He hit .316/.367/.504 over 267 plate appearances, earning a bump to Sugar Land in late June. The 23-year-old has continued to mash, posting a .294/.342/.587 showing with 16 longballs in 219 trips to the dish. Diaz has only struck out in 16.3% of his plate appearances while posting a cumulative .306/.356/.542 line to earn his first crack at big league pitching. With Martín Maldonado and Christian Vázquez on hand, Baker doesn’t figure to pencil Diaz in behind the dish very often. He’s gotten some looks at first base and very briefly in the corner outfield this season, and he’ll add a bench bat with the ability to catch or work in around the corners as needed.

Each of Brown and Diaz would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 this winter if not added to the 40-man roster. They were thus locks to be put on the roster at the end of the year at the latest, but Houston will take an early look at two of their top young players to see if they can potentially contribute to this year’s playoff team. Houston’s 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to create a pair of vacancies there even with the upcoming expansion of the active roster.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported Brown was being promoted. Mark Berman of Fox 26 was first to report Diaz’s promotion.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kennedy: Red Sox Plan To Retain Chaim Bloom, Alex Cora

By | at

The Red Sox have dropped seven of their past ten contests, knocking them four games under .500. At 62-66, they’re in last place in the American League East and seven games out of the AL’s final Wild Card spot. The Sox are very likely to miss the playoffs, and their -48 run differential betters only those of the Royals, Tigers and A’s in the American League.

That’s certainly not what the Sox anticipated heading into the season, and the struggles have predictably led to some speculation among the fanbase about the future of the organization’s leadership. Those questions apparently aren’t simmering within the Fenway Park offices, however. Boston’s CEO/president Sam Kennedy tells Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic the club has no plans to dismiss either chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom or manager Alex Cora this offseason.

“I am very comfortable saying Chaim and Alex will be back. And I am very comfortable saying there is a strong belief in the direction of the franchise from our ownership group,” Kennedy said. “That direction is continuing to build for the future, but also continuing to invest at the major-league level.”

Both Cora and Bloom remain under contract for at least another season. The Sox preemptively exercised their 2023-24 options on Cora’s services last November, keeping him in the fold for two years beyond this one. Bloom was hired to lead the front office over the 2019-20 offseason, making this his third season at the helm. Rosenthal now reports that contract was of no less than four years in length, so even barring an extension, the Red Sox can keep him around at least through the end of next season.

There wasn’t a whole lot of doubt that Boston would keep Cora atop the dugout steps. Originally hired in advance of the 2018 season, Cora led the Red Sox to a World Series title his first year at the helm. The club missed the playoffs in 2019, and Cora was dismissed that offseason when his role in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal was made public. MLB suspended him for the entire 2020 campaign, but Boston promptly re-hired Cora once that ban was up. During the first season of his second stint, the club won 92 games and advanced to the ALCS. Even with this year’s losing record, the Sox have gone 346-268 under Cora’s stewardship.

The team’s results under Bloom have been more mixed. Boston went 24-36 and finished last in the AL East during the abbreviated 2020 schedule. As mentioned, they bounced back with a very successful season last year, but they’re now facing another possible last place finish. That’d be a second in Bloom’s three years leading the organization, and he wasn’t a part of the 2018 championship squad as Cora was.

As is the case with every baseball ops group, one can point to various hits and misses for Bloom’s front office. The club made some strong under-the-radar moves in the 2020-21 offseason that contributed to last year’s turnaround. The Sox signed Enrique Hernández to a two-year, $14MM deal and were rewarded with perhaps the best season of his career in 2021 before his production cratered this year. They plucked Garrett Whitlock from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft and immediately watched him develop into one of the game’s top late-inning weapons. At the preceding trade deadline, Boston landed Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold for relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree. Pivetta’s performance has been up-and-down, but getting a roughly league average controllable starter for a pair of middle relievers is a strong outcome for the Boston front office.

Bloom and his group have placed an emphasis on building the minor league pipeline. They’ve seemed to take some steps forward in that regard. Shortly before Bloom was hired in 2019, Baseball America placed the Red Sox 22nd in their organizational talent rankings. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel slotted them 13th, with last year’s first-round pick Marcelo Mayer now regarded as one of the best prospects in the sport.

At the same time, there are plenty of recent moves that have drawn criticism. The decision to not re-sign Mookie Betts in 2020 likely falls at ownership’s feet more so than the front office’s, but none of the players involved in the return (Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong) have performed as well as the club would’ve hoped this season. Boston’s biggest free agent signee of the past three years, Trevor Story, has performed below his previous career level in the first year of a $140MM deal.

Dealing Hunter Renfroe for Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects David Hamilton and Alex Binelas over the winter added some talent to the middle tier of the farm system, but it marked a notable step down in a right field position that has gone on to give the team problems. The club’s faith in Bobby Dalbec at first base looks to have been misguided, and their handling of the trade deadline (acquiring Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer while dealing away Christian Vázquez) reportedly sparked some confusion from the clubhouse and others within the organization.

Regardless of how one feels about the moves the Red Sox have made of late, the more relevant question is how Bloom and his group plan to move forward. Aside from the Story deal, the team has been quite cautious from a long-term spending perspective. Assuming Xander Bogaerts opts out of his contract, Boston will only have around $60MM in guaranteed money on the books for next year. Rafael Devers headlines an arbitration class that is likely to push the in-house spending to the $85MM – $90MM range, but there’ll still be plenty of space for a club that exceeded the $230MM luxury tax threshold this season.

The front office has consistently maintained they’d like to work out a long-term deal to retain Boagerts and to hammer out an extension with Devers. There’s no indication they’ve made progress to date in either case. Whether or not Bogaerts is brought back, the club will face plenty of turnover in the starting rotation, bullpen and the outfield. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t seem there’s any thought of deliberately taking a step back in 2023, so there’ll need to be a fairly significant roster overhaul.

“Next year will be the 22nd season of the John Henry-Tom Werner-Mike Gordon Fenway Sports Group stewardship of this franchise,” Kennedy told Rosenthal of the ownership group. “Since we’ve been here, each and every year we have a goal of playing baseball in October. I do not see that changing. I see us continuing to invest across the entire organization, at the major-league level, throughout our baseball operations. This group is hungry for another World Series championship. … I know we’re in a tough spot right now. But we have a lot of flexibility going into this offseason. I’m really excited to see what we’re going to do with that flexibility and the resources we have.“

Blue Jays Claim Bradley Zimmer Off Waivers From Phillies

By | at

5:40 pm: Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic relays that the plan is for Zimmer to not report to the team until rosters expand on September 1. That means no corresponding move will be necessary.

2:05 pm: The Phillies announced that outfielder Bradley Zimmer has been claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays. The Phils had designated him for assignment on the weekend. This is a reverse of a couple of weeks ago, when Zimmer was claimed from the Jays by the Phillies.

The Jays originally acquired Zimmer from the Guardians in April, largely using him as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. He got into 77 games for Toronto but made only 87 plate appearances, producing a .105/.209/.237 batting line in that time. At the deadline, the club traded for Whit Merrifield and later signed Jackie Bradley Jr., who had been released by the Red Sox.

Those acquisitions nudged Zimmer out of the outfield picture and onto the waiver wire, where he was grabbed by the Phillies. At the time, the Phils had placed Brandon Marsh on the IL and needed some help in center. When Marsh returned on the weekend, Zimmer was sent back to the waiver wire again after just nine games with the Phils.

The Blue Jays had an opening on their 40-man roster, meaning they don’t need to make an immediate corresponding move. However, Zimmer is out of options and will have to join the active roster. Once he reports to the team, the Jays will need to find a spot for him on the big league club.

Angels Release Jesse Chavez

By | at

The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, with lefty Aaron Loup, righty Ryan Tepera and outfielder Taylor Ward all being reinstated from the restricted list. All three were ineligible to cross the border into Canada for the team’s series against the Blue Jays. Infielder Matt Duffy was also reinstated from the injured list. Outfielder Ryan Aguilar and right-hander Gerardo Reyes, who were called up as COVID substitutes, were returned to the minors. Infielder Jose Rojas was optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Jesse Chavez was released. Right-hander Jose Marte, recalled for the Toronto series, is sticking with the team.

Chavez, 39, is a veteran who made his debut back in 2008. In his career, he’s pitched at the big league level for the Pirates, Braves, Royals, Blue Jays, Athletics, Dodgers, Angels, Rangers and Cubs. This year started with the Cubs, though Chavez was flipped to Atlanta for Sean Newcomb just a couple of weeks into the season while sporting a 6.35 ERA. He pitched well over 38 1/3 innings in Atlanta, registering a 2.11 ERA in that time before getting sent to the Angels as part of the Raisel Iglesias deal. Since becoming an Angel, he has a 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings.

Putting those three stints together, he has a 3.62 ERA for the season with a 25.6% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate. Chavez will now head back out to the open market in search of his next opportunity. If he signs with someone prior to 11:59pm ET on Aug. 31, he will be eligible for that club’s postseason roster.

Reds Select Chase Anderson, Designate Max Schrock

By | at

The Reds announced they have selected the contract of right-hander Chase Anderson, who will take the ball and start tonight’s game. Fellow right-hander Dauri Moreta was optioned to open a spot on the active roster, while utility player Max Schrock was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man.

Anderson, 34, is a veteran who had his best seasons with the Brewers. From 2016 to 2019, he logged 590 innings with a  3.83 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 36.1% ground ball rate. It’s been a rough few years since then, however, with Anderson registering a 7.22 ERA with the Blue Jays in 2020 and then 6.75 with the Phillies last year.

This season, he signed a minor league deal with the Tigers, eventually opting out and signing with the Rays on another minor league pact. Between the two organizations, he’s thrown 80 Triple-A innings on the year with a 4.50 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. He opted out of his Rays contract last week and latched on with Cincy for his third minors deal of the year.

The Reds have placed four starters on the IL this month: Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Robert Dugger and T.J. Zeuch. With all of those arms hitting the shelf, it’s created an opening for a veteran like Anderson to come in and eat some innings.

As for Schrock, 27, he’s changed jerseys a few times in his career. He was drafted by the Nats before being traded to the A’s and then the Cardinals. He was later claimed off waivers by the Cubs and then the Reds. He’s gotten into 77 MLB games so far, primarily with Cincy, hitting .256/.292/.393 in that time. The resulting wRC+ of 76 indicates he’s been 24% below league average, though he’s shown more promise in the minors. Between last year and this year, he’s hit .294/.336/.452 in Triple-A for a wRC+ of 109. He also brings defensive versatility to the table, having played all three non-shortstop spots on the infield, in addition to time in the outfield corners.

Schrock has been on the minor league injured list since early August due to a right patella fracture. Since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers and the trade deadline has passed, the Reds will have no choice but to put Schrock on release waivers in the coming days.

Diamondbacks Promote Corbin Carroll

By | at

Aug. 29: The Diamondbacks have officially announced Carroll’s selection, with Luplow being optioned in a corresponding move.

Aug, 28: The Diamondbacks are planning on promoting outfield prospect Corbin Carroll for Monday’s game, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Carroll is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, though they already have a vacancy there. A corresponding move will be required to get him onto the active roster.

This will be something of a belated birthday present for the youngster, who just turned 22 years old a week ago. Selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Carroll has been one of the most intriguing prospect in Arizona’s system ever since. Baseball America ranked him 5th in the organization and 90th in all of baseball in 2020, before Carroll jumped to Arizona’s #1 slot in 2021. He’s currently ranked 5th overall by BA, 3rd by FanGraphs, while ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic consider him the best prospect in the sport.

The fact that Carroll is so highly regarded is hardly surprising, given his tremendous performance on the field thus far in his career. After being drafted in 2019, at just 18 years of age, he got into 42 games between rookie ball and low-A, hitting .299/.409/.487 in that span. The pandemic wiped out the minors in 2020, but Carroll reportedly continued to impress at the club’s alternate training site that year. 2021 was a mostly lost season, as Carroll tore the capsule of his non-throwing shoulder, ending his campaign after just seven games.

Corbin Carroll

However, Carroll has gotten right back on track here in 2022, showing no ill effects from the shoulder surgery he underwent last year. Through 58 Double-A games, he hit 16 home runs, stole 20 bases and walked in 14.8% of his plate appearances. His .313/.430/.643 batting line was 66% better than league average by measure of wRC+. He was promoted to Triple-A and has played 33 games there thus far, hitting seven more long balls, swiping 11 more bags and hitting .287/.408/.535, wRC+ of 135.

Defensively, Carroll has primarily played center field in the minors, though with some time in the corners as well. It’s unclear where the Diamondbacks intend to play Carroll in the majors, but they will have an embarrassment of young talent in the outfield either way. Alek Thomas, himself a highly regarded prospect coming into the year, was promoted in May and has been getting the lion’s share of playing time in center. He’s hit just .243/.294/.369 through his first 92 MLB games for an 84 wRC+, though his glovework has been highly rated across the board.

Beside Carroll and Thomas, the club has many options to fill out the remainder of its outfield picture. Daulton Varsho and Jake McCarthy are both having strong seasons as well and each comes with at least four years of club control beyond this one. Stone Garrett was also recently called up, having hit very well in a five-game showing so far. Jordan Luplow is also on hand due to his strong numbers against lefties. He’s slumped a bit in that regard this season but could be retained via arbitration for another two seasons if he still fits into Arizona’s plans. Assuming Carroll sticks with the big league club the rest of the season, he will earn just over a month of service time, putting him on track to reach free agency after the 2028 campaign, unless future optional assignments end up pushing that back.

It’s been a rough few years in the desert, with the D-Backs currently 59-67, likely to finish below .500 for a third straight season. However, they have already guaranteed themselves a record well ahead of last year’s 52-100 mark, with plenty of reasons to be excited about the future. Their stockpile of young, cheap and controllable outfield talent is perhaps the best reason to feel hopeful, with Carroll considered by many to be the most exciting of the bunch. Over the remaining few weeks of the schedule, the club will give him a chance to show his skills at the sport’s biggest stage and potentially lock down a place on the grass for years to come.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Designate Hirokazu Sawamura, Austin Davis; Select Zack Kelly

By | at

Aug. 29: The Red Sox have made these moves official, selecting Kelly, recalling Ort, while designating Sawamura and Davis.

Aug. 28: The Red Sox are evidently taking multiple steps to shake up their bullpen, with right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura designated for assignment, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. That’s the second such move of the night, as lefty Austin Davis is reportedly being designated as well. Chad Jennings of The Athletic tweets that Zack Kelly and Kaleb Ort will take the open roster spots. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe had previously mentioned Kelly as a possibility.

Sawamura, 34, had pitched in 10 seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before signing a two-year deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2021 campaign. Coming into today’s action, he had thrown in 103 games with a 3.16 ERA between last year and this year. His 22.5% strikeout in that time is around league average, though his 12.8% walk rate is definitely on the high side. He has been able to limit damage by keeping the ball on the ground, as evidenced by his 51.9% ground ball rate.

There are some reasons to be somewhat bearish on Sawamura, as his .267 career BABIP is below the .290 league average. That might be somewhat related to his ground ball tendencies, but he’s also been hit hard. His 45.9% hard hit rate is about ten points above league average and only in the fifth percentile among MLB pitchers. He’s also been trending in the wrong direction, having registered a 2.48 ERA through July 23 this year but a 5.40 mark since.

Between the Sawamura and Davis moves, it seems the club felt it necessary to make changes to a relief corps that has been fairly disappointing. The club’s combined bullpen has a 4.49 ERA that ranks 26th in the majors. Although some advanced metrics are a bit kinder, none of them view the group as elite.

Sawamura’s contract came with a split option for 2023, with various escalators in play. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently looked at that option, noting that the club option had already increase to $3.6MM. Since that writing, it has ticked up to $3.7MM and still had room to climb. If the club had declined that option, Sawamura would have had the ability to trigger a player option, which had reached $1.9MM as of today and could still have grown further. It seems the Red Sox didn’t intend to trigger their end of the deal and are cutting Sawamura loose.

Since the trade deadline has now passed, the Sox will have no choice but to put Sawamura on outright waivers or release waivers.  If he were to pass through waivers, the Sox would remain on the hook for the remainder of his salary for this season, as well as the $1MM buyout on the 2023 option. As Sawamura has less than three years of MLB service time and has not been previously outrighted in his career, he would not have the ability to reject an outright assignment.

Ort, 30, is already on the club’s 40-man roster, having thrown 15 innings this year with an ERA of 9.00. But as for Kelly, this will be the first addition to a big league roster for the 27-year-old. Having previously spent time in the systems of the Athletics and Angels, he was released and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2021 season. This year, he’s spent the entire season in Triple-A, throwing 49 2/3 innings with a 2.72 ERA and excellent 34.4% strikeout rate, though a high walk rate of 12%. Boston will give him a chance to see if he can carry any of those strong numbers over to the majors.

Diamondbacks Release Chris Devenski

By | at

Aug. 29: Devenski has been released, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Aug. 26: The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Chris Devenski for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the active roster will go to righty Reyes Moronta, whom the D-backs claimed off waivers earlier this week.

Devenski, 31, was once one of the American League’s best relievers, dominating with the Astros in 2016-17 and earning the nickname “The Dragon” as he ripped through opposing lineups with lofty strikeout totals and tidy walk rates. Injuries have taken their toll in the seasons since, however, and he’s managed just 21 2/3 Major League frames dating back to the 2020 season.

That includes 10 2/3 innings with the Snakes in 2022, during which time he’s been tagged for nine runs on 14 hits and a walk with nine punchouts. After seeing his average fastball velocity dip to a career-worst 91.5 mph in 2021, Devenski did restore some zip on that heater in 2022, averaging 93.9 mph. That’s roughly in line with the velocity from his peak, but the right-hander’s swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates are nowhere near his heyday, and he’s allowed hard contact in droves during this year’s small sample. Opponents have posted a 91.8 mph average exit velocity against him, and 51.4% of the balls put into play against Devenski have been hit at 95 mph or harder.

The Diamondbacks will have a week to place Devenski on outright waivers or release him, now that this year’s trade deadline has passed.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top