David Price Leaning Towards Retirement After 2022 Season
2022 is the final season of the seven-year, $217MM free agent deal that David Price signed with the Red Sox in December 2015, and it has been widely expected that the veteran left-hander will hang up his glove once his contract is up. Price all but confirmed as much earlier this week when speaking with Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register, initially telling Plunkett that he did plan to retire at season’s end, before making it more of a “yes and no” answer for family reasons.
“My (two) kids love it so much. That’s the only thing that makes me even think about playing any longer,” Price said. “I always told myself I’d ask my son, ‘Do you want daddy to play baseball or do you want daddy to be home all the time?’ I asked him before this year and he said, ‘I want you to be home.’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ Now when I ask him, he says, ‘No, I want you to keep playing.’ “
Now in his 14th season, Price has had an outstanding career since being selected by the Rays with the first overall pick of the 2007 draft. The southpaw’s resume includes five All-Star appearances, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, and a World Series championship with the Red Sox in 2018. Price was a member of the Dodgers’ roster in 2020, but opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, and thus wasn’t a part of their run to the World Series.
Returning to action in 2021, Price posted a 4.03 ERA over 73 2/3 total innings for Los Angeles, starting 11 of his 39 games. This year, Price has worked exclusively out of the bullpen, a role that Price is happy to fill even though the Dodgers have had some injury-related vacancies open up in the rotation.
While Price said he would start again if the Dodgers asked, the left-hander is happy to see “these young guys getting their starts. I like them being able to get their numbers up so they can go to arbitration and they can get their money. I got mine….I love watching Mitch White pitch. He’s got good stuff. That’s what he needs. He needs to pitch in the big leagues, not pitch in Triple-A. That’s a waste of time.”
Though he missed close to a month of action due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Price has pitched well as a reliever in 2022, posting a 3.20 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate, and 4.8% walk rate over 19 2/3 innings. The Dodgers haven’t used Price for many important late-game situations, but he has provided some useful innings for a bullpen that is still missing several key arms on the injured list. Certainly, capturing another Series ring would be a great way for Price to walk off into the sunset, if he indeed decided to retire once the season is done.
Twins Outright Tyler Thornburg
TODAY: Thornburg has cleared waivers and been outrighted off Minnesota’s 40-man roster. It isn’t yet known if he’ll accept the assignment to Triple-A or opt for free agency.
JULY 1: The Twins announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Juan Minaya from Triple-A St. Paul and designated righty Tyler Thornburg for assignment to clear spot on the active and 40-man rosters.
Thornburg, 33, turned in four scoreless outings to start his Twins tenure, combining for eight innings in that time. He walked three hitters and recorded just four strikeouts during that span, however, and he was the latest Twins reliever to fail to put away the Guardians over the past couple weeks. Tasked with protecting a two-run lead while the Twins dealt with a depleted bullpen, Thornburg served up four runs (three earned) on two hits, a hit batter and three walks yesterday. Thornburg allowed the game to be tied in the eighth before yielding a walk-off home run to Andres Gimenez in the ninth — an incredible fifth blown lead for the Twins against the Guardians in eight games over the past two weeks.
The veteran Thornburg has totaled 19 innings between the Twins and Braves this season, pitching to a sound-looking 3.32 ERA that doesn’t mesh with far more concerning secondary numbers. Thornburg has walked a hefty 12.6% of his opponents, hit another and notched just a 16.2% strikeout rate. He’s also allowed just one home run despite a huge 50.8% fly-ball rate, and the resulting 3.2% homer-to-flyball ratio clocks in way shy of his career 10% mark. ERA alternatives like FIP (4.24) and SIERA (5.26) are far more bearish on his work thus far.
The Twins will have a week to trade Thornburg, pass him through outright waivers or release him. With six-plus years of MLB service, he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency in the event that he goes unclaimed.
Minaya, 31, will return for what will now be his fourth big league stint with the Twins in the past two seasons. He’s repeatedly ridden the DFA carousel in Minnesota, being selected to the roster, designated for assignment and accepting outright assignments on several occasions. Minaya posted a 2.48 ERA in 40 innings with the Twins in 2021, logging above-average strikeout and ground-ball rates along the way. He also walked 12% of his opponents, though, and he’s been torched both in the big leagues (six runs in 6 1/3 innings) and in Triple-A (5.91 ERA in 21 1/3 frames) so far in 2022.
The Twins are in obvious need of help to upgrade what has been an awful bullpen throughout the season, and that figures to be a key focus as the Aug. 2 trade deadline draws nearer. Rookie Jhoan Duran has been one of baseball’s best relievers, and converted starter Griffin Jax has emphatically secured a spot as well. The rest of the group has underwhelmed, to say the least, and the recent string of missed opportunities has kept the Twins from putting the Central largely out of reach. They currently hold a one-game lead over Cleveland.
Red Sox Place Rich Hill On 15-Day Injured List
TODAY: Hill’s recovery timeline is roughly 2-4 weeks, according to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham (Twitter link). An MRI did reveal “some tearing” in Hill’s ligament.
JULY 2: The Red Sox have placed Rich Hill on the 15-day injured list, as the left-hander is battling a left knee sprain. Right-hander Phillips Valdez was called up from Triple-A to take Hill’s spot on the active roster.
Hill suffered the injury in the fifth inning of yesterday’s start against the Cubs, as he tried to tough it out through two more batters but eventually left the game. Hill told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that he was waiting for the results of an MRI, but he compared the injury to the MCL problem that sidelined him for a month during the 2019 season.
The 42-year-old Hill has continued to post solid results in his 18th Major League season, with a 4.20 ERA/4.35 SIERA over 70 2/3 innings. While his Statcast numbers and advanced metrics (including a 19.5% strikeout rate) aren’t anything to write home about, Hill has still been a reliable presence within a Boston rotation that has been lacking in stability.
At the moment, that rotation is down to just three pitchers, as the Sox have been hit by injuries. Hill joins Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Sale (who has yet to pitch in 2022) and Garrett Whitlock on the IL, leaving Michael Wacha, Nick Pivetta, and Josh Winckowski as the only pitchers remaining in the starting five. Connor Seabold is at Triple-A and figures to be recalled to make at least one spot start.
Among the injured names, Eovaldi threw a 35-pitch bullpen session today, though it isn’t yet known if the righty may need a rehab start. Eovaldi has been on the IL since June 9 due to lower back inflammation. Sale has another rehab outing slated for Wednesday, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MLB.com’s Ian Browne that Sale could potentially in line to make his 2022 season debut on July 11 when the Sox play the Rays.
As for Whitlock, he has been out since June 10 due to hip inflammation. The righty has a bullpen session today and will have to make a rehab outing, but when he does return, Cora told Bradford and company that Whitlock will “pretty much likely” return to his old bullpen role, rather than as a starting pitcher. Whitlock had a 4.15 ERA over 39 innings and nine starts this season, but with a theoretical surplus of starters when everyone is healthy, the Red Sox figure Whitlock can best help the team as a multi-inning reliever — Whitlock dominated batters in such a role in 2021.
Diamondbacks Place Ian Kennedy On 15-Day IL
The Diamondbacks placed right-hander Ian Kennedy on the 15-day injured list due to right calf inflammation. The club also announced that Keynan Middleton was called up from Triple-A Reno to take Kennedy’s place on the active roster.
Kennedy had to make a quick departure from Sunday’s game due to the injury, and was scheduled to undergo an MRI today. While the specifics of that MRI result aren’t known, things were obviously serious enough for the D’Backs to put Kennedy on the injured list.
A timetable isn’t yet known about when Kennedy could return, though even if he is able to get back on the mound after the 15-day minimum, he won’t have much time to audition for possible trade suitors. The 35-44 Diamondbacks are looking like sellers at the August 2 trade deadline, and Kennedy (signed to a one-year, $4.75MM deal in March) is a logical candidate to be moved as a rental player.
Since becoming a full-time reliever prior to the 2019 season, Kennedy has sandwiched two solid years around an injury-plagued 2020 campaign. This year in Arizona, the 37-year-old has a 3.58 ERA over 27 2/3 innings, but with plenty of unfavorable Statcast metrics. The righty’s 10.4% walk rate is his highest since 2009, and his 20% strikeout rate is well below the league average.
Kennedy’s trade value could be a moot point if his injury continues to linger throughout July. However, given his track record, there is a chance a team could look past both his health issues and his poor advanced metrics and swing a deal with the D’Backs, even if Arizona might end up still eating the bulk of Kennedy’s remaining salary.
Twins Designate Juan Minaya For Assignment
The Twins have designated right-hander Juan Minaya for assignment. The move creates room for Trevor Megill to rejoin the active roster, as Megill was activated from the 15-day injured list.
Since first signing with Minnesota in the 2019-20 offseason, Minaya has now been designated four different times by the club, including another DFA just last month. Minaya was outrighted off the 40-man roster on both occasions, and he again has the option to elect free agency, though there isn’t any indication that he won’t just accept another assignment to Triple-A.
Minaya’s first season with the Twins was a success, as he posted a 2.48 ERA and 53% walk rate over 40 relief innings. Advanced metrics (such as a 4.00 SIERA) wasn’t as impressed with his work, however, and after the Twins non-tendered the righty, he had to settle for a minor league contract to return to Minnesota last winter. Though Minaya has a 3.67 SIERA over 9 2/3 innings this year, his luck has seemingly gone in the other direction, as he has a 5.59 ERA over that short sample size.
Megill is back after being (retroactively) placed on the 15-day IL on June 16 due to a right shoulder impingement. Now in his second big league season, Megill has done well thus far with the Twins, posting a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings out of the bullpen.
Giants Promote David Villar
3:35PM: The Giants have officially selected Villar’s contract. Right-hander Yunior Marte was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, creating an open 26-man roster spot.
12:31PM: As first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants prospect David Villar is in Phoenix and will be activated ahead of today’s game against the Diamondbacks. Villar, who’s primarily played third base in the minors but has some positional versatility, has logged a .284/.409/.633 triple-slash — and 21 home runs — in 281 trips to the plate for Triple-A Sacramento so far this year.
It isn’t yet clear what position Villar will play in his first taste of the majors, but with both Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford on the IL and Evan Longoria entrenched at third, he’ll most likely slot in at second for the time being. He’s played 98 innings at the position, all of them this year.
An unheralded 11th-round pick out of the University of South Florida in the 2018 amateur draft, Villar hasn’t drawn a lot of prospect fanfare but has hit his way onto the big-league radar. While his 2022 performance in Triple-A has taken him to new heights, he showed significant power last year as well, hitting 20 homers at Double-A Richmond en route to a .275/.374/.507 overall line.
White Sox Reinstate Liam Hendriks, Adam Engel From Injured List
The White Sox welcomed two regulars back from the injured list today, as closer Liam Hendriks was reinstated from the 15-day IL and outfielder Adam Engel was reinstated from the 10-day IL. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert and outfielder Adam Haseley were optioned to Triple-A to create space on the active roster.
Hendriks returns in relatively short order, having been placed on the 15-day IL only back on June 14. The right-hander was sidelined with an ominous-sounding flexor strain in his right forearm, though the initial indication was that the injury wasn’t overly serious. As it turned out, Hendriks even returned just a bit before the three-week estimate given by White Sox GM Rick Hahn at the time of the IL placement. Engel is also back after a pretty minimal IL stint, having been placed on the 10-day due to a right hamstring strain on June 23.
It has been another strong season for Hendriks, who has 16 saves and a 2.81 ERA over his first 25 2/3 innings of the 2022 campaign. Hendriks’ 34.6% strikeout rate is one of the best in the league, which has become the norm for the reliever for the last four seasons. However, there is a minor red flag in Hendriks’ walk rate, which is only slightly above the league average.
After an injury-plagued 2021 season, Engel has returned to hit .240/.297/.349 over 158 plate appearances this year, while also displaying his customary strong glovework in the outfield. Mostly playing as a right fielder in 2022, Engel will return to his usual fourth outfielder role when everyone is healthy, but the Sox could opt to use Engel and Gavin Sheets in a platoon with Eloy Jimenez still on the IL.
Astros Reinstate Jake Odorizzi From 15-Day IL
The Astros activated right-hander Jake Odorizzi from the 15-day injured list, and the veteran will take the hill tonight for a start against the Royals. In the corresponding roster move, righty Enoli Paredes has been optioned to Triple-A.
Odorizzi last pitched on May 16, when he suffered tendon and ligament damage (but no tears or strains) while running to cover first base on a fielding play. While missing over six weeks of action is no small matter, it seemed as if Odorizzi’s season could be in jeopardy when he was carted off the field.
Now, the righty will return to Houston’s rotation and try to continue what has been a successful season to date. Odorizzi has a 3.13 ERA over seven starts and 31 2/3 innings, despite some below-average strikeout and walk rates. Though Odorizzi hasn’t allowed much hard contact, a .320 xwOBA (well above his .269 wOBA) indicates that some regression could be in order.
Given the overall quality of the Astros rotation, Odorizzi will have to pitch well to make his case for a possible postseason start, though he likely isn’t in any danger of losing a rotation spot. With their number of arms on hand and the team’s desire to keep everyone fresh and healthy for October, the Astros could stick with a six-man rotation or perhaps just float starters in and out of the rotation in order to manage innings.
Cardinals Select Austin Romine, Option Ivan Herrera
The Cardinals purchased the contract of catcher Austin Romine from Triple-A Memphis, the team announced today. In a corresponding move, the club optioned catcher Ivan Herrera to Memphis. Romine is in the starting lineup for the Cardinals tonight in the opener of a four-game series against the Braves.
The Cardinals will be the fifth team in the last four years for the longtime-Yankee-turned-journeyman. Since leaving New York following the 2019 season, Romine suited up for the Tigers in 2020, the Cubs in 2021, and the Angels for a three-game stint earlier this season. He opted out of his minor-league pact with the Angels on June 1st and signed with the Cardinals a few weeks later. He’s a career .238/.276/.357 hitter but has generally graded out as an above-average backstop.
Herrera struggled in his first taste of the big leagues, notching a .111/.190/.111 batting line in limited action behind Andrew Knizner, but remains a consensus top-five prospect in the St. Louis system. He’ll return to Memphis, where he’d hit a robust .291/.388/.436 in 129 plate appearances before an injury to Yadier Molina forced him to the majors. The timeline on Molina’s return remains very much unclear, so he could be back in St. Louis in short order if Romine fails to produce or either he or Knizner suffer an injury.
Braves Activate Eddie Rosario, Tyler Matzek
The Braves have activated two of the key figures from last year’s World Series run, outfielder Eddie Rosario and left-hander Tyler Matzek, from the injured list, the team announced today. To make room on the active roster, the club optioned infielder Mike Ford to Triple-A Gwinnett and designated right-hander Silvino Bracho for assignment.
While the Braves have been one of the hottest teams in baseball of late, Rosario’s and Matzek’s performances to open the season seemed to be emblematic of a bit of a championship hangover for an Atlanta squad that limped out of the gate. Both players’ issues proved the result of injuries, however: Rosario’s swelling in his right retina that required laser surgery and Matzek’s left shoulder inflammation that led to a significant drop in velocity.
Indeed, each will be looking to improve on rather unsightly lines, particularly by their recently elevated standards. In 49 trips to the plate in April, Rosario slashed an anemic .068/.163/.091 — good for a -24 wRC+ — before hitting the IL, while Matzek had seen his ERA climb from 2.57 last year to 5.06 through his first 10 2/3 innings this year that included an alarming dip in his strikeout rate (from 29.2% in 2021 to 21.3% in 2022) and an alarming spike in his walk rate (from 14% to 19.2%).
Should each return in top form, the already red-hot Braves — 23-7 since June 1st — could reach another gear in what figures to be a stellar race in the NL East. Matzek should slide back into a bullpen that leads the majors with 4.7 fWAR with little issue, but Rosario’s return could lead to something of a logjam in the outfield. When healthy, Ronald Acuña Jr. is the first name on Brian Snitker’s lineup card, and Michael Harris II has been a revelation in center field since a late-May call-up. Adam Duvall, who left Saturday’s game in Cincinnati after taking a pitch off the hand, has seen the bulk of the at-bats in left since Harris’ arrival, and Marcell Ozuna has primarily slotted in at DH, playing in left only on an as-needed basis.
Neither Duvall nor Ozuna has gotten off to a particularly hot start, however. Ozuna, who’s slashing .227/.280/.420, has hit for power and little else, while Duvall, who’s slashing a meager .205/.272/.376, has provided much-needed defensive versatility but has yet to show the level of power that’s been his calling card in the past. Too much talent vying for too few at-bats is a good problem to have, of course, but Snitker may have to get creative to get everyone in the lineup on a regular basis.
Ford, who logged only a walk in five trips to the plate since the Braves claimed him from the Mariners a few weeks ago, will return to the minors as organizational depth. If he clears waivers, Bracho, who covered a single scoreless inning in his stint with Atlanta, will likely do the same. Ford has logged a .194/.306/.395 career batting line in parts of four minor league seasons with the Yankees, Giants, Mariners, and Braves. Bracho, who had pitched in five prior seasons with the Diamondbacks, owns a career 4.76 ERA in 90 2/3 innings across 93 appearances.