MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Diamondbacks DFA Andrew Knizner, Place Ryne Nelson On 15-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 5:01pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon that they’ve placed right-hander Ryne Nelson on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation, retroactive to September 11. Left-hander Brandon Hughes was selected to the roster from Triple-A Reno to replace Nelson, and catcher Andrew Knizner was designated for assignment to make room for Hughes on the 40-man roster.

Nelson, 26, entered the season seemingly squeezed out of the club’s rotation mix by the club’s signings of lefties Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery over the offseason. That was hardly surprising after a pedestrian 2023 season where he pitched to a below-average 5.31 ERA and 5.07 FIP across 29 appearances (27 starts) for Arizona last year. That said, injuries throughout the club’s rotation have kept Nelson in the club’s rotation almost all year. He’s made the most of the unexpected opportunity and pitched quite well, with a 4.33 ERA that’s roughly league average (96 ERA+) and a strong 3.77 FIP in 147 2/3 innings of work. While that hasn’t necessarily been enough to give him a leg up over fellow youngster Brandon Pfaadt (4.42 ERA, 3.54 FIP) at the back-of-the-rotation, injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered both Rodriguez and especially Montgomery this year, leading the Diamondbacks to kick the latter to the bullpen late last month.

With Nelson now headed to the IL, Montgomery appears ticketed for a return to the rotation as noted by Alex Weiner of AZ Sports. It’s been a disastrous year for the 31-year-old lefty as he pitched to a 6.44 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 19 starts before getting kicked from the rotation, though he’s looked a bit better with a slightly more palatable 4.85 ERA and 4.40 FIP since moving to a multi-inning relief role. For the time being, the Diamondbacks will have to hope that the brief sojourn to the bullpen has helped Montgomery figure things out enough to pitch effectively as a starter for the time being. Fortunately, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic) that the club is optimistic regarding Nelson’s injury and hopes he’ll be able to return after a minimum stay on the shelf, which could allow him to make one more start before the regular season comes to an end.

Montgomery’s impending move back into the rotation leaves the club down a lefty in the bullpen, and that’s a call that Hughes now figures to answer. Drafted as an outfielder by the Cubs in the 16th round of the 2017 draft, Hughes converted to pitching back in 2019 and worked his way through Chicago’s minor league system to make it to Wrigley Field in 2022. The southpaw impressed with a 3.12 ERA and 4.64 FIP with a 28.5% strikeout rate in 57 2/3 innings of work for the rebuilding Cubs and even picked up eight saves after taking over the closer role in Chicago following the departures of David Robertson and Chris Martin at that year’s trade deadline.

Unfortunately, Hughes was hampered by knee surgery that cost him the majority of the 2023 season and found himself non-tendered by the Cubs last fall. That led him to sign with the Snakes on a minor league deal, but he’s struggled badly in limited opportunities in the majors with the club this year as he’s posted a 10.29 ERA and 9.96 FIP in 14 innings of work. That being said, his numbers with Triple-A Reno this year have been nothing short of excellent as he’s posted a 2.03 ERA and struck out 24.9% of opponents in 48 2/3 innings of work. Now he’ll get another opportunity in the Arizona bullpen alongside fellow lefties Joe Mantiply and A.J. Puk.

Hughes will take the 40-man roster spot of Knizner, who the Diamondbacks claimed off waivers from the Rangers just over a month ago. The 29-year-old backstop didn’t make it to the big leagues with Arizona, instead slashing a decent .274/.357/.397 in 20 games with the club’s affiliate in Reno, but appeared in 35 games in the majors with Texas earlier this year after spending half a decade as an up-and-down catcher for the Cardinals. His time with the Rangers did not go particularly well, as he hit just .167/.183/.211 in 93 trips to the plate. That paltry offensive production was particularly disappointing following the best offensive season of Knizner’s career last year, when he pitched to a .241/.288/.424 slash line with ten homers in just 241 trips to the plate. Should Knizner go unclaimed on waivers, the club would have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues but he’d be poised to head into minor league free agency this November.

Athletics Outright Jack O’Loughlin

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 3:55pm CDT

The A’s announced yesterday that they’ve assigned left-hander Jack O’Loughlin outright to Triple-A. O’Loughlin was designated for assignment by the club earlier this week to make room for the addition of Kyle Muller to the 40-man roster.

O’Loughlin, 24, is a native of Adelaide, Australia who signed with the Tigers as an amateur back in 2018. O’Loughlin made it to Triple-A with Detroit and went on to pitch for his home country in the World Baseball Classic before eventually landing with the A’s on a minor league pact earlier this year. He was selected to the big league roster back in May but has made just four appearances in the majors with middling results. The lefty posted a 4.66 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work with nearly as many walks (five) as strikeouts (six).

His work at Triple-A Las Vegas hasn’t been much more impressive, as he’s posted a 6.19 ERA while swinging between the rotation and bullpen. While the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League helps to explain some of O’Loughlin’s struggles, his ERA is still far worse than league average despite a decent 22.9% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate. If not added back to the club’s 40-man roster before the season ends, O’Loughlin will be eligible for minor league free agency this winter.

That could lead the lefty to a change of scenery that could help him improve. Difficult as his time with the A’s has been, O’Loughlin posted fairly solid numbers during his time with Detroit as he pitched to a 3.99 ERA in 27 appearances (25 starts) in 124 innings of work with the Tigers split between the High-A and Triple-A levels last year. That success suggests the 24-year-old could have another gear to his performance, as is further indicated by a solid 4.22 ERA in parts of four seasons pitching for the Australian Baseball League.

It’s hardly difficult to imagine that a club could have interest in O’Loughlin’s services on a minor league deal this winter, particularly given the scarcity of young, optionable pitchers who throw from the left side. The competition for that sort of depth role is much more competitive in Oakland than many other organizations, as the A’s currently employ T.J. McFarland, Hogan Harris, Scott Alexander, and Muller in their big league bullpen with Francisco Perez still available as non-roster depth at Triple-A.

PBO Nick Krall: Reds Will “Evaluate Everything” After 2024 Letdown

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 3:03pm CDT

A mass influx of young talent led the 2023 Reds to a 82-80 record, and hopes that the club could develop into full-fledged contenders this season. Unfortunately, even a .500 record is a longshot at this point, as the 72-77 Reds have fallen out of playoff contention. Most of Cincinnati’s breakout players from 2023 took steps backwards due to injuries or just flat-out lack of production, and players like Jeimer Candelario or (the since-traded) Frankie Montas meant to bring veteran stability also struggled.

“As of right now, we’re going to evaluate everything at the end of the year and see what we have to do to move forward,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters, including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer. Krall included “myself, everybody” under this purview, though there hasn’t been any indication that ownership is considering firing Krall less than a year after signing him to a contract extension.

Manager David Bell also inked a new extension midway through last season, locking up the skipper on a three-year deal covering the 2024-26 campaigns. “He’s got a contract for next year,” is now Krall described Bell’s status with the organization, which could be read as either a matter-of-fact way of declaring Bell’s job security, or as something less than a full confirmation that Bell will return for what would be his seventh season as the Reds’ manager.

Krall noted that organization-wide evaluations are done every year as a matter of due diligence, so in general, the PBO isn’t breaking any news by saying that the Reds will take a deep look at what went awry. However, such evaluations in the wake of a losing season could potentially lead to larger moves as the team looks for answers. It would seem like some coaching changes will be made at the very minimum, and whether or not Bell’s job atop the dugout depth chart remains to be seen.

Bell takes a 405-452 record into today’s action, with winning records in three of his six full seasons. The Reds have never had better than a .517 winning percentage under Bell, and their only playoff appearance during his tenure came in the shortened 2020 season, when the league expanded the playoff bracket to 16 teams. Cincinnati was a quick out in that year’s postseason, as the Reds didn’t even score a run during a pair of losses to the Braves in a best-of-three wild card series.

As always, it is hard to pinpoint how much a manager does or doesn’t contribute to a team’s success or failure. Bell took over a Reds team that was just coming out of a rebuild, and then quickly entered into another payroll cut and semi-rebuild following the 2021 season, as the team wanted to save money due to revenues lost during the pandemic. Bell has managed the Reds through this tumult, as well as a front office change (with Krall taking over the baseball operations department from Dick Williams after the 2020 season), the completely unexpected circumstance of the pandemic, and then this quick pivot back to a reload of young talent.

Unless ownership feels a new voice is needed in the dugout to really get the Reds back onto a winning track, Bell might get at least one more year as manager. It seems quite possible the Reds might suddenly have a much more positive outlook if the younger players who struggled or missed time this year (i.e. Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Alexis Diaz, Noelvi Marte, etc.) re-establish themselves in 2025. And, if Bell is being gauged on the development of the team’s young core, then the emergence of Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and Andrew Abbott could all count as arguments as to why Bell should stick around.

For as much as a managerial change can shake things up, it is also perhaps the easiest way for a team to address a disappointing stretch of play, and not necessarily the correct way. Krall will face an interesting offseason in determining how to build the roster through more additions (while still operating on a somewhat limited payroll), and in figuring which of the younger stars might have played themselves out of Cincinnati’s future, or who just had “sophomore slump” types of seasons.

AL East Notes: Jansen, Yankees, LeMahieu, Webb, Mountcastle

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 1:29pm CDT

Kenley Jansen enjoyed ten straight years of playoff baseball before signing a two-year, $32MM free agent contract with the Red Sox during the 2022-23 offseason, and barring a late surge from Boston in the last two weeks of play, Jansen is now on pace for back-to-back without any postseason action. As he heads into free agency this winter, it therefore isn’t surprising that Jansen is “always gonna look for winning. Contending,” the closer told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “That’s going to be my priority…I want to be in a situation where we can contend for a title. That’s it.” This doesn’t necessarily mean Jansen wouldn’t consider a return to the Sox, as Jansen praised the team’s young talent and said he “had a blast wearing this uniform, playing for these fans.”

Even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Jansen has no plans to retire, suggesting that he’d like to pitch “at least until I’m 40-42.” There isn’t much on-field evidence that Jansen is running out of steam, as he remains an effective late-game weapon with a 3.48 ERA in 51 2/3 innings and 26 saves in 30 chances for Boston in 2024. Jansen figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, and Cotillo suggests that the Yankees could look at Jansen as a potential replacement for Clay Holmes. The Red Sox and Giants were the only teams publicly linked to Jansen’s market in his prior stint as a free agent, but Cotillo writes that New York “made a serious run at Jansen before he” joined the Red Sox.

Royals Place Chris Stratton On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 11:27am CDT

The Royals placed right-hander Chris Stratton on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm flexor strain. Left-hander Angel Zerpa was called up from Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding move.

Only 16 days remain in the regular season, so between the calendar and the usually serious nature nature of forearm and flexor-related injuries, it seems likely that Stratton’s 2024 campaign is over. If the strain is mild, Stratton could conceivably return to action if the Royals make a deep playoff run, but the larger concern at this point could be whether or not the 34-year-old could be facing a surgical procedure that could threaten some (or all) of his 2025 season.

Stratton has allowed five runs over his last two appearances and two innings of work, but even if his injury factored into these rough outings, the righty has already been struggling in his first season in Kansas City. Stratton has a 5.55 ERA over 58 1/3 innings, along with a 17.1% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate that are both far below the league average. The K% and BB% rates are both career lows for Stratton over a full MLB season, while his ERA is only a touch better than the 5.57 ERA he posted with the Angels and Pirates in 2019.

The right-hander bounced back from that tough 2019 campaign with solid results and a full-time move to relief pitching over the next four years, posting a 3.91 ERA in 255 1/3 frames with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Rangers. That includes a 3.92 ERA and a career-best 7.4% walk rate in 82 2/3 innings with St. Louis and Texas last year, and four more innings in the playoffs as Stratton won a World Series ring on the Rangers’ championship squad.

That performance provided a platform for Stratton to land a two-year, $8MM free agent deal with the Royals this past winter. The deal is technically a one-year contract with a player option for 2025, as Stratton can choose to take either a $500K buyout or remain in the last year of the deal for a $4.5MM salary next season. Between his subpar performance and now this injury, Stratton seems like a lock to pass on his opt-out clause.

While Stratton wasn’t delivering much in the way of results, his absence will leave K.C. short of an innings-eating bullpen arm. Zerpa’s 4.40 ERA over 47 innings could provide a bit of a boost, but Stratton joins Will Smith (back spasms) and Hunter Harvey (mid-back tightness) on the list of injured Royals relievers. In Harvey’s case, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers writes that Harvey has started throwing but the team isn’t yet sure when or if the right-hander might able to return to action.

Mets Promote Luisangel Acuña

By Leo Morgenstern | September 14, 2024 at 10:47am CDT

TODAY: The Mets officially announced Acuna’s call-up, and outfielder DJ Stewart was optioned to Triple-A to create space on the 28-man roster.

SEPT. 13: The Mets are planning to promote top prospect Luisangel Acuña, as confirmed by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (first reported by X user Jorge L. Seoud H.). Acuña is already on the 40-man, but the Mets will need to make a corresponding move to open a space for him on the active roster.

Acuña, 22, signed with the Rangers as an international free agent in 2018. He joined the Mets at last year’s trade deadline in the deal that sent Max Scherzer back to Texas. Entering the season, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the Mets system. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN had him at No. 3, as did MLB Pipeline, while Baseball America ranked him at No. 4. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wasn’t quite as high on Acuña but still ranked him as the No. 6 prospect in the system.

Unfortunately, Acuña has struggled at Triple-A in 2024, putting up a .654 OPS and 69 wRC+ in 131 games. On the bright side, he has 40 stolen bases and the skills to play plus defense at second base and center field. Still, there is no denying that he has been recalled due to the team’s desperation – not his own merit – given the lack of infield options on the Mets’ major league roster. With Jeff McNeil out for the rest of the regular season – and possibly the playoffs, too – Jose Iglesias has moved into the everyday lineup and Eddy Alvarez is the only infielder left on the bench. However, Alvarez joined the Mets organization after September 1, which means he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. New York will need a new infielder for the bench once October rolls around.

On top of that, Francisco Lindor exited today’s game against the Phillies with back tightness. He’s day-to-day and isn’t particularly concerned about the injury (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com), but it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. He told reporters after the game (including DiComo) that all he can do is wake up tomorrow, see how he feels, and go from there. Even if Lindor is only out for a game or two, it makes sense that the Mets would like to have another infielder on the active roster.

Twins Activate Carlos Correa From 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 10:29am CDT

10:29AM: The Twins have officially announced the moves.

9:14AM: The Twins will activate shortstop Carlos Correa from the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game with the Reds. Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. will be optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

It has been over two months since Correa last appeared in Minnesota’s lineup, as the three-time All-Star has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Correa played through a similar injury in his left foot last season and (not coincidentally) struggled through the worst full season of his 10 years in the majors, so both the shortstop and the Twins seemed intent on letting Correa fully heal up before getting back to action.

Though Correa initially stated that this current injury wasn’t as painful as his 2023 plantar fasciitis, the discomfort has continued to linger until this past week, when Correa told MLB.com and other media that a new treatment method had allowed him to walk and run on his right heel. He took part in a live batting practice session on Friday and emerged feeling good enough that the Twins are now comfortable in making a roster move.

After his down year in 2023, Correa rebounded in a big way with one of his best seasons. The shortstop has 13 home runs and a .308/.377/.520 slash line over 317 plate appearances, and had been named to the All-Star team before his plantar fasciitis prevented him from taking part in the Midsummer Classic. Among all players with 300 or more PA, only 11 players have a higher wRC+ than Correa’s 152 mark.

Byron Buxton also has a 142 wRC+ in 339 PA this season, and the slugger was just activated off Minnesota’s IL on Thursday. Needless to say, the returns of Buxton and Correa are an enormous boost to a struggling Twins club that has lost 16 of its last 24 games. Minnesota still holds a 2.5-game lead over the Tigers for the last AL wild card slot, and the Twins could revive their chances at the AL Central title when they visit the first-place Guardians for a big four-game series that begins on Monday.

Max Kepler might be activated from the injured list for that series in Cleveland, as Kepler (out since September 5 due to patellar tendinitis in his left knee) joined Correa in the live BP session on Friday. Some reinforcements could also be coming later in early October on the pitching side, as Chris Paddack had a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday as he recovers from a left forearm strain. It has also been two months on the shelf for Paddack, but he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale Jr. and other reporters that he is aiming to be ready for relief work during the postseason.

Red Sox Select Zach Penrod, Designate Tyler Heineman

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 9:47am CDT

The Red Sox announced five transactions this morning, including the news that left-hander Zach Penrod’s contract has been selected to the big league roster. Catcher Tyler Heineman was designated for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Cam Booser and right-hander Zack Kelly were both optioned to Triple-A Worcester to create space on the active roster. Boston also called up southpaw Bailey Horn from Triple-A. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (X link) was the first to report on the Penrod, Booser, and Horn transactions, while MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (via X) reported yesterday that Kelly was being optioned.

Kelly and Booser were two of six pitchers used by the Red Sox in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Yankees, so today’s moves brings some fresh arms into Boston’s relief corps. For Penrod, he is now on the verge of his Major League debut, making quite a culmination of a six-year pro career that began as an undrafted free agent.

Penrod pitched briefly with the Rangers’ rookie league club in 2018 but he then spent two years on the sidelines due to both a Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. The southpaw returned to pitch in the independent Pioneer League from 2021-23, and this performance caught the eye of Red Sox scouts and led to a minor league deal partway through the 2023 season. This year, Penrod has a 4.16 ERA over 62 2/3 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A ball, as well as a huge 34.8% strikeout rate.

There is a pretty wide variance in those minor league numbers, as Penrod posted a 2.80 ERA in 35 1/3 Double-A innings and a much heftier 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames in Worcester. Control has been a bit of a question mark for Penrod throughout his career, and his walk rate also spiked up to 16.1% in Triple-A after a more palatable 9.1% number in Double-A action.

Still, the strikeouts are playing at both levels, and Penrod’s upper-90s fastball makes him an interesting bullpen weapon for the Red Sox to explore. Penrod has mostly started throughout his pro career but worked out of the pen for 10 of his 15 appearances in Worcester, so Boston figures to use him in a long relief role here at the tail end of the 2024 season. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explored back in May, Penrod’s development of a slider as a third pitch after his fastball and changeup could help him carve out a path as a starter, but the 27-year-old is surely pleased to work in the majors in any capacity.

The Red Sox acquired Heineman in a trade with the Mets back in February, and he has spent almost the entire season in the minors save for two games at the MLB level. Connor Wong and Reese McGuire handled most of the catching duties for the Sox this season, and after Danny Jansen was acquired at the trade deadline, McGuire was outrighed to Triple-A and Heinemen was pushed even further down the depth chart.

With his two appearances in a Red Sox uniform, Heineman has now now suited up for five different teams at the big league level over his five seasons in the Show, and he has also been organizational depth for six other franchises. Heineman has hit .216/.297/.280 over 286 career plate appearances, with 174 of those PA coming as a member of the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2022. Because Heineman has been outrighted before, he has the ability to elect free agency and reject an outright assignment from Boston if he clears DFA waivers.

Tyler Glasnow Has Setback During Throwing Session

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 8:16am CDT

While warming up in advance of a simulated game on Friday, Tyler Glasnow felt “discomfort” in his right arm, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett and other reporters. Glasnow will undergo testing this weekend to see if any structural issues are present, and “I just know we’re going to re-assess and see how he feels over the coming days, see where we can pick up throwing again,” Roberts said.

Even in the best-case scenario of a clean MRI, there’s still plenty of uncertainty over what this setback means for Glasnow’s chances of a return. The regular season ends just over two weeks’ time, and while the Dodgers are a virtual lock to make the playoffs, it is far from a certainty whether or not Glasnow will be fully healthy and ramped up in time to join a postseason roster. The minor league season ends next weekend and it therefore seems unlikely Glasnow will be ready for a rehab assignment, so he’d have to rely on simulated games or other types of prep work that don’t involve a proper in-game setting.

Elbow tendinitis has kept Glasnow from pitching since August 11, cutting short a quality season that had seen the right-hander post a 3.49 ERA and an outstanding 32.2% strikeout rate over 134 innings. As Plunkett notes, 109 of those innings came before Glasnow was placed on the 15-day IL in early July due to lower back soreness, and the righty returned from that injury to make four starts before he was sidelined with his elbow issue.

Glasnow’s lengthy injury history is well-documented, and his 134 innings already represents a career high over his nine MLB seasons. In regards to his elbow specifically, Glasnow had a Tommy John surgery in 2021 that cost him almost all of his 2022 campaign with the Rays, save for two regular-season games and a playoff appearance. An oblique strain then delayed the start of his 2023 season by two months, but he otherwise stayed healthy and posted a 3.53 ERA in 120 innings for Tampa. This performance inspired the Dodgers to both acquire Glasnow in a major offseason trade, and also to sign him to a $136.5MM extension that runs through the 2028 season.

In the more immediate term, of course, Los Angeles faces the prospect of not having Glasnow available for his first postseason in Dodger Blue. Yesterday’s news is an unfortunate continuation of the pitching injuries that have hampered the Dodgers all season, as 17 different pitchers have made at least one start for the club in 2024.

At present, L.A.’s rotation consists of Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack. Beyond Glasnow, Roberts said Gavin Stone (on the IL since August 31 due to right shoulder inflammation) will start a throwing program this weekend but Stone’s timeline is still uncertain. Tony Gonsolin will make his second minor league rehab start on Sunday he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, though Roberts previously downplayed the chances of Gonsolin returning in time for regular-season work or any playoff availability. Clayton Kershaw is throwing off a portable mound but is still being bothered by the bone spur in his big left toe.

Given all of the question marks the Dodgers’ pitching staff faces as the postseason approaches, Roberts raised a bit of a stir in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM when he implied there was a slim possibility Shohei Ohtani could pitch in the playoffs. Ohtani underwent UCL surgery almost exactly one year ago and wasn’t expected to return to pitching until 2025, though he started to throw as part of his established rehab plan.

Roberts revisited the topic in speaking with Plunkett and company yesterday, noting that while “it’s not a zero percent chance” that Ohtani is available to pitch, “the odds of it coming to pass are very slim.” The Dodgers haven’t yet even talked with Ohtani about pitching in 2024, and Roberts noted that “the conversation would be, ’put it out of your head.’ ” Obviously the club doesn’t want to do anything that will jeopardize Ohtani’s long-term pitching future, or even do anything that would impact his availability as a hitter for at least this year’s playoffs.

Red Sox Likely To Shut Liam Hendriks Down For The Season

By Anthony Franco | September 14, 2024 at 7:10am CDT

TODAY: Hendriks will receive a cortisone shot on Monday and then resume throwing mid-week, he told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams. While he admitted his chances of pitching may hinge on how the Red Sox are faring in the playoff race, “the door’s not closed” on Hendriks appearing on the mound in 2024. “It’s normal to have a hiccup. It’s normal having to have little things like that, but it’s frustrating at how late it happened in the process,” Hendriks said.

SEPT 12: It seems Liam Hendriks’ debut with the Red Sox will wait until 2025. Manager Alex Cora said before tonight’s extra-inning loss in the Bronx that the Sox are “probably … going to shut him down” from throwing (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Boston pulled the veteran reliever off his minor league rehab assignment last week when Hendriks reported arm discomfort.

The three-time All-Star has been working back from an August 2023 Tommy John surgery that ended his time with the White Sox. Cora indicated that Hendriks’ recent discomfort is on the outside of his forearm rather than in the elbow. An MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage and the team believes the issue is normal soreness related to his build-up after a long layoff.

While there doesn’t seem to be any long-term concern, the calendar doesn’t offer Hendriks time for even a minor setback. There are 17 days left in the regular season. Boston’s loss tonight dropped them 4.5 games back of the American League’s last Wild Card spot. It’s probably too risky to ask Hendriks to push through minor forearm discomfort to aid a long shot playoff chase.

Hendriks signed a two-year, $10MM free agent deal early in Spring Training. It’s a backloaded contract that follows the typical structure for a pitcher rehabbing a major arm surgery. Hendriks made $2MM this season and is set for a $6MM base salary next year. He’s guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a mutual option for 2026. The Aussie could unlock up to $10MM more via incentives next season depending on his innings and games finished totals.

The latter category would take on particular importance if Hendriks opens next season as Cora’s closer. He’d secure $1MM apiece for every fifth game finished between 45 and 65 contests. Hendriks led the American League with 38 saves for Chicago back in 2021. He saved another 37 games the next season. Hendriks would’ve filled a middle relief or setup role had he gotten back on the mound this year. The ninth inning could be there for the taking next spring.

Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin are concluding two-year deals signed when Chaim Bloom was chief baseball officer. Both pitchers have been effective, but the Sox could let them each walk in free agency. Boston reportedly tried to find a trade partner for Jansen both before Opening Day and at times in the season’s first half. It looks unlikely they’ll re-sign him. Martin seems to have a better chance of returning, but he has a lot less closing experience than Hendriks brings. Deadline acquisitions Lucas Sims and Luis García are also headed to the market.

First-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, a former reliever, has hit on a couple unheralded bullpen pickups. Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten has had an excellent rookie season and should be ticketed for high-leverage work. Greg Weissert, acquired in the Alex Verdugo deal, has been solid. There’ll surely be a few acquisitions in the offseason. Boston isn’t going to let each of Jansen, Martin, Sims and García walk without bringing in some kind of veteran help. The next few months should clarify whether Hendriks will go into 2025 as Boston’s closer.

In any case, he’ll certainly be in the late-inning mix if he stays healthy. Hendriks getting back to peak form would be a fantastic story not only for Boston but for baseball as a whole. Last year’s surgery interrupted a triumphant return to the mound after Hendriks beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The ’25 season could be his opportunity to reemerge as one of the game’s best relievers.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect