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Aaron Bummer

AL Injury Notes: Yordan, White Sox, Donaldson, A’s

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Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was out of their lineup for the second straight day on Monday on account of right knee soreness, and it doesn’t seem as if a return to a regular role is imminent. While Alvarez’s MRI on Monday came back negative, he may only be a pinch hitter for the club in the near term, Alyson Footer of MLB.com writes. Alvarez’s lack of availability (he didn’t debut until Aug. 14 because of coronavirus-related problems) has been an enormous blow to a Houston team that has also dealt with several other significant health woes in the early going. The club lost yet another standout Saturday when it placed outfielder Michael Brantley on the IL with a right quad injury.

  • General manager Rick Hahn issued updates Monday on a pair of injured White Sox, second baseman Nick Madrigal and left-hander Aaron Bummer (Twitter links via James Fegan of The Athletic). The news on Madrigal is encouraging, as Hahn said the rookie has resumed “virtually all baseball activities” and remains on track to return by the end of this month after separating his shoulder Aug. 5. On the other hand, there’s no timetable for Bummer, who went to the IL on Aug. 8 with a left biceps strain. The groundball-heavy Bummer was off to a great start before then and seemed as if he was on his way to a second straight season as one of the game’s most effective relievers. Now, Bummer only has a little more than a month to return to regular-season action, and he’ll have to go through a throwing program before then.
  • Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson isn’t dealing with any issues in his recovery from a right calf strain, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Donaldson went on the IL on Aug. 7, and it remains unclear when the big-money offseason signing will return to their lineup. The 34-year-old came out of the gates slowly prior to the injury, albeit over a mere 27 plate appearances, as he hit .182/.296/.318 with one home run. Nevertheless, The Twins have started 15-8 and sit atop the AL Central – a division they won last season.
  • Athletics right-hander Burch Smith headed to the IL over the weekend with a a forearm strain, which is always ominous for a pitcher. Manager Bob Melvin said Monday that Smith does not have any structural damage, but it’s up in the air whether he’ll pitch again in 2020, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle relays. Smith has been part of a slew of organizations, but he finally seemed to find a home in Oakland this season before the injury. The 30-year-old has logged a 2.25 ERA/2.30 FIP with 9.75 K/9 and 0.75 BB/9 in 12 innings from the A’s bullpen.

White Sox Place Aaron Bummer On 10-Day IL, Promote Zack Burdi

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The White Sox placed left-hander Aaron Bummer on the 10-day injured list due to a left biceps strain, the team announced.  Right-hander Brady Lail was also designated for assignment, and the two open Major League roster spots will be filled by right-handers Zack Burdi and Drew Anderson.  Burdi is being called up from the club’s minor league training site, while Anderson had his contract purchased.

Bummer suffered the injury in last night’s game, departing during an at-bat against Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez.  The seriousness of the biceps problem isn’t yet known, though any absence for Bummer counts as a problem for the White Sox given the southpaw’s increasing prominence in the bullpen.  After posting a 4.36 ERA over 53 2/3 innings during the 2017-18 seasons, Bummer broke out with a 2.13 ERA, 2.50 K/BB rate, 8.0 K/9, and a whopping 72.1% grounder rate over 67 2/3 innings in 2019.  Only Zack Britton had a higher ground-ball rate among all pitchers who threw at least 60 innings last season.

In a nod to their belief in Bummer’s work, the White Sox signed him to a contract extension in February that will pay Bummer at least $16MM in guaranteed money through the 2024 season.  If two club options are exercised, Bummer will be in Chicago through 2026 for a total of $29.5MM — not a bad payday for a rather unheralded 19th-round pick from the 2014 draft.

Burdi, meanwhile, had a much higher profile as the 26th overall pick over the 2016 draft, though the righty’s progress was stalled by Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for much of the 2017 and 2018 seasons.  If that wasn’t enough, a ligament tear in his patella prematurely ended Burdi’s 2019 campaign after just 22 2/3 innings.  All told, Burdi has only 100 2/3 professional innings under his belt, and only 16 of them at the Triple-A level.

However, those Triple-A innings came back in 2016, indicating that the White Sox were planning on fast-tracking him to their big league bullpen in pretty short order.  Working almost exclusively as a reliever, Burdi has a 4.31 ERA, 2.53 K/BB rate, and a 12.5 K/9 over his minor league career, and is the owner of a blazing fastball that regularly sits in the high 90’s and has often touched the 100mph plateau.  Burdi’s arsenal suggests a possible future as Chicago’s closer, if he can stay healthy and translate his velocity into success against big league hitters.

Lail has four Major League innings to his name over the last two seasons, including a single outing for the Sox this season that saw him toss 1 1/3 frames of work in Thursday’s 8-3 loss to the Brewers.  An 18th-round pick for the Yankees in 2012, Lail has mostly worked as a reliever in the minors over the last two seasons, and has an overall 3.97 ERA, 2.64 K/BB rate, and 7.0 K/9 over 741 career minor league frames.  The DFA is an unfortunate early birthday for Lail, who turns 27 tomorrow.

Anderson will make his White Sox debut after joining the club on a minors deal last winter.  He posted a 7.71 ERA over 21 innings with the Phillies over the 2017-19 seasons, and a 3.52 ERA, 2.48 K/BB, and 7.7 K/9 in 486 innings in Philadelphia’s farm system.  Anderson has started 94 of his 101 career games in the minors but only started once at the big league level, so the White Sox will likely deploy him out of the bullpen barring a rotation emergency.

Injury Updates: Seager, Bummer, Senzel, Strop

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The latest on four notable players who left last night’s action due to potential injuries…

  • Corey Seager left the field during the third inning of the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the Giants due to what the club described as lower back discomfort.  As manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters, Seager will evaluated and likely won’t be in Saturday’s lineup.  The shortstop suffered the injury the inning prior while diving for a ground-ball single off the bat of Chadwick Tromp, and was pulled an inning later after Seager was slow to cover second on the first out of the frame.  Seager has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters early in the 2020 campaign, batting .340/.389/.600 with three homers.
  • White Sox left-hander Aaron Bummer left during the seventh inning of Chicago’s 2-0 win over Cleveland due to left biceps soreness.  After tossing a pitch to Jose Ramirez, Bummer called the trainer to the mound and then departed the game.  Bummer “just felt what he thought was a cramp in his biceps,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria told the Chicago Tribune’s LaMond Pope and other reporters.  “Hopefully it’s no extended period of time but we are going to be careful with him.”  Bummer’s departure came after 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, which dropped his ERA down to 1.23 through 7 1/3 frames of total work this season.  The southpaw has quietly been a sturdy bullpen force since debuting in the 2017 season, which inspired the White Sox to sign Bummer to a five-year extension last February.
  • Both Nick Senzel and Pedro Strop left the Reds’ 8-3 victory over the Brewers with groin injuries.  Senzel departed the game before re-taking his position in center field in the bottom of the fourth inning, while Strop left four pitches into an eighth inning at-bat against Brock Holt.  Both players are day-to-day.  Senzel already missed a few games this season for precautionary reasons (he tested negative for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms) and he has been plagued with injuries throughout his young career, so the Reds are surely hopeful he can avoid another trip to the injured list.  Strop has a 3.86 ERA through 2 1/3 innings in a Cincinnati uniform, after the veteran right-hander signed a one-year contract with the Reds last winter.

White Sox Sign Aaron Bummer To Five-Year Extension

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The Chicago White Sox signed Aaron Bummer to a five-year, $16MM contract extension, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The deal also includes two option years that could raise the overall value to $29.5MM, per Nightengale. Nightengale notes that it’s the “largest extension given to a non-closer who has yet to qualify for salary arbitration in #MLB history.” Bummer is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

Bummer, 26, evolved into a reliable lefty out of the pen for the ChiSox last season, and he’s now set to burn worms on the Southside through the 2026 campaign. Bummer will make $1MM this season, $2MM in 2021, $2.5MM in 2022, $3.75MM in 2023, and $5.5MM in 2024. The option years are for $7.25MM and $7.5MM, respectively, with $1.25MM buyouts, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The 2026 option could escalate to $9MM with a second- or third-place finish in the AL Reliever of the Year voting, or $10MM if he wins the award, according to The Athletic’s James Fegan.

The White Sox are getting one of the game’s premier groundball artists at rates that carry minimal risk. The investment signals both their confidence in Bummer, and their continued commitment to longevity for the incoming core. Bummer was among the best in the game at limiting barrels last season (2.3% barrel%) and well as opponents’ expected slugging percentage (.281 xSLG). Bummer’s sinker drives his arsenal, and it jumped in velocity last year to an average of 95.6 mph. In 58 games out of the pen last season, the southpaw produced a 72.1 GB%, ranking behind only the Yankees’ Zack Britton in that regard.

Big picture, Bummer joins Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez as White Sox to have been extended through 2026 (including option years). The ChiSox now have a long-term piece in their bullpen to add some stability to that area of the club. In an era of flame-throwing strikeout artists, Bummer also brings a different approach. Should he continue to pitch as he did last season (2.13 ERA/3.41 FIP), the Sox will happily charge him with care of their late innings.

Braves Among Teams Interested In White Sox Relievers

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There are “numerous teams,” including the Braves, interested in members of the White Sox bullpen, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. Closer Alex Colome and setup man Aaron Bummer are unsurprisingly drawing plenty of attention. Beyond those two, lefty Jace Fry and resurgent righty Evan Marshall stand out as Sox relievers who could have trade value to the Braves and others. However, Levine reported Monday that Chicago’s not inclined to deal Bummer or Fry.

Levine also relayed Monday that the White Sox, despite their dismal record, aren’t motivated to sell before the July 31 deadline. But unless Chicago’s highly confident it’s going to contend next season, there’s a legitimate case for it to part with Colome. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is only under control through 2020, when he’ll earn an arbitration raise over his $7.325MM salary, and currently looks like a strong candidate for regression.

The right-handed Colome has pitched to a sterling 2.33 ERA with 21 saves on 22 tries in 38 2/3 innings this season. He has been the beneficiary of a .153 batting average on balls in play and an 82.7 percent strand out, however, and has seen his strikeout rate plummet. After fanning upward of 9.5 batters per nine last season, Colome’s K/9 has shrunk to 6.98. He’s also giving up more hard contact and less soft contact than ever, per FanGraphs, and Statcast shows a 102-point gap between the .228 weighted on-base average Colome has allowed and his expected wOBA of .330.

“Bummer” may be what opposing hitters have muttered this year when the left-handed Bummer has come out of Chicago’s bullpen. The 25-year-old Bummer is similar to Colome in that he’s getting by with help from a low BABIP (.213), an ERA that’s significantly better than his FIP and a sizable wOBA/xwOBA gap. Having said that, Bummer’s 1.73 ERA, 3.17 FIP and .262 xwOBA (compared to a .232 wOBA) are all easily above average. While Bummer’s not a strikeout-heavy pitcher, having notched 8.67 against 2.72 walks per nine, he has stymied lefty and righty hitters alike with his remarkable ability to induce ground balls. At 68.5 percent, Bummer trails only longtime grounder master Zack Britton among relievers.

Incidentally, Luke Jackson – one of the Braves’ best relievers – happens to be right behind Bummer on the grounder leaderboard. Jackson’s success is one of the reasons the Braves hold a healthy advantage in the National League East, but their bullpen has been fairly shaky. Aside from Jackson, Anthony Swarzak, Sean Newcomb and the currently injured Jacob Webb, no one from their ’pen has prevented runs at an especially excellent rate. The Braves have been in the market for late-game help as a result, and could wind up swinging a deal with the White Sox to bolster their relief corps.

White Sox Rumors: Colome, Abreu, Bummer, Fry, Leury

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At 45-52 and 10 games back of a wild-card spot, the White Sox are buried in the American Leagugue playoff race. Despite that, the team isn’t going into the July 31 trade deadline as a motivated seller, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score explains.

Thirty-somethings Alex Colome and Jose Abreu would represent a pair of plausible trade chips if the White Sox were to aggressively ship out veterans. Either player could still move by the 31st, but considering Colome’s under control through 2020, the White Sox could opt to retain him, Levine observes. Abreu’s an impending free agent, though the franchise icon and the club have time and again expressed a desire to stay together beyond this season. The White Sox still aren’t ruling out dealing the first baseman, per Levine, but he adds they’d need to “love” an offer for Abreu if they’re going to part with him.

Meanwhile, two of Colome’s fellow relievers – Aaron Bummer and Jace Fry – as well as utilityman Leury Garcia have also garnered interest, Levine reports. Bummer has generated the most inquiries, but the White Sox are inclined to keep him and Fry.

Just 25 and not even eligible for arbitration until after next season, the left-handed Bummer has pitched to an exceptional 1.73 ERA (3.17 FIP) in 36 1/3 innings. An eye-popping 68.5 percent groundball rate and 8.67 K/9 against 2.72 BB/9 have driven Bummer’s success, as has a rise in velocity. Bummer has seen his average fastball velo rise from 93 mph between 2017-18 to 95-plus this season.

Fry, 26, is another lefty-throwing grounder machine, having forced them at a 57.8 percent clip in 2019. He’s striking out an excellent 11.5 per nine to boot, but a sky-high walk rate (6.68 BB/9) has undermined Fry’s work, evidenced by a 4.28 ERA/4.23 FIP over 33 2/3 innings. He, like Bummer, won’t reach arbitration until after 2020.

Garcia’s already in the arb process – he’s in his second-last year before free agency – but his $1.55MM salary, season-plus of control and defensive flexibility make him appealing to the White Sox and other clubs. While the 28-year-old is typically a center fielder, he has played upward of 40 games at both corner outfield spots and both middle infield positions since debuting in 2013. Garcia’s also a switch-hitter who has complemented his versatility in the field with useful offense in recent years. After managing terrible numbers with the bat from 2013-16, Garcia has been closer to a league-average hitter over the past two-plus seasons. Despite a lack of power, Garcia has posted a 92 wRC+ (.278/.316/.396) dating back to 2017.

Garcia’s improvement at the dish may help lead to his exit from Chicago in the next several days. However, the White Sox – who’d surely like to move past their rebuild and into contention soon – don’t seem dead set on trading Garcia or anyone else.

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