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Red Sox Notes: Rotation, Cora, Ownership, Boddy

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Upgrading the Red Sox rotation has been a well-established goal for the club this winter, but they’ve achieved little on that front beyond swapping out Chris Sale for Lucas Giolito to this point despite pursuits of players such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga this winter. While chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has indicated that the club remains “engaged” in the market for starting pitching, club CEO Sam Kennedy recently cast some doubt on the possibility of the club making a significant addition by noting that the club is unlikely to match its 2023 payroll in 2024.

With that being said, at least one member of the Red Sox pitching apparatus feels confident about the club’s internal options headed into the season. In a conversation with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, newly-minted pitching coach Andrew Bailey disputed the notion that the club needs to add another starting pitcher to its rotation mix while adding that he feels the group, which consists of Giolito, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta with the likes of Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock in competition for the fifth spot, has the talent to succeed. That group of pitchers combined for a 4.51 ERA in 791 innings of work last year.

Bailey’s optimism regarding the club’s internal options for the rotation is fortunate as its unclear whether the club will be successful in adding another arm to the rotation this offseason. According to RosterResource, the club’s current projected payroll is just $21MM below its 2023 level, likely leaving room for little more than a lower-level acquisition such as Mike Clevinger, Hyun-Jin Ryu, or perhaps a reunion with James Paxton. More significant additions such as a deal for Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell would surely require the club to move an existing salary such as that of closer Kenley Jansen, particularly the club’s continuing pursuit of a right-handed hitter such as Adam Duvall.

More notes from Boston…

  • While manager Alex Cora is entering the final year of his contract in 2024, the 48-year-old skipper recently told reporters (including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo) that he has yet to have any significant discussions with the club regarding his future, though he added that he’d be “very selfish” to focus on that and take his attention away from the upcoming season. Cora has previously indicated that he would like to move upstairs to a front office role at some point, though it’s worth noting that he added that he’s “not ready” to make that jump at this point in his career. If he remains in the dugout following the 2024 season, whether at Fenway or elsewhere, he’ll do so as one of the league’s most well-respected managers with a record of 440-370 through five seasons at the helm in Boston.
  • One piece of the Red Sox management puzzle that seems unlikely to change any time soon is ownership. As noted by Christopher Smith of MassLive, club chairman Tom Werner recently spoke to reporters about the ownership group’s plans to remain in Boston long-term. Werner noted that the Red Sox are the “cornerstone” of Fenway Sports Group, the club’s parent company that also owns other major sports teams such as Liverpool F.C. and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Werner added that ownership hopes to remain at the helm in Boston “for a couple more decades at least.”
  • The Red Sox made a significant hire for their front office earlier this week as The Athletic’s Eno Sarris reports that pitching guru Kyle Boddy has joined the club as a special advisor to Breslow. Boddy is best known as the founder of Driveline Baseball, a data-driven independent player development facility. Aside from his work at Driveline, Boddy also served as the Reds’ pitching director from October 2019 to September 2021. This offseason has seen the Red Sox focus heavily on hires with backgrounds in pitching development, with both Breslow and Bailey joining the club’s ranks in addition to Boddy over the past few months.

Red Sox Hire Andrew Bailey As Pitching Coach

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Nov. 21: The Red Sox have now formally announced the hiring of Bailey as their new pitching coach.

Nov. 14: The Red Sox are close to an agreement with Andrew Bailey to become the team’s new pitching coach, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (X link). Assuming the deal is completed, the 39-year-old will head back to a place where he pitched from 2012-13.

Bailey’s stint in the Sox’s bullpen overlapped with that of Boston’s first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. The two-time All-Star pitched parts of eight seasons from 2009-17 before moving into the coaching ranks. He spent two years with the Angels before taking over as Giants pitching coach going into 2020. Bailey held that role in San Francisco for four seasons.

Along the way, he quickly built a reputation as one of the game’s better pitching minds. The Mets attempted to interview Bailey for a bench coach vacancy in 2022, but the Giants refused permission. His contract expired at the end of the ’23 campaign, however. Bailey has looked for opportunities closer to his home in the Northeast. He attracted interest from the Marlins and interviewed for the bench coach vacancy with the Yankees yesterday. The Giants subsequently tabbed Bryan Price when it became clear Bailey wasn’t returning to the Bay Area.

Bailey will replace Dave Bush, who was dismissed as Sox’s pitching coach at the beginning of the offseason. He takes over a staff that isn’t too dissimilar from the ones he managed in San Francisco. The Giants had a very flexible approach to pitcher usage, frequently deploying openers and bullpen games around top starter Logan Webb (who developed into a high-end arm during Bailey’s tenure). Boston has a number of talented multi-inning arms but is lacking in certainty on the starting staff.

Brayan Bello tailed off in the second half. Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck have flashed but generally found more success in relief. Nick Pivetta has been inconsistent, although he’s coming off the most dominant few months of his career to close the 2023 campaign. Chris Sale has battled myriad injury issues. Breslow and his front office will surely bring in more stability with a veteran addition or two. They’ll hope Bailey can help coax another level out of their in-house options.

Yankees Notes: Nola, Yamamoto, Peralta, Bailey

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While hitting upgrades have dominated the Yankees’ offseason narrative to date, the team is certainly also keeping an eye on the pitching market, including some top-shelf names.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via X) writes that the “Yankees are among the most active teams” exploring pitchers thus far, with such names as Aaron Nola and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on their list of targets.

The Yankees’ interest in Yamamoto is well known, and while Nola is a new face linked to the Bronx Bombers, it makes perfect sense why Nola would be of interest.  No opponent would relish facing Gerrit Cole and Nola in a short playoff series, and Nola’s durability would be a significant boost to a New York rotation that has some question marks heading into 2024.  Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes were plagued by injuries last season, Clarke Schmidt has only one full season as a big league starter under his belt, and Michael King (who is being tapped to remain in the rotation) has even less experience as a starter.

If everyone is healthy and if King and Schmidt can pitch as well as they did in 2023, this could be one of baseball’s best rotations on paper.  However, signing Nola, Yamamoto, or another stabilizing force to the front end of the staff would both clear up some of the uncertainty, and perhaps allow the Bombers some more flexibility with their other offseason moves.  For instance, younger pitchers like Yoendrys Gomez or Randy Vasquez might become trade chips, or perhaps even Schmidt might be shopped to land a bat.  While King will be given every opportunity to stick as a starter, the Yankees would be more open to reinstalling him as a bullpen weapon if they were more comfortable with the rest of their rotation.

Of course, it should be noted that signing Rodon last winter was supposed to deepen the rotation, but Rodon was ineffective in the first year of his six-year, $162MM contract.  Rodon’s struggles won’t preclude New York from again spending big on a starter, though it might change the general focus of their search.  For instance, Nola has averaged just under 199 innings pitched in each of the last five full MLB seasons, so he has a much longer track record of good health and consistent success.

The Yankees’ pitching endeavors also reach to the bullpen, as Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports that the club has interest in re-signing Wandy Peralta, though the left-hander hasn’t yet been presented with a formal offer.  Peralta has a 2.82 ERA over 153 innings with the Yankees since being acquired in the Mike Tauchman trade with the Giants in April 2021, and he is among baseball’s best at keeping the ball on the ground with a 56.3% grounder rate over the last three seasons.  While a .256 BABIP has helped Peralta’s cause, he is also very good at limiting hard contact, making it easier for his fielders to handle any balls in play.

This grounder-heavy arsenal and a relative lack of strikeouts makes Peralta prone to outperforming his peripherals, though he took this to extremes in 2023.  Peralta’s 2.83 ERA and .293 xOBA were well below his 4.44 SIERA and .332 xwOBA, and his walk rate (which has usually been below average anyway) spiked to a dismal 13.2%.  It could just be a one-year blip that it probably won’t be enough to prevent Peralta from landing a multi-year free agent deal, yet it does serve as a potential red flag for suitors.  Since the Yankees know Peralta better than any other club, their continued interest is perhaps a sign that they don’t see the control issue as a long-term problem, or it could be the Yankees are just monitoring Peralta to see if he can be retained at a relative bargain price.

In some Yankees news off the field, Andrew Bailey interviewed with the team on Monday about the bench coach job, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.  Bailey is no stranger to the Bronx, as his eight seasons as a big league pitcher included a stint with the Yankees in 2015.  Formerly the Giants’ pitching coach for the last four seasons, Bailey is now out of contract and is known to be getting consideration from not just the Yankees as a bench coach, but also from the Orioles and Red Sox as a pitching coach candidate.  Sherman adds that the Marlins also have interest in Bailey as a pitching coach, and that Bailey “turned down an opportunity to be considered by the White Sox” for an unspecified role.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Bailey, Rays

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The Yankees inquired after recently-dismissed Cubs manager David Ross regarding their bench coach opening, per Ken Rosenthal and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. Per the duo, however, Ross has indicated that his preference is to manage again if he were to return to the dugout for the 2024 season. That would seemingly be an unlikely outcome, as following this morning’s news of Joe Espada being hired as manager in Houston the only remaining managerial openings are in Milwaukee and San Diego. Ross has not been connected to the Brewers as a potential managerial candidate, and is not viewed as a favorite for the position with the Padres despite some level of reported interest on the part of San Diego.

With Ross an unlikely candidate, Rosenthal and Kuty suggest that former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus, who was reportedly a candidate for the managerial gig in Houston before the club opted to promote Espada, could be a contender for the bench coach gig in the Bronx. Another potential candidate could be Yankees third base coach and former Mets manager Luis Rojas, though that hire would simply shift the hole on the big league coaching staff from the dugout to the third base line. The person hired to replace Mendoza will be the fourth to serve under manager Aaron Boone in the role, following not only Mendoza but also Phillies manager Rob Thomson and Dodgers bullpen coach Josh Bard.

More notes from around the AL East…

  • Giants bullpen coach Andrew Bailey is expected to be a hot commodity on the coaching market this offseason, with Rosenthal and Kuty suggesting that he’s not only a candidate for the bench coach role with the Yankees but also the pitching coach role with both the Red Sox and Orioles. The duo suggest that Bailey could have a preference to return to the east coast after being denied permission by San Francisco to interview for a bench coach vacancy with the Mets back in 2022. The Giants hold no such power over Bailey at this point, as the 39-year-old is currently a free agent. Bailey pitched for both the Yankees and Red Sox during his big league career, which spanned eight seasons. Prior to his tenure as pitching coach in San Francisco, Bailey worked as a bullpen coach with the Angels under Ausmus during the 2019 season.
  • The Rays have no plans to replace Peter Bendix as GM after Bendix departed the organization to take a job as president of baseball operations for the Marlins last week, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin relays that there will be no external search for a new GM, with assistant GMs Will Cousins, Chanda Lawdermilk and Carlos Rodriguez all expected to take larger roles in the baseball operations department in the wake of Bendix’s exit. Senior adviser Jon Daniels, who previously lead baseball operations for the Rangers from 2005 to 2022, is also expected to take on a larger role in the Rays’ front office, acting as a mentor to the club’s group of assistant GMs. Bendix is the fifth high-ranking member of the Rays front office to depart to lead another baseball operations department, joining Andrew Friedman, Chaim Bloom, James Click, and Matt Arnold, though Bloom and Click are no longer in those roles.

Red Sox Notes: Breslow, Huntington, Levine, Mejdal, Bailey

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Craig Breslow, Neal Huntington, and Thad Levine were the final three candidates for the Red Sox in their search for a new front office boss, MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam writes.  That search came to an end earlier this week when Breslow was hired as Boston’s new chief baseball officer, putting the former Cubs assistant GM and 12-year big league veteran in charge of a front office for the first time.

Huntington and Levine were known to be under consideration, though Levine initially didn’t appear to be a finalist when reports surfaced this week that the Red Sox had told him he was no longer a candidate for the job.  At the time, it seemed like the Sox were moving onto a second round of interviews in their hiring process, yet it now appears as if that second round had already begun, and the Sox had made their decision about Breslow.  It seemed as though Breslow sealed the deal with a strong interview with Sox principal owner John Henry during that secondary stage.

Back in September, Peter Gammons reported that the Red Sox had some interest in Breslow for a possible role as a director of pitching development.  That early link between Breslow and the Sox could tie into McAdam’s breakdown of how the team didn’t initially have Breslow on the radar as a CBO candidate at first, in part due to his lack of experience as a GM or president of baseball operations.  However, as the Red Sox increasingly became open to the idea of at least making Breslow the chief lieutenant of a CBO, they still had difficulty finding someone appropriate for that top job, thus making Breslow an even more attractive candidate.  McAdam also notes that the Sox were concerned that the Cubs might offer Breslow a promotion to stay in Chicago if he was offered anything less than a CBO position, or that another team might come calling about Breslow in the near future about a CBO/PBO job if he was only in a secondary role in Boston.

The front office search was marked by several notable executives who declined to interview with the Red Sox, though McAdam writes that Boston had interest in a candidate that seemingly wasn’t given permission for an interview.  The Sox wanted to speak with Orioles assistant GM Sig Mejdal, yet the O’s “dragged their feet on the process and never provided the Sox with the go-ahead to speak with Mejdal,” according to McAdam.

The 57-year-old Mejdal has been with Baltimore since November 2018, and was one of Mike Elias’ first hires when Elias took over the Orioles’ front office as general manager.  Mejdal has been one of the key figures of baseball’s analytics movement over the last two decades, as his work with the Orioles, Astros, and Cardinals has led those clubs to tremendous results in maximizing talent and finding and developing young players.  As McAdam observes, it probably isn’t surprising that the Orioles wanted to keep Mejdal in the fold, even if most organizations generally allow employees to interview for promotions on other teams.  It isn’t known if Mejdal would’ve been open to an interview anyway, as there has been some past speculation that Mejdal is happy in a behind-the-scenes role rather than running a front office himself.

Returning to Breslow, it’s still too early to tell how he’ll approach the makeup of his baseball operations department, which will continue to have several longtime holdovers (assistant GMs Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, Michael Groopman) who are expected to stay in the organization.  Whether one of them could be elevated to a full-time general manager role to act as Breslow’s No. 2 remains to be seen, or if he might hire a GM from outside Fenway Park to provide another new voice in the mix.

As for on-field matters, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford speculates that Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey might be a candidate to join Boston’s staff, as Breslow and Bailey are close friends and former teammates from when they pitched together with the Athletics and Red Sox from 2009-13.  The Sox fired pitching coach Dave Bush after the season, and some recent reports suggest Bailey might look to leave San Francisco for a job closer to his family on the East Coast.

Coaching Notes: Giants, Angels, Athletics

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Bob Melvin’s upcoming interview with the Giants has only increased the speculation that the Padres manager could soon be taking over in San Francisco’s dugout, to the point that Melvin’s prospective coaching staff might already be coming into view.  According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Melvin “would be likely” to bring Padres third base coach Matt Williams along with him from San Diego to San Francisco.  Williams was a four-time All-Star with the Giants during his playing career, and two other former Giants players are also under consideration for coaching roles — Pat Burrell as a new hitting coach, and Ryan Vogelsong as the new pitching coach.

Justin Viele, Pedro Guerrero and Dustin Lind are the Giants’ trio of incumbent hitting coaches, yet given the club’s lackluster offense in 2023, it isn’t surprising change might be coming.  The pitching staff’s results were more up-and-down, yet Slusser notes that pitching coach Andrew Bailey “is extremely well regarded” and has often been considered by other teams for jobs in their organizations.  If Vogelsong did become pitching coach, the Giants could look to retain Bailey as bench coach or as the director of pitching, but Bailey also might prefer a new role with a team nearer to his family on the East Coast.  Vogelsong has been working as a roving instructor within the Giants organization, while Burrell has been the hitting coach for the Giants’ Single-A affiliate.

More on other coaching situations around baseball…

  • The Angels have hired Dom Chiti as a minor league pitching coordinator, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (via X).  Chiti previously worked for Los Angeles as a special assistant and then as bullpen coach from 2020-22, before joining the Mets as their bullpen coach for the 2023 season.  The 64-year-old Chiti has over four decades of experience in a variety of coaching and front office roles with the Angels, Mets, Rangers, Indians, and Orioles.
  • The Athletics are parting ways with bullpen coach Mike McCarthy, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes.  2023 was McCarthy’s first year on Oakland’s coaching staff, and his first year on a big league staff altogether.  Before joining the A’s, McCarthy spent five seasons coaching for the Triple-A affiliates of the Padres and Twins.

Coaching Notes: Guardians, Albernaz, Giants, Yankees, Casey, White Sox

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The Guardians will interview Giants bullpen/catching coach Craig Albernaz about their upcoming managerial vacancy, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Terry Francona may officially announce his retirement as Cleveland’s skipper as early as tonight, so the Guardians are already lining up what is expected to be a long list of possible replacements.

Albernaz (who turns 41 later this month) has spent the last four seasons on the Giants’ coaching staff.  A longtime catcher in the Rays’ and Tigers’ farm systems from 2006-14, Albernaz then became a coach, field coordinator, and manager for Tampa Bay at the minor league level.  His experience as a manager consists of a partial season with the Rays’ short-season A-ball affiliate in 2017, and then a full year with the Rays’ high-A affiliate in 2018.

Slusser notes that the Giants might interview Albernaz for their own managerial opening, and interim manager Kai Correa and third base coach Mark Hallberg could also be considered.  Since a managerial change usually begets changes on the coaching staff, Slusser feels teams could try to make some hires away from San Francisco, with pitching coach Andrew Bailey reportedly on the Yankees’ radar.  There hasn’t been any indication that New York pitching coach Matt Blake could be in danger of losing his job, so it isn’t known exactly what role the Yankees might have in mind for Bailey.

More on other possible coaching moves from around baseball…

  • Sticking with the Yankees, hitting coach Sean Casey told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce that he has been asked to return in 2024, though he first had to discuss matters with his family before deciding one way or the other.  Casey took over the hitting coach job at midseason on essentially a 1.5-year contract, with an understanding that the two sides might re-evaluate things after the season.  While the Yankees’ lack of batting prowess has been an issue before and after Casey’s hiring, he has won some immediate support — Aaron Judge praised Casey’s work, while both GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone have asked Casey to keep coaching.  Joyce observes that Cashman’s support of Casey might indicate that Boone will also be returning as manager, since Boone and Casey are good friends. [UPDATE: Speaking with The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and other reporters, Casey said that he hasn’t received a former offer to return next season.}
  • White Sox manager Pedro Grifol implied that some changes are coming to his coaching staff, though was short on details with the Chicago Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen (X link) and other reporters because “it’s a very sensitive issue.  We talk about the staff, we talk about people who have been in the game a long, long time.  Unfortunately, this is a game that’s predicated on wins and losses.”  Like Grifol himself, several members of the staff are finishing their first season with the White Sox, including bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, hitting coach Jose Castro.  It isn’t known if any of these specific coaches might be in jeopardy, or if the Sox are looking at some of the longer-standing holdovers. [UPDATE: assistant pitching coach Curt Hasler will be reassigned to a role in the minor league system, James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.]

Giants Deny Mets’ Request To Interview Andrew Bailey

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Following a frustrating weekend that saw the Padres refuse an interview with quality control coach Ryan Flaherty and Reds planning and outfield coach Jeff Pickler remove himself from consideration, the Mets’ search for a bench coach hit another snag today. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports, the Giants have denied the Mets’ request to interview pitching coach Andrew Bailey to be new manager Buck Showalter’s deputy.

Following his retirement ahead of the 2018 season, Mets GM Billy Eppler, then with the Angels, gave the 37-year-old Bailey — who pitched for the A’s, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, and Angels in a career that spanned eight seasons and was named the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year while serving as Oakland’s closer — his first coaching job, hiring him as the Angels’ replay coordinator and coaching assistant in 2018 before promoting him to bullpen coach in 2019. The Giants then hired Bailey as their pitching coach ahead of the 2020 season. He led San Francisco’s staff to a 3.25 ERA in 2021 (second only to the Dodgers) en route to a 107-win season and an NL West title.

While teams customarily allow coaching and front office staff to interview with other clubs when they’re up for a promotion — which made the Flaherty news something of a surprise — it isn’t exactly clear that a move from pitching coach to bench coach would represent a ’promotion’ as such (Rosenthal notes that executive opinion is mixed on the issue). Timing may have also played a role in the decision; big-league coaching staffs are usually filled out relatively early in the offseason, and Rosenthal previously reported that the Padres denied the Mets a chance to speak with Flaherty largely because they didn’t want to have to find a replacement at this stage in the offseason.

Of course, the Mets’ attempts to fill out their coaching staff were held back by delays at the top, with Eppler’s hiring coming on November 18 (less than two weeks ahead of the lockout) and Showalter’s on December 20. They’ve since hired three additional coaches — Wayne Kirby as first base coach, Joey Cora as third base coach, and Eric Chávez as hitting coach — but only Chávez had been tied to another organization (the Yankees let him interview for the job only a few weeks after hiring him as an assistant hitting coach). Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is the lone holdover from the 2021 staff.

Despite the chaos in putting together a coaching staff, Eppler has hit the ground running on the player side, inking Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar to free agent deals worth a combined $254.5MM in the days leading up to the lockout while Noah Syndergaard, Javier Baez, Marcus Stroman, and Steven Matz signed elsewhere. Indeed, having endured a second-half collapse and watching the division rival Braves ride a late-season surge to a World Series title, Mets fans will hope Eppler’s offseason isn’t finished regardless of the composition of the coaching staff. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco taps Kris Bryant, Carlos Rodón, and NPB star Seiya Suzuki as potential targets once a new CBA is reached.

Andrew Bailey Announces Retirement

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Reliever Andrew Bailey announced today (via Instagram) that he is hanging up his spikes in favor of a non-playing position with the Angels. Bailey will become the organization’s instant replay coordinator and coaching assistant, per Pedro Moura of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Bailey ends his career with a 3.12 lifetime ERA over eight MLB campaigns. Of course, that hardly tells the tale of his winding journey through professional baseball.

A sixth-round pick from Wagner College, Bailey spent three years in the minors as a starter before debuting in the Athletics’ pen in 2009. He turned in an eye-opening campaign, racking up 83 1/3 innings of 1.84 ERA ball with 9.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and just 5.3 hits per nine.

Bailey took hold of the A’s closing job that year and ended up with 75 saves over three years in Oakland. His final season there was his worst, but he managed to rebound from a forearm strain to throw 41 2/3 innings with a 3.24 earned run average.

That platform set the stage for a swap that sent Bailey to the Red Sox in exchange for Josh Reddick and others. (That trade had quite the butterfly effect, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed the following winter.) At the time, it seemed that Bailey would step into the closer’s role that had just been vacated by Jonathan Papelbon.

Things went south quickly in Boston, as Bailey opened the season on the DL due to a thumb injury and was tagged for a dozen earned runs in 15 1/3 frames upon his return. Though he bounced back to spin 28 2/3 frames of 3.77 ERA ball with 12.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 2013, Bailey’s season was cut short by a significant shoulder injury that required surgery. He was non-tendered in advance of the 2014 campaign.

After enduring an obstacle-ridden rehab process, Bailey finally returned to the majors in September of 2015 with the Yankees. He made it unscathed through a 33-appearance opportunity with the Phillies in 2016, but limped to a 6.40 ERA and was released.

Bailey ended up catching on with the Angels at the tail end of the 2016 and turned in what was to be something of a last hurrah. Despite showing greatly diminished velocity, he saved six more games in a dozen appearances, earning a $1MM guarantee to return to Los Angeles for the 2017 season. Unfortunately, ongoing shoulder maladies kept Bailey to throwing four scoreless frames in the majors for the season.

Though Bailey did not have the kind of overall career that his first few seasons promised, he certainly had plenty of good moments and battled through quite a lot of injury-related adversity. (Among the many people he thanked in his message were “the countless athletic trainers, PT’s, strength coaches, surgeons and therapists.”) MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his new pursuit within the game of baseball.

Injury Notes: Wright, Cueto, Kershaw, Wood, Ethier, Sano, Ramirez, Bailey

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Though he is now dealing with yet another setback and has not appeared in the majors since May of last year, Mets third baseman David Wright is not considering retiring, a source tells Mike Puma of the New York Post. A lingering shoulder injury is the most immediate problem limiting Wright, though he has also dealt with significant neck and back issues that he’ll continue to battle in the future. With three years and $47MM left on his contract, Wright will evidently keep trying to make it back to the majors, though at present it is unclear what course he’ll take in trying to overcome his maladies.

Here’s more on some other injury situations from around the game:

  • Giants righty Johnny Cueto said he feels ready to return to the majors, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area writes. He has taken two rehab starts in his bid to return from a flexor strain that has kept him out of action since mid-July. That injury seemingly makes it quite likely that Cueto will elect not to opt out of the remaining four years and $84MM of his contract this fall. Cueto seemingly acknowledged that, saying that his “whole mentality has been for me to stay here,” though he also noted that’ll be a decision that’s made in consultation with his agent at season’s end.
  • The Dodgers are set to welcome back a pair of key southpaws later this week, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch Friday, with Alex Wood taking the ball on Sunday. Kershaw has been out since late July, making for the second-straight year in which he has missed significant time due to back issues. Wood’s DL stint has been of a shorter duration, with the belief being that his SC joint inflammation is something that can be managed rather than a symptom of a more significant problem. Needless to say, both are critical to the team’s ever-rising postseason expectations. The Dodgers are also awaiting a return from yet another starter, righty Brandon McCarthy, who has been out with a finger blister. As Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, the right-hander’s scheduled rehab start this week has been bumped, so his status is unclear at the moment.
  • Also nearing his return to the Dodgers is veteran outfielder Andre Ethier, as Plunkett further reports on Twitter. The club will make a move after rosters expand at the start of September. The 35-year-old faces an uncertain playing-time situation, to be sure. Los Angeles just added a left-handed-hitting veteran outfielder in Curtis Granderson and now features Adrian Gonzalez as a southpaw-swinging bench bat. Ethier has missed the entire season to date with a herniated disc in his back. He’ll almost certainly hit the open market after this year, receiving a $2.5MM buyout if (likely, when) the team declines a $17.5MM club option. Despite his many recent medical problems, there ought to be some market if Ethier can show he’s healthy in September; after all, as recently as 2015 he was a productive hitter (.294/.366/.486 over 445 plate appearances).
  • While the Twins are currently pacing the pack for the second American League Wild Card spot, the team has gone without key slugger Miguel Sano. While he does seem to be improving from what has been called a “stress reaction” to his left shin, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, Sano still hasn’t begun running or fielding. Manager Paul Molitor says things are “moving rather slowly” for the third baseman. Sano, 24, has turned in 475 plate appearances of .267/.356/.514 hitting with 28 home runs on the year, meaning the team is going without a middle-of-the-order bat that isn’t really replaceable. Given the nature of his injury, though, there’s likely not much that can be done but hope that he responds to treatment.
  • The Angels are awaiting news from a re-examination of right-hander J.C. Ramirez after he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow, Pedro Moura  of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Ramirez, 29, had settled into a starting role for the club, providing 147 1/3 innings of 4.15 ERA ball to a rotation that badly needed it. That sets him up fairly well as a possible Super Two candidate; it remains to be seen whether Ramirez will qualify for arbitration after entering the year with 1.139 years of service. Given that he only just underwent that injection, though, it seems optimistic to expect that he’ll make it back to the mound in 2017.
  • Meanwhile, fellow Angels righty Andrew Bailey is giving up any attempts to return in the present season, Moura further reports on Twitter. He will, however, attempt to get his shoulder back to health in order to return in 2018. Bailey had shown well for the Halos in a late-season stint last year and re-signed with the club for $1MM over the winter, but has managed only four major-league frames on the year. He’s set to return to the open market at the end of the season.
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