Reds Release Brad Boxberger
The Reds have released right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger, Kegan Lowe of Baseball America relays.
The reunion between the Reds and Boxberger didn’t last long, as they just signed the 31-year-old to a minor league contract Aug. 6. It was the second stint with the Reds for Boxberger, whom the club spent the 43rd overall pick on back in 2009. The Reds ultimately traded Boxberger to the Padres two years later in a blockbuster that included several players who either were or have become household names.
To his credit, Boxberger has turned into a well-known commodity in his own right over the past several years. He made the American League All-Star team as a member of the Rays in 2015, the same year he led the AL in saves (41). But Boxberger’s effectiveness has waned since his final season with the Rays in 2017. He struggled a year ago as a member of the Diamondbacks, and after signing a $2.2MM contract with the Royals over the winter, Boxberger opened 2019 with a 5.40 ERA/4.67 FIP and 9.11 K/9 against 5.74 BB/9 over 26 2/3 innings.
The Royals released Boxberger in early July, after which he inked a minors pact with the Nationals’ Double-A club. The Nats quickly cut Boxberger loose, leading him to rejoni the Cincy organization. However, Boxberger had immense difficulty in 5 1/3 frames with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, yielding seven earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (with eight strikeouts).
Reds, Brad Boxberger Agree To Minor League Deal
The Reds have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran righty Brad Boxberger, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. It’s a full-circle moment for Boxberger, who was drafted by Cincinnati with the No. 43 overall pick of the 2009 draft.
Boxberger, now 31, never pitched for the Reds in the Majors before being included alongside Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso and Edinson Volquez in the blockbuster deal that sent Mat Latos to Cincinnati. There’s no guarantee that Boxberger will get the opportunity to do so now, although one can easily envision him being added to the big league roster as a September call-up — if not at some point this month.
Boxberger began the season with the Royals and got out to a rocky start. The former AL saves leader — 41 with the 2015 Rays — was clobbered for a 7.30 ERA in 12 1/3 March/April innings, although he rebounded with just three runs allowed in 9 1/3 frames the following month. Even as Boxberger’s ERA dropped, however, he posted questionable K/BB numbers out of the Kansas City bullpen. He was ultimately designated for assignment on June 26 and released on July 1.
From there, Boxberger went on to sign a minor league deal with the Nats and toss 8 2/3 innings with just one run allowed for their Double-A club. However, Washington cut Boxberger loose over the weekend rather than giving him a look in the big leagues — the Nationals acquired three relievers at the trade deadline — leaving Boxberger to search for a new opportunity.
Boxberger will bring a career 3.59 ERA, 11.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 1.24 HR/9 and 77 saves with him back to the Reds organization, although most of his success came with the Padres and Rays from 2012-15. Over his past 133 2/3 innings, Boxberger has a 4.44 ERA with a 160-to-79 K/BB ratio.
Nationals Nearing Deal With Brad Boxberger
The Nationals are nearing a deal with veteran reliever Brad Boxberger, according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (via Twitter). It’s said to be a minor-league arrangement.
Boxberger was released recently by the Royals, who’ll remain obligated for the remainder of his $2.2MM salary. Should the righty make it up to the majors in D.C., his new organization would pay him at the league-minimum rate, providing a bit of relief to the Kansas City club.
If it feels as if the relief-needy Nats are scooping up all the veteran relievers that have been cut loose by other teams … well, that’s not far from the truth. Fernando Rodney, Jonny Venters, and Javy Guerra all opened the season with other clubs before landing with the Nationals on minors deals and then filtering up to the big leagues. (The club also nabbed outfielder Gerardo Parra under similar circumstances.) Dan Jennings and George Kontos also opened the year elsewhere before joining the D.C. org, though both are at Triple-A at present.
This approach surely wasn’t the plan going in, but it proved necessary as the Nationals relief unit turned in calamitous results over the first few months of the season. It still doesn’t look like an inspiring assemblage of pitchers, but the D.C. pen has been a passable group more recently, allowing (though not exactly driving) a fantastic run in the standings that now has the organization set up for more substantial additions over the next three weeks.
Even as the Nats’ front office begins pursuing trade targets in earnest, they’ll seemingly continue building out the depth options. Boxberger certainly fits the same general mold as the numerous other pitchers who’ve been brought on board. A long-established MLB hurler, the 31-year-old merited a guaranteed contract after a tepid but still-useful 2018 season but then failed to hit his stride in the early going this year.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the new organization can get Boxberger back on track. Trouble is, he’s working with significantly less velocity than ever before; he’s down to 90.5 mph with his average heater this year after sitting just under 93 for his career. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Boxberger is going to offspeed offerings more than ever before, serving up his change on about one in three pitches and his slider on one of every five deliveries.
The results just haven’t been there, and neither have the peripherals. Boxberger is sitting on a 5.40 ERA over 26 2/3 innings, with 9.1 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9. On the positive side, his 11.3% swinging-strike rate isn’t far from his career average. And Statcast readings indicate that Boxberger has been a bit unfortunate. Opposing hitters have managed only 85.3 mph in average exit velocity. Boxberger is carrying a .311 xwOBA-against that lags the .329 wOBA that opposing hitters have produced.
Royals Release Brad Boxberger
July 3: Boxberger cleared waivers and is now a free agent, the Royals announced.
July 1: The Royals have requested release waivers on veteran reliever Brad Boxberger, per a club announcement. He had been designated for assignment recently.
It’s not surprising to see this move, as Boxberger’s $2.2MM salary never figured to hold much appeal after his messy performance to open the season. Had he shown enough of a spark to draw any trade interest, he’d likely have been held on the K.C. roster a while longer.
Boxberger worked to a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 frames, hardly the productivity the Royals were hoping for when they placed a value bet on the 31-year-old. He coughed up 5.7 free passes per nine, which is on the high side for his career but not totally out of character. Despite keeping an 11.3% swinging-strike rate that’s not too far off his career average, Boxberger has managed only 9.1 K/9 after retiring about a dozen per nine via strikeout over the past two seasons.
Beyond the outcomes, Boxberger has seemingly shown diminished arm speed. With his fastball velocity dropping significantly, he has tried to ramp up usage of a heretofore little-used slider.
That’s not to say that other organizations will turn up their noses. Boxberger has excelled after down stretches in the past and is still youthful. Even if the velo doesn’t return, he is a rather intriguing, low-risk bounceback candidate. Unless he’s claimed, which would rate as a surprise, the Royals will remain obligated for Boxberger’s remaining salary, less any pro-rated portion of the league minimum he earns if he makes it back to the majors.
Royals Designate Brad Boxberger, Reinstate Eric Skoglund
The Royals have designated reliever Brad Boxberger for assignment and reinstated left-hander Eric Skoglund from the restricted list, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.
Boxberger was one of the Royals’ most notable pickups during a modest offseason for the rebuilding club. The Royals gave the former Padre, Ray and Diamondback $2.2MM with the hope he’d revive his career. Instead, Boxberger stumbled to a 5.40 ERA/4.65 FIP with 9.11 K/9 and 5.74 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings. In the process, the 31-year-old’s average fastball velocity fell to 90.2 mph, down from the 92-93 range in his younger days.
At his best, Boxberger recorded a 2.37 ERA/2.84 FIP with 14.47 K/9 and 2.78 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings with the Rays in 2014. Boxberger came back the next season to log worse numbers, yet the right-hander still made the AL All-Star team and led the league in saves (41). But injuries helped limit Boxberger’s effectiveness over the next couple seasons, which led Tampa Bay to trade him to Arizona prior to the 2018 campaign.
The Boxberger acquisition didn’t work out for the Diamondbacks, however. Boxberger registered a 4.39 ERA/4.55 FIP and 5.4 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings last year, thus offsetting an 11.98 K/9 and a 46.1 percent groundball rate. The D-backs non-tendered Boxberger over the winter, and now he may return to free agency just a few months after catching on with the Royals. They still owe him approximately $1.14MM.
Skoglund, 26, is back after serving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, though he’ll report to Triple-A Omaha for now. The 6-foot-7 Skoglund got his first significant look as a major leaguer in 2018. He put up a 5.14 ERA/5.06 FIP with 6.3 K/9 against 2.44 BB/9 across 70 innings (14 appearances, 13 starts).
Central Notes: Moustakas, Boxberger, Lorenzen, Rupp
The Brewers will press ahead with their unconventional plan for Mike Moustakas. Skipper Craig Counsell says the long-time third baseman will indeed line up at second base in Milwaukee, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was among those to tweet. The move from the hot corner to second isn’t particularly common. And it’s all but unprecedented for a player to be handed the keys to an up-the-middle defensive position that he has never before played professionally. (Moustakas does have minimal experience at shortstop dating to his first two seasons as a pro.) The Brewers obviously feel the tools are there to allow Moustakas to succeed — once he has been positioned optimally, at least.
More from the central divisions:
- Royals reliever Brad Boxberger was kept out of spring action with an unspecified leg issue, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter link). Manager Ned Yost would say only that the hurler had “tweaked” something. Fortunately, Boxberger was able to get back on the bump last night and now seems on track to be ready for the start of the season. Boxberger, who is earning $2.2MM on a one-year deal with the Royals, has been expected to serve as his new club’s closer.
- The Reds trotted out Michael Lorenzen as a two-way player in Cactus League action today, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. Dual deployment has long been anticipated, though it was — and remains — unclear how frequent he’ll be called upon to line up in the outfield. Lorenzen was in center field today. The 27-year-old hit a robust .290/.333/.710 with four home runs in 34 plate appearances last year, so it’s understandable that the club would like to see what he can do with more opportunities.
- Baseball decisions can be tough to understand at times. Cameron Rupp‘s recent history presents a bit of a puzzle, as Chris McCosky of the Detroit News explores. The Tigers‘ newly added backstop played in at least half of the Phillies games annually from 2015 through 2017, producing just-below-average, power-driven offense. Rupp’s framing fell apart in 2017, but he had been a decent performer in that metric previously and otherwise was not a problem behind the dish. Despite being relatively youthful and continuing to turn in solid work at the plate, though, Rupp never got a call to the big leagues last year and is already on to his second organization this spring.
An earlier version of this post mistakenly indicated that Boxberger had not yet returned to game action.
Royals Sign Brad Boxberger To One-Year Contract
Thursday: Rustin Dodd of The Athletic tweets that Boxberger has passed his physical and officially signed with the Royals.
Wednesday: The Royals are “closing in” on a one-year contract with free-agent righty Brad Boxberger, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter). A client of the Boras Corporation, he’ll receive a $2.2MM guarantee along with $1MM in potential incentives, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links).
The 30-year-old Boxberger was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks in advance of his final season of arbitration eligibility. He was projected to earn at a $4.9MM rate, owing in no small part to the fact that he racked up 32 saves last year.
At times, Boxberger has been quite an effective late-inning reliever. In his 284 1/3 total MLB innings, he carries a 3.42 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.
As those numbers hint, opposing hitters have generally had a tough time making contact with Boxberger’s four-seam/change combo. On occasion, though, he has trouble inducing them to chase out of the zone and ends up doling out too many free passes. That’s what occurred in 2018, when he walked 32 in 53 1/3 innings and ended up with a 4.39 ERA on the year.
To be fair, Boxberger also racked up 12.0 K/9 in 2018, so he’s still capable of rather elite strikeout numbers. But his fastball velocity dropped below 92 mph for the first time in his career. With more time to react, opposing hitters only offered at 27.6% of the pitches that Boxberger left outside of the zone.
It’s not hard to imagine Boxberger competing for the closer’s job in Kansas City this spring. Wily Peralta took over that role last year, locking up saves in all of his 14 chances, but he doesn’t exactly have a longstanding history of success as a reliever and handed out 23 walks in his 34 1/3 innings on the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
D-Backs Non-Tender Boxberger, Miller, Owings
The Diamondbacks have non-tendered a trio of notable players, per a club announcement. Reliever Brad Boxberger, starter Shelby Miller, and infielder/outfielder Chris Owings will all be sent onto the open market.
This slate of departures will save some significant cash for an Arizona club that is in a bit of a transition. Boxberger and Miller each projected to earn a hefty $4.9MM, while Owings would have been due something in the vicinity of $3.6MM.
All three are among the most interesting players set loose tonight. The 30-year-old Boxberger has late-inning experience and has little trouble racking up strikeouts, though he also struggled with walks and dingers in 2018. Miller’s highs and lows are well-documented, but he’s still just 28 years of age. As for Owings, the 27-year-old has not quite fulfilled his initial promise but has mostly been a usefully versatile player. Unfortunately, his bat fell off a cliff last year, so he’ll be looking for a chance at redemption.
NL West Notes: Boxberger, D-backs, Padres, Giants
The Diamondbacks have elected to not only remove Brad Boxberger from the closer’s role but also to do away with set bullpen roles entirely for the remainder of the season, manager Torey Lovullo explained to reporters this week (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Rather than deploy a set closer (Boxberger) and setup man (Archie Bradley), the D-backs’ late-inning decisions will be determined primarily based on matchups. Boxberger, Bradley, Andrew Chafin, Brad Ziegler and T.J. McFarland will be among the matchup options sharing late-inning duties, per Piecoro. The 30-year-old Boxberger has a 4.41 ERA and has averaged five walks per nine innings this season, but he’s also racked up 32 saves and fanned 68 hitters in just 49 innings of work. He’s struggled in particular as of late, surrendering a dozen runs in his past 11 2/3 innings of work. Boxberger will be arbitration-eligible for the final time this offseason after earning $1.85MM in 2018.
More from the division…
- Dennis Lin of The Athletic takes stock of the Padres‘ wide-ranging slate of Major League debuts in 2018 (subscription required), noting that 14 different players got their first taste of the Majors in San Diego this season. (Francisco Mejia, who came to the Friars with just 14 career plate appearances, is effectively receiving his first MLB audition as well.) While the results have varied, 2018 gave Friars fans their first look at a number of potential building blocks, including Luis Urias, Mejia and Joey Lucchesi, among others. Notably, Lin speculates that given the Padres’ wealth of outfield options and questions surrounding Franmil Reyes‘ glovework, he could become a trade chip in talks with American League clubs this winter. The 23-year-old has batted .265/.316/.525 through 215 plate appearances this season, including a monstrous .313/.365/.635 slash with nine homers and a dramatically improved strikeout rate since being recalled from the minors on Aug. 5 (104 PAs).
- Though the Giants‘ hopes of contending have long since vanished, the team doesn’t have any plans to shut down rookies Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez for the final weeks of the year to limit their workloads, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Rodriguez, a former outfielder and the son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, has quietly been one of the NL’s best rookies in 2018, working to a 2.35 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 through 103 1/3 innings of work after signing a minor league deal this past offseason. Suarez, also 26, has given the Giants 145 1/3 innings of 4.33 ERA ball with 7.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 52.4 percent ground-ball rate. Both have presumably worked their way firmly into the rotation picture in 2019 and beyond with their 2018 showings.
Quick Hits: Lindor, Bauer, Rangers, Ichiro, Bae, Boxberger
It doesn’t look like the Indians will reach any extensions with Francisco Lindor or Trevor Bauer before the season begins, though the team did at least explore the possibility of long-term deals with both players, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. It isn’t any surprise that the Tribe looked into gaining some cost certainty on either man even though Bauer is already controlled through the 2020 season and Lindor through 2021. In the latter’s case, Lindor is still a year away from salary arbitration, though one wonders if Lindor may feel confident enough in his abilities to forego guaranteed money now and wait until free agency to chase an even bigger contract. He already turned down an extension offer reportedly worth around $100MM last offseason, and his stock has only risen after a superb 2017 campaign.
Here’s more from around the baseball world as we enter the offseason’s final day…
- The Rangers seems to be done their offseason shopping, as GM Jon Daniels stated to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan and other reporters. “I couldn’t be more clear, I don’t expect any more significant acquisitions. There is not a lot going on from our standpoint in the free-agent market,” Daniels said. This also seems to include a pursuit of Greg Holland, as Daniels reiterated that Texas plans to be flexible with the ninth-inning role and allow a closer to emerge from several candidates. Adrian Beltre, for one, still feels that a more established arm is needed, as he feels the end-game plan is “an area that’s going to be a question mark. Normally, when you have really good teams, you have [a closer.] You have closers out there in the free-agent market. … Ideally for me, you get a closer, put him in there and use him.”
- Ichiro Suzuki may begin the season on the DL to give him more time to fully recover from a right calf strain, with Mariners manager Scott Servais telling the Associated Press and other media that a decision will be made tomorrow when the team sees how Suzuki is feeling after playing seven innings today. Utilityman Taylor Motter looks to make the Opening Day roster if Ichiro isn’t available.
- The Pirates‘ interest in Korean shortstop prospect Ji-Hwan Bae dates back almost two years, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, and the team was finally able to land the 18-year-old after he was made a free agent following the Braves’ international signing scandal. Given a second chance at the signing, Pittsburgh again made a push, and Bae said (via an interpreter) that he chose them over other suitors because the “Pirates were the most active team approaching” about a contract. The Pirates thought enough of Bae to give him $1.25MM, the second-largest bonus the franchise has ever given to an international prospect, and GM Neal Huntington feels Bae can stick at shortstop over the long term.
- Brad Boxberger has been named the Diamondbacks‘ closer, the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and others reported. Boxberger posted a league-best 41 saves in his first season as the Rays’ closer back in 2015, though injuries both cost him the job and limited him to 53 2/3 total innings in 2016-17. Now healthy, Boxberger could again blossom into an effective late-game weapon for Arizona, though Piecoro notes that the larger factor in the Diamondbacks’ decision might’ve been the team’s preference to keep Archie Bradley as a fireman rather than in a strict ninth-inning role. For updates on every team’s closing situation, be sure to follow MLBTR’s sister Twitter feed @CloserNews.