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Cooper Criswell

Red Sox Select Nick Burdi

By Darragh McDonald | May 16, 2025 at 1:45pm CDT

The Red Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Nick Burdi. Fellow righty Cooper Criswell has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Kutter Crawford has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Burdi, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He has since been putting up some good numbers for Triple-A Worcester. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has only allowed one earned run, leading to a 0.54 ERA. He has struck out 38.5% of opponents while only giving out walks 7.7% of the time.

Throughout his career, the question has been more about health than talent. A former second-round pick of the Twins, he has twice had Tommy John surgery, once in 2017 and the second time in 2020. He also had a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in between those two, in 2018.

He understandably didn’t pitch much from 2016 to 2022 but has been able to log some innings more recently. In 2023, he only pitched three big league frames but also got to 21 innings on the farm, with a 3.86 ERA and 35% strikeout rate. He also walked 15% of opponents that year, perhaps understandably rusty after so much missed time.

Last year, he pitched 9 2/3 major league innings for the Yankees with a 1.86 ERA as well as 17 Triple-A innings with a 2.65 ERA. At both levels, he had high strikeout totals but also a lot of walks. He missed time with a hip injury and was outrighted off the roster late in the season, which allowed the Red Sox to sign him.

It’s a small sample but Burdi’s start this year still features the same strikeout stuff but seemingly with better control. He’s averaging 96 miles per hour on his fastball while also throwing a slider and changeup. The Sox will add him as a fresh arm, at least for a few days. They only have a four-man rotation right now with Walker Buehler expected to be reinstated from the IL in the coming days, perhaps on Tuesday. Burdi has options, so it’s possible he’ll be sent down when Buehler is ready, depending on how things go between now and then. If he manages to stay healthy and post some big numbers in the majors, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration if still on the 40-man roster.

As for Crawford, this doesn’t change anything with him. The 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL. He landed there to start the campaign due to right patellar tendinopathy. He will be eligible for reinstatement in late May, but that doesn’t seem likely anyhow. He has been throwing lately but hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment. Even if cleared to start that assignment soon, he would surely need a few weeks to ramp up as a sort of delayed spring training.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Cooper Criswell Kutter Crawford Nick Burdi

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Red Sox Select Robert Stock

By Darragh McDonald | April 7, 2025 at 2:40pm CDT

The Red Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Robert Stock. Fellow righty Cooper Criswell was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to open an active roster spot. The Sox had a 40-man vacancy after trading Quinn Priester to the Brewers earlier today.

If Stock gets into a game, it will be his first big league appearance in years. He pitched in the bigs from 2018 to 2021 but has been away from the show since then. During that previous stretch in the majors, he pitched for the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs and Mets. He tossed 72 2/3 innings, allowing 4.71 earned runs per nine. He struck out 23.1% of batters faced, gave out walks to 12.2% of opponents and got grounders on 49.8% of balls in play.

He has continued playing baseball since then, travelling the globe in the process. In 2022, he made 29 starts for the Doosan Bears in the KBO League in Korea, posting a 3.60 ERA. He was back in North America in 2023, having signed a minor league deal with the Brewers. But he got lit up in 23 innings, posting an 8.22 ERA, before getting released and landing in Indy Ball.

He pitched for Tecos de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League last year, putting up a 3.38 ERA in 98 2/3 innings over 19 starts. He hung around in Mexico for winter ball, playing for Naranjeros de Hermosillo. He tossed 84 1/3 innings in 14 starts for that club with a 1.60 ERA, prompting the Red Sox to sign him to a minor league deal in January. He logged three spring innings for the Sox, allowing four earned runs. He then reported to Triple-A Worcester, tossing 8 1/3 scoreless innings over one start and one long relief appearance.

For the Sox, Saturday’s game against the Cardinals was postponed by the weather, forcing a Sunday doubleheader. The Sox won both games yesterday but one of them went to ten innings. They used nine pitchers on the day overall. Criswell threw the final three innings of the nightcap and likely wouldn’t have been available for the next few days.

With the group fairly taxed, Stock has been added to give the bullpen an extra guy capable of throwing multiple innings. If another fresh arm is needed in the coming days, Stock is out of options. That means he would have to be bumped off the 40-man in order to be removed from the active roster.

Photo courtesy of Rick Cinclair, Imagn Images.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Cooper Criswell Robert Stock

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Red Sox Place Liam Hendriks On 15-Day IL

By Steve Adams | March 28, 2025 at 10:05am CDT

March 28: Despite the season-opening IL placement, Hendriks is not facing a severe injury, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic writes. He’s already been examined by Dr. Keith Meister, who performed his Tommy John surgery, and received a cortisone injection to help alleviate some inflammation and discomfort stemming from a compressed nerve. There’s no structural damage in Hendriks’ elbow. He’ll be shut down from throwing for three to five days but expects to resume throwing during next week’s series against the Orioles.

March 27: The Red Sox announced a slate of transactions to finalize their Opening Day roster, including a surprise placement of righty Liam Hendriks on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation. Fellow right-hander Cooper Criswell, who had appeared ticketed for Triple-A Worcester, will instead break camp with the big league club.

Boston also selected the contracts of lefty Sean Newcomb and top prospect Kristian Campbell. Both have formally made the Opening Day roster. Lefties Chris Murphy and Zach Penrod were placed on the 60-day injured list to open spots. Murphy is recovering from UCL surgery performed last spring. Penrod was diagnosed with a left elbow sprain earlier in camp.

Additionally, the Red Sox placed Masataka Yoshida on the 10-day IL as he continues building back up from offseason shoulder surgery. Righties Brayan Bello (shoulder strain), Kutter Crawford (patellar tendinopathy) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring strain) were all placed on the 15-day IL, as expected.

Hendriks, who turned 36 last month, is entering the second season of a two-year, $10MM deal. The Red Sox signed him knowing that he’d miss most of all of the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The expectation early in camp was that he and offseason signee Aroldis Chapman could compete for ninth-inning work. The tide changed quickly. Chapman fanned 14 of the 30 batters he faced and held opponents to two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Hendriks allowed seven runs on 14 hits in just 6 1/3 frames. He didn’t walk anyone but also only whiffed four of the 32 hitters he faced.

The Red Sox haven’t yet provided a timetable for when Hendriks might return to the mound. For now, there’s no indication that he’s dealing with a long-term injury. Presumably, manager Alex Cora will have more information regarding his potential timetable when he meets with the media later today.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Brayan Bello Chris Murphy Cooper Criswell Kristian Campbell Kutter Crawford Liam Hendriks Lucas Giolito Masataka Yoshida Sean Newcomb Zach Penrod

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Red Sox’ Cooper Criswell Eligible For Fourth Option Year

By Steve Adams | November 19, 2024 at 12:52pm CDT

The Red Sox’ pitching depth has more flexibility than might’ve been otherwise apparent at first glance. Right-hander Cooper Criswell exhausted his third and typically final option year in 2024, but Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports that the Red Sox will actually hold a fourth option year on Criswell.

It’s standard in Major League Baseball for players to have three “option” years where they can be freely sent down to a minor league affiliate without first clearing waivers. An “option year” is used when any player on the 40-man roster is optioned to the minors and spends at least 20 days there. This applies even to players who’ve yet to make their big league debut but are optioned to a minor league affiliate out of spring training. However, the league grants a fourth option year for players who exhaust their three original three option years in fewer than five professional seasons (defined as 90-plus days on a major league or minor league active roster/injured list).

In the case of Criswell, he’s a 2018 draftee of the Angels who’s appeared in exactly five full seasons: 2019 and 2021-24. (He wasn’t on the roster for the abbreviated 2020 campaign.) The Halos originally selected him to the 40-man roster in 2021, and he was optioned in each of the three subsequent seasons throughout the course of stints with the Halos, Rays and Red Sox.

For the Red Sox, it’s a nice boon. Criswell goes from a back-end starter/swingman who’d have to be rostered on Opening Day to a valuable fifth/sixth starter who can be shuttled between their Triple-A affiliate in nearby Worcester and the major league roster. Criswell, who signed a big league deal with the Sox after being non-tendered by the Rays last winter, clearly pitched his way into the club’s plans with 99 1/3 innings of 4.08 ERA ball between the rotation and bullpen. He fanned a below-average 17.2% of opponents against a strong 7.3% walk rate and impressive 50.3% ground-ball rate.

Right now, the locks in the Boston rotation are Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello. Veteran Lucas Giolito, once healthy, will eventually join them. Criswell, Quinn Priester and Richard Fitts are among the other options near the back of the rotation.

The Sox figure to add at least one starting pitcher via free agency and/or trade. They’ve been linked to the top names on the market already and have at least signaled a willingness to act more aggressively than in recent offseasons. Criswell’s extra option year gives them some flexibility and will help the team preserve depth if and when additional rotation arms are added in the weeks and months ahead.

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Boston Red Sox Cooper Criswell

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James Paxton Diagnosed With Partially Torn Calf

By Steve Adams | August 13, 2024 at 3:10pm CDT

3:10pm: Manager Alex Cora tells the Sox beat that Paxton is a “long shot” to return in 2024 (X link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). The skipper added that Criswell, once healthy, will rejoin the rotation as the team’s fifth starter (X link via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo).

2:30pm: Red Sox left-hander James Paxton tells reporters that he’s been diagnosed with a partial tear of his right calf muscle (X link via WEEI’s Rob Bradford). The veteran southpaw acknowledged that it could sideline him for the remainder of the year but will still try to rehab in an effort to make it back before the season concludes.

The Sox placed Paxton on the 15-day injured list with a calf strain yesterday. The term “strain” itself, by definition, indicates there is a degree of stretching or tearing, so today’s announcement isn’t a total surprise. That said, the fact that he’s possibly facing an absence of six-plus weeks indicates that it’s a tear of some note — the latest in a long line of injuries that have plagued the talented left-hander throughout his big league career.

Paxton, 35, spent the 2022-23 seasons in Boston. He missed the entire ’22 campaign due to Tommy John surgery but returned in 2023 to pitch 96 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with more promising strikeout and walk rates. The Dodgers signed him to a one-year, $7MM deal with incentives that could take the contract up to $13MM. He unlocked all of those incentives before being designated for assignment and traded to the Red Sox in return for minor league infielder Moises Bolivar.

The Sox hoped that Paxton would help shore up an injury-depleted starting rotation, but it’s now possible they’ll receive only three starts from him. Paxton notched a solid 4.09 ERA in his 11 innings following the trade but exited his third and potentially final start after recording just two outs. He was Boston’s lone veterean acquisition prior to the trade deadline, meaning the Sox will again be left to rely on the quartet of Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta, with scant depth behind the group. Righty Cooper Criswell has pitched well but has little track record and is currently out with Covid-19. Fellow righty Josh Winckowski has also made a handful of starts and could see further action down the stretch.

Paxton’s injury could open the door for young Quinn Priester, whom the Sox acquired from the Pirates in exchange for infield prospect Nick Yorke. Priester, a former first-round pick and top prospect, has yet to establish himself as a consistently viable big league starter. He’s logged a 6.46 ERA in 94 2/3 big league innings to this point in his young career, but the 23-year-old has generally fared well in the upper minors — an ugly two-game stint with the Sox’ Triple-A club in Worcester notwithstanding.

It’s a tenuous situation in Boston — one that would blow up in particularly bad fashion were one of Houck, Crawford or Pivetta to go down with an injury of note. Boston traded Chris Sale to the Braves in a regrettable offseason swap that netted infielder Vaughn Grissom. He was “replaced” by right-hander Lucas Giolito, who required season-ending internal brace surgery before the 2024 campaign began. Righty Garrett Whitlock had his own internal brace operation back in May. Depth arms like Chris Murphy and Bryan Mata have also been non-factors this season due to injury.

The Red Sox currently sit in third place in the AL East despite a strong 62-55 record. They’re only two games back in the American League Wild Card hunt, landing .001 percentage points ahead of the 63-56 Mariners but trailing the 65-54 Royals for the final Wild Card spot.

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Boston Red Sox Newsstand Cooper Criswell James Paxton

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Red Sox Place Romy Gonzalez, Isaiah Campbell On Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | April 13, 2024 at 11:56am CDT

The Red Sox announced that infielder Romy Gonzalez has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 11) due to a left wrist sprain.  This move comes a day after another IL placement, as Boston sent right-hander Isaiah Campbell to the 15-day injured list Friday due to a right shoulder impingement.  Infielder Bobby Dalbec was called up from Triple-A to replace Campbell, while righty Cooper Criswell was promoted today from Triple-A in Gonzalez’s spot.

As manager Alex Cora told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey and other reporters, Campbell kept his shoulder discomfort private but his attempts to pitch through the issue had disastrous consequences.  Campbell allowed eight earned runs over two innings of work in relief appearances on Wednesday and Thursday, quickly halting what had been a positive start to Campbell’s Red Sox tenure.  Acquired from the Mariners for Luis Urias back in November, Campbell had a 2.08 ERA over his first 4 1/3 innings and five appearances in a Boston uniform.  The righty will now be sidelined for at least the next two weeks, and the severity of the impingement isn’t yet known.

While Campbell worked out of the bullpen, Criswell will act as a spot starter in today’s game against the Angels, filling in after Nick Pivetta went on the 15-day IL earlier this week.  Today’s start will mark Criswell’s Boston debut after signing a one-year, $1MM free agent deal with the club after the Rays non-tendered the right-hander in November.  There’s some full-circle significance in facing Los Angeles since the Angels drafted Criswell in the 13th round in 2018, and he made his MLB debut in a Halos uniform in 2021.  After tossing 4 2/3 innings in cup-of-coffee fashion over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Criswell got a longer look with Tampa last season and posted a 5.73 ERA over 33 innings, often working as a bulk pitcher behind an opener.

Gonzalez is another offseason acquisition, picked up from the White Sox on a waiver claim in January.  Gonzalez played in two games with Boston before hurting his wrist in a fall during Wednesday’s game.  X-rays were negative on Gonzalez’s wrist, but an IL stint has been deemed necessary to give the infielder some time to fully heal up.

Dalbec’s addition can shore up the infield mix to some extent, but Gonzalez is now the fourth infield option on Boston’s injured list, joining Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom, and utilityman Rob Refsnyder.  Story will miss the entire season in the wake of shoulder surgery, while Grissom (hamstring strain) and Refsnyder (broken toe) have started minor league rehab assignments.  Grissom and Refsnyder are tentatively on pace to be activated off the IL in late April, though Grissom’s timeline is a little uncertain since injuries prevented from playing whatsoever during Spring Training.

The impact of so many missing infielders is evident in Boston’s glovework, as McCaffrey notes that the defense has essentially fallen apart since Story was sidelined.  The Red Sox are near the bottom of the league in Outs Above Average (-5) and Defensive Runs Saved (-7), and their 16 errors is tied for the most in baseball.

Three of those errors came in yesterday’s 7-0 loss to the Angels, and the lineup was also missing Rafael Devers.  Due to nagging soreness in his left shoulder, Devers has missed Boston’s last two games and will also sit out of today’s contest.

“I’ve been feeling it since Spring Training,” Devers told MLB.com and other media yesterday.  “But every time I was swinging, I was feeling it a little bit more and more.  So for me, I think like two or three days [off] could be enough.  I hope it doesn’t keep bothering me after these two or three days, but that’s something I can’t control.  That’s why I’m just trying to keep working to get stronger, to get my shoulder back in a good way.”

It’s safe to say that Devers’ shoulder has contributed to the third baseman’s slow start, as Devers is hitting just .184/.326/.395 over his first 46 plate appearances.  This relative lack of production has contributed to the lineup’s inconsistency, as the Red Sox have had trouble scoring runs despite hot starts from Tyler O’Neill and Jarren Duran.

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Boston Red Sox Notes Transactions Bobby Dalbec Cooper Criswell Isaiah Campbell Rafael Devers Rob Refsnyder Romy Gonzalez Vaughn Grissom

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AL Notes: Jimenez, A’s, Criswell

By Nick Deeds | January 21, 2024 at 12:37pm CDT

The White Sox have received “little interest” from rival clubs regarding DH Eloy Jimenez, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Jimenez was rumored to be garnering interest from teams early in the offseason, though there has been little in the way of specific rumors regarding his trade market in the months since.

It’s not necessarily shocking that the market for Jimenez’s services has gone dry. The 27-year-old is coming off a down season at the plate in 2023 where he posted a .272/.317/.441 slash line that was only a touch better than league average (105 wRC+). With nearly $17MM in guaranteed money owed to Jimenez between his salary and a $3MM buyout on a club option for next season, teams likely aren’t interested in paying a prospect premium to the White Sox for a pricey slugger who has struggled to stay on the field in recent years, is coming off a down year at the plate, and is limited defensively.

Those flaws figure to be exacerbated by the presence of comparable options such as Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez, and even Rhys Hoskins who are available to clubs looking to add right-handed pop to their lineup for nothing but money in free agency. Given that reality, it seems likely that the White Sox will retain Jimenez into the season and hope for a bounceback from the slugger, at which point they could re-evaluate the situation over the summer. Last year’s trade deadline saw Jimenez receive interest from multiple clubs, and the lack of free agent alternatives often pushes teams to get deals done they may have been more hesitant to work out the previous winter.

More from around the American League…

  • Reporting earlier this week indicated that the Athletics planned to take their search for an interim stadium for the 2025-27 seasons to Salt Lake City. They did so this weekend, though Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the A’s have interest in a new ballpark being built in South Jordan, a southern suburb for Salt Lake City, rather than Smith’s Ballpark in the city itself as was previously believed. Akers relays that the Larry H. Miller Company, which owns the Salt Lake Bees minor league club and is building the aforementioned suburban stadium, has been in regular contact with the A’s and that company CEO Steve Starks said in a statement that the arrangement would delay the Bees’ move out of Smith’s Ballpark if agreed upon. The South Jordan stadium the A’s reportedly have interest in has a capacity of just 7,500, compared to the 14,500-seat capacity offered by Smith’s Ballpark.
  • The Red Sox and right-hander Cooper Criswell agreed to a big league deal earlier this winter, and MassLive’s Christopher Smith recently relayed additional information regarding the club’s plans for the 27-year-old hurler. As noted by Smith, Criswell recently told reporters that club brass have instructed him to come to camp ready to start. That would seem to indicate that Criswell could join the likes of Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Josh Winckowski in a camp battle for the fifth starter job in Boston this spring, though Criswell was careful to note that building up as a starter during the offseason can be beneficial even if he’s eventually moved to a relief role. Criswell pitched in a bulk relief role with the Rays last year, posting a 5.73 ERA in 33 innings of work across ten appearances at the big league level.
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Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Notes Oakland Athletics Cooper Criswell Eloy Jimenez

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Red Sox Sign Cooper Criswell To Major League Contract

By Anthony Franco | December 12, 2023 at 9:43pm CDT

The Red Sox announced agreement with right-hander Cooper Criswell on a major league contract. He’ll remain in the AL East after being non-tendered by the Rays last month. The move brings the Sox’s 40-man roster count to 39. Criswell, a Frontline client, is reportedly guaranteed $1MM.

Criswell occupied a depth role for Tampa Bay in 2023. He made 10 appearances as a long reliever, tossing 33 innings with a 5.73 ERA. Criswell didn’t miss many bats at the highest level, striking out a below-average 17.9% of opponents. He generated swinging strikes on only 7.7% of his offerings while averaging 88.4 MPH on his sinker.

The 27-year-old had a better season in Triple-A. Working mostly out of the rotation, he pitched to a 3.93 ERA in 84 2/3 frames. Criswell’s 21.6% strikeout rate wasn’t much worse than average and he kept the ball on the ground for over half the batted balls he allowed.

While it’s not overpowering stuff, the North Carolina product has plus control. He has done an excellent job avoiding free passes throughout his minor league career and walked only 7.3% of batters faced at the MLB level last season. Criswell has a four-pitch arsenal that allows him to work as a depth starter or long reliever.

Since he has a minor league option remaining, the Sox can freely move Criswell between Fenway Park and Triple-A Worcester for another year. They go a little above the league minimum salary and commit a 40-man roster spot to a player they clearly identified as a depth target. Criswell has yet to reach one year of MLB service, so the Red Sox could control him well into the future if he pitches well enough to hold that 40-man spot.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Red Sox and Criswell had agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Cooper Criswell

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East Notes: Nationals, Mets, Rays

By Nick Deeds | December 2, 2023 at 6:04pm CDT

The Nationals finished the 2023 season with a 71-91 record that left them as one of the worst teams in the National League, even as it represented a substantial improvement over the club’s 107-loss 2022 campaign. While the club has sat out the top of the free agent market during the recent seasons of their rebuild, it seems that may not be the case this offseason as the club looks to upgrade at the infield corners and at DH, per TalkNats. The club has already been linked to a reunion with third baseman Jeimer Candelario, who was posting career-best numbers with the Nats prior to being dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline. The report suggests that the club has interest in first baseman Rhys Hoskins and outfield/DH slugger Jorge Soler in addition to Candelario. The report goes on to indicate that Washington has been “very active” in the starting pitching market to this point in the offseason, though it does not connect any specific names to the club.

The rumored targets make sense for the Nationals. The club has a major hole at third base given that former top prospect Carter Kieboom has failed to establish himself the big league level. Kieboom’s .207/.266/.368 slash line (70 wRC+) in 2023 was largely in line with his career numbers of .199/.297/.301 (65 wRC+), and Candelario or another third base addition would almost certainly represent a significant upgrade over the 26-year-old. Meanwhile, an addition at first base or DH could help the club improve an offense that currently figures to use journeyman Joey Meneses at one position without an established starter at the other.

As for the rotation, the club has several interesting young arms such as Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore that they figure to prioritize developing, with veterans such as Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams who can reliably eat innings. That being said, the Nationals’ starting staff posted a combined 5.02 ERA last season, the sixth-worst figure in the majors. What’s more, the club’s 5.30 FIP in the rotation was better than only the lowly Rockies, while their starting staff combined for just 4.9 fWAR, better than only Colorado and Oakland. That leaves plenty of room for improvement if the club decides to add even a lower-level free agent such as Matthew Boyd or Frankie Montas to its rotation, to say nothing of a more impactful addition.

More from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • While the Mets have reportedly shifted their focus away from superstar free agent Shohei Ohtani, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that the club is still looking at potential impact additions this offseason. They’ve long been connected to top-of-the-market arm Yoshinobu Yamamoto as they explore potential rotation upgrades, and Heyman adds that the Mets are looking into “nearly every available frontline starter” in addition to Yamamoto, including southpaws Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and Eduardo Rodriguez. While Heyman notes the club is unlikely to land a rental arm such as Tyler Glasnow or Shane Bieber on the trade market, he does suggest the club’s interest in rotation upgrades extends to White Sox starter Dylan Cease, who is under team control for the next two seasons and has seen plenty of trade buzz this offseason. Rotation upgrades make plenty of sense for New York after the club shipped out veteran aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline over the summer, leaving Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, and newly-signed righty Luis Severino as the club’s only rotation locks entering 2024.
  • The Rays have interest in a reunion with right-hander Cooper Criswell even after non-tendering him last month, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Criswell, 27, made his big league debut as a member of the Angels in 2021 with a one-game cup of coffee that lasted just 1 1/3 innings. He spent the past two seasons as a member of the Rays, with a 5.45 ERA and 5.00 FIP in 36 1/3 innings of work across 11 appearances. While those numbers are certainly nothing to write home about, Criswell’s ability to go multiple innings and 46.8% career groundball rate at the big league level could make him a worthwhile depth addition for a Rays club that relied on 40 different pitchers throughout the 2023 campaign.
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New York Mets Notes Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Blake Snell Cooper Criswell Dylan Cease Eduardo Rodriguez Jeimer Candelario Jordan Montgomery Jorge Soler Rhys Hoskins

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American League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23

By Nick Deeds | November 17, 2023 at 8:24pm CDT

The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

Latest Moves

  • Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Rays non-tendered righty Cooper Criswell. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday.
  • The Mariners announced this evening that the club has non-tendered first baseman Mike Ford. Ford hit well (.228/.323/.475) in 83 games with Seattle this season but had already been designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Yankees announced this evening that the club has non-tendered right-handers Albert Abreu and Lou Trivino in addition to left-hander Anthony Misiewicz. Trivino didn’t pitch in the majors this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in May. Abreu pitched to a 4.73 ERA and 5.26 FIP across 59 innings of work while Misiewicz posted a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings of work for the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Tigers.
  • The Twins have non-tendered left-hander Jovani Moran and right-hander Ronny Henriquez, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Moran finished the season on the injured list and, per Hayes, will require Tommy John surgery this offseason. Henriquez did not appear in the majors this year and struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 37 appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Angels announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Jose Marte. Marte had gotten brief looks out of Anaheim’s bullpen across the past three seasons but struggled to a 8.14 ERA in 24 1/3 combined innings of work over those cups of coffee.
  • The Red Sox have non-tendered right-hander Wyatt Mills, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Mills, 28, did not appear in the big leagues this year and underwent Tommy John surgery over the summer.

Earlier Moves

  • The Rangers announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Brett Martin. Bush, 37, struggled to a 9.58 ERA with the Brewers this year and did not make an appearance with Texas. Martin missed the entire 2023 campaign with shoulder issues.
  • The Royals announced this evening that they have non-tendered outfielder Diego Hernandez, left-hander Austin Cox, catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont. All but Hernandez had already been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. Hernandez has yet to appear in the majors during his career and slashed .245/.302/.291 in 60 games at the Double-A level this season.
  • The Athletics announced today that they did not tender a contract to infielder Kevin Smith. Smith joined the club in the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto and slashed just .182/.218/.314 in 297 trips to the plate with Oakland over the last two seasons.
  • The Blue Jays are expected to non-tender right-hander Adam Cimber this evening, per Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC-2. A veteran of six MLB seasons, the 32-year-old Cimber struggled badly in 2023 with a 7.40 ERA in 22 appearances despite a strong 2.53 ERA in 149 appearances with Toronto between 2021 and 2022.
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Boston Red Sox Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Adam Cimber Albert Abreu Anthony Misiewicz Austin Cox Brett Martin Cooper Criswell Diego Hernandez Jose Marte (b. 1996) Josh Staumont Jovani Moran Kevin Smith Logan Porter Lou Trivino Matt Bush Mike Ford Ronny Henriquez Wyatt Mills

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