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Jake Woodford

Pirates Outright Jake Woodford

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Sept. 23: Woodford passed through waivers unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, per the transaction log at MLB.com.

Sept. 19: The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Isaac Mattson. Fellow righty Jake Woodford has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The 40-man roster remains full.

Woodford was just selected to the roster yesterday and it seems the plan was simply for him to make a spot start as the club plays out the string on the 2024 season. He took the ball against his former club the Cardinals yesterday, tossing 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five hitters and didn’t issue a walk, but he allowed four earned runs on eight hits, including a home run.

The righty was also on Pittsburgh’s roster earlier in the year but without much success. He now has a 7.97 earned run average through 35 innings on the year. That’s surely a bit misleading as his 44.6% strand rate is well below league average, but he’s also not doing himself favors with his 15.6% strikeout rate and 35.2% ground ball rate.

He’s been able to work around the lack of strikeouts in the past. He tossed 116 innings as a swingman for the Cards over 2021 and 2022, posting a 3.26 ERA. He only punched out 15.4% of opponents but also kept the ball on the ground 45.8% of the time. His ERA jumped to 6.23 last year due to a home run spike, which led the Cards to non-tender him.

The Bucs will put him on waivers in the coming days, as they did in late August. At that time, he cleared waivers, elected free agency and then re-signed on a fresh minor league deal. With so little of the 2024 season remaining, it’s possible he goes unclaimed and goes into offseason mode slightly ahead of schedule.

Mattson, 29, will take Woodford’s place and return to the big leagues for the first time since 2021. He made four appearances for the Orioles that year, allowing three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, which is the total of his major league experience thus far.

He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates coming into 2024 and has had a solid year on the farm. He has thrown 71 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.17 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate, though the 12.7% walk rate is on the high side.

He’ll give the Bucs a fresh arm for the bullpen as they finish out the season. He has a couple of options remaining and just a few days of service time, so he can theoretically be retained well into the future, though he would have to hold onto his roster spot throughout the club’s offseason transactions.

Pirates Select Jake Woodford

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September 18: The Bucs have now made it official. Right-hander Kyle Nicolas has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 17, with a left oblique strain. That opens an active roster spot. Righty Ben Heller has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot. Heller landed on the 15-day IL August 30 due to right shoulder inflammation, so his season is over.

September 17: The Pirates will promote right-hander Jake Woodford to start tomorrow’s game in St. Louis, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). He’s on a minor league contract, so the Bucs need to select him onto the 40-man roster.

It’ll be Woodford’s second stint with the Bucs and his third appearance in the majors this season. The 27-year-old began the season with the White Sox, allowing 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings. He had a longer leash with Pittsburgh but continued to struggle. Woodford pitched to a 6.95 ERA across 22 frames before the Pirates designated him for assignment at the end of August.

This will be Woodford’s first appearance against the Cardinals. He’d played with St. Louis for his entire career until this season. The 39th overall pick of the 2015 draft, he pitched 184 2/3 innings over four MLB campaigns with the Cards. Woodford managed a respectable 4.29 earned run average overall, but he struggled to a 6.23 mark across 47 2/3 innings last season. The Cardinals non-tendered him as a result.

Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move tomorrow. Woodford is out of options and cannot be sent back to the minors without going on waivers. There’s a good chance the Bucs take him off the 40-man roster early in the offseason even if he sticks in the majors for the final two weeks of the regular season.

Pirates Re-Sign Jake Woodford

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TODAY: Woodford elected free agency, but MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf reports (X link) that Woodford has re-signed with the Pirates on a new minor league contract.

AUGUST 29: Pirates righty Jake Woodford cleared outright waivers, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He has the ability to elect free agency because he has been outrighted before in his career.

Woodford pitched in six games for Pittsburgh before they designated him for assignment on Monday. The 27-year-old righty started four of those appearances and posted a 6.95 ERA across 22 innings. Woodford had allowed 10 runs over two starts with the White Sox earlier in the year and carries an 8.01 ERA over 30 1/3 frames.

A former supplemental first-round pick of the Cardinals, Woodford pitched parts of four seasons with St. Louis. He combined for 184 2/3 innings of 4.29 ERA ball. That’s decent run prevention but came with a well below-average 15.1% strikeout percentage. Woodford’s lack of missed bats has caught up to him, as he has followed up a 6.23 ERA last year with this season’s disappointing numbers.

Woodford has gotten better results in the upper minors. He has started 17 games in Triple-A this year, working to a 4.02 ERA through 85 innings. He carries a matching 4.02 mark over parts of six seasons at that level.

Pirates Designate Jake Woodford For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they have placed catcher Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and recalled catcher Henry Davis, a swap that was reported yesterday. They also reinstated infielder Nick Gonzales from the injured list and designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported on X that Woodford was being designated for assignment prior to the official announcement. Prior to that, it was noted by members of the Pittsburgh beat that Woodford was clearing out his locker. Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was among those to pass that along on X.

Woodford, 27, was selected to the club’s roster at the end of July. He has since tossed 22 innings for the Bucs over six appearances, allowing 6.95 earned runs per nine. When combined with his time with the White Sox earlier this year, Woodford has an 8.01 ERA on the season.

It’s the second straight rough campaign for Woodford, who had previously posted some decent results with the Cardinals. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 116 innings for that club with a 3.26 ERA. His 15.4% strikeout rate in that time wasn’t special but he limited walks to a 7.5% clip and got grounders on 45.8% of balls in play. But his ERA jumped to 6.23 last year, which led the Cards to non-tender him, and his ERA has crept even higher here in 2024.

With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, the Pirates will have to place Woodford on waivers. Based on his struggles, the interest is likely to be minimal, meaning he should be a free agent in the coming days. When the White Sox designated him for assignment earlier this year, he passed through waivers unclaimed and then elected free agency, a right he had based on having at least three years of major league service time.

Pirates Select Jake Woodford

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The Pirates announced several roster moves today in the aftermath of the trade deadline. The club selected the contract of right-hander Jake Woodford and added left-hander Jalen Beeks to the roster after acquiring him from the Rockies yesterday. In addition, the club placed right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on the 15-day injured list, transferred right-hander Daulton Jefferies to the 60-day IL, and designated right-hander Ryder Ryan for assignment.

Woodford, 27, signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league deal last month after being designated for assignment by the White Sox following two spot starts with the club where he surrendered a combined ten runs on fifteen hits while striking out seven and walking five in 8 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s two difficult appearances in Chicago come on the heels of an up-and-down tenure with the Cardinals. Selected by the club in the first round of the 2015 draft, Woodford made his debut in the 2020 season and after struggling in a cup of coffee that year proved to be a solid swingman and multi-inning reliever for St. Louis in 2021 and ’22. Over those two seasons, Woodford posted a 3.26 ERA and 3.93 FIP in 116 innings of work.

Those strong numbers came in spite of a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate that paired with a decent but unspectacular 7.5% walk rate. A strong 45.8% groundball rate helped to explain Woodford’s success to some extent, but the main reason he was able to post such strong numbers was that a microscopic 6.9% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs during those two seasons. That allowed him to float an above-average 76.3% strand rate while allowing a slightly below average .285 BABIP. Unfortunately, the right-hander’s production seemed to regress to his performance in 2023 as he struggled badly to a 6.23 ERA and 6.61 FIP as his walk rate climbed to 9.9% while his luck in avoiding the long ball reversed, leaving him with 11 homers allowed in just 47 2/3 innings of work.

Now Woodford figures to get another shot at the big league level with Pittsburgh after looking good in seven starts with the club at the Triple-A level. He’s allowed an ERA of just 2.29 in those 35 1/3 frames and his strikeout rate has ticked up to a respectable 26% against a 3.5% walk rate, offering some optimism that he may be able to post stronger results going forward. Woodford appears unlikely to return to the spot starter role he held with the White Sox, instead serving as a multi-inning reliever in a Pittsburgh bullpen that just lost Mlodzinski. A first round pick by the Pirates in the 2020 draft, Mlodzinski has looked good in a swing role for the club this year with a 3.18 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 34 innings but now figures to be sidelined for some time due to a right shoulder strain.

Clearing up a pair of spots on the club’s 40-man roster are Jefferies and Ryan. Jefferies has been on the shelf due to inflammation in his throwing elbow since early this month but now will be out until at least early September. As for Ryan, the right-hander was a minor league signing by the club back in December who made the club’s Opening Day roster and has been riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors ever since. In 17 innings of work for the club at the big league level, Ryan sports a lackluster 5.29 ERA, although his solid 21% strikeout rate and a 3.80 FIP both suggest his underlying performance may have been better than that production would suggest. That said, his numbers at Triple-A inspire little confidence, as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA in 27 1/3 innings at the level this year. The Pirates will have one week to attempt to pass Ryan through waivers. The Pirates would be able to outright him to the minors if he clears waivers, but the righty has already been outrighted previously and could opt to reject that assignment in favor of free agency if he so chose.

Pirates, Jake Woodford Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent righty Jake Woodford, MLBTR has confirmed. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com first reported that Woodford was expected to sign with the Bucs. The Excel Sports client is headed to Triple-A Indianapolis for the time being but could work his way into the mix for a long-relief or fifth starter role with the Bucs.

Woodford opened the season with the 2024 season with the White Sox organization after signing a minor league deal back in January. He’d spent his entire career prior to that point with the Cardinals, who selected him with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The right-hander made a pair of starts in a thin ChiSox rotation but served up ten runs on 15 hits and five walks in 8 1/3 innings. He fanned seven of his 46 opponents (15.2%). Chicago designated him for assignment last week, and he elected free agency over the weekend after clearing waivers.

That brief White Sox run marked a fifth straight season with some major league work for Woodford. He’s totaled 193 frames between the Cards and Sox, working to a combined 4.57 ERA with a 15.1% strikeout rate, an 8.2% walk rate, a 46.1% ground-ball rate and 1.31 homers per nine innings pitched. Woodford doesn’t miss many bats but has generally posted above-average ground-ball marks while showing average command. He’ll rely primarily on a sinker that sits just shy of 92 mph, pairing that with a slider as his primary secondary offering. He worked in a cutter far more frequently than in the past during his brief Chicago stint this season.

Woodford is stretched out to start, giving the Pirates some additional depth in the rotation. He’s spent parts of six seasons in Triple-A, posting  4.19 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. He’s out of minor league options, so if the Pirates select him to the MLB roster, he’ll need to stick or else be again designated for assignment and exposed to waivers before he could be sent down. Even if he were to go unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the option to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.

The Pirates’ rotation currently includes a pair of electric rookies — 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes and fellow top prospect Jared Jones — in addition to stalwart right-hander Mitch Keller. Entering the season, veteran lefties Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales were expected to hold down rotation spots behind Keller and Jones, but Perez landed on the injured list due to a groin strain late last month while Gonzales made only three starts before incurring a forearm strain that’s sidelined him for nearly two months now. Young righty Quinn Priester joined them on the injured list earlier this month due to a lat strain.

At the moment, the Bucs have southpaw Bailey Falter as their fourth starter behind Skenes, Jones and Keller. He’s made a dozen starts with a 3.69 ERA but far shakier marks from metrics like FIP (4.75) and SIERA (4.79). Pittsburgh has former second-round pick Braxton Ashcraft and waiver pickup Daulton Jefferies on the 40-man roster as rotation options who could be ahead of Woodford on the depth chart. Other non-roster veterans in Indianapolis include Josh Fleming, Domingo German and Michael Plassmeyer, though no one from that trio has pitched well in Triple-A this year. Woodford adds some insurance in the event of further injuries and/or some depth in the event that the team opts for some kind of innings cap on Skenes and Jones down the stretch.

Jake Woodford Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: The White Sox announced that Woodford cleared waivers and chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

JUNE 7: The White Sox have designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. He’ll be replaced on the roster by righty Jonathan Cannon, who’s being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Drafted by St. Louis with the No. 39 overall pick in 2015, Woodford spent his entire career prior to the 2024 season in the Cardinals organization. He signed a minor league contract in Chicago over the winter. The 6’4″ righty has started two games for the South Siders but been tagged for 10 runs on 15 hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. He had a rough go in Charlotte as well, pitching 49 2/3 innings of 5.26 ERA ball across 10 starts.

Woodford did notch a 3.26 ERA in a swingman role with the Cardinals from 2021-22, although a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate and some very good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball rate prompted fielding-independent metrics to take that number with a grain of salt. Woodford 3.93 FIP and 4.65 SIERA were both far more bearish.

In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Woodford has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and above-average ground-ball tendencies. He’s out of minor league options, so any team that acquires him in a small trade or claims him on waivers will need to add him directly to the MLB roster. If he clears waivers, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Sox will either trade him or put him on waivers within the next five days, with waivers themselves representing a 48-hour process. Within a week’s time, Woodford will know the result of his DFA.

Cannon, 23, made his big league debut earlier this season but was hit hard in his first three MLB starts. He’s been hit hard in the minors as well, recording a 5.50 ERA in 37 2/3 frames, but the reeling White Sox will give him another look in the big leagues at a time when Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde are their only two reliable starting pitchers. Cannon, a third-round pick in 2022, ranks among Chicago’s top pitching prospects and will likely receive ample opportunity to cement himself as a viable big league starter as the Sox navigate their latest rebuilding effort.

White Sox Place Mike Clevinger On IL Due To Elbow Inflammation

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White Sox announced that right-hander Mike Clevinger has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation, retroactive to May 25. Fellow righty Jake Woodford has been selected to the roster and will start tonight’s game in Clevinger’s place. Left-hander Sammy Peralta has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Woodford. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to relay the Clevinger and Woodford on X prior to the official announcement.

Since Clevinger is being scratched just hours before his schedule start, it seems fair to conclude that it’s something that popped up recently. He tossed 4 2/3 innings in his most recent start, finishing with 98 pitches thrown that day. He says he has received a cortisone shot and will be shut down for 48 hours, per Van Schouwen on X. The righty expects to return after the 15-day minimum is up.

Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and hasn’t quite been the same pitcher since. He had a 3.19 ERA in his career before going under the knife but has a 4.20 mark since then. He had a 27.3% strikeout rate prior to the surgery but has punched out just 19.4% of batters faced after.

He lingered in free agency this winter and didn’t land a deal until the Sox signed him in early April to a modest one-year deal with a $3MM guarantee. He went to the minors to build up his workload and was recalled in early May. The Sox were likely hoping for him to stabilized the rotation a bit by eating some innings and perhaps turning himself into a midseason trade candidate. That plan hasn’t worked out so far, as he has a 6.75 ERA through four starts and is now going on the injured list for at least a short spell.

The Sox have traded away many of their starters in recent years as part of their ongoing rebuild, including Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. This year, some of the guys they have tried have not worked out. Michael Soroka has been moved to the bullpen while Brad Keller was bumped off the roster entirely.

The Sox are left with a rotation core consisting of Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini. Crochet and Fedde have pitched well but Crochet will likely hit some kind of workload limit eventually, given how little he’s pitched in previous seasons. Fedde is on a two-year deal and will be a trade candidate this summer. Flexen is an impending free agent and would be a logical trade candidate as well, though his 5.69 ERA this year doesn’t give him massive appeal at the moment.

For now, Woodford will step in and make at least one start for the club. The 27-year-old was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason and has been pitching in Triple-A this year. He has logged 49 2/3 innings in his ten starts with a 5.26 ERA, 19.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate.

Prior to this year, he spent his entire career with the Cardinals. He threw 184 2/3 innings over the past four seasons with a 4.29 ERA. His 47.3% ground ball rate in that time was solid but his 15.1% strikeout rate well below par. He exhausted his option years in that stretch with St. Louis and they non-tendered him at the end of last season, which led to his deal with the Sox.

Since he’s out of options, the Sox will have to keep him on the active roster or else remove him from the 40-man entirely. If he manages to last on the roster all year, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration. He came into 2024 with his service time count at three years and 48 days. If the club needs another starter down the line, Jonathan Cannon is on the 40-man but tossed six innings on Sunday. He wouldn’t have been available today but will perhaps get consideration going forward. Chad Kuhl and Touki Toussaint are non-roster options with some major league experience.

Peralta, 26, was just claimed off waivers from the Mariners two days ago. That brought him back to his original organization, as the Sox drafted him back in 2019 but lost him to the M’s off waivers in April of this year.

He made 16 appearances for the Sox last year with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. He struck out 20% of batters faced and walked 12.2%. With Triple-A Tacoma this year, he had a 9.24 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. His 20% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate with Tacoma were quite similar to last year’s major league work, but three home runs, a .361 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate pushed some extra runs across the plate.

The Sox were clearly still intrigued by their old friend and tried to bring him back, but the need for a roster spot nudged him off in short order. They will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one more season as well. In the minor leagues in 2022, he tossed 62 innings with a 3.77 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and got grounders on roughly half the balls in play he allowed.

White Sox To Sign Jake Woodford To Minor League Deal

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Right-hander Jake Woodford is signing a minor league contract with the White Sox, per a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. The Excel Sports Management client will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Woodford, 27, will jump to a new organization for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Cardinals in 2015 and was a part of that org until he was non-tendered in November of last year. He mostly worked in a swing role in the big leagues and had some decent seasons. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 116 innings with a 3.26 earned run average. His 15.4% strikeout rate in that time was well below league average but he kept his walks down to a 7.5% clip and got grounders on 45.8% of balls in play.

Unfortunately, things went off the rails in 2023, as he posted a 6.23 ERA in 47 2/3 innings, as his strikeout rate fell even farther to 13.1% and his walk rate ticked up to 9.9%. Despite his ground ball tendencies, he also allowed 11 home runs in that small sample of work. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Woodford for a salary of $1.1MM, just a bit north of next year’s $740K minimum. But the Cards instead decided to move on, non-tendering him in November.

For the Sox, they have plenty of questions on their pitching staff. Dylan Cease projects as the ace but many around the industry expect him to be traded. General manager Chris Getz recently said the club plans to stretch out Garrett Crochet, but he’s thrown just 73 major league innings over the past four years. Erick Fedde should have a role after a strong KBO season but his work in the majors was shaky prior to that. Michael Kopech and Touki Toussaint both have significant control issues. Michael Soroka didn’t fully bounceback in 2023 after a lengthy injury absence. Chris Flexen is coming off a really rough campaign.

In the bullpen, Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, Aaron Bummer, Keynan Middleton and Joe Kelly have all been traded in the past six months, and Crochet is another subtraction by virtue of moving into a starting role. In short, there should be plenty of innings available for Woodford if he’s able to put his 2023 season behind him and get back into good form. If he’s added onto the roster, he is out of options but could be retained beyond this season via arbitration.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of fairly minor players on National League teams who 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 without being placed on waivers. They’ll be eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 teams. It’s not uncommon to see non-tendered players almost immediately return to their previous organization on a minor league deal.

The transactions:

Latest Moves

Earlier

  • The Reds have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Reiver Sanmartin. Cincinnati also confirmed the previously reported non-tender of Nick Senzel.
  • In addition to Rowdy Tellez and Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers have non-tendered right-hander J.C. Mejía. He failed a PED test in September, the second such result of his career, and was suspended for 162 games.
  • Former Rookie of the Year winner Kyle Lewis was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks. He played in only 16 games after being acquired from the Mariners last offseason.
  • The Cubs non-tendered relievers Ethan Roberts, Brandon Hughes and Codi Heuer. All three are recovering from surgeries.
  • Right-hander Tommy Doyle was non-tendered by the Rockies. Colorado designated him for assignment when acquiring Cal Quantrill this morning.
  • The Cardinals have non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, first baseman Juan Yepez and starting pitchers Jake Woodford and Dakota Hudson. St. Louis reportedly tried to deal Hudson this afternoon but evidently did not find a taker.
  • The Mets have non-tendered relievers Jeff Brigham, Sam Coonrod and Trevor Gott. New York also cut loose infielder Luis Guillorme and confirmed the reported non-tender of Dan Vogelbach.
  • Left-hander Josh Fleming was non-tendered by the Phillies, the team announced. Philadelphia just snagged the southpaw off waivers from the Rays a few weeks ago.
  • The Marlins have non-tendered catcher Jacob Stallings and infielder Garrett Hampson, per a club announcement. Stallings spent two seasons as the primary catcher after being acquired from the Pirates at the 2021-22 offseason. Hampson signed a minor league deal with the Fish last season.
  • The Pirates non-tendered Osvaldo Bido and Hunter Stratton, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Neither had yet been eligible for arbitration. Both right-handers made their big league debuts in 2023; Mackey suggests the Bucs will try to bring them back on minor league pacts.
  • The Nationals announced they’ve non-tendered first baseman Dominic Smith and right-hander Cory Abbott. Both players were designated for assignment earlier in the week, making this an inevitability.
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