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Red Sox Notes: Crawford, Bregman, Second Base

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The Red Sox have been without right-hander Kutter Crawford all year after he began the season on the injured list due to soreness in his knee, and today the righty was dealt a frustrating setback. As noted by Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, manager Alex Cora told reporters yesterday that Crawford has been shut down from throwing. That’s not due to a flare up in his knee, however, but due to a wrist issue that’s cropped up during his rehab. Crawford began experiencing pain in his wrist earlier this month, and while he spent the past few weeks attempting to work his way back in spite of the issue Cora told reporters that the organization became worried that it would create additional arm issues if Crawford continued trying to push through it.

It’s a frustrating setback for Crawford, who pitched through soreness in his knee last year and has now spent over a year impacted by that issue. The right-hander pitched to a 4.23 ERA and 4.31 FIP in 313 innings across the 2023 and ’24 seasons, serving as a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for the Red Sox in that time. It’s fair to wonder if his numbers could’ve been even stronger if he was healthy given his excellent performance in the first half last year, when he pitched to a 3.00 ERA with a 3.77 FIP and a 24.3% strikeout rate in 114 innings. Regardless, he’ll now be sat back down for the foreseeable future until the wrist soreness that had developed dissipates and he can once again resume his attempt to return to the big league mound. Fortunately, the Red Sox have a deep group of starting options that has allowed them to weather the loss of Crawford so far this year.

Turning to the position player side of things, Healey relayed comments Cora told reporters this afternoon that suggested star third baseman Alex Bregman could be returning “sooner rather than later.” Cora did not provide a specific timeline, but he did acknowledge that Bregman probably wouldn’t return this coming week or the week after. Even so, that leaves the door open for the Red Sox to have their third baseman back in the lineup before the All-Star break. Bregman was tentatively expected to miss around two months due to the injury, and has so far been out for just over a month. For the idea of the infielder returning to the lineup to be floated by Cora at this stage suggests he could beat that initial timeline.

It would be a huge boost to the Boston lineup, particularly after the loss of Rafael Devers in a trade with the Giants last weekend. Bregman has a 158 wRC+ through 51 games this year, but his return could also take a lesser hitter out of the lineup. Following Kristian Campbell’s recent demotion to the minor leagues, Cora told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) that David Hamilton would likely see the lion’s share of reps at the keystone for the time being due to his superlative defense. Hamilton is hitting just .180/.212/.300 (33 wRC+) in 106 plate appearances this year, however, and Bregman’s return could open the door for rookie Marcelo Mayer to shift over to second base and offer a stronger offensive option.

As for Campbell, the youngster told reporters (including Katie Morrison O’Day of MassLive) yesterday that learning first base is his “priority” while he’s at Triple-A, although he acknowledged that he would continue to get reps at second base and in center field as well. Campbell was in the conversation for starts with the big league club and had begun taking grounders there prior to his demotion, so it’s hardly a shock that he would continue those efforts in the minors. Still, the possibility for Campbell to start at first on a regular basis when he returns to the big leagues would seemingly open the door even more widely for Mayer to handle the keystone upon Bregman’s return to action.

MLBTR Podcast: Reacting To The Devers Trade And Aaron Civale

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Devers Trade Fallout: Breslow, Deadline Plans, Clubhouse

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The baseball world remains focused on last night’s stunning blockbuster that sent Rafael Devers to San Francisco. There’ll surely be more from the Giants once Devers reports to the team tomorrow, but there’s already been plenty of note out of Boston.

The trade was obviously driven by the deterioration of the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox. That stemmed from the three-time All-Star’s frustration with being moved off third base when the Sox signed Alex Bregman. Devers initially indicated he was unwilling to change positions before begrudgingly agreeing to serve as the designated hitter. He was more adamant in refusing to even take pregame reps at first base after the Sox lost Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury. He went public with his displeasure with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow after the team approached him about considering it.

Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe posted last night that the team felt that Devers’ franchise-record $313.5MM contract came “with responsibilities to do what is right for the team” which the infielder had not met. More specifically, Sean McAdam of MassLive writes that the Sox feared that Devers’ frustrations with the position changes would send a poor message to their younger players — especially their talented rookie trio of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell.

Breslow alluded to the clubhouse culture in a Zoom call with reporters this evening (YouTube link to 38-minute conversation). “It’s the willingness to step up and sacrifice at times of need and essentially do whatever is necessary to help the team win,” the former MLB reliever said when speaking generally about successful teams of which he’d been a part. “I think that’s the identity, this relentless pursuit of winning, that we’re looking for.” He declined to directly answer a follow-up question from ESPN’s Jeff Passan as to which areas Devers was not meeting those standards.

CEO Sam Kennedy and Breslow repeated multiple times on the call that the team and Devers could no longer “find alignment.” Breslow indicated that Devers did not formally request a trade, though he added that “there were times during the course of conversations with Raffy’s camp where they had indicated that perhaps a fresh start would be best for both sides.”

This was evidently under consideration for a while. Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey told the San Francisco beat last night that they’d been in conversations with the Sox about Devers for a few weeks (relayed by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). While Breslow did not provide any specifics on the talks, McAdam reported this morning that the Braves, Blue Jays and Padres had also inquired about Devers’ availability.

Ultimately, those teams weren’t willing to top the Giants’ offer. San Francisco assumed the remaining eight and a half seasons and more than $250MM remaining on Devers’ contract. They sent back starter Kyle Harrison, two prospects (including last year’s first rounder James Tibbs III), and righty Jordan Hicks. There’s some element of salary offset with Hicks’ inclusion, as he’s under contract for $12.5MM annually through 2027. San Francisco signed Hicks with an eye towards stretching him out as a starter, but he failed to hold a rotation role in either of his first two seasons. They’d moved him back to the bullpen before he landed on the injured list with toe inflammation early this month.

Breslow described Hicks as “a dominant late-inning reliever,” suggesting they don’t intend to build him back out for another rotation attempt. Harrison was optioned to Triple-A Worcester but figures to get a rotation look later in the season. It seems clear the Red Sox accepted a significant downgrade in the short term, though Breslow tried to make the case that “there is a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would have.”

While that seems unlikely, Hicks and Harrison are potential short-term contributors. “We needed to create a more functional roster and give certain guys more playing time, be able to rotate through the DH spot and potentially match up there,” Breslow said. “This is a roster that certainly has some needs — starting pitching, bullpen help — and we think that we addressed some of those in the return. Additionally, I do think that it gives us some resources as we head toward the deadline.”

RosterResource now calculates the Sox’s luxury tax number right around the $241MM base threshold. Cot’s Baseball Contracts has them slightly below the line at roughly $238MM. Any tax payment would be minimal since they didn’t pay the CBT last season (and therefore aren’t subject to repeat payor penalties). The decision whether to exceed the threshold could have an impact on next year’s payroll and compensation if they sign any free agents who decline a qualifying offer.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported this morning that the Red Sox continue to view themselves as deadline buyers. Breslow didn’t commit to a direction six weeks in advance of July 31, but he stated that this trade ” is in no way signifying a waving of the white flag on 2025. We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a winning team on the field, to competing for the division and making a deep postseason run.”

The Sox entered tonight’s series opener in Seattle with a 37-36 record that has them half a game back in the Wild Card race. They’d been riding high, winning five straight and coming off a sweep of the Yankees. While the trade had seemingly been coming together for weeks, making the deal after arguably the Sox’s best series of the season (culminating in a game in which Devers homered off Max Fried) was certainly jarring.

Tim Healey of The Boston Globe was among those to chronicle the reactions from Sox players before tonight’s game. “Probably just as shocked as everyone else. That’s the best way to describe it, didn’t really see it coming,” Trevor Story told reporters. “The timing of it comes at a weird time. We thought we were playing really good.” Jarren Duran and Garrett Crochet also acknowledged being taken aback, with Crochet calling it “a shock for sure, after the run we just had this past week.”

Nevertheless, the prevailing sentiment was that the team is confident about the players who remain on the roster. Crochet and Walker Buehler each stated that the front office did not owe the clubhouse an explanation. “From the outside perspective, that would seem like a logical thing,” Buehler said. “But this is part of the business. We have no reason to get an explanation. They made a decision. Our job remains the same.”

Giants Acquire Rafael Devers

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In a shocking mid-June blockbuster, the Giants have acquired star slugger Rafael Devers from the Red Sox in exchange for right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, outfield/first base prospect James Tibbs and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello. The teams subsequently announced the trade, and the Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester. The Giants will absorb the remainder of Devers’s contract in its entirety as part of the deal.

It’s a stunning move that will have massive implications for both franchises as they both pursue their first playoff appearances since 2021 this year. The Red Sox, 37-36 after sweeping the division-leading Yankees this weekend, part with a player they signed to be the next face of their franchise just two years ago. The relationship between the two sides broke down quite publicly over the past few months, however. Devers has long made clear that he wants to play third base on a regular basis, but the Red Sox clearly had other plans this offseason as they sought to add a big right-handed bat to their lineup. After discussing a deal that would’ve sent Nolan Arenado to Boston with the Cardinals earlier in the winter, they ultimately pivoted and signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120MM pact that affords him the opportunity to opt out following the 2025 and ’26 seasons.

That proved to be the end of Devers’ time at third base, and though he initially resisted the move he eventually took up his new role as Boston’s regular DH. That seemed to settle the controversy at first despite reports that indicated Devers considered asking for a trade after the Bregman deal, but tensions erupted once again when Triston Casas was sidelined by knee surgery that will likely end his 2025 season. At that time, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow asked Devers to move to first base to cover for the loss of Casas, a move that would have opened up DH at-bats for another player such as top prospect Roman Anthony. Devers refused and expressed frustration with team leadership for asking him to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, ultimately leading to a private meeting between Devers, manager Alex Cora, and club owner John Henry last month.

Since then, neither Devers nor Red Sox brass have spoken to the media about the situation beyond to affirm that Devers would remain the club’s DH going forward. That’s remained the case even in the weeks since Bregman went down with a significant quad strain that figures to sideline him until late July at the earliest. The discord between the sides over the past few months surely served as a catalyst for today’s shocking blockbuster from Boston’s perspective. Although Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that Devers did not ultimately request a trade, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the slugger is said by friends to be pleased with the change of scenery. For a club that’s under-performing expectations this year but remains on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, moving on from a star player who was clearly unhappy could serve to improve morale going forward.

Of course, there are plenty of on-the-field justifications for making this trade as well. Boston is in dire need of pitching help, and the additions of Harrison and Hicks will go a long way to patching those holes. The two hurlers have pitched both out of the rotation and in relief this year as dictated by the needs of San Francisco, so it’s not entirely clear which roles they will take up now that they’re headed to Boston. Harrison, 24 in August, projects as a starter long-term and has a 4.91 ERA with a 4.22 FIP across four starts in the majors this year. Hicks, meanwhile, spent most of his career as a reliever in St. Louis before signing with the Giants as a starter in free agency. His time with the Giants has been fairly mixed as he’s bounced between the rotation and bullpen, and this year he has a 6.47 ERA across 48 2/3 innings of work despite fantastic peripherals including a 3.59 FIP.

Regardless of what roles those arms end up playing for the Red Sox, it could be a considerable boost to a Boston pitching staff that has struggled to find much stability outside of southpaws Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman this year. Hicks could fill the role of right-handed, late-inning complement to Chapman that the Red Sox were rumored to be seeking over the winter before settling for a combination of Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten (both of whom are presently on the injured list) to support Chapman. Harrison, meanwhile, is headed to Triple-A in the short-term but is a high-upside depth option who Boston could turn to if anyone in their current rotation mix gets injured or begins to struggle.

While neither is likely to help the Red Sox in 2025, the value of the two prospects in the deal cannot be ignored either. Tibbs, 22, was San Francisco’s first-round pick in last year’s draft and has looked excellent at the High-A level this year with a .245/.377/.480 slash line that features nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Ranked as San Francisco’s #4 prospect prior to the trade according to MLB Pipeline, Tibbs has above-average hit and power tools and was lauded for his swing decisions at Florida State, where he slashed a comical .363/.488/.777 in 66 games last year. As for Bello, the 20-year-old is unranked at MLB Pipeline after making just one stateside appearance last year but signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2023 season and has struck out an eye-popping 41.8% of his opponents across 18 innings in rookie ball this year. The pair should be a major infusion of high-upside talent for a system that has been depleted over the past few months by the Crochet trade and the graduations of Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer to the big leagues.

For the Giants, acquiring Devers is a franchise-altering decision that doubles as a major vote of confidence in a 41-30 ballclub that has exceeded all preseason expectations to this point. A career .279/.349/.509 hitter who’s still just 28 years old, Devers is an elite hitter who’s still in his prime. This year’s move to a full-time DH may even be bringing out the best in the slugger, as he’s posting a career best 145 wRC+ so far despite a deep slump earlier in the season after spending most of Spring Training working his way back from a shoulder injury. Since May 1, Devers has posted an even better 170 wRC+. That makes him the eighth-best hitter in the entire sport since that date, and it goes without saying that sort of offensive production could be transformational for a San Francisco team that ranks 20th in the majors this year with a 95 wRC+.

Adding a bat of that caliber to a somewhat middling offense is virtually a no-brainer for San Francisco, particularly when the acquisition cost is a pair of prospects still far from the majors and two pitchers who have posted below-average results this year. Harrison and Hicks, valuable as they could be in the future, were ultimately luxury items for a Giants pitching staff that currently ranks as the third-best in baseball by ERA and should receive reinforcements in the relatively near future when Justin Verlander returns from the injured list. Arguably, the most substantial cost of the trade from San Francisco’s perspective is the financial burden they’re assuming in the deal. Cot’s Baseball Contracts notes that Devers is due to a $2MM assignment bonus from the Giants, though that’s obviously a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $250MM the 28-year-old is owed across the eight-and-a-half years remaining on his contract, which is set to expire following the 2033 season. A portion of that money is deferred beyond the lifetime of the contract, but it’s still a massive financial burden for the Giants to take on going forward.

That financial outlay will leave plenty of pressure on Devers’s bat to remain among the best in the league going forward, particularly given that he’s unlikely to return to his old stomping grounds of third base in the long-term. Incumbent third baseman Matt Chapman is currently on the injured list due to a sprained right hand that’s expected to sideline him for at least a few weeks, but as one of the sport’s best defenders at the hot corner it’s difficult to see Devers getting any more than occasional time at his longtime position once Chapman is back in the lineup. First base is relatively open for the time being, but between Devers’s known reluctance to learn the position on the fly and the looming presence of top prospect Bryce Eldridge at Triple-A it’s hard to see him making a home for himself at that position in San Francisco, either.

Even if Devers seems ticketed to spend the next eight-plus years as a pricey DH for the Giants, it’s difficult to criticize the move from San Francisco’s perspective. After all, the organization’s difficulties wooing offensive talents are well-documented. Failed attempts to court players like Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa, and Aaron Judge to the city over the past decade have created a reputation surrounding the club that they struggle to attract top offensive talents, and while recent deals for Chapman and Willy Adames have helped to put that narrative to bed somewhat it’s still understandable that president of baseball operations Buster Posey would turn to the trade market to land a middle-of-the-order force rather than pursue a top free agent and risk coming up empty. That’s especially true given that Devers’s contract looks fairly reasonable compared to some more recent deals, even for a player with limited defensive value. Setting aside Juan Soto’s $765MM megadeal with the Mets from this past winter, even Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500MM contract extension with the Blue Jays earlier this season makes Devers’s deal look like a steal by comparison.

With Devers presumably settling into a DH role for the Giants, that leaves some combination of Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith, and Jerar Encarnacion to handle first base for San Francisco going forward. Flores had been acting as the club’s everyday DH this year with Smith and Encarnacion in a platoon at first base, but Flores has plenty of experience at first himself and the Giants are unlikely to be interested in dropping his 112 wRC+ bat from their lineup. As for the Red Sox, it’s unclear how they will replace Devers in their lineup in the short-term. The eventual return of Wilyer Abreu from an oblique strain should allow them to move Anthony to DH in Devers’s place, but it’s at least theoretically possible the club could turn to Masataka Yoshida to fill the short-term gap. Yoshida has spent the entire season on the injured list as he recovers from shoulder surgery that has not impacted his ability to hit but has left him unable to throw. That made him a tough fit for a Red Sox lineup that had Devers entrenched at DH, but perhaps the star’s departure could open the door for Yoshida to return earlier than previously expected.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Devers had been traded to San Francisco, as well as the inclusion of Hicks and Harrison in the deal. Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports reported that two minor leaguers would be headed to Boston alongside Hicks and Harrsion, as well as that the Giants would take on Devers’s contract. Murray later identified those as Tibbs and Bello. Hunter Noll of Beyond The Monster first reported that Harrison was being optioned to Triple-A.

Giants Move Jordan Hicks To Bullpen

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The Giants have moved right-hander Jordan Hicks into a bullpen role. Hicks’s spot in the starting rotation will go to right-hander Hayden Birdsong, who is now slated to start for San Francisco against the Royals on May 20. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first suggested that the club was discussing the possibility of taking Hicks out of the rotation this afternoon, and manager Bob Melvin later confirmed the change to reporters (including Slusser) and announced Birdsong as Tuesday’s starter prior to tonight’s game.

It was just last week that Melvin suggested that moving Hicks out of the rotation was not something the Giants had begun discussing. Just a few days later, however, Hicks suffered his worst start of the season against the Diamondbacks as he was torched for five runs across just two innings of work. In that time, he surrendered seven hits (including a home run) and one walk while recording just one strikeout. It seems that outing, which raised Hicks’s ERA to 6.55 on the season, was the final straw for the Giants and convinced them that it was time to explore other options to round out the rotation behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Landen Roupp.

It’s an unfortunate end to Hicks’s time in the rotation, particularly given the fact that peripheral numbers have generally looked favorably upon the right-hander’s work with the club this year. The righty’s 20.3% strikeout rate doesn’t exactly jump off the page, but he’s walked just 7.9% of his opponents and generated an incredible 57.4% ground ball rate. That’s the sixth-highest grounder rate among all qualified starters this year, and of the five names above him only Webb has allowed less hard contact than Hicks’s minuscule 27.7% clip. That elite contact management has been held back by a sky-high .362 BABIP and a shockingly low 56.7% strand rate. Those figures suggest some bad luck and poor sequencing may be the culprit of Hicks’s struggles, and those ideas are further backed up by his 3.48 FIP and 3.74 SIERA.

That 3.79 figure the 30th best SIERA in baseball among qualified starters this year, sandwiched between Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta. While Hicks’s peripheral numbers may suggest strong underlying performance, however, it’s hard to make the argument that this move to the bullpen was premature. Hicks is the worst qualified starter in the league by ERA this year, and his struggles actually date back to last season when he posted an ugly 8.18 ERA with a 6.44 FIP across his final five starts of the year before moving to the bullpen in the second half and returning to form with a 1.17 ERA in August.

While it’s far from impossible to imagine Hicks getting another look in the rotation at some point given those aforementioned strong peripherals, a number of injuries may be required in order for that to come to pass. After all, the Giants have an excess of starting talent that’s forced them to use well-regarded youngsters like Birdsong and recent top prospect Kyle Harrison out of the bullpen to this point in the season. Birdsong, who posted a 4.75 ERA in 16 starts as a rookie last year, has done everything that could be expected to earn another crack at starting this year with a 2.31 ERA and a 24.8% strikeout rate in 23 1/3 innings of work as a multi-inning relief arm. The righty’s 9.9% walk rate is elevated, but his 3.68 SIERA to this point in the year is even better than that of Hicks. As for Harrison, the southpaw began the season in the minors and has only made three appearances so far this year at the big league level, though he’s struck out 31.3% of opponents with a 2.25 ERA in that limited work.

Giants Notes: Hicks, Encarnacion, First Base

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Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks made his eighth start of the season on Friday, posting six innings of three-run ball against the Twins. He struck out six while issuing zero walks in the quality effort, but even after that outing his season ERA sits at a lackluster 5.82. The right-hander’s difficult start to the season has led to questions about whether or not he’ll continue to get starts in the San Francisco rotation, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that manager Bob Melvin stood by the 28-year-old in his comments after Friday’s game.

While Melvin acknowledged that the possibility of a return to the bullpen is “always potentially there” due the hard-throwing righty’s years of success in a relief role with the Cardinals, he added that the Giants are “not talking about that at this point.” The presence of Hicks in the rotation alongside veterans Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, and Robbie Ray leaves just one spot in the club’s starting mix for a young arm. That spot is currently being occupied by Landen Roupp, who has a lackluster 4.89 ERA in seven starts this year but strong peripherals, including a 3.95 FIP.

The inclusion of Roupp and Hicks in the rotation leaves right-hander Hayden Birdsong and southpaw Kyle Harrison both limited to bullpen roles for the time being. Both have taken to their new jobs quite well, with Birdsong posting a 1.47 ERA in 18 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen this season while Harrison has five strikeouts in three hitless innings since being called up to the majors last week. Both hurlers clearly have the arsenals necessary to start, but it’s unclear when an opportunity for either player will arise barring injuries within the current starting five.

Moving on to the lineup, the club has been without slugger Jerar Encarnacion all season after suffering a fracture in his hand just before Opening Day and undergoing surgery shortly thereafter. Encarnacion slashed .248/.277/.425 in 35 games for the Giants last year and a strong camp with San Francisco earned him the opportunity to serve as their everyday DH this year before his injury changed things. Since then, veteran Wilmer Flores has taken over as the club’s primary DH and has bounced back from a lackluster 2024 season to hit a solid .245/.295/.410 in 149 trips to the plate so far this year.

Slusser writes that the Giants like the idea of keeping Flores in that primary DH role in order to keep the 33-year-old healthier throughout the season. That might seem as though it leaves Encarnacion, primarily an outfielder and DH, without a spot in the lineup as he gears up for a rehab assignment, but Slusser notes that Melvin told reporters Encarnacion will be seeing time at first base during his rehab assignment. LaMonte Wade Jr. has hit a paltry .150./246/.252 in 123 plate appearances as the club’s primary first baseman this year, and Encarnacion could potentially take over the position for the time being, or at least provide a possible offensive upgrade over David Villar as a platoon partner for Wade. Whoever gets reps at first base will be feeling pressure from the minor leagues given the presence of consensus top-25 prospect Bryce Eldridge in the minors, but the 20-year-old has just 15 games at the Double-A level this year and is unlikely to be considered for a promotion to the majors until later in the year if he’s even on the radar to debut this year at all.

The Giants Should Consider A Rotation Change

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The Giants had a rotation battle throughout Spring Training. Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander were locked into the top three spots. President of baseball operations Buster Posey said in December that the team remained committed to Jordan Hicks as a starter. The final job would go to one of three younger arms: Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong or Landen Roupp.

Harrison seemed like the frontrunner entering camp. If that had been the case, he quickly pitched his way out of it. The lefty allowed eight runs in 6 2/3 spring innings. The Giants optioned him before Opening Day. (He's since made four starts at Triple-A Sacramento, allowing nine earned runs despite recording 21 strikeouts over 15 innings.) It came down to Birdsong and Roupp, with the latter getting the nod. Birdsong broke camp as a long reliever.

The decision came as a surprise. Birdsong started 16 all of his major league appearances last year. He turned in a 4.75 ERA over 72 innings as a rookie. He'd been lights out during Spring Training, firing 12 innings of one-run ball with 18 strikeouts and no walks. Roupp had a good but less impressive camp, giving up five runs with 14 strikeouts and one walk across 12 frames. He also had more experience working out of the bullpen, as he'd started just four of 23 appearances during his debut season last year.

San Francisco probably feels good about their decision to give Roupp a rotation job. The 26-year-old righty carries a 4.09 earned run average with an excellent 31.2% strikeout rate through the first four turns. He has recorded a pair of quality starts and reached seven innings for the first time in his MLB career on Saturday, when he held the Angels to two runs while striking out nine.

While Roupp has earned continued starting looks, the rest of the rotation beyond Webb has struggled. The Giants have raced to a 15-9 record despite their rotation having the seventh-worst ERA in MLB, entering play Wednesday. They should already consider making a change.

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Giants Intend To Keep Jordan Hicks In Rotation

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The Giants continue to view Jordan Hicks as a starting pitcher, baseball operations president Buster Posey said this afternoon (X link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The 28-year-old righty finished this past season in the bullpen.

San Francisco signed Hicks to a four-year, $44MM free agent contract last winter. They gave the hard-throwing sinkerballer a starting job. That was Hicks’ first extended rotation work. He had started eight games for the Cardinals in 2022 but moved back to the bullpen relatively early in that year. He was a full-time reliever in ’23 before getting the rotation spot with the Giants.

Hicks showed early promise as a starter. He posted a 2.70 earned run average over 12 starts through the end of May. It looked as if Hicks would be a reliever-to-rotation success story in the Seth Lugo or Michael King mold, but things went off the rails midway through the year. Hicks’ velocity trended down each month. While he averaged 95.6 MPH on his sinker in April, that was down to 93.4 MPH by July. The results sharply dropped with it, as he posted a 5.24 ERA in June and allowed nearly a run per inning in July.

San Francisco kicked Hicks to the bullpen by the end of that month. He pitched well in the more familiar one-inning role but battled shoulder inflammation late in the year. Hicks finished the season with a 4.10 ERA in a career-high 109 2/3 innings. The rate production was around average when all was said and done, but it was an up-and-down year.

Given the way Hicks wore down physically, it was fair to wonder if the Giants would move him back to relief for good. Posey also wasn’t responsible for signing him as a starter, a move that came under previous front office leader Farhan Zaidi. Nevertheless, it seems they’ll give Hicks another shot at a rotation spot.

Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison are locked into rotation roles going into camp. If Hicks takes the fourth spot, that’d leave one job up for grabs. That’ll probably be an external acquisition of some kind. The Giants have been linked to Corbin Burnes, though that reported interest predated their $182MM agreement with Willy Adames. It’s not clear if they’re still willing to play at the top of the rotation market. There are a number of more affordable possibilities in the middle tiers of free agency. Mason Black, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp are the top internal candidates for the fifth starter role. They each have options and could open next season in Triple-A if San Francisco makes an addition.

In other pitching news, Posey downplayed the possibility of trading former closer Camilo Doval (relayed on X by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). The Giants have gotten interest in the one-time All-Star, who struggled to a 4.88 ERA as his command deteriorated this year. Trading Doval this winter would be selling low, though, and the Giants are already a bit thin at the back of the bullpen. Ryan Walker had a breakout season to take the ninth inning, while Taylor Rogers and Tyler Rogers are in potential leverage roles. Doval, whom MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to make $4.6MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility, represents a volatile middle innings option.

NL Injury Notes: Glasnow, Hicks, Wicks, Kinley

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The Dodgers moved Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday, all but officially ruling him out for the rest of the season. The lanky right-hander spoke with reporters (including Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) and essentially confirmed he won’t be back in the playoffs. Glasnow called it “extremely frustrating” to be dealing with an elbow sprain, though he indicated he’s confident he will not require any kind of surgical repair.

Glasnow tossed 134 innings across 22 starts in his first season with the Dodgers. He established new career marks in both categories, though the season-ending elbow injury isn’t going to quiet concerns about his durability. Glasnow remained effective as ever before the injury, turning in a 3.49 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate.

A few more Senior Circuit injury notes as noncompetitive teams shut some players down:

  • Shoulder inflammation sent Jordan Hicks to the injured list, ending his season. The Giants recalled Austin Warren to take his spot in the bullpen. Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Hicks will go for an MRI tomorrow. The first season of his four-year, $44MM free agent deal was a mixed bag. Hicks moved to the rotation for the first extended stretch of his career. The sinkerballer pitched well early, carrying a 2.70 ERA in 12 appearances through the end of May. He seemed to wear down quickly thereafter, allowing a 6.37 ERA over his next eight starts. The Giants moved him back to the bullpen at the end of July, but he continued to struggle in relief. Hicks allowed nearly five earned runs per nine with six strikeouts and walks apiece over 11 frames out of the ’pen.
  • The Cubs placed left-hander Jordan Wicks on the injured list with a right oblique strain. Trey Wingenter is up from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move. Wicks had returned from a stint on the 60-day IL at the start of September. That was also on account of a right oblique strain, while the southpaw also missed time with an early-season forearm problem. It’s a frustrating second season for the former first-round pick. Wicks struggled when healthy enough to take the mound, allowing a 5.48 ERA across 46 innings in 11 appearances (10 starts).
  • Rockies closer Tyler Kinley landed on the shelf with elbow inflammation. Colorado recalled Jake Bird to take the open bullpen spot. It’s his second elbow-related IL stint in as many months. Kinley missed the second half of 2022 and most of last season after undergoing elbow surgery. He was healthy for most of this year but hasn’t found anything close to the success he enjoyed before the surgery two years ago. Kinley allowed a 6.19 ERA over 64 innings. He fanned a quarter of batters faced but walked more than 11% of opponents while struggling with the home run ball.

Giants Place Jordan Hicks On Injured List

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The Giants announced that they have placed right-hander Jordan Hicks on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Righty Austin Warren was recalled as the corresponding move. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relayed the details prior to the official announcement (X link one and two).

Hicks was warming up during Friday’s game but didn’t eventually enter the contest. He later said he felt a “zinger” down his arm while getting ready, per Slusser, though he stayed with the club through the weekend. He appeared in Saturday’s game but with diminished velocity. His sinker usually averages between 96 and 97 miles per hour but was around 94 in his most recent outing, per Statcast. It now seems the club has decided to give him some time to rest and heal up.

It’s unclear how long Hicks will be out of action but it’s a blow to the pitching staff regardless. Hicks was in the starting rotation for much of the year but seemed to run out of steam, as his results tapered off as time went on. He had a 3.01 earned run average after his start on June 11, but then posted a 6.83 ERA from June 17 to July 28. He’s been in a bullpen role lately, with six scoreless outings to start the month of August before he allowed one earned run in his Saturday appearance.

Earlier this month, the club put Randy Rodríguez on the injured list. Today, Robbie Ray joined him and now Hicks will hit the shelf as well. The Giants are 66-66 and clinging to life in the National League Wild Card race. They are 5.5 games back of a spot but would need to leapfrog at least three teams while also holding off the clubs just behind them. Doing so will be more challenging now that some key arms have been subtracted from the staff.

Warren, 28, underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year while with the Angels and that club designated him for assignment in February. Since injured players aren’t allowed to be placed on outright waivers, he was released and signed a major league deal with the Giants. Since he was still working his way back from surgery, the Giants moved him to the 60-day injured list in February when they signed Jorge Soler.

He was reinstated from the 60-day injured list in July, thus retaking his spot on the 40-man roster, but was optioned to the minors. He has thrown 20 Triple-A innings this year with a 4.95 ERA but better peripherals. He has struck out 26.1% of batters faced, walked 6.8% of them and gotten grounders at a 41.2% rate. A .327 batting average on balls in play, 63% strand rate and 17.6% homer to fly ball rate have helped push some extra runs across the board in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

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