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Junichi Tazawa

Angels To Sign Junichi Tazawa

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The Angels have agreed to a minor-league deal with reliever Junichi Tazawa, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). He’s set to work out at extended spring camp rather than immediately joining an affiliate.

Perhaps the Halos have some ideas for getting Tazawa back on track. He was once quite a useful reliever, though it has been a while since that could be said.

The 32-year-old limped through a stint with the Marlins, compiling 75 1/3 innings of 6.57 ERA ball before he was cut loose earlier this year. He ended up joining the Tigers on a minors pact but only made seven appearances at Triple-A before he was again released.

Tigers Release Junichi Tazawa

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The Tigers have released veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa, per the International League transactions page (h/t Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, on Twitter). Also cut from the club’s Triple-A roster was fellow righty Mark Montgomery.

Tazawa, 32, signed with the Detroit organization in early June after he was cut loose by the Marlins. Unfortunately, his rough showing with the Fish followed him into the upper minors. In 7 2/3 innings for Toledo, Tazawa allowed eight earned runs while recording ten strikeouts against five walks.

It still seems reasonable to expect that the veteran will catch on somewhere on a minors deal. He has had plenty of success in the majors and the Marlins are on the hook for his $7MM salary (less the pro-rated minimum if he makes it back to the majors). But Tazawa has looked like a shell of his former self since making an ill-fated match with Miami. His velocity and swinging-strike rates are well off his prime levels.

As for Montgomery, the 27-year-old has long waited in vain for a MLB opportunity. In parts of six seasons at the highest level of the minors, he has thrown 182 1/3 innings of 2.71 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Tigers Sign Junichi Tazawa To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa, per a club announcement. (The move was first noted on Twitter by Roster Roundup.) The righty was released by the Marlins after being designated for assignment last month.

Tazawa, who’ll turn 32 later this week, signed what proved to be an ill-fated two-year, $12MM deal with Miami in the 2016-17 offseason. The former Red Sox setup man struggled enough with the Fish that he couldn’t hold his roster spot through the life of that deal, however. After posting a 5.69 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season, he opened the 2018 campaign by allowing 20 earned runs in 20 inning of work.

After averaging better than a strikeout per inning with the Red Sox from 2009-16, Tazawa’s strikeout numbers fell off sharply in 2017. He posted a 6.2 K/9 mark and 16 percent overall strikeout rate — each the lowest full-season levels of his MLB career. His strikeouts returned in 2018 — 24 in 20 innings — but he also issued 13 walks and served up six homers with the Marlins. Beyond that, his average fastball velocity sat at a career-low 91.5 mph, and his swinging-strike rate (7.8 percent) and chase rate (28.4 percent) were also career-worsts.

Despite Tazawa’s considerable struggles over the past two seasons, adding him to their Triple-A ranks is a no-risk proposition for the Tigers. The balance of his $7MM salary for the 2018 season will be paid out by the Marlins, so Detroit will only be on the hook for the pro-rated league minimum for any time he spends at the big league level. (That sum would subsequently be subtracted from what the Marlins owe Tazawa.) If he’s able to rebound to any extent, he’ll step up to the big league level to help out a Tigers bullpen that currently ranks 25th in the Majors with a 4.66 ERA.

Released: Tazawa, McGowan, Cunningham, Campos

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Several players have recently gone onto the open market after being released by their respective organizations:

  • Veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa has been released after clearing waivers, the Marlins announced. Miami will remain responsible for the rest of his $7MM salary for the current season, less any eventual earnings at the MLB minimum rate. Tazawa was one of several veteran hurlers added by the Marlins in hopes of building around a talented (and since largely traded-away) core of position-player talent. Like most of the others, he did not contribute as hoped. Tazawa was even worse this year than last, allowing an earned run for each of the twenty frames he handled.
  • The Marlins have also parted ways with righty Dustin McGowan, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro recently tweeted. The 36-year-old reliever had caught on with the Miami organization in mid-April but had not appeared with an affiliate. McGowan played a big role in the Miami pen in each of the past two years, though he could not sustain the 2.82 ERA pitching he showed in 2016. Last year, McGowan worked to a 4.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 77 2/3 innings.
  • Outfielder Todd Cunningham has been cut loose by the White Sox, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. The 29-year-old has not seen the majors since 2016 and has only accumulated 130 plate appearances there in total. He has bounced between multiple organizations over the past two seasons. After a useful showing at the plate in Triple-A in 2017 (.284/.404/.414), Cunningham has struggled to a .163/.246/.204 slash in his first sixty plate appearances of the current season.
  • Finally, the Angels have released righty Vicente Campos, as Eddy also covers. Campos, 25, has one MLB appearance under his belt but has otherwise spent the past few years in the upper minors. Despite promising results there in 2016, injuries and performance problems have prevailed since. In 46 innings since the start of 2017, Campos has allowed 39 earned runs on 65 hits while sporting an unpalatable 39:30 K/BB ratio.

Marlins Designate Junichi Tazawa For Assignment

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The Marlins announced Thursday that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa for assignment and also optioned righty Tyler Cloyd to Triple-A New Orleans. Corresponding roster moves tomorrow will be announced tomorrow.

Tazawa, who’ll turn 32 in early June, was signed to a two-year, $12MM contract in the 2016-17 offseason as the Marlins sought to bolster the back of their bullpen in free agency. (Brad Ziegler, too, was signed to a two-year deal that winter.) Instead, however, Tazawa’s time in Miami has been nothing short of nightmarish. After a long run as a solid setup man and middle relief piece in Boston, Tazawa turned in a 5.69 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season and has surrendered 20 earned runs in 20 innings thus far in 2018.

Tazawa’s strikeout numbers fell off sharply in 2017, as he posted a 6.2 K/9 mark and 16 percent overall strikeout rate — each the lowest full-season levels of his MLB career. His strikeouts have returned in 2018 — 24 in 20 innings — but he’s also issued 13 walks and served up six homers, including one long ball in today’s game. Beyond that, while Tazawa is picking up some strikeouts at the moment, his average fastball velocity is sitting at a career-low 91.5 mph, and his swinging-strike rate (7.8 percent) and chase rate (28.4 percent) are also career-worsts. Given that context, it seems that his strikeout rate was likely due for some regression anyhow.

Miami will still owe Tazawa the balance of this year’s $7MM salary — a total of about $5.17MM through season’s end. They’ll have a week to trade, outright or release Tazawa, though it seems decidedly unlikely that another club would have interest in paying any portion of that remaining sum. Tazawa has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his salary, as well, so the likeliest outcome is that he’ll be released and seek a fresh start in a new organization (almost certainly on a minor league deal). Any club that signs Tazawa will only owe him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends in the Majors. That sum would be subtracted from what the Marlins owe him through season’s end.

Marlins Rumors: Payroll, Yelich, Realmuto, Analytics

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Though the Marlins fielded a $115MM payroll last season in Jeffrey Loria’s final year of ownership, the financial plan of the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter ownership group doesn’t call for payroll to return to those heights until 2021, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson cites a pair of copies of the financial plan provided to potential investors, entitled Project Wolverine, in providing a number of details on the Marlins’ upcoming year-to-year payrolls as well as some aggressive revenue and attendance projections.

Notably, while the Marlins are aiming for a payroll around $90MM in 2018, the plan projects even lower payrolls in 2019-20 ($81MM and $84.8MM, respectively), before jumping back into the nine-figure range. Part of the reason for the healthier number in 2018 could be the one-time $50MM payout that all 30 MLB teams are receiving after Disney’s acquisition of BAMTech, per Jackson. (Beyond that, Edinson Volquez, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa will be off the books after 2018.) It’s unclear whether trades of additional MLB assets will significantly alter those projections, though Jackson notes that Christian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto and Starlin Castro are available “for the right price,” while the team is (unsurprisingly) amenable to trading Tazawa ($7MM in 2018) and Ziegler ($9MM in ’18).

A bit more out of Miami…

  • If the Marlins do hang onto Yelich, he could once again be ticketed for left field duty, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Yelich and Marcell Ozuna flipped positions this past season, with Yelich moving from left field to center field, but the acquisition of Magneuris Sierra (in the trade that sent Ozuna to St. Louis) gives Miami a center field option with elite speed. Miami could line up an outfield with Yelich in left, Sierra in center and speedy Braxton Lee in right field, giving the Fish a rangy trio that is lacking in the power department. However, Frisaro notes that Miami is still open to adding another right field option (be it via trade or a presumably low-cost option on the free agent market).
  • At least 15 teams have called the Marlins on Yelich, per Frisaro, while another dozen or so are showing interest in Realmuto. Miami isn’t willing to move either player for anything less than a substantial overpay in terms of prospects and young talent, though. Frisaro lists the Cardinals, Phillies, Braves and D-backs as teams that have spoken to Miami about Yelich.
  • Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel takes a look at the Marlins’ growing analytics department, reporting that former Yankees executive Dan Greenlee will now oversee the department. Former analytics head Jason Pare recently took a job as an assistant general manager with the Braves under new GM Alex Anthopoulos, and while Greenlee was initially tabbed as an interim head of the department, he’ll now oversee those operations on a permanent basis. Miami has also hired a new senior analyst (Myles Lewis), promoted analyst Michael Lord to analytics coordinator and is still seeking to hire another developer and another data analyst.

Taking Inventory: Miami Marlins

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In an effort to cut payroll, the new Marlins ownership group (headlined by Derek Jeter) has already kicked off a fire sale of major league assets. They’ve traded three significant players so far in Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna, and only the latter of the three netted any significant prospect haul. Miami has succeeded in getting big salaries off the books, but their farm system still looks bleak and lacks top-rated prospects (though some pitchers in their system have upside).

So while the team has already completed its stated salary-slashing objective, the moves made so far have put the franchise in an in-between kind of state. Miami finished last season with a 77-85 record, and then traded away three players who were worth a combined 15 fWAR. The only major league asset who came back in return was Starlin Castro, who was worth about 2 fWAR in 2017. All told, the Marlins’ roster looks about 13 wins worse than last season, which in theory would make them about as good as last year’s Tigers club.

Of course, it doesn’t exactly work that way, but the writing on the wall here is that the Marlins aren’t going to do a whole lot of winning next season. They’d face enormous odds in challenging the Nationals for the NL East crown. Aside from that, their farm system is dwarfed by those of the division-rival Braves and Phillies, both of whom are on the rise. Clearly the club isn’t planning on improving the team through free agency, as that would counteract the enormous effort the team made to reduce payroll. As such, there appears to be no reason to stop selling now. There are a few players on the roster who could help the Fish add significant prospects to their minor league ranks and improve the organization’s future outlook…

Two Years of Control

Starlin Castro, 2B ($22MM owed through 2019, including $1MM buyout of $16MM option for 2020): When Castro came to Miami in the Stanton deal, trade speculation began immediately. There’s probably some surplus value to be had in the 27-year-old’s contract considering his reasonable salary and the fact that he’s still in his prime. With the Marlins having already met their payroll-related goals, they probably even have the flexibility to pay some of his salary in order to get better prospects in exchange. Castro is coming off a .300/.338/.454 season, but poor defensive play at second limits his value to an extent.

Longer-Term Assets

J.T. Realmuto, C ($4.2MM projected arb salary for 2018): MLBTR has already talked about Realmuto’s trade candidacy at length this month (including an in-depth piece on his market), so I’ll keep this short. Realmuto has already requested a trade, and although he doesn’t have any real leverage in the matter, he seems a likely candidate to be wearing another uniform even before he hits free agency following the 2020 season. The Marlins catcher was worth at least 3.5 fWAR in each of the past two seasons, and plenty of contenders and up-and-comers would love to have that kind of value coming from a premium position on the diamond. It would, however, take a reportedly “huge overpay” to pry him out of Miami’s hands.

"<strongChristian Yelich, OF ($44.5MM owed through 2021, including $1.25MM buyout of $15MM option for 2022): Yelich has also been one of the more common names to pop up in trade rumors this offseason. He’s easily the Marlins’ most valuable asset; the former first round pick has been worth about 16 fWAR across the past four seasons combined. With five more years of team control, however, there’s at least a chance he could be part of the next winning Marlins club at a very reasonable price, so there’s less of a reason for the team to move him there is to move other assets. Among the plusses for Yelich are good defense in the outfield, a 10.7% career walk rate and improved baserunning ability.

Dan Straily, RHP ($4.6MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): While Straily isn’t as talented (or receiving as much trade attention) as elite options like Michael Fulmer, Chris Archer and Gerrit Cole, he’s a league-average MLB talent who could be made available in a thin and expensive market for pitching. Straily posted a 4.26 ERA in 2017 along with a 2.83 K/BB ratio and comes with three years of team control.

Justin Bour, 1B ($3.5MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): Amidst Marlins rumors, it’s somewhat of a surprise to me that Bour’s name hasn’t been mentioned more often. Miami’s left-handed-hitting first baseman enjoyed a breakout season in 2017 prior to an oblique injury. Upon his return in early September, he picked up right where he left off, and ultimately finished the season with an outstanding .289/.366/.536 slash line to go with 25 home runs across just 429 plate appearances. With the Rockies, Angels and Mariners still looking for first base help, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the market for Bour heat up at some point. He wouldn’t come cheap, though, as he’s cost-effective and controllable through arbitration from 2018-2020.

Kyle Barraclough, RHRP (League minimum salary for 2018): Barraclough has a sky-high career strikeout rate 12.05 K/9), but carries the downside of an equally absurd walk rate (5.52 BB/9). The net result is a sort of effectively-wild performance that’s led to fantastic career run-prevention numbers, headlined by a 2.87 ERA. With elite relievers becoming more and more in demand, it’s conceivable Barraclough could net a hefty return.

Derek Dietrich, INF ($3.2MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): Though he’s not a full-time player, Dietrich has managed to accrue at least 1.5 fWAR in each of the past two seasons, and can play both second and third base. He’d be a cheap utility infield option on a contending team, and comes with three years of team control. He hit .249/.334/.424 in 2017 with 13 homers, making him a nearly average offensive player at 99 wRC+.

Salary Dump Candidates

Wei-Yin Chen, LHP ($60MM owed through 2020, with a $16MM vesting option for 2021): Simply put, this offseason would be the worst possible time to trade Chen. After missing most of the season due to elbow issues, Chen returned to make just four appearances out of the bullpen in September prior to being shut down. While he was generally good when on the field (3.82 ERA, 3.73 FIP), the Marlins would have an incredibly difficult time trying to move any of his salary until he can settle concerns about his elbow.

Martin Prado, 3B ($28.5MM owed through 2019): Prado is coming off a dreadful 2017 season in which he was able to muster just 147 plate appearances due to multiple injuries. He posted just a 67 wRC+ across that time, and will enter the 2018 season at 34 years of age. There have been reports that the Marlins might try to attach Prado to a trade of a more valuable asset in order to clear his salary, but like Chen, it might be the wrong time to trade him. After all, he averaged 3 WAR from 2014-2016 thanks to a .295/.341/.407 slash line and elite defense at the hot corner.

Brad Ziegler, RHRP ($9MM salary for 2018): The issue with Ziegler is his recent inability to miss bats. The righty struck out fewer than five batters per nine innings in 2018 and experienced a steep drop in velocity on his sinker. All told, Ziegler was tagged for 25 earned runs in 47 innings. Perhaps he’s another candidate to re-established value prior to the trade deadline, but he’s also 38 years old; it’s also possible the Marlins could be better served simply trying to find a taker for as much of his salary as possible.

Junichi Tazawa, RHRP ($7MM salary for 2018): See Ziegler. Okay, not exactly, but Tazawa’s outlook isn’t much more promising other than the fact that he’s seven years younger. The righty is two years removed from his last respectable season. Last year was his worst performance yet: he was valued below replacement level thanks to a 5.69 ERA and 4.96 FIP. Miami’s best chance to move his salary would be to try to include him in a trade along with Realmuto, Yelich or another contract with significant excess value.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Reactions To And Effects Of The Giancarlo Stanton Trade

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The Yankees shook the baseball world early Saturday when they agreed to acquire 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins. As you’d expect, the deal has elicited no shortage of media reactions, many of which we’ve rounded up here:

  • While the Los Angeles-born Stanton would have preferred to go to the Dodgers, they didn’t make an offer that “intrigued” the Marlins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Sending Stanton to the Dodgers would have required the Marlins to take on more bad contracts than they were “comfortable with,” according to Sherman, who reports that LA wanted Miami to accept one or both of Adrian Gonzalez or Scott Kazmir and absorb $30MM of Stanton’s contract. The Marlins found acquiring Starlin Castro from the Yankees much more appealing, as he’s someone they could slot in at second base or flip elsewhere.
  • The Dodgers’ wariness toward a more aggressive Stanton pursuit stemmed from the back-loaded nature of his 10-year, $295MM commitment, per Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required and recommended). If he doesn’t opt out of his contract after 2020, Stanton will rake in $96MM over the final three years of his pact, when he’ll be in his late 30s. The Yankees will be able to slot him in at designated hitter then if his work in the field sharply declines with age, whereas the Dodgers would have had to continue running him out as a defender.
  • Adding Stanton gives the Yankees as many as six major league-caliber outfielders, thereby making Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier potential trade candidates. The Yankees will work to rid themselves of Ellsbury, even if it means eating “a lot” of the $68.3MM left on his contract, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Ellsbury was reportedly uninterested in leaving the Yankees as of earlier this week, but that was before the acquisition of Stanton relegated him to the role of a fifth outfielder. While Ellsbury, who has a full no-trade clause, would be a salary dump, the 23-year-old Frazier would likely bring back a quality return – perhaps a starter, King suggests. Additionally, the Yankees “would certainly listen on offers” for third baseman Chase Headley, per King. Headley is entering the last year of his contract, in which he’ll make $13MM.
  • With new Marlins owners Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman on a mission to continue paring down payroll to the $90MM range, Castro looks like their most obvious trade chip, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. By parting with Castro – who has two years and $22MM left on his pact – and not taking back another guaranteed contract, Miami would still be about $15MM above its spending goal, Jackson notes. Further payroll slashing could come from deals involving some combination of Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Martin Prado, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa. Moving Castro, Ozuna, Ziegler and Tazawa would likely obviate any need to trade Yelich, Jackson suggests.
  • Prior to the Yankees’ Stanton acquisition, they looked poised to go after Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper in free agency a year from now. That may be out the window now, leading Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post to posit that the trade probably helps the Nationals to some degree because it appears to erase a would-be Harper suitor. However, several other teams will make big offers to Harper, Janes points out, so retaining him on what should be a record contract still figures to be a tall order for the Nats.
  • Harper is among the losers in this trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic opines (subscription required and recommended). Unsurprisingly, Harper’s agent, the always colorful Scott Boras, disagrees. “A Bronx opera . . . The Three Tenors . . . Hal’s genius, vision,” Boras told Rosenthal via email, referencing Harper, Stanton, Aaron Judge and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. Boras added that the Harper-Stanton-Judge trio would be “a galaxy of international popularity” on the same team. While Boras clearly isn’t ruling out a Yankees-Harper union, Rosenthal sees Manny Machado as a more likely target for the club in free agency next year.
  • The fact that Stanton is set to join a Yankees team that was just one win from securing a World Series trip last season is a major blow to parity in the AL, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues. Cameron classifies the Astros, Yankees, Red Sox and Indians as potential “super teams” heading into next season, and the Angels could be on their way to the playoffs after winning the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. As impressive as those clubs look, there’s now less incentive for others to play for the last wild-card spot, Cameron contends, which could lead certain fringe teams to rebuild.

NL Notes: Marlins, Padres, Cardinals

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Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez threw the first no-hitter of the 2017 season on Saturday, tossing a 10-strikeout, two-walk gem against the Diamondbacks en route to a 3-0 victory. He accomplished the feat on what would have been the 26th birthday of late Royals righty Yordano Ventura, who passed away in a car crash in the Dominican Republic over the winter. Volquez, also a native of the Dominican, was friends with Ventura and teammates with him in Kansas City from 2015-16. Volquez paid tribute to Ventura on Instagram prior to the game and dedicated the performance to both Ventura and late Marlins ace Jose Fernandez afterward (Twitter link via Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star).

More from Miami and two other NL cities:

  • Although Padres righty Jered Weaver has been among the majors’ worst starters this season, the club isn’t ready to give up on the soft-tossing 34-year-old, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres’ hope is that Weaver will be able to competently eat innings when he’s ready to return from the disabled list. Weaver hit the DL on May 20 with left hip inflammation, a condition the ex-Angel says has been dealing with “for three or four years now.” Before landing on the shelf, Weaver recorded a 7.44 ERA and a 7.99 FIP over nine starts – all Padres losses – and 42 1/3 innings.
  • The Cardinals are candidates to add Cuban righty Hector Mendoza, who’s eligible to sign with a major league organization July 2, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required and recommended). The 23-year-old Mendoza is exempt from bonus pools, meaning the Cardinals won’t have to pay an overage tax if they sign him, notes Badler. Mendoza, who has pitched in both Cuba and Japan, features “a three-pitch starter’s mix,” per Badler, though he’s likely to end up in the bullpen if he cracks the majors.
  • Marlins reliever Junichi Tazawa’s recovery from the rib issue that has sidelined him since mid-May hit an unusual snag, relays Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Japanese righty’s interpreter quit, thereby delaying his rehab assignment as the Marlins looked for a replacement. The club didn’t want to Tazawa to go it alone in Jupiter, Fla., “and potentially get lost or confused,” writes Jackson.

Marlins Designate Mike Aviles, Shake Up Pitching Staff

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The Marlins have announced a host of roster moves, with the club designating infielder Mike Aviles for assignment to open a 40-man and active roster spot. He’ll be replaced by fellow infielder Christian Colon, who was claimed yesterday.

Righties Brian Ellington and Odrisamer Despaigne are coming up for Miami, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted last night. Veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa will hit the 10-day DL with what the team is calling “rib cartilage inflammation,” while starter Tom Koehler was optioned as expected.

The 36-year-old Aviles was only up briefly for the Fish, appearing in two games after a one-game stop at Triple-A. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll end up clearing waivers and heading back to the upper minors for a full ramp-up. He played in the World Baseball Classic, but did not sign until Miami came calling a week and a half ago as infield injuries mounted.

Times are tough for Miami, which has dropped to the NL East basement with a 14-24 record. The club has lost multiple key infielders and made several changes to an ineffective and injury-laden pitching staff. Colon will hopefully represent a patch for the infield, while Ellington will slot in the pen and Despaigne will offer a swingman option.

Meanwhile, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is said to have received relatively positive news following a recent MRI, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). He’s still going to “need more time,” though, before he’s able to work back to the hill. Chen is currently on the DL with arm fatigue; it now seems he’ll miss a fair bit more time than had initially been expected.

Given the issues in the rotation, the organization is considering moving righty David Phelps out of the bullpen, Frisaro further tweets. Phelps thrived in both roles last year. While he’s carrying only a 4.05 ERA in twenty relief innings thus far in 2017, he has sustained most of the strides he made last year in his peripherals. Thus far, Phelps has maintained 9.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9, with an 8.1% swinging-strike rate that lags last year’s mark (9.8%) but handily tops his career average (6.6%).

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