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Tyler Clippard

Tyler Clippard Elects Free Agency

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AUGUST 25: Clippard has cleared waivers and refused an outright assignment, according to a team announcement. As expected, he’ll return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

AUGUST 23: The Nationals are designating reliever Tyler Clippard for assignment, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The move frees an active roster spot for Erick Fedde, who is back from the 15-day injured list. The club also swapped out backup catchers, recalling Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester while optioning Tres Barrera. Washington’s 40-man roster tally drops to 39.

A two-time All-Star, Clippard has been a durable and effective reliever for the bulk of his 16-year big league career. He spent an extended chunk of that run in the nation’s capital, pitching with the Nats between 2008-14 before bouncing throughout the league. The changeup specialist remained productive through 2020, but he’s had some injury woes over the past couple years. He lost a good chunk of last season with the Diamondbacks due to a capsule sprain. Clippard returned late in the year and posted a solid 3.20 ERA over 25 1/3 innings, but his peripherals weren’t especially impressive.

The 37-year-old returned to Washington on a minor league deal over the winter. He impressed with Rochester, posting a 2.23 ERA with an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage through 40 1/3 frames. That earned him another big league call last month, but he quickly suffered a groin strain that sent him to the injured list. Clippard returned a couple weeks ago, but the Nats moved on after just four MLB appearances. He tossed five innings of four-run ball with four strikeouts and walks apiece, averaging a career-low 87.5 MPH on his fastball.

Washington will place the veteran on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Clippard would have the right to elect free agency and look for another opportunity elsewhere. If he lands with a new organization by September 1 — either via waiver claim or new free agent deal upon clearing waivers — he’d be eligible for postseason play this season.

Nationals Place Tanner Rainey On 60-Day IL With UCL Sprain, Select Tyler Clippard

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The Nationals have announced they have selected the contract of veteran reliever Tyler Clippard. To make room on the roster for him, closer Tanner Rainey has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The news on Rainey is as surprising as it is unfortunate. He wasn’t even on the injured list, nor had there been any indication that an injury of this serious nature was being looked into. The UCL is the ligament that is repaired by Tommy John surgery. While the Nats haven’t announced that Rainey will undergo surgery or any timetable for his absence, the fact that he has been immediately placed on the 60-day IL suggests that they expect him to be out of action for the next two months at a minimum.

The 29-year-old was seemingly in the midst of a breakout season, throwing 30 innings with a 3.30 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 31.6% ground ball rate. He had climbed up the club’s bullpen chart to become the closer, racking up three saves last year and 12 here in 2022.

The Nationals are now almost a year into the roster teardown that they started at last year’s deadline. As such, they’re enduring a miserable campaign that has them currently 30-59, tied with Oakland for the worst record in the majors. Rainey was one of the few bright spots of the year but also stood out as a potential trade chip. He has three more years of club control after this one, but as a relief pitcher on a bad team, there was still a chance of him getting moved, which won’t happen now.

Rainey qualified for arbitration for the first time last winter as a Super Two player and is playing this season on a salary of $860K, slightly above the $700K league minimum. He should be in line for a raise, despite this injury setback, based on his work in the first few months of the season. If he does indeed require surgery and will miss the majority of the 2023 campaign, there’s a possibility that the Nationals won’t tender him a contract. Though they could also keep him around given that he would come with two further seasons of control beyond that.

As for Clippard, 37, this will be his 16th MLB season, once he gets into a game. He should be a familiar face to the fans in Washington, as he pitched for the club from 2008 to 2014, in addition to spending time with the Yankees, A’s, Mets, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Astros, Cleveland, Blue Jays and Twins. Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, he’s pitched 36 1/3 innings this year in Triple-A with a 2.48 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and 30.1% ground ball rate. He should provide the club with a veteran presence and could be a trade candidate if he pitches well in the majors.

Several Veterans On Minor League Deals Have Sunday Opt-Outs

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The latest collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association is rife with contractual intricacies, as one would expect. MLBTR has confirmed that one of the new wrinkles set forth in this latest agreement stipulates that any Article XX(B) free agent — that is, a player with at least six years of service time who finished the prior season on a big league roster or injured list — who signs a minor league contract will have three uniform opt-out dates in his contract, so long as that minor league deal is signed 10 days prior to Opening Day. Those opt-out dates are five days before the start of the regular season, May 1 and June 1.

As the MLBPA announced at the onset of the most recent offseason, there were 188 players who became Article XX(B) free agents. The majority of those players signed Major League contracts. A handful retired, and some have yet to sign a contract at all. There were still more than two dozen players who signed minor league contracts, however, which makes them subject to the new uniform opt-out dates. Several of those players — Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Moore and Wily Peralta, to name a few — have already had their contracts selected to the Major League roster. Others signed their minor league deal after March 28, meaning they’re not covered under the uniform opt-out provision.

By my count, there are a dozen players who qualified as Article XX(B) free agents, signed minor league deals on or before March 28, and remain with those organizations but not on the 40-man roster. Each of the following veterans, then, will have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if they’re not called up to the current organization’s big league roster:

  • Tyler Clippard, RHP, Nationals: The 37-year-old Clippard had a strong 2019 season in Cleveland and pitched brilliantly with Minnesota in 2020. His 2021 campaign with the D-backs was solid but truncated by a strained capsule in his right shoulder. He missed nearly four months to begin the year but pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 innings upon activation — albeit with subpar strikeout and walk rates (19.8% and 9.9%, respectively). He’s had a rough go in Triple-A Rochester so far, yielding seven runs on six hits and a whopping 11 walks in 8 1/3 innings. He’s also picked up a dozen strikeouts.
  • Austin Romine, C, Angels: Romine is 2-for-15 with a pair of singles so far in Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s never provided much with the bat, but the longtime Yankees backup is regarded as a quality defender and receiver. He spent the 2021 season with the Cubs but only logged 62 plate appearances thanks to a sprained left wrist that landed him on the 60-day injured list for a significant portion of the season. Romine hit .217/.242/.300 when healthy last year and is a lifetime .238/.277/.358 hitter in 1313 Major League plate appearances.
  • Billy Hamilton, CF, Mariners: At 31 years old, the former top prospect is what he is now: an elite defender and baserunner who’s never been able to get on base consistently enough to capitalize on his 80-grade speed. Hamilton slashed .220/.242/.378 in 135 plate appearances with the White Sox last season and is out to a 7-for-32 start with one walk and 11 strikeouts so far with the Mariners’ top affiliate. Hamilton has four seasons of 55-plus stolen bases under his belt, but he also has a career .293 OBP  that’s gotten even worse (.269) over the past three seasons (524 plaste appearances).
  • Blake Parker, RHP, Cardinals: Parker, 36, has yielded three runs in 7 1/3 Triple-A frames but is brandishing a far more impressive 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. He split the past two seasons between Philadelphia and Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate. Parker has had an up-and-down career since debuting with the Cubs as a 27-year-old rookie in 2012, but the cumulative results are solid. He carries a career 3.47 ERA with 34 saves and 47 holds. When Parker’s splitter is working well, he can be a very effective late-inning option.
  • Derek Holland, LHP, Red Sox: The veteran southpaw has provided innings, but not necessarily at quality since transitioning into a bullpen role in 2019. Last season he appeared in 39 games for the Tigers, tossing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.07 ERA/3.96 FIP. Holland’s time with Triple-A Worcester hasn’t been smooth, as he has a 5.79 ERA and six walks over 9 1/3 innings.
  • Steven Souza Jr., OF, Mariners: Due to an ugly knee injury and some struggles at the plate, Souza hasn’t been a truly productive big leaguer since 2017. Looking to revive his career with the Mariners, Souza has hit .200/.383/.333 over 60 PA with Triple-A Tacoma.
  • Kevin Pillar, OF, Dodgers: This season marks Pillar’s first taste of Triple-A ball since 2014, and the veteran outfielder is overmatching pitchers to the tune of a .313/.415/.627 slash line over 82 plate appearances. One would imagine this performance will earn Pillar a look in Los Angeles or perhaps another team if the Dodgers don’t select his contract. Pillar’s minor league deal guarantees him a $2.5MM salary if he receives a big league call-up, which could be a factor for a Dodgers club that may be trying to stay under the third tier ($270MM) of the luxury tax threshold.
  • Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Phillies: After signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia last July, Bedrosian posted a 4.35 ERA over 10 1/3 innings with the club despite recording almost as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (eight). The righty inked a new minors deal with the Phillies over the winter but has yet to pitch this season due to injury.
  • Shelby Miller, RHP, Yankees: The former All-Star pitched well with the Cubs’ and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates in 2021, and he has kept up that strong Triple-A performance now working as a full-time reliever.  Over eight innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barres, Miller has a 2.25 ERA with outstanding strikeout (31.3%) and walk (3.1%) rates. He also hasn’t allowed any homers, a notable stat for a pitcher who has had great trouble containing the long ball over the last few seasons.
  • Matt Carpenter, INF, Rangers: Carpenter got a late start to Spring Training, and upon Opening Day, he expressed a desire to take the necessary time to get himself up to speed. Through 52 plate appearances in Triple-A, Carpenter has slashed an improved .239/.327/.457 with a pair of home runs. While not standout numbers, they are an improvement over the .203/.235/.346 slash line Carpenter posted in 901 PA from 2019-21 with the Cardinals.
  • Carlos Martinez, RHP, Giants: Another former Cardinal looking for a fresh start, Martinez has yet to pitch for Triple-A Sacramento, as he is still rehabbing from the thumb surgery he underwent last July. With injuries and a nasty bout of COVID-19 factoring into matters, Martinez has only a 6.95 ERA over 102 1/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season.
  • Keone Kela, RHP, Diamondbacks: Kela has also been ravaged by injuries over the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery last May. Given the usual TJ recovery timeline, Kela isn’t likely to be a factor for the D’Backs until at least midseason.

Of course, players remain free to negotiate additional out clauses into their minor league contracts. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports, for instance, that lefty Adam Morgan has an opt-out provision in his contract with the Astros today. Morgan doesn’t have enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, but he’ll nevertheless have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if he doesn’t like his chances of eventually being added to Houston’s roster.

Nationals Sign Tyler Clippard To Minors Contract

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Tyler Clippard has returned to the Nationals organization, as The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga reported that the Nats had a locker waiting for the veteran right-hander.  The Post’s Jesse Dougherty confirmed that Clippard was indeed a non-roster invite to the club’s big league spring camp.

Clippard first pitched for Washington from 2008-14, a stint that solidified Clippard as a solid and sometimes elite bullpen arm.  The righty posted a 2.68 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate over his 464 previous innings in a Nats uniform, twice reaching the NL All-Star team and operating as either a workhorse setup man or (in 2012) as a closer.  The two sides parted ways in January 2015, when the Nationals traded Clippard to the A’s for Yunel Escobar.

That swap kicked off a nomadic stretch for Clippard, as he saw action with nine different teams from 2015-21.  Despite the lack of stability, Clippard was still posting effective numbers, with a 3.47 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate in 376 1/3 frames in those seven seasons.  There was a bit of a bump in home run rate (8.2% with Washington and 10.0% elsewhere), which isn’t a huge surprise given Clippard’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Never a high-velocity arm even in his prime years, Clippard has relied on soft contact and an excellent changeup as the keys to his success.  Clippard’s strikeout totals have declined over the last four years, however, and his fastball averaged only 88.9 mph over 25 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2021.

Clippard got a late start late season, as a shoulder injury kept him from any big league action until July 21.  Arizona declined their side of a $3.5MM mutual option for the 2022 season, thus sending Clippard into free agency entering his age-37 campaign.

Between the additions of Steve Cishek, Sean Doolittle, and now Clippard, the Nationals have bolstered their young relief corps with plenty of veteran experience.  Given the amount of uncertainty in the D.C. bullpen, Clippard probably stands a pretty good chance of breaking camp with the team and even getting a crack at some high-leverage innings.  It remains to be seen exactly how the Nats will line up their relievers in late-game situations, or whether or not manager Davey Martinez will go purely situational rather than have a set order for the seventh, eighth, or even ninth innings.

D-backs Decline Option On Tyler Clippard

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6:19 pm: Arizona confirmed (Twitter link) that they declined their end of Clippard’s mutual option for the 2022 season.

11:34 am: Diamondbacks right-hander Tyler Clippard has been formally declared a free agent, per an announcement from the MLBPA. Clippard’s contract with Arizona had a $3.5MM mutual option for the 2022 season that came with a $500K buyout.

D-backs general manager Mike Hazen told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro yesterday that he could not yet say whether Clippard’s option would be picked up or bought out. It’s not immediately clear which side declined the option — Clippard had the right to decline before the D-backs made their intent known — but the result is the same: Clippard will receive that $500K buyout and return to the free-agent market in search of a new opportunity.

Clippard, 37 in February, is a perennially effective and perennially underrated reliever who’ll now likely look to sign what would be a fifth consecutive one-year deal. The veteran changeup specialist signed a one-year pact in Arizona last year, suffered a shoulder strain during Spring Training, and spent nearly four months on the injured list. However, when healthy, Clippard had another generally productive run. In 25 1/3 innings, he yielded a solid 3.20 ERA with just three home runs allowed.

That said, Clippard’s 2021 season wasn’t without its red flags — even beyond the injury. This year’s 18.9% strikeout rate was his lowest since 2008, while his 9.9% walk rate was his highest since 2017. Clippard has never been a flamethrower, but his 89.1 mph average fastball this season was also a career-low and ranked as the 16th-lowest mark among 344 relievers with at least 20 innings pitched.

It should also be pointed out that while Clippard and that signature changeup have historically dominated opposing left-handed batters, that was far from the case in 2021. Rather, Clippard was clubbed for a .279/.354/.581 line by opposing lefties. Clippard’s dominance over lefties and similarly (and more expected) sharp results against right-handers has long been one of his most desirable assets, so this year’s struggles in that regard could further dampen his market.

Diamondbacks To Exercise Option On Merrill Kelly, Decline Option On Kole Calhoun

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Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen provided details on two of the team’s three option decisions, as Hazen told The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that the D’Backs will exercise their $5.25MM club option on righty Merrill Kelly and decline their $9MM club option on outfielder Kole Calhoun.  The fate of Tyler Clippard’s $3.5MM mutual option (with a $500K buyout) is still undecided, Hazen said.

There wasn’t much suspense in either decision, as Kelly had a pretty solid year in his return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  Kelly posted a 4.44 ERA over 158 innings, delivering his usual quality walk rate to help offset a lot of hard contact and a below-average strikeout rate.  The Diamondbacks are hoping Kelly can match or better this performance in 2022 as the team looks for more stability in the rotation.

Next season will be the final year of Arizona’s control over Kelly, as per the two-year, $5.5MM contract with two club options that he signed back in December 2018.  With this final option year now exercised, the deal will work out to a four-year, $14.5MM pact.

Calhoun signed a two-year, $16MM free agent to join his hometown D’Backs during the 2019-20 offseason, and hit .226/.338/.526 with 16 home runs over 228 plate appearances in the shortened 2020 season.  That solid performance was followed up by an injury-plagued 2021, as Calhoun underwent a knee surgery in Spring Training and then a left hamstring surgery less than two months later.  His rehab from that second procedure was extended by a setback, and Calhoun also spent another month on the IL with a strain in that same left hamstring late in the year.

All told, Calhoun appeared in only 51 games and hit .235/.297/.373 over 182 PA.  Calhoun might have been a trade chip had he been healthy, either back in July at the trade deadline or perhaps this winter, if he’d hit well enough for the Diamondbacks to exercise that club option.  Instead, the D’Backs will buy out that $9MM option for $2MM and Calhoun will hit the market in advance of his age-34 season.

A return to Arizona could be unlikely, as while Hazen praised Calhoun for being “awesome for us in and out of the clubhouse,” the D’Backs already have quite a few left-handed outfield options.  Calhoun hit both left-handed and right-handed pitching pretty evenly for a lot of his career, but over the last three seasons has developed more traditional splits.  It seems likely that Calhoun will catch on with another team in need of some veteran pop from the left side of the plate, and Calhoun’s right field glovework has remained pretty good, even amidst all his leg injuries in 2021.

Diamondbacks Select Brandyn Sittinger

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SEPTEMBER 7: Arizona officially announced Sittinger’s promotion. Veteran reliever Tyler Clippard was placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

SEPTEMBER 6: The Diamondbacks are planning to select the contract of reliever Brandyn Sittinger, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Arizona will need to make corresponding active and 40-man roster moves.

Sittinger originally entered pro ball as a 17th-round pick of the Tigers in 2016 out of Division II Ashland University. The right-hander spent the next couple seasons in the Detroit organization but was released in July 2019, having topped out at Double-A. After being let go, he landed with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League, where he spent a couple months. He impressed D-Backs’ evaluators enough in indie ball to land a minor league deal over the 2019-20 offseason.

Because of last year’s canceled minor league season, Sittinger didn’t pitch professionally. He was assigned to Double-A Amarillo to open the 2021 campaign and earned a bump to Triple-A Reno in mid-June. Across the two levels, Sittinger has worked to a solid 4.03 ERA over 38 innings. He has punched out a very impressive 32.9% of opponents across the top two levels, although he has struggled a bit with walks upon getting moved up to Reno. The Diamondbacks will give the 27-year-old an opportunity to try to carry over that bat-missing success against MLB hitters.

Diamondbacks Activate Tyler Clippard, Claim Ty Tice From Braves

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve reinstated veteran reliever Tyler Clippard from the 60-day injured list. Additionally, Arizona claimed righty Ty Tice off waivers from the Braves. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, the D-Backs designated lefty Alex Young for assignment.

Arizona signed Clippard over the offseason. The generally durable righty went down with a capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder during Spring Training, though, and he’s missed the entire season to date. Clippard’s return should aid an Arizona bullpen that has been one of the league’s worst, although it’s obviously far too late in a lost season to make much difference in the standings.

In theory, a contending club could swing a trade for Clippard based on his strong track record. He won’t have much of an opportunity to demonstrate he’s back to peak form, though, with the trade deadline just nine days away. He’s playing out the year on a $2.25MM salary, just under $900K of which remains to be paid.

Atlanta picked up Tice in a small trade with the Blue Jays in early June. They’ll lose him a little more than six weeks later, with the reliever having made just one major league appearance in a Braves uniform. He’s thrown eight innings of four-run ball between Toronto and Atlanta this season, his first with any big league experience. Tice has a 4.20 ERA across 45 career innings at Triple-A, striking out a fine 24.0% of batters faced but walking a lofty 13.7% of opponents. The 25-year-old has a pair of minor league option years remaining beyond this season, so he can be kept in the high minors for a while so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Young, who was selected 43rd overall in the 2015 draft, was one of the better pitching prospects in the Arizona system coming up through the minors. He made his major league debut in 2019, working to a decent 3.56 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 17 appearances (including 15 starts). The 27-year-old hasn’t managed to build off that fine initial showing to this point. Since the start of 2020, Young has tossed 88 innings of 5.83 ERA/5.91 FIP ball. While he’s thrown a fair amount of strikes, Young hasn’t missed many bats (19.4% strikeout rate) and has been plagued by the long ball (2.3 HR/9).

The D-Backs will have a week to trade Young or expose him to outright waivers. He still has all three option years remaining. If another club is willing to a 40-man roster spot, they could stash him in the minors as a depth option capable of working multiple innings.

Diamondbacks Select Chris Devenski, Place Tyler Clippard On 60-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks have selected right-handed reliever Chris Devenski’s contract, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the club placed righty Tyler Clippard on the 60-day injured list. Clippard’s dealing with a capsule strain in his throwing shoulder – an injury that will cost the free-agent pickup at least the first couple months of the season.

Devenski was another offseason addition for the Diamondbacks, though he had to settle for a minor league contract after an injury-wrecked 2020 with the Astros. He threw just 3 2/3 innings before undergoing elbow surgery last September.

At his best, Devenski was a multi-inning weapon in Houston from 2016-17, during which he combined for a stingy 2.38 ERA and posted a 21.8 K-BB percentage in 189 innings. But Devenski hasn’t been the same since. Between that excellent two-season run and last year, he managed a 4.56 ERA with a K-BB percentage of 18.0 over 116 1/3 frames from 2018-19. However, he did throw seven scoreless, four-hit innings with seven strikeouts against three walks this spring.

Tyler Clippard Shut Down Six Weeks With Capsule Sprain

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Diamondbacks right-hander Tyler Clippard has a capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder, he told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). He won’t throw for six weeks.

That rules Clippard out for at least all of April. Quite likely, the 36-year-old will be sidelined deep into May even in a best case scenario, as he’ll need some time to build arm strength back after the layoff. It’s a tough blow to a D-Backs’ bullpen that expected to regularly feature Clippard in a set-up capacity. The 11-year veteran signed a $2.25MM contract with Arizona over the offseason.

It’s also completely unfamiliar territory for Clippard, who has incredibly never gone on the injured list during his MLB career. Other than the 2020 shortened season (when he pitched in nearly half the Twins’ games), Clippard has thrown 60+ innings out of the bullpen every year since 2009. That streak will now come to an end, although there remains hope he’ll be able to log some rather significant work in the late spring and summer.

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