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Vaughn Grissom

Red Sox Notes: Grissom, Pivetta, Bello, Yoshida

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Vaughn Grissom will make his Red Sox debut tonight against the Twins. Boston reinstated the young infielder from the 10-day injured list, optioning Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Grissom gets the nod at the keystone and is hitting seventh against Chris Paddack.

Acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale, Grissom entered camp as Boston’s expected second baseman. Groin and hamstring issues (plus a recent bout with the flu) kept him off the field for the first five weeks. That paired with a season-ending injury to Trevor Story to leave the Sox very shorthanded in the middle infield. They moved Ceddanne Rafaela in to handle shortstop.

It’s been more of a revolving door at second base, where no one has produced. Boston second basemen are hitting an MLB-worst .179/.202/.299 over 125 plate appearances. Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes took the majority of those reps. Valdez was recently optioned, while Reyes has been designated for assignment.

Grissom, 23, brings quite a bit more offensive upside. He’s coming off a .330/.419/.501 line in Triple-A in the Atlanta system. The Braves’ loaded infield limited him to 64 big league contests over the past two seasons, but he turned in a solid .287/.339/.407 showing. Grissom collected 10 hits (eight singles and two doubles) over nine games on his minor league rehab stint.

Manager Alex Cora provided positive updates on a handful of injured pitchers this evening (link via MassLive’s Christopher Smith). Nick Pivetta is expected to return to the rotation during next week’s series in Atlanta. The righty tossed three innings in a rehab start with Worcester yesterday. While the results weren’t good — he allowed four runs on three hits and four walks — the Sox don’t feel he needs another minor league appearance. Pivetta dominated through two starts before a mild flexor strain sent him to the IL on April 9.

Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock are a bit further behind, but both are set to take steps in their respective recoveries. Bello, who went on the shelf on April 21 with lat tightness, will make one rehab start at Double-A Portland and could return to Boston by the end of next week. Whitlock is set to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, his first mound work since an oblique strain knocked him out on April 17.

Despite the injuries, the Red Sox’s rotation has been fantastic. Boston starters enter play Friday with an MLB-best 2.03 ERA. They’re ninth in strikeout rate and sixth in strikeout/walk rate differential. Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck have each logged around 40 innings of sub-2.00 ERA ball. Bello, Whitlock and Pivetta were each performing well before going on the IL. Depth arms Cooper Criswell and Josh Winckowski have stepped in effectively in their respective trio of starts.

The news wasn’t universally positive for Boston, however. Designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is heading for a second opinion after his recent IL placement, tweets the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. The Sox initially announced his injury as a left thumb sprain. It’s not entirely clear what the initial evaluation suggested, but news of a second opinion is at least somewhat alarming.

Yoshida started the season slowly but had begun to find his form before the injury. He’s hitting .275/.348/.388 over 89 plate appearances for the year. Injuries to Yoshida and Triston Casas led the Sox to go outside the organization for Garrett Cooper and Dominic Smith to split playing time between first base and DH.

Red Sox Notes: Casas, Pivetta, Grissom

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The Red Sox will be without Triston Casas for a while after a rib issue sent him to the injured list. Boston hasn’t revealed a timeline beyond comments from manager Alex Cora that the young slugger is in for an extended absence.

Casas spoke with reporters yesterday, saying that there’s wide variance in the recovery timetable. “(Doctors) said anywhere from three weeks to six weeks to nine weeks,” the first baseman told the Boston beat (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). “They don’t know. It’s just depending on how my body is feeling. But for right now, I’m still in pain to breathe.”

While the Sox announced the injury as a rib fracture, Casas clarified that the problem is a tear in the cartilage in his midsection. That may not be particularly consequential in terms of his recovery, since “the way that the doctors kind of explained it to me is that one isn’t better than the other. [Whether the injury] was a muscle or a bone or cartilage, they’re all similarly timetabled schedules.” Despite the uncertainty about the specific timeline, Casas said he’s confident he’ll be able to play “a good amount of the season.”

Bobby Dalbec has taken over at first base. With Dalbec out to an .093/.152/.116 start as his longstanding strikeout issues continue, the Sox could look outside the organization. They’ve reportedly considered bringing back C.J. Cron, who was in camp this spring but opted out of a minor league deal after he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Jared Walsh returned to free agency after being waived by the Rangers, while Garrett Cooper remains in limbo since being designated for assignment by the Cubs.

The Sox will need to piece things together at first base for some time. They’ve gotten better news on the injury front with a few other players, though. Vaughn Grissom is expected to wrap up a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester this weekend, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Their biggest offseason trade pickup has been out all year after straining a hamstring in Spring Training. Grissom could make his Red Sox debut on Tuesday when they open a series against the Giants.

Starter Nick Pivetta isn’t much further behind, as Cora indicated the righty could make a rehab start next week. Pivetta went on the shelf after two starts with the ominous designation of a flexor strain. The team downplayed any long-term concern, however, and it seems he’s on track to return around a month after the injury.

Pivetta was brilliant over his first two appearances, tossing 11 innings of one-run ball with 13 strikeouts and one walk. He’ll be a free agent for the first time at the end of the season, making this a pivotal year for him personally. Depending on his health and the team’s competitive outlook, Pivetta could be one of the top rental starters available around the trade deadline.

AL East Notes: Grissom, Wells, Fairbanks

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The Red Sox have been without second baseman Vaughn Grissom for all of the 2024 season to this point after the 23-year-old missed Spring Training due to a groin strain. Early expectations put Grissom’s timetable for return in the range of mid- to late-April, though Katie Morrison-O’Day of Masslive noted yesterday that Grissom and the club plan to take his rehab slowly as he looks to build up for the season. Per Morrison-O’Day, Grissom has mostly played DH throughout his rehab assignment to this point but has ramped up his time at second base in recent days, including playing all seven innings of the second game of Worcester’s double-header yesterday.

That Grissom was ready to play a full game at the keystone yesterday is surely an encouraging sign for Red Sox fans, as the big league club has suffered injuries of varying severity to shortstop Trevor Story, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, third baseman Rafael Devers, and first baseman Triston Casas already in the young 2024 campaign. With Story set to miss the rest of the season, O’Neill and Casas both on the injured list, and Devers day-to-day, Boston’s positional mix could certainly use the boost that Grissom could provide. Acquired from the Braves in exchange for Chris Sale this past winter, the youngster has hit a solid .287/.339/.407 in sporadic playing time at the big league level over the past two seasons. That solid slash line at the big league level is supplemented by incredible numbers at Triple-A last year, where he posted a .921 OPS in 102 games.

Despite the obvious need at the big league level, however, the Red Sox don’t seem inclined to rush Grissom back to the majors; manager Alex Cora recently indicated that the youngster won’t join the club ahead of their next trip, which begins on Friday. Grissom himself seems to be on board with being cautious ahead of his return, telling Morrison-O’Day that he wants to be “really ready” to return in order to “give [the Red Sox] the best version of myself I can.”

More from around the AL East…

  • Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells hit the injured list last week due to inflammation in his elbow in a move that was described as “precautionary” at the time. Wells provided a little more context on the nature of his injury to reporters (including Jake Rill of MLB.com) yesterday. The righty noted that he struggled to bounce back after his four-inning start against the Pirates on April 12 and isn’t sure when he’ll resume throwing at this point, though he added that he remains “optimistic” that the inflammation won’t be a long-term issue for him. Wells struggled to a 5.87 ERA in his first three starts of the year for Baltimore but posted a solid 3.64 ERA despite a 4.98 FIP in 25 appearances last year. With Wells on the shelf, the Orioles have turned to 34-year-old journeyman Albert Suarez to fill out the rotation alongside Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin, Grayson Rodriguez, and Dean Kremer.
  • Rays closer Pete Fairbanks has been unavailable the past two days due to illness, as club manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) yesterday. Per Cash, stomach issues sidelined the right-hander on Friday to the point that he didn’t even make it to the ballpark, and the righty went on to deal with “a little bit of a dead arm” on Saturday. The issues prompted the club to sit Fairbanks down yesterday in hopes he would rebound ahead of this afternoon’s game against the Yankees. Fairbanks, 30, has been a dominant relief arm for Tampa dating back to the 2020 season, with a 2.66 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 138 2/3 innings of work over the past four seasons. Despite that rock-solid pedigree, the right-hander has dealt with some early struggles to this point in the 2024 campaign, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in seven innings when healthy enough to take the mound. Jason Adam and Garrett Cleavinger handled late-inning duties yesterday while Fairbanks was unavailable.

Red Sox Place Tyler O’Neill On Injured List

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The Red Sox announced they’ve placed Tyler O’Neill on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to April 16. Rob Refsnyder was reinstated from the IL to take the active roster spot.

O’Neill suffered the injury on Monday when he collided with Rafael Devers while tracking a shallow fly ball. O’Neill’s forehead hit the back of Devers’ head. Devers stayed in the game but O’Neill came out. While he initially cleared concussion protocol, he hasn’t played in either of the last two games. He’s evidently still not ready to return and will be out for at least another five days. MassLive’s Christopher Smith tweets that O’Neill was diagnosed with a mild concussion.

Acquired in something of a buy-low offseason trade, O’Neill has been off to a scorching start to his Red Sox tenure. He’s hitting .313/.459/.750 and is third in the majors with seven homers. O’Neill showed impact ability intermittently throughout his time with the Cardinals, but he’d produced at a roughly league average level from 2022-23. He’ll be a free agent for the first time at the end of this season.

In other injury news, manager Alex Cora said the Sox are sending Devers for an MRI on his left knee (relayed by Sean McAdam of MassLive). The two-time All-Star has played through some discomfort in the joint in recent days, although there’s nothing to suggest it’s related to Monday’s collision. He was the designated hitter yesterday but is out of the lineup for this afternoon’s contest with the Guardians.

It seems the current round of imaging is mostly precautionary. The Sox surely want to rule out any possibility that Devers is playing through some kind of structural issue that would necessitate a shutdown. He’s still day-to-day pending the MRI results.

Devers has gotten off to a slow start. He’s hitting only .188 through his first 13 games. A massive 15.5% walk rate has kept his on-base percentage at a respectable clip, but Devers clearly hasn’t found his typical form. His hard contact percentage has been well below his normal level. It’s likely that playing through discomfort — he also battled shoulder soreness around Opening Day — has contributed to the slump. Assuming there’s nothing significantly wrong with his knee, Devers shouldn’t have much issue recapturing his groove offensively.

There’s nevertheless added uncertainty to an already shaky Boston infield. Devers and Triston Casas flank a much less imposing middle infield group. Injuries to Vaughn Grissom and Trevor Story have pushed the likes of Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes and David Hamilton into meaningful roles. Story is out for the season, so shortstop will remain a question all year unless the Sox go outside the organization.

Grissom, who started the year on the shelf with a hamstring strain, will take over second base within two weeks. He began a minor league rehab assignment last Friday, opening a 20-day window for his activation to the MLB roster. Cora said this morning that the Sox aren’t likely to reinstate Grissom before their forthcoming week-long road trip (X link via The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey). Grissom didn’t get any game action in March, so he’s using the rehab period as something of an abbreviated Spring Training.

Red Sox Place Romy Gonzalez, Isaiah Campbell On Injured List

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Sox Select Joely Rodriguez, Naoyuki Uwasawa

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The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Joely Rodriguez and right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa — the latter of whom was just acquired from the Rays yesterday. Rodriguez will head straight to the MLB roster, while Uwasawa has been optioned to extended spring training. Righty Liam Hendriks (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and southpaw Chris Murphy (UCL sprain) have been placed on the 60-day IL to create 40-man roster space. Boston also placed righty Bryan Mata (hamstring strain) on the 15-day IL and placed infielder Vaughn Grissom (hamstring strain) and utilityman Rob Refsnyder (broken toe) on the 10-day IL.

Rodriguez, 32, was with the Sox in 2023 but pitched just 11 innings due to oblique, shoulder and hip injuries that combined to result in three different stints on the injured list. He posted a 6.55 ERA in his short time on the mound, striking out 27.5% of his opponents against an 11.8% walk rate and 45.2% ground-ball rate. He re-signed with the Sox on a minor league deal and turned in a strong showing this spring, holding opponents to a pair of runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings of relief. He also recorded a massive 61.9% ground-ball rate.

Looking beyond last year’s struggles, Rodriguez has a decent track record in recent years. From 2020-22, Rodriguez pitched 109 1/3 frames between the Rangers, Yankees and Mets, working to a 4.28 ERA with even more encouraging secondary marks. Rodriguez fanned 25.5% of his opponents in that time and induced grounders at a huge 55.7% clip. His 10.3% walk rate was still a couple ticks north of the league average, but the lefty offered an enticing blend of missed bats and grounders while excelling at keeping the ball in the park (0.58 HR/9). Metrics like FIP (3.14) and SIERA (3.51) were rather bullish on his work.

Uwasawa, 30, has a long track record of success in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but inked a minor league pact with the Rays over the winter. He most recently tossed 170 innings with a 2.96 ERA in NPB, though that strong mark was accompanied by a lackluster 17.8% strikeout rate and sub-par velocity. Last September, MLBTR contributor Dai Takegami Podziewski noted that Uwasawa’s fastball velocity was averaging 90.8 mph during the 2023 NPB season. Uwasawa does boast a strong 7.5% walk rate, which dropped as low as 5.9% in 2023, but he’s generally viewed as a soft-tossing finesse pitcher.

It was a rocky spring for Uwasawa, who was torched for seven runs in two innings during his debut with the Rays. He had one more rough outing and a pair of solid appearances, and the Sox got a first-hand look at him as they were his opponent in two of his four official spring outings. Uwasawa finished up his Grapefruit League campaign with a grisly 13.03, thanks largely to that first meltdown, but his track record in Japan and low cost of acquisition make him a reasonable enough flier for a Red Sox club that is thin on pitching depth after trading Chris Sale and seeing Lucas Giolito and the aforementioned Murphy go down with UCL injuries.

Red Sox Notes: Grissom, Winckowski, Rotation, Booser

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Vaughn Grissom was already questionable for Opening Day, but Alex Cora offered an update this morning on the timeline for his second baseman’s return. “We’re talking mid-April probably, [or] late April,” the Red Sox manager told members of the media, including Ian Browne of MLB.com. Grissom has not yet appeared in a Grapefruit League game; he has been nursing a groin strain all spring.

Boston traded for Grissom in December, sending Chris Sale (and $17MM) to Atlanta to complete the exchange. The Red Sox were counting on the 23-year-old to be their everyday second baseman in 2024. Barring a significant setback, he can still fill that role, and if he returns in mid-April, he might only miss 15-20 games.

When news of Grissom’s injury first broke, Cora told Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe that Enmanuel Valdez would fill in at second base. Valdez started 44 games at the keystone for the Red Sox last season. He slashed a perfectly respectable .266/.311/.453 in 149 plate appearances, with eight doubles and six home runs. However, he took nearly 90% of his plate appearances with the platoon advantage and went 2-for-14 against left-handed pitching. Thus, Pablo Reyes is likely to grab some starts at second with a southpaw on the mound.

In pitching news from Red Sox camp, Cora told reporters (including Sean McAdam of MassLive) that Josh Winckowski is no longer in the running for the Opening Day rotation, and he will likely move to the bullpen to begin the season. As Browne points out, that leaves Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Cooper Criswell competing for the final two jobs on Boston’s starting staff. Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, and Kutter Crawford will hold down the top three spots.

Winckowski pitched well out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.88 ERA in 84 1/3 innings of work. His 3.84 SIERA and 3.82 xERA were more good than great, but there is no denying he was an effective reliever, especially against left-handed opponents. The same cannot be said for his time as a starting pitcher the year before. Over 70 1/3 innings, Winckowski pitched to a 5.89 ERA, 4.84 xERA, and 4.82 SIERA, striking out a mere 44 batters while walking 27. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old told Rob Bradford of WEEI that he still considers himself a starting pitcher.

While Cora suggested Winckowski would likely fill a multi-inning role at the MLB level, he didn’t completely shut down the possibility that the righty could begin the season as a starter at Triple-A (per McAdam). “We still have got decisions to make,” said the skipper. “We’ll transition him now to the bullpen… and we’ll make decisions after that.”

Out of Houck, Whitlock, and Criswell, a trio of tall, 27-year-old right-handers, it seems like the former two have the edge over the latter. Houck and Whitlock have significantly more big league experience, and both were serviceable out of the rotation for Boston in 2023. Houck has a career 3.86 ERA in 252 innings, while Whitlock has a career 3.51 in 223 1/3 frames. Criswell has pitched well this spring, but it would be hard to argue he has done enough to edge out either of his more proven teammates.

Turning back to the bullpen, Cora mentioned an interesting name to Christopher Smith of MassLive: Cam Booser. Booser will turn 32 in May. He has spent time in the Twins, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox organizationx. He has never been selected to a 40-man roster, let alone pitched in the major leagues. Yet Booser was the first name the manager mentioned,  pointing out his upper-90s fastball velocity and the way he has landed “offspeed pitches for strikes.”

That said, Cora was also clear to emphasize the value of experience. Brennan Bernardino, who already has a spot on the 40-man roster, made 55 appearances last year with a 3.20 ERA. Joely Rodríguez, a non-roster invitee, has pitched in 168 games over six big league seasons. Chris Murphy, another 40-man arm, found moderate success as a multi-inning reliever last season, tossing 47 2/3 frames over 20 appearances with the Red Sox. Cora brought up all three of their names in the same discussion, and it’s hard to imagine Booser beating out any of them for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Still, it’s becoming clear that Booser is a name to keep an eye on this season. He has given up just two runs in eight innings this spring, striking out eight and walking none.

Vaughn Grissom Likely To Miss Opening Day Due To Groin Strain

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Vaughn Grissom will probably have to wait a bit longer to make his official Red Sox debut, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that the second baseman has been sidelined by a groin strain.  The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, though it is serious enough that Cora was doubtful that Grissom would be ready for Boston’s season open on March 28 in Seattle.

Grissom has yet to see any Grapefruit League action at all due to a prior hamstring problem, so between that injury and now the groin strain, his first spring camp in a Red Sox uniform hasn’t been particularly memorable.  It seems likely that Grissom will start the season on the 10-day injured list, as he’ll need time to both get healthy and then get some work in either at Spring Training proper or in extended spring camp to get himself at full readiness for regular-season games.

Amidst a relatively quiet offseason for the Red Sox, the club’s acquisition of Grissom stands out as its most headline-grabbing move.  The Sox traded Chris Sale and $17MM (to partially cover Sale’s salary) to the Braves in exchange for Grissom, with the intent of installing Grissom as a long-term answer at second base.  The position had been both a revolving door and a weak link for the Red Sox, but the Sox are hopeful that second base is now covered for the rest of the decade since Grissom is controlled through the 2029 season.

As an 11th-round pick for Atlanta in the 2019 draft, Grissom’s quick rise to the majors has been something of a surprise, particularly given the playing time lost during the canceled 2020 minor league season.  The Braves are known for aggressively promoting certain prospects they feel they can provide immediate help at the big league level, and Grissom’s huge numbers in the minors earned him a 41-game look in the Show in 2022, with Grissom hitting .291/.353/.440 over 156 plate appearances.

This impressive start hinted at a larger role and perhaps the everyday shortstop job for Grissom in 2023, though Orlando Arcia ended up taking that role and Grissom spent most of last season at Triple-A Gwinnett.  While Grissom continued to hit well at Triple-A, he had only 80 PA (hitting .280/.313/.347) in the majors since the Braves prioritized regular playing time for Grissom in the minors, and due to the durability of Arcia and mostly every member of Atlanta’s regular lineup.

Cora said that Enmanuel Valdez is the likeliest candidate to fill second base in Grissom’s absence, and players like Pablo Reyes, Rob Refsnyder, Romy Gonzalez, or Bobby Dalbec could also pick up the slack.  The Red Sox were known to be looking for some position-player depth this week and signed C.J. Cron to a minor league contract, though Cron is a first-base only player.  It seems possible the Sox might keep looking for a middle-infield type to further bolster their depth given Grissom’s situation.

Latest On Dylan Cease

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Dylan Cease remains atop the list of potential trade candidates for teams seeking rotation upgrades this offseason, but White Sox general manager Chris Getz isn’t backing off on his asking price in a trade, writes ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. Other clubs who’ve spoken to the Sox about Cease tell Rogers that the ask has been “multiple” top prospects with additional lower-end talent; the Sox aren’t open to dealing two affordable years of control over their top starter for a package centered around just one top-tier prospect.

That generally aligns with prior reporting that the White Sox asked the Reds for last year’s first-round pick, Rhett Lowder, and top prospects Edwin Arroyo and Connor Phillips in exchange for Cease. Other teams have similarly balked at the idea of parting with so much talent from the top end of their system.

Rogers reports that the Braves approached the Sox and dangled infielder Vaughn Grissom, among others, but were rebuffed. Grissom instead went to the Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade. The Yankees, despite having known interest in Cease, aren’t likely to further deplete their farm after already acquiring Juan Soto (and Alex Verdugo) this offseason, per Rogers — at least not at the current asking price. Outfield prospect Spencer Jones, in particular, seems highly unlikely to be included in any potential deal, he adds. Meanwhile, Jim Bowden of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag that talks between the Red Sox and White Sox never gained traction, thanks to Chicago’s steep ask.

Despite the lack of traction in talks thus far, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said in a Tuesday appearance on Foul Territory that he expects Cease to be moved prior to the season. The demand for starting pitching, as Rosenthal rightly observes, clearly outpaces the supply that’s available in free agency. Beyond that, the asking price on some other pitchers rumored to be available — Jesus Luzardo, in particular — would likely be even greater than the ask for Cease. Luzardo has three years of club control as compared to Cease’s two.

Each of the Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Rangers, Angels, Giants, Dodgers and Padres, at the very least, could still use some degree of rotation upgrade. The Cardinals signed three free agents early in the offseason (Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson) but were reported to have interest in Cease even after making that trio of additions.

Getz, unsurprisingly, kept things close to the vest in his public comments yesterday. The newly minted general manager rattled off a series of familiar choruses, noting that Cease would only be moved for the right deal, that there was no urgency to make a swap given his remaining club control, and specifying that the majority of the league has shown at least some level of interest in the right-hander.

Cease is coming off a down season that saw him post a 4.58 ERA with a slightly diminished 27.3% strikeout rate. That’s down only by his lofty standards; he punched out 30.1% of his opponents a year prior while pitching to a sparkling 2.20 ERA that netted him a runner-up finish in American League Cy Young voting.

While last year’s ERA was unsightly, Cease still missed bats at a high level, sat just under 96 mph in terms of average fastball velocity, and notched a well above-average 13.6% swinging-strike rate. He’s also made a full slate of starts in each of the past four seasons, leading the Majors with 109 games started since 2020. Add in that Cease is projected for an eminently affordable $8.8MM salary in arbitration this winter (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) and is controllable through the 2025 season, and his appeal becomes even more apparent.

Any team to acquire Cease would surely view him as a prime rebound candidate whom they can control for two seasons before recouping some prospect value in the form of a qualifying offer. An extension with Cease always remains a possibility, albeit perhaps a faint one. Clients of the Boras Corporation tend to test the open market, though there are plenty of examples of Boras clients who have instead signed extensions (e.g. Xander Bogaerts, Jose Altuve, Stephen Strasburg, Carlos Gonzalez — among others).

MLBTR Podcast: Yamamoto Fallout, the Sale/Grissom Trade and Transaction Roundup

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

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