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Cubs, Padres Discussed Eric Hosmer Trade Last Summer

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The Padres and Cubs were in talks last summer about a trade that would have sent first baseman Eric Hosmer “and a highly regarded prospect” to Chicago, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma reports.  The return on the Cubs’ end wasn’t mentioned, yet it likely could have been pretty minimal (i.e. a low-level prospect or a player to be named later), since the chief goal of the trade for San Diego would have been to get Hosmer’s contract off the books.  However, since Anthony Rizzo also reportedly on the Padres’ trade radar, it is possible the two teams might have been discussing a swap of first basemen.

Hosmer was known to be available prior to the trade deadline, as the Padres were exploring ways to both lessen their luxury tax burdens in 2021 and in the future, and also create payroll space for some bigger-ticket additions.  As it turned out, San Diego didn’t find a taker for Hosmer, and they also fell short of landing such targets as Rizzo, Max Scherzer and Jose Berrios prior to the deadline.  While the Padres did acquire the likes of Adam Frazier and Daniel Hudson, that wasn’t enough to hold off a late-season collapse, as the Friars plummeted to a 79-83 record.

As well, the Padres also ended up exceeding the luxury tax threshold for the first time in club history.  While final figures haven’t yet been released (and estimates from both Cot’s Baseball Contracts and Roster Resource actually had the Padres falling a bit short of the tax line), the expectation is that San Diego’s Competitive Balance Tax number did indeed top the $210MM mark.  The penalty for a first-time payor is only a 20 percent surcharge on the overage, so since the Padres didn’t exceed the threshold by too much, their financial cost will be quite minimal.  For instance, if they exceeded the CBT line by $2MM, the team would have a $400K tax bill.

Since the Padres are already projected to sit very close to the $210MM mark for their 2022 expenditures, a further penalty could be difficult to avoid, with the obvious caveat that the CBT system could be altered under the new collective bargaining agreement.  In the short term, however, exceeding the luxury tax line has already caused some difficulties for the Padres’ offseason business.  They would have to give up two 2022 draft picks (their second-highest and fifth-highest selections) and $1MM of international draft pool money in order to sign a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer, and San Diego has already reportedly shown interest in one such QO free agent in Nick Castellanos.

Assuming some form of the luxury tax continues to exist in the next CBA, even at a much higher threshold, the Padres would probably prefer to rid themselves of Hosmer’s contract just to lessen their chances of a repeater penalty.  Hosmer has a tax number of $18MM per season (the average annual value of his eight-year, $144MM deal), even though his actual salary figures will drop on the back end of his deal.  Hosmer has $59MM owed to him through the 2025 campaign, breaking down as $20MM in 2022, and then $13MM salaries in each of the 2023-25 seasons.

This contract wouldn’t be a problem if Hosmer was still hitting, and yet the veteran has batted only .264/.323/.415 (99 wRC+, 102 OPS+) over his four seasons in San Diego.  Other than a strong performance over 156 plate appearances in the shortened 2020 season, Hosmer has been barely a replacement-level player with the Padres, and he may not even be a regular starting option going forward considering that his playing time was reduced amidst his struggles.

The Cubs were primarily focused on selling back in July, unloading such veteran talents as Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Craig Kimbrel, Joc Pederson, and others.  Plus, the Cubs got a jump on the salary cuts almost a year ago in another major deal with the Padres, as Yu Darvish was dealt to San Diego.  All of these moves greatly reduced Chicago’s future salary commitments, and yet the recent acquisitions of Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley indicate that the Cubs aren’t planning a full rebuild.  Despite Hosmer’s lack of recent production, the Cubs could see him as a change-of-scenery candidate, or possibly as a left-handed complement to Frank Schwindel for first base (and maybe DH) duties.

The real prize for Chicago would still be whatever prospect or prospects the Padres were to include in a Hosmer trade.  While San Diego still has a strong farm system, their minor league depth has been sapped to some extent due to other deals, and some prospects that have now graduated to larger roles on the big league roster.  In talks with the Rangers about a trade involving Hosmer and Joey Gallo last July, Padres outfield prospect Robert Hassell III was reportedly floated as a candidate to change teams, though it isn’t known if the Cubs would also be targeting Hassell.

It is worth noting that Hosmer himself also has some leverage in the form of a ten-team no-trade clause.  The Cubs weren’t one of the ten teams on Hosmer’s 2021 list, and yet since he can change that list every year, he could very well adjust his no-trade protection to include the Cubs, Rangers, or any other club Hosmer suspects could be a potential trade partner.  This doesn’t mean that Hosmer wouldn’t necessarily welcome a move away from the Padres, but he would at least give himself some measure of control over his future.  Hosmer also gains full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player following the 2022 season, so this is the last year for the Padres to move Hosmer even somewhat freely.

LaMarr Hoyt Passes Away

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Former AL Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt passed away last Monday at age 66.  According to a statement released by the White Sox, Mathew Hoyt (LaMarr’s oldest son) said his father was suffering from cancer.

Hoyt appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons from 1979-1986, with the first six of those years with the White Sox and the last two with the Padres.  A fifth-round pick for the Yankees in the 1973 draft, Hoyt was dealt along with Oscar Gamble, minor league righty Bob Polinsky, and $200K to the White Sox in April 1977 in what turned out to be a very notable trade for both teams, as New York picked up Bucky Dent in exchange.

It didn’t take long for Hoyt to win over Tony La Russa, whose debut season as a big league manager with the White Sox coincided with Hoyt’s first taste of The Show.

“My first impression of LaMarr was, ’Here is a pitcher.’ He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear,” La Russa said in the White Sox media release.  “We brought him up to the big leagues in 1979 and nothing bothered him.  He had this impressive cool where he believed if he made his pitches, he would get hitters out.  He faced teams multiple times in a season but could change up his looks and keep them off balance.  What a great competitor.”

Hoyt didn’t become a full-fledged member of Chicago’s rotation until 1982, and he immediately made his mark by leading the American League with 19 wins and posting a 3.53 ERA.  This set the stage for Hoyt’s signature 1983 year, which put him alongside Early Wynn and Jack McDowell as the only White Sox pitchers to ever capture a Cy Young Award.

During that dream season, Hoyt led the majors in wins (24) and walk rate (a tiny 3.0%) over 260 2/3 innings while posting a 3.66 ERA and leading the Sox to an AL West title.  Hoyt also threw a complete game to secure Chicago’s lone victory over the Orioles in that year’s ALCS, as Hoyt held the eventual World Series champion O’s to just five hits in a 2-1 White Sox triumph.

After struggling in 1984, Hoyt was dealt that offseason to San Diego as part of a seven-player trade — it was another noteworthy move in White Sox history, as longtime Chicago player and future Series-winning manager Ozzie Guillen joined the Sox in that swap.  Hoyt pitched well in 1985 and earned a spot on the NL All-Star team, but his performance declined in 1986 and he never pitched again in the majors.  The end of Hoyt’s career was hastened by injuries, as well as a struggle with substance abuse and legal problems that resulted in a year-long suspension from Major League Baseball.

Hoyt posted a 3.99 ERA over 1311 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Padres, relying on his excellent control.  Hoyt’s 5.1% walk rate is the seventh-lowest of any qualified pitcher from the 1979-1986 period, and of the six pitchers ahead of Hoyt on the list, only Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley pitched more innings.

We at MLB Trade Rumors apologize for the late date of this post, and we send our condolences to Hoyt’s family and friends.

Padres To Hire Ryan Christenson As Bench Coach

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One of Bob Melvin’s trusted lieutenants will be joining the manager in San Diego, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (via Twitter) that the Padres will hire Ryan Christenson as their new bench coach.  Christenson worked as Melvin’s bench coach with the Athletics for the last four seasons.

Christenson has longstanding ties to Oakland, working as a minor league manager from 2013-2017 and also playing for the A’s from 1998-2001 after being drafted by the club in 1995.  The 47-year-old saw MLB action with four different teams during his six seasons in the Show, and while he played 60 games with the Rangers in 2003, this was just a year before Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was initially hired to join the Texas organization.

The firing of manager Jayce Tingler following the season also led to an overhaul of the Padres’ coaching staff.  Along with Christenson, Ruben Niebla is the new pitching coach, Michael Brdar the new hitting coach, and Francisco Cervelli was hired as a catching coach.  According to Lin, the Padres will announce their full slate of coaches next week.

With Christenson now moving on, the A’s have one less internal option to consider as Melvin’s replacement.  Christenson had been mentioned as a possible candidate as Oakland’s next skipper, and he also interviewed for the Pirates’ last managerial vacancy back in October 2019.  There has been very little public buzz about the Athletics’ managerial search, but with all other baseball business on hold due to the lockout, the team has been expected to now turn its full attention to finding a new bench boss.

Padres Have Reportedly Expressed Interest In Nick Castellanos

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Serving as one of the last free agent rumors of the night before yesterday’s lockout officially commenced, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Padres were “showing strong interest” in free agent Nick Castellanos. An important disclaimer here is that teams are prohibited from contacting players or making any transactions during the duration of this lockout. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how strongly yesterday’s reported interest in Castellanos will persist when the transaction freeze is over. Nonetheless, this is a notable piece of insight into how San Diego may operate when they’re free to bolster their roster again.

The 29-year-old Castellanos should appeal to the Padres and a number of teams for one simple reason: he’s a very good hitter. In 138 games this past season the right fielder posted personal best offensive numbers en route to a .309/.362/.576 slash line (136 OPS+) with 34 home runs. Statcast metrics largely support the output, by virtue of how frequently Castellanos makes hard contact.

One knock on Castellanos over the years is that he’s been something of a free-swinger, waving and missing at balls outside the strike zone. Statcast numbers showed more of the same in that regard during 2021. Castellanos was able to mitigate concerns about being too much of a free-swinger in one notable respect, however, since he cut down his strikeout rate to a better-than-most 20.7%. The ability to be aggressive early in the count but avoid strikeouts is an asset that will likely give teams more confidence in the player than they had in him after a replacement-level 2020 showing.

The other well-documented knock against Castellanos has been his subpar defensive ratings over the years. Despite possessing above average speed, the outfielder continued the trend of uninspiring outfield play in 2021. Any NL team looking to add Castellanos’s bat to a lineup knows they’ll be taking a bit of a hit when he takes his glove out into the field.

Those documented shortcomings, as well as the obvious offensive upside, actually lend some traction to a Padres pursuit. San Diego is a team that clearly values contact skills— they were the 5th best team in baseball at avoiding strikeouts last season. As for the defensive side of things, San Diego (and several other NL teams) may be of the mindset that when the lockout subsides the DH will exist for all 30 teams. Stowing MLBTR’s 10th-ranked free agent at a DH spot, with occasional outfield reps, seems a perfectly reasonable move then for a team whose offense proved surprisingly middling last season. Even without the DH, it’s possible some outfield shuffling can take place to accommodate Castellanos now that incumbent left fielder Tommy Pham is a free agent.

Padres To Sign Nick Martinez To Four-Year Deal

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THURSDAY, 7:45am: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Martinez remains a free agent, though sources tell MLBTR that there is no concern the deal won’t be completed after the lockout since an agreement is in place between Martinez and the Padres.  It’s also worth noting that Martinez is set to earn $7MM in 2022, so he’d be leaving three years and $13MM on the table if he decides to opt out.

WEDNESDAY, 9:21pm: The Padres are signing Nick Martínez to a four-year, $20MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link).  The deal includes opt-outs after the first two years. The right-hander has spent the past four seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. His contract with the NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks just expired today, but his representatives worked quickly to find him a big league landing spot before the anticipated transactions freeze.  Martinez is represented by Brian Mejia, Ulises Cabrera, and Alan Nero of Octagon.

Martínez is making his return to the majors for the first time since 2017, though he did pitch for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The Florida native was drafted and developed by the Rangers, where current San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was then a prominent member of the scouting department. Martínez debuted in 2014 and worked as a back-of-the-rotation arm for the next few seasons.

Martinez, 31, posted a stellar 1.62 ERA with a 24.8 K% and 6.6 BB% for the Hawks this year in 149 2/3 innings.  According to Sung Min Kim, Martinez’s fastball velocity increased to nearly 94 miles per hour this year, and his changeup has become more effective.  Several American pitchers have revived their careers in NPB or KBO in recent years and returned to MLB on big league deals, including Chris Flexen, Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly, and Miles Mikolas.  Martinez’s contract tops all of them, as Mikolas had inked a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals four years ago.  Plus, Martinez maintains the ability to re-enter free agency if he’s able to have success in 2022 or ’23.

Martinez’s $5MM AAV is key for the Padres, one of only two teams to exceed the $210MM luxury tax threshold in 2021.  The club is currently in a similar place for 2022, though we don’t know how much success the players’ union will have in increasing the base tax threshold.

Martinez joins a Padres rotation that currently includes Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Mike Clevinger.  Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, and Ryan Weathers also figure to be in the mix.  Though that’s significant depth, but it’s plausible that Preller might look to trade someone as a means of clearing payroll.  The Padres already sent Adam Frazier to the Mariners to clear an estimated $7MM or so.

Aside from the Frazier trade, the Padres added to their stock of catchers by acquiring Jorge Alfaro from the Marlins.    They also signed a pair of relievers today in Luis Garcia and Robert Suarez, with the latter having played against Martinez in NPB this year.  There’s a sense that the Padres have plenty of additional offseason moves to make, but like the other 29 teams everything will go on pause until the lockout ends.

Kris Bryant Drawing Widespread Interest

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With just a few hours to go in advance of tonight’s expected CBA expiration, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that numerous teams are showing interest in free agent Kris Bryant. Heyman lists a whole host of teams who have checked in with Bryant’s camp recently, including the Mets, Angels, and Padres. These teams add to the growing list of previously reported teams like the Rockies, Mariners, Phillies, and Astros to express interest in the longtime Cub.

It’s no surprise that Bryant continues to draw such wide interest. Between his ability to play multiple positions and status as one of the best free agents left on the market, several teams likely view Bryant as the best solution to a roster problem that money can buy. Still, despite being of the perspective that the “Bryant market is really starting to move”, Heyman notes that a deal is unlikely to come together tonight. Even if Bryant is content to wait through the work stoppage like Heyman asserts, it’s nonetheless notable to hear new teams kicking the tires on such a high impact player.

In the wake of their recent spending bonanza it would be unwise to count out the Mets on any free agent pursuit, even if every additional dollar spent under Steven Cohen’s watch represents a new franchise high. Bryant may seem like a curious fit for a team that has no shortage of corner options, but it’s worth remembering that several of those options contributed to a team that finished 27th in runs scored last season. Accordingly, it’s possible some players could cede playing time to (or be traded to accommodate) a steady producer like Bryant.

The Angels and Padres represent somewhat imperfect fits on the surface as well, as both have high profile third basemen already in the form of Manny Machado and Anthony Rendon. One could further argue that both teams have a greater need in the rotation than in their lineups. That said, LA and San Diego field two playoff-hopeful teams who finished 17th and 14th respectively in runs scored last season. Signing Bryant would take resources away from pitching investments for either franchise, but would represent more of a sure thing than relying on Jurickson Profar in left field or either Brandon Marsh or Jo Adell in right.

Padres Sign Robert Suarez

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The Padres announced they’ve signed reliever Robert Suárez to a one-year, major league contract. The deal also contains a player option for the 2023 campaign.

Suárez has never appeared in the big leagues. The Venezuela native has spent the past five seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, emerging as a shutdown closer the last two years. Between 2020-21, the right-hander saved 67 games for the Hanshin Tigers. He reportedly attracted some big league interest last offseason on the heels of a 2.24 ERA in 2020, but Suárez elected to return to the Nishinomiya-based club for a second season.

The 30-year-old (31 in March) backed up his prior success with another great showing this year. Suárez dominated to the tune of a 1.16 ERA across 62 1/3 frames. His peripherals were equally impressive, as the righty struck out 25.3% of opposing hitters against a minuscule 3.5% walk percentage.

The Padres have made two bullpen pick-ups this afternoon. Suárez’s deal comes just hours after the team finalized a two-year contract with former Cardinals reliever Luis Garcia.

Padres Sign Luis Garcia

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The Padres have announced agreement with free agent reliever Luis García on a two-year contract. It’s reportedly a $7MM guarantee.

The multi-year deal is a nice pull for García, who entered the 2021 campaign as a non-roster invitee with the Yankees. After failing to crack New York’s season-opening roster, he spent the first couple months of the season in Triple-A. García triggered an opt-out clause in that deal and landed a big league roster spot with the Cardinals in July.

The 34-year-old (35 in January) made the most of his half-season in St. Louis. He worked 33 1/3 innings of 3.24 ERA ball across 34 outings, earning his way into higher-leverage work by September. García fanned a slightly above-average 25.2% of opposing hitters while walking only 5.9% of batters faced. That was handily the best control he’s ever shown, as García typically walked batters at a higher than average rate during his time as an inconsistent middle innings option with the Phillies earlier in his career.

Even more impressive than his bottom line results were his pitch-by-pitch numbers. García generated swinging strikes on 14.9% of his offerings, a mark that’s more than three percentage points above the 11.7% league average for relievers. That’s largely on the strength of his slider, which opponents rather comically missed more than half the time they offered at it. That was his primary complement against right-handed hitters to a sinker that averaged greater than 98 MPH, while he also found plenty of success mixing in a split against lefty batters.

It remains to be seen whether García can sustain his half-season success moving forward — particularly the seeming strides he made with his control. It’s a fairly inexpensive gamble on a live arm for the Friars, with García having the opportunity to cement himself into the club’s late-innings mix. With previous closer Mark Melancon departing to join the division-rival Diamondbacks, Pierce Johnson, Tim Hill, Emilio Pagán and Austin Adams look to be the other top options for new skipper Bob Melvin.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the agreement and its terms shortly before the official announcement.

Padres Hire Francisco Cervelli As Catching Coach

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  • The Padres have hired longtime big-league catcher Francisco Cervelli as their new catching instructor.  The thirty-five-year-old Cervelli, who posted a solid .268/.358/.382 batting line across parts of thirteen seasons with the Yankees, Pirates, Braves, and Marlins, will take over for Rod Barajas. Barajas, also a former catcher, had been in the Padres organization since 2014, amassing a 1-7 record as interim Padres manager for the last eight games of 2019, following the firing of Andy Green.  A veteran of 13 big league seasons, Cervelli will now be overseeing a crowded catching situation in San Diego.  The Padres acquired backstop Jorge Alfaro from the Marlins Tuesday to supplement a group headed by incumbents Austin Nola and Victor Caratini.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21

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We’ve now passed the deadline for teams to tender contracts to pre-arb and arbitration-eligible players. We’ll keep track of the more minor players non-tendered in the National League here. The American League non-tenders are available at this link.

As a reminder, you can view MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players here:

  • The Cardinals announced they’ve non-tendered utilityman José Rondon. The right-handed hitting infielder tallied 90 plate appearances this past season while suiting up at a handful of position.
  • The Giants announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Luis González, right-hander Sam Delaplane and southpaw Joe Palumbo. None of that trio was arbitration-eligible, and all three were recently acquired via minor transactions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if San Francisco attempts to work out minor league pacts with one or more of that group now that they’ve been removed from the 40-man roster.
  • The Phillies have non-tendered southpaw Kyle Dohy and re-signed him to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. He’ll remain in the organization but no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster. Dohy made on major league appearance in 2021.
  • The Padres announced they’ve non-tendered relievers José Castillo, Trey Wingenter, and Matt Strahm. Castillo and Wingenter haven’t pitched since 2019 because of arm injuries that necessitated Tommy John surgeries. Strahm was limited to just 6 2/3 frames in 2021 by health issues himself.
  • The Cubs are non-tendering reliever Jason Adam, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The southpaw missed much of the season after suffering a gruesome ankle fracture in Triple-A in May, but he made a triumphant late-season return to the big leagues. Adam ultimately tossed 10 2/3 innings over 12 outings. Chicago also announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Michael Hermosillo, who made a late-season appearance on the big league roster.
  • The Mets have non-tendered outfielder Mark Payton, per a club announcement. The left-handed hitter was acquired from the Reds midseason but never suited up for New York at the major league level.
  • The Reds have non-tendered righty Brandon Bailey, per a team announcement. The 27-year-old made five appearances with the Astros in 2020. He missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career. Bailey is re-signing on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation but will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic.
  • The Nationals announced three non-tenders: relievers Wander Suero and Ryne Harper and first baseman Mike Ford. Suero is the most notable of the group, having been an effective set-up option at times during his four-season run in D.C. He struggled to a 6.33 ERA across 42 2/3 innings in 2021, though.
  • The Mets have non-tendered reliever Stephen Nogosek, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (on Twitter). The right-hander made just one three-inning appearance at the big league level in 2021. He worked 35 innings of 5.14 ERA ball with Triple-A Syracuse.
  • The Diamondbacks are non-tendering reliever Taylor Clarke, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has pitched with the D-Backs in each of the past three seasons. The left-hander worked to a 4.98 ERA over 43 1/3 innings this past season, showing solid control but posting a 20.1% strikeout rate that was about four percentage points below the league average mark for bullpen arms.
  • The Dodgers have non-tendered southpaw Andrew Vasquez, tweets Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. Vasquez wasn’t eligible for arbitration, but Los Angeles decided to bump him off the 40-man roster without placing him on waivers. Acquired in a minor trade with the Twins, Vasquez made two appearances for the Dodgers in early September. The 28-year-old struck out a massive 37.4% of batters faced in Triple-A in 2021.
  • The Pirates have non-tendered right-hander Chad Kuhl, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). A productive back-of-the-rotation arm at times, Kuhl has developed escalating control problems over the past couple seasons. The 29-year-old throws in the mid-90s and has posted decent strikeout numbers, but he’s coming off a 4.82 ERA/4.89 SIERA over 28 appearances (including 14 starts)
  • The Mets have non-tendered reliever Robert Gsellman, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (on Twitter). The right-hander has appeared with New York in each of the past six seasons, moving to the bullpen full-time in 2018. While Gsellman showed quite a bit of promise over seven starts as a rookie, he’s yet to find much consistent success in the years since. The 28-year-old did manage a solid 3.77 ERA with a 49.5% ground-ball rate over 28 2/3 innings in 2021, but he also missed a couple months because of a lat strain and only punched out 14.3% of batters faced.
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