Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Steve Pearce

Latest On Steve Pearce

By | at

Steve Pearce proved to be a brilliant in-season pickup by the Red Sox a year ago, when they acquired him from the division-rival Blue Jays in late June. Pearce not only put up excellent regular-season production with Boston, but the first baseman dominated during the Fall Classic to earn World Series MVP honors in a five-game victory over the Dodgers. The Red Sox and Pearce could have gone their separate ways then and ended their relationship on a high note, but a couple weeks after the team won its latest title, it re-signed the 36-year-old to a $6.25MM guarantee.

While Boston undoubtedly expected the good times to continue rolling for Pearce in 2019, he has instead trudged through a season defined by underperformance and injuries. After starting the campaign on the shelf because of a strained left calf, Pearce debuted in early April and proceeded to hit a ghastly .180/.245/.258 (29 wRC+) with one home run in 99 plate appearances through May. The Red Sox sent Pearce back to the IL on June 1 with back problems. Pearce hasn’t returned to action since then, owing largely to the posterior ligament knee injury he suffered while on a rehab stint. A month and a half later, he’s still not slated to make his way back to the majors anytime soon, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Manager Alex Cora issued an update Thursday on Pearce, saying he’s “just rehabbing” at the team’s complex in Fort Myers, Fla., and not “even close to (being) back.” As of now, Pearce isn’t “participating in many baseball activities” and is only hitting off a tee, Smith writes.

The absences of Pearce and Mitch Moreland (who has taken two at-bats since late May) have thrown a wrench into the plans Boston had at first base entering the season. The righty-swinging Pearce and the left-handed Moreland were supposed to be the Red Sox’s solution at the position. Rookie Michael Chavis, who had been at second base, has instead emerged as the team’s starter at first with Pearce and Moreland unavailable. Meanwhile, Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez have taken the reins at second, which played a part in the Red Sox’s decision to to designate struggling veteran Eduardo Nunez for assignment this week. Moreland’s due back soon, Smith notes, though it’s not yet clear how the Red Sox will dole out playing time at first and second when he returns.

Red Sox Select Contract Of Trevor Kelley

By | at

The Red Sox announced today that they will select the contract of righty Trevor Kelley in advance of tomorrow’s contest, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reported. An active roster spot was opened by optioning fellow right-hander Mike Shawaryn.

The 25-year-old Kelley was a 36th-round pick in 2015 and was left unprotected from the Rule 5 draft last winter. He has generally succeeded in the minors with low home run and hefty infield fly rates. The soft-tossing sidearmer has been devastating against lefty hitters at Triple-A this year, holding them to a collective .077/.172/.115 slash. Kelley has allowed just four earned in 37 2/3 innings this year for Pawtucket, with 34 strikeouts and 12 walks.

There are a few other roster maneuvers out of Boston as well. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin was activated from the IL and optioned. Corner utilityman Steve Pearce will remain on the shelf; his lower back issue evidently isn’t progressing as hoped, as his rehab assignment was cut off. Finally, Sam Travis is going back to Triple-A after 26th-man service in London.

AL East Notes: Pearce, Smoak, Orioles

By | at

It was on this day in 1925 that the legendary Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp in the Yankees’ lineup, beginning Gehrig’s then-record streak of 2130 consecutive games played.  While both Pipp and the Yankees themselves were slumping at the time, Gehrig’s insertion into the lineup wasn’t only meant as a way to give a promising youngster some at-bats.  Pipp was given a day off due to a headache, which according to some reports was suffered after being hit in the head with a pitch from a teammate during batting practice.  Since that fateful day, Pipp’s name has become synonymous with being replaced — whenever a player goes on a hot streak replacing an injured teammate, you can count on an announcer mentioning that the injured player might “be Wally Pipp’ed” out of a job.  This unusual legacy has overshadowed a very solid career from Pipp, who hit .281/.341/.408 over 7838 plate appearances with the Yankees, Reds, and Tigers from 1913-28, including serving as the starting first baseman on the Yankees’ first World Series championship team, in 1923.

The latest from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox re-signed Steve Pearce on a one-year, $6.25MM contract last November in the wake of Pearce’s epic performance as the World Series MVP.  The deal looked like a solid move at the time, though as the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham notes, now looks like a misstep given Pearce’s rough 2019 season.  Pearce has slashed just .180/.245/.258 over 99 plate appearances, and is currently on the IL with back spasms.  Considering that many comparable first base/DH types of free agents signed for considerably less than Pearce’s $6.5MM guarantee last offseason, the contract now looks like an overpay in hindsight.  A few million dollars normally wouldn’t be a big issue for a wealthy team like the Red Sox, though with the Sox wanting to stay under the $246MM maximum penalty luxury tax threshold, Abraham notes that signing Pearce to a smaller deal (or letting him go altogether) would have freed up more money for Boston to pursue some needed bullpen help, either in the offseason or at the deadline.
  • Could Justin Smoak go from trade candidate to extension candidate?  As Ken Rosenthal opines in his latest FOX Sports video update, the Blue Jays’ efforts to deal Smoak at the deadline could be hampered by the fact that teams have been increasingly hesitant to give much up for veteran first base/DH players.  Smoak’s age (32) and status as a rental player could also work against the Jays in netting any significant return for the first baseman.  With this in mind, Rosenthal suggests that Toronto could explore retaining Smoak as a veteran leader to help the club through its rebuild, perhaps on a one- or two-year extension to split first base and DH duties with Rowdy Tellez.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s ability to stick at third base will factor into such a decision, of course, and I’d also add that the Blue Jays might not want to return to a fairly inflexible first base/DH situation so soon after parting ways with Kendrys Morales.
  • While the Orioles have suffered from disastrous pitching, their everyday lineup has featured some unexpected bright spots, the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck writes.  Names like Renato Nunez, Dwight Smith Jr., Pedro Severino, and Hanser Alberto were all acquired in unheralded fashion over the last year, yet all four have delivered decent to above-average production at the plate.  Some of this could stem from a simple increase in playing time, as all four players are getting the chance at regular at-bats for the first time.  Severino, whose .268/.351/.474 slash line through 112 PA dwarfs his previous output as a member of the Nationals, noted that “My job over there [in Washington] was to have the mentality to win the game and call a good game and not think about my offense….It was tough to play once a week and take one at-bat in the ninth inning against a good closer. That’s really tough.”  It remains to be seen if any of this quartet will develop into long-term pieces for the rebuilding Orioles, though if nothing else, the O’s could have some extra trade chips to consider for the July 31st deadline.

Red Sox Place Steve Pearce On Injured List, Sam Travis Recalled

By | at

The Red Sox have placed Steve Pearce on the 10-day injured list, with Sam Travis being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take his roster spot, the team announced.

Pearce was removed from yesterday’s game in the second inning after experiencing back spasms. The rest itself may not be the worst thing for Pearce, who has struggled to get going after being crowned World Series MVP to end 2018. While rarely an everyday player throughout his career, more was certainly expected from Pearce than the .180/.245/.258 line he currently owns – and that’s after some improvement of late.

It’s not a lost season for Pearce, who with only 89 at-bats has more than enough time to raise his numbers, even if his stint on the injured list proves lengthy. A rehab assignment wherein he has the opportunity to play everyday and get into a rhythm could do Pearce some good as well, should they take that route upon his return.

For Travis, the 25-year-old Chicagoan is no stranger to the Red Sox, for whom he has appeared in every season since 2017. This will be his second stint with the club this year after going 2-7 in Boston’s opening series of the year against Seattle. Since then, Travis has slashed .251/.359/.371 in 49 games with Pawtucket. As a right-handed hitter, Travis can slot right into Pearce’s role on the lesser half of a platoon with regular first baseman Mitch Moreland.

Red Sox Re-Sign Steve Pearce

By | at

The Red Sox have announced a deal to keep sluggeer Steve Pearce in Boston, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported (via Twitter). It’s said to be a one-year, $6.25MM pact for the Excel Sports Management client.

Pearce, 35, was picked up in a relatively unheralded late-June swap with the Blue Jays. He more or less took the role that had been played by Hanley Ramirez to open the year, and ended up delivering more value than the Sox probably anticipated.

By the end of the 2018 regular season, Pearce had compiled an excellent .284/.378/.512 batting line and 11 home runs over 251 total plate appearances. He bettered that in the postseason, turning in a 1.083 OPS in 47 plate appearances and ultimately taking home World Series MVP honors owing to some timely long balls.

Pearce did not fully establish himself in the big leagues until he had passed his thirtieth birthday. Since then, though, he has mostly been an excellent offensive producer — at least, when healthy. Rather surprisingly, Pearce has still yet to take even 400 plate appearances in a given season.

It seems clear that the Red Sox will continue to seek to get Pearce’s bat whenever possible against left-handed pitching. While he has historically been a solid hitter even without the platoon advantage, Pearce has bombed opposing southpaws.

Odds are, Pearce will see most of his time by sharing the action at first base with Mitch Moreland. He could also pick up some time in the DH slot when J.D. Martinez steps into the outfield or gets a rest. And it’s certainly possible that Pearce could see some time at other spots around the diamond as well. He has experience in the corner outfield as well as second and third base, though surely he won’t be seen as the best-defending option at those spots.

This move likely forecloses some other conceivable avenues to boosting the Red Sox offense — not that it needs it, or that Pearce won’t suffice. That said, the club still has some potential uncertainty at second and perhaps even third base, though it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see the organization decide to rely upon existing options there. Otherwise, Dave Dombrowski and co. will presumably dedicate most of their offseason energy to pursuing improvements behind the plate and on the mound — and, perhaps, trying to gain traction on contract talks with a few current stars.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dombrowski On Red Sox Offseason

By | at

The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey was one of many who tweeted out comments from Dave Dombrowski on the Red Sox offseason this morning. Among the notable tidbits, the Red Sox are apparently prepared to send out qualifying offers to some of their free agents, though Dombrowski couldn’t speak to the specifics until MLB releases the names on Friday.

Presumably, this list includes only one name: closer Craig Kimbrel. Boston could look to replace him with in-house options, the top candidates being Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier (twitter links). If Kimbrel does depart, bolstering the bullpen could very well become a focus of the Boston offseason – especially if fellow free agent Joe Kelly follows Kimbrel out the door.

One player who definitely won’t be receiving a qualifying offer is Nathan Eovaldi – he is ineligible after being acquired mid-season from the Rays. Competition for the right-hander is expected to be fierce after his gutsy playoff performance with the Red Sox. Fellow mid-season acquisitions Steve Pearce and Ian Kinsler are also ineligible to receive qualifying offers.

On the health front, MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to confirm that Chris Sale is not expected to undergo offseason surgery (via Twitter). The lanky left-hander needs only rest to be ready for Spring Training. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald adds (via Twitter) that the team is hopeful that Dustin Pedroia will be ready in time for Spring Training, though that is far less certain.

The catching situation in Boston remains a crowded, but capable field. It is unlikely that Boston will head into next season with all three of Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart on the active roster – but it’s not an impossibility (Twitter link). Boston experimented with using Swihart in a superutility role last season, but it’s unclear whether or not Boston believes that’s a sustainable solution moving forward.

On the whole, Dombrowski is understandably pleased with the current state of the Red Sox and would be happy to bring back the entire squad as currently constituted for 2019, per the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Thus far, the Red Sox have kept David Price in the fold after he forewent his opt-out clause, as well as Eduardo Nunez, who picked up his $5MM option for 2019. It will obviously be expensive to keep this core together long-term, but as of now, Boston ownership has not mentioned staying under the luxury tax as a priority for 2019.

Red Sox Acquire Steve Pearce

By | at

June 29: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Blue Jays included $1.66MM as part of the deal. That’s a bit more than half of what Pearce is owed through season’s end and will help to keep the Red Sox from eclipsing the top tier of penalties in the luxury tax bracket. Boston is just narrowly shy of exceeding the tax threshold by a total of $40MM. Were Boston to cross that $237MM threshold, the team’s top pick in next year’s draft would be moved back 10 spaces.

June 28: The Red Sox have acquired infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce from the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe had reported that the team was close to acquiring a right-handed-hitting player (via Twitter).

Minor-leaguer Santiago Espinal will head to the Jays in return. Toronto will also send some cash to their division rivals to help offset Pearce’s salary. The amount of cash remains unknown.

Pearce, 35, was set to return to the open market after the season, when his two-year contract will expire. He’s earning $6.25MM this year, some portion of which will remain on the Toronto books. Pearce, interestingly, has now appeared with each of the five AL East organizations, in addition to time spent with the Astros and Pirates.

To this point of the season, Pearce has been limited to 26 games of action due to injury — a recurring problem for a player who has otherwise generally been quite productive. He’s slashing a robust .291/.349/.519 through 86 plate appearances in 2018. Since the start of the 2013 campaign, he owns a cumulative 121 OPS+. When healthy, then, he’s a rather accomplished hitter — especially against left-handed pitching.

While his calling card is his bat, Pearce also brings solid versatility to the table. He has shown an ability to perform at least passably in the corner outfield, corner infield,and even at second base. For Boston, Pearce could share time at first with the lefty-swinging Mitch Moreland and perhaps also line up at times in left. Whether he’ll be an option at second isn’t yet clear, though that has certainly been an area of some attention given concerns over Dustin Pedroia. (For what it’s worth, the announcement lists Pearce specifically as a first baseman and outfielder.)

With the move, the Jays have likely launched a long-anticipated summer sell-off. Given the state of affairs in the division, and a tough Wild Card race as well, it’s not surprising to see the organization begin moving veterans. It remains to be seen, though, how willing the Blue Jays will be to consider moving more controllable assets.

For their trouble, the Blue Jays will not only save some cash but will also pick up a potentially useful prospect asset. Espinal, a tenth-round pick in the 2016 draft, is hitting well this year at the High-A level. The 23-year-old carries a .314/.364/.478 slash with seven home runs and nine steals over 280 plate appearances. He has lined up primarily at shortstop but has also seen time at second and third base as a professional.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Donaldson, Blue Jays, Ravin, May, Goody

By | at

Former AL MVP Josh Donaldson is expected to miss “at least a few more days” before getting a chance to return to the Blue Jays’ lineup. A report from Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com indicates that Donaldson still hasn’t felt comfortable running at full speed, or as manager John Gibbons puts it, “he still couldn’t cut it loose,” during a series of running drills on Thursday. The third baseman has been out since May 28th with a sore calf muscle. Coupled with the shoulder injury he dealt with earlier this season, one has to wonder just how much these injury concerns will impact the 32-year-old Donaldson’s free agent stock headed into the 2018-2019 offseason. It’s not as though he’s produced while on the field, either: his .234/.333/.423 slash line (despite a .303 BABIP) is a far cry from his typical production, while his strikeout rate sits at a career-high 27.7%.

As for the Blue Jays, they’re at least likely to get Marcus Stroman and Steve Pearce back in the near future, as both are currently embarking on rehab assignments in the minor leagues.

Let’s take a look at some other injury situations around baseball…

  • Nate Rowan, beat reporter for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, tweets that Trevor May is headed to the DL with shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to June 14th. May’s only recently made his way back from Tommy John surgery, a recovery he wrote about for MLBTR; he was optioned to Triple-A immediately following his activation. There’s no word yet on the severity of the shoulder situation or how long May is expected to be out. In his most recent major league action, May pitched to a 5.27 ERA across 44 relief appearances for the Twins.
  • Another AL Central reliever received unfortunate news today as well. Nick Goody of the Indians visited Dr. James Andrews after feeling soreness during his throwing program. The diagnosis remains elbow hyperextension and posterior elbow inflammation, and though that’s far from the worst-case scenario, he’ll be shut down for at least three weeks after receiving a PRP injection. It’s bad news for an Indians club that has seen its bullpen go from the upper echelon in the league in 2017 to a bottom-dweller in 2018.
  • Braves reliever Josh Ravin (currently pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett) experienced a scare yesterday when he was struck in the face by a line drive. Ravin’s stable, however (at least enough so to tweet), and is set to be further evaluated on Sunday in Atlanta when the swelling goes down. The current diagnosis is five facial fractures and a concussion. Ravin has yet to allow a run in Gwinnett across 18 innings, during which time he’s struck out 30 batters and walked nine.

Blue Jays Designate Gift Ngoepe, Place Steve Pearce On DL

By | at

As part of a series of roster moves, the Blue Jays have designated infielder Gift Ngoepe for assignment, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (Twitter links). Toronto purchased the contract of righty Luis Santos, necessitating a 40-man spot, while fellow right-hander Joe Biagini is also being called up.

One of the active roster spots needed was opened by optioning righty reliever Danny Barnes. The other came free with the club placing utilityman Steve Pearce on the 10-day with a strained oblique.

Ngoepe, 28, was acquired from the over the winter. He has long been seen as a quality defender with a questionable bat, and he has not done much to dispel that perception with a dozen strikeouts in just 19 MLB plate appearances this year.

As for Santos, he re-joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter. The 27-year-old turned in solid results in his first taste of the majors last year and has gotten results thus far in 2018 at Triple-A. Santos has thrown 9 1/3 innings over five relief appearances this year at Buffalo, allowing just two earned runs on six hits — but with a less-than-promising 8:6 K/BB ratio.

The bad news here for the Jays is that they’ll have to go without Pearce for a stretch — the anticipated duration of which is not yet known. Propensity for injury has long been the knock on the 35-year-old, who has slashed a robust .270/.333/.492 through 69 plate appearances on the season to date.

AL East Links: Blue Jays, Pearce, Swihart, Cubs, Rays, Cards

By | at

The latest form around the AL East…

  • The Blue Jays will be facing a roster crunch when Josh Donaldson returns from the disabled list, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes.  The hot-hitting Teoscar Hernandez is the better starting option right now than the slumping Randal Grichuk, though Grichuk is out of options and the Jays don’t want to risk losing him for nothing.  The presence of other veterans on pricey contracts (such as Kendrys Morales or Steve Pearce) further creates a positional glut, and demoting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would leave Toronto without a backup shortstop option.  This is just my opinion, but one answer could be to demote Devon Travis, who is hitting just .140/.218/.160 through his first 55 plate appearances.  Travis missed most of 2017 due to knee problems and could possibly use some minor league time to get himself back up to speed.
  • A trade could also solve the Jays’ roster issues, and Davidi noted that Pearce received some interest during the offseason.  After an injury-plagued 2017, Pearce is off to a nice rebound year thus far, hitting .304/.360/.565 over 50 PA as the right-handed hitting side of an outfield platoon with Curtis Granderson.  Even with roughly $5.3MM still owed to him this year, Pearce could be attractive to a team looking for a right-handed bat at first base or in the corner outfield.  Pearce is a much more viable trade chip than Morales, who is owed $23MM in 2018-19, can only play DH at this point, and is off to another slow start at the plate.
  • Blake Swihart’s lack of playing time has created “a cruel catch-22” for the utilityman and the Red Sox, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey writes (subscription required).  Swihart has appeared in 10 of Boston’s first 21 games, with only two of those appearances coming in the starting lineup, and thus he hasn’t done much to enhance his trade value to potential suitors.  On the other hand, there isn’t yet any indication that the Sox are open to trading Swihart, as doing so would suddenly leave the team thin at catcher if Christian Vazquez or Sandy Leon got injured.  (Though it should also be noted that Swihart has yet to appear behind the plate this season.)  Swihart is out of options, and can’t be sent to Triple-A without being exposed to waivers and very likely claimed by another team, so the Sox aren’t going to part ways with the former top prospect without getting anything in return.  While not an ideal situation for Swihart, of course, it’s something of a good problem to have for the Red Sox — the reason Swihart isn’t getting more regular playing time is because the rest of Boston’s lineup is on fire amidst an excellent 17-4 start to the season.
  • Evaluators from the Cubs and Cardinals were recently on hand to watch the Rays last week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  The Rays’ limited payroll capability could make them sellers regardless of their record, though the team is also off to a slow 8-13 start overall (though Tampa has won five of its last six games).  It isn’t known what players were being watched, though the Cubs have been heavily linked to Chris Archer in the past while the Cardinals had strong interest in Alex Colome this offseason.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top