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Tyler Chatwood

NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks To Sign Tyler Chatwood

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The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have reached a deal with right-hander Tyler Chatwood, according to a Sports Hochi report (Japanese language link).  Chatwood elected free agency after finishing the 2021 season on a minor league contract with the Giants.

After some up-and-down years with the Cubs, Chatwood seemed to be opening a new chapter in his career as a full-time relief pitcher when he signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Blue Jays last winter.  Chatwood got off to a good start with the Jays but battled some serious control issues as the year went on, leading Toronto to designate the righty for assignment and then release him in August.  Chatwood caught on with the Giants on a minor league deal but only saw four innings of MLB action with San Francisco.

As a whole, Chatwood posted a 5.63 ERA over 32 innings in 2021, with a respectable 26.2% strikeout rate undermined by an ugly 14.5% walk rate.  Command has been a problem for Chatwood during a large portion of his 10-year Major League career, reaching a nadir when he posted a 19.5% walk rate over 103 2/3 frames with the Cubs in 2018.

The move to Japan provides a fresh start for Chatwood as he enters his age-32 season, and it will be interesting to observe whether he works out of the Hawks’ bullpen, or if he might try to re-establish himself as a starting pitcher.  At least trying to work as a starter might help raise his stock for MLB teams in the future, giving any interested clubs the option of using Chatwood as a starter, reliever, or long man.

Chatwood joins Freddy Galvis and Colin Rea as familiar big leaguers joining the Hawks this winter.  Fukuoka is coming off a rare losing season after dominating Nippon Professional Baseball over the last decade — the Hawks won the Japan Series seven times between 2011-2020, including four straight titles from 2017-20.

Giants Reinstate Anthony DeSclafani, Designate Tyler Chatwood For Assignment

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The Giants announced several roster moves today, reinstating right-hander Anthony DeSclafani from the injured list and first baseman Brandon Belt from the paternity list. To make room for those two, infielder Thairo Estrada was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Tyler Chatwood was designated for assignment.

It’s a quick turnaround for DeSclafani, who went on the IL on August 19th. That’s great news for the Giants, as the righty has been tremendous for them this season. Over 132 2/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.26, producing 2.1 fWAR already on the year. With Johnny Cueto also having recently returned from the IL, the Giants rotation is in great shape for the stretch run, as they try to hold off the Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants are currently atop the pennant race by 2 1/2 games.

It’s potentially the end of a very short tenure in San Francisco for Chatwood. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in July after struggling with command issues. In 28 innings out of Toronto’s bullpen, he had an ERA of 5.46, thanks in large part to a bloated walk rate of 16%. (League average for all pitchers is 8.7%.) The Giants then signed him to a minors deal April 7th and added him to the big league roster 10 days later. In two games for the Giants, Chatwood racked up four innings with six strikeouts but also allowed five runs (three earned) with one walk and one hit-by-pitch. The 31-year-old will now go on waivers and, if unclaimed, will be able to elect free agency. If he joins a new organization before the end of the month, even if it’s a minors deal, he will be eligible to play in the postseason for that club.

Giants Select Tyler Chatwood

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The Giants announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Tyler Chatwood. San Francisco optioned righty Jay Jackson to Triple-A Sacramento to clear a spot on the active roster, and right-hander Tyler Beede was recalled from Triple-A and placed on the 60-day injured list with a lower back strain.

Chatwood, 31, was released by the Blue Jays on July 31 and signed with San Francisco on a minor league pact later that week. He’s tossed 5 2/3 shutout frames with the Giant’s Sacramento affiliate since joining the organization.

Signed by the Blue Jays to a one-year, $3MM deal over the winter, Chatwood moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis this season and got out to a brilliant start with the Jays. He missed a couple weeks early on due to some triceps inflammation, but through his first 17 innings out of the bullpen, Chatwood yielded just one run on eight hits and five walks with 24 strikeouts. Things quickly went south, however.

Over his next four appearances, Chatwood pitched just 3 1/3 innings, walked nine batters and served up a whopping 11 runs. That disastrous stretch ballooned his ERA from 0.53 all the way to 5.31. He righted the ship for much of June, lowering his ERA to 4.00 with a string of scoreless outings. But in what would be his final two appearances with the Blue Jays, Chatwood again lost his ability to locate the ball, issuing four walks and yielding a combined five runs in just an inning of work. He was placed on the injured list with a neck strain and, upon returning, was designated for assignment and released.

The Giants will obviously be hoping to get the early version of Chatwood in what has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for the veteran righty. Chatwood has only been scored upon in six of his 30 outings this season, but he’s surrendered runs in bunches — including individual appearances in which he’s yielded four and five runs apiece. Command issues aren’t exactly anything new for the longtime Rockies hurler, as evidenced by his 12.1 percent walk rate, but Chatwood’s uptick in his strikeout rates over the past few years surely piqued the interest of not only the Jays but also the Giants.

Giants Sign Tyler Chatwood, Matt Shoemaker To Minors Contracts

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The Giants have signed right-handers Tyler Chatwood and Matt Shoemaker to minor league contracts.  MLB.com’s official transactions page was the first to report the Chatwood deal, while the Shoemaker news actually came from Evan Longoria, who mentioned Shoemaker had joined the Triple-A team during an interview with Sean Cunningham of KXTV Sacramento.  Both hurlers were released within the last week, with the Blue Jays letting go of Chatwood and the Twins parting ways with Shoemaker.

Chatwood signed a one-year, $3MM free agent deal with Toronto this past offseason, and was initially a tremendous help for an otherwise injury-riddled Jays bullpen.  After allowing just one run in his first 17 innings of work, however, Chatwood was then scorched for 11 runs over his next four outings and 3 1/3 innings.  Another decent stretch followed, but two more rough performances on June 25 and July 1 closed the book on his tenure with the Blue Jays, as a neck strain went Chatwood to the injured list for much of July.

Shoemaker had a similar tale, as a one-year, $2MM free agent contract with Minnesota resulted in an ugly 8.06 ERA over 60 1/3 innings.  His 14.1% strikeout rate was near the bottom of the league and down dramatically from his previous 21.8% career average, while Shoemaker’s 9.5% walk rate was also subpar.  Shoemaker started his first 11 games and a move to the bullpen didn’t help, as he allowed eight runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief work on June 30, in his final appearance as a Twin.

The Giants have recently displayed a knack for reviving veteran pitchers, so it isn’t out of the question that Chatwood or Shoemaker could yet provide some quality work for the team before the 2021 season is out.  Since the Jays and Twins are on the hook for the rest of the two right-handers’ MLB salaries, San Francisco only owes the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary to Chatwood or Shoemaker if they get called up to the big league roster.

Blue Jays Designate Tyler Chatwood For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve designated reliever Tyler Chatwood for assignment. The move creates roster space for José Berríos, who was acquired in a deadline blockbuster from the Twins this afternoon.

Toronto can technically trade Chatwood within the next two hours, but it seems likelier he’ll be waived and then cut loose — either via release or rejection of an outright assignment. Either way, Chatwood would be entitled to the remainder of his $3MM salary.

The Jays hoped that a bullpen conversion would help Chatwood unlock some success. He’s long intrigued teams with his quality stuff, but consistency has eluded him. That was again the case in 2021, as the righty has only managed a 5.46 ERA/4.51 SIERA across 28 innings of work.

East Notes: McHugh, Orioles, Nationals, Sanchez, Jays

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The Rays placed reliever Collin McHugh on the 10-day injured list with a back strain, relays Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Fellow righty Chris Mazza, who had recently been optioned, was recalled to take his place in the bullpen. It’s yet another injury for the Rays’ relief core, which had already lost Nick Anderson, Chaz Roe and Pete Fairbanks in the season’s early going. McHugh, signed to a one-year deal over the offseason, has pitched 5.1 innings for Tampa Bay to this point, allowing eight runs (six earned) but striking out five with just one walk issued.

More out of the AL and NL East:

  • Orioles outfielder Austin Hays looks likely to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 25-year-old was placed on the IL a little less than two weeks ago due to a hamstring strain, but it seems he’ll make a return in short order. Hays has played in exhibition games at the alternate training site in each of the past two days without issue, Kubatko notes. The Orioles also optioned right-hander Dean Kremer to the alternate site  after his start last night in Texas, per Kubatko. A pair of scheduled off days obviate the need for a fifth starter, so Baltimore recalled Cole Sulser to add to the relief corps for now.
  • Nationals manager Dave Martinez provided updates on a pair of sidelined pitchers this afternoon (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). Starter Jon Lester will throw an 80-pitch simulated game on Tuesday as he builds up strength from a stint on the COVID-19 injured list. Lester is the only Washington player who remains sidelined from the team’s coronavirus situation at the beginning of the year. Reliever Will Harris, meanwhile, threw a 26-pitch bullpen session this morning and is again scheduled to do so Tuesday. The veteran righty has yet to make his season debut after undergoing surgery in late March.
  • The Nationals also remain in contact with the representatives for free agent right-hander Aníbal Sánchez, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The veteran, who pitched for Washington from 2019-20, had been expected to sign earlier this month but he cut his finger during a showcase for teams, delaying those plans.
  • The Blue Jays placed reliever Jordan Romano on the injured list on Thursday, but the team is hopeful he’ll return when first eligible April 25, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to note (Twitter links). Fellow righty Tyler Chatwood should also return in short order, while flamethrower Nate Pearson is in line to throw live batting practice Tuesday as he builds back from the groin injury that has delayed his season debut.

Health Notes: S. Gray, K. Calhoun, Jays, Tigers, Astros

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Reds right-hander Sonny Gray doesn’t appear far from making his 2021 debut. Gray will throw a simulated game Saturday, and if that goes well, he’ll start for the Reds next week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Gray has been behind schedule for about a month because of a back injury, thus robbing the Reds of one of their top starters. The 31-year-old has thrived with the Reds since they acquired him from the Yankees before 2019, having recorded a 3.07 ERA with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate and a groundball percentage of 50.9 over 231 1/3 innings.

  • The Diamondbacks activated outfielder Kole Calhoun from the 10-day injured list before their game against Cincinnati on Friday. Calhoun had been on the shelf for over a month after undergoing surgery on a torn right meniscus. He was a vital part of the Diamondbacks’ offense last season, when he batted .226/.338/.526 with 16 home runs in 228 trips to the plate.
  • Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler departed their game Friday with a left knee contusion, per the team. Fowler left on a cart after stepping awkwardly on second base, though manager Joe Maddon indicated afterward that he dodged a serious injury. Fowler has been the Angels’ primary choice in right field this year, and if he does need to sit out for an extended period of time, they have Jared Walsh, Juan Lagares and Jose Rojas on hand as potential subs on their MLB roster.
  • The Blue Jays sent Tyler Chatwood to the 10-day IL on Friday with right triceps inflammation, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Chatwood,  a former Angel, Rockie and Cub whom the Blue Jays signed to a $3MM guarantee in the offseason, has thrown 2 2/3 scoreless innings this year with three strikeouts.
  • The Tigers scratched righty Julio Teheran from his start Friday because of tightness in his triceps. The team replaced Teheran with lefty Derek Holland, who surrendered three earned runs in 2 2/3 frames in a loss to Cleveland. It’s unclear whether Teheran will miss any more time. The Tigers signed Teheran to a non-guaranteed deal in the wake of a terrible 2020 with the Angels, and after earning a roster spot with Detroit during the spring, he debuted with a five-inning, one-run performance in a win over Cleveland last Saturday.
  • The Astros placed righty reliever Enoli Paredes on the 10-day IL and recalled fellow righty Nivaldo Rodriguez, the team announced. Paredes’ placement on the IL was expected after he left his appearance Thursday with discomfort in his side.

Quick Hits: Suarez, Anibal, Chatwood, Choo

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The Reds have failed to add an established shortstop since last season ended, leaving them with Kyle Farmer and Jose Garcia as the leading in-house candidates to handle the position at the beginning of 2021. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez played a significant amount of short at the start of his career, so perhaps he’d be able to emerge as the Reds’ solution there now, though manager David Bell said the club is not considering the 29-year-old for the spot, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. While the Reds “know” Suarez is cut out for the position, they have not had “any serious discussions about it yet,” per Bell. Putting Suarez at short could enable the Reds to move Mike Moustakas from second to third, where he has played for the majority of his career, or open up the keystone for Nick Senzel.

  • Free-agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez has rejected “multiple” major league offers since he held a showcase a month ago, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Sanchez is holding off on signing for the time being over concerns centering on COVID-19 and the protocols that accompany it, though he’s not opting out of the season as of now, per Heyman. The soon-to-be 37-year-old struggled last season as a member of the Nationals, with whom he logged a 6.62 ERA/5.03 SIERA in 53 innings.
  • Blue Jays free-agent pickup Tyler Chatwood revealed that he will work as a late-inning reliever in 2021, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relays. Chatwood, who joined the Jays for a $3MM guarantee, has started in 143 of 197 career appearances, but the righty mostly had a rough time out of the Cubs’ rotation from 2018-20. Historically, though, there hasn’t much difference between Chatwood’s work in either role. The sample size is much larger as a starter, but he has a 4.38 ERA/.337 weighted on-base average allowed in that job versus a 4.53 ERA/.332 wOBA as a reliever.
  • Outfielder/designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo returned to his native Korea on Monday, signing a one-year, $2.4MM contract. But Choo indicated that he heard from up to eight major league teams that offered him more money than he’ll make in Korea, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In explaining why he chose to go to the Korea Baseball Organization, Choo said, “I want to play in Korea because I want to play in front of my parents and I want to give back to Korean fans.” As Wilson notes, the 38-year-old Choo’s parents have never seen him play pro ball in person. They’ll now get that opportunity.

Blue Jays To Sign Tyler Chatwood

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Jan. 22: Chatwood will earn a $125K bonus for reaching each of 40, 50, 55  and 60 innings pitched, tweets Davidi. He’d earn $250K for both 85 and 100 innings, and $500K for each of 120, 130 and 140 innings pitched.

Jan. 18: The Blue Jays have reached a deal with right-hander Tyler Chatwood, pending a physical, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Chatwood will earn $3MM, but the deal could reach $5.5MM based on incentives, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. He’s a client of Excel Sports Management.

Chatwood has spent the majority of his career as a starter, but he is expected to serve as a reliever for the Blue Jays, Davidi reports. The 31-year-old owns a lifetime 4.40 ERA/4.83 FIP with a 16.8 percent strikeout rate against an 11.8 percentage walk rate in 846 2/3 innings. Nothing there looks particularly impressive, but after he put up middling-at-best production as an Angel and Rockie from 2011-17, the Cubs took a chance on Chatwood blossoming into a valuable part of their rotation.

The Cubs were hoping to steal a mid-rotation starter when they signed Chatwood to a three-year, $38MM guarantee before 2018, but the move didn’t work out for the club. Chatwood wound up tossing 199 innings of 4.70 ERA ball as a Cub, and he spent most of that time (37 appearances in 67 games) as a reliever. While Chatwood did make all five of his appearances from the Cubs’ rotation in 2020, his numbers declined after a quick start, and forearm problems held him out for all of September.

Chatwood will now join Toronto’s bullpen, and if anything goes wrong with its starting staff, he could be part of that group. At the moment, the Jays are slated to go with Hyun Jin Ryu, Robbie Ray, Tanner Roark, Nate Pearson and Ross Stripling in their rotation, but they may not be content with that bunch after earning a playoff berth in 2020.

Blue Jays Designate Anthony Castro

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The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Anthony Castro for assignment, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The move clears space for the signing of righty Tyler Chatwood, whose one-year, $3MM contract is now official.

It was a short run on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster for Castro, whom they claimed off waivers from the Tigers on Dec. 7. Castro had been with the Tigers since 2012, and he underwent Tommy John surgery as a member of the organization in 2015, but he did work his way back and make his major league debut last season. However, the 25-year-old threw just one inning then.

Castro notched a combined 112 1/3 frames in Double-A ball from 2018-19, but control was a major problem for him then. He walked 77 hitters during that span, which somewhat overshadowed his 120 strikeouts, en route to a 4.73 ERA. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote Thursday that Castro has a “fantastic frame and modest but relevant arm strength (lots of 92-93). His heater has natural cut; his slider lacks depth.”

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