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D-backs Decline Option On Tyler Clippard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Diamondbacks Select Brandyn Sittinger

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

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

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

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

Diamondbacks Activate Tyler Clippard, Claim Ty Tice From Braves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyler Clippard Shut Down Six Weeks With Capsule Sprain

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

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

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

Bullpen Notes: Pomeranz, Clippard, Scrubb, Braves

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Drew Pomeranz has been sidelined due to tightness in his left forearm, but testing revealed no structural problems.  (MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell was among those to report the news.)  The Padres southpaw hasn’t pitched since March 9 but the team is hoping Pomeranz can return to action in the coming week.  Pomeranz has dealt with his share of injury problems in the past — including a 10-day IL stint due to a shoulder strain last season — but not the sort of forearm/elbow issues that can sometimes be an ominous precursor to Tommy John surgery.

Fortunately, it seems as though Pomeranz and the Padres have avoided the worst, though it isn’t yet known if Pomeranz’s absence from spring games could require some extra ramp-up time via an injured-list stint at the beginning of the season.  The left-hander’s first season in San Diego was a dominant one, as Pomeranz posted a 1.45 ERA/3.11 SIERA and a whopping 39.7K% over 18 2/3 innings in the regular season, and then four scoreless innings over five games during San Diego’s postseason run.

More from the relief pitching beat…

  • Tyler Clippard didn’t retire any of seven batters faced during yesterday’s outing, and the Diamondbacks said the veteran reliever was suffering from right shoulder discomfort.  “He just felt the discomfort as the inning was building,” manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters, adding that more will be known about Clippard’s condition after examinations from team trainers.  Clippard signed a one-year deal worth $2.25MM in guaranteed money last month, and is expected to work as a setup man behind Joakim Soria or perhaps grab some save opportunities himself.  [UPDATE: Clippard is getting an MRI on his shoulder, The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets.]
  • Andre Scrubb was removed from the Astros’ Grapefruit League game yesterday due to right shoulder soreness.  Catcher Martin Maldonado summoned a trainer to the mound to check on Scrubb, and manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that Maldonado “noticed a change in his velocity.”  More will be known about Scrubb’s condition after medical tests are taken, though even a brief injury setback could hurt his chances of winning a job on the Astros’ Opening Day roster.  The righty made his MLB debut last season and posted a 1.90 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with Houston, but had a lot of control issues, recording almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (24).
  • After some notable bullpen departures in the offseason, the Braves might yet need to add some relief pitching at the trade deadline, though “We’re going to need some good stories there to have a deep group,” president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  With Shane Greene still unsigned and Darren O’Day and Mark Melancon now pitching elsewhere, others “all get elevated now into more important roles, so now everybody moves up a little bit.”  Namely, A.J. Minter, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, and (perhaps most importantly) prospective closer Will Smith will all be asked to match or better their 2020 numbers.  The Braves have some other interesting relief names on hand, but Anthopoulos said “we need some of these other young guys to take a step” in order to have a satisfactory amount of depth.

Diamondbacks, Tyler Clippard Agree To Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with free-agent reliever Tyler Clippard, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. The right-hander, a client of Excel Sports Management, will earn a guaranteed $2.25MM. There’s a $3.5MM mutual option or a $500K buyout for 2022.

This will be the second stint in the desert for Clippard, who was a member of the Diamondbacks in 2016. The 36-year-old has also appeared in the majors with nine other organizations during what has been a successful career. Long a durable late-game option, Clippard has overcome a paltry 28.1 percent groundball rate to log a 3.13 ERA/3.47 SIERA with an above-average strikeout rate (27.1) across 842 innings since his 2007 debut.

Although he only averaged 89.2 mph on his fastball in Minnesota last year, Clippard continued to record impressive production. He put up a 2.77 ERA/3.52 SIERA in 26 frames, owing largely to terrific strikeout and walk numbers. He fanned hitters at a 26.5 percent rate and walked hitters just 4.1 percent of the time – a career-best figure. Clippard also fared better than most in a large number of Statcast categories.

The Diamondbacks have been mostly quiet since their disappointing 2020 season ended, but they have made a few notable additions to their roster this month. Before agreeing to terms with Clippard, they signed fellow veterans Joakim Soria and Asdrubal Cabrera. Clippard and Soria figure to be important parts of a bullpen that finished a subpar 18th in ERA (4.60) a year ago.

Twins Interested In Colome, Wilson, Clippard

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3:56pm: Minnesota’s “expected” to sign Colome, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.

1:32pm: In addition to Colome, the Twins have shown interest in re-signing Clippard and in signing lefty Justin Wilson, Hayes further reports. Minnesota has also at least gauged the price tags of Shane Greene, Mark Melancon, Joakim Soria and Trevor Rosenthal, though the latter two could be seeking more than the Twins are comfortable committing to them, Hayes adds. It’s a wide slate of candidates, but the Twins could sign multiple relievers to bolster their relief corps.

9:07am: It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Twins, but they’re still pursuing upgrades after finally agreeing to a new deal with designated hitter Nelson Cruz last night. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins have interest in adding Alex Colome to their bullpen and are still looking at options to fill out their rotation. Twins fans hoping to see the club roll the dice on a Mike Foltynewicz rebound after watching his recent showcase may not get their wish, though, as SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets that a signing is “more unlikely than likely.” Wolfson does suggest that the Twins have a current offer out to a reliever.

This isn’t the first time the Twins have been tied to Colome. However, in the month since that initial link, they’ve spent a combined $31.5MM on Cruz, Andrelton Simmons and J.A. Happ, so maintained interest in one of the better relievers remaining on the market wasn’t necessarily a given. The Twins currently project to open the season with a payroll in the $123MM range, but they’d have been north of $130MM last year prior to prorated salaries.

Owner Jim Pohlad recently voiced a vastly different mindset than many of his counterparts throughout the league, telling reporters he’s not looking at ways to “make up” for lost revenue from the 2020 season by slashing payroll (link via La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune).

“We don’t really think of it like that,” Pohlad said in a Zoom call. “I’m not sure if we can ever make up for it. None of our objective includes trying to make up for what happened in 2020. It was significant. It was devastating. And you have to accept that as a loss going forward and not make it a goal to recover those losses either from fans or by affecting our payroll. That’s not the mind-set we have been in at all.”

The Twins’ recent activity reflects that outlook, and a deal with Colome would only further illustrate that stance. The 32-year-old spent the past two seasons as the closer for the division-rival White Sox. In 83 1/3 innings with the South Siders, he’s pitched to a 2.27 ERA and racked up 42 saves, although the rest of his numbers don’t look as dominant. Colome’s 20.9 percent strikeout rate is below-average in today’s game, and he’s registered a rather pedestrian 3.78 FIP and 4.42 SIERA.

With the White Sox, Colome leaned aggressively on a two-pitch arsenal, throwing four-seamers and cutters exclusively — the latter nearly thrice as often as the former. In 2019, he got away with that mix despite giving up far too much hard contact, but he seemed to improve his utilization of that two-pitch mix in 2020.

Colome’s hard-hit rate fell sharply, from 41.2 percent to 32.8 percent, and only two of the balls put into play against him registered as “barreled balls,” per Statcast’s definition. Opponents’ average exit velocity against Colome plummeted from 91.3 percent in 2019 — one of the highest marks in baseball — to a lower-than-average 87.2 mph in 2020. And, despite registering one of the lowest strikeout percentages of his career last season, Colome actually posted career-high marks in swinging-strike rate and in opponents’ chase rate, which surely creates some optimism about his ability to rebound in the strikeout department.

For all the focus on the Twins’ rotation this winter, it’s the bullpen that’s a more dire area of need at the moment. The quartet of Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Happ gives the Twins four solid options atop the starting staff, but the bullpen has quietly been depleted. Minnesota lost Trevor May to the Mets and Matt Wisler (who was non-tendered) to the Giants. Veterans Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard, meanwhile, are both free agents and remain unsigned. Taylor Rogers is still the favorite for saves in Minnesota for now, although Colome would give manager Rocco Baldelli another ninth-inning option with some experience. The fact that Baldelli and Colome know each other well from their time together with the Rays can’t hurt the Twins’ chances at a deal.

Twins GM Thad Levine Discusses Offseason

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Twins general manager Thad Levine provided some general updates on his team’s winter plans during a podcast interview with SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (audio link).  With J.A. Happ signed to the rotation earlier this week, more additions could still be in the offing, since Levine feels “we’re starting to see things really de-congest” in the free agent market.

“We’re not done.  We still have some flexibility, we’re still having ongoing conversations, we still see many ways we can improve this team both from a qualitative standpoint and from a depth standpoint,” Levine said.

As you might expect, Levine declined to get into detail about many names, but did note that the Twins are “staying in touch” with reliever Tyler Clippard and “are in constant conversation” with Nelson Cruz’s representatives.  Interestingly, Wolfson opened the pre-interview portion of the podcast by noting that talks have been “pretty dead” between Cruz and the Twins, and it has been some time since the club presented Cruz with an offer.  As Wolfson puts it, however, “all it takes is one new call” to reignite talks, as both sides are pretty familiar with each other’s positions.  As has been the case all offseason, Cruz’s situation might not be resolved until there is firmer clarity on whether or not the National League will use the DH in 2021.

In terms of specific needs, the Twins are always interested in more arms (“If in doubt, add more pitching,” Levine said), particularly as pitchers re-adjust to throwing more innings in the wake of the abbreviated 2020 season.  Beyond pitchers, Levine is open to all possibilities on the position-player front, due to Minnesota’s versatile roster.

“When we look at the free agent market, we do not feel limited in terms of bats that we can go recruit….We do have such amazing flexibility within our team [that] you could almost recruit a player at about any position on the field and still make it work,” the GM said.

The Twins are also exploring options on the trade market, and Levine said that technically, there aren’t any so-called untouchable players on the roster — as a general principle, the organization has to be open to anything should an opportunity arise, but obviously the Twins are “less inclined” to shop or discuss certain top-tier players and prospects.  Levine also added that the Twins had received trade interest in “over 30 distinct players” within the organization over the last year, which the general manager considered a positive endorsement of Minnesota’s talent depth at both the Major League and minor league levels.

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