The Braves announced Thursday that right-hander Mike Foltynewicz was sent outright to the team’s alternate training site after going unclaimed on waivers. He’ll continue to work out there in hopes of returning to form.
While some might be surprised to see a pitcher with Foltynewicz’s track record clear waivers, it’s notable that he’s earning $6.425MM in 2020 — about $2.38MM after factoring for prorated salaries. Any team that claimed him would’ve been on the hook for the entirety of that sum. At a time when some clubs still haven’t even committed to paying their minor leaguers a $400 weekly stipend through August, that additional $2.38MM in salary is surely viewed as a more sizable commitment by many owners than one would think upon first glance.
Had Foltynewicz simply gotten out to a rough start to the year, perhaps a club would’ve been willing to gamble on him. However, the right-hander also came out averaging just over 90 mph on a fastball that as recently as 2018 averaged 96.4 mph. That’s a glaring red flag — one that likely contributed to all 29 other clubs shying away from the 2018 All-Star. Manager Brian Snitker said after the game that the team wasn’t sure what prompted the velocity dip, though he acknowledged what was obvious to anyone who saw the right-hander pitch that night — Foltynewicz looks noticeably thinner than at any point in his career.
Whatever the reasons for Foltynewicz’s drop in velocity, the immediate results were ugly, to say the least. In his lone start this season, the right-hander was tagged for six runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts in just 3 1/3 frames. Three of the four hits he surrendered were long balls.
Even the 2019 season was a rough one for Foltnewicz, who missed time with a bone spur and at one point was even optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. The righty looked to have found himself late in the season, as he closed out the year with a 1.73 ERA and a 36-to-10 K/BB ratio in his final seven starts — a span of 41 2/3 innings. That he managed to salvage his season in that capacity is likely what led the Braves to tender a contract to Foltynewicz, who had carried a 6.37 ERA into late June before being optioned.
It’s clear to anyone who’s followed the game in recent years that Foltynewicz is a highly talented arm with a notable ceiling. He rattled off 183 innings of 2.85 ERA ball in 2018, averaging 9.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 and hurling a pair of shutouts along the way. That terrific season landed him eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting. That looked to be the breakout moment for Foltynewicz, but the former first-round pick and top prospect has yet to replicate that year’s production.
The timing of Foltynewicz’s DFA likely wasn’t a coincidence. The right-hander entered the season with four years, 134 days of MLB service time, meaning he needed just 38 days of service to reach five total years. Prorated to match the shortened 2020 season, Foltynewicz needed only 14 days on the MLB roster to reach five years of service. And once a player reaches five years of big league service time, he’s able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his salary. Had the Braves given Foltynewicz even two more starts, he could’ve taken free agency after an outright assignment and gone to another club. Now, the organization will at least have the chance to see if he can right the ship and contribute later in the season.
God forbid the Sox spend a cent on someone who could theoretically maybe possibly help them. He’s not good but neither are the rest of em right now lol
You don’t want Folty. He had one good season, and that’s it. He’s never been able to put it together.
Bruh they starting minor league relievers and gave up 7,7,7,8,5 runs in the last 5 games. I’d take my chance.
If he were a Padre, there would be an over the line team named “Oh &@$!, here comes Folty!”
You’re not understanding how low the bar is right now, one good season is more than the rest of the staff combined except Eovaldi who has had (two?) good years and an epic playoff run I think?
That’s a great point.
It would put him on par with Godley, who just earned a rotation spot
He’s done, he’s Ricky Romero 2.0.
Mets should have clam him
Oystering him might be better.
Shell I call BVW out for missing on him?
Mets should have clam him? Why?
He’s a shell of his former self.
He lost a good 20 lbs and looks like a shrimp compared to last year.
They can probably pick up 3-4 waiver claims for the same price, and statistically have a better shot at one of them giving more quality innings that Folty would give. I’d bet they can get 2-3 of the 3-4 waiver claims to give more quality innings that Folty would give.
Wow. The owners really are cheapskates!
Yeah paying $1 billion plus for a MLB team is cheap.
Orioles Marlins Royals Tigers all had a golden opportunity to see if they could fix the issues, get some production out of him whether it’s pen or rotations, and potentially flip him if he rebounds this year or next. At worst you just DFA him again.
Orioles especially should have claimed him.
Exactly. Very surprised none of the teams you listed decided to take a chance on him for their rotation.
Like Steve mentioned, that $10 mil is why my O’s passed on him.
The prorated amount is 2.38 mil….
I have another idea. Their is a good reason ALL of the teams passed on him and money is only one of them. Maybe they all saw the same red flags as the Braves? I can’t imagine this is the ONLY red flag, but a 90 mph fastball?
I would imagine his reputation has also preceded him. Many know his mound presence is awful and I can’t imagine that will aid him in taking instructions to getting over the hump. Moot point though if something’s wrong and he can’t break 90 on the gun.
No matter what, he hasn’t been worse than all the trash the red sox have been trotting out there. Add to that the record of production at the top level.
I’m ok if atl finally wanted to cut ties . But I can see why not take a flyer on him, stuff him on 60 man, amd work through the we=kend if nee!dB be
if I were the cubs I’d take a chance too. They need pitching. They made Jake Arrieta into a cy young pitcher. Plus 2 no hitters in 15 regular season starts. And the only no hitter in 2016. Who says they can’t turn around Folty?
Glad to see him stick with the club. On the 755 podcast from The Athletic, Eric O’Flaherty speculated it could just be as simple as Folty putting 15-20 pounds on himself again. He mentioned that it may take about a month to get some of that weight back, but that could be the issue.
Probably too late for Folty to get a shot this year. If you have to pay him anyways it’s best to see if he may contribute around late August or September. Rooting for him.
That’s a lot of bad weight if he’s putting it on anywhere near that quickly. Of course, that’s assuming he is doing it without special “assistance.”
Total outsidespeculation, but if he basically sat home once covid hit and didn’t work out. He could be needed a fair bit of muscle
If that’s the case, 3 Heavy weeks in the weight room Would show considerable difference. He has the ability to gain that muscle, he just lost it.
Seems probable he didn’t think a 2020 season was happening to me
He worked out with soroka and a few others when they shut down
He didn’t work out with them, they went to a high school field and threw together six times a week. We don’t know what he was doing, i.e. if his workouts were cardio, that’s not putting on muscle mass. Maybe he didn’t have access to legit weights. Who knows, but adding that weight back will probably the first thing he does to try to fix whatever happened.
If you listened to the podcast they brought up the remark folty changed his diet to vegan or something. The reason why he said put on that much weight so quick is they said he needs the carbs it’s those sugars that give the explosive energy. That was the point being made
It’s entirely possible he can throw on anywhere between 10-20 pounds with the proper diet and workout routine over the next 3-4 weeks. He’s going to have literal dietitians, trainers, and coaches whose job is to get the weight on him along with world-class equipment and weights. Adding the weight may not end up being the answer, but I bet that’s the first thing they’ll try to fix and he’ll certainly have the resources to do it.
He was making funny of his contract was last year
When he said if the brave were crazy about the money they were offering him
Baseball slap you in the face
The “inner” word, assuming teams have more info than most of us, must be pretty bad. It’s hard to imagine a competitive team not taking a shot here; 2M just is ‘t that much.
Perhaps, but based on his drop in velocity, he wouldn’t be able to immediately step into someone’s rotation. A non-contender might want to take a look-see, but not necessarily a contender.
Eh. It’s a 2 month season, he looked bad+ then was hurt last year. He seems to have come in unprepared for the year
To most competing teams, he wouldn’t be making their starting 5 any better… so is he worth that much as a reliever? No….
I think it’s the fact that any team would have to add him to their active roster. In that case, they’re facing the similar problem the Braves has: the velocity isn’t just going to return on his next outing and there’s no time to let him pitch while he’s correcting whatever he’s got to fix.
If you’re trying to contend, you aren’t giving him starts. If you’re rebuilding, why waste $2 million when you can just run out some league minimum veteran or young guy? His salary is only going to be more expensive next year, so there’s a good chance he’s non-tendered anyways.
In a normal season, $2 million isn’t a lot, but just doesn’t make sense even on a losing team to pay it for at best 10 starts. The Braves have to pay him anyways, so it makes sense to give him time in Gwinnett to see if he can right himself.
Something more beneath the surface. Has to be. Who drops 6 mph before turning 30? If it’s not an injury, it’s health (mental or physical) and hopefully not drugs. Hoping the best for Mike and his young family.
those are a lot of extreme speculations there Curve. could simply be something much less serious.
I hope I’m wrong. But it’s not every day a team (who I know very well) DFAs a guy after one start, who they could send to IL for dropping a ton of velo. He’s been known to have some emotional/mental roadblocks. I just think there’s more than meets the eye here. I met Mike back in 2016 and have a ton of respect for him. Hoping he bounces back whether it’s for the Braves or elsewhere.
It could simply be that he let himself decondition between March and July. Maybe that’s why the Braves sent him to a “training site.”
Have you seen how much weight he lost? He looks bad.
Especially because Snitker has even said it wasn’t something that was an issue during Spring. Instead of completing defaming the guy by suggesting drug use, I tend to lean this way: He didn’t take care of himself during the layoff the way he was supposed to. Whether that’s too much cardio or a diet that puts less carbs in him, he lost a noticeable amount of weight.
As a power pitcher, that velocity has to come from somewhere and it’s not by being that skinny. More importantly, as a professional athlete, his job is to make sure his body is game ready. It’s a different kind of “out of shape” and the COVID lay-off didn’t help, but it’s his responsibility to be ready to go. In a regular season, he’s had the normal 4-6 weeks pitchers get to add that weight back, but the time just isn’t there in a 60 game season.
I’m stunned he cleared waivers, but also very pleased. I didn’t want to see this guy get cast aside.
jeez, Marlins didnt want him. i personally think he was a one year wonder, but beggars cant be choosers
If I’m the Mets , I take a flier on him…..
Feel like he’s either injured or didn’t take his extended offseason seriously enough to be up to speed. Either way, it’s not great. Still a little surprised nobody else wanted to take a shot on him though.
Clearly, Marlins aren’t that desperate for SP’ing. They learned from their mistakes giving chances to similar below avg arms like Chen.
Maybe they brought him back so he can pitch to Acuna during off days so Faulty can get his confidence back.
But it does baffle me how ignorant-minded ppl here are and are surprised no one want wants him.
As MadBum comes off an outing where his 4-seam FB averaged 88.0 MPH through the first 3 IPs, causing him to be frustrated.
That’s going to be one expensive dirtbike trip for ARZ.
True. Kinda sucks the Braves 18 mil investment won’t pitch at all this year either.
That’s going to be one expensive TV drama for ATL.
But to be honest, I always loved Hamels back when he was a Philly. But I didn’t want him to be the big piece of the offseason. So in reality, I hope he comes back and pitches well. But if he fails, then maybe it will wake up this terrible organization and they will finally decide to trade these overrated prospects before they show they are bad aka Touki and Wright – probably Anderson too.
$6M prorated — pretty sure insurance will cover most. But, I’m sure John Malone will sleep well. Doesn’t compare to ARZ, but keep dreaming.
Thank you for proving my point and deviating from the main focus at hand.
They didn’t address their rotation properly (Bumgarner or not) and are now seeing the problems at hand.
Faulty is terrible as Ive said since the beginning. He is gone (well who knows now).
Who is next, Newcomb? He doesnt belong in the rotation.
Wright continues to prove he cannot be relied upon and as the Braves themselves said – they just have to ride the wave with Wright and hope he progresses forward.
The biggest problem was not fixed past off season. It has been the same every year since the rebuild. Thankfully and hopefully this season gets canceled but I fear this will only excuse the Braves shortcomings this season and they will once again be reluctant to get good starting pitching.
We can once again disagree but the results on the field prove it every year especially the postseason. There is no further proof needed.
Are you a closet Braves fan?
Why do take so long saying the same thing that already been written – yes, they have pitching issues. Please progress pass the complaining.
Wright was unhittable through the first 2 IP and then had issues in the 3rd when he couldn’t get a feel for his FB and couldn’t do what he’s always done up until C19 and lick his fingers for more traction – now, against the rules.
Again, you don’t know what you’re talking about because if you would have watched the postseason you would have known that though the rotation was an issue – the bullpen was a problem that ultimately lost them the series. The fact that you keep listing the same 3 prospects means you aren’t aware of ATL’s pitching depth.
Actually you are right. At this point it is beating a dead horse since you are still convinced that their #1 guy in the postseason DK and year before Faulty are okay for a team trying to win a postseason series. Oh man, both the Cards and Dodgers were soooo afraid of the Braves. The perspiration was strong in the competition.
At the end of the day (as I keep saying)…results speak for themselves. They keep losing in the first round and the common denominator is always the same. But keep living in your imaginary world that the Braves had any shot to go deep with their rotation last two seasons.
The prospects are the next in line unless the Braves have Davidson skipping ahead. Regardless, why is Anderson still not pitching in the majors? Isn’t he supposed to be the next big thing for the Braves since they drafted him? There is a reason why he is still not up.
But again while you drool over prospects, I will wait for one of them to actually be good. Who knows when though…
Shocking he cleared. Plenty of teams could use a starter, especially Miami.
^^ headline reader only. Imagine that.
The pro rated $2m actually is a lot of dough in a season where teams aren’t making any $$$ in ticket sales. That + drop in velocity = no takers.
A lot of people thought for sure he’d be claimed… but I said the entire time he wouldn’t be. I didn’t know the service time stuff however, I figured he wouldn’t sign back with the Braves… but guess he had no option. That said, I’m glad to see him back. Maybe he throws more and gains back some weight and looks like his old self again or maybe there is an injury he needs to recover from. I’d still love to see him with some bullpen experience assuming he gets his velo back
A team can fix bad command or bad mechanics in a couple weeks. LAD+McGee for example
A team can’t fix 6MPH loss on a couple weeks. He wouldn’t be only guy who didn’t think season was happening… to me seems like he stopped training and then was way behind. Add in surgery end of the Last year, who knows last time he was truly in competitive form
Kind of surprised the Phils didn’t claim him. In a 60 game season, he’s got to still be better than 50% of the junk out there. Teams that normally NEVER have a chance to win (Royals, Pirates, Orioles, Mariners, Angels, etc.) should be all over guys like this in 2020. A team just needs a decent 4 week run to be one of the post season participants. Unless they all think we won’t get that far…
If he was cheaper, maybe, but if another team claimed him and then COVID caused a league shutdown (for the rest of this year), then his new team would be stuck paying his salary. Pro-rated or not, it’s probably too much money to risk. Just my guess, of course.
Maybe Folty can learn to pitch with 6 MPH less
He wasn’t very good when he had the velo, one fluky season notwithstanding.
I am shocked that no one took a chance on this guy even at $2.4 million. He still has so much potential. He needs to find his muse and find peace with himself. Don’t we all?
The road has many curves.
Good luck Mike.
Folty is under team control next year, an arb year. I’m surprised that a pitching starved team didn’t take a chance for just 2.3 M this year.
Move him to the pen that’s the only way I can see him regaining his lost form
I didn’t expect him to go unclaimed. Certainly some team desperate for SP could have gambled on him via trade.
Am I overthinking this or is this a bad sign for free agency this year?
If you claim him he would still be arbitration eligible next year, so there’s some control but you could always non-tender him this offseason if he ended up being a bust, so there’s not a ton of risk. Basically no one was willing to pay $2.38M for a free option on him next year?
Either teams really don’t like his velo decrease and think he’s toast, or they’re being really conservative about their finances which could be awful for free agency.
He got too skinny. He throws (as opposed to pitches) for 5 innings, max, and then he is spent and has thrown 100 pitches. If he continues as a major leaguer, he will be in the bullpen. His number 1 priority appears to be getting strikeouts, not pitching, and he lacks stamina in a major way.
I suspect that there is more to this story than we know. I agree that if teams thought that the loss of velo was solely due to poor conditioning, someone would have then a flyer. But remember that Folty has a career 4.26 SIERA, even with a 3.77 in 2018 (the only year he was below 4). So there is a bit of Aaron Sanchez in his backstory – and how much weight to you give to one outstanding year surrounded by lesser ones?
Can anyone explain to me why Patrick Weigel is apparently not being considered for a call up? Dude was 6-1 with a 2.98 ERA at Gwinnett last year, His minor league stats are routinely impressive, and his injury woes are behind him.
Gee I wonder why, in a fairly short amount of time, a pitcher can go from an allstar to DFA, to go from a MLB ready body to a scrawny sad sack.How does that happen? Sarcasm heavy.