Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh has announced his intention to opt out of the 2020 season, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. Per Browne, McHugh said that his arm hasn’t recovered as well as he’d hoped after an elbow procedure in December.
As such, McHugh expected to spend a portion of the season on the injured list, and manager Ron Roenicke relayed (video courtesy of Rob Bradford of WEEI) that McHugh felt it best to spend that time at home with family during the pandemic. McHugh will be removed from the Boston 60-man player pool and 40-man roster.
The 33-year-old appeared to be making progress towards a return to action, but that progress seems to have stagnated recently, preventing McHugh from throwing live batting practice and ramping up into intrasquad game action.
McHugh signed on with the Red Sox in March, agreeing to an incentive-laden contract that only guaranteed him $650K for the season, but that would have allowed him to earn up to $3.625MM based on innings pitched and time spent on the active roster.
Interestingly, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes, McHugh already received the entirety of his guaranteed salary for the season through the preseason advance; by opting out the season, he is forfeiting only pay from those incentives, which were far-fetched given the injury.
With McHugh choosing to sit this season out, he’ll once again enter free agency in the coming winter, hopefully at full health and ready to contribute to a Major League club. Interested teams won’t have data and footage from 2020 to rely on, and they’ll have to weigh whether to deploy McHugh as a starter or reliever. Speculatively, a contract similar to the one he signed last winter sounds feasible.
McHugh has spent the last six years of his career with the Astros, toggling between a role in the bullpen and in the starting rotation. He has succeeded in both roles in the past, though last year he faltered as a starter, shifting to relief before injury prevented him from playing in the last third of the season. He posted a mediocre 4.70 ERA in 35 games—8 starts. 2018, on the other hand, was McHugh’s best as a pro, as he excelled in a full-time relief role, notching a 1.99 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 72 1/3 innings of work.
From a baseball perspective, the loss of McHugh will no doubt make a dent in the depth of the Boston pitching staff, which was already looking thin. Nathan Eovaldi will start on Opening Day, but beyond him, there are a bunch of question marks. Free agent signing Martin Perez is probably next in line, with Ryan Weber, Brian Johnson, and Matt Hall all in the mix. Eduardo Rodriguez, back in Red Sox camp after contracting the coronavirus, will hopefully join the rotation in short order, and Zack Godley might find himself thrust into a bigger role.
McHugh is one of many players who have chosen to spend this season on the sidelines amidst the pandemic, joining the likes of David Price, Buster Posey, Ryan Zimmerman, among others. An ongoing list of players opting out can be found here.
Makes sense although he could become useful next year when they play the 120 game season in Antarctica.
Expected that after his comments a few months ago
Disappointing to hear because although there was no expectation he’d have been ready to start the season, I heard nothin to anticipate this. Best for him and the team to find out now.
hope he’s healthy for next year. he’s shown promise out of the pen in the past.
He looked really good coming out of the bullpen the last two years.
McHugh had one great season as a starter the same year that Keuchel won the Cy Young, but since then he’s been far better in relief.
exactly. the 1.99 ERA made me hope he would sign with Philly to work out of the pen, but seems like it would have been for naught given the injury.
Sox starting pitching is atrocious.
I doubt he would have started, he’s much better as a reliever.
Yeah, but the cool thing is this year, no one cares.
Red Sox look like a 25 win team with that pitching and schedule
The great thing is it doesn’t matter. We’re just throwing out a squad this year with the number one goal of being under the tax thing. Red Sox don’t want to be a repeater and have those atrocious penalties. Start fresh again next season. Look forward to it.
Always a great outcome when you essentially throw away entire seasons of your best players in their primes. Given their market and payroll it’s an utter embarrassment that they’re “strategically” cratering.
you clearly dont understand how prohibitive the luxury tax is. this is a smart move, its just the hole got deeper when Sale needed TJS. if he was helathy this wouldnt look as bad.
The Red Sox will probably have to go right back over the luxury tax within the next couple years just to keep their current mediocre team in place. They realistically should do a full scale rebuild to lower their payroll further and restock their farm system. Being strapped for cash and having an awful farm system is how you wind up in the positions teams like the Giants, Orioles, and Tigers have found themselves in the last few years
They’re close enough where they can add a few guys and they’ll be right there. Buy a few I mean maybe three starters three relievers 2 position players. That’s going to be a great offseason next year.
I don’t understand why a team like the Red Sox cares about the luxury tax at all personally. They’re going to lose more money not even trying to compete than they would pay out in taxes. And they need too many players that it’s going to be tough to “be right back in it” again without going past the tax and putting themselves right back in this same position in a couple years.
Try being a Met fan. They have been tanking since 09 when those criminals got busted with the Ponzi scheme they were involved with.I hope Bud Selig gets what is coming to him. He forced McCourt out but not his pals.
I hear what you’re saying but the thing is they won’t be paying the same amount of money. Paying 200 million next year, because of what they’ve done this year, will be a lot less tax then if they paid 200 million again THIS season AND LAST season. 20, 30, 40 million dollars is a player or two, a stud or two.
So I can see why they reset this year when they knew they wouldn’t contend. Makes sense to me to have one Bridge year or lame-duck year. Then they go for it again next offseason and away they go.
Uh.
@830
I don’t think it’s “prohibitive” in the least. What it essentially breaks down to is just making *less* money.
Which I’m not insensitive to.
the fact is is that the tax DOES become prohibitive. that’s the point of it. after going over the tax for so many years you pay a high tax and lose more draft positions. that’s not good for team finances going forward, and that’s the point of the tax as a competitive balance measure.
25 wins may be overly optimistic given their pitching, but this years was always going to be a “bridge year”. RS never intended to compete this year, but most organizations would take a WS win and then a reset. Ten of the thirty franchises have either never won a WS or only won one, yes 1/3 of the teams. The RS have 9 WS wins and 4 in the last 16 years!
RS fans should not complain (I have been one for 50 years) and just enjoy watching the next crop of prospects and FA signees.
I also am a KC Chiefs fan (long suffering – 50 years between Super bowl APPEARANCES), so one bad year from the RS should receive no grips from fans!!!!!!!
No, most organizations with the market and the financial wherewithal of the Red Sox would not reset in the middle of their contention window. That’s only teams like the Royals.
The Sox should undergo a full rebuild instead of wasting the prime years of all their young hitting stars. The idea that they’re going to be ready to compete in a year’s time is ludicrous – they have absolutely no pitching, none on the horizon, and free agency is looking very sparse. It’s hard to understate just how badly their pitching is going to be for the next several years.
Look at the RS roster turnover from 04 to 07 to 13 to 18. It is close to 80 percent turnover!!! Look and you will see!!! They have already done and are successful at it. There is enough talent to compete by 2022 and plenty of money for very high priced free agents!
I couldn’t agree more. This isn’t a team that needs 1 or 2 players and they’re there. They need 2-3 starters, 2-3 relievers, a closer, and good defensive infielder or two. Now your just putting JD a year older and players like benetendi and Devers closer to free agency. And I don’t understand why their fans aren’t pissed about them just wasting the year. Look at how much money their owners have and this is the product they’re putting out there?
Then Yankees have been very unlucky or are just plain making bad choices…..good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to win. Perfect model Braves….was it 13 straight division title and only 1 WS title.
Yankees …..last 7 playoffs 0 WS wins….spend more or spend smarter…..
Stupid RS keep saying “spend more to compete this year”. Spend more to finish third. They did that for 86 years! It is stupid and so are the fans that honestly think the RS had ANY chance of competing this year…… unbelievable……
Andrew who are they wasting? All their keepers are young guys. The only guy there wasting is Slugger J D Martinez and there’s a few guys out there like him who can’t field but can hit and play DH. Who are they wasting?
Do you remember 2013? We were atrocious in 2012.
Honestly though, I see your point, but a big market team doesn’t necessarily need a “full rebuild” to compete. With the money we have, we can patchwork next year and compete. I do think this is a bridge year and with Martinez off the books next year, we could see more big changes.
Do we need a full rebuild to compete? No. Should we have one? Probably. I’ll leave it in Bloom’s hands… I’m not impressed just yet.
Baseballallday, they ran it back last year and it didn’t work. They took the World Series team and brought everyone back and they sucked. Time to reset. It’s 100% logical.
It’s hard to overstate the fact that you literally have no idea what the Red Sox pitching will be like for the next several years.
Does anybody know what any team’s pitching staff will be like in three years for 4 years? There might be one or two holdovers per team and that’s about it… there is a constant state of flux generally for every single team. Always reworking the bullpen and adding a starter or two every year. I don’t understand your point.
I mean the Marlin’s have won 2 WS in last 20 years, should their fans be happy?
Are you comparing the Marlins 2 in 20 with the Red Sox 4 in 15?
Chachin?
The Red Sox don’t mind finishing in last place. They’re the most successful franchise of the millennium. Rather than desperately trying to win every year, they accept temporary failure along with unparalleled success. They’ll be back crushing the souls of the truly pitiful fans who root for the despicable yankees.
Ok, a little over the top, sorry. They’ll stink this year.
I hope they do finish in last place and get a Top 5 draft pick. There’s zero chance of Boston winning it all this year with their starting pitching so why not tank the season and use it as an excuse to bring Cora back in 2021.
I love what you said Dorothy, I too really want Cora back. I just hope they feel the same way instead of jocking in another manager.
They were the most successful team last millennium also, through 1918.
Coincidence?
I think not.
It’s unlikely that anyone alive today will see the Red Sox hoist another championship banner in their lifetime.
Enjoy the next 86; errrrr 84, years.
King – it’s all about the ownership. RS have ownership committed to winning and they will win plenty more. Once George Steinbrenner died the whole Yankee philosophy changed from winning to simply competing. The Yankees and Red Sox have changed places and not until ownership changes will you see the philosophy change.
One look at the current rosters and payrolls said this isn’t true…
Then Yankees have been very unlucky or are just plain making bad choices…..good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to win. Perfect model Braves….was it 13 straight division title and only 1 WS title.
Yankees …..last 7 playoffs 0 WS wins….spend more or spend smarter…..
I mean there is always going to be some luck in the form of injuries and players having down years, ect. Add in cheating scandals and a few bad contracts obviously.
My personal feeling is literally anything can happen in the playoffs. I’ve seen some unbelievably crazy things in October and at that point in the year everyone is great so it comes down to who plays best over that small sample size. Get your team to the playoffs, give them a shot, and see what happens. I think that’s the best you can do. So yes, design a team made to compete every year and then try to fill in the holes best you can to push them over the edge and win it all. You can’t win a World Series when youre watching the playoffs from home. And as a fan, the season is way more fun when my team is in the running than when they’re not.
It seems like a lot of the players who are opting out are pitchers whose arms aren’t ready yet.
Do they still get paid because of the injuries?
i dont think so. i think its like the roster rules for injured players normally, where it you are actively recovering or working your way back from injury you can collect your salery. for example, if McHugh kept rehabbing, even if he didnt play this year, he’d get his guarantee.
I suspect that is correct.
This leads me to believe that many players are worried about the virus, but don’t want to let their teammates down.
These pitchers could get paid to watch the game, so money isn’t the motivating factor. I have to think the idea of being there for your teammates is the deciding factor, since these players aren’t going to be available either way and they opted out.
McHugh already got his sign on bonus and was not going to make anything on the incentives, so he took the money and ran fleecing the Red Sox. They gambled on him and lost. He had no incentive to stay…..
i highly doubt anyone would sign a contract like that. why would his contract be all signing bonus? and he probably has to give that back too.
It would be great if pieces like this could link to the running list of all players who have opted out. It’s been buried here and I can’t find it anymore.
they brought it back up to the top once. they’ll probably bring it back up soon.
I see they’ve edited the article now with the link at the bottom. Thanks, guys!
Will Boston even win 20 with that rotation?
i think if they can get E-Rod back quickly the rotation might be able to survive better then it looks to. i think the pen might be what hurts them more. a good pen can pick up a midling rotation, but that pen is largely unproven.
The have zero to no chance of competing this yr. Their only chance is the scrape the bottom n get a high draft pick. I do hope Nate stays healthy n has a good yr. I also hope my fave, Devers loses some weight so he can field again.
im not saying they’re going to be great, im just saying 20 isnt out of the question. that’s still only 1 win per 3 games.
They still play the orioles 10 times and the marlins 4. They should win a solid 9-10 of those games. The jays are improving but still young and that’s another 10 games. The rest of the NL and AL East are good but I’d expect the Sox with their offense to at least win 10 more games… I think they finish with 25-30 wins.
It’s his right and i guess considering the current circumstances, OK. Not like his presence was expected to be a difference maker, but have to think if he’s the kind of player who’d be good when he collects his pay then says, ‘Nah, I’m fine. Good luck!’ to the rest of the team. Definitely not from the old school…
I don’t care about the season as long as they reset the tax
Friedman vs Dombrowski – who would you rather have over the long haul?
Dombrowski got the big prize but sacrificed Boston’s minor league system and blew up the salary cap. Friedman competes for the ring annually and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future but hasn’t won the WS yet.
I believe the Boston brass would choose Friedman and effectively did so by making Bloom their GM/Pres of BB Ops. Bloom will follow in Friedman’s footsteps and have Boston competing annually in the future.
Angeles & NL West – perfectly stayed! RS needed to compete right away after 2014 and 2015 last place finishes, but I think ownership knew they had no intention of keeping DD long term and were waiting for someone with Bloom’s philosophy to become available.
The way his contract has played out thus far, doesn’t make sense for him to play unless he truly thought he could. Which clearly he didn’t. He’d basically be working for free at this point, although he already got paid to not work sooo…. idk
McHugh’s already banked a little over 16 mil.
With a good wealth management plan in place & a regular amount of offspring he should be set financially.
He was looking at a lost season anyway.
Someone’ll give him a contract next year.
Bet.
Another hit to Red Sox’ pitching. They might not even get to .500 this year. Lineup is still ok, even with Mookie gone, but who pitches? My guess is they finish at 26-34.
I don’t we were relying that much on McHugh. He was always a flyer.
I think our overall record will be better than anticipated. We suck past ERod & Eovaldi, but the three guys we lost, also sucked last year. Combined, Price, Porcello & Sale were 27-28, with a 4.83. TB managed to put together a pretty good record with their openers. I’m hoping that Bloom can bring the technique to Boston.
I had no idea he was on tbe red sox. Saw the name. Thought it wouldve said the Astros not Red Sox