March 28: The Orioles announced today that Politi has cleared waivers and been returned to the Red Sox.
March 27: The Orioles are designating Rule 5 pick Andrew Politi for assignment, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). If the right-hander goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll be offered back to the Red Sox organization. Politi’s DFA, presumably, is the corresponding 40-man move for Baltimore’s previously reported acquisition of left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe.
Politi, 26, appeared in nine spring games with the O’s but was tagged for six runs on nine hits, three walks and a hit batter in 8 2/3 frames. He fanned eight of his 38 opponents along the way (21.1%). As a Rule 5 pick, Politi was required to remain on the active roster or Major League injured list all season and could not be optioned to Triple-A by the Orioles. If another team claims him, he’ll retain that Rule 5 status. If he goes unclaimed and is returned to the Sox, they will not need to place him on their 40-man roster.
A former 15th-round pick, Politi has routinely posted big strikeout numbers but shaky walk rates in the minor leagues — at least until last season, when he walked a career-low 8.0% of his opponents while posting a 2.34 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. Walks weren’t an issue this spring, but he allowed a pair of homers and was hit relatively hard overall. The Orioles apparently felt their in-house options were stronger and that the added bullpen flexibility of not carrying a Rule 5 reliever was too beneficial as they look to build on last year’s impressive showing and take strides toward competing for a postseason spot.
I thought the Rule 5 guy goes back to his original club if he’s not rostered, no messing around with waivers?
Other teams can claim and then they have to follow the rules as if they originally picked him
Waivers to work out a trade if another team is interested in keeping the player on the roster. Unlikely anyone will bite but they do, you get something back for your $100k cost instead of just getting $50k back (in this case from Boston).
Other Red Sox news:
Alfaro and Dalbec to AAA Worcester.
Yu Chang makes the Red Sox as utility infielder.
mlb.com/news/bobby-dalbec-option-to-triple-a-yu-ch…
What? Alfaro is hitting the tar out of the ball and Chang hasn’t even played. Oh, wait. It’s Cora. Makes sense.
It SORT OF makes sense, if you read between the lines.
IIRC today was when alfaro had the right to trigger or waive his upwards clause. I think he did, and surprisingly, wasnt offered a 40 man slot. I think the red sox emailed the other teams as required, then they all declined to offer a slot, which meant Boston wasn’t under its 72(?)hr window to to add him to its 40 man or send alfaro to the other team.
If I also remember correctly, he didn’t have a normal opt out, just the upwards clause (which sort of works better for him anyways.)
Once Boston knew he was safely in the fold, having already been a minor league deal, they also didn’t need to risk him rejecting an AAA assignment. He wasn’t optioned down to woosox. He just was sent back to the minor league team he was always rostered for with a big league camp invite.
Wong had options left. Alfaro didn’t.
So, hold alfaro in reserve till you need him to see if wong can cut it. Someone gets hurt, you’ve got depth. Someone doesn’t cut it, again, you have a reserve.
Just a guess how it went down.
GASox – Spot on as always, I couldn’t have said it any better.
O’s seeing if anyone will trade something for his rule 5 rights
Let’s hope nobody takes him, I’d like to see him back in Boston.
Did anything Elias do this past off season work?
He did something this off-season?
Allegedly
I don’t know what else he could have done besides over pay for a ss or starting pitcher. I don’t mind the Frazier bounce back.
Irvin
So many knock Bloom but if he gets all three back, he’ll have gotten $150k total and let others pay and feed the players …
It’s the not having to burn a 40 man slot that is the win.
Gives you a lot more flexibility this summer.
I doubt Thad ward is coming back though. Had a solid spring in Washington and they have absolutely no reason to let him go in an evaluation year.
“Had a solid spring” (Thad Ward)
7 Walks in 11 innings. The rest of his numbers are solid, but if walk problem continues or gets worse, he’ll be waived too.
Oh, yeah. I meant no reason to dump him now. They might as well get a regular season look at him.
That’s the size of it. The Nats have nothing to lose. Whether Ward has a 4.00 or a 6.00 won’t make a bit of difference to them.
I’m an Albert Belle fan (aka Joey) Gots lot of BB cards with AL/Joey…
Will Bloom pick up another rule 5 masterpiece?
Marlins_Fan_1 4 hours ago
I’m out of here, done being attacked on this site. No more contributions, done with it
Another new name, same old game.
THE TROLL WHO CRIED WOLF.
Sir this is the Wendy’s board
Hahaha. All the people crying about the Rule V. Thats one on his way back to Boston..
As soon as Politi is back in Boston, you have to say it was the right move. Good chance Ward gets returned too. Song? Who cares, he’ll bounce around on teams for a long time. The minute the Phillies waive him off 40-man, some team will claim him. He’s the next musical chairs guy.
No team will claim Song. He must spend at least 90 days, as in 3 months, as in half the season on the active 26-man roster (the rest can be DL) to stay in ANY of the other 29 MLB teams or the Red Sox get him back. Not happening for a pitcher who has not pitched in 3 years and never above low A league baseball.
I’m not sure. If song misses a bunch of time on the IL, then rejoins the Phillies at a point where some other teams are CLEARLY out of it and willing to throw in the towel beyond any doubt, what’s to lose?
They get a free prospect after PHI hides him long enough to know its a no-lose proposition.
Meanwhile, I didn’t see he has been bought back by Boston yet – although I certainly do hope he will be
Im not talking about now. Im talking about down the road. (I shouldve been more specific, but I didnt want to ramble on).
If he doesnt make the 90 days, Yes youre right, he will clear waivers and come back to Boston.
But, hear me out. If he stays in Philly makes it through this Rule V phase, he will need time for development. Do you think Phillies will keep him on the 40-Man and lose a spot due to it? I dont. He’ll need to be waived so he can get work in on the minor leagues. At which point other teams will grab him, Not as a Rule V, but as a regular waiver. Then that team will try to waive him, etc.
So to re-phrase, If he does make it thru the Rule V claim with Phillies, I think, he’ll end up being one of those carousel players we see every winter.
You forget DD is in town. PHI is likely to have 40 man spots not needed for long-tenured draftees that could get song work in future years. Trader Dave tends to push guys through to mlb faster, or, send them down the road. Once in a while, and usually it’s pitching, he picks a couple guys whose stuff he just likes and gives the chance to prove themselves.
But, I also seem to have a brevity (or smart phone highlighted/deleted) faux pas… the buying back part was meant for politi, as in we don’t know his next stop yet. Sort or works with any though.
As for ward, the nationals are so far out of contention, and, as expected during the draft, ward was the most up-to-speed and mlb ready, that, IMO, where I equate his preparedness situation similar to what happened with Whitlock. NY though nobody would grab a TJ MiLB recovered, boston said hold my beer. Then, not long after, on the other side of the decision making Boston did exactly what NYY did. I think ward sticks, but, question is how well.
Ward might stick for the same reason why half the guys on the team stick. The Nats are #30 and have no one better. But that won’t mean he is any good.
100% someone will claim Song unless he’s so out of shape that he can’t even pretend to be a MLB pitcher.
100% someone will claim Song
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I’m not sure about that. A guy like Ward can likely exist in the back of a BP with little damage. Every team in the league has someone in the BP with a 5.00 ERA. If you bring him in blowouts and good matchups, you still get 40 innings.
But Song probably has no shot at this point. He probably needs 2+ years in the minors. You can’t justify leaving him in the BP and giving him -0- innings. You can’t justify bringing him in and getting lit up.
JC someone will absolutely claim Song of waivers he isn’t coming back. A talent like Song was rarely comes up in the rule 5 there are at least a half dozen teams that would add him to the 26 man if they think he can recapture that talent. If you are team that knows you aren’t going to post season why not it costs you nothing but a 26 man spot in a meaningless season. There is no way Song is going back to Boston. My guess DD finds a way to keep him.
As soon as Politi is back in Boston, you have to say it was the right move. Good chance Ward gets returned too. Song? Who cares,
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And they were bashing Bloom for letting Darwinzon leave as well.
You guys talk as if he’s back in boston already, AND, as if some other pitching coaches didn’t have him changing routines, mechanics, or anything else that could screw him up.
It’s NEVER the right move to cede your control to another organization, and even worse to do it for the upside of making $50k on a team raking in several hundred million a year
It’s NEVER the right move to cede your control to another organization,
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But that’s not really what they are doing. The focus is to turn your 40-man roster into a 42-43 man roster. The RS were going to lose guys no matter what. Everyone does.
The focus is to lose as few as possible.
Joe, except, not really. For almost 4 months it was another organization’s coaches, nutritionists, trainers, medical staff all handling your guy, tell him tweaks to make, things to do differently.
That’s ceding control of your prospect’s development.
Making a 42 or 43 man roster would’ve been waivers.
I still think Bloom made another series of ill-advised moves. Because even if guys return, you’ve got the same problem next year. There’s a point where you’ve got too many aged prospects that are all mid-level, not elite. And at that point you bundle and trade like the Padres did most recently, not dribble them off your roster as dfas you’re forced to trade from a position of weakness or give up in rule 5.
Swap for other non-40man younger but good ceiling prospects. Swap for mlb depth. And keep only the best (like groome) that you can actually use soon. But don’t do distress sales and make a concrete plan ahead of time.
For almost 4 months it was another organization’s coaches, nutritionists, trainers, medical staff all handling your guy, tell him tweaks to make, things to do differently.
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So? Who’s to say that BA couldn’t have noticed something the RS coaches didn’t see? You are trying way too hard to make this a negative.
IRT to your comment about the Padres, you cannot be seriously comparing Politi to some of the Padre trades. The Padres were stacked with high-value prospects. Politi was rated by FG as a 35+, and ranked #46 in our system. That would make him about #1380 overall. You couldn’t trade 10 Politi’s for a decent RP.
Again, you’re trying too hard to be against every RS move. These are barely even moves.
What?
The Red Sox didn’t let him go for $50k. They let him go to not clog up a 40 man roster spot. The money is and always was irrelevant in this scenario. Leaving Politi off was a smart move. Song’s not going to stick in philly too.
Ward? I don’t think he’s coming back without getting lit up in DC. They don’t have any real incentive to let him go if he looks like a big leaguer.
The Nats are keeping Hobie Harris, so there is probably a -0- chance they aren’t keeping Ward.
Lol the only question with Ward is if he’ll stick all year. If he’s not looking good they’ll probably need some arms, considering the state of their rotation. I would be amazed if he doesn’t break camp though.
And, Joe, You’re trying way WAY to hard to create excuses for the front office and broadcast the world through bloom-colored glasses.
It’s not about making it a negative. It IS a negative.
And it’s not just politi I’m talking about. It’s giving up Groome for nothing of value. It’s giving up Song, it’s giving up all those winter trades made off a DFA for a low end lottery ticket. It’s a systematic problem with how the front office is run.
You will note, if you try using reading comprehension skills, that I clearly said boston had a glut of mid-level prospects clogging things up without much in the way of elite ones. Nowhere did I insinuate politi was a Top-100 talent as currently viewed.
But, if garbage like Downs, a 45 grade talent like wong, and a negative defender with just barely around league average bat ofer like Verdugo can net a generational talent like Betts plus a serviceable back end pitcher like price was, who is to say? Or, bloom just takes lower returns then other gms will in your opinion?
GASoxFan: “But, if garbage like Downs, a 45 grade talent like wong, and a negative defender with just barely around league average bat ofer like Verdugo can net a generational talent like Betts plus a serviceable back end pitcher like price was”
The Dodgers took on $48M of Price’s remaining contract which is why the prospect return to the Red Sox was lower.
Jeter downs was also a 55FV prospect who busted.
We can’t cherry pick outcomes. He was highly regarded but Bloom missed on that one.
He got the LA hype bounce. At the time of the trade the consensus by many seemed to be the prospect return was light, even with Price attached.
I never believed in the taking on 48m, which really turned into 32m, was that big of an outcome because it was a servicable player that just fell down the depth chart due to the high depth of the LA organization.
No one knew Price would opt out of the 2020 season and the $48M would turn into $32M. You can’t blame Bloom for that. Also, the trade was for just one year of Betts. I think it was an ok trade. Not great. Not horrible.
GASoxFan
And, Joe, You’re trying way WAY to hard to create excuses for the front office
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I said “These are barely even moves.”. We’re talking about guys that might be #43 on a 40-man roster. Again, you put way too much effort into trying to hate every move.
Joe-Agreed 100%.
Darwinzon could never find home plate consistently. Look at his WHIP and walk rate. Good stuff does not matter if you can not locate it!
Nobody is crying about a V rule. It’s the Rule 5 people are talking about. Baseball isn’t the pompous NFL
For every Nestor Cortes, there are piles of Rule 5’s that never make the majors. Unfortunately, I suspect that Politi will make the Bigs and be serviceable, and I’m just hoping he doesn’t become killer bullpen piece for the Sox. Maybe someone will pick up his Rule 5 rights like the As or Reds. I don’t know their active roster crunches. Just wishful thinking to get Politi out of the AL East.
Awwww, I was looking forward to nicknaming the guy Scriti Politi. It would have been the perfect way to make the girls go crazy.
Ya beat me to it man.
Ok but I was hoping for Song
Noah Song?
Well, maybe if you hum a few bars.
The finally got back a guy they left available.now bring back Darwinson Hernandez.
They need another lefty.You need hard throwing lefties.
This is probably among the best news since december!
Not bad to get him back to be honest. Pretty good stats in AAA even if it is a small sample size
Something something Scritti Politti
Sketchy looking off season for Birds? A miss here by Os scouting dept?
Plus:
Givens. Panic move to bring a vet in to cover for injured Tate? Now injured himself.
Frazier. Another veteran who can play multiple positions.
Irvin & Gibson. Innings eaters.
IMO, all the above cheap and short term; meant to get the Birds to 24/25 when in house talent is ready, except this Politi gamble. It was cheap but not a short term solution kinda move. Again, a miss by scouting.
I don’t think it was a miss, Jeff.
The rule 5 draft is a free lottery ticket. Politi didn’t work out in a small sample but that doesn’t really mean anything. He may end up contributing for Boston.
Nestor Cortes certainly figured it out in NY. It’s really tough to know what you have and how to work with a guy for maybe 2 months.
Agree to disagree on this one BStrow. Teams are not plucking players from other teams for quick fix/temp help. They see something in them and believe there is long term value.
Os have been doing this forever. They got guys like Paul Blair, Dave May and Elrod H via this route in 60s. More recent history there has been Santander, Martin and Wells. 2 out of 3 success here. Yes? Martin, injury prone, not.
It’s a dart throw though. Martin was a failure. How many other guys have we taken that were useless. You kinda just cherry-picked those 3. We took a slew of other guys in between Santander and wells.
It’s great to see that we aren’t just keeping rule 5 guys. This means we HAVE depth now.
That’s the unrecognized up side to losing R5 guys. The more you have, the more you have to lose.
Sure would be cool to hear about the other rule 5 guys and how they are doing….
You are coming across as a touch bit lazy
“Presumably” should start the sentence. Why would you ever insert it in the middle, breaking it up?
“Politi’s DFA, presumably, is the corresponding 40-man move…”
That’s very awkward.
“Presumably, Politi’s DFA is the corresponding 40-man move…”
So much better.