AL East Notes: Story, Mullins, Green
Red Sox infielder Trevor Story is beginning a rehab assignment today, with Ian Browne of MLB.com relaying the details. Story will play five innings at shortstop in Friday’s game before serving as the designated hitter on Saturday and returning to the shortstop position on Sunday.
The shortstop position in Boston has been in flux since it was reported in January that Story had undergone internal brace surgery on his right elbow. They’ve rotated various players through the position in his absence, including Enrique Hernández, Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes and others. The Red Sox have a collective .216/.272/.322 batting line from the position, which translates to a wRC+ of 59, placing them 27th out of the 30 clubs in the league.
Story is a career .268/.336/.513 hitter and would certainly be a boost if he could come back at that level, though it’s no guarantee that he will. He hit .251/.329/.471 in his final year in Colorado and then .238/.303/.434 last year. After missing all of this season so far, it remains to be seen what form he will be in when he gets back. The Sox are currently three games out of a playoff spot and even a diminished version of Story should be an upgrade over the production they’ve had from the shortstop position thus far.
Some more notes from the toughest division in the league…
- The Orioles placed outfielder Cedric Mullins on the injured list earlier this week due to a groin strain, his second trip to the IL this year for that injury. Just the day prior, he had said he was hoping to avoid the IL, which made it fair to expect this stint would be minimal. That may not be the case, however, with Mullins providing more details to the media yesterday. He said that new symptoms emerged once his soreness went away, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner, with no timeline for his return right now. He said he’s hopeful of returning for the back end of the season, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball. That murkier timeline is surely an unpleasant development for the O’s, as Mullins continue to be an impact player when healthy. He’s hit .259/.347/.454 this year for a wRC+ of 123 and stolen 14 bases. His progress in the weeks to come will hopefully provide some more clarity but it doesn’t seem like an immediate return is likely.
- Blue Jays reliever Chad Green is set to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Jays signed Green in the offseason to a convoluted deal, knowing that he wouldn’t be an option in the first half after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He’s now rehabbing at an interesting time of the season, with the trade deadline just over the horizon. The righty has 272 appearances under his belt with a 3.17 ERA, 32.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. All contending clubs are looking for relief help at this time of year but Green’s impending return gives the Jays a chance to have that bullpen boost come from within. They are currently 54-43 and tied with the Astros for the second Wild Card spot. Green’s return will also give the club a couple of months to evaluate his status before deciding on the layered option structure of his contract. They first have to decide on triggering a three-year, $27MM option with $1MM in bonuses. If they decline, Green can exercise a 2024 player option with a $6.25MM salary and $2MM in bonuses. If he declines that, the Jays can trigger a two-year, $21MM option with $1MM in bonuses.
MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: All Eyes on the Angels, Cardinals Trade Options and Buyers or Sellers
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:
- The Angels will consider trade offers on Shohei Ohtani (1:00)
- The Cardinals are shifting their focus to 2024 (6:45)
- Teams like the Tigers and the Red Sox are going to let the on-field results dictate their respective deadline strategies (14:25)
Plus, we answer your questions, including:
- Do you feel that the Yankees should be sellers? (17:25)
- If the Rangers were to acquire Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, would that make them the favorite in American League? (21:30)
- What are the Blue Jays going to target at the deadline? (24:00)
Check out our past episodes!
- Top Deadline Trade Candidates, Ohtani Trade Potential and the Slipping Rays – listen here
- Free Agent Power Rankings and Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers – listen here
- The Angels Trade for Infielders, Indecisive NL Central Teams and Aaron Judge’s Toe – listen here
Red Sox Outright Jake Faria
The Red Sox sent right-hander Jake Faria through outright waivers, the club informed reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Boston had designated him for assignment on Monday.
Faria had a very brief stay on the MLB roster. He pitched just once, allowing five runs in two innings as a mop-up reliever. That marked his first big league outing in two years. Faria has otherwise spent the season with Boston’s top affiliate in Worcester. He’s started nine of 19 appearances there, allowing a 6.47 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. Faria has a below-average 17.5% strikeout percentage while walking 13.3% of opponents.
The 29-year-old has struggled at the top minor league level over the past few seasons. He posted a 7.48 ERA in 12 outings with the Twins’ Triple-A team a year ago. In parts of seven campaigns there, he carries a 4.79 ERA. He’s logged MLB action in five different years, working to a 4.87 ERA through 205 innings.
Faria has been outrighted on multiple occasions in his career. He can therefore decline a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. He chose to stick with Worcester after being outrighted in mid-April, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he does the same this time around.
Eddie Bressoud Passes Away
Former major leaguer Eddie Bressoud recently passed away due to cerebellar ataxia, per an obituary from Thomas Gase of the Vallejo Times-Herald. Bressoud was 91 years old.
Bressoud was born in Los Angeles in 1932 and signed with the New York Giants in 1950. He spent the next few years in the minors and also served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, eventually cracking the big leagues in 1956. He got into 49 games with the Giants that year and another 49 the year after, hitting a combined .245/.290/.345 in those two seasons.
Prior to the 1958 season, the Giants moved across the country to San Francisco. He stuck with them for that move and spent another four years with the Giants after, hitting .237/.301/.376 in 345 games, mostly playing shortstop but also bouncing to the other three infield positions.
After the 1961 season, there was an expansion draft held for two new franchises in the New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s, the latter of whom would later change their name to the Astros. Bressoud was selected by Houston but then was quickly traded to the Red Sox. He would spent four years in Boston, hitting 57 home runs and producing a batting line of .270/.337/.435 in 558 games for the Red Sox. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 1964.
He was traded two more times in his career, joining the Mets in 1966 and the Cardinals in 1967. Bressoud only had a part-time role with that St. Louis team, getting into 52 games, but they went 101-60 and won the National League pennant. Bressoud entered two games in the World Series as a defensive replacement but didn’t get to make a plate appearance, though the Cards emerged victorious over the Red Sox in seven games.
That ultimately proved to be his final major league season as a player. He appeared in 1,186 regular season games and made 4,106 plate appearances. He recorded 925 hits, including 184 doubles, 40 triples and 94 home runs. He stole nine bases, scored 443 runs and drove in 365. He finished his career with a .252 batting average and .319 on-base percentage. He was both an All-Star and a World Series champion.
His post-playing days saw him serve as a minor league manager and as a scout for the Angels. He also served as a faculty member, coach, and dean of athletics at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. We at MLBTR send our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
A’s Claim Tayler Scott From Red Sox
The A’s announced they’ve claimed reliever Tayler Scott off waivers from the Red Sox. Boston had designated the right-hander for assignment over the weekend. He’ll take the 40-man roster spot vacated by the Shintaro Fujinami trade.
Scott, 31, is joining his third organization of the season. He signed a minor league pact with the Dodgers in January and cracked the L.A. roster in May. He made six appearances before being designated for assignment and traded to the Red Sox. Scott got into four contests before Boston DFA him as well.
Between the two clubs, he’s allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 9 2/3 innings. Scott has a 10.18 ERA over 38 career MLB frames split across five organizations and three separate seasons. The former fifth-round draftee has allowed around four earned runs per nine both at the Triple-A level and in parts of two seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball though.
That includes an excellent 1.59 ERA over 22 2/3 Triple-A frames this year. He can be optioned to the minors for the remainder of the season and is still multiple years away from arbitration eligibility. He’ll serve as affordable depth for an Oakland bullpen with an MLB-worst 5.72 ERA.
Red Sox Seeking Back-End Starter, Right-Handed Middle Relief
The Red Sox blanked the A’s last night, pushing them to 51-44 and tying their season high at seven games over .500. Paired with a Yankees’ loss, Boston pulled out of the basement in the AL East and sits just a game and a half back of Houston for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has said a couple times recently the team’s play leading up to the August 1 deadline will impact how aggressively they pursue outside help versus entertaining offers on their veteran players. The team seems to be finding its stride with two weeks to go, putting the front office in a good position to add for a playoff push.
Rob Bradford of WEEI reported yesterday the Sox are seeking to add pitching depth. He suggests a back-of-the-rotation starter and a right-handed middle relief option are on the target list.
Each of those player types should be attainable. Veteran back-end starters change hands every deadline season. Michael Lorenzen, Carlos Carrasco, Lance Lynn and recurring Sox’s target Rich Hill are among the impending free agents who are unlikely to require a hefty acquisition cost. Oakland’s Paul Blackburn and Cleveland’s Aaron Civale are middle to back end starters with multiple seasons of remaining affordable control. They’d be costlier from a prospect perspective than the aforementioned rentals as a result.
Various injuries have left Boston with a top-heavy rotation. James Paxton has been stellar since returning from two and a half injury-wrecked seasons, working to a 3.51 ERA while striking out over 28% of opposing hitters. Brayan Bello has improved his control in his second MLB season, resulting in a 3.14 ERA over 15 starts. Kutter Crawford, a midseason entrant to the rotation who has a 4.73 ERA over 10 starts, is the only other consistent member of the current starting staff.
The Sox are without each of Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock. Sale recently began throwing again but is shelved into August by a shoulder blade injury. Houck suffered a facial fracture when he was hit by a comebacker in late June. He’s expected back this season but isn’t an imminent returnee. Whitlock hit the injured list two weeks ago with elbow inflammation.
With only a three-man rotation, the Sox used a bullpen game last night against Oakland. Nick Pivetta was brilliant in a bulk capacity, tossing six scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts. The 30-year-old righty is up to 35 innings of 2.31 ERA ball with an elite 38.2% strikeout rate since moving to relief in mid-May. Boston has been reluctant to move him out of a role in which he has been so exceptional. Cora said last night they’re planning to use Pivetta in a similar bulk capacity on Sunday evening against the Mets (relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive).
Adding a stable veteran arm to the back of the rotation would safeguard against any injury setbacks for Sale, Houck or Whitlock (or a potential issue for Paxton, whose own health history is obviously alarming). It’d reduce the chance of Boston needing to push Pivetta back into the starting staff at any point.
Boston’s bullpen, meanwhile, skews very left-handed in the middle innings. Kenley Jansen, Pivetta, Chris Martin and Josh Winckowski are the only righties in the current 10-man mix. Pivetta’s bulk role means he’s not going to be available for shorter matchup work on most nights. Jansen is locked into his customary closing role. That leaves Martin and Winckowski — both of whom have pitched well — as the only righty setup options available.
The Sox are soon to welcome back one key reinforcement. John Schreiber had a 2.12 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate in 18 outings before a lat strain sent him to the IL in mid-May. He’s made four appearances since beginning a rehab stint two weeks ago and should soon be back in the MLB mix. Schreiber would be a high-leverage arm if he quickly recaptures his pre-injury form, although there’d still be room for additional middle relief depth.
There are various righty bullpen arms who stand out as possible trade candidates. Michael Fulmer, Keynan Middleton, Reynaldo López, old friends Joe Kelly (who’s expected back from an IL stint shortly) and Adam Ottavino, José Cisnero, Chris Stratton and Shintaro Fujinami could all be on the move.
Red Sox Likely To Discuss Extension With Brayan Bello
Brayan Bello is performing well enough in his first full season that the Red Sox seem to have interest in signing him to a long-term deal, with the club’s assistant general manager Eddie Romero saying as much to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.
“It’s all case-by-case, there’s no guidebook for it, but I think Brayan is a special case and we’ll make efforts to talk to him and his group,” Romero said. “He’s basically done what he needs to do and what we would want of a young starting pitcher in this organization and he’s gone about it the right way, he’s a great teammate and he’s improved the quality of his repertoire, he’s a very hard worker, and he’s earned the respect of everybody here so he’s the kind we want to stick around obviously.”
Those talks are unlikely to ramp up at the moment, since Bello’s preference is to focus on his performance while the season is still in progress. “If (the Red Sox) did speak to my representatives I don’t know,” he says, “because I told them if there are any extension talks I don’t want to hear about it in-season, because I want to focus on finishing my season good so that good things can happen for me.” But once the offseason rolls around, it appears he is indeed open to an extension. “I do want to stay here long-term,” he said. “This is the organization that gave me a chance to be somebody so I’d love to stay here.” Bello also expressed his openness to an extension with Rob Bradford of WEEI a couple of weeks ago.
It’s hardly a surprise that the Sox are interested in getting Bello to put pen to paper, given his strong results and the club’s need for long-term pitching solutions. He debuted in July of last year and make 13 appearances in the second half of the season, including 11 starts, posting a 4.71 earned run average in 57 1/3 innings. His 20.5% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate were both a bit below average but he kept the ball on the ground at an excellent 55.7% clip.
Here in 2023, he’s made 15 more starts with his strikeout and ground ball rates essentially holding steady but his walk rate dropping to 6.1%. That’s helped him drop his ERA by more than a full run to 3.14 for the season. He’s now been in the majors for just over a year and has a combined 3.77 ERA in 143 1/3 innings in that time and only celebrated his 24th birthday in May.
The rotation in Boston has many question marks at the moment. James Paxton is pitching well but is an impending free agent. Chris Sale still has one more guaranteed season on his contract and an option for 2025 but has been hurt quite often in recent years. The last time he reached 60 innings pitched in an individual campaign was 2019. Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta have been moved to the bullpen, with Pivetta likely to stay there since he’s thriving and Kluber likely to have his option declined this fall. Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock each have plenty of club control remaining but both have struggled to stay healthy to the point that neither has hit 80 innings in a major league season yet. Kutter Crawford has a 3.74 ERA this year overall but a 4.73 mark as a starter.
Looking even further ahead, there doesn’t seem to be much immediate help coming from the farm. Bryan Mata is on the 40-man roster but has a 5.61 ERA in Triple-A this year. Brandon Walter is working out of the major league bullpen right now but has a 6.08 ERA in Triple-A this year. Some other non-roster depth pieces have also struggled, leading the club to sign journeymen like Dinelson Lamet and Kyle Barraclough to minor league deals.
Taking all those factors into consideration, it’s understandable why the club would want to keep Bello around. There shouldn’t be any terrible urgency, as he will finish this season with one year and 82 days of service time. That means he won’t be slated for arbitration until after 2025 or free agency until after 2028. But like all players, he will only increase his earning power as he moves closer to those dates, as long as he stays healthy and effective. Hunter Greene and the Reds recently agreed to a six-year, $53MM extension when he had five years of club control remaining, where Bello will be this winter. But players in their arb years can generally go beyond that, such as the $90MM guarantee secured by Logan Webb when he was between three and four years of service time or the $108MM that Luis Castillo got when he was beyond four years. That’s not to say that Bello is the same caliber of pitcher as those guys or that the Sox would have to pay that kind of money, but it does highlight the way that prices will escalate as potential free agency gets closer.
The Sox already have some significant long-term contracts on the books, with Trevor Story, Masataka Yoshida and Rafael Devers each making $18MM or more for each future season through 2027. But extensions for pre-arb players generally have the salaries ramping up gradually, roughly mirroring the scaling up process of the arbitration system. A theoretical Bello extension would likely see him earn modest pay bumps over the first few seasons and the most significant salaries would be after Story and Yoshida are off the books. Devers’ contract goes through 2033 but is the only Boston player guaranteed a contract in 2028 and beyond.
Given the aforementioned rotation uncertainty, the Sox seem like a candidate to look for starting pitching in free agency this winter, but they may also look to use a few dollars to lock up their best internal candidate as well.
Red Sox Designate Jake Faria For Assignment
The Red Sox have announced they have reinstated left-hander Richard Bleier from the injured list with Jake Faria designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
Faria, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox this offseason and has twice now been added to the club’s roster, getting designated for assignment the very next day in both instances. The first time was back in April, with Faria getting the DFA treatment without making an appearance. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment before eventually returning to the big league club yesterday.
The Sox were trouncing the Cubs in yesterday’s contest, holding an 11-0 lead in the middle of the eighth when they put Faria into the game for mop-up duty. He did eventually record the final six outs, though he allowed five earned runs on four hits and four walks, throwing 65 pitches in the process. Since he’s out of options, the Sox have designated him for assignment again in order to get a fresh arm into their bullpen.
The Sox will now have a week to trade Faria or pass him through waivers. He’s been previously outrighted in his career and thus has the right to reject another such assignment in favor of electing free agency. The last time this scenario played out in April, he cleared waivers and decided to stick with the Sox. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out in the coming days, though that remains to be seen.
Bleier, 36, came over to the Sox in the offseason trade that sent Matt Barnes to the Marlins. He tossed 20 innings with a 5.85 ERA before landing on the injured list in May due to shoulder inflammation. The Sox have a $3.75MM club option for Bleier’s services in 2024 with a $250K buyout. He’ll have to finish strong for the club to consider triggering that option.
Red Sox Designate Tayler Scott For Assignment
The Red Sox announced this morning that they had designated left-hander Tayler Scott for assignment. Taking Scott’s place on both the 40-man and active rosters is right-hander Jake Faria, who had his contract selected from the minors in a corresponding move.
A fifth round pick by the Cubs in the 2011 draft, Scott is journeyman who played for five organizations in the minor leagues before making his big league debut with the Mariners in 2019 at the age of 27. In 13 appearances with Seattle and Baltimore that season, Scott posted a 14.33 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work. He’d spend the next two seasons overseas, playing for the Hiroshima Carp in the NPB before returning to the majors in 2022 with the Padres. In San Diego, Scott struggled once again to a 7.45 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work.
In 2023, Scott signed on with the Dodgers on a minor league deal before impressing at the Triple-A level with a 1.37 ERA in 19 2/3 innings of work. The lefty was unable to replicate that success at the big league level, however, as Scott posted an ERA of 9.00 in six innings of work with the big league Dodgers before being traded to the Red Sox last month. Scott’s run prevention numbers improved slightly in Boston, though he still yielded a 4.91 ERA in his 3 2/3 innings of work with the club.
Overall, the 31-year-old Scott sports a career 10.18 ERA in 38 innings of work at the big league level, though he’s had more success overseas and in Triple-A with career marks of 4.02 and 4.01 respectively. The Red Sox will now have a week to trade, release, or waive Scott. Should they successfully pass Scott through waivers, the Red Sox will have the opportunity to outright Scott to the minors, though Scott could reject that assignment as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.
Replacing Scott on the roster is Faria, a 29-year-old right-hander who last pitched in the big leagues with the Diamondbacks back in 2021. In 203 innings of major league work with the Rays, Brewers, and Dbacks, Faria has posted a 4.70 ERA (90 ERA+) with a matching 4.74 FIP. Faria is capable of pitching both out of the bullpen and as a member of the rotation, with 29 of his 72 career appearances in the majors having come as a starter. He’s struggled in 55 2/3 innings of work with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, with a 6.47 ERA and 13.3% walk rate, though given his decent big league track record it’s nonetheless possible he could offer a useful multi-inning relief option to the Red Sox going forward.
Red Sox Notes: Bloom, Deadline Plans, First Base, Sale
A little under three weeks ago, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom wasn’t yet sure how the Red Sox might approach the trade deadline, or whether not the team might lean more towards buying or selling. Since then, the Sox have been doing their best to force the front office’s hand, winning nine of their last 10 games and moving to a 49-43 record. The Red Sox are two games out of a wild card berth and, despite a competitive AL East and AL playoff picture in general, it looks like Boston will be some kind of factor in the coming weeks and months leading up to October.
That said, Bloom’s overall perspective about the deadline hasn’t entirely changed, though naturally he is happy with how the Sox have been playing.
“I think the this bigger picture of how we’ve gotten here and how it’s come through a lot of progress from a lot of good performances from our long-term core — whether that’s young players or veteran players — is really encouraging in terms of where the arrow is pointing,” Bloom told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. “We’re gonna keep that in mind, too. We feel like we’re making a lot of progress and we just want keep layering on more and more positive things toward that ultimate goal of a championship club.”
Bloom was clear that long-term competitiveness is still the front office’s overarching goal, yet competing this season certainly seems possible. The CBO noted that the core’s development “has not only given us a chance to stay in this race in 2023, but I think has made us — and hopefully a lot of people who care about this team — really optimistic about where this is headed longer-term….Obviously what happens in the short-term, on some level we’re gonna need to factor that in and be responsive to it. As long as we keep seeing the things we wanna see from our core guys, that’s obviously something that we’re gonna keep front and center.”
Trade talks have already been ongoing in advance of the August 1 deadline, and Bloom again implied that the Red Sox (like many teams) won’t be clear buyers or sellers. The Sox could try to make deals that fall into either category, or they “might just be baseball trades that help everybody accomplish what they’re trying to accomplish.” While the standings could certainly provide more clarity over the next two weeks, there are enough teams at least on the fringes of contention that Bloom feels “the [trade] conversations are just gonna require more creativity.”
While Bloom didn’t cite any areas of need heading into the deadline apart, Bloom did make a point of saying that the Red Sox weren’t looking for first base help, since the team is happy with its tandem of Triston Casas and (when he isn’t at DH or third base) Justin Turner. It amounts to a vote of confidence in Casas, who has finally started hitting after a lengthy cold streak to begin the season. Casas hit .184/.300/.342 over his first 180 plate appearances, but has since delivered a much improved .297/.383/.515 slash line in his last 115 PA.
Obviously the Red Sox weren’t going to just give up on a former top prospect who is only in his second MLB season, yet Casas’ recent results have helped solidify his place in Boston’s core, and as a contributor to their 2023 plans. “Triston is learning and growing. He’s clearly not a finished product yet, but when you look at the trajectory, he is moving in the right direction here offensively,” Bloom said.
Pitching would also seem to be a target need at the deadline, as while the Red Sox have a lot of injured arms projected to return relatively soon, there isn’t any guarantee that those hurlers will return on schedule, or be effective when they do return. “Just because you have some of those guys that you expect to be back in action in August doesn’t mean you’re not looking to find other ways to help yourself,” Bloom said.
Chris Sale is one of those injured pitchers on the road to recovery, and manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that Sale is slated for a bullpen session on Tuesday. Sale suffered a stress reaction in his shoulder blade and will be out until at least the start of August, as per the minimum absence time required by his 60-day IL placement. Since Sale is only starting to throw off a mound now, it seems likely that his ramp-up and rehab work will keep him out for longer than the first week of August. Sale also noted two weeks ago that his injury “isn’t a very common issue” for a pitcher, so it may be a while before a solid rehab plan is finalized.