Erick Fedde

White Sox, Erick Fedde Agree To Two-Year Contract

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2023 at 6:40pm CDT

The White Sox are in agreement with right-hander Erick Fedde on a two-year, $15MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (X link). The deal is pending a physical. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported last night that Fedde, a client of the Boras Corporation, was nearing a two-year pact and named the White Sox and Mets as finalists.

Fedde returns to the majors after one season in South Korea. He’d signed a one-year, $1MM pact with the KBO’s NC Dinos last December. A few weeks earlier, Fedde had been non-tendered by the Nationals, with whom he’d spent his entire pro career up to that point. Within 12 months, he has dramatically raised his profile.

The 30-year-old righty turned in an excellent season for the Dinos. He pitched to a 2.00 ERA in 180 1/3 innings covering 30 starts. He struck out an excellent 29.5% of batters faced while walking under 5% of opposing hitters. As a result of that dominant showing, he was named the KBO’s Most Valuable Player.

Before his move to Korea, Fedde had a fairly nondescript run in Washington. The 6’4″ hurler was a first round draft choice in 2014. He received some Top 100 prospect attention as a potentially quick-moving college starter. Fedde got to the majors midway through the 2017 season but didn’t solidify himself in the rotation for a few years. He spent time on the injured list with shoulder inflammation during the 2018 campaign and bounced between the nation’s capital and Triple-A in ’19.

Fedde carved out a spot in the Nats rotation during the shortened 2020 campaign. He’d hold that role for the next three seasons, combining to log 310 2/3 innings over 67 appearances. The results weren’t great, as he posted a 5.42 ERA with a middling 18.1% strikeout rate. Rather than meet a projected $3.6MM arbitration salary last offseason, Washington moved on.

While surely a tough pill to swallow at the time, Fedde has come out ahead following the non-tender. This past August, he told the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty that he’d developed more horizontal action on his slider and tweaked the grip on his changeup as part of an overhauled approach in the pitching lab.

Between the repertoire adjustments and the dominance in a hitter-friendly KBO, Fedde secured the largest guarantee for a former affiliated pitcher returning from Korea. Each of Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly and Chris Flexen landed multi-year guarantees. Fedde is the first to cross the $10MM threshold, doing so rather handily.

The $7.5MM average annual value is a strong deal for the righty, although it could still turn out to be solid value for the Sox if Fedde can turn in league average results in the majors. Chicago is in desperate need of starting pitching. Dylan Cease had been the only pitcher on the roster who was clearly assured of a rotation spot and he’s widely expected to be traded. Fedde is almost certain to get a spot in the starting five, while Michael Kopech and trade pickup Michael Soroka have a decent chance at rotation roles. Jared Shuster, Jesse Scholtens and Touki Toussaint are also in the mix.

That’s still a lackluster group, particularly if the Sox wind up moving Cease. First-year general manager Chris Getz and his front office are likely to continue searching for starting pitching. The specific breakdown of Fedde’s contract has yet to be reported. If it’s distributed evenly, a $7.5MM salary would bring the Sox’s projected payroll (courtesy of Roster Resource) around $144MM. Getz has already suggested they’re not planning to approach their franchise-record spending mark, which topped $193MM, but they’re still more than $35MM shy of this year’s approximate $181MM Opening Day figure.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

The Opener: Winter Meetings, Draft Lottery, Fedde

By Leo Morgenstern | December 5, 2023 at 7:50am CDT

As the Winter Meetings carry on, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around baseball:

1. The Winter Meetings continue

While plenty of updates and rumors came out of the Winter Meetings on Monday, we have still yet to see a major signing. However, with new reports that teams are interested in top-50 free agents Matt Chapman (Cubs), Jordan Hicks (Astros, Rangers, Cardinals, and Orioles), Seth Lugo (Braves, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox), and Jack Flaherty (Pirates), perhaps that’s about to change.

Wade Miley’s one-year, $8.5MM guarantee from the Brewers has been the largest free agent contract signed at the Winter Meetings so far, but that’s unlikely to remain the case for long.

2. The draft lottery is coming up

The MLB draft lottery will take place this afternoon at 4:30 pm CT as part of the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. All 18 teams that missed the postseason in 2023 will have a chance to win one of the top six selections in next year’s first-year player draft, although the teams with the three worst records – the Athletics, the Royals, and the Rockies – have the best odds of claiming one of the top picks.

Complete odds for the draft lottery can be found here.

3. Where will Erick Fedde land?

On Monday afternoon, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that former MLB pitcher and 2023 KBO MVP Erick Fedde was nearing a two-year deal with an unspecified MLB team. Later that day, Feinsand added that there were, in fact, two teams in the running for Fedde’s services – the Mets and the White Sox – and the 30-year-old righty was expected to finalize a contract with one of those two clubs as early as today.

Feinsand reports that the deal will be in the two-year, $10MM range, and if so, Fedde could surpass Wade Miley for the largest free agent guarantee of the Winter Meetings – although it’s hard to imagine he would hold that distinction for long.

White Sox, Mets Reportedly Finalists For Erick Fedde

By Anthony Franco | December 4, 2023 at 10:20pm CDT

10:20pm: The Mets and White Sox appear to be the two finalists for Fedde’s services, Feinsand reports (on X). It is expected that the righty will agree to terms by tomorrow.

4:42pm: Free agent right-hander Erick Fedde is nearing agreement on a two-year deal with an unspecified team, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link). The 2023 KBO MVP is expected to surpass $5MM annually on his upcoming contract.

If the deal is completed, Fedde will return to the majors after one season in South Korea. The 30-year-old turned in an excellent year for the NC Dinos, allowing 2.00 earned runs per nine across 180 1/3 innings. He struck out an excellent 29.5% of batters faced while walking under 5% of opposing hitters.

The 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Fedde had spent his entire MLB career with the Nationals. The UNLV product appeared on the back end of Top 100 prospect lists prior to his big league debut midway through the 2017 campaign. He missed time the following season with shoulder inflammation and bounced between Washington and Triple-A in 2019.

Fedde carved out a spot in the Nats rotation during the shortened 2020 campaign. He’d hold that role for the next three seasons, combining to log 310 2/3 innings over 67 appearances between 2020-22. The results weren’t great, as he posted a 5.42 ERA with a middling 18.1% strikeout rate. The Nationals declined to tender him an arbitration contract last offseason, setting the stage for his move to the KBO.

The dominant showing in a generally hitter-friendly foreign league set the stage for a quick return to the majors. In addition to the improved performance, it seems he overhauled his pitch mix. Fedde told Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post in August that he’d developed more horizontal action on his slider and tweaked the grip on his changeup. That altered arsenal has clearly intrigued a few teams, as reports indicated Fedde was receiving interest from multiple MLB clubs this winter.

Free Agent Notes: Imanaga, Fedde, Barnes

By Nick Deeds | December 2, 2023 at 9:24pm CDT

Left-hander Shota Imanaga was officially posted by the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball late last month, kicking off a 45-day window during which he’ll be eligible to sign with major league clubs. While Imanaga only just officially joined the ranks of MLB’s free agents days ago, he’s long been expected to be posted this offseason. That’s allowed Imanaga’s free agency to develop considerable buzz in recent months.

While he’s largely been overshadowed by NPB superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’s widely considered the top starting pitcher on this offseason’s market, Imanaga is an impressive pitcher in his own right who is expected to be a potential mid-rotation arm in the big leagues with a low-nineties fastball as part of a deep pitch mix that Brandon Tew of Sports Info Solutions recently profiled. MLBTR ranked Imanaga tenth (sixth among starting pitchers) on our annual top 50 free agents list and projected him for a five year, $85MM deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan suggests that Imanaga’s market may be even stronger than expected, noting in a recent article that while teams were initially hopeful the southpaw could be had on a deal similar to the five-year, $75MM pact Kodai Senga landed last offseason, his final deal figures to exceed that, potentially to the point of approaching a $100MM guarantee.

Should Imanaga’s contract ultimately reach the $100MM range suggested by Passan, it would be a major win not only for Imanaga but also the BayStars. Imanaga’s free agency is subject to the MLB/NPB posting system, under which the team that signs the left-hander would owe the BayStars a posting fee worth as much as 20% of Imanaga’s total guarantee, with the percentage going down as the price of Imanaga’s contract goes up. If Imanaga were to sign for $100MM guaranteed, the BayStars would receive approximately $16.9MM, or just over $2MM more than they would receive if Imanaga signed an $85MM deal in line with MLBTR’s projections. The Cubs, Red Sox, and Mets have all been connected to Imanaga so far this offseason, though it’s certainly possible more teams are involved in the bidding for the 30-year-old’s services.

More free agent notes from around the league…

Former Nationals top prospect Erick Fedde is among the most interesting free agents on the market this offseason after a dominant season with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. Previous reports have indicated that Fedde, who sports a career 5.41 ERA across six seasons in the majors but altered his repertoire before dominating to the tune of a 2.00 ERA across 30 starts with the Dinos this year, has garnered interest from both the Dinos and MLB clubs. Su-eun Jeon of Baseball Korea (h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO) adds additional clarity to those reports, noting that Fedde has received interest from two MLB teams and a team in Japan’s NPB in addition to the offer he’s received to return to the Dinos. While it’s possible that Fedde could look to return to stateside ball this offseason, it’s worth noting that no former big leaguer returning from the KBO has secured a guarantee of even $10MM in the majors. That could lead Fedde to bet on himself by either remaining with the Dinos in hopes of a similarly dominant season in 2024 to further bolster his case for a more significant pact, or even consider a move to Japan in order to face NPB’s stiffer competition.
Fedde isn’t the only American-born player of note who could look to return to the majors this offseason, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi suggests left-hander Charlie Barnes is expected to garner MLB interest in free agency this offseason. Barnes, 28, was a fourth-round pick by the Twins in the 2017 draft and made nine appearances with the big league club in 2021. He struggled to a 5.92 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 38 innings of work for Minnesota across nine appearances. He’s spent the two years since then pitching for the KBO’s Lotte Giants, with a combined 3.46 ERA in 61 starts. Looking just at his 2023 season, Barnes struck out 20% of batters faced with a 3.28 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of work. In addition to the aforementioned MLB interest, Morosi suggests that the Giants are expected to have strong interest in retaining Barnes, who served as the ace of their staff this season.

Erick Fedde Weighing Interest From KBO, MLB Clubs

By Steve Adams | November 29, 2023 at 9:35am CDT

Former Nationals first-round pick and top prospect Erick Fedde just wrapped up a dominant season with the Korea Baseball Organization’s NC Dinos, which saw the 30-year-old righty take home league MVP honors in his first season overseas. He’s unsurprisingly drawn MLB interest on the heels of that performance, but Fedde will have to weigh that interest against a considerable raise from his incumbent team. Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that Fedde has an offer in hand from the Dinos, which GM Sun-Nam Lim describes as the “best” possible offer his team can make “within the rules” of the KBO.

The KBO caps teams’ spending on foreign players, with first-year players able to earn a maximum of $1MM. Fedde earned that $1MM maximum in 2023. As Yoo further explains, KBO clubs are capped at $4MM to be divided among three foreign players. Each player they’re planning to re-sign for a subsequent season can increase that cap by $100K — up to a maximum of three players.

The maximum offer to Fedde, then, would be $4.1MM — although Lim did not expressly state such an offer has been made. Doing so would require forgoing other foreign signings entirely. It’s plenty feasible that Lim was suggesting they’ve offered what they feel is the most they can while still retaining enough pool space to sign two other foreign players on minimal commitments. Yonhap’s initial report indicates that the Dinos have offered Fedde “at least” one additional year; it’s plausible the team has put forth a multi-year deal, which could technically clock in at just over $4MM in AAV (again, if the Dinos are comfortable entirely forgoing other foreign additions). Near as we at MLBTR can recall, no KBO team has ever gone to such lengths to retain a foreign player. One source who has ample experience dealing with KBO clubs expressed serious doubt to MLBTR that a team would commit its whole pool to one player.

Fedde spoke with Yoo about the decisions he faces this winter, noting that it’s still early in the process and that he faces “so many unknowns” on the heels of leading the KBO in wins (20), strikeouts (209) and ERA (2.00). Fedde touted his faith in agent Scott Boras, voiced his appreciation for everything the Dinos have done for him, and suggested he’ll ultimately do what he feels is best for him and his family.

Fedde’s debut campaign in the KBO was nothing short of remarkable. He pitched 180 1/3 innings of 2.00 ERA ball, averaging six innings per outing along the way. He fanned 29.5% of his opponents against a 4.9% walk rate and recorded an enormous 70% ground-ball rate. KBO hitters don’t tend to focus on elevating the ball as much as their MLB counterparts, so it’s common to see larger ground-ball rates among pitchers there, but a 70% clip is nevertheless excellent.

Presumably, given the demand for starting pitching throughout MLB, Fedde will find guaranteed offers to return to the Majors. The former No. 18 overall pick climbed as high as No. 52 on Baseball America’s top-100 rankings prior to his MLB debut, so there’s certainly some track record and prospect pedigree that adds to his appeal for big league clubs.

Had he just enjoyed a strong season while following the same gameplan he did throughout his time in the Majors and in Triple-A, perhaps interest would be a bit more muted, with teams chalking up his success to facing lighter competition. That’s surely a factor, but Fedde also chatted with Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post back in September about how he’s worked to change the shape of his breaking ball, change the release point on his heater, alter the grip on his changeup and adding a newly adopted sweeper to his repertoire. It’s a notable enough series of changes — particularly the incorporation of an entirely new offering — that Fedde will be viewed as a decidedly different pitcher than he was during his run with the Nats organization.

The extent to which teams are sold on the changes will obviously determine the strength of offers he’ll receive from MLB teams. In recent years, we’ve seen Merrill Kelly, Chris Flexen and Josh Lindblom parlay strong KBO showings into big league deals — Flexen after spending only one year in South Korea. We’ve not yet seen a former big league pitcher coming back from the KBO reach $10MM in guaranteed money, though Fedde’s performance was more dominant than Kelly and Flexen, and he’s three years younger than Lindblom (another former KBO MVP) was when he returned.

On the other hand, even if an MLB team is willing to offer something like two years and $10-12MM total, Fedde could also consider further betting on himself with another year leading the Dinos’ staff. If he were to repeat this performance or even show improvement, he could take home a healthy raise on this past year’s $1MM salary and then hit the open market next winter in search of a two-, three- or even four-year deal from an MLB club at a much heartier annual rate than is likely available to him right now.

It all boils down to a matter of risk tolerance for Fedde, who’ll have to weigh the options of maxing out on his earning power right now or taking a lesser 2024 contract in pursuit of a heftier deal next offseason. Regardless of which route he chooses, the mere fact that he’s in this position is a testament to the strength of his 2023 performance, which stands a clear-cut example of the earning upside players chase when taking their game overseas.

Erick Fedde Drawing Interest From MLB Clubs

By Darragh McDonald | November 7, 2023 at 4:30pm CDT

Right-hander Erick Fedde is drawing interest from major league clubs after spending 2023 with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

Fedde, 31 in February, was once a highly-touted prospect, with the Nationals selecting him 18th overall in the 2014 draft. But he didn’t find much success in the big leagues, making 102 appearances for the Nats from 2017 to 2022 with a 5.41 earned run average.

As mentioned, he joined the Dinos for this past year and the move to Korea could hardly have gone better for him. He threw 180 1/3 innings over his 30 starts with his ERA finishing at an even 2.00. He struck out 29.5% of batters faced while walking just 4.9% and also kept the ball on the ground at an incredible 70% clip. For reference, the MLB ground ball rate was 42.5% in 2023. The overall results were strong enough for him to win the Choi Dong-won award, which is given to the best starting pitcher in the league each year, making it roughly the KBO equivalent of the Cy Young.

That figures to make Fedde an interesting wild card entry into the free agent pitching market this offseason, with MLBTR having given him an honorable mention in our recent Top 50 Free Agents post. The results for North American pitchers returning from a stint in Korea are mixed, with some recent examples ranging from Merrill Kelly to Chris Flexen to Josh Lindblom. Kelly has made 127 starts for the Diamondbacks over the past five years with a 3.80 ERA. Lindblom had great results in Korea but posted a 6.39 ERA in his 20 appearances for the Brewers. Flexen had a 3.66 ERA for the Mariners over 2021 and 2022 but was torched for an ERA of 6.86 in 2023.

Each pitcher is unique and precedent can only tell us so much about Fedde as an individual. Given his excellent 2023 campaign and status as a former top prospect, he should garner plenty of interest, particularly from the clubs priced out of the top of the market. Pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Jordan Montgomery seem positioned for nine-figure guarantees while sizeable eight-figure deals should be attainable by guys like Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez and Shota Imanaga.

Kelly got a two-year, $5.5MM deal from Arizona going into 2019. A year later, Lindblom got $9.125MM plus incentives over three years from the Brewers. Flexen got $4.75MM over two years from the Mariners prior to 2021, plus a vesting option for 2023. Fedde may be able to top those figures through a combination of his superb season, his former prospect pedigree and inflation, but the guarantee still figures to be lighter than the top available arms.

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Erick Fedde

By Steve Adams | December 20, 2022 at 9:08am CDT

The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed former Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde to a one-year contract, per Jeeho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency (Twitter link). The Boras Corporation client will earn $1MM on the deal, in the form of an $800K salary and $200K signing bonus. That $1MM guarantee is the maximum amount that KBO clubs are able to commit to foreign players in their first year in the league.

Fedde, 30 in February, was the No. 18 overall pick by the Nationals back in 2014 and was long considered one of the sport’s top pitching prospects before making his Major League debut. A standout at UNLV, Fedde might have been selected even higher in the draft had he not required Tommy John surgery during his junior season. The Nats took him in the first round despite the health concerns, and Fedde breezed through the minors once healthy, regularly posting ERAs in the low- to mid-3.00s before making his MLB debut in 2017.

Unfortunately, Fedde’s mostly healthy run through the minor leagues hasn’t carried over into the big leagues. He’s required 60-day IL stints for both flexor and shoulder troubles during a six-year big league career, in addition to shorter-term IL stints for shoulder inflammation and oblique injuries. He’s also struggled to miss bats in the big leagues, issued walks at an above-average clip and struggled to keep the ball in the yard.

In 454 1/3 innings at the MLB level, Fedde has a career 5.41 ERA with a 17.5% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate, 1.55 HR/9 and a 48.9% ground-ball rate. His sinker averaged 93.7 mph in 2017-18 and sat at 93.9 mph as recently as 2021, but this past season’s 92.5 mph average was a career-low mark.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, Fedde was once a high-profile pitching prospect who skated through the minor leagues and reached the Majors as a 24-year-old. He’s still yet to turn 30, so a strong run in the KBO could pave the way for Fedde to return to the Majors — perhaps even on a multi-year contract. Merrill Kelly, Chris Flexen and Josh Lindblom are just a few recent examples of pitchers reinventing themselves in the KBO and subsequently cashing in on a multi-year deal upon returning to pro ball in North America. Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas is the prominent overseas success story, though he found his success in a three-year stint in Japan rather than South Korea. Fedde will look to chart a similar path, and given his relative youth and former prospect status, he’ll be a particularly interesting case to follow with the Dinos in the upcoming season.

Nationals Planning To Non-Tender Luke Voit, Erick Fedde

By Darragh McDonald | November 18, 2022 at 5:34pm CDT

The Nationals are planning to non-tender first baseman Luke Voit and right-hander Erick Fedde, according to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.

Voit, 32 in February, has been on quite the roller coaster over the past few years. Drafted and developed by the Cardinals, he went to the Yankees in a deadline deal in 2018 with Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve going the other way. There was a period where that seemed like a steal for the Yankees, as Voit hit 14 home runs in just 39 games after the deal in 2018. He followed that up with a generally solid 2019 campaign that saw him hit 21 long balls and slash .263/.378/.464 for a wRC+ of 126. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he somehow hit more home runs than the year prior, getting to 22, the most of anyone in the majors that year.

In 2021, however, he dealt with knee injuries for much of the campaign and only got into 68 contests. The club acquired Anthony Rizzo at the deadline to take over first base duties and then traded Voit to the Padres in the offseason. With San Diego, he posted a serviceable line of .225/.317/.416 for a wRC+ of 110, above league average but below his previous production. As the trade deadline neared, the Friars reportedly agreed to include Eric Hosmer in the trade that was to send Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego. However, Hosmer used his limited no-trade clause to block the deal and the Padres sent Voit to Washington instead. After the deal, he hit .228/.295/.381 for a wRC+ of 90.

Voit initially qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player after 2020, meaning he was set to go through the process for a third time this winter. Because of his tremendous power, he earned a $4.7MM salary in 2021 and $5.25MM in 2022. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a raise to $8.2MM next year, but it appears the Nats aren’t willing to meet that price.

Voit will now become a free agent, joining a first base free agent market topped by names like Jose Abreu, Josh Bell, Trey Mancini and Yuli Gurriel. Given his tremendous power, Voit will surely garner some level of interest. But he’s a one-dimensional contributor, having never been considered a strong defender or a burner on the basepaths.

As for Fedde, 30 in February, he was a first-round draft choice of the club back in 2014. He appeared on Baseball America’s Top 100 list in three straight years beginning in 2015. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to deliver on that hype so far, posting a 5.41 ERA in 454 1/3 innings since debuting in 2017. His 48.9% ground ball rate in that time is fairly strong, but his 17.5% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate are both subpar. He qualified for arbitration the first time a year ago and got a pay bump to $2.15MM. He was projected to get up to $3.6MM for next year but it seems the Nats will move on after he posted a 5.81 ERA here in 2022. He’ll head to the open market and see if another team wants to take a shot on him based on his former prospect pedigree.

Tyler Clippard Elects Free Agency

By Anthony Franco | August 25, 2022 at 4:24pm CDT

AUGUST 25: Clippard has cleared waivers and refused an outright assignment, according to a team announcement. As expected, he’ll return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

AUGUST 23: The Nationals are designating reliever Tyler Clippard for assignment, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The move frees an active roster spot for Erick Fedde, who is back from the 15-day injured list. The club also swapped out backup catchers, recalling Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester while optioning Tres Barrera. Washington’s 40-man roster tally drops to 39.

A two-time All-Star, Clippard has been a durable and effective reliever for the bulk of his 16-year big league career. He spent an extended chunk of that run in the nation’s capital, pitching with the Nats between 2008-14 before bouncing throughout the league. The changeup specialist remained productive through 2020, but he’s had some injury woes over the past couple years. He lost a good chunk of last season with the Diamondbacks due to a capsule sprain. Clippard returned late in the year and posted a solid 3.20 ERA over 25 1/3 innings, but his peripherals weren’t especially impressive.

The 37-year-old returned to Washington on a minor league deal over the winter. He impressed with Rochester, posting a 2.23 ERA with an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage through 40 1/3 frames. That earned him another big league call last month, but he quickly suffered a groin strain that sent him to the injured list. Clippard returned a couple weeks ago, but the Nats moved on after just four MLB appearances. He tossed five innings of four-run ball with four strikeouts and walks apiece, averaging a career-low 87.5 MPH on his fastball.

Washington will place the veteran on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Clippard would have the right to elect free agency and look for another opportunity elsewhere. If he lands with a new organization by September 1 — either via waiver claim or new free agent deal upon clearing waivers — he’d be eligible for postseason play this season.

NL Notes: Kimbrel, Fedde, Cavalli, Nationals, Junis

By Mark Polishuk | August 21, 2022 at 10:55pm CDT

The Dodgers used Craig Kimbrel for the last inning of today’s 10-3 win over the Marlins, and the reliever delivered a perfect frame to mop things up. While not a save situation for Kimbrel, manager Dave Roberts told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter links) and other reporters that Kimbrel and the team have agreed to base the right-hander’s workload going forward not on save chances, but rather on just getting regular outings. This wouldn’t preclude Kimbrel being used in save opportunities, of course, and Roberts said he could still choose to use Kimbrel in consecutive games.

It has been a shaky year for the veteran reliever, as between a subpar walk rate and a lot of hard contact allowed, Kimbrel has only a 4.46 ERA over 42 1/3 innings. A big .388 BABIP is responsible for some of these struggles, but consistency has been hard to come by in Kimbrel’s first season in Los Angeles. It has turned the ninth inning into a question mark for the Dodgers heading into the postseason, and it could be that Kimbrel’s adjusted role could be the team’s way of auditioning some other relievers for the closer’s job as October looms. It is also possible the Dodgers will rotate Kimbrel and many other pitchers into save situations as circumstances dictate, which may concern L.A. fans who have seen late-game breakdowns doom the Dodgers in past postseason trips.

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