Even at a relatively quiet portion of the season, there remain a handful of notable players on the free agent market. Gary Sánchez just came off the board on a minor league deal last week, for instance. Which other players — many of whom are late-career former stars — could still find interest as depth options, particularly if they’re amenable to a minor league contract?

Miguel Sanó

Sanó had a disastrous 2022 season. Right knee troubles kept him to 20 games and 71 plate appearances, in which he hit .083/.211/.133 with only one home run. That ended his time with the Twins, who made the obvious call to buy him out of a club option, but he’s only a year removed from hitting 30 homers. Sanó has topped 25 longballs on four occasions in his career. He won’t turn 30 until next month, making him one of the younger players who didn’t sign over the offseason. Sanó reportedly held a showcase for scouts in early February but there was no publicly reported interest from any teams thereafter.

Chris Archer

Like Sanó, Archer spent the 2022 season in Minnesota but was bought out at year’s end. He tossed 102 2/3 innings across 25 outings, posting a 4.56 ERA with a modest 19.2% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. It was the most hittable Archer has been in his career, but he still averaged 93 MPH on his four-seam and 88.7 MPH on his slider. He’s clearly not the upper mid-rotation arm he was when he made two All-Star games during his time with the Rays, but he’s probably the top unsigned starting pitcher. Archer hasn’t been substantively linked to any team since being cut loose by Minnesota in November. Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Archer had conducted a showcase for teams, though it isn’t clear when that workout occurred.

Darin Ruf

Released by the Mets earlier this week, Ruf is a right-handed hitter who has typically been an effective platoon first base/corner outfield option of late. He mashed at a .271/.385/.519 clip two years ago. At last summer’s deadline, he was carrying a .216/.328/.373 line over 90 games for the Giants. New York acquired him for a four-player package including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. Ruf’s production cratered in Queens but he’s not far removed from being a well-regarded offensive player.

Stephen Piscotty

Piscotty has tallied over 2800 MLB plate appearances split between the Cardinals and A’s. An above-average hitter through his first four seasons, he’s struggled significantly in the last four years. Piscotty was released by Oakland last summer and didn’t return to the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He caught on with the Giants and collected eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320/.370/.440) but didn’t land a job out of camp. San Francisco granted him his release on Opening Day.

Zack Britton

Britton was arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever during his halcyon days in Baltimore. He remained an elite ground-ball artist for much of his time with the Yankees, excelling in high-leverage innings through 2020. Poor health has intervened in the last two years. Britton spent time on the injured list with elbow concerns in 2021, struggling when able to take the mound. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out virtually all of the ’22 season. Britton returned at the tail end of the season but couldn’t find the strike zone and was shut back down. He’s thrown multiple showcases in recent months.

Ken Giles

Much of what applies to Britton is also true of Giles. They’re different pitchers stylistically — Giles is a right-hander whose best days were fueled by huge strikeout tallies instead of grounders — but he’s also a formerly elite reliever who has fallen on hard times from a health perspective. Giles also required Tommy John surgery. His procedure came late in 2020 and cost him all of the ’21 campaign. He returned to the majors with the Mariners last summer and was let go after five appearances. Giles also worked out for clubs late in the offseason but has yet to put pen to paper.

Corey Knebel

Continuing with the run on relievers, Knebel is a former All-Star closer in his own right. He wasn’t as dominant as either Britton or Giles at his peak, and his career has frequently been interrupted by injury. Knebel was very productive as recently as 2021, when he posted a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. That earned him a $10MM deal with the Phillies, which was sidetracked by shoulder problems. He finished the year on the injured list after tearing his shoulder capsule.

Leury García

García spent a decade with the White Sox in a utility capacity. Never much of an offensive threat, he nevertheless endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs based on his defensive flexibility. García signed a surprising three-year deal with Chicago over the 2021-22 offseason. He had a dreadful ’22 campaign and was off to a rough start in Spring Training. The White Sox cut bait in spite of the two remaining years on his contract. García’s an affordable utility option elsewhere.

Mike Minor

Minor made 19 starts for the Reds last season, allowing a 6.06 ERA. He was hampered by shoulder issues at times and struggled significantly with the home run ball. Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, though his strikeout and walk rates were solid up until 2022. He held a showcase in February and drew some reported attention from the Cubs last month.

Dallas Keuchel

A former Cy Young winner who was effective for the White Sox during the shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has been hit hard over the past couple years. He played for each of Chicago, Arizona and Texas last season and was tagged for a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts. Keuchel was excellent over four Triple-A outings in the Ranger organization. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a couple weeks ago that the Phillies had expressed loose interest in the two-time All-Star, though Philadelphia apparently didn’t put a formal minor league offer on the table.

Others of note: Archie Bradley, Kole Calhoun, Robinson Canó, Kyle Crick, Didi Gregorius, Michael Pineda, Garrett Richards, Aníbal Sánchez, Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar

Most of the winter’s top names are off the board, leaving teams to mostly look through lower-cost options as they search for upgrades on the margins of the roster. There are still a number of experienced options available, particularly for teams seeking to round out the bullpen. Using MLBTR’s free agent list, we find 47 pitchers who tossed at least 20 innings out of a team’s bullpen in 2022 and remain unsigned.

We’ll sort the remaining free agent relievers by various metrics of 2022 performance to identify some of the top arms. There are obviously other factors for teams to consider — quality of raw stuff, pre-2022 track record, the player’s injury history, etc. — but a brief snapshot on the top bullpen arms by last year’s performance should provide a decent starting point for players teams might target moving forward. (All figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as relievers).

ERA (league average — 3.86)

1. Matt Moore (LHP), 1.95
2. Alex Young (LHP), 2.08
3. Matt Wisler (RHP), 2.23
4. Wily Peralta (RHP), 2.72
5. Brad Hand (LHP), 2.80
6. Andrew Chafin (LHP), 2.83
7. David Phelps (RHP), 2.87
8. Ralph Garza Jr. (RHP), 3.34
9. Jackson Stephens (RHP), 3.38
10. Michael Fulmer (RHP), 3.39

Strikeout rate (league average — 23.6%)

1. Daniel Norris (LHP), 30%
2. Darren O’Day (RHP), 27.7%
3. Andrew Chafin, 27.6%
4. Matt Moore, 27.3%
5. Aroldis Chapman (LHP), 26.9%
6. Steve Cishek (RHP), 25.8%
7. Chasen Shreve (LHP), 25.4%
8. Will Smith (LHP), 24.9%
9. David Phelps, 23.9%
10. Noé Ramirez, 23.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.5 percentage points)

1. Andrew Chafin, 19.8 points
2. Daniel Norris, 19 points
3. Darren O’Day, 17 points
4. Chasen Shreve, 16.7 points
5. Steve Cishek, 16.4 points
6. Craig Stammen (RHP), 15.7 points
7. Will Smith, 15.3 points
8. Matt Moore, 14.8 points
9. Ross Detwiler (LHP), 14.8 points
10. Luke Weaver (RHP), 13.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 43.5%)

1. Luis Perdomo (RHP), 62.5%
2. Joe Smith (RHP), 57.5%
3. Alex Young, 55.7%
4. Alex Colomé (RHP), 55.6%
5. T.J. McFarland (LHP), 53%
6. Craig Stammen, 52.6%
7. Garrett Richards (RHP), 52.4%
8. Bryan Shaw (RHP), 51.8%
9. Andrew Chafin, 51.3%
10. Jacob Barnes (RHP), 50.7%

FIP (league average — 3.86)

1. Luke Weaver, 2.46
2. Alex Young, 2.65
3. Matt Moore, 2.98
4. Andrew Chafin, 3.06
5. David Phelps, 3.11
6. Garrett Richards, 3.16
7. Jackson Stephens, 3.45
8. Michael Fulmer, 3.57
9. Brad Hand, 3.93
10. Darren O’Day, 4.04

Innings Pitched

1. Matt Moore, 74
2. Caleb Smith (LHP), 69
3. Steve Cishek, 66 1/3
4. Michael Fulmer, 63 2/3
5. David Phelps, 62 2/3
6. Hunter Strickland (RHP), 62 1/3
7. Will Smith, 59
8. Andrew Chafin, 57 1/3
9. Bryan Shaw, 54
10. Jackson Stephens/Hirokazu Sawamura (RHP), 50 2/3 each

Richards, 34, signed a one-year guarantee with Texas over the offseason. A career-long starter, he was transferred to the bullpen midway through last season with the Red Sox. The right-hander had a 3.42 ERA in 26 1/3 innings in that capacity, and the Rangers took a flier to see if he’d maintain that kind of production over a full season. That didn’t wind up being the case, as Richards managed only a 5.27 ERA over 42 2/3 frames while working primarily in low-leverage situations.

Always a hard thrower, Richards has averaged a solid 94.4 MPH on his fastball and 88.6 MPH on a slider that has been his primary offering this season. He’s generated swinging strikes on a decent 12.1% of his overall pitches (narrowly above the 11.8% league average for relievers). That hasn’t resulted in many strikeouts, though, and Richards generally gives up a fair amount of hard contact. Even with a robust 52.6% ground-ball rate, he didn’t manage to consistently keep runs off the board in Arlington.

Rough ERA aside, Richards’ combination of velocity and ground-ball tendencies will surely attract some interest from clubs now that he’s available on the open market. It remains to be seen whether he’ll land an immediate major league roster spot, but he should have no shortage of minor league opportunities at the very least. There’s no financial downside for another team in checking in, as the Rangers are responsible for what remains of Richards’ $4.5MM salary this season. (Texas is also on the hook for a $1MM buyout of a 2023 club option). Any signing team would only owe Richards the prorated portion of the $700K minimum salary for any time spent on their big league roster.

If Richards signs elsewhere by September 1, he’d be eligible for the signing club’s postseason roster. That’s true regardless of whether he’s immediately added to the majors, as players in an organization but not on a club’s 40-man roster by the turn of September are still eligible for the playoffs via petition to the league office if replacing someone on the injured list.

Richards, 34, has largely been a starting pitcher for years, working exclusively out of the rotation from 2014 to 2019. He transitioned into more relief work over the past couple of seasons, showing some promise in that department last year. With the Red Sox last year, he had a 5.22 ERA as a starter but a 3.42 mark as a reliever.

Based on that showing, the Rangers grabbed Richards this offseason, hoping that a permanent bullpen role would unlock a new gear for him. He and the club agreed to a one-year deal with a $5.5MM guarantee, which came in the form of a $4.5MM salary and $1MM buyout on a $9MM club option for 2023.

Unfortunately, the bullpen breakout hasn’t emerged as hoped. Richards has thrown 42 2/3 innings over 32 appearances this season with a 5.27 ERA and a subpar 19.5% strikeout rate. Based on those poor results, the Rangers have decided to cut bait and remove Richards from the roster. With the trade deadline now passed, their only options will be to put Richards on waivers, either the outright variety or the release kind. There’s little distinction between the two in this case, as Richards has more than five years service time, meaning he could reject an outright assignment and elect free agency without forfeiting any salary.

There’s still about $1.18MM left to be paid out of that salary, along with the $1MM buyout on the 2023 option. It seems likely that he will go unclaimed on waivers and become a free agent, with the Rangers on the hook for paying out the remainder of that money. Once he is a free agent, however, interested teams could find some reasons for optimism in his work this year. His 7% walk rate is a couple ticks below the 9.1% league average for relievers this season. His 57.3% strand rate is unusually low and should be due for some positive regression. His 52.6% ground ball rate is also quite strong, much better than the league average rate of 43.3%. Perhaps a move to a better defensive team would be a better fit for his low-strikeout approach, as the Rangers rank 21st in the league with -1 Defensive Runs Saved, 18th with a -0.4 Ultimate Zone Rating and 23rd in Outs Above Average with a -12.

As for Barlow, he showed enough promise this year to get some work as the closer in Texas, racking up 13 saves. He landed on the injured list in the middle of July due to a blister, only now returning after over a month. Through 30 1/3 innings on the year, he has a 3.26 ERA with a quality 6.6% walk rate, though subpar strikeout and ground ball rates of 19% and 35.6%, respectively.

Over the next two days, we’ll turn our attention to players with less of a say over their contractual status. A host of contracts around the league contain club options for 2023. Some of them will be easy decisions one way or the other, while there are others that’ll be more borderline calls. With teams having to make these calls a little over two months from now, it’s worth taking a look at how these players are performing in 2022.

Today, we’ll start with the American League. We’ll follow up with a look at the Senior Circuit tomorrow.

Orioles

• Jordan Lyles, SP ($11MM option, $1MM buyout)

Baltimore signed Lyles to a $7MM guarantee last winter, taking the form of a $6MM salary for 2022 and at least a $1MM buyout on next year’s option. He’s been a fine back-end starter, working to a 4.35 ERA across 130 1/3 innings. Lyles has below-average strikeout, swinging strike and ground-ball rates, but he leads the club in innings pitched and is throwing plenty of strikes. He’s also drawn strong reviews for his work in the clubhouse with the team’s younger arms. A $10MM call is borderline for a 4th/5th starter type, but the Orioles have almost nothing on the books next season and could keep him around as a veteran stabilizer.

Red Sox

• James Paxton, SP (team must decide on consecutive $13MM options this offseason; Paxton would have $4MM player option for 2023 if club declines)

Paxton signed a convoluted deal last winter that reflected his atypical situation. A mid-rotation caliber starter when healthy, he’s made just six starts over the past three years and hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. He’s making $6MM this season and could be a rotation option for a team that’ll see each of Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill hit free agency. The club will have to decide whether to trigger consecutive $13MM options (essentially a two-year, $26MM pact) this winter. If they decline, Paxton could opt in to a $4MM salary for 2023 or test free agency. How things play out largely depends on how Paxton looks down the stretch. Manager Alex Cora recently told reporters the southpaw will throw a simulated game on Friday and could soon head out on a minor league rehab appearance (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive).

• Hirokazu Sawamura, RP (team holds option currently valued at $3.6MM; Sawamura holds player option for 2023 currently valued at $1.8MM if club declines)

Sawamura signed a two-year, $3MM guarantee with the Red Sox over the 2020-21 offseason. The deal also included a club option for 2023 valued anywhere between $3-4MM, depending on whether Sawamura held his roster spot and based on his number of appearances. MLBTR has confirmed that escalators have already pushed the value of the club option to $3.6MM; that price escalates by an additional $100K for reaching each of 45, 50 and 60 appearances this season. (He’s presently at 43 games). If the team declines, Sawamura would have the right to trigger a player option currently valued at $1.8MM. As with the club option, the player option price escalates by $100K for reaching 45, 50 and 60 appearances. If both sides bypass their respective options, Sawamura would receive a $1MM buyout.

It seems likely that Sawamura’s team option price will fall somewhere in the $3.8MM – 3.9MM range, with a $1.8MM gap between the value of the club and player options. That’s an acceptable price to pay for a solid reliever, albeit one who’s been relied upon more in lower-leverage innings. Sawamura has a 3.14 ERA in 97 1/3 innings since coming stateside, striking out a decent 23% of opponents with a strong 51.7% ground-ball rate. He’s had issues throwing strikes consistently, but he’s an affordable power arm for a middle innings group that has been one of the team’s biggest weaknesses. That the Red Sox haven’t given Sawamura much high-leverage work in spite of their bullpen struggles is enough of a red flag to put this one in some doubt, but it seems likelier they’ll keep him around.

Yankees

• Luis Severino, SP ($15MM option, $2.75MM buyout)

Severino barely pitched between 2019-21 because of injuries, including a Tommy John recovery. He returned to the rotation this season and pitched to an impressive 3.45 ERA through 16 starts before suffering a lat injury that’ll cost him at least two months. The injury history is a real concern, but Severino still looks like an above-average starter when healthy. He’s averaged around 96 MPH on his fastball, struck out 27.2% of opposing hitters and has a tiny 7.2% walk rate. The Yankees would have to be very pessimistic about his health outlook to buy out his age-29 season, particularly since it’s only a $12.25MM decision once the buyout price is taken into account.

Rays

• Kevin Kiermaier, CF ($13MM option, $2.5MM buyout)

Kiermaier hit .228/.281/.369 over 221 plate appearances before suffering a season-ending left hip injury. It’s the latest in a long line of major health issues for the 32-year-old, and the Rays are planning to buy out the three-time Gold Glove winner. It’s possible the team tries to circle back at a lower price point, but the career-long Ray is likely to hit the open market for the first time in his career.

Blue Jays

• Anthony Bass, RP ($3MM option, $1MM buyout)

The Jays just acquired Bass from the Marlins at the trade deadline, fortifying their bullpen with a productive middle-innings arm. Bass has an excellent 1.49 ERA through 48 1/3 innings on the year, striking out 26.2% of opponents against just a 5.9% walk rate. It’s a career-best season at age 34, but Bass has a sub-4.00 ERA for five years running. He’s an underrated bullpen piece, and the Jays are sure to bring him back for what amounts to a $2MM decision.

White Sox

• Tim Anderson, SS ($12.5MM option, $1MM buyout)

This is as easy a call as any team will have to make this winter. Anderson has been one of the game’s better players four years running. He’s an elite contact hitter and baserunner, and he’s cemented himself as the Sox’s franchise shortstop. His 2022 season has been dinged by injuries, including a recent hand ligament tear that’ll cost him most of the remaining schedule. Frustrating year aside, Anderson has hit at a quality .301/.339/.395 clip this season and been an All-Star caliber performer in prior years. The White Sox are keeping him around next year, and they can do the same in 2024 via $14MM option.

• Josh Harrison, 2B ($5.5MM option, $1.5MM buyout)

Harrison signed a one-year deal in Spring Training and got off to a dreadful start. The veteran utilityman has turned things on since the calendar flipped to June, though, and he now carries a roughly league average .242/.312/.385 line through 281 plate appearances. The Sox will have to make a $4MM call this offseason on whether to bring him back for 2023. They’ll probably look for an upgrade at second base, but that’s a reasonable enough sum to dedicate to a quality infielder off the bench. Chicago already has Leury García making decent money in that role, and they might prefer to focus their finances on adding to the back of the rotation and bringing back star first baseman José Abreu.

Guardians

• Bryan Shaw, RP ($4MM option, $500K buyout)

Shaw is a longtime member of the Cleveland organization, having spent seven of his 11 MLB seasons there. He’s a durable bullpen workhorse who’s clearly a favorite of the coaching staff and front office, but his 2022 results have not been good. The 34-year-old righty owns a 5.36 ERA across 40 1/3 innings. He’s only striking out 17.7% of opponents, walking batters at an elevated 11.6% clip and has had some home run issues. The Guardians seem likely to go in another direction this offseason.

Twins

• Miguel Sanó, 1B ($14MM option, $3MM buyout)

Sanó is a longtime member of the organization who’s capable of carrying a lineup with his power at his best. His platform season has been a disaster, though, and the Twins are sure to buy out his option. The 29-year-old underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee in May. He returned briefly but went back on the 60-day injured list last week with additional knee concerns. It’s not clear whether he’ll make it back this season. Sanó has an .083/.211/.133 line in 20 games this year after slightly above-average offensive performances in 2020-21.

• Sonny Gray, SP ($13.1MM option, no buyout)

Just as Sanó’s option is certain to be bought out, Gray’s is a no-brainer to exercise. Minnesota acquired the right-hander from the Reds in Spring Training, sending last year’s first-round pick Chase Petty to Cincinnati. Gray lost some time on the injured list, but he’s posted an impressive 3.19 ERA with slightly above-average peripherals through his first 16 starts in a Twins uniform. A mid-rotation starter of his caliber is a solid bargain at the cost of his option, which played into the fairly high asking price the Twins had to relinquish in the trade.

• Dylan Bundy, SP ($11MM option, $1MM buyout)

The Twins bought low on Bundy on a one-year free agent deal, hoping he’d rebound from a dismal 2021 and look more like the mid-rotation arm he resembled in 2020. That hasn’t really transpired, as the right-hander has a 5.01 ERA through 93 1/3 innings. He’s averaging a personal-low 89.2 MPH on his fastball, and while he’s throwing plenty of strikes, that lack of velocity has been reflected in both his 18.6% strikeout rate and higher than average home run rate. It seems likely the Twins will decline the option and reallocate that $10MM elsewhere, particularly with the recent acquisition of Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda’s expected return reducing the urgency to add to the rotation next season.

Astros

• Will Smith, RP ($13MM option, $1MM buyout)

Acquired in a one-for-one deadline swap that sent Jake Odorizzi to Atlanta, Smith is having a generally disappointing year. He has a 4.17 ERA through 41 innings, striking out a personal-worst 24.1% of batters faced with a career-high 11.2% walk rate. Smith was an effective late-game arm as recently as a season ago and is still generating swinging strikes at a quality 14.2% clip, but the $12MM price tag seems likely to be too hefty given the mediocre strikeout and walk numbers.

Athletics

• Stephen Piscotty, RF ($15MM option, $1MM buyout)

Piscotty has spent five seasons in Oakland after being acquired from the Cardinals heading into the 2018 campaign. He had an excellent first season in green and gold, but he’s been a well below-average hitter fours years running now. Going back to the start of 2019, Piscotty has a .231/.288/.380 line in just under 900 trips to the plate. He’s sure to be bought out and could be looking at minor league offers next winter.

Mariners

• Ken Giles, RP ($9.5MM option, $500K buyout)

Seattle signed Giles to a two-year deal knowing he’d miss all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, hopes of a year two payout have been largely derailed by a finger issue that delayed his season debut and some shoulder tightness that has kept him out of action for the past month. Giles has thrown just 4 1/3 innings in a Seattle uniform, surrendering only one hit but four walks with six strikeouts. He’s averaged 94.8 MPH on his fastball, still solid but down from the 96.9 MPH range he showed during his incredible 2019 season with the Blue Jays. There’s a non-zero chance Giles returns — he’s currently on a rehab assignment in Triple-A — and dominates down the stretch to make Seattle think about the option. For the moment, though, it’s trending towards a buyout.

Rangers

• Garrett Richards, RP ($9MM option, $1MM buyout)

Texas signed the 34-year-old Richards to a one-year guarantee over the offseason, hoping he’d build off the promise he showed in a late-season bullpen stint with the Red Sox. That hasn’t panned out, as he has a 5.35 ERA across 38 2/3 innings of relief. Richards has an excellent 52.1% ground-ball rate, but he’s not missing as many bats as one would like and he’s giving up a lot of hard contact. Texas seems likely to buy him out.

• José Leclerc, RP ($6MM option, $750K buyout)

Texas signed Leclerc to an early-career extension in 2019, locking him in after a 1.56 ERA season the year before. He struggled with his control the following season, then missed virtually all of 2020-21 battling elbow issues that eventually culminated in Tommy John surgery. Leclerc returned to the mound in June but has a 4.01 ERA with a personal-low 20.4% strikeout percentage in 24 2/3 innings of generally low-leverage work. He’s still throwing hard and missing plenty of bats with his slider, so there’s a chance Texas takes an optimistic view and keeps him around. His deal also contains a $6.25MM option for 2024, so he’d be under control for multiple seasons if the Rangers are willing to give him a bit of a longer leash. This feels like it could go either way depending on how he performs down the stretch.

• Kole Calhoun, RF ($5.5MM option, no buyout)

The Rangers signing of Calhoun to a one-year deal over the winter hasn’t panned out. He’s hitting .211/.269/.363 through 350 plate appearances and is currently on the injured list with a heel issue. It’s a second straight below-average season for the veteran outfielder, who’ll be 35 in October. The Rangers will almost assuredly decline the option and look elsewhere in right field as they aim for legitimate competitiveness in 2023.

Richards signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $5.5MM following the lockout, but his Texas debut was postponed by a blister issue of his own.  Fortunately, it ended up being only a minor setback, and Richards is now lined up to take his spot in the Rangers bullpen.  Reporter Jeff Wilson (Twitter links) that the Rangers are tentatively planning a bullpen game for Friday’s contest with the Angels, so Richards could conceivably get the pseudo-start if he doesn’t see any action tonight.

Howard has been initially stated to start Friday’s game, but he will now head to the IL (retroactive to April 11) to recover from his own finger issue.  The 25-year-old didn’t fare well in his first start of the season, as Howard was tagged for four homers and six earned runs over three innings in a 12-6 loss to the Blue Jays.  Blisters have been a recurring problem for the Rangers in the early going, between Richards’ absence, and both Howard and Jon Gray now sidelined.  The Rangers have an off-day on April 18, so it’s possible the rotation might not need further re-alignment if Howard and/or Gray are able to return in short order.

Santana is still waiting results of his COVID-19 test, but Wilson reports that the IL placement was precautionary since Santana is showing symptoms.  As per the 2022 rules, Santana will have to miss a minimum of five days and be free of symptoms for the last two or more of those days.

Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.

Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.

Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.

Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.

Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.

As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.

The Athletic’s Levi Weaver reports (via Twitter) that Richards will earn $4.5MM in 2022, and the 2023 club option is worth $9MM.  There is a $1MM buyout if the Rangers decline the option, so Richards’ total guarantee is $5.5MM.

MARCH 17, 10:38pm: It’s a one-year contract with an option for 2023, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (on Twitter).

10:26pm: The Rangers are in agreement with Garrett Richards, as first reported by MLB Drops (Twitter link). The deal is pending a physical, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Richards hit the open market when the Red Sox declined a $10MM club option on his services, buying him out for $1.5MM. Boston also bought out southpaw Martín Pérez at the same time. They’ll reunite in Arlington, as Pérez signed a one-year deal to rejoin the Rangers last week.

The 33-year-old Richards has had a decade-long run in the big leagues as a starter. He looked like a mid-rotation or better arm during his best days with the Angels, but the righty’s career was thrown off by a series of injuries. He combined for 31 starts between 2016-19, with recurring elbow/biceps injuries culminating in a July 2018 Tommy John procedure. Richards worked 51 1/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball over 14 outings (10 starts) with the Padres during the shortened 2020 season, and Boston signed him to a $10MM guarantee heading into last year.

That started unfortunately, as Richards posted a 5.22 ERA while allowing opponents to hit .300/.371/.497 in 22 starts. In mid-August, the Red Sox bumped him out of the rotation into a multi-inning relief role. He began well in his new situation but had a tough final couple weeks of the season. Altogether, Richards posted a 3.42 ERA in 26 1/3 innings over 18 relief appearances late in the year. He struck out a roughly average 24.8% of batters in relief while walking a slightly higher than par 10.6% of opponents.

The Rangers are planning to keep Richards in a relief role this season, Grant tweets. He averaged north of 94 MPH on his heater while generating swinging strikes at a slightly above-average rate on his curveball. Richards adds a high-powered arm to the middle to late innings for skipper Chris Woodward. He becomes the biggest bullpen pickup to date for the Rangers, whose bullpen finished in the bottom ten last season in strikeout/walk rate differential.

The decision on Perez is largely unsurprising, given how things went for him in 2021. He posted mediocre results over the first few months of the season and was eventually bumped to a bullpen role for the playoff stretch. In 22 starts, the last of which was August 5th, he threw 100 innings with an ERA of 4.77, 19.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. After moving to the bullpen, he logged 14 innings in 14 games with similar results, as he had an ERA of 4.50, strikeout rate of 18.8% and 4.7% walk rate. Perez also pitched three postseason innings for the Red Sox, but they didn’t go well, as he allowed six hits, four walks and four earned runs, without tallying a strikeout.

Despite that meager showing, Perez could garner some interest for a job at the back of a rotation or a swing role. Although he has a lengthy track record, he’s still relatively young, turning 31 in April. The lack of strikeouts have always been a part of his numbers and that hasn’t stopped him from having productive seasons in the past. He could help a team soak up some innings without a huge financial commitment.

As for Richards, he also made 22 starts but eventually got bumped into a bullpen role, just like Perez. His last start was August 8th, just a few days after his teammate’s. In those starts, he logged 110 1/3 innings with an ERA of 5.22, strikeout rate of 17.2% and 9.5% walk rate. After moving into a relief role, things seemed to greatly improve for him, as explored by MLBTR’s Steve Adams in September. At that time, Richards had thrown 20 2/3 innings out of the bullpen with an ERA of 0.87, a 29.4 percent strikeout rate, a 9.4 percent walk rate and a 48.1 percent ground-ball rate. However, his final few appearances weren’t great and his ERA as a reliever shot up to 3.42. Richards made one postseason appearance but was removed from the ALDS roster with a hamstring strain that ultimately ended his season.

He will make for an interesting wildcard option on the free agent market this year. He’s now far removed from his best stretch as a starter, which came in 2013-2015, but he showed flashes of potentially being an effective reliever, albeit in a fairly small sample size. He’ll turn 34 in May and seems to be in line for a short-term deal, whether it’s as a starter or reliever.

Teams must request approval from the commissioner’s office to replace injured players on a playoff roster. Injury removal renders that player ineligible both for the remainder of the current series and the next series, should the team advance. Were the Red Sox to erase their 1-0 deficit and take down the Rays, Richards would not be eligible to return until the World Series.

While Richards’ season-long numbers are underwhelming, they’re also a bit misleading. The 33-year-old began the season as a member of the rotation but struggled, leading to his transfer to a bullpen role in mid-August. Since moving into shorter stints, Richards has been far better than he was a starter, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored. Over 26 1/3 frames of relief to close out the regular season, he pitched to a 3.42 ERA/2.90 FIP.

Richards’ strikeout (24.8%) and walk (10.6%) rates were right around the league average, but he’s racked up grounders on nearly half the balls in play against him. He garnered increased trust of manager Alex Cora along the way, seeing increasingly higher-leverage work as the season progressed. His contract contains a $10MM club option (or a $1.5MM buyout) for the 2022 season.

Barnes’ year has gone in the opposite direction. The 31-year-old was among the game’s best relievers through the season’s first couple months, earning an All-Star nod and a two-year, $18.75MM contract extension in the process. He’s had a stunningly poor second half, posting a 6.48 ERA over 16 2/3 frames since the Break. He’s still fanned a solid 26.6% of opposing hitters in that time, but Barnes’ walk and home run rates have spiked dramatically over the past couple months. Those recent struggles led the Red Sox to leave him off the initial Division Series roster, but he’ll get another opportunity to step up after Richards’ injury.

Things spiraled downhill rapidly for Richards from that point forth, however. Over his next 11 starts, from June 6 through Aug. 8, Richards was clobbered for a 6.97 ERA. He went from averaging just over 5 1/3 innings per start to 4 1/3 frames, and his strikeout rate plummeted to just 14.3 percent.

This isn’t intended to serve as some form of exposé on pitchers utilizing foreign substances, but it’s important context to note that Richards, a traditionally high-spin-rate pitcher, saw his decline coincide with the league’s memo on the forthcoming foreign-substance crackdown. Richards didn’t shy away from acknowledging that he’d used foreign substances, though he insisted to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic that he’d only ever used a combination of sunscreen and rosin. (Both McCaffrey’s June 24 and June 30 interviews with Richards are well worth a full read for context.)

“(I’m) going through a little transition period right now,” Richards told McCaffery in late June. “Changing some grips on some of my pitches, learning new pitches, just trying to figure this whole thing out.”

That “transition” period didn’t exactly pay dividends for Richards, as evidenced by the previously referenced plummet in his results. The Red Sox gave him some runway to try to sort things out, but on Aug. 11, they pulled him from the rotation and plugged him into the bullpen. So far, it’s proven to be a game-changer for both the Sox and for Richards himself.

Since moving into a short-relief role, Richards has dominated. He’s tossed 20 2/3 innings of relief, pitching to a 0.87 ERA with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate, a 9.4 percent walk rate and a 48.1 percent ground-ball rate. Richards’ fastball averaged 94.2 mph out of the rotation, and that’s jumped to 95.0 mph in the ’pen — 95.3 mph since Sept. 1.

Richards has also seen gains in swinging-strike rate (from 9.4 percent to 10.8 percent), opponents’ chase rate (27.9 percent to 34.5 percent), opponents’ average exit velocity (91.6 mph to 89.4 mph) and an overwhelming drop in his opponents’ barrel rate — from 9.3 percent all the way down to 1.9 percent. Since moving to a relief role, he’s allowed just one “barreled” ball, as measured by Statcast, and he has yet to surrender a home run.

It’s true that we’re only looking at a sample of 20 2/3 frames right now, but Richards’ dominance is going to give the Red Sox a decision that as recently as early August looked to be a foregone conclusion. The 33-year-old’s one-year, $10MM contract carries a $10MM club option for the 2022 season, which comes with a $1.5MM buyout. The Red Sox will effectively have to make a net $8.5MM decision on him for the 2022 season, and while that looked like an easy option to buy out when he was floundering in the rotation, the price tag suddenly looks much more palatable.

Some may raise an eyebrow at the notion of doling out an extra $8.5MM based on a few weeks of work in the bullpen, but there’s pretty recent precedent of a reliever being paid at that level following a similar late shift to the ’pen. When the Brewers acquired Drew Pomeranz from the Giants in 2019, they did so by somewhat surprisingly sending a fairly well regarded prospect to San Francisco in return: Mauricio Dubon. Pomeranz had made just four relief appearances when the Brewers took that plunge.

It proved to be a terrific decision for Milwaukee, as Pomeranz worked to a 2.39 ERA with an overwhelming 45 percent strikeout rate in 26 1/3 innings down the stretch. He rode that wave of momentum into free agency, where he cashed in on a four-year, $34MM contract with the Padres.

Pomeranz was excellent through his first 44 1/3 innings of that contract before undergoing season-ending surgery, but the results of his contract aren’t really consequential with regard to Richards. The mere fact that Pomeranz was able to command a four-year deal in the first place certainly suggests that the market could bear a nice multi-year guarantee for Richards, assuming he sustains this pace for the season’s final couple of weeks. Richards hasn’t quite as dominant in terms of missing bats and limiting walks, and it’s critical to point out that he’s two years older now than Pomeranz was when he hit free agency. Still, even if a four-year pact isn’t on the table, a two- or three-year contract could be feasible.

The Sox have just shy of $104MM in guarantees on the books for next season. They’ll have to make decisions on club options for catcher Christian Vazquez ($7MM) and left-hander Martin Perez ($6MM). Boston also owes $16MM to the Dodgers under the David Price trade. Even with those additional financial considerations, this is a former luxury-tax payor who came close to paying the tax in 2021. Payrolls in the $200MM range aren’t out of the norm in Boston. A net $8.5MM decision on a reliever who has looked largely unhittable late since moving out of the rotation is something they can afford if they’re sold on Richards’ renaissance in the bullpen.

If the Sox ultimately decide to buy Richards out and pursue other bullpen options, that could work out even better for the right-hander. He’d suddenly be one of the more interesting options in a free-agent class of relievers that doesn’t feature many high-end names. Whatever path the Sox choose, the decision to move Richards out of the rotation looks like a good one for all parties at this point.

The Sox signed Richards to a one-year, $10MM guarantee over the offseason. (The deal also contains a club option currently valued at $10.25MM — with potential escalators — for the 2022 campaign, but Richards’ struggles this year make it likely he’ll be bought out instead). The hope was that Richards would solidify a starting rotation that looked to be one of the weak points on the roster. Things haven’t played out that way, as the 33-year-old worked to a 5.22 ERA/5.02 SIERA over 22 starts before losing his rotation spot.

Few pitchers in baseball seemed more affected by MLB’s midseason decision to enforce the prohibition against foreign substances than Richards, who acknowledged he’d previously used a sunscreen/rosin combination. Through games on June 15 — the date MLB announced their impending crackdown — Richards had a decent 4.09 ERA/3.85 FIP over 70 1/3 frames. In his nine starts since, the righty has a 7.20 ERA/7.45 FIP. Along the way, he’s worked to incorporate a changeup while cutting back on the usage of his curveball, which saw a rather precipitous decline in spin (albeit from a top-of-the-league 3100-3300 rpm range to a still high 2800-3000 rpm band).

That’s not to say Richards’ disappointing few months was solely the result of the foreign substance crackdown — nor was his prior success specifically because of sticky stuff. Richards’ strikeout and walk rates were worse than average even early in the season. His strong run prevention was largely on the strength of his ability to keep the ball in the yard, but the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction of late.

Richards allowed just five home runs through his first 13 starts, with a tiny 8.2% HR/FB rate in that time; since then, he’s been tagged for thirteen longballs on a 24.1% HR/FB rate. It’s certainly possible his diminished stuff plays a role in that — his four-seam fastball has been much more hittable since its spin dropped in June — but he’s likely also been prone to some poor luck on fly balls after benefitting from good fortune earlier in the year.

Whatever the specific cause, Richards’ recent struggles became severe enough for the Sox to reduce his role for the stretch run. Boston also bumped Martín Pérez from the rotation last week in favor of Tanner Houck, shaking up the starting staff as the team continues to struggle. The Red Sox have gone just 9-14 since the All-Star Break, falling five games back of the Rays in the AL East (not including tonight’s near-certain win over Tampa Bay). Boston holds a 1.5 game advantage over the Yankees for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.

Jan. 23: The Red Sox and right-hander Garrett Richards have agreed to a one-year, $10MM deal, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  The contract also includes a club option for 2022 that is also worth $10MM, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter links), with escalators that could increase both the base value of the option beyond $10MM, and also increase the value of the buyout.  The deal will become official once Richards passes a physical.  Richards is represented by ISE Baseball.

Reports circulated yesterday that Richards and the Sox were making progress towards an agreement, and with Richards now in the fold, Boston has taken another big step towards strengthening its rotation.  Martin Perez was also re-signed last week, and between Richards, Perez, and swingman Matt Andriese, the Red Sox have added some veteran arms to the rotation mix and pushed some less-experienced arms (i.e. Tanner Houck, Chris Mazza) further down the depth chart.

Of course, the 32-year-old Richards also cannot be called an entirely sure thing, as he is less than two years removed from a Tommy John surgery that wiped out much of his 2019 season.  Richards did post some solid results in 2020, however, delivering a 4.03 ERA, 21.6K%, and 13.6K-BB% over 51 1/3 innings for the Padres, starting 10 games before being moved to the bullpen for his final four regular-season outings in anticipation for the playoffs.

Richards did have a 4.55 SIERA last year, and his Statcast numbers aren’t much to write home about apart from two key categories — a 99th percentile curveball spin rate, and a 97th percentile spin rate on his fastball.  Those types of elite metrics could hint at Richards reaching another level of production under the guidance of a more analytical front office and coaching staff, like the one chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has assembled in Boston.

Perhaps moreso than unlocking spin-rate potential, the biggest issue facing Richards and the Red Sox is just how much durability can be expected from a pitcher who has thrown only 198 2/3 total innings since the start of the 2016 season.  In this sense, Richards becomes another injury question mark on a team that already has Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez as its top two starters until Chris Sale makes his expected midseason return from his own Tommy John surgery.  The presence of Houck, Andriese, Mazza, Nick Pivetta and company allows the Sox some flexibility in the event of an injury, and if everyone is healthy, the club can get creative in resting pitchers or moving spot starters into the rotation to keep everyone fresh.

With Richards and the newly-signed Enrique Hernandez now on the books, the Red Sox have a projected (as per Roster Resource) luxury tax number of just under $198.5MM, putting them within shouting distance of the $210MM tax threshold.  If the Sox wish to stay under the threshold, some creativity may be required in carving out more payroll space, which could be part of the reason Andrew Benintendi’s name has been floated in trade speculation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

• The Red Sox themselves were runners-up in an attempt to sign Jurickson Profar, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. Boston, of course, ended up with Kiké Hernández on a similar, but shorter contract. It’s not clear if the Red Sox preferred Profar to Hernandez, though Hernández signing merely hours after Profar re-upped with San Diego is notable. Still, one does not necessarily follow the other. All we can say for certain is that Profar’s returning to San Diego thinned Boston’s market for versatile utility types. That the Red Sox engaged in parallel negotiations with similar players doesn’t actually speak to their priorities where those players are concerned.
• After all, they may very well have been interested in signing both players, as Boston remains on the hunt for a lefty bench bat. In a perfect world, the Red Sox would find someone who could complement Bobby Dalbec at first, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Cotillo floats Marwin Gonzalez, Brad Miller, and Mitch Moreland as some players that might fit the bill. Boston’s bench leans heavily to the right at present, with Jonathan Arauz as one of very few organizational options as a lefty bat off the bench unless Jarren Duran makes the team out of spring training.

• The Dodgers, Brewers, Yankees, and Red Sox are among the teams interested in Marcell Ozuna, according to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101 (via Twitter).  These four clubs are new additions to Ozuna’s market, while the Twins and Mets (also mentioned by Gomez) were linked to the slugger earlier this winter.  Ozuna is looking for at least a four-year contract, Gomez writes.  While financial demands weren’t mentioned, it can be assumed that Ozuna is looking for enough money to put the Dodgers and Yankees well over the $210MM luxury tax threshold, so it’s possible their interest is somewhat limited.  Such a signing would also put Boston close to the threshold, and while the Brewers are nowhere near the tax line, it would represent a very bold move by a Milwaukee team that wasn’t expected to spend much this winter.  It has been a relatively quiet offseason for Ozuna on the rumor mill, as his market may be dependent on whether or not the NL has a designated hitter spot available in 2021 and beyond.
• Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien, and Andrelton Simmons “are viewed within the industry as similar enough that no team is compelled to set the market with a contract,” according to Matt Gelb and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic,  This has created a lot of uncertainty about when any of the shortstop trio might sign, what their next deals might be worth, or what teams will eventually make the leap.  Gelb and Rosecrans discussed the three shortstops with nine  evaluators, who broke down the pros and cons of each player and ranked them 1-2-3 on a ballot.
• In other news about the shortstops, the Red Sox are likely no longer a fit for Semien now that Enrique Hernandez is heading to Boston.  The Sox were reported to have interest in Semien as a second baseman, but MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links) hears from a source who believes “Semien still wants to sign as a shortstop,” despite interest from teams at other infield positions.  Boston is still looking to add a left-handed hitter to the bench mix, with Cotillo reporting that Brad Miller and Mitch Moreland are possibilities.
  
• The Blue Jays were known to have interest in Simmons back in November and in the leadup to the trade deadline, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Simmons is still on Toronto’s radar.
• Garrett Richards is one player who seems to no longer to be under consideration for the Blue Jays, as Cotillo reports that the Jays aren’t one of the teams still looking to sign the free agent righty.  “At least other teams” besides the Red Sox are still vying for Richards, Cotillo writes, though Boston seems to be relatively far along in discussions with Richards’ camp.