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Hunter Strickland

Rays Interested In Hunter Strickland

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The Rays are showing interest in Giants reliever Hunter Strickland, having sent a scout to San Diego to watch the right-hander pitch this weekend, reports Chris Haft of MLB.com.

At 49-43, a half-game up on the Yankees for the American League’s top wild-card spot and two games above the sixth-place Twins, the Rays are setting up as deadline buyers. Acquiring bullpen help by July 31 seems to be a priority for Tampa Bay, whose relievers rank 19th in the majors in fWAR (1.5) and 20th in ERA (4.37). With Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Chase Whitley, Tommy Hunter and Erasmo Ramirez, the majority of the Rays’ bullpen is in good shape, though they’ve struggled to find reliable options to fill out the group. Jumbo Diaz, Danny Farquhar and Austin Pruitt have combined for 93 1/3 innings among them, but no one from that trio has prevented runs at a particularly appealing clip this year.

The 28-year-old Strickland has limited damage throughout his career, evidenced by a 2.48 ERA over 152 1/3 innings, and has pitched to a sparkling 1.91 ERA across 33 frames this season. Additionally, Strickland’s 9.82 K/9 and 19.4 percent infield fly rate make him look like a shutdown option. However, there are some troubling signs – including a dip in velocity and a skyrocketing BB/9 that has climbed to 5.18 after sitting at 1.75 in 2015, Strickland’s first full season, and 2.8 last year.

While Strickland does come with concerns, his track record and team control suggest he’d warrant a solid haul in a trade. Strickland is making a near-minimum salary this season and brings four years of arbitration eligibility to the table. It’s unclear, then, how open the Giants are to moving him, especially considering they’re aiming to put a rough 2017 behind them next year and return to contention. If the Giants do make any deals in the coming weeks, they’d like to acquire major league-ready talent in return, notes Haft.

MLB Announces Suspensions For Harper, Strickland

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TODAY: Harper’s ban was knocked down to three days upon appeal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

YESTERDAY: Following last night’s brawl, Major League Baseball has announced suspensions for Giants righty Hunter Strickland and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post first tweeted, Strickland will receive a six-game ban, while Harper will miss four contests.

Both players have appealed their sentences. They’ll also each pay undisclosed fines, per the league announcement.

The fracas occurred when Strickland plunked Harper in the hip in the first pitch of his plate appearance. The latter charged the mound, with both players landing punches before things were broken up.

While the two hadn’t even squared off in years, the last time they did it was under dramatic circumstances. Harper, of course, swatted two long home runs off of Strickland in the 2014 NLDS.

While Strickland did not admit to any intent after the game, the commissioner’s office nevertheless found that he had intentionally struck Harper with the pitch. Per the league’s announcement, his actions were responsible for “inciting the bench-clearing incident and fighting.” As for Harper, one of the game’s most visible players, the ban was announced for “charging the mound, throwing his helmet and fighting.”

While Harper will officially sit for less games, the punishment will hurt the Nats more than it does the Giants. The former will lose a fair bit of production from one of the game’s best hitters, while the latter will miss out on only a few innings from a quality reliever. That imbalance is ripe for some criticism, though it’s also something of a matter of perspective. If the punishment is intended primarily for the player rather than the team, then perhaps it’s not as skewed as it might otherwise appear. The bigger question, perhaps, is whether suspensions of this length provide sufficient deterrent value at all.

Casey McGehee Accepts Minor League Assignment, Remains On 40-Man Roster

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TUESDAY: The Giants announced that McGehee has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Sacramento, but the team announced that he has been optioned — not outrighted — to the minors.

MLBTR has confirmed that McGehee remains on the club’s 40-man roster and was never technically designated for assignment, despite a prior announcement. As a player with five-plus years of Major League service time and a minor league option remaining, McGehee did have to consent to being optioned to Triple-A, but he did not have to pass through optional or outright waivers.

Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that GM Bobby Evans told Matt Chisholm of the Giants’ media relations team that McGehee was designated off the 25-man roster, but not the 40-man.

SUNDAY: The Giants have announced they have designated third baseman Casey McGehee for assignment. McGehee was acquired from the Marlins last December for a pair of minor leaguers to replace Pablo Sandoval. The Giants have named Matt Duffy (.299/.330/.402 in 105 plate appearances) their new starting third baseman.

The 2014 Comeback Player of the Year has struggled during his stay by the bay slashing .200/.254/.282 while grounding into more double plays (a league leading 12) than RBIs (nine) in 118 trips to the plate.

“I feel I’ve got a lot left in the tank,” McGehee told reporters including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). “I’m pretty sure yesterday was not the last baseball game I’ve played.”

The Giants now have ten days to either trade, release, or outright McGehee to the minors. Giants GM Bobby Evans told reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, he hopes McGehee will accept an assignment to Triple-A because “he was comeback player for a reason.” McGehee says he will consult with his family on his next step and will not rush into a decision, reports Schulman, because “that’s not a decision I’m capable of making in 10 minutes.” There is also a financial component to McGehee’s decision. He and the Giants avoided arbitration in February by agreeing to a $4.8MM contract, approximately $3.5MM of which remains due. McGehee would forfeit that salary if he passes through waivers and declines an outright assignment.

McGehee’s DFA could also have implications for Travis Ishikawa, who is eligible to be reinstated tomorrow from his rehab assignment. Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com notes the Giants, in the middle of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days, have opted to go with a 13-man pitching staff with the recall of right-hander Hunter Strickland and there may not be room to add Ishikawa. Baggarly writes the Giants may be forced to designate the first baseman/outfielder, who was the hero of last year’s NLCS.

Latest On Giants’ Search For Third Baseman

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The Giants continue to look for a replacement for longtime starting third baseman Pablo Sandoval. With Chase Headley now also off of the market, here’s the latest on some possible trade candidates:

  • San Francisco is in contact with the Marlins about Casey McGehee, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Among the Giants players being discussed are reliever Hunter Strickland and infielder Matt Duffy, per Rosenthal.
  • The Giants are also still interested in Braves third bagger Chris Johnson, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Johnson is owed $23.5MM over the next three years, and Atlanta may need to hold onto a portion of that commitment to move him.
  • Free agent Asdrubal Cabrera is among the finalists, with McGehee, to be brought on at third for the Giants, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Club assistant GM Bobby Evans indicated previously that Cabrera was interested in finding a job up the middle, but said the door would remain open to further conversations.

Quick Hits: Gomes, Holliday, Marlins, Cespedes

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A number of impressive postseason achievements have occurred on October 6th over the years, yet perhaps the most notable was Babe Ruth slugging three home runs in Game Four of the 1926 World Series.  The Bambino’s huge day helped the Yankees to a win and (according to legend) fulfilled his promise that he would homer in honor of a hospitalized young fan on that day.

Could another incredible playoff moment take place tonight?  While we wait for today’s NLDS Game 3 action, here are some notes from around the majors…

  • The Cubs could be interested in outfielder Jonny Gomes, league sources tell ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers.  The Cubs are known to be looking for both veteran leadership in the clubhouse and depth in the outfield, and Gomes could check both boxes as a platoon partner with Chris Coghlan.
  • The Cardinals received some criticism when they signed Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120MM free agent deal in January 2010, yet as MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby writes, both the team and the player are very happy with how everything worked out five years into the contract.  Holliday has averaged .295/.383/.496 with 24 homers and 92 runs scored from 2010-14, and while he posted career lows in average (.272) and slugging (.441) this season, it could be argued that the deal has already been worth it for St. Louis.
  • The Marlins are looking to add a starting pitcher this winter, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports.  A new arm plus the return of Jose Fernandez could lead to some rotation shuffling, and Frisaro cites Tom Koehler and Nathan Eovaldi as possible candidates to move to the bullpen.  Also in the piece, Frisaro examines some other Miami position changes that could occur depending on how the Marlins’ offseason shopping plans develop.
  • On paper, Yoenis Cespedes fits as a long-term power bat for the Red Sox, though Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald notes that Cespedes’ free-swinging, low-OBP style doesn’t fit into the Red Sox organizational philosophy of taking pitches and grinding down opposing pitchers.  Silverman thinks Cespedes could potentially better help the Sox as a trade piece, perhaps as part of a major package to pry Giancarlo Stanton away from Miami.
  • Hunter Strickland’s rise from being an unheralded Red Sox draft pick to a flame-throwing postseason reliever for the Giants is chronicled by WEEI.com’s Alex Speier.
  • Stephen Drew, Jed Lowrie, Jason Hammel, Rafael Soriano and Alfonso Soriano stand out as potential bargains on the free agent market, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post opines.

Giants Re-Sign Hunter Strickland

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The Giants have re-signed right-hander Hunter Strickland to a minor league contract, MLBTR's Zach Links has learned. Strickland, 24, underwent Tommy John surgery in late May and was designated for assignment last week. The Giants ultimately released him and worked out a new minor league contract.

Strickland was selected by the Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2007 draft. In six minor league seasons between Boston, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, Strickland has a 3.80 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 388 innings.

After being converted to a relief role full-time, Strickland was in the midst of his best minor league season prior to the injury. He had pitched to a 0.86 ERA with 23 strikeouts against five walks in 21 games for the Class A Advanced San Jose Giants. The Giants claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in April, roughly two-and-a-half years after he was acquired from Boston in exchange for Adam LaRoche.

Giants Designate Hunter Strickland For Assignment

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The Giants have designated right-hander Hunter Strickland for assignment, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly reports (Twitter link).  This creates 40-man roster space for Yusmeiro Petit, as CSN Bay Area's Amy Gutierrez reports (via Twitter) that the Giants have purchased Petit's contract and optioned George Kontos to Triple-A.

Strickland, 24, was originally an 18th-round draft choice of the Red Sox in 2007 and was dealt to the Pirates in 2009 as part of the Adam LaRoche trade package.  The Giants claimed Strickland off waivers in April and he'd posted an 0.86 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 4.6 K/BB ratio over 21 relief innings at High-A ball this season.  Strickland has a 3.80 ERA and 3.18 K/BB ratio over 388 career minor league innings.

Petit was outrighted off San Francisco's 40-man roster in March but chose to accept his assignment to Triple-A instead of becoming a free agent.  Petit pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Giants last season, his first taste of Major League action since 2009.  The right-hander posted 5.57 ERA over 229 1/3 innings for the Marlins and Diamondbacks from 2006-09 and he has a 5.24 ERA over 12 starts for Triple-A Fresno this season.

Giants Claim Hunter Strickland

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The Giants have claimed pitcher Hunter Strickland off waivers from the Pirates, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).  Pittsburgh designated the right-hander for assignment last week.

Strickland, 24, posted a 4.46 ERA in 42 1/3 innings at the Double-A level last season, while also compiling a 2.98 ERA in 45 1/3 innings at High-A.  He has yet to advance above the Double-A level, however.

Red Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche

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9:18pm: Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a comprehensive rundown of both prospects Pittsburgh acquired for LaRoche. Eddy likes Diaz's defense, but his bat is "a bit light for a regular role." He says Strickland's fastball gives him a chance to be a big league reliever, but he needs to refine his secondary pitches.

2:09pm: Kovacevic says the Pirates are not sending any cash to the Red Sox.

1:09pm: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Pirates are sending cash to the Red Sox to contribute to the remainder of the $7.05MM LaRoche makes this year. They also sent cash to the Yankees in the Eric Hinske deal.

1:02pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law says Diaz's glove could make him a legitimate MLB backup in spite of his bat. Strickland is "probably a reliever at best." 

12:31pm: Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus says Diaz is a very good defender who doesn't hit much. He says Strickland is a projectable righty with a fastball around 90 mph and average secondary stuff.

12:21pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America says the pair of prospects isn't much, not that the Pirates should expect more for two months of LaRoche.

12:05pm: Speier reports that the Pirates receive pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz.

11:49am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Manny Delcarmen will not be part of the trade.

11:45am: What you need to know about LaRoche: He's a 29-year-old first baseman hitting .247/.329/.441; he has a history of playing well in the second half; his defense is slightly below average; he makes $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent and he's on the cusp of projecting as a Type B free agent, though he's currently below the cut.

11:15am: Kovacevic says the Pirates have traded LaRoche to the Red Sox.

11:00am: John Perrotto says LaRoche has been traded.

10:58am: Kovacevic says LaRoche is not in today's lineup.

10:56am: Ed Price of MLB FanHouse hears that LaRoche has been traded.

10:44am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates clubhouse is buzzing over the possiblity that Adam LaRoche will soon be traded. However, LaRoche is taking batting practice and is expected to play today.

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