Jason Groome

Red Sox Prospect Jay Groome To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2018 at 5:35pm CDT

5:35pm: The Red Sox have announced the news. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the operation next week, on May 15.

5:20pm: Top Red Sox prospect Jay Groome will miss the remainder of the 2018 season and part of the 2019 campaign due to a UCL injury that will require Tommy John surgery, reports Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. Groome, the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, will have the surgery either later this week or early next week, per McAdam.

Groome, 19, missed much of the 2017 campaign due to a flexor strain in his left arm as well, throwing just 55 1/3 innings on the season as a whole. He’s yet to pitch this season, either, after opening the season on the disabled list with what the team called a similar flexor issue to the one that plagued him last year.

Obviously, given his age and the fact that he’s yet to pitch above A-ball, Groome wouldn’t have factored into Boston’s immediate plans anyhow. Losing a year of development and adding a major arm surgery to his medical file at a young age, however, is a disconcerting outcome all the same. It also saps some of Groome’s trade value, lessening the possibility that he could be used to acquire a key piece in trades this summer as the Sox look to bolster their standing in a competitive AL East.

Heading into the 2018 season, Groome was a consensus Top 100 prospect throughout the league, ranking 83rd per Baseball America, 85th per MLB.com, 78th per Baseball Prospectus and 98th per Fangraphs. He’s touted as a potential top-of-the-rotation arm given an above-average fastball and a knockout curveball, but it now looks as though the 2020 season will be his best bet at turning in a full season of development at the minor league level.

It’s been a rough start to the season for Boston’s farm system, with Groome now requiring Tommy John surgery and infield prospect Michael Chavis already having been hit with an 80-game suspension following a failed PED test.

AL East Notes: JDM, Red Sox, Cobb, Gausman, Hicks

By Jeff Todd | April 4, 2018 at 4:37pm CDT

In an interesting look back at recent history, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explores the Red Sox’ decision-making process on finding a big bat over the just-concluded offseason. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the organization zeroed in from the outset on J.D. Martinez, despite knowing it could take a big salary to get a deal done. Giancarlo Stanton’s no-trade rights mostly took him out of consideration, says Dombrowski, while Marcell Ozuna came with too high a prospect price tag — reflecting his value as an outfielder, not just a DH, which was the Sox’ primary need.

Here’s more from the AL East:

Red Sox top prospects Jay Groome and Michael Chavis will open the season on the disabled list, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Groome, 19, is dealing with a mild flexor strain that is similar to the injury that hampered him in 2017, though farm director Ben Crockett tells Speier that the injury isn’t serious in nature, calling it “pretty mild overall” and noting that Groome has already been symptom-free for “several days.” Chavis, 22, is dealing with an oblique strain that he suffered back in February. He’s begun swinging a bat, however, and could get into extended spring games next week.
Alex Cobb is nearing readiness to join the Orioles, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. It seems likely he’ll take the ball on Monday, though that won’t be finalized until the weekend. Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter said the club is mostly allowing Cobb to drive the process while understandably preferring to “err on the side of caution.” Trusting the veteran hurler but maintaining a conservative approach seems wise given Cobb’s health history and the team’s $57MM investment.
Orioles fans will certainly also want to check out this lengthy chat between righty Kevin Gausman and the Sun’s Jon Meoli. The talented 27-year-old has not quite turned the corner to being a front-line starter, despite showing hints of it at times. He’s now entering an important season in which he’ll try to bounce back from a messy 2017 showing in advance of his final two arb-eligible campaigns. Likewise, VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson recently joined the podcast of MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. He discussed how his history as a player helped spur his current career, as he began his post-playing involvement in the game by helping his former teammates. Though he’s hardly the only former player with a prominent executive role, Anderson is somewhat unusual in that he still gets down on the field quite a bit.
Aaron Hicks is confident that he can return to the active roster in time for the Yankees’ upcoming series against the Red Sox, which begins next Tuesday, writes MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Beyond that, while recently claimed Trayce Thompson is initially reporting to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, skipper Aaron Boone tells Hoch that the optional assignment “doesn’t mean he won’t become an option very soon.”

Agency Changes: Duensing, Groome

By Steve Adams | September 27, 2017 at 8:49pm CDT

Cubs lefty Brian Duensing and top Red Sox prospect Jason Groome have switched representation and are now clients of the Legacy Agency, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (Twitter links). Duensing’s switch is especially pertinent, as he’s slated to hit free agency at the end of the 2017 season.

Chicago inked Duensing to a then-surprising $2MM big league deal early in the 2016-17 offseason. While the 34-year-old had previously had some success out of the Twins’ bullpen, Duensing had a lackluster 2015 season in Minnesota and totaled just 13 1/3 innings in the Majors all of last year, logging a 4.05 ERA with the Orioles.

The Cubs, however, saw enough to pique their interest and have been rewarded with what now looks to be one of the best one-year, Major League contracts issued last winter. Through 61 1/3 innings out of the Chicago ’pen this year, Duensing has posted a 61-to-18 K/BB ratio and a 47.3 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.79 ERA. Duensing has relatively even splits versus lefties and righties, though his K/BB numbers are vastly superior against lefties and he’s traditionally had problems against right-handed bats.

As for Groome, the former No. 12 overall pick (2016) posted terrific numbers in three starts in the Low-A New York Penn League but has had more struggles in the Class-A South Atlantic League. Groome has missed bats at a high level in 2017 (11.7 K/9) but has averaged nearly five walks per nine innings and was a bit homer-prone when pitching in the more advanced of his two leagues this season (1.22 HR/9). He only just turned 19 last month, though, meaning he was routinely squaring off against considerably older and more experienced opponents.

Both switches are now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any notable errors or omissions, let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Red Sox Agree To Terms With Jason Groome

By Steve Adams | July 14, 2016 at 6:45pm CDT

The Red Sox and first-round pick Jason Groome have agreed to terms on a $3.65MM signing bonus, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). The agreement, which is pending a physical, comes less than 24 hours before the deadline to sign 2016 draft picks.

Groome, selected at with the No. 12 overall pick, will receive $457K above his $3.192MM slot value. However, there was some trepidation as to whether he’d sign (or at least as to how much he’d sign for), as the high school lefty was reported to have an agreement in place to go to the Padres at No. 24 for a $5MM bonus. That caused teams to pass on him early in the draft — he was once looked at as a potential first overall pick and later a potential top five selection — but the Sox snagged him at No. 12 anyway despite likely knowing they would be unable to meet that price.

Adding Groome to the system gives Boston a top-end talent to add to its minor league ranks. He rated as the top prospect in this year’s draft class in the estimation of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated him second overall and Baseball America ranked him as the draft’s No. 3 prospect. While there have been some negative reports on Groome’s makeup, the scouting reports on him are excellent. Law writes that Groome has the best high school curveball he’s seen since Lucas Giolito, while Callis and Mayo write that the 6’6″, 220-pounder “has everything to be a top-of-the-rotation left-handed starting pitcher,” with a 92-93 mph heater, the aforementioned curveball and a sparsely used changeup for which he shows good feel. BA agreed and praised his “sound delivery” and the necessary strength to repeat his mechanics well.

Beyond Groome, Callis reports (via Twitter) that the Sox have also reached an over-slot agreement with fifth-rounder Mike Shawaryn. The right-hander from Maryland will receive a $637,500 bonus that significantly outpaces his $375,500 slot. Shawaryn rated 77th on BA’s Top 500, 91st on Law’s Top 100 and 139th on MLB.com’s Top 200, with the various scouting reports on the Terrapin righty noting that a down season caused his stock to tumble from a potential first- or second-round pick to the middle rounds. However, the over-slot deal will convince the college junior from taking his chance at a stronger senior season that could’ve rebuilt some of his draft value.

Callis also reports (via Twitter) that Boston also inked fourth-rounder Bobby Dalbec — a third baseman out of Arizona — for a $650K bonus that tops his $501,300 slot. Dalbec came in at No. 88 on MLB.com’s Top 200 and No. 118 on BA’s Top 500.

Red Sox Close To Deal With First-Rounder Jason Groome

By Jeff Todd | July 14, 2016 at 1:00pm CDT

12:57pm: Boston is indeed closing in on a final agreement, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports, though it’s still not over the finish line. He adds that the Red Sox had previously moved their offer to over $3.5MM — well above the ~$3.2MM slot allocation — and has crept further northward in recent days.

10:53am: The Red Sox are close to a deal with first-round draft pick Jason Groome, according to Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). The young southpaw is in Boston for his physical, but the sides are still finalizing the contract terms.

Last we checked, the sides were headed toward an arrangement but still haggling over the final price. With Groome making the trip to get his medical clearance, it certainly seems that any remaining gap will be bridged in short order.

A high-school starter, Groome entered the draft as one of the most highly-rated prospects available, with MLB.com (#1), ESPN.com (#2), and Baseball America (#3) all listing him at or near the top of their boards. Chatter about his makeup seemingly took him out of contention for the top several picks, leaving other organizations in position to nab him down the line. While the Padres were said to have put a high-budget offer on the table later in the first round, the Sox chose to take a chance on signing him.

Latest On Jason Groome, Red Sox

By charliewilmoth | July 13, 2016 at 10:18am CDT

TODAY: A deal is “getting closer” and “should get done,” a source tells Speier (via Twitter). That being said, a final number has yet to be arrived at between the two sides.

YESTERDAY, 5:33pm: Talks between the two sides are intensifying, per Jon Heyman and Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (Twitter link), but there’s no deal in place just yet.

10:55am: New Jersey high school lefty Jason Groome remains the highest-profile draftee who is yet unsigned, and there remains a gap between him and the Red Sox, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explains. Speier’s sources express optimism that the 12th overall pick will ultimately sign, but there are a number of moving parts involved.

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported yesterday that the Red Sox had offered Groome a $3.5MM bonus, higher than the pick value of $3,192,800 but significantly lower than the $5MM Heyman reported Groome could have gotten from the Padres had he lasted until the No. 24 pick. Now Speier writes that the Red Sox have gone a little over $3.5MM but are still short of his bonus demands. Groome could head to a Florida junior college and reenter the draft in a year if he deems the Sox’ bonus offers unsuitable.

The Red Sox have a bonus pool just shy of $7MM (an amount they could stretch to about $7.35MM without losing one or more future draft picks) and have already committed just $2.2MM of that. But they have not signed fourth-rounder Bobby Dalbec, whose pick value is just over $500K, or fifth-rounder Mike Shawaryn, whose pick value is around $375K. If they’re unable to sign Groome, they could also have interest in signing 11th-rounder Nick Quintana, a well-regarded high school infielder who is committed to Arizona.

Another dynamic in play, according to Speier, is that Groome hasn’t yet taken a physical in advance of Friday’s deadline. All things considered, though, the Red Sox will surely be highly motivated to sign him — a big lefty with good velocity and and a terrific curve would be a strong addition to any farm system.

Quick Hits: Groome, Red Sox, Lucroy, Chapman

By Connor Byrne | July 11, 2016 at 10:36pm CDT

With Friday’s deadline to sign 2016 amateur draft picks creeping up, the Red Sox and first-round selection Jason Groome are in a dispute over how much the left-hander is worth, reports Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. Boston is currently offering Groome $3.5MM – which is $372K more than the 12th overall selection’s $3,192,800 slot value – according to Heyman, who adds that the 17-year-old had a pre-draft agreement with the Padres to sign for $5MM had he fallen to them at No. 24. The Red Sox have in the neighborhood of $400K remaining in their pool and could up their offer to Groome, Heyman notes, and he expects the two to eventually reach a deal.

More from Boston and a few other major league destinations:

An unusually high number of scouts (18) recently took in a Class-A Rookie League Game for the Rangers, leading FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal to wonder if a trade is on the way. Specifically, the Rangers and Brewers could match up in a deal for catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Rosenthal suggests, with a scout informing him that Milwaukee has been observing Texas’ system. Brewers general manager David Stearns has not been averse to acquiring teenage prospects in the past, writes Rosenthal, who lists 17-year-old outfielder Leody Taveras and 18-year-old shortstop Anderson Tejada as a couple of the Rangers’ top Arizona League players. The Rangers have drawn connections since the offseason to Lucroy, an All-Star backstop who’s signed for cheap through next season.
Prior to his late-season major league breakout last year, Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. garnered the attention of several GMs while he was thriving in the minors, according to agent Scott Boras. “I had six different general managers calling me, because he was just killing the ball in Triple-A,” Boras said (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). Boras added that he doesn’t ask GMs to trade his clients, so he didn’t request a deal out of Boston for Bradley – who has been outstanding for the Red Sox since last August. The 26-year-old earned his first All-Star trip this season on the strength of a .296/.378/.548 batting line with 14 home runs in 344 trips to the plate. In addition to his prowess with the bat, Bradley has been among the majors’ premier base runners this year, as FanGraphs shows.
The Yankees’ playoffs odds at FanGraphs sit at a measly 7.5 percent, which Joel Sherman of the New York Post cites while arguing that it would be “terrible business” for the .500 team to retain lefty closer Aroldis Chapman past the Aug. 1 trade deadline. With World Series contenders like the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals looking to augment their bullpens, Sherman believes the Yankees are in prime position to orchestrate a bidding war for Chapman, whom they acquired from the Reds for an underwhelming group of prospects over the winter. Chapman was then dealing with a troubling domestic violence incident off the field, but he served a month-long suspension to begin the year and has continued dominating on the mound since. Even if the Yankees do trade Chapman, that wouldn’t preclude them from making a push to re-sign the pending free agent in the offseason, Sherman points out.

Red Sox Notes: SPs, Rodney, Farrell, Groome

By Connor Byrne | July 3, 2016 at 9:27am CDT

With Clay Buchholz unable to turn around his dreadful season and the Red Sox set to start journeyman Sean O’Sullivan on Sunday, they are and should be desperate for starting help, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. There’s an expectation around baseball that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will aggressively seek rotation upgrades in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, which could mean moving top prospects like infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Andrew Benintendi, per Drellich, who adds that Dombrowski does value the two highly. Although Dombrowski said last Sunday that there isn’t much help on the market, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels offered his own take on it, telling Drellich that pitching is “always there,” but whether it’s worth the asking price is another matter. “There’s a sense of like, ‘Oh, you can’t trade for an ace. No they’re available all the time,” Daniels informed Drellich as part of a piece that’s absolutely worth a full read.

More from Boston, which is in an uproar after the 43-37 Red Sox’s forgettable June and their humiliating 21-2 loss to the Angels on Saturday:

The Sox were considering taking a run at reliever Fernando Rodney before the Padres traded him to the Marlins earlier this week, though Boston is more interested in acquiring starters than bullpen aid, according to Drellich. With $217MM ace David Price having a tough time preventing runs, Buchholz floundering, and a lack of usable back-end options, that comes as no surprise.
Beleaguered manager John Farrell has his flaws, but he’s far down the list of Boston’s problems and replacing him won’t fix the team’s issues, opines Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Price’s struggles, the team’s lack of starting pitching depth and an inability to find a solution in left field – where the Red Sox have dealt with injuries this year to Brock Holt, Blake Swihart and Chris Young – won’t magically disappear if Farrell loses his job and bench coach Torey Lovullo takes the helm, Lauber contends. As Lauber points out, if the Red Sox do give Farrell the ax, it’ll be their first in-season firing of a manager since they handed Jimy Williams his walking papers in August 2001. Given that Farrell oversaw back-to-back last-place finishes coming into this season, he could follow in Williams’ unenviable footsteps if a turnaround doesn’t come.
Even though there are concerns about first-round left-hander Jason Groome’s makeup, the Red Sox are expected to sign the 12th overall selection by the July 15 deadline, reports Drellich. A deal could take until the 11th hour to get done with the 17-year-old, though.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Tulowitzki, Groome

By charliewilmoth | June 11, 2016 at 4:33pm CDT

With Chris Parmelee now on the DL with a hamstring injury, the Yankees have no first basemen, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal writes. Parmelee joins Mark Teixeira, Dustin Ackley and Greg Bird as first basemen who’ve gotten injured, and the team now has infielder Rob Refsnyder and catcher Austin Romine manning the position. Refsnyder had never appeared at first in a professional game before last week. Veteran Nick Swisher remains at Triple-A, but he’s batting just .238/.266/.339, and the Yankees don’t appear to have any plans to promote him. Here’s more from the AL East.

Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki suffered a setback in his return from his quadriceps injury, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Tulowitzki left an instra-squad game on Friday with discomfort. “It’s not like he re-injured it, but just seems a little hesitant or something,” manager John Gibbons explained. Tulowitzki had been scheduled to rejoin the Blue Jays Monday, but that now appears unlikely. He’s been out since May 27. The five-time All-Star is batting .204/.289/.383 in his first full season in Toronto.
The Red Sox got an unusual talent with the 12th overall pick in the draft in New Jersey high school hurler Jason Groome, but he comes with question marks, the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato writes. Groome’s draft stock fell due to questions about his makeup, although their nature mostly remains in the shadows. Mastrodonato writes that Vanderbilt University, to which Groome had previously been committed, lost interest in Groome for reasons that did not have to do with his baseball ability. Nonetheless, the Red Sox were enthused about his upside and unfazed by makeup questions. “We’re very comfortable we know who Jason Groome is,” Red Sox scouting director Mike Rikard says. Prior to the draft, MLB.com rated Groome the top talent available, noting his 6-foot-6 size, good velocity and potential to throw three quality pitches.

NL East Notes: Braves, Draft, Johnson, Mets, Bourjos

By Steve Adams | June 9, 2016 at 1:40pm CDT

Multiple draft outlets have noted the possibility that the Braves could cut a deal with high school right-hander Ian Anderson at No. 3 overall in tonight’s draft with an eye toward over-spending on the No. 40 selection. ESPN’s Keith Law noted as much in this morning’s final mock draft (subscription required and recommended), and Eric Longenhagen or ESPN and Fangraphs tweets that the team could do so with an eye on getting former No. 1 overall candidate Jason Groome at No. 40, though their willingness to do so is dependent on who comes off the board with the first and second selections. D1Baseball.com’s Frankie Piliere tweeted earlier today that Groome’s asking price is extremely high and connected him to the Braves while adding that he’s in a somewhat of a “freefall” as a result of his price tag. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote in today’s draft buzz column wrote that Groome has floated an asking price of $4MM, which could cause some teams to shy away from him. Notably, the MLB.com pair also adds that Groome has now committed to Chipola Junior College in Florida after having previously been committed to Vanderbilt. In doing so, Groome would allow himself to be eligible for next year’s draft if he elects not to sign.

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