Koji Uehara

AL Notes: Sox, Rangers, Choo, Girardi

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | August 27, 2016 at 8:13pm CDT

After dealing away Dioner Navarro on Friday, the White Sox may have further moves to make before the end of the month. As Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that there are some other irons in the fire as contenders move to add players to their organization before the August 31 deadline to bring in postseason-eligible outsiders. “We were having dialogue with a lot of different clubs on a handful of different players,” says Hahn.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | July 23, 2016 at 8:54pm CDT

Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel is recovering well from July 11 left knee surgery and, in a best-case scenario, could return in the first few days of August, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. On the other hand, fellow late-game option Koji Uehara isn’t a lock to pitch again in 2016. The 41-year-old hit the disabled list with a pectoral strain Wednesday and received a platelet-rich plasma injection Thursday, and manager John Farrell said Saturday that the Red Sox are “hopeful” he’ll return this season. Uehara won’t throw again for an undetermined amount of time. It stands to reason that his absence could galvanize the Red Sox to address their bullpen even further around the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. They already picked up Brad Ziegler in a deal with Arizona earlier this month.

More from Boston and two other AL cities:

Regardless of what happens with their bullpen, the Red Sox continue to hunt for starting pitchers, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. They’ve already checked in on White Sox ace Chris Sale and the Rays’ Chris Archer, though it was merely due diligence in the case of the latter, a source told Drellich. With David Price, Steven Wright, Rick Porcello and the recently acquired Drew Pomeranz in the fold, at least 80 percent of Boston’s rotation appears set, and the Wild Card-leading club has gotten back-to-back strong performances from 23-year-old southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez.
Injuries have beset Mariners left-handed pitching prospect Danny Hultzen in recent years and will likely force him to retire at 26, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Hultzen, who peaked entering 2012 as a top 25 prospect by the standards of both MLB.com (16th) and Baseball America (21st), hasn’t pitched regularly since 2013 because of shoulder issues that continue to persist. Hultzen could next find an off-the-field role with the Mariners, according to Dutton.
The Tigers haven’t discussed a contract extension with manager Brad Ausmus, GM Al Avila revealed Saturday. Despite that, Avila said, “I think he’s done a good job this year” (Twitter links). Ausmus’ Tigers are 51-46, 2 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot, and 215-205 since he took the reins in 2014. Detroit has a 2017 option for Ausmus, so the team’s not at risk of losing the 47-year-old this offseason if it wants to retain him.

AL East Notes: Uehara, Orioles, Bautista, Morales, Sanchez, Cobb

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2016 at 11:50pm CDT

The Red Sox placed right-hander Koji Uehara on the 15-day disabled list with a pectoral strain earlier today, and manager John Farrell told reporters tonight that due to the “unique” nature of the injury, it’s difficult to put a timetable on the 41-year-old’s return (link via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable). “At the time of the injury we knew it was significant and we put him on the DL before the MRI,” Farrell explained. “It obviously confirms a strain. To what extent? We’re still getting our arms around that. This is a unique injury for a pitcher. I guess the best thing I can tell you is the MRI does confirm the strain.” With Uehara now joining closer Craig Kimbrel and Junichi Tazawa on the shelf (as shown on their depth chart), Brad Ziegler will step into the ninth inning for the BoSox. However, one can imagine that poor news regarding Uehara could prompt Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to further explore a trade market which he has already frequented.

A few more notes from the AL East…

The Orioles’ troubles with pitching prospects are seemingly continuing, as Rich Dubroff of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes that top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey is visiting Dr. James Andrews to have his right elbow/forearm examined after exiting a weekend start due to the aggravation of his previous flexor mass strain. As Dubroff notes, Harvey has made five appearances this season — his first action on a minor league mound in nearly two full calendar years. Harvey’s career has been dramatically slowed arm injuries — a familiar story for the Orioles, who have also seen Dylan Bundy and a number of other pitching prospects battle through arm injuries.
The Blue Jays expect Jose Bautista to rejoin the club as soon as Monday of next week, according to skipper John Gibbons (via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi). Bautista has been absent from the Jays’ lineup for more than a month now due to a toe/foot injury but is embarking on a rehab assignment and is expected to get up to speed quickly. The free-agent-to-be is having a down season but has still been an above-average bat for the Jays despite a .230 average thanks to his hefty .360 on-base percentage and .455 slugging percentage.
Davidi also writes that the Blue Jays will make a decision on left-handed reliever Franklin Morales tomorrow. Wednesday marked the final day of Morales’ minor league rehab assignment, meaning the Jays will need to put him on the roster. However, there’s no clear spot for Morales at this time, Davidi notes, and Morales can refuse a minor league assignment by virtue of his service time. Morales has tossed just two-thirds of an inning this year for the Jays, but his $2MM salary became guaranteed when injury prevented the Jays from leveraging a 45-day advance consent clause early in the season. If he elects free agency, Toronto would still be on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Morales, for what it’s worth, has pitched pretty well on his rehab stint. He’s allowed two runs in 11 innings with a 9-to-6 K/BB ratio.
In a second piece, Davidi writes that Aaron Sanchez is making the Blue Jays’ dilemma about whether to return him to the bullpen in an effort to conserve his arm more and more dilemma. The right-hander dominated the Diamondbacks over seven one-run innings yesterday but also boosted his innings total to 125 1/3 in the process. The plan for Sanchez was always to shift him to the ’pen midway through the season due to the fact that he threw only 102 total innings between the Majors and Minors last season, but manager John Gibbons acknowledged that it’s becoming more difficult to envision. Gibbons tells Davidi that he still thinks the move will happen at some point, though he recognized that it won’t be popular among fans or in the locker room. “I know it would upgrade the bullpen, that’s for damn sure,” said Gibbons, “but he’s one of the best young starters in the league, too. I don’t know when that’s going to happen.”
The Rays have recalled Alex Cobb from his minor league rehab assignment due to fatigue and mechanical issues, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Cobb, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last May, is now unlikely to return to a big league mound until at least mid-August, though it could be a bit later depending on when he gets back on a minor league mound. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t concerned about a larger-scale injury, however.

Red Sox Notes: SP Market, Hill, Benintendi, Closer

By Connor Byrne | July 9, 2016 at 7:17pm CDT

The Red Sox are searching for starting pitching help as the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is having difficulty finding viable options. “This is not an easy starting pitching market,” he said Saturday (via Scott Lauber of ESPN.com). Boston isn’t necessarily looking for a front-end starter, but someone at least capable of giving the team six reliable innings, Dombrowski continued. Red Sox starters entered Saturday just 24th in the majors in innings (760) and 21st in ERA (4.52), though they’re a much better 12th in K-BB percentage (13.7).

More from Boston, which improved to 48-38 with a win over the Rays on Saturday:

While further addressing the difficult market for starters, Dombrowski commented (per Lauber), “The names we don’t want to trade always seem to start the conversation. “It’s a common thread of the same names that seem to be coming up. But they have come up in every conversation we have, and then you try to get realistic and move from there.” It’s fair to suggest one of the names that teams have asked about is Double-A outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who ranks ninth on Baseball America’s just-updated top 100 prospects list. Given his outstanding production, the 2015 seventh overall pick could soon join the left fielder-needy Red Sox, writes WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “He’s played very well,” said Dombrowski, who added that he’s not averse to moving a player straight from Double-A to the majors. “There’s some benefits to going to Triple-A. I don’t mean to downplay it. But I’ve had a lot of success throughout my career with guys going from Double-A to the big leagues.” After ripping up High-A pitching to begin the season, the 22-year-old Benintendi has hit .288/.347/.497 with six home runs in 196 plate appearances with Double-A Portland.
Athletics left-hander Rich Hill – who revived his career with the Red Sox last September and could end up with them (or someone else) at the deadline – told Bradford that he thought re-signing with Boston last offseason was a possibility. “I did think there was a good chance to come back to Boston just because of everything that was going on there,” the 36-year-old said. “We had some really good things working.” The journeyman instead inked a $6MM deal in Oakland, where he has continued thriving. Hill has spun 76 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with the A’s this year while supporting that figure with a 10.66 K/9, 50 percent ground-ball rate and 14.5 percent infield fly rate. He could soon end up as the top starter dealt this summer, but he told Bradford that “there really hasn’t been too much thought about being traded somewhere.”
Although the Red Sox acquired closer Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks early Saturday, manager John Farrell indicated Saturday (via Lauber) that he’s second to Koji Uehara in the ninth-inning pecking order.“Koji’s our closer. On days when (Uehara) isn’t available, we’ve got Brad (Ziegler) to turn to,” Farrell said. Of course, the Red Sox are only choosing between Uehara and Ziegler because of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel’s knee injury. While Uehara did pick up the save Saturday, he expressed skepticism toward Farrell’s statement, saying, “I don’t think I’ve won back the job” (Twitter link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald).

Koji Uehara: No Current Plans To Retire

By Jeff Todd | February 16, 2016 at 1:31pm CDT

Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara said today that he has no current plans for retirement, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (links to Twitter). He added that his surgically-repaired wrist is doing well and hasn’t prevented him from beginning a throwing program.

Though he’s coming off of injury, entering the final year of his contract, and set to turn 41 the day before Opening Day, Uehara indicated that he still has an open-ended timeline ahead of him. “I will keep pitching unless I am terrible and no team wants me,” Uehara said with a laugh.

Ultimately, Uehara has every confidence in his ability to perform into his fifth decade. “Age is a number,” he said. “Bring me a present that day.” On the whole, the statistics certainly support that (brilliantly-stated) attitude from the Japanese star.

Outside a bit of a rough stretch last June, Uehara put up a strong overall campaign after signing a two-year, $18MM deal just before the start of 2014-15 free agency. He ended the year with a 2.23 ERA over 40 1/3 innings, with 10.5 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. That K:BB ratio fell well below his typical rate — which has paced the rest of the league by a comical margin. But he still fell within the top twenty pen men in the game by that measure as well as by K%-BB%.

Boston won’t be asking quite as much from the standout veteran this year as it has in the past, as Craig Kimbrel is set to move into the closer’s role. But he’s still a key piece of the pen, and continued dominance from both of those pitchers could give the club one of the game’s best late-inning combos. Of course, this season will also set Uehara’s trajectory as he nears open-market eligibility for the offseason to come.

Dombrowski On Rotation, Bullpen, Craig, Payroll, Hanley, Outfield

By Steve Adams | October 13, 2015 at 5:09pm CDT

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski addressed the Boston media today and discussed a number of offseason-related topics. Some highlights from the session (all links to Twitter unless otherwise indicated)…

The team’s top priority this winter is finding a front-line starter, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets. He adds that Dombrowski said the team needs to find a “horse” to front the rotation. The Herald’s Scott Lauber tweets that Dombrowski said sorting out the back of the rotation won’t be the difficult part of the team’s offseason pitching puzzle, with Dombrowski citing quality depth.
The Red Sox view Junichi Tazawa as a setup option, and while Koji Uehara is the current ninth-inning option, the team will look for additional closing options, tweets Mastrodonato.
Trading Allen Craig would be an “ideal” scenario, Dombrowski said (via the Providence Journal’s Tim Britton), but the president recognized that it’ll be difficult to find a taker for the first baseman/corner outfielder/DH. Craig is owed $21MM through the 2017 season (including the buyout on his 2018 club option).
Boston’s payroll will not go backwards in 2016, Dombrowski said (via Mastrodonato). As Mastrodonato points out, the team is shedding the contracts of Shane Victorino, Justin Masterson, Mike Napoli and others, giving the Sox a good deal of payroll flexibility this winter.
The Sox are still firmly committed to Hanley Ramirez playing first base in 2016, said Dombrowski (via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). Ramirez is owed $66MM over the next three seasons, and while the Sox will undoubtedly be open to moving him this winter, that would be a difficult task. Via Mastrodonato, Dombrowski said Travis Shaw and Sam Travis are both still valuable depth pieces at first base.
Regarding the outfield, Mastrodonato tweets that Dombrowski implied that the starters will be Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo, although Britton adds that Dombrowski seemed to express more confidence in Bradley than Castillo. The Sox will be looking for bench options for the outfield, Mastrodonato adds. I’d imagine that Brock Holt will see some time out there, although that certainly doesn’t rule out further additions, of course.
John Tomase of WEEI.com has a full-length post recapping some comments from Dombrowski and GM Mike Hazen, including the announcement of some front office promotions. Eddie Romero has been promoted to VP of international scouting, and replay coordinator Adrian Lorenzo will step up to the position of international scouting director.

Koji Uehara Out For Season With Fractured Wrist

By Jeff Todd | August 10, 2015 at 4:33pm CDT

Red Sox closer Koji Uehara will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a fractured wrist, the club announced. The team had expressed optimism after the right-hander was struck by a batted ball on Friday night, but further tests apparently revealed a significant injury.

Boston adds that Uehara, 40, “is expected to make a full recovery,” and the team will need him to do just that. He is already under contract for 2016, the back half of the two-year, $18MM deal he signed just before free agency opened following the 2014 campaign.

Despite cracking forty years at the start of the season, and losing about a tick on his average fastball velocity, Uehara has remained one of the league’s most reliably dominant bullpen arms. Through 40 1/3 innings, he owns a 2.23 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. While that represents a slight decline on the strikeout side and nearly a doubling of the absurdly low walk rate he carried over his first two years with the Red Sox, Uehara still generated a swinging strike rate (18.6%) commensurate with recent seasons.

While the news is disappointing, it seemingly comes at a manageable time. The Red Sox bypassed the chance to trade Uehara at the deadline despite being out of contention, but will have plenty of time to bring him back to health before next season. Of course, it remains to be seen what kind of recovery timeline will be required, not to mention how the somewhat unusual injury could impact the aging-but-excellent veteran.

Heyman On Padres, Tigers, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Sox, Reds, Marlins, Yankees

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 1:44pm CDT

The real question facing the Padres at present is not whether to buy or sell, but how far to go in moving pieces, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. At least one rival GM expects the club to “sell big,” and Heyman says that San Diego is “offering around” closer Craig Kimbrel and starter James Shields, both of whom are under long-term control. While the former would figure to have a wide market, potentially including the Blue Jays, Nationals, and Dodgers, another GM says that he believes the club would have to chip in cash to move Shields. That may indicate that he could become an August trade piece, Heyman suggests, because he could well clear waivers. San Diego is interested in adding a young shortstop, he goes on to note, and has looked at several of the Brewers options (Jean Segura, Luis Sardinas, and top prospect Orlando Arcia).

Here are more highlights from the column:

Heyman hears that the Tigers are still weighing their options, too, and have not decided to sell. The club could even add an arm, he says, and is likely to see how its next two series play out before reaching a final conclusion.
While the Cubs are indeed willing to consider including Starlin Castro or Javier Baez in a deal for Cole Hamels of the Phillies, a source tells Heyman that the team would not be interested in moving both to add the lefty. Philadelphia’s plans for Hamels remain something of a mystery, but per the report the club may be backing down from its previous high-end demands from clubs like the Dodgers (Corey Seager or Julio Urias) and Red Sox (Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart).
There is now virtually no chance that Phillies lefty Cliff Lee will try to make it back this year, and he appears likely to retire over the winter.
As they approach the deadline and look ahead to free agency, the Cubs have some limitations on their spending capacity but will nevertheless try to add David Price (at least once he hits the open market). Meanwhile, the team has at least some interest in Reds starter Mike Leake as a trade piece but are somewhat hesitant to pursue rental options. While the Giants have plenty of rotation options, they too have considered Leake.
While we’ve just heard a suggestion that the Orioles could reverse course, Heyman says that they are still weighing outfield additions. The team has considered rental pieces like Marlon Byrd, Gerardo Parra, and Justin Upton. And he suggests that Carl Crawford or Shane Victorino could make sense as well; presumably, Baltimore would only be interested in either if their current clubs paid down a good bit of salary.
The Orioles intend to make qualifying offers after the season not only to Matt Wieters and Chris Davis, but also to lefty Wei-Yin Chen. The 30-year-old never seemed like a qualifying offer-level player, but was strong last year and has put up even better results in 2015 (while significantly outperforming his peripherals, it should be noted).
The Red Sox have received no trade interest in struggling first baseman Mike Napoli, says Heyman, but has gotten hits on Victorino as well as bullpen arms Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.
The White Sox are looking to add some volume if they deal righty Jeff Samardzija, says Heyman. Chicago would like to pick up four young pieces in any trade.
While the Marlins have fielded interest in righty Tom Koehler and super utilityman Martin Prado, the club is not interested in dealing either player at present. Meanwhile, Miami is open to dealing veteran Dan Haren, but has rebuffed at least one club that asked for money to be sent along with him.
The Yankees are looking at both second base and top rotation candidates, says Heyman, but don’t feel a pressing need to add in either area. New York has no interest in veteran Diamondbacks infielder Aaron Hill, he adds.
Be sure to check out the rest of the piece for more notes on many of the teams around the league.

Cafardo’s Latest: Revere, Kennedy, Hamels, Jays

By Mark Polishuk | July 4, 2015 at 8:42pm CDT

The Angels were first linked to Ben Revere in trade rumors in May but the rumors almost became a reality. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Phillies and Angels came close a few weeks ago on a trade that would’ve sent Revere to Anaheim for right-hander Trevor Gott. The Phils thought the deal was done but the Halos “pulled out of the deal at the last minute and tried to redirect the Phillies toward a starting pitching prospect.” Talks fell through after that. Here’s some more from Cafardo’s weekly notes column, with a particular focus on news from Toronto…

Ian Kennedy has a 2.31 ERA over his last six starts and the Padres right-hander has begun to generate some trade interest in his services. Kennedy had an ugly 7.15 ERA over his first eight starts and owns a 4.86 ERA for the season, though his peripherals (8.51 K/9, 3.04 K/BB rate, 3.74 xFIP, 3.70 SIERA) are are pretty solid, aside from a 22.1% homer rate that more than double his career average. Kennedy is a free agent this winter and would be a natural trade chip for San Diego if the Friars decided to sell.
Cole Hamels has publicly said he’s willing to consider deals to any team but is reportedly unlikely to waive his no-trade clause if he’s dealt to the Astros or Blue Jays. Cafardo wonders if Hamels would remain adamant against a move to Houston or Toronto, however, if those were the only deals on the table and his only avenues away from the rebuilding Phillies.
Attracting free agents north of the border has long been an issue for the Blue Jays, as Cafardo cites higher taxes, customs delays and the Rogers Centre’s artificial surface as factors that can sometimes make Toronto a tough sell. (Josh Donaldson and Jose Reyes both praised their city, though Reyes admitted he isn’t a fan of the turf.) The bigger problem for the Jays, however, is that they have barely contended since their last playoff appearance in 1993. “It just seems GM Alex Anthopoulos has to go through corporate layers to OK big expenditures, slowing the process considerably,” Cafardo writes. “Players always want to know that their ownership is doing all it can to produce a winner.”
Braves closer Jason Grilli is one of the Blue Jays’ targets as the team looks for bullpen help. Grilli would cost less in both salary and trade chips than Jonathan Papelbon or Francisco Rodriguez, two closers who have also been connected to the Jays this summer. Atlanta isn’t yet looking to move Grilli, however, as the team is still in the race.
Other have asked the Blue Jays about several players in trade talks, including young talent like Miguel Castro, Daniel Norris, Roberto Osuna, Kevin Pillar, Dalton Pompey, Aaron Sanchez and Devon Travis.
“Every indication is that” R.A. Dickey is in his last year with the Blue Jays, as the team will either use their $1MM buyout of Dickey’s $12MM club option for 2016 or Dickey may just retire. The 40-year-old knuckleballer had a tough start today against the Tigers and now owns a 5.02 ERA over 107 2/3 innings this season.
Jeff Samardzija “may be the first starting pitcher moved ahead of the trading deadline” since “scouts are constantly at his games,” Cafardo writes. The White Sox aren’t ready to start selling yet, but they’ll find a strong market for Samardzija’s services that includes the Royals, Astros and Tigers. (Cafardo cited several more teams in the Samardzija market in his column last week.
“Nobody knows what the Red Sox are going to do because they don’t know what they’re going to do,” one NL executive said. Boston has played modestly better as of late, winning 10 of its last 16 games, though the Sox are still just 38-45 on the season. Koji Uehara is cited by the executive as one of “a few players teams would want” if the Red Sox decided to start selling. The team is known to be looking for young pitching on the trade market.

Cafardo On Sale, Ramirez, Uehara, Papelbon

By Zachary Links | June 21, 2015 at 11:30am CDT

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggests ten steps to help fix the Red Sox. The first item on the list is one that has been discussed quite a bit – Boston’s need for a true ace in the rotation. Beyond that, Cafardo would like to see the Sox trade Clay Buchholz, focus on acquiring players who can thrive in their environment, and hire an executive to oversee and question the moves of GM Ben Cherington. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Cafardo’s Sunday offering..

White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is on a strikeout tear and teams would surely like to add him this summer. However, team sources tell Cafardo that Sale is not available. Even though the White Sox are in last place, they see him as the cornerstone of their franchise. Sale, 26, has a 2.74 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 13 starts this season.
There have been conflicting reports on the subject, but Cafardo hears that the Mets have made inquiries on Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez. Ramirez, who turns 37 this week, has hit just .220/.256/.405 in 211 plate appearances this season. However, some feel that a move to a contending club could get him back on track. Cafardo also writes that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants or Padres got in the mix on the veteran.
Teams are watching Red Sox closer Koji Uehara and monitoring him to make sure that he’s free of serious injury concerns. At the same time, his $9MM salary for next season is a deterrent for rival teams. “There’s always going to be a holding of your breath to commit to him, but he’s still very good. Boston would have to pick up some of the salary. But I think teams will definitely inquire and make a push for him,” one AL evaluator told Cafardo.
Jonathan Papelbon would seem to be a great fit for the the Blue Jays, but money continues to be an issue for Toronto. The Phillies could probably assume a lot of Papelbon’s deal for this year and some of the $13MM vesting option for 2016, but the sense is that Toronto wants to go even cheaper. Also, they don’t want to give up youngster Daniel Norris to find their late-inning solution.

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