Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Luis Castillo

Reds Willing To Discuss Luis Castillo In Trade Talks

By | at

For the second straight offseason, Luis Castillo is figuring into some chatter on the rumor mill, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link) reports that the Reds are open to discussing the right-hander in trade talks.  This represents a slight change from last year, when Reds GM Nick Krall firmly denied that Castillo was available, even though other clubs inevitably asked about Castillo.

There isn’t any guarantee that Castillo will be dealt, since another team would have to be willing to meet what is sure to be a very high asking price from Cincinnati.  However, dealing Castillo would be the clearest sign yet that the Reds are not just cutting payroll, but seemingly stepping back into some sort of a rebuild phase.  With the offseason less than a week old, the Reds have already dealt Tucker Barnhart to the Tigers and put Wade Miley on waivers, where he was claimed by the division-rival Cubs.

Those two players weren’t guaranteed to return to Cincinnati anyway in 2022 due to club options (Miley for $10MM, Barnhart for $7.5MM), and yet quickly parting ways with two productive veterans led to some dismay amongst Reds fans.  The mood didn’t improve after Krall stated that “going into 2022, we must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system.”  The Reds have roughly $131.4MM on their books for next season’s payroll, yet at this point, it certainly seems like more cuts are coming.  Castillo is relatively inexpensive (projected for a $7.6MM salary in arbitration), entering his age-29 season, and is controlled through the next two seasons, so he is far more of a cornerstone piece than Barnhart or Miley.

The righty has been one of the more solid pitchers in baseball over the last five seasons, with a 3.72 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, 53.9% grounder rate, and 14.4 fWAR over 707 1/3 career innings.  He was an All-Star in 2019, and has looked like an ace at best and “merely” as a durable front-of-the-rotation type at worst, as Castillo has never spent any time on a Major League injured list.

It is worth noting that 2021 was something of a step back for Castillo, as he got off to a terrible start to the season and had a 7.22 ERA at the end of May.  While he righted the ship over the rest of the year, Castillo finished with only a 3.98 ERA, as well as a barely-average 23.9% strikeout rate (after a 29.4 K% in 2019-20) and only a 9.3% walk rate.  Castillo has posted subpar walk rates in three of his five years, though while control has been an issue, it hasn’t kept him from otherwise posting strong numbers.

While the Reds could explore attaching Castillo to a larger and possibly undesirable salary on the payroll (i.e. Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas), moving Castillo as a part of a salary dump would seem like something of a waste, considering that trading Castillo alone would net the Reds quite a bit of younger talent.  Reporter Sung Min Kim observed that the Twins’ trade of Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays for top-100 prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson could be a comp for a potential Castillo deal, except the Reds would be in a position to ask for even more — a new team would have Castillo for two full seasons, whereas Toronto just acquired Berrios for the 2022 season and the final two-plus months of the 2021 campaign.

It is probably safe to assume that lots of teams have routinely checked in on Castillo’s availability, though the Yankees were one team specifically cited as being involved in some talks last winter.  New York turned down the Reds’ demand of Gleyber Torres and more in exchange for Castillo, to present an idea of just how high a price tag Cincinnati rightfully put on Castillo’s services.  It figures that the Yankees would be keen to inquire about Castillo again, except this time Torres might not be on the Reds’ radar, considering how Jonathan India now has second base locked down and Torres no longer looks like a viable shortstop.

If a Castillo trade is completed, it stands to reason that it could be the first major domino to fall in a Reds fire sale, if the team is planning to take a big step back from competing.  The likes of Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, Jesse Winker and others could all be on the trade block, not to mention the larger-salary players like Suarez or Moustakas.  For what it’s worth, Joey Votto has a full no-trade clause and has consistently said that he would use that clause to remain in Cincinnati for the rest of his career.

Reds Rumors: Torres, Gregorius, Castillo

By | at

Shortstop stands out as an area of need for the Reds at the moment, and owner Bob Castellini has indeed pushed the front office to address it this offseason, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The Reds even asked the Yankees for shortstop Gleyber Torres and then some in talks centering on right-hander Luis Castillo, but New York turned Cincinnati down, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Cincy’s shortstop reps primarily went to Freddy Galvis and Jose Garcia in 2020, but the team can’t count on either as its solution in 2021. Galvis is a free agent, after all, while the 22-year-old Garcia may not be ready for prime time just yet. Garcia hadn’t advanced past High-A ball before the Reds promoted him last year, when he batted .194/.206/.194 without a home run in 68 plate appearances. He also notched far more strikeouts than walks (26 to one), and his 3 wRC+ ranked second to last among 388 major leaguers who amassed at least 60 trips to the plate.

Garcia’s first-year struggles seemingly set the stage for the Reds to at least find a veteran stopgap at short, though it’s unclear how aggressive they’ll be during what has so far been a payroll-cutting offseason in which they’ve already said goodbye to the likes of Raisel Iglesias and Archie Bradley. Moreover, several of their notable players – Castillo, Sonny Gray, Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez among them – have come up in trade speculation, while reigning Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer is a free agent who seems likely to sign with another team before next season.

The good news for the Reds is that this offseason’s free-agent class features a few proven starting shortstops, with Galvis, ex-Red Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien and Andrelton Simmons leading the charge. Gregorius is a possibility for the team at this point, Rosenthal relays. Reuniting with Gregorius would be a significant move in an NL Central division whose teams have made more notable subtractions than additions this offseason. As of now, aside from the last-place Pirates, it seems like just about anyone’s division to win.

Castillo, meanwhile, will “very likely” remain a Red, Heyman writes. There’s no reason for the Reds to part with Castillo for anything but an enormous offer, as he’ll make just $4.2MM in 2021 and has two more years of team control remaining after that.

Pitching Notes: Castillo, Reds, Anibal, Red Sox, Cora

By | at

Much of the Reds’ offseason has been focused around moving players (i.e. trading Raisel Iglesias, non-tendering Archie Bradley) rather than adding, and eyebrows were raised last month when it was reported that Luis Castillo’s name was coming up in trade talks.  There wasn’t any indication that those talks were serious, however, and Reds VP/general manager Nick Krall issued a firm denial on the subject to reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon).  According to Krall, speculation about a Castillo trade is “completely false. We intend to have [Castillo] as a member of our rotation for 2021.”

Castillo and the Reds recently agreed to an arbitration-avoiding $4.2MM contract for 2021, and the right-hander is still under team control through 2023 thanks to two more years of arbitration eligibility.  Between this affordability, the three years of control, and Castillo’s front-of-the-rotation ability, there isn’t really any pressing reason for Cincinnati to move Castillo.  Since the Reds seems to be focusing on cutting payroll this winter, an argument could be made that Castillo could be attached to a deal that would get a bigger contract (i.e. Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos) off the books, but that would seem like an awfully extreme move.  One would imagine Castillo wouldn’t be traded unless the Reds were reversing course entirely and now looking to rebuild.

More pitching notes from around the league…

  • Julio Teheran’s showcase on Tuesday will include another Mato Sports Management client, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that Anibal Sanchez will also be throwing for scouts.  Like Teheran, Sanchez is looking to rebound from a rough 2020 season, as Sanchez posted a 6.62 ERA over 53 innings for the Nationals last year.  The Phillies were recently linked to Sanchez, but it has been an otherwise quiet winter for news about the 36-year-old.  Considering Sanchez was still delivering solid results as recently as 2019 (for the World Series champion Nats, no less), his market could start to pick up if scouts like what they see on Tuesday.  The Red Sox will have scouts on hand to see Sanchez and Teheran, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets.
  • Speaking of the Red Sox, manager Alex Cora noted that his team is still exploring more rotation additions.  “I’m going to keep saying it all the way until April 1 [Opening Day], this puzzle is not completed.  We have to be patient,” Cora said in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link).  That being said, Cora is also pleased with the current group of hurlers in Boston’s organization, saying that the Sox have more pitching depth now than they had in either the 2019 or 2020 seasons.  “Little by little, the front office did a good job during the season last year and [in] the offseason to add some quality arms, some intriguing arms,” Cora said.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

By and | at

The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

Read more

Reds Reportedly Discussing Luis Castillo In Trade Talks

By | at

The Reds are discussing right-hander Luis Castillo in trade talks with other teams, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He joins Sonny Gray as high-end Cincinnati starters to come up in conversations this winter. The price on both hurlers remains “appropriately high,” Heyman says.

There’s no indication a Castillo deal is close or even especially likely. Teams are constantly in discussions with rival clubs about various players and potential trade frameworks. Most of those talks don’t result in deals; many aren’t publicly reported.

It’s no surprise other teams are calling to gauge Castillo’s potential availability. The 28-year-old has posted a 3.35 ERA/3.42 FIP across 260.2 innings since the start of the 2019 season. Of the 137 starters with at least 100 innings over the last two years, Castillo ranks 20th in park-adjusted ERA. Among that group, he places nineteenth in strikeout rate (29.4%), thirty-first in K% – BB% (19.8 percentage points) and fourth in ground ball rate (56.1%). Only Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell, Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have gotten swings and misses at a higher clip.

Castillo’s raw stuff supports those results. He’s one of the sport’s hardest-throwing starters, coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 97.8 MPH on his sinker. He backs that up with an elite changeup and an effective slider. Castillo certainly looks to have cemented himself among the game’s top arms. He’d be a massive upgrade to any team’s rotation.

It has been a difficult offseason for a Reds club obviously looking to scale back payroll. Cincinnati traded Raisel Iglesias to the Angels for a meager return to get most of his $9.125MM salary off the books. They were one of the more aggressive teams to make cuts at the non-tender deadline and have all but ruled out a reunion with Trevor Bauer. There have also been plenty of rumors about a potential move to get Gray’s $10MM salary off the books, although obviously nothing has come together on that front.

Even with the Reds looking to cut costs, there won’t be any urgency to move Castillo. The right-hander is eligible for arbitration for the first of three times this winter and projected for a bargain salary in the $3-5MM range.

Transaction Retrospection: Reds Rob Marlins

By | at

We’re approaching the four-year anniversary of an under-the-radar Reds move that has paid and could continue to pay massive dividends for the franchise. On April 1, 2016, the Reds claimed right-hander Dan Straily off waivers from the Padres. At that point, Straily was coming off an up-and-down few years divided among the Athletics, Cubs and Astros, and he spent the vast majority of the 2015 campaign as part of Houston’s Triple-A affiliate. But the Straily pickup proved to be incredibly shrewd for Cincinnati, with which he overcame unimpressive underlying metrics to post a 3.76 ERA across a career-high 191 1/3 innings in 2016.

As a team, the Reds didn’t capitalize on Straily’s presence, winning a mere 68 games and finishing with more losses than wins for the third straight year. They still haven’t registered a .500 or better season since then, though the effect of taking a low-risk flier on Straily a few years back could be felt for a significant amount of time. After all, on the heels of his solid season as a Red, they flipped him to the Marlins in January 2017 in what’s arguably one of the biggest heists in recent baseball history.

In exchange for Straily, the Reds received three players – a pair of righties, Luis Castillo and Austin Brice, as well as outfield prospect Isaiah White. Brice didn’t amount to much in Cincinnati (he actually spent last season back with the Marlins and is now a member of the Red Sox organization), while the 23-year-old White hasn’t advanced past the Single-A level yet.

On the other hand, Castillo has become a gem – a hurler the Marlins no doubt rue trading at all, let alone for someone who was an unspectacular performer in their uniform. Straily was a Marlin from 2017-18, both losing seasons for the club, and pitched to a 4.20 ERA during that 304-inning span. The Marlins wound up releasing him heading into last season, which proved to be a disastrous year in the Orioles org for Straily. He’s now with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Meanwhile, Castillo has morphed into an electrifying major league starter. After a respectable first two seasons in Cincy, the heat-throwing Castillo truly came into his own in 2019. The 27-year-old pitched to a 3.40 ERA/3.70 FIP with 10.67 K/9 and 3.73 BB/9 across a a personal-best 190 2/3 frames. Along the way, Castillo ranked second among all qualified starters in groundball percentage (55.2) and fourth in swinging-strike percentage (15.9), placing him between Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom. And Statcast loved Castillo’s work, ranking him near the top of the league in several important categories.

The fact that Castillo has evolved into such a standout isn’t wholly surprising. Remember, when the Marlins parted with Castillo, he was regarded as one of their handful of best prospects. Baseball America posited then that Castillo, who was coming off a season of stellar production at the High-A and Double-A levels, had mid-rotation potential. Nevertheless, despite his upside, it was the second time the Marlins had agreed to part with Castillo. They previously tried to send him to the Padres in a notable July 2016 trade, but they got him back after fellow righty Colin Rea’s medicals proved problematic. Had the Castillo aspect of that deal gone through, it also would have blown up in Miami’s face.

It seems fair to say that the Marlins did not properly value Castillo while he was with the organization. The Reds are profiting from that right now. In Cincinnati, Castillo currently finds himself as an integral piece of a quality starting rotation that could help the Reds push for a playoff berth this year (if there is a season). Castillo still has another pre-arbitration campaign left and the Reds have the ability to control him through 2023, making him all the more appealing. If the Reds are going to return to prominence in the near future, there’s a good chance that the Castillo trade will have something to do with it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

10 Players Switch Agencies

By | at

Agent Rafa Nieves’ newly-founded Republik Sports agency will represent several players formerly represented by Nieves at Wasserman.  A video published earlier today on Republik’s official Twitter feed reveals the names of 11 players who will continue to be represented by Nieves at this new firm.

We already heard last night that Nationals outfielder Victor Robles (a Nieves client at Wasserman) was joining Republik, and the other ten names cited in the video include a mix of prominent veteran and up-and-coming stars.  The list consists of Indians infielder Jose Ramirez, Reds right-hander Luis Castillo, Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco, Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas, Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, Rockies righty Antonio Senzatela, Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero, Marlins catcher Francisco Cervelli, and White Sox relievers Alex Colome and Kelvin Herrera.

As we’ve seen in several past cases of representatives changing agencies or starting new agencies, it’s quite common for players to continue using the same agent even after that rep becomes part of another company.  We saw this in 2017 with Nieves himself, as several of the aforementioned players (namely Ramirez, Robles, Herrera, Colome, Cervelli, Polanco, and Montas) all went with Nieves when the agent moved from the Beverly Hills Sports Council to Wasserman.

The 10 changes have all been updated in our Agency Database.  If you see any notable errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via e-mail: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

NL Notes: Puig, Straily, Reds, Brewers, Mets

By | at

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will go for X-rays after fouling a ball off his left foot Saturday and leaving the team’s game against the Giants, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. An injury to Puig could open the door for highly touted outfield prospect Alex Verdugo, who McCullough notes is on the Dodgers’ taxi squad for their doubleheader in San Francisco. Verdugo, 21, collected 25 plate appearances in his first major league action in 2017. He hasn’t gotten off to a great start at the Triple-A level this year (.276/.309/.474 – good for a 98 wRC+ – over 81 PAs), though Puig also hasn’t exactly been on fire up to now. The 27-year-old has hit an unsightly .193/.250/.250 (43 wRC+) in 96 PAs on the heels of a bounce-back 2017.

As we await word on Puig, here’s more from around the NL:

  • Marlins right-hander Dan Straily will likely make his 2018 debut Monday against the Phillies, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com suggests. Straily, arguably Miami’s best starter, has been on the DL all season with a forearm injury. The 29-year-old is coming off back-to-back respectable campaigns, including 2016 with Cincinnati, and could perhaps emerge as a trade chip for the Marlins if he’s healthy and effective as the season progresses.
  • Righty Luis Castillo was a key part of a Reds-Marlins trade in 2017 that also involved Straily, and the former has struggled mightily this year after looking like a potential long-term cog last season. The Reds are now working to fix Castillo, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com details. “They all agree that his arm angle has changed a little bit,’ interim manager Jim Riggleman said of pitching coach Danny Darwin, bullpen coach Ted Power and coach Derrin Ebert. “His hand is maybe not getting on top of the ball like it needs to. What that does, is it causes the ball to flatten out instead of sink. Hitters love that when the ball moves [flat] across the plate instead of having some sink. It’s kind of running right into their barrel.” Hitters have indeed barreled up against Castillo, who has seen his ERA rise from 3.12 in 2017 to 7.85 this year. Along the way, the 25-year-old has experienced a velocity drop and allowed more hard contact, Sheldon explains in a piece that’s worth checking out in full. It’s been a discouraging development for the Reds, who haven’t had much success developing front-line pitching from within.
  • Brewers southpaw Wade Miley, out since late March with a slight groin tear, made his third and final rehab start Friday. The Brewers now must decide within the next two days whether to add Miley to their roster or release him, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes. If the Brewers do keep Miley, whom they signed to a minor league deal over the winter, they could option starter Brent Suter or reliever Brandon Woodruff to Triple-A to make room, McCalvy notes. But it’s “a tough decision” because Milwaukee’s staff has fared well thus far without Miley, manager Craig Counsell admitted.
  • The Mets have activated left-hander Jason Vargas from the disabled list and optioned righty Jacob Rhame to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Vargas is set to take on San Diego on Saturday in his first start of 2018 after signing a two-year, $16MM deal in free agency. The 37-year-old, who logged a 4.16 ERA/4.67 FIP across 179 2/3 innings as a Royal in 2017, missed nearly the entire month of April after suffering a fracture in his right hand in late March. Vargas is in his second stint with the Mets, having previously been a member of the organization in 2007.

NL Notes: Brewers, Marlins, Rockies, Reds

By | at

Brewers minor league infielder Julio Mendez suffered a cardiac event after being hit by a pitch during a rookie-level game Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., the team announced (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The 20-year-old Mendez is currently in critical but stable condition at a Tempe hospital. “All of our thoughts and prayers are with Julio and his family,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said in a statement. “We will provide updates as soon as we know more.”

MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in wishing Mendez the best.

Here’s some lighter news from around the NL:

  • Trading right fielder Giancarlo Stanton and his massive contract would improve the Marlins’ financial situation, but dealing the franchise cornerstone shouldn’t be a consideration for the Derek Jeter-led ownership group that will soon take over in Miami, Buster Olney of ESPN opines. Just as Jeter was the face of the Yankees during his playing days, Stanton is the Marlins’ franchise player, writes Olney, who argues that moving the potential 60-home run man would get the new ownership team off on the wrong foot. But if Jeter & Co. do attempt to part with Stanton, Olney lists several potential fits for the 27-year-old in his column.
  • While the Rockies did offer outfielder Carlos Gonzalez a contract extension during the offseason, the reported four-year term is “not true,” according to the player. “They offered me an extension, but it was not a four-year deal,” Gonzalez told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “I was looking for something bigger, for more years.” Without knowing the details of the offer, it’s tough to say whether Gonzalez erred to a significant degree in declining it. Regardless, it’s clear his stock has tanked thanks to an uncharacteristically poor year – one likely to be his last in Colorado, Saunders notes. Known for his bat, the 31-year-old CarGo has hit a meek .240/.308/.359 in 432 plate appearances.
  • Reds rookie right-hander Luis Castillo has already earned a place in their 2018 rotation, manager Bryan Price told Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters Saturday. “In his case, he’s not only pitched really well in our system in Double-A, but he’s continued to pitch well and get better during his time in the big leagues. For me, he’s a guy that’s in our rotation,” Price said of Castillo, who fired seven innings of three-hit, one-run, nine-strikeout ball against the Pirates on Saturday. That will go down as one of the last appearances of the year for Castillo, whom the Reds will soon shut down for the season because of an innings limit, per Buchanan. The flamethrowing 24-year-old has pitched to a 3.26 ERA and posted 9.66 K/9 against 3.61 BB/9, with a 57 percent ground-ball rate, across 77 1/3 major league frames this season.

Central Notes: Castillo, Bailey, Cards, Duffy, Tigers

By | at

The Reds will promote young righty Luis Castillo to make his MLB debut on Friday, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Skipper Bryan Price cited the 24-year-old’s strike-throwing ability as a prime motivation for his call-up over a few other hurlers who are working at the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Castillo, who came over in the offseason deal that sent Dan Straily to the Marlins, has impressed thus far at Double-A. Through 80 1/3 innings over 14 starts, he owns a 2.58 ERA with a healthy 9.1 K/9 to go with just 1.5 BB/9.

Here are some more notes from Cinci and the game’s central divisions:

  • In other Reds pitching news, veteran righty Homer Bailey is set to make his season debut on Saturday, Rosecrans notes, so long as a pen session today goes well. Bailey, 31, has turned in three strong rehab outings at Triple-A, allowing just two earned runs on 11 hits through 16 2/3 innings while sporting a 17:3 K/BB ratio. The Reds will hope that can carry over into the majors, as Bailey remains an important player for the organization this year and into the future. He’s owed $19MM in 2017 and another $49MM over the next two campaigns (including a buyout on a 2020 mutual option). Bailey is working back from surgery for bone spurs in his elbow, the most recent of several procedures, and hasn’t turned in a full season’s work since way back in 2013.
  • The Cardinals, meanwhile, ought to be preparing to sell at the deadline this summer, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch argues. Ticket sales remain strong despite the club’s scuffles, he notes, but that doesn’t mean 2017 contention is terribly realistic for a club that sits five games under .500. (It is fair to note, though, that the Cards are still just four back in a mediocre NL Central.) As for potential chips, Ortiz suggests that pending free agent starter Lance Lynn ought to be made available, along with relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Seung-Hwan Oh.
  • The Royals are seeing some progress from southpaw Danny Duffy, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. Duffy, 28, seems to be one more pen session away from embarking upon a rehab stint, though manager Ned Yost suggested he’ll likely require three minor-league starts before returning to the majors. When he’s finally able to return from his oblique strain, Duffy figures to represent quite an impactful addition for a K.C. team that has pushed back toward contention even without its top hurler.
  • As the Tigers struggle to stay afloat in the AL Central, the club is dealing yet again with bullpen woes, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. Skipper Brad Ausmus suggested that he isn’t terribly confident in the bulk of the club’s relievers, which isn’t terribly surprising to hear given the numbers. Shane Greene may have eclipsed Alex Wilson as the team’s primary setup option, it seems, but as Fenech notes the Tigers still are struggling to hand off to closer Justin Wilson. While youngster Joe Jimenez is throwing again at Triple-A, Detroit is understandably taking things slowly with him, leaving few clear options for a club that sits six games under .500 entering today’s action.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top