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Pitching Rumors: BoSox, Ottavino, Giants, Kikuchi, Rangers

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It’s “believed” that free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino is near the top of Boston’s bullpen wish list, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The same is true of the previously reported David Robertson, per Heyman. With closer Craig Kimbrel and setup man Joe Kelly as their best remaining free agents, it’s no surprise that the world champion Red Sox are exploring the top of the market for bullpen help. Those two led full-time Red Sox relievers in innings pitched last season, and Kimbrel was particularly effective. The 33-year-old Ottavino may have been even better, though, as the former Rockie was among the game’s elite relievers in 2018 despite having to pitch his home games at the hitter-friendly Coors Field. Ottavino placed fourth among relievers in average exit velocity against (84.9 mph), sixth in fWAR (2.0), 11th in K/9 (12.98, against 4.17 BB/9), 13th in innings (77 2/3) and 17th in ERA (2.43), putting himself in position to score a lucrative contract in free agency.

More on the pitching market…

  • Free-agent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi “really likes” San Francisco and “might” have the Giants atop his list of preferred teams, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. The Giants, for their part, seem interested in landing the 27-year-old Kikuchi, who’s poised to immigrate to the majors after starring in his native Japan. Kikuchi’s soon-to-be former employer, the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball, posted him for MLB clubs Dec. 2, giving him until Jan. 2 to sign. The Giants look like as logical a fit for Kikuchi as any team, given the short- and long-term uncertainty throughout their rotation.
  • As the Giants wait to see what happens with Kikuchi, they’ve “checked in on” free-agent righty Tyson Ross, Schulman tweets, though he suggests a signing is hardly imminent. The Bay Area is familiar to Ross, a Berkeley, Calif., native who pitched for the Athletics earlier in his career. The 31-year-old divided last season between San Diego and St. Louis and posted a 4.15 ERA/4.39 FIP with 7.34 K/9, 3.73 BB/9 and a 45.9 percent groundball rate in 149 2/3 innings (31 appearances, 23 starts). It was Ross’ first fairly healthy season since he underwent the dreaded thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2016.
  • The pitching-needy Rangers have interest in re-signing lefty Martin Perez and righty Adrian Sampson, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Texas moved on from both hurlers last month, at least temporarily, as it declined Perez’s $7.5MM option in favor of a $1MM buyout and non-tendered Sampson. Perez, 27, has been a passable back-end starter at times, but he endured a horrid 2018. Sampson, also 27, hasn’t experienced much big league success over a limited sample of work (27 2/3 innings). He spent most of last season at the Triple-A level.

Rangers Decline Club Options Over Chirinos, Fister, Moore, Perez

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The Rangers have declined club options over catcher Robinson Chirinos and pitchers Doug Fister, Matt Moore, and Martin Perez. That’s a surprising move on the veteran backstop, though all three hurlers seemed destined to be sent onto the open market.

The Texas organization has also announced a long list of players who were outrighted from the 40-man roster. Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Clayton Blackburn, Brandon Mann, Carlos Perez, and Ryan Rua are all weighing outright assignments after seemingly clearing waivers.

Chirinos, 34, had seemed a fairly easy choice to remain behind the dish in Texas. His option had risen in value to $4.5MM due to plate-appearance escalators, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes on Twitter, but the team will pay him $1MM just to walk away.

While Chirinos is not noted for his skill behind the dish — in particular, he slipped to dreadful framing ratings in 2018 — he’s a highly respected player. And he also has consistently delivered much more offensive than the average catcher, with a .233/.324/.438 career slash and 35 home runs over the 735 plate appearances he has accrued since the start of 2017.

All three pitchers will be looking for bounceback opportunities after forgettable seasons. Fister will receive a $500K buyout; his option was priced at $4.5MM. The Moore deal included a $750K  buyout, which he’ll take home in lieu of a $10MM payday. Perez, meanwhile, gets $1MM in total buyouts as the club passes on its chance to keep him in 2019 ($7.5MM) and 2020 ($9MM).

Latest On Rangers’ Offseason Pitching Plans

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With the Rangers currently thin on internal options for the 2019 rotation,  the team will likely be active in free agency this offseason, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. General manager Jon Daniels tells Wilson that the “concept of layering in a quality free agent addition, that’s appealing.”

That said, as Wilson notes, the team isn’t likely to pursue top-of-the-market options like Dallas Keuchel and Patrick Corbin. Rather, a less substantial investment — something along the lines of last winter’s Mike Minor signing (three years, $28MM), perhaps — could be in the cards.

Of course, that assumes not only that the Rangers will be able to offer enough money, but also that they’ll be able to woo an appealing hurler to join a roster that likely won’t be expected to contend immediately. Of course, the very same uncertainties also make the Texas club “a pretty attractive destination” for pitchers who are “willing to compete for innings in Spring Training,” as Daniels put it.

Even if the Rangers end up making a reasonably splashy acquisition, they’ll surely be looking for other arms to battle it out in camp. After all, there are slim pickings on hand.

Beyond Minor, Adrian Sampson, Yohander Mendez, Ariel Jurado and Eddie Butler all possibilities in 2019. Edinson Volquez, too, could be in the mix at some point as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Wilson notes that Yovani Gallardo would like to return to Texas as well, while the door also seems open for Martin Perez to come back even if his option is declined (as probably ought to be expected).

While it’s true, then, that there are possibilities on hand, that group of hurlers is not exactly overflowing with MLB accomplishment and promise as compared with most staffs around baseball. Neither would the above-suggested reunions clearly move the needle. Given Gallardo’s extraordinary decline and poor results in 2018, for instance, a minor-league deal seems appropriate. It’s also questionable whether Perez is worthy of an MLB pact, though he has youth on his side and has been useful at times in the past.

Clearly, then, Daniels is to be taken at his words regarding the clear-cut openings in the rotation. The situation could very well hold appeal to starters who know they’ll need to win jobs on non-guaranteed pacts in Spring Training.

The veteran executive notes, too, that the organization is open to being “a little less traditional” in how it structures its staff, perhaps opening the door to some creative options in structuring a staff. Bold thinking may well be necessary; barring some unexpectedly consequential acquisitions via trade and/or free agency, after all, the expectations will likely not be terribly lofty for the Rangers’ 2019 rotation.

Rangers Move Martin Perez To Bullpen

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The Rangers have moved left-hander Martin Perez to the bullpen for the remainder of the season and have informed his camp that the team is not currently planning on picking up his $7.5MM club option for the 2019 season (Twitter links via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan quotes Texas GM Jon Daniels on the matter (Twitter link):

“We told Martin that if the decision had to be made today, we probably wouldn’t exercise the option. It’s possible we could still work something out for him to continue his career here. We want to take this time to evaluate him in a bullpen role.”

It’s not hard to see why the Rangers are strongly leaning toward paying Perez a $750K buyout, as the lefty has been rocked for a 6.95 ERA in 68 2/3 innings this season. The 27-year-old also missed a significant portion of the season while recovering from surgery on his right (non-throwing) elbow that he underwent this past offseason.

Perez does have somewhat of a track record in Texas, having pitched to a 4.37 ERA over the life of 638 innings from 2013-17. But while Perez was a source of serviceable innings prior to the 2018 season while earning a relatively modest $16.8MM during his current contract, he’s also never lived up to the fanfare that led to him widely being considered a top 50 (and, at one point, top 20) prospect in the game.

Perez has made just six relief appearances in his career — all coming back when he was a rookie in 2012. It seems unlikely that a month of relief work, no matter how encouraging, would convince the Rangers to pay that fairly hefty sum. Perhaps, however, an encouraging performance could lead the two sides to hammer out a new contractual arrangement that would give Perez the chance to remain in the organization at a lower rate. If not, he’ll reach free agency for the first time this winter, albeit on the heels of the worst season of his seven-year career in the Majors.

Quick Hits: Donaldson, Holliday, Rangers, Perez, Cubs, Hamels

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Injured Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will be eligible to go on August trade waivers if he embarks on a rehab assignment, but “it appears unlikely” that’s going to happen, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. Donaldson has been out since the end of May with a calf strain, which has stopped the out-of-contention Blue Jays from dealing him as he closes in on free agency. If Toronto’s unable to trade Donaldson this month, it’ll have to keep him through season’s end and then decide before the market opens whether to issue the soon-to-be 33-year-old a qualifying offer (worth $17.4MM last winter). Donaldson was among the majors’ best players as recently as last year, which suggests the Blue Jays will tender him a QO, though multiple DL stints this season have limited him to 36 games and an unspectacular .234/.333/.423 line in 159 plate appearances.

More from around the game…

  • First baseman/outfielder Matt Holliday went without a contract until July 28, when the Rockies signed him to a minor league pact, but he did garner offers before then. It seems the 38-year-old held off on signing because he wanted to join a team with which he had a “personal connection,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. With that in mind, Holliday said Friday he’d have been open to offers from the Rockies, Cardinals, and perhaps the Yankees – all teams he has played for – as well as certain other unnamed clubs. After a brief and highly successful run at the Triple-A level with the Rockies, Holliday’s back in Colorado, which selected his contract Thursday. On Saturday, in his fifth at-bat of the year, Holliday victimized the Cardinals with a pinch-hit, 448-foot blast to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead. The Rox ended up rolling to a 9-1 win to climb within a half-game of the Cards for the NL’s top wild-card spot.
  • Texas will have to decide after the season whether to exercise left-hander Martin Perez’s $7.5MM option for 2019 or buy him out for $750K. Even though $7.5MM isn’t a bank-breaking number and the Rangers are hard up for pitching, Perez is not making a strong case to stick with the club, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram observes. Perez gave up four earned runs in five innings during a loss to the Giants on Saturday, raising his ERA to 6.95 over 68 2/3 frames this year. Because of Perez’s struggles, it’s possible the Rangers will take a page from the Rays’ book and use an “opener” in front of him in his next scheduled outing, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. In doing so, they’d hope to mitigate Perez’s issues against the top of teams’ lineups, as Grant explains in his piece.
  • Conversely, Cubs lefty Cole Hamels – one of Perez’s former teammates – is making a real argument for his employer to pick up his option after the season, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times points out. At $20MM, Hamels’ price tag is far higher than Perez’s, but the former has pitched like someone worthy of an exorbitant salary since the Cubs acquired him from Texas last month. The Cubs have won all five of Hamels’ starts, during which he has totaled 34 innings of .79 ERA ball and posted 30 strikeouts against eight walks. With the NL Central-leading Cubs primed to play into October, Hamels will have time to keep stating his case to remain in Chicago, and he seems hopeful the union will continue. “That’s obviously something that I know [team president] Theo [Epstein] and the ownership and I think [manager Joe] Maddon will have to think about,” Hamels told Wittenmyer in regards to his option. “My job is to obviously make them think a little bit harder.” In the event the Cubs decline Hamels’ option, they’ll walk away scot-free from his $6MM buyout – which Texas will have to pay.

Rangers Notes: Trade Chips, Needs, Beltre, Perez

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As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explores, a rough first half of the season for the Rangers was not without its implications for the future. Unfortunately, for every positive turn (the recent improvements of Rougned Odor, say), there has been a less-encouraging development (Joey Gallo’s fall-off, for instance). Most disappointing of all, perhaps, is the fact that the club likely won’t be able to reap much of a return for its veteran assets at the deadline. As Grant notes, key potential chips like Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre really aren’t performing as might have been hoped, while many of the team’s pending free agents haven’t really played their way into useful trade assets.

Here’s more out of Arlington …

  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes that the Texas organization will be doing everything it can to acquire young, upper-level starting pitching at the deadline. Given the less-than-ideal crop of trade pieces, though, that seems like a tall order unless the team is willing to part with controllable talent. Closer Keone Kela is perhaps the team’s best reasonably available trade chip; he’s turning in quality work from the closer’s role and comes with three more seasons of control. Even if he’s made available, though, prying loose top-end young rotation pieces promises to be challenging.
  • Meanwhile, GM Jon Daniels discussed his team’s situation heading out of the All-Star break with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There aren’t any truly untouchable players, Daniels said, though unsurprisingly he also noted that certain players “are a lot less likely to be talked about than others.” One name that figures to come up, of course, is Beltre. While Daniels indicated that he’s willing to listen to expressions of interest, he said the team will “have to be motivated to even have the conversation” due to the fact that Beltre’s “value to the organization is above how you typically view it.” This special situation — Daniels said the team views Beltre “as separate than most typical trade conversations,” and the vet has no-trade rights — will be interesting to watch. The future Hall-of-Famer certainly hasn’t been at his best in 2018, and isn’t cheap or youthful, but he will likely be in at least some demand given his lengthy track record and impeccable reputation.
  • Daniels also addressed a few other matters, though of course you’ll need to read the entire piece to get the full scope. He cited a few younger players that have impressed in certain regards, including center fielder Delino DeShields, utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and first baseman Ronald Guzman. None of those players has really established himself as a future regular, though all seem to have places on the MLB roster moving forward. Daniels also suggested the team will be watching closely in the second half to decide whether to pick up its second-to-last option over southpaw Martin Perez, who’ll either be paid $7.5MM or cut loose with a $1MM parting gift. Perez turned in five middling starts before hitting the DL, but did show much better form in his first outing back just before the All-Star break.

Rangers Activate Martin Perez, Release Austin Jackson

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The Rangers announced that they’ve activated left-hander Martin Perez from the 60-day DL and released outfielder Austin Jackson. Additionally, they placed reliever Alex Claudio on the 10-day DL because of a left ankle sprain.

Perez will start against the Orioles on Saturday, which will be his first major league outing since April 29. The 27-year-old missed nearly three months with right (non-throwing) elbow problems. Prior to that, Perez got off to a terrible start with a 9.67 ERA, 5.24 K/9 and 4.84 BB/9 in 22 1/3 innings.

This disastrous season aside, Perez has been passable since debuting in 2012, evidenced by a 4.60 ERA/4.40 FIP across 698 1/3 career innings. He also tossed at least 185 frames in each of the previous two seasons. Given Texas’ need for starters, Perez’s track record could influence the team to pick up his $7.5MM option for 2019 when the offseason rolls around. Otherwise, it could try to trade Perez or buy him out for $750K.

As for Jackson, his release comes three days after the Rangers designated him for assignment and ends a very short tenure with the organization for the native Texan. In a trade with San Francisco last weekend, the Rangers agreed to take on Jackson (and his $3MM annual salary through next season) to help clear payroll for the Giants and acquire pitching prospect Jason Bahr.

The Rangers never had any intention of using Jackson, who hit just .242/.309/.295 in 165 plate appearances as a Giant, and weren’t able to flip him elsewhere. Now, thanks to his woeful season thus far, the 31-year-old Jackson may either have to take a minor league deal (if a team offers one) or sit out the rest of 2018.

Martin Perez Placed On 10-Day DL

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8:57pm: For the time being, Perez has been diagnosed only with inflation, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet.

2:26pm: The Rangers announced Monday that left-hander Martin Perez has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to “continued discomfort in his right elbow” and has left the team to travel back to Texas for a more in-depth exam with Dr. Keith Meister. Righty Jose Leclerc was recalled in his place.

While the loss of Perez for the time being thins out the rotation, the silver lining for the organization is likely that the issue is confined to Perez’s non-pitching elbow. That certainly doesn’t preclude an extended absence, particularly given that Perez underwent offseason surgery to repair a fracture in that right elbow and opened the year on the disabled list as a result.

It’s been a nightmarish start to the 2018 campaign for Perez; the 27-year-old lefty has been tattooed for a 9.67 ERA in 22 2/3 innings through five starts while posting a career-worst 4.8 BB/9 rate and watching his fastball velocity drop from 93.1 mph in 2017 to 91.8 mph in 2018. While the injury obviously isn’t in his throwing elbow — Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Rangers officials say Perez’s left elbow is not a concern — it’s still possible that the discomfort in his right elbow is impacting his mechanics and effectiveness. (Whether it’s related or not, Perez’s release point in 2018 is notably out of line with his career norms, per Brooks Baseball.)

Perez becomes the latest in a long line of Rangers regulars to land on the disabled list, where he’ll join Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus. (Right-hander Doug Fister also missed some time on the DL but was recently activated.) With Perez on the shelf, Texas will utilize Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Matt Moore, Bartolo Colon and Fister in the starting rotation.

Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Pitching Health, Profar

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Though some have wondered whether the Rangers could make a late play for one of the remaining free agents, GM Jon Daniels said today that isn’t in the cards, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas could surely stand to add another pitcher, with both Alex Cobb and Greg Holland seeming to make sense to varying degrees, but Daniels made clear he does not anticipate any significant new acquisitions.

More from Texas:

  • Pitching health is always a big factor and will be of particular importance for a Rangers club that is in need of strong performances from all around the staff. Martin Perez is nearing his return to competitive pitching, which seems to bode well for his availability fairly early on in the upcoming campaign. But there are some other depth hits that are already apparent. Clayton Blackburn has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. It seems he’s going to try to rest up and resume throwing, suggesting it’s not an extensive tear, though he won’t even attempt to begin ramping back up for another four to six weeks and could yet become a candidate for surgery. Meanwhile, veteran Jon Niese is dealing with a sub scapularis muscle strain that seems to pose some uncertainties to his future and Ronald Herrera will miss at least half the season owing to labrum inflammation.
  • There was one positive development on the pitching front, at least. Late-inning reliever Keone Kela was able to get back on the bump after a week-and-a-half layoff, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. It seems as if there are still some kinks left to be ironed out, but that Kela could get back on track to be ready for Opening Day. That said, manager Jeff Banister noted that the organization will need to see how his balky shoulder responds to the outing over the next several days.
  • In one non-pitching note, Daniels also made clear that the plan is for Jurickson Profar to make the active roster and function as the team’s reserve infielder. It’s not difficult to imagine the former top prospect carving out a fairly significant role if he plays well, even if the presumptive regulars around the diamond are healthy and productive. After all, there’ll be a need to spread around some rest and the switch-hitting Profar could contribute in a number of different ways. It had seemed likely that Profar would be dealt at the outset of the offseason, but the out-of-options 25-year-old will get one more chance to stick in the majors in Texas.

Injury Notes: Perez, May, Pineda

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We have twice discussed infielder Eduardo Nunez today, as his free agent market kicks into action now that he’s on the mend from knee problems. Now we’ll check in on a few other injury situations from around the game:

  • Rangers lefty Martin Perez says he does not expect to miss any time stemming from the fractured right elbow he suffered in mid-December, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. At the time of Perez’s ill-fated encounter with one of the bulls on his ranch — yes, that story is covered in the link — it seemed he’d likely be sidelined for a decent stretch to open the year. But the 26-year-old, who was fortunate not to have injured his pitching arm, painted a different picture. “I am not going to miss any time,” said Perez. “I have conviction I will be ready the first day.” Whether or not that opinion will be shared by relevant medical personnel isn’t immediately clear, but his positive attitude seems to bode well regardless.
  • Twins righty Trevor May is on track to throw from a mound as soon as the end of the month, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes as one of several notes out of TwinsFest. May is currently throwing from 120 feet; he further explains his hopeful schedule for ramping back from from Tommy John surgery in this video clip. May, who has also written about his TJ recovery here at MLBTR, has agreed to a $650K contract for the coming season. The 28-year-old has had some ups and downs early in his career but certainly remains an interesting arm to watch for a Minnesota organization that is hoping to repeat its surprising 2017 postseason trip.
  • Of course, the Twins have a few other pitchers whose injury situations bear watching. Among them is Michael Pineda, who is also working back after receiving a fresh ulnar collateral ligament. Minnesota placed a $10MM bet on his ability to get back to the mound and provide value late this year and (mostly) in 2019. Pineda, Berardino writes, has just begun a throwing program. He says it “feels great” to be throwing again, though of course this is just one step in a laborious process. Pineda’s surgery took place in the middle of July of last year, so he’s well behind May in the process.
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