Tag: cy young award

Former Red Sox Cy Young winner Rick Porcello retires from baseball

Former Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello has officially announced his retirement from baseball.

Porcello, who last pitched in 2020 and turns 34 later this month, made the announcement in a conversation with WEEI’s Rob Bradford at David Ortiz’s charity golf tournament in Florida over the weekend.

“This is Rick Porcello,” he said during an appearance on the Bradfo Sho Podcast. “I want to tell all the listeners I’m retired. Thank you for all the great memories, and thanks for everything.”

The Red Sox originally acquired Porcello from the Tigers in a December 2014 trade that sent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to Detroit. Boston signed the right-hander to a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension (that did not take effect until 2016) before the start of the 2015 season.

In his debut season with the Sox, Porcello struggled to the tune of a 4.92 ERA and 4.13 FIP over 28 starts (172 innings). The following year, he broke out by going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA and 3.40 FIP across 33 starts (223 innings) en route to beating out former teammate Justin Verlander for the 2016 American League Cy Young Award.

After surpassing the 200-inning plateau again in 2017, Porcello played a key role in helping the Red Sox win a World Series in 2018. He led the club in innings pitched during the regular season (191 1/3) and produced a 5.32 ERA in five appearances (three starts) during the postseason.

Porcello’s final season in Boston was one to forget (5.52 ERA in 32 starts). Still, the reliable righty forged a 4.43 ERA and respectable 4.13 FIP to go along with 852 strikeouts to 211 walks over 159 starts (964 innings) in five seasons with the Red Sox. Only three pitchers (Max Scherzer, Verlander, and Zack Greinke) accrued more innings than Porcello during that four-year stretch.

Coming off a disappointing end to his time with the Sox, Porcello inked a one-year, $10 million deal with the Mets in Dec. 2019. As the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the length of the 2020 major-league season to just 60 games, Porcello yielded a 5.64 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 12 starts (59 innings) for New York. He became a free agent again that winter and went unsigned.

“There was a lot of personal stuff I probably don’t want to get into, but I think the bottom line was that I was very fortunate to have the years I had in the big leagues,” Porcello told Bradford. “I think COVID lent some perspective on my life. I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to get back into that type of lifestyle and be around them because every year that you’re gone is another year where your parents are getting older, and your brothers are getting older. I think COVID impacts a lot of people like that.”

When asked if he garnered interest from teams following the abbreviated 2020 campaign, Porcello responded: “There was some interest but I had two (expletive) years back-to-back so not that much interest.”

Originally selected by the Tigers with the 27th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft out of Seton Hall Preparatory School in New Jersey, Porcello debuted with Detroit less than two years later. He retires having gone 150-125 with a 4.40 ERA and 1,561 strikeouts in 12 seasons between the Tigers, Red Sox, and Mets.

Shortly after Porcello made his announcement official, the Red Sox made sure to wish him well on social media.

“A Cy Young Winner & World Series Champ,” the club’s official Twitter account tweeted on Monday. “Congrats on a great career and best of luck in retirement, Rick.”

(Picture of Rick Porcello: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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Red Sox’ Nathan Eovaldi finishes 4th in American League Cy Young voting

Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting on Wednesday night, as revealed by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on MLB Network.

Eovaldi, who was not named a finalist for the award last week, appeared on 19 of the 30 ballots while receiving eight third-place votes, six fourth-place votes, and five fifth-place votes.

Blue Jays left-hander ultimately won his first career Cy Young Award on Wednesday by receiving 29 of 30 first-place votes and finishing with 207 total voting points. Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole finished in second-place after receiving 123 points, White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn finished in third-place after receiving 48 points, Eovaldi finished in fourth-place after receiving 41 points, and White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon finished in fifth-place after receiving 34 points.

From there, Athletics right-hander and former Red Sox prospect Frankie Montas placed sixth (21 points), Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. placed seventh (14 points), White Sox closer Liam Hendriks placed eighth (10 points), Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios placed ninth (8 points), Athletics right-hander Chris Bassit placed 10th (2 points), and White Sox righty Lucas Giolito and Angels closer Raisel Iglesias placed 11th and 12th by receiving one point each.

For Eovaldi, this marks the first time that he has received Cy Young votes of any kind over the course of his 10-year big-league career.

A first-time All-Star in 2021, the 31-year-old stepped up and emerged as Boston’s true ace while Chris Sale was still recovering from Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez was struggling to find his rhythm.

Over a team-high 32 starts, Eovaldi posted a 3.75 ERA and 2.79 FIP to go along with 195 strikeouts and 35 walks across 182 1/3 innings of work. Among qualified American League starters this year, the hard-throwing righty ranked ninth in strikeout rate (25.5%), first in walk rate (4.6%), first in FIP, third in xFIP (3.48), and first in fWAR (5.6), per FanGraphs.

Since helping the Red Sox win a World Series title in 2018 and signing a four-year, $68 million contract that winter to remain in Boston, Eovaldi has risen to the occasion on and off the field as he also serves as the club’s Jimmy Fund captain.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Eovaldi is the highest Red Sox finisher in Cy Young voting since Sale finished fourth in 2018. The last Boston hurler to win the award was right-hander Rick Porcello, who did so following an exceptional 2016 campaign.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Was Red Sox’ Nathan Eovaldi snubbed in American League Cy Young Award race?

The three finalists for the American League Cy Young Award were unveiled by the Baseball Writers Association of America on MLB Network on Monday night. Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was not one of them.

Instead, Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole, White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn, and Blue Jays left-hander Robbie Ray were announced as the three finalists for the award. The winner will be revealed on November 17 at 6 p.m. eastern time.

While Cole, Lynn, and Ray are each up for their first career Cy Young Awards, Eovaldi would have been as well — and rightfully so.

2021 marked Eovaldi’s third full season with the Sox after coming over in a July 2018 trade with the Rays and signing a lucrative four-year, $68 million contract extension later that winter to remain in Boston.

Across 32 starts this year, the 31-year-old righty posted a 3.75 ERA and 2.79 FIP to go along with 195 strikeouts to 35 walks over 182 1/3 total innings of work while emerging as Boston’s true ace.

Among qualified American League pitchers this season, Eovaldi ranked fourth in innings pitched, first in walks per nine innings (1.73), first in walk rate (4.6%), eighth in ERA, first in FIP (2.79), third in xFIP (3.48), fourth in SIERA (3.60), third in xERA (3.37), and first in fWAR (5.6), per FanGraphs.

Still, despite putting up those positive results, Eovaldi was seemingly snubbed from the American League Cy Young race without making it to the final group of three that consists of Cole, Lynn, and Ray.

If you were to include Eovaldi in there and make it a group of four, the fireballer would lead the pack in several categories including fWAR, FIP, walks per nine innings, and walk rate.

That being said, Eovaldi also produced the highest ERA and BABIP (.326), or batting average on balls in play, of the group. This can mainly be attributed to bad luck and poor defense being played behind him. The Red Sox did lead the American League in errors (108), after all.

Even while taking all those points into consideration, Eovaldi — who turns 32 in February — was not named a Cy Young finalist at the end of the day. He will still appear on plenty of ballots come next Tuesday, but may have ultimately deserved more recognition for the impressive 2021 campaign he just put together.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The 10 Best Red Sox Single-Season Performances of the 2010s

With the 2010s quickly coming to a close, I thought it would be interesting to look back on the decade that was for the Red Sox. In this first installment, we’ll start with the best single-season performances for Red Sox position players and pitchers alike from 2010 up until 2019. Let’s get to it.

10. Chris Sale’s 2018 season (6.2 fWAR)

It may have been shortened due to left shoulder inflammation, but Sale’s second season with the Red Sox was something to behold. In 27 starts for the eventual World Series champs, the left-hander posted a dazzling 2.11 ERA and 2.31 xFIP over 158 innings of work, all while punching out more than 38% of the hitters he faced in 2018.

Sale also recorded the final three outs of the World Series against the Dodgers that year. Not a bad way to wrap up what could have been a Cy Young Award-winning campaign had he stayed healthy all the way through.

9. Adrian Gonzalez’s 2011 season (6.2 fWAR)

Gonzalez might not have spent much time with Boston, but the first baseman made his only full season with the Red Sox count, slashing .338/.410/.548 with 27 home runs and 177 RBI while leading the American League in hits (217) in an All-Star year.

Acquired from the Padres in exchange for a package headlined by Anthony Rizzo, Gonzalez and the Sox agreed to a seven-year, $154 million contract extension that April, but eventually shipped him off to the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade more than a year later.

8. Adrian Beltre’s 2010 season (6.4 fWAR)

Next month will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Red Sox and Beltre agreeing to a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2010 season, and what a season it was for the veteran third baseman looking to reset his value.

In 154 games that year, Beltre slashed .321/.365/.553 with 28 homers and 102 RBI to go along with a league-leading 49 doubles.

Ultimately finishing ninth in American League MVP voting, the Dominican Republic native went on to sign a five-year, $80 million deal with the Rangers, leaving many to wonder what could have been had Beltre remained in Boston past 2010.

7. Mookie Betts’ 2019 season (6.6 fWAR)

After taking home his first MVP Award the previous year, many would describe Betts’ 2019 as a “down” season. But in reality, the 27-year-old was as impressive as ever, slashing .295/.391/.524 with 29 home runs, 80 RBI, and a league-leading 135 runs scored over 150 games played.

Defensively speaking, Betts notched his fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award for American League right fielders in what might have been his last full season in Boston depending on what happens between now and this coming July.

6. Xander Bogaerts’ 2019 season (6.8 fWAR)

Speaking of this year’s Red Sox team, Bogaerts really took it to another level both on and off the field in 2019 after agreeing to a six-year, $120 million extension back in early April.

Playing in 155 games this season, the All-Star shortstop slashed .309/.384/.555 to go along with a career-best 33 homers and 117 RBI. Those numbers landed the 27-year-old his third career Silver Slugger Award as well as fifth-place finish in AL MVP voting.

5. Chris Sale’s 2017 season (7.6 fWAR)

Turning back to the pitching now, Sale made quite the first impression in his first season in a Red Sox uniform.

After coming over in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox the previous December, the left-hander posted a 2.90 ERA and league-leading 2.45 FIP over 32 games started and a league-leading 214 1/3 innings of work.

Not to mention he also struck out 308 of the 851 batters he faced in what wind up netting Sale a second-place finish in AL Cy Young voting and ninth-place finish in MVP voting.

4. Dustin Pedroia’s 2011 season (7.9 fWAR)

Due to a historic September collapse, the 2011 season may be one the Red Sox would like to forget about, but it still netted a decent amount of positive individual performances statistically speaking.

Adrian Gonzalez’s season is one we already discussed, and now it’s on to Dustin Pedroia.

In his age-27 season, the second baseman slashed .307/.387/.474 with a career-best 21 home runs, 91 runs driven in, 26 stolen bases, and 86 walks over 159 games played, all of which came at second base.

Offensively and defensively, Pedroia was the best second baseman in all of baseball that season, as he earned his second of four career Gold Glove Awards while finishing ninth in American League MVP voting.

3. Mookie Betts’ 2016 season. (8.3 fWAR)

Oh look, it’s Mookie Betts again. We already talked about what the 2018 AL MVP did this past season, but now it’s time to talk about when the then 23-year-old truly broke out.

Opening the 2016 campaign by making his second straight Opening Day Roster, Betts followed up an impressive first full season by being even better the next.

In 158 games, the first-time All-Star slashed .318/.363/.534 to go along with 31 homers and a career-best 113 RBI, all while leading the American League in total bases with 359 of them on the season.

2016 was the first step in Betts earning the unofficial title of “the best outfielder in baseball not named Mike Trout,” as the Tennessee native finished right behind the Angels star in MVP voting while also taking home his first career Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards that year.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury’s 2011 season (9.5 fWAR)

Ellsbury may have just been cut loose after a mostly disappointing six-year tenure with the Yankees, but let’s not forget that from the time he made his first Opening Day roster in 2008 up until his departure in 2013, the Oregon State University product was a top-five outfielder in the American League in his time with the Red Sox.

Looking at his 2011 season more specifically, Ellsbury posted a .321/.376/.552 slash line to go along with a career-high 32 homers and 105 RBI over 158 games played.

Many wonder if Ellsbury would have won AL MVP in 2011 had it not been for his club’s historic collapse in September. Instead, the Tigers’ Justin Verlander took home the award, while Ellsbury took home his first career Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards.

1. Mookie Betts’ 2018 season (10.4 fWAR)

Finally, we arrive at the only Red Sox player to win an MVP Award this decade in Betts, who put together a monster 2018 season, which also happens to arguably be the greatest season in Sox history.

Playing in 136 games and batting primarily out of the leadoff spot, Betts slashed .346/.438/.640 with a career-high 32 home runs and 80 RBI while pacing the American League in runs scored with 129 of them on the season.

In terms of MVP voting, it was not particularily close, as the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award-winning outfielder received 28 of 30 first-place votes.

According to FanGraphs, Betts accrued 10.4 fWAR in 2018, the highest total from one single season this decade. In short, the Tennessee native is very good at baseball.

Honorable mentions

Because I used FanGraphs’ fWAR metric to compile this list, David Ortiz’s 2016 season and J.D. Martinez’s 2018 season did not make the cut.

Also, Rick Porcello is the only Sox pitcher this decade to win a Cy Young Award, which he accomplished in 2016, so that deserves a shout out in its own right.

Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez Says He Wants to Stay in Boston

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez wants to stay in Boston. He said that much to MLB.com’s Nathalie Alonso at the 12th annual David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic in Miami on Sunday.

“I would love to stay with Boston,” said Rodríguez, in Spanish. “If they offer me an extension, and we come to an agreement, I would love that.”

Rodriguez, who turns 27 in April, still has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, hence the talks of a possible extension. He is projected to earn $9.5 million in 2020.

Coming off a 2019 campaign in which he finished sixth in American League Cy Young Award Voting thanks to posting a career-best 3.81 ERA and 213 strikeouts over 34 starts and 203 1/3 innings of work, Rodriguez has found himself in an intriguing spot this winter.

“It was a very important step for me, because for the first time I was able to pitch an entire season,” the Venezuela native said of his 2019 season Sunday. “That was my goal when the season started, 30 starts and throw more than 200 innings, and I was able to do it. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

The Red Sox originally acquired Rodriguez, then a 21-year-old prospect, from the Baltimore Orioles in July 2014 in exchange for left-handed reliever Andrew Miller, who went on to sign a four-year, $36 million deal with the New York Yankees that offseason.

Because of the fact he started his professional career in the Orioles organization, I was quite surprised when I read that Rodriguez said that Boston is where he began his career and that he, “would love to finish it there.”

Perhaps Rodriguez is speaking in regard to just his major-league career, but an interesting, and perhaps heartfelt, comment nonetheless.

As we all know, the Red Sox want to cut payroll while still remaining competitive in 2020, so it might be in new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom’s best interest to try and buy out Rodriguez’s last two years of arbitration while also locking down the lefty for a number of years at a decent rate after that.

A similar situation took place in Chicago last March, when the Cubs and right-hander Kyle Hendricks agreed to terms on a four-year, $55 million extension that does not take effect until 2020 and has a team option for 2023 attached to it.

Granted, Hendricks had one, not two years of arbitration remaining, but an extension for Rodriguez with an average annual value in the range of $13-$15 million does not seem too far-fetched.

With the Winter Meetings set to take place in San Diego next month, that may be a good time to see whether talks between the Red Sox and Rodriguez’s camp ramp up at all. If not then, perhaps spring training in February or March.