Tag: starting pitching

Red Sox’ James Paxton on exercising player option: ‘I’m trying to establish myself back in the big-leagues and I felt like this was the place for me to do it’

Back on November 7, the Red Sox elected to decline James Paxton’s two-year, $26 million team option. Two days later, the left-hander somewhat surprisingly exercised his $4 million player option to return to the club for the 2023 season.

As MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith wrote on Thursday, Paxton might have received more than $4 million in free agency if he chose to hit the open market this winter. Fellow southpaw Matthew Boyd, for instance, got $10 million from the Tigers in December after pitching just 13 1/3 innings of relief for the Mariners in 2022.

Paxton, like Boyd, has been hindered by injury issues in recent years. Rather than taking his chances as a free agent, though, the 34-year-old opted for familiarity by remaining with Boston.

“I haven’t pitched healthy in like three years,” Paxton told reporters (including Smith) at JetBlue Park on Thursday. “I’m comfortable here. They know me. I know them. And I’m trying to establish myself back in the big-leagues and I felt like this was the place for me to do it.”

The Red Sox originally signed Paxton to a one-year, $6 million contract in December 2021. The deal came with a two-year, $26 million club option ($13 million per year) as well as a one-year, $4 million player option if the former was rejected.

Having undergone Tommy John surgery while with the Mariners in April 2021, Paxton was initially optimistic that he would be able to return to the mound before the All-Star break last season. He was shut down from throwing for a few weeks in early May due to posterior elbow soreness, but he was able to begin a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on August 18.

Just two batters into his start for the FCL Red Sox, however, Paxton was forced to exit due to left lat (latissimus dorsi muscle on the back) tightness. He was later diagnosed with a Grade 2 lat tear, which ended his 2022 season before it really even started.

“It was hard,” said Paxton. “I really wanted to make it out there last year. I had just started feeling really good with the elbow and started letting it rip a little bit and the lat wasn’t quite ready for that so it gave out on me. But I got myself in the best shape I could this year and ready to compete.”

Paxton threw eight bullpen sessions this offseason and threw his first of the spring before speaking with the media on Thursday. The Red Sox came into camp with seven different starters (Paxton, Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello, and Tanner Houck) vying for five rotation spots, so Paxton certainly has his work cut out for him these next few weeks.

“I’m going to do what I do,” he said. “Then we’ll see where it all shakes out in the end. But I’m not going to worry about it. I’m just going to go out there and pitch and have a good time and get ready to compete.”

Since debuting for the Mariners in 2013, Paxton has started all 137 games he has pitched in. The Red Sox have not yet approached the lefty about coming out of the bullpen, but it does not seem as though he is totally against that idea.

“I like starting. I’ve made starts my whole career,” Paxton said. “Obviously if that’s the conversation they want to have, we’ll have it.”

(Picture of James Paxton: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox right-hander Michael Wacha agrees to deal with Padres, per report

Former Red Sox starter Michael Wacha has agreed to a deal with the Padres, as was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

According to the Associated Press, the contract, which is still pending a physical, is believed to be for multiple years and similar in structure to the three-year deal San Diego gave fellow right-hander Nick Martinez back in November.

Rosenthal further reports that Wacha could earn more than $24 million over four years with the Padres. The deal includes player and team options and its structure lowers the average annual value for luxury tax purposes.

Wacha, 31, is now slated to join his fifth team in the last five years after originally signing a one-year, $7 million pact with Boston at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign. The former 2012 first-round draft pick out of Texas A&M first broke in with the Cardinals in 2013 and has also pitched for the Mets and Rays.

In 23 starts for the Red Sox last season, Wacha posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 104 strikeouts to 31 walks over 127 1/3 innings of work. While the veteran hurler put up solid surface-level numbers, he produced a less-than-desirable 4.14 FIP and 20.2 percent strikeout rate. The righty also ranked in the 27th percentile of all big-league pitchers in expected batting average (.254), the 13th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.446), the 14th percentile in barrel rate (9.6 percent), and the 12th percentile in whiff rate (20.7 percent), per Baseball Savant.

Though Wacha led all Red Sox pitchers in Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric (3.3 bWAR) in 2022, he did miss time with injuries. From May 5-20 he was sidelined with left intercostal irritation. From July 5-August 14, he was sidelined with right shoulder inflammation.

Taking those factors into consideration, it does not appear as though the Red Sox made a strong effort to bring Wacha back in free agency despite publicly expressing interest in a reunion. With other starters such as Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, James Paxton, and Tanner Houck already on the roster, Wacha would have only added to Boston’s starting pitching surplus.

In agreeing to a deal with the Padres, Wacha will join a rotation mix in San Diego that includes the likes of Martinez, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo, and Adrian Morejon, among others.

Wacha, who turns 32 in July, is the second member of the 2022 Red Sox to leave Boston for San Diego as a free agent this winter. Back in December, as you may recall, Xander Bogaerts inked a monstrous 11-year, $280 million contract with the Friars.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox re-sign Sterling Sharp to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have re-signed right-hander Sterling Sharp to a minor-league contract for the 2023 season, per his MiLB.com transactions log.

Sharp, 27, first signed with Boston as a minor-league free agent last August after spending the first half of the 2022 season in the Nationals organization. The lanky righty made seven starts for Double-A Portland down the stretch and posted a 3.18 ERA (3.59 FIP) with 31 strikeouts to 12 walks over 34 innings of work.

Washington originally selected Sharp in the 22nd round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Drury University (Springfield, Mo). The Michigan native rose through the prospect ranks in the Nationals’ farm system before being taken by the Marlins in the major-league phase of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft.

Sharp made his big-league debut for Miami the following August. He allowed six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings (10.13 ERA) out of the Marlins bullpen before being designated for assignment on Aug. 27. He was ultimately returned to the Nationals for $50,000 after clearing waivers.

Since that time, Sharp has made 34 appearances (27 starts) at the Triple-A level and 10 starts at the Double-A level. For his minor-league career, the 6-foot-3, 182-pound hurler owns a lifetime 3.77 ERA over 167 Double-A innings and a lifetime 5.77 ERA across 137 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Sharp, who turns 28 in May, operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-90 mph sinker, an 80-81 mph changeup, and a 79-81 mph slider. He has been assigned to Portland. As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, though, Sharp provides the Red Sox with upper-minors rotation depth in the event that they include one of their Triple-A starters (like Chris Murphy or Brandon Walter) in trade for a major-league ready player before the season begins.

In short, Sharp could very well wind up pitching for the WooSox at some point in 2023. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Sterling Sharp: Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Red Sox, right-hander Garrett Richards agree to one-year, $10 million deal that includes $10 million team option for 2022

The Red Sox and free-agent right-hander Garrett Richards are in agreement on a one-year, $10 million contract for the 2021 season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal is pending a physical.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier adds that Richards’ deal with Boston includes a $10 million club option for 2022 and a buyout, which includes escalators “that would increase both the option salary and the cost of the buyout.”

Richards, 32, posted a 4.03 ERA and 4.28 FIP over 14 outings (10 starts) and 51 1.3 innings of work for the Padres last season.

The 2020 campaign marked the California native’s first “full” season in quite a while on account of the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2018.

Prior to undergoing the knife nearly three years ago, Richards — a former first-round pick of the Angels in 2009 — was once a highly-touted prospect with the potential to become a frontline starter at the major-league level.

Multiple stints on the injured list have prevented that from happening to this point, but Richards still has plenty of appeal, as last season he placed in the 82nd percentile in fastball velocity, the 97th percentile in fastball spin, and the 99th percentile in curveball spin among big-league hurlers, per Baseball Savant.

Working with a four-seamer, a curveball, and a slider, the former Oklahoma Sooner will look to provide the Sox with the rotation help they are in desperate need.

Boston is after all coming off a 2020 season in which club starters put up the second-worst ERA in baseball (5.34) while finishing second-to-last in innings pitched (246).

The likes of Richards, fellow right-handers Matt Andriese and Garrett Whitlock, and left-hander Martin Perez should address those issues to some degree, though it should be interesting to see if the Red Sox are now out of the running for Jake Odorizzi given these other additions.

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By reportedly signing Richards, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 lbs., and utilityman Enrique Hernandez, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. have had themselves quite the weekend already.

They will, however, have to clear one spot on Boston’s 40-man roster given the fact that it is currently at 39 players following the trade that sent C.J. Chatham to the Phillies earlier this week.

We will have to wait and see what the Sox have in mind in order to make that happen before the Richards and Hernandez signings become official.

(Picture of Garrett Richards: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox in ‘active discussions’ with free-agent right-hander Garrett Richards, per report

In the wake of reportedly agreeing to a two-year deal with utilityman Enrique Hernandez, the Red Sox are also in active discussions with free-agent right-hander Garrett Richards, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

Per Morosi, multiple clubs were talking with Richards as recently as Friday.

Richards, 32, is coming off a 2020 season with the Padres in which he posted a 4.03 ERA and 4.28 FIP over 14 outings (10 starts) and 51 1/3 innings of work.

The 2020 campaign marked Richards’ first ‘full’ season in quite a while, as the California native was limited to just three starts with the Pads in September 2019.

That was the case because the righty had been recovering from Tommy John Surgery, which he underwent as a member of the Angels in July 2018.

At one point in time, Richards — a former first-round pick of Los Angeles in 2009 — was viewed as the Halos’ future ace who would take over for longtime stalwart Jered Weaver.

That vision never came to fruition, though, as the one-time Oklahoma Sooner dealt with his fair share of injuries in his time with the Angels that was capped off by undergoing TJS in ’18.

With the Padres, however, Richards showed some flashes of what made him a special prospect in the first place, especially this past season.

Despite putting up a so-s0 4.03 ERA, the 6-foot-2, 210 lb. hurler placed in the 82nd percentile in fastball velocity, the 97th percentile in fastball spin, and the 99th percentile in curveball spin among major-league pitchers, per Baseball Savant. His pitch mix also includes a ‘wipeout’ slider.

To put it in simpler terms, Richards is somewhat of a ‘Statcast darling,’ as @RedSoxStats put it.

With that high upside potential in mind, it’s possible that Richards, who does not turn 33 until May, is currently in search of a multi-year contract.

MLB Trade Rumors predicted back in November that the ISE Baseball client would net himself a two-year, $16 million deal this winter.

Even after signing the likes of Martin Perez and Matt Andriese to one-year deals and adding swingman candidate Garrett Whitlock via the Rule 5 Draft, Boston still finds themselves in need of starting pitching help as spring training draws closer.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said on the SoxProspects.com podcast earlier this week that he is hopeful the club will be able to make more moves between now and Opening Day.

“I think we have a chance to surprise some people in 2021,” he said. “And I’m hopeful and believe very much we’re going to do a few more things before Opening Day that will supplement this club.”

(Picture of Garrett Richards: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox have ‘engaged in talks’ with former Rays left-hander Matt Moore this winter, per report

In their quest to shore up their starting pitching ahead of the 2021 season, the Red Sox are making sure to leave no stone unturned.

Plenty of names have popped up and been linked to the Sox in recent weeks, but there is one in particular this article will focus on: Matt Moore.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Boston has “engaged in talks” with Moore — among others — this winter.

The 31-year-old left-hander last pitched in the majors in 2019, making just two starts for the Tigers before suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee in early April that would eventually require season-ending surgery.

Prior to injuring his right knee, Moore had looked like he was on the rebound with Detroit after struggling mightily with the Giants and Rangers the previous two seasons. Over 10 scoreless innings of work, he yielded just three hits and one walk to go along with nine strikeouts in his first two outings as a Tiger.

That said, that knee ailment came at a rough time for the southpaw, as he would have to settle and sign a one-year deal with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan last offseason.

With the Hawks, though, Moore picked up where he left off in Detroit, posting a 2.65 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 15 starts spanning 85 innings pitched in his first exposure to the NPB in 2020.

Taking that strong showing into consideration, it now appears as though the former All-Star is back on the scope of major-league teams.

The Athletic’s Peter Gammons tweeted earlier Tuesday that Moore “has become an intriguing free-agent” and is a “mid-rotation possibility for several clubs.”

Gammons added that Moore got up to 90-95 mph with his fastball velocity while getting his delivery back to a point where it is balanced.

Given the apparent intrigue in Moore from across baseball, it is understandable to see why the Red Sox would have interest here.

For starters, Moore, a Florida native, was selected by the Rays out of high school in the eighth round of the 2007 amateur draft, so there is an obvious Chaim Bloom connection there given the fact that the Red Sox’ chief baseball officer spent more than 14 years in Tampa Bay (2005-2019).

On top of that, as was mentioned earlier, the Sox find themselves in dire need of starting pitching help coming off a 2020 campaign in which the club’s starters put up a collective 5.34 ERA (second-worst in baseball) while working just 246 innings (second-lowest total in baseball).

Seeing how he hasn’t pitched a full major-league season in nearly three years, it’s hard to imagine that Moore’s asking price will be too high as he looks to reintroduce himself.

There certainly is some appeal here given the fact that he doesn’t turn 32 until June and, as noted by Cotillo, threw more innings (85) “than any big-leaguer during the shortened regular season.”

There’s also some things to be wary about with Moore, too. Such as the fact that he has a somewhat extensive history of injuries and has proven to be inconsistent at times.

All that being said, though, Bloom and Co. have not shied away from bringing in players they are familiar with so far this offseason.

Moore, who amassed 96 appearances (94 starts) as a member of the Rays from 2011-2016, meets that particular prerequisite. He also has some upside working with a pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a curveball, and a changeup, per Baseball Savant.

(Picture of Matt Moore: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox attend two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber’s showcase in Florida

UPDATE: ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that “Corey Kluber’s negotiations could go quickly after his session in front of scouts [Wednesday]. There is no thought he’ll need to throw a second time, given how [Wednesday] went.”

The Red Sox were one of approximately 25 teams to attend free-agent right-hander Corey Kluber’s showcase on Wednesday, as confirmed by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Kluber, 34, threw for teams at pitching guru Eric Cressey’s facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, “scouts came away impressed” with Kluber’s outing, as he sat around 88-90 mph with his fastball with “more velocity in the tank as he builds towards spring training.”

Throwing 30 pitches, Kluber also showcased all of his off-speed stuff, and a strong market is expected to form for the 34-year-old in the coming weeks, per Passan.

Kluber, who turns 35 in April, has made just eight starts and worked 36 2/3 innings the past two seasons due to a multitude of injuries.

In May 2019, the former fourth-round draft pick took a line drive off his right arm in the fifth inning of his start against the Marlins. He would go on to miss the rest of the year due to a right ulna fracture.

In July 2020, seven months after getting dealt from the Indians to the Rangers, Kluber suffered a season-ending teres major strain in the first inning of his first outing of the year against the Rockies.

On account of him only being able to make one start with Texas, Kluber had his $18 million team option for 2021 declined by the Rangers in late October, making him a free agent.

Since that time, the two-time Cy Young Award winner has been ramping back up to the point where he was ready to throw in front of scouts this week.

“I don’t have a mindset that I need to prove myself to anyone, so to speak,” Kluber told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers ahead of his showcase. “I just need to show people that I’m healthy. I’m not putting pressure on myself to go out there and do X, Y and Z. It’s just about showing teams I’m progressing through a normal offseason.”

As he prepares for a normal spring training, Kluber should have plenty of suitors looking to potentially buy low on someone who not too long ago was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The Red Sox, of course, are obviously one of these teams. And as Cotillo notes, Boston may “have geographic advantage in signing Kluber [since] he makes his offseason home in Winchester, Mass., where his wife, Amanda, grew up.”

(Photo of Corey Kluber: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Right-hander Aldo Ramirez ‘most underrated’ prospect in Red Sox farm system, according to MLB front offices

In his most recent work for The Athletic, former Reds and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden writes that he reached out to all 30 major-league front offices “to  uncover the most underrated and undervalued prospects” in baseball for 2021.

By doing this, Bowden identified 30 under-the-radar prospects across the minor-leagues.

Who from the Red Sox’ minor-league pipeline made this exclusive list? None other than rising right-hander Aldo Ramirez.

“Ramirez performed well in the New York/Penn League in 2019 as an 18-year-old, as shown by his 63 strikeouts and 16 walks in 61.2 innings,” writes Bowden. “However, he was noticeably stronger this year in instructional league, with his fastball up to 96 mph with riding life. He’s a physical, athletic pitcher with a repeatable delivery and a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball, curveball and changeup. He profiles as a future mid-rotation-type starter.”

Regarded by SoxProspects.com as Boston’s No. 10 prospect (No. 5 among pitchers), Ramirez was one of the stars of the club’s fall instructional league in Fort Myers.

The 19-year-old hurler, originally signed out of the Mexican League for $550,000 in 2018, “was the consensus top pitcher at Red Sox Fall Instructs,” according to SoxProspects‘ director of scouting Ian Cundall.

“Ramirez sat 92-95 mph [with his fastball], with a potential plus changeup at 85-89 mph and average curveball at 77-81 mph,” Cundall wrote of the young righty last month. “His changeup is a potential weapon and could develop into a plus-to-better pitch given he already shows advanced feel for it and has a lot of confidence in it.”

Bowden gave the following scouting grades (20-80 scale) for each of Ramirez’s three pitches as well as his control and command:

Fastball: 60
Curveball: 55
Changeup: 50
Control: 50
Command: 45

After missing out on a minor-league season to further continue his development in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ramirez — who is listed at 6-foot, 180 lbs. — is projected to begin the 2021 campaign with Low-A Salem as a member of their starting rotation.

A starting role is one the fiery right-hander could maintain for the foreseeable future, too.

“[Ramirez] has a very good chance to remain a starter and has already shown solid strike-throwing ability,” Cundall added. “[He] was on the younger side of the arms in camp but is remarkably polished for his age and gives the Red Sox someone to dream on as a back-end starter with a chance for more given his youth and constantly improving stuff.” 

(Photo of Aldo Ramirez: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox sign former Athletics right-hander Daniel Gossett to minor-league deal, per report

The Red Sox have signed free-agent right-hander Daniel Gossett to a minor-league contract for the 2021 season, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The deal also includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Gossett, 28, was originally drafted by Boston out of high school in the 16th round of the 2011 amateur draft, but he opted to honor his commitment to Clemson University as opposed to signing with the club.

Later drafted out of Clemson by the Athletics in the second of the 2014 amateur draft, the South Carolina native made 23 big-league starts with Oakland between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

He posted a 5.91 ERA and 5.67 FIP over 115 2/3 total innings of work in those outings before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2018.

Since going under the knife, Gossett may have missed the remainder of 2018 and the entirety of 2019, but he did make five starts for the Mesa Solar Sox in last year’s Arizona Fall League.

In those five starts, the 6-foot, 185 lb. hurler yielded just four earned runs on 10 hits and three walks to go along with 12 strikeouts over 14 innings pitched. That’s good for an ERA of 2.57 and .204 batting average against.

Following that impressive showing in the desert, Gossett opened up the shortened 2020 campaign on the Athletics’ 40-man roster and at the team’s alternate training site in San Jose. But, the once-highly touted pitching prospect was designated for assignment and subsequently released in late July.

According to The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard, Gossett “is healthy and ready for a full season in 2021.”

If anything, Gossett could provide intriguing starting rotation depth to a Red Sox team in need of it at the moment.

Working primarily with a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, curveball, and sinker, the former A’s righty owns a lifetime 3.36 ERA over 23 appearances (21 starts) and 128 2/3 innings spanning parts of three seasons, as noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

With that in mind, Gossett could begin the 2021 season in Triple-A Worcester’s rotation depending on how well he performs in spring training. We will have to wait and see on that.

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So far this offseason, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. have either signed — Gossett included — or re-signed the following players to minor-league deals:

C Roldani Baldwin
C Jhonny Pereda
1B Joey Meneses
1B Josh Ockimey
OF Cesar Puello
OF Michael Gettys
OF Johan Mieses
LHP Emmanuel De Jesus
LHP Stephen Gonsalves
RHP Kevin McCarthy
RHP Seth Blair
RHP Raynel Espinal
RHP Caleb Simpson
RHP Zack Kelly
RHP Jose Disla
RHP Daniel Gossett

Red Sox ‘showing interest’ in two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, per report

The Red Sox are showing interest in free-agent right-hander Corey Kluber, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

Kluber, 34, is coming off a 2020 season in which he only made one start and threw one inning for the Rangers on account of suffering a torn right teres muscle against the Rockies on July 26.

Texas had acquired Kluber from the Indians in exchange for outfielder Delino Deshields and pitching prospect Emmanuel Clase last December.

As a result of his only making one start this year, Kluber had his $18 team option declined by the Rangers at the end of October, making him a free agent.

After collecting two American League Cy Young Awards and finishing third or better in A.L. Cy Young voting four times within a five-year span with Cleveland from 2014 through 2018, Kluber has fallen off a bit recently regarding his durability.

Since the start of the 2019 campaign, the three-time All-Star has made just eight starts and accrued 36 2/3 innings of work due to injuries. Last year, he suffered a right ulna fracture in early May, which wound up costing him the rest of the season.

Despite those potential concerns, Kluber was cleared for normal offseason activities back in October and is slated “to be ready to go for spring training,” per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

As noted by Morosi in the tweet above, Kluber makes his offseason home in the greater Boston area since his wife, Amanda, is a Massachusetts native.

With that connection in mind, Kluber and the Red Sox certainly seem like a possible match, especially if the Texas native was willing to sign a short-term, incentive-laden deal in order to re-establish his value.

Of course, what the veteran righty is seeking in terms of contract details has yet to be revealed, but one thing is for certain: the Red Sox are in need of starting pitching, and for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co., Kluber certainly fits the bill.