Latest news with #startingPitching
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline: With a shortage of arms and a surplus of buyers, starting pitching will be very expensive this summer
It's no secret that the most precious commodity at this year's trade deadline will be starting pitching. When it comes to midseason additions, as is the case in the offseason, reliable starters are extremely valuable. But there are a few factors that could make acquiring starting pitching ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline a little more challenging than in other years. The most important caveat for this year's deadline is that there is no true ace considered to be available. Unlike last season, when the White Sox were actively shopping Garrett Crochet, this time around, there is no frontline, All-Star-level arm on the market. Across the league, that caliber of pitcher is either not available or not healthy. Some might argue that Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom meets this criteria, but he comes with a price that would turn many teams off. Advertisement This season, there are more middle-to-back of the rotation arms available. Pitchers such as Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, Orioles righty Zach Eflin, D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly and Rangers righty Tyler Mahle are the type of arms expected to be available and highly sought after. If moved, those four would all be rentals before they become free agents at the conclusion of the 2025 season. Several other notable pitchers who are set to become free agents and therefore could be candidates to be traded, such as Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, Phillies southpaw Ranger Suárez and Padres right-hander Michael King, are on contending teams and are important pieces of their teams' playoff hopes. That trend across the league further shrinks this summer's pitching market. And of the starters who are expected to be available this summer, many come with questions or risks. There aren't many arms you can point to that have been particularly dominant, and there are even fewer that a contender would want starting a playoff game. Advertisement Even Sandy Alcántara and Zac Gallen, who were supposed to be among the biggest names available at this year's deadline, have not delivered Cy Young-caliber performances in the first half. While it's entirely possible either of them could return to All-Star form with a new club and give that team an ace for the stretch run, it seems just as likely that they continue to struggle through the second half. Competition for starting pitching inevitably drives up the price for the best players available at the deadline. That will be particularly true this season, when most of the contenders could use pitching. Recent June swoons for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets have emphasized their pitching needs. The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite many moves in the offseason, have once again seen their rotation decimated by injuries, and the San Diego Padres could also use additional pitching depth. What's more, the competition for pitching isn't exclusive to the teams at the top of the standings. There are currently nine teams within four games of a playoff spot, in addition to the six teams holding wild cards. Add the six division leaders, and that's two-thirds of the teams in baseball with reason to believe in their chances to reach the postseason. Advertisement If most teams consider themselves buyers, that puts the sellers in an extremely advantageous position and raises the prices even higher, particularly when it comes to starting pitching. But in the era of the third wild card, some will wait longer than ever to decide which lane to take. Some, like the Detroit Tigers last season, might even try to thread the needle and think short- and long-term by selling and buying at the same time. As we get closer to the trade deadline, a few of the nine teams currently within reach of a wild card will likely fall back to Earth and join the ranks of the sellers. One that could get there sooner rather than later is the Diamondbacks. Arizona has dealt with numerous injuries this season, and with them competing in the NL West and hovering around .500 as we reach the end of June, it doesn't appear as if a postseason berth is in their future. Kelly, Gallen and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez are likely going to be available and discussed by teams. As disappointing as it will be to give up on the team's chances in 2024, the D-backs, with their three movable starting pitchers, would be wise to take advantage of a very lucrative trade market for the sellers.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline: With a shortage of arms and more buyers than sellers, starting pitching will be very expensive this summer
It's no secret that the most precious commodity at this year's trade deadline will be starting pitching. When it comes to midseason additions, as is the case in the offseason, reliable starters are extremely valuable. But there are a few factors that could make acquiring starting pitching ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline a little more challenging than in other years. The most important caveat for this year's deadline is that there is no true ace considered to be available. Unlike last season, when the White Sox were actively shopping Garrett Crochet, this time around, there is no frontline, All-Star-level arm on the market. Across the league, that caliber of pitcher is either not available or not healthy. Some might argue that Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom meets this criteria, but he comes with a price that would turn many teams off. Advertisement This season, there are more middle-to-back of the rotation arms available. Pitchers such as Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, Orioles righty Zach Eflin, D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly and Rangers righty Tyler Mahle are the type of arms expected to be available and highly sought after. If moved, those four would all be rentals before they become free agents at the conclusion of the 2025 season. Several other notable pitchers who are set to become free agents and therefore could be candidates to be traded, such as Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, Phillies southpaw Ranger Suárez and Padres right-hander Michael King, are on contending teams and are important pieces of their teams' playoff hopes. That trend across the league further shrinks this summer's pitching market. And of the starters who are expected to be available this summer, many come with questions or risks. There aren't many arms you can point to that have been particularly dominant, and there are even fewer that a contender would want starting a playoff game. Advertisement Even Sandy Alcántara and Zac Gallen, who were supposed to be among the biggest names available at this year's deadline, have not delivered Cy Young-caliber performances in the first half. While it's entirely possible either of them could return to All-Star form with a new club and give that team an ace for the stretch run, it seems just as likely that they continue to struggle through the second half. Competition for starting pitching inevitably drives up the price for the best players available at the deadline. That will be particularly true this season, when most of the contenders could use pitching. Recent June swoons for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets have emphasized their pitching needs. The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite many moves in the offseason, have once again seen their rotation decimated by injuries, and the San Diego Padres could also use additional pitching depth. What's more, the competition for pitching isn't exclusive to the teams at the top of the standings. There are currently nine teams within four games of a playoff spot, in addition to the six teams holding wild cards. Add the six division leaders, and that's two-thirds of the teams in baseball with reason to believe in their chances to reach the postseason. Advertisement If most teams consider themselves buyers, that puts the sellers in an extremely advantageous position and raises the prices even higher, particularly when it comes to starting pitching. But in the era of the third wild card, some will wait longer than ever to decide which lane to take. Some, like the Detroit Tigers last season, might even try to thread the needle and think short- and long-term by selling and buying at the same time. As we get closer to the trade deadline, a few of the nine teams currently within reach of a wild card will likely fall back to Earth and join the ranks of the sellers. One that could get there sooner rather than later is the Diamondbacks. Arizona has dealt with numerous injuries this season, and with them competing in the NL West and hovering around .500 as we reach the end of June, it doesn't appear as if a postseason berth is in their future. Kelly, Gallen and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez are likely going to be available and discussed by teams. As disappointing as it will be to give up on the team's chances in 2024, the D-backs, with their three movable starting pitchers, would be wise to take advantage of a very lucrative trade market for the sellers.
National Post
20-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Kevin Gausman believes Blue Jays' desperate need for reliable starting pitching starts with him
Article content How desperate are the Blue Jays for reliable, healthy, go-deep-into-games starting pitching? Article content Despite the impressive recent success and surge by the team, a June run that has vaulted them into contention for the AL East division title, the concern is high and seemingly getting higher with each turn through the rotation. Article content Article content The question marks go beyond that of the struggles of Bowden Francis, the ongoing (but potentially almost resolved) health of Max Scherzer's thumb and the lingering saga of the Blue Jays sometimes-twice-weekly bullpen day. Article content No, the concern now extends to a would-be ace of the Toronto rotation, veteran Kevin Gausman. The always-transparent right-hander has been the first to admit that June has been a near disaster for him and acknowledges that he needs to be better. Article content 'June has been really ugly for me,' Gausman said after an ugly outing on Thursday in which he allowed seven runs and two homers and was chased by the Arizona Diamondbacks after just 4.1 dodgy innings. 'To be honest, I feel like everybody kind of did their jobs this series and I didn't. (The team) is playing really good right now and going for a sweep (against the D'Backs) and I go out there and do that. I'm pretty frustrated.' Article content Article content 'Like a lot of people, when Kevin's ahead (in the count), Kevin's elite,' manager John Schneider said after watching his starter surrender a season-high seven earned runs. 'Not getting there has just been tough for him.' Article content Who knows what is causing Gausman to regress, as three of his past four starts have gone five innings or less and he has been nowhere near his best. But it isn't a stretch to suggest that the wear and tear on the pitching staff eventually was going to take its toll on at least one of the big three starters — Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios. Article content The workload foisted on that threesome for parts of the past three seasons has been formidable and, for the most part, handled with good health and solid form. But regressing to a four-man rotation at various points in that run unsurprisingly can come with a cost. Article content For the most part, the Jays have survived the latest challenge of being a man down, a reality that has dragged on all season. The latest example is scheduled for Friday where Spencer Turnbull is set to get the start in a planned bullpen day for the first date of a three-game weekend series against the miserable Chicago White Sox. Article content In the broader picture, the overriding and mitigating good news is that, at 40-34, the Jays are comfortably in a playoff position and, with a shored-up rotation at some point between now and the trade deadline, have a realistic opportunity to run down the New York Yankees for the division title.
Associated Press
09-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Snake eyes: D-backs' $425 million investment in starting pitching hasn't gone as planned
PHOENIX (AP) — The normally budget-conscious Arizona Diamondbacks have been willing to spend big money over the past several years, taking chances on the notoriously volatile market of free agent starting pitching. So far, it's a bet that has come up snake eyes. Over the past 5 1/2 years, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has committed roughly $425 million to four pitchers — Corbin Burnes, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodríguez and Madison Bumgarner. The combined return on that investment: A 30-48 record, 5.25 ERA, minus-0.4 WAR and two Tommy John surgeries. Yikes. The latest bad news came on June 1 when Burnes — who signed a $210 million, six-year deal in January — abruptly left a game against the Nationals with right elbow pain. Now he's set to undergo Tommy John surgery and might not return to the mound until 2027. It's a brutal blow for the D-backs, who have a 31-34 record heading into Monday night's game against the Mariners. The 30-year-old Burnes seemed like the safest bet on the market last winter when the D-backs made the signing. The four-time All-Star and 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner had been remarkably consistent and healthy over the previous four seasons, making at least 28 starts every year. 'I might as well do another job if we're going to be scared of bringing in a guy of this caliber on your team,' Arizona's general manager Mike Hazen said at Burnes' introductory news conference. Added Kendrick: 'We're stretching the budget. It won't be the last time.' And for two months, he was everything Hazen, Kendrick and the D-backs hoped for with a 3-2 record and 2.66 ERA. Now he's out for the foreseeable future. It's the latest in a bad run of luck for Arizona's front office. It's also a brutal reminder of the substantial risk in handing out big money to pitchers in an era when injuries are happening at an alarming rate. The D-backs aren't the only team facing the same problem, even in their own division. The Los Angeles Dodgers currently have 14 pitchers on the injured list — including starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin. Snell has made just two starts this season because of injuries after signing a $182 millon, five-year deal in the offseason. The difference is the Dodgers seem to have nearly unlimited money to keep adding talent. The D-backs do not. The string of disappointing signings started in December 2019, when the D-backs added Bumgarner with a $85 million, five-year deal. The lefty had declined from his peak in the early-to-mid 2010s, when he led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles, but there was reason to believe he would be a solid middle-of-the-rotation option. Instead, he regressed even more in the desert, going 15-32 with a 5.23 ERA over a little more than three seasons. The D-backs released him in 2023 after he had a 10.26 ERA through four starts, eating more than $30 million in the process. The D-backs made a surprise run to the World Series that year and invested in a pair of pitchers — Montgomery and Rodriguez — during the ensuing offseason. Montgomery signed a $25 million, one-year deal with a vesting option for 2025. Rodriguez was added on an $80 million, four-year deal. Much like the Bumgarner signing, both seemed like good deals at the time. Montgomery had just helped the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in the World Series and was a solid lefty with a sub-4.00 ERA in each of the previous three seasons. Rodriguez was coming off one of the best seasons of his career after going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA for the Detroit Tigers. Things haven't worked out for either pitcher. Montgomery was awful in 2024 with a 6.23 ERA and eventually demoted to the bullpen. But because he made 21 starts, his vesting option for $22.5 million kicked in for 2025. His bid for a bounce-back season ended before it even started. The lefty got hurt during spring training in March and needed Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, ending his time in the desert. Rodriguez hurt his shoulder during spring training in 2024 and didn't make his D-backs debut until August, contributing a 5.04 ERA as the team faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs. He's battled injuries and ineffectiveness again this year with a 6.70 ERA through 10 starts. There's still time for the Rodriguez and Burnes deals to take a turn for the better. Even if Burnes doesn't return until 2027, he'd have four more years remaining on his deal. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo chose to remain optimistic following Burnes' injury. 'We're all with Corbin right now,' Lovullo said. 'This is a tough day to get this news. But we'll find a way to rally around him, play hard for him all year long. ... It's a long road, and it takes time for him to heal and recover. And he will. He'll be great for the Arizona Diamondbacks, I'm convinced of it.' ___ AP MLB:
