[ad_1]
Red Sox transfer right-hander Garret richards at the paddock, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Christopher Smith). His rotational position will be filled by Chris Sale, who is expected to make his first appearance in two years on Saturday against the Orioles.
The Sox signed Richards for a one-year, $ 10 million offseason warranty. (The deal also contains a club option currently valued at $ 10.25 million – with potential escalators – for the 2022 campaign, but Richards’ struggles this year means he will likely be bought out instead). The hope was that Richards would solidify a starting rotation that seemed to be one of the weak spots in the roster. Things didn’t turn out that way, as the 33-year-old worked with a 5.22 / 5.02 SIERA ERA over 22 starts before losing his rotation spot.
Few baseball pitchers seemed more affected by MLB’s mid-season decision to enforce the foreign substance ban than Richards, who admitted he had previously used a sunscreen / rosin combination. In the games on June 15 – when the MLB announced its impending crackdown – Richards had a decent ERA / 3.85 FIP of 4.09 in 70 1/3 frames. In his nine starts since, the right-hander has an ERA of 7.20 / 7.45 FIP. Along the way, he worked to incorporate a change while reducing the use of his curve ball, which experienced a fairly steep drop in spin (albeit from a range of 3100 to 3300 rpm at a still high level of 2800 – 3000 rpm band).
That’s not to say that Richards’ disappointing few months were solely the result of cracking down on foreign substances – and his previous success wasn’t specifically because sticky stuff. Richards strikeout and walk rates were worse than average, even early in the season. His strong run prevention relied heavily on his ability to keep the ball in the court, but the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction lately.
Richards allowed just five home runs in his first 13 starts, with a tiny HR / FB rate of 8.2% at that time; since then he has been scored for thirteen longballs with an HR / FB rate of 24.1%. It’s certainly possible that his diminished tricks play a part in this – his four-stitched fastball has been much more achievable since his discontinued spin in June – but he’s probably also been prone to having bad luck on the flying balls after hitting the ball. benefited from good fortune earlier in the year.
Whatever the specific cause, Richards’ recent struggles have grown serious enough that the Sox are downsizing his role in running. Boston also struck Martin perez of last week’s rotation in favor of Tanner Houck, shaking the starting team as the team continues to struggle. The Red Sox have only gone 9-14 since the all-star break, losing five games to the Rays in LA East (not counting tonight’s almost certain win over Tampa Bay). Boston holds a 1.5-game advantage over the Yankees for the final American League Wild Card spot.
[ad_2]
Source link