Latest news with #startingPitching
National Post
9 hours ago
- 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:
