Kevin Gausman to Reds via waiver claim

[Eye Black]

The Reds pickup a sneaky good bounce back candidate, IMO.

 

Via MLB Trade Rumors:

 

1:00pm: The teams have announced the move. Atlanta also announced that Mike Foltynewicz is up from Triple-A Gwinnett, so he’ll take Gausman’s spot in the rotation.

 

12:25pm: The Reds have claimed right-hander Kevin Gausman off outright waivers from the Braves, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That’s not to be mistaken with the now-defunct revocable August trade waivers, to be clear. The claim means that Gausman is now a member of the Reds, who by claiming him are agreeing to take on the remainder of the right-hander’s $9.35MM salary — a sum of about $2.815MM between now and season’s end.

 

Cincinnati is obviously banking on a return to form following a change of scenery, as Gausman is mired in the worst season of his big league career. The former No. 4 overall draft pick (Orioles, 2012) joined Atlanta last season in a deadline trade that saw Atlanta take on the remainder of Darren O’Day‘s salary while also shipping out international bonus allotments and minor leaguers Brett Cumberland, JC Encarnacion, Bruce Zimmermann and Evan Phillips.

 

Gausman performed admirably down the stretch in 2018 and was a big part of the Braves’ rotation (2.87 ERA in 59 2/3 innings), but he’s been among the league’s least effective pitchers in 2019. Through 80 innings, he’s pitched to a 6.19 earned run average with 9.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.35 HR/9 and a career-low 37 percent ground-ball rate.

 

There’s little denying that Gausman has had his share of poor fortune in 2019. His .345 average on balls in play is well north of both his career mark (.313) and the league average (.299), and his 59.3 percent strand rate appears fluky and due for some positive regression toward his lifetime mark of 74.1 percent. Fielding-independent metrics peg him as a candidate for considerable improvement (4.20 FIP, 4.40 SIERA, 4.47 xFIP).

 

Gausman’s average fastball velocity (93.8 mph) is down from its 95 mph peak, however, and he’s allowing line drives at a career-worst 24.7 percent clip. Opposing hitters are barreling up Gausman’s offerings at a higher rate than ever before, per Statcast, and the increased number of hard-hit balls in the air has come back to bite him.

 

The Reds don’t appear to have an immediate need for starting pitching, with Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood all in the rotation at the moment. It’s possible that Cincinnati could utilize Gausman out of the bullpen or deploy a six-man rotation to keep their arms fresh down the stretch.

 

The move could very well have been made with an eye toward 2020 as well — as was the case with their acquisition of Bauer. Gausman is controllable via arbitration for the third and final time this winter, although at present he looks like a potential non-tender candidate. Still, perhaps a strong showing to the season will convince the Cincinnati front office that Gausman is deserving of the $10MM+ salary he’d command in arbitration this offseason. If he is able to return to form, Gausman would slot in fourth behind the formidable trio of Bauer, Castillo and Gray.

 

[A Swing and A Drive]

They obviously think Derek Johnson can fix him.

 

Hard to blame them.

 

Look what he has done with their entire rotation this year.

Castillo

Gray

Desclafani

Roark

 

Most of these guys have exceeded their expectations and made improvements.

[TURBO]

Yet losing DJ has had no effect on our pitching staff. Pitching coaches don't matter.

[rickh150]

Yet losing DJ has had no effect on our pitching staff. Pitching coaches don't matter.

 

Coaches matter, some more than others. Like teachers, whom we all have had, some help marginally, a few are detriments, and the rare ones change the direction of your life for the better.

[rickh150]

So Atlantis FIRST had to basically let him go. THEN Cincinnati claimed him off waivers.

 

OR, did Atlanta just run him thru waivers to see if anyone would take him; THEN, if no one picked him up, he could hypothetically pitch for the Braves.

[Jopal78]

Reds now have three former first round picks in their rotation

[KeithStone53151]

I would have liked to take a chance on him, especially given our current SP situation. I assume Reds were higher on the pecking order than us though...

[pacopete4]

Reds now have three former first round picks in their rotation

Seen here, we have two (Lyles/Gio) former 1st rounders and Houser (2nd) in the rotation. We also have Jeffress and Pomeranz as first rounders on our staff as well. Add in Devin Williams as a 2nd rounder out of the pen as well.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Reds now have three former first round picks in their rotation

Seen here, we have two (Lyles/Gio) former 1st rounders and Houser (2nd) in the rotation. We also have Jeffress and Pomeranz as first rounders on our staff as well. Add in Devin Williams as a 2nd rounder out of the pen as well.

 

Translation: It mean nothing. lol

[bjkrautk]

So Atlantis FIRST had to basically let him go. THEN Cincinnati claimed him off waivers.

 

OR, did Atlanta just run him thru waivers to see if anyone would take him; THEN, if no one picked him up, he could hypothetically pitch for the Braves.

 

As I understand it, the "revocable" waivers have been done away with in favor of a singular trade deadline. Atlanta waived Gausman, and should not have been able to rescind the waiver when the Reds made a claim.

 

(...as a result, the Reds don't have to give up any prospects in the process. They just have to take on the contract.)

 

 

Anyone who follows things as closely as I used to can certainly correct me if this is incorrect.

[jjfanec]

They obviously think Derek Johnson can fix him.

 

Hard to blame them.

 

Look what he has done with their entire rotation this year.

Castillo

Gray

Desclafani

Roark

 

Most of these guys have exceeded their expectations and made improvements.

 

Roark and Desclafani are right around what you would expect. Both had eras over 4.

[rickh150]

So Atlantis FIRST had to basically let him go. THEN Cincinnati claimed him off waivers.

 

OR, did Atlanta just run him thru waivers to see if anyone would take him; THEN, if no one picked him up, he could hypothetically pitch for the Braves.

 

As I understand it, the "revocable" waivers have been done away with in favor of a singular trade deadline. Atlanta waived Gausman, and should not have been able to rescind the waiver when the Reds made a claim.

 

(...as a result, the Reds don't have to give up any prospects in the process. They just have to take on the contract.)

 

 

Anyone who follows things as closely as I used to can certainly correct me if this is incorrect.

 

 

Still not getting at my question here. I'm not saying that the Braves could have taken him back. We all know that once the Reds claimed him, he's a Red.

 

The unknown is if the Braves actually had to give him up first by putting him on waivers. By just putting him on waivers, he's gone? Or could the Braves run him through waivers and IF no one picks him up, along with the prorated portion of the contract, then the Braves could still have him on the team.

 

Hypothetically, could we put Moose on waivers at the end of August and see if any team simply wants to pick him up? If no one picks him up, DO WE STILL have him? Or is he a free agent?

[LouisEly]

Wasn't there a lot of hand-wringing around here last year about the Brewers not trading for Gausman at the deadline?

[jjfanec]

Wasn't there a lot of hand-wringing around here last year about the Brewers not trading for Gausman at the deadline?

 

Yes there was. He seemed to pitch well for Atlanta for a while after the deadline

[JosephC]

Wow, too bad the Brewers didn't have the opportunity to get Gausman. Sure the ERA looks terrible, but he's pitched to a 4.20 FIP and that's good enough for me to think he would have been one of the Brewers best five starting options pretty easily with all the injury problems. Since the beginning of 2016 he's been a 4.34 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 100 ERA+ pitcher...it would be hard to argue that he's any worse than average and average is probably an upgrade for the Brewers staff.

 

He still has one more year of arbitration after this year and probably will earn something like 11.25 million. I'm kind of surprised the White Sox passed on him. He obviously doesn't do that much for them this year, but their young guys are coming up and he could be a stabilizing factor for them next year if those young guys get ahead of schedule and over-achieve. They figure to have a couple rotation spots open and the payroll situation seems favorable for a Gausman type add. Maybe they have their eye on bigger fishes...didn't work out with Machado this off-season but maybe next off-season will be a different story.

[nate82]

They obviously think Derek Johnson can fix him.

 

Hard to blame them.

 

Look what he has done with their entire rotation this year.

Castillo

Gray

Desclafani

Roark

 

Most of these guys have exceeded their expectations and made improvements.

 

Gray is probably the only pitcher that DJ has had an impact on that you listed. Castillo has improved to where his advanced stats last year said he should be at and he isn't pitching any different than he was last year. Desclafani and Roark are both at where they should be.

[djoctagone]

Still not getting at my question here. I'm not saying that the Braves could have taken him back. We all know that once the Reds claimed him, he's a Red.

 

The unknown is if the Braves actually had to give him up first by putting him on waivers. By just putting him on waivers, he's gone? Or could the Braves run him through waivers and IF no one picks him up, along with the prorated portion of the contract, then the Braves could still have him on the team.

 

Hypothetically, could we put Moose on waivers at the end of August and see if any team simply wants to pick him up? If no one picks him up, DO WE STILL have him? Or is he a free agent?

at this point, a club puts a player on irrevocable outright waivers. if no other team claims him (and thus, the remainder of his contract), the club can outright said player to the minor leagues.

 

however, if said player has enough service time, he can refuse the assignment and ask for his release. the club is on the hook for the remainder of his contract, until he signs elsewhere. or, if the player has been outrighted before, but doesn't have five years' service time, he can refuse the assignment and become a free agent--but that voids his contract.

 

the player can accept the minor league assignment, but then said player cannot be traded until after the world series--and the minor league season at all levels ends in early september. said player could have his contract selected again by the major league club, but he'd be taking up a 40-man and an active roster spot.

 

so, yes, the brewers could put mike moustakas on irrevocable outright waivers, but if he went unclaimed, he would reserve the right to refuse the assignment and the brewers lose him to free agency, while still paying him for the remainder of 2019 and his buyout for the mutual option.

[rickh150]

Still not getting at my question here. I'm not saying that the Braves could have taken him back. We all know that once the Reds claimed him, he's a Red.

 

The unknown is if the Braves actually had to give him up first by putting him on waivers. By just putting him on waivers, he's gone? Or could the Braves run him through waivers and IF no one picks him up, along with the prorated portion of the contract, then the Braves could still have him on the team.

 

Hypothetically, could we put Moose on waivers at the end of August and see if any team simply wants to pick him up? If no one picks him up, DO WE STILL have him? Or is he a free agent?

at this point, a club puts a player on irrevocable outright waivers. if no other team claims him (and thus, the remainder of his contract), the club can outright said player to the minor leagues.

 

however, if said player has enough service time, he can refuse the assignment and ask for his release. the club is on the hook for the remainder of his contract, until he signs elsewhere. or, if the player has been outrighted before, but doesn't have five years' service time, he can refuse the assignment and become a free agent--but that voids his contract.

 

the player can accept the minor league assignment, but then said player cannot be traded until after the world series--and the minor league season at all levels ends in early september. said player could have his contract selected again by the major league club, but he'd be taking up a 40-man and an active roster spot.

 

so, yes, the brewers could put mike moustakas on irrevocable outright waivers, but if he went unclaimed, he would reserve the right to refuse the assignment and the brewers lose him to free agency, while still paying him for the remainder of 2019 and his buyout for the mutual option.

 

Moose and Grandal would both be claimed if we went this route in late August, and we wouldn't have to pay the rest of this salary? Let's say that Oakland claims Grandal, but Grandal doesn't want to go there. He has enough service time to reject the move AND the Brewers would have to let him go AND also pay his contract ( until another team signs him as a FA for a month).

[djoctagone]

Moose and Grandal would both be claimed if we went this route in late August, and we wouldn't have to pay the rest of this salary? Let's say that Oakland claims Grandal, but Grandal doesn't want to go there. He has enough service time to reject the move AND the Brewers would have to let him go AND also pay his contract ( until another team signs him as a FA for a month).

you're assuming that those players would definitely be claimed. it's a safe assumption, but it's not a sure thing. it's a relatively safe gamble for salary relief for the remainder of the season, but as mentioned, if the player goes unclaimed, the club is on the hook for the remainder of the contract for any players with five years-plus service.

 

a club may not request outright waivers on a player with a complete no-trade clause or on a player who has ten-and-five rights.

 

grandal has enough service time to refuse the outright assignment to the minor leagues, but he cannot block being claimed by any other team (unless he happens to have a complete no-trade clause, which we haven't gotten indication of).

 

ryan braun qualifies for the ten-and-five rights (ten years of service, five with the same team), so the brewers cannot request outright waivers on him.