Bard Sidelined With Torn Meniscus, A's Looking To Extend Oakland Lease And . . .
Daniel Bard Likely to Miss Opening Day Due to Meniscus Tear
Rockies righty reliever Daniel Bard tore the meniscus in his left knee while throwing last week and had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair the cartilage. He is expected to miss five to seven weeks, which means his is likely to miss most or all of Spring Training and will thus not be ready for Opening Day, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.
This is yet another detour in the career of the former first-round pick, who emerged as an elite reliever with the Red Sox as the 2000s turned into the 2010s but, upon an attempted move into the rotation in 2012, developed the yips and didn’t pitch in the majors at all from 2014 to 2019.
Bard returned with the Rockies in 2020, took over as their closer in 2021, and was outstanding in 2022, with a 1.79 ERA, 34 saves, and some down-ballot MVP votes. Last year, however, his control problems returned as he battled anxiety and later finished the season on the injured list with a flexor strain in his pitching arm.
Bard managed a 111 ERA+ in 49 1/3 innings last year, but walked 49 men in those 49 1/3 frames and hit eight others while striking out just 47. After the All-Star break, he posted a 9.16 ERA and walked 25 men and hit five others in just 18 2/3 frames. Bard will turn 39 in June, and this awkward start to his season, while it may give him extra time to rest his arm, seems likely to only complicate his efforts to recover from last season.
Arbitration Decision
Rays defeated RHP Jason Adam in arbitration, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Adam will make $2.7 million this season instead of the $3.25 million he had requested.
Rumors
Angels are close to a minor-league contract with LHP Drew Pomeranz, per Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register.
A’s will meet with local officials today to discuss a possible extension of the team’s lease on the Oakland Coliseum, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. A’s team president Dave Kaval, Oakland chief of staff Leigh Hanson, city council member Rebecca Kaplan, and county supervisor David Haubert are expected to be among those in attendance. The A’s current lease expires after this season, so, even if they do ultimately move to Las Vegas in 2028, they still need a place to play from 2025 to ’27.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller told reporters on Tuesday that the team has “been pretty active” in a “late-developing market” and has had “trade conversations that are still ongoing,” making clear that “the team that starts camp here in the next couple days, it’s not going to be the team that, obviously, we finish with.”
However, Preller threw cold water on rumors of other teams’ interest in middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim, saying, “We see him as a huge part of our team. Most likely, if we’re going to play well, it’s [with] Ha-Seong Kim in the middle of the diamond.”
Red Sox are looking to add an outfielder, preferably one who bats right-handed, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. They remain open to trade offers for relievers Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and John Schreiber, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe and Christopher Smith of MassLive.
Roster Moves
Giants purchased UT Otto Lopez from the Blue Jays, designated OF TJ Hopkins for assignment.
Phillies claimed RHP Kaleb Ort off waivers from the Marlins, designated UT Diego Castillo for assignment. OF Símon Muzziotti and RHP Andrew Bellatti cleared waivers and were outrighted to the minor-leagues; Bellatti will be a non-roster invitee in major-league Spring Training.
Reds claimed OF Bubba Thompson off waivers from Twins, designated RHP Levi Stoudt for assignment. This marks the fourth time Thompson has switched teams via waivers this offseason and the second time he has been claimed by the Reds.
Yankees claimed 3B/1B Jordan Groshans off waivers from the Marlins, designated LHP Matt Krook for assignment.
Minor-League and International Transactions
Marlins signed C Curt Casali and RHP Yonny Chirinos to minor-league contracts with an invitations to major-league Spring Training, the former per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the latter per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
Phillies signed RHP David Buchanan to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training.
Rangers signed RHP Adrian Sampson to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training.
Twins signed C Brian O’Keefe and RHP Jeff Brigham to minor-league contracts with invitations to major-league Spring Training and invited recently DFA’d RHPs Jordan Balazovic and Daniel Duarte to major-league Spring Training, as well.
White Sox signed RHPs Corey Knebel and Dominic Leone to minor-league contracts with invitations to major-league Spring Training.
CPBL’s CTBC Brothers signed LHP Eric Stout, per MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes.
CPBL’s Wei Chuan Dragons re-signed RHP Drew Gagnon.