Ex-McCutcheon star, former Mr. Baseball Clayton Richard wins first MLB start in two years
Clayton Richard arrived at Victory Field on Friday afternoon to make his scheduled start for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.
Late Friday night, the Lafayette native was an hour outside of Chicago and moving closer to his return to the major leagues.
The Chicago Cubs acquired the McCutcheon High School graduate from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization on Friday for cash considerations. Richard made his first major league start since June 2013 on Saturday night against the Miami Marlins, allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings to earn the win.
"I'm extremely excited about the opportunity and I'm also very grateful for the opportunity the Pirates gave me," Richard said before heading to Chicago. "The organization, through the spring and this season, gave me a chance to go out and get better and improve. I'm really grateful for what the coaching staff was able to do to help me and get me in position to make the next jump."
Earlier this week, an "upward mobility clause" in Richard's contract went into effect. The Pirates had to make Richard available to the other 29 MLB teams for a 72-hour window. If any team agreed to put Richard on a big league roster, the Pirates either had to promote Richard or deal him to the interested team.
The Cubs, who have struggled lately with consistency at the back end of their rotation, stepped up. Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer held the same position in San Diego for part of Richard's tenure with the Padres.
It's the second stint in Chicago for Richard, who began his career with the White Sox.
"It's kind of always been a dream growing up, watching them on TV," Richard said of pitching for the Cubs. "I know our community as a whole is pretty strong with Cubs fans, so it's exciting in that regard. A lot of people get to watch and are excited to watch. That's the really neat part of this."
Richard, 31, was 46-47 in six MLB seasons with the White Sox and Padres. His 2013 season ended with AC joint surgery, and in the following offseason, he underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome.
Richard made four appearances in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization last summer and signed a minor league contract with the Pirates in the offseason.
Richard excelled for the Indians in June, going 3-1 in five starts and allowing six earned runs in 331/3 innings. He's 4-3 for the season, including one start for Class A Bradenton, and has allowed three or fewer runs in nine of his 10 starts.
The White Sox drafted Richard in the eighth round of the 2005 draft out of Michigan. He pitched in 39 games for the White Sox in 2008 and '09 before he was traded to San Diego as part of a package for pitcher Jake Peavy.
Richard topped 200 innings pitched in both 2010 and 2012 and led the National League in games started with 33 in the latter season. With the Cubs, he'll be reunited with former Padres teammates Anthony Rizzo and Chris Denorfia.
It's been a long climb for Richard since June 21, 2013, when he walked off the mound in San Diego after just two pitches. But he said Saturday's start was just another part of the journey, not the destination.
"I'm excited about the opportunity, but I feel like I have a lot left to accomplish," Richard said. "It's a step I'm excited for. I'm extremely excited to take it with the Cubs. I'm anxious to get it started.
"But by no means is this a conclusion. It's more of a start and something I want to keep building on. I need to improve and make progress towards the rest of my career."