Red Sox’ Matt Strahm likely to be activated from injured list for Friday’s series opener against Orioles, Alex Cora says

UPDATE: Strahm told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier he expected to be activated before Friday’s series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore. A corresponding roster move will need to be made.

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There is a “good chance” Red Sox reliever Matt Strahm returns from the injured list and joins the team in Pittsburgh on Thursday, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) prior to Wednesday’s game against the Pirates.

Strahm has been sidelined since July 12. That night, the left-hander took a 98 mph line drive off his throwing hand from Taylor Walls in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. He was immediately removed from the game and was later diagnosed with a left wrist contusion, though x-rays did come back negative.

Three days later, Strahm was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 13) with said contusion. The 30-year-old southpaw began throwing again earlier this month and was sent out on a brief rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday night.

In what will likely be his lone appearance for the WooSox, Strahm struck out one of the three batters he faced in a scoreless sixth inning against the Rochester Red Wings at Polar Park. He needed just 14 pitches (9 strikes) to get through the perfect frame and was hovering around 94-95 mph with his fastball, per Cora.

Signed to a one-year, $3 million deal back in March, Strahm has posted a 3.58 ERA and 2.61 FIP to go along with 32 strikeouts to seven walks over 33 relief appearances spanning 27 2/3 innings of work for Boston.

Strahm’s return would be a welcomed one for the Red Sox. As things stand currently, Austin Davis is the only active lefty in Boston’s bullpen. Davis owns an ERA of 13.15 in his last 15 outings dating back to July 8.

(Picture of Matt Strahm: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Blaze Jordan homers, collects career-best 4 hits in latest strong showing for High-A Greenville

Red Sox power-hitting prospect Blaze Jordan has certainly made the most of his promotion to High-A Greenville so far.

In the Drive’s 7-5 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Tuesday night, Jordan went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, an RBI single, and two runs scored out of the three-hole. The four hits represent a single-game career high for the 19-year-old.

Since being promoted from Low-A Salem last week, Jordan has gone 10-for-23 (.435) at the plate with three homers, seven RBIs, seven runs scored, two walks, and five strikeouts in his first six games with Greenville.

The right-handed hitting infielder earned that promotion after batting .286/.357/.446 (123 wRC+) to go along with 40 extra-base hits (eight home runs), 57 runs driven in, 48 runs scored, four stolen bases, 37 walks, and 67 strikeouts across 95 games (415 plate appearances) with Salem to begin the season.

Defensively, Jordan has already logged 27 innings at third base and 18 innings at first base to begin his tenure with the Drive. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder saw playing time at both of those positions — as well as designated hitter — while he was in Salem, where he was named Carolina League Player of the Week on two separate occasions.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the third round of the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft out of DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss., Jordan is currently regarded by Baseball America as the top power hitter and the No. 10 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Given that he has just recently made the jump to High-A, it seems likely that Jordan — who turns 20 in December — will return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 season if he remains in the organization through the winter.

(Picture of Blaze Jordan: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Nick Pivetta allows just 1 hit over 7 scoreless innings as Red Sox hold on for 5-3 win over Pirates

The Red Sox scored four runs out of the gate and held on for a series-opening win over the Pirates at PNC Park on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Pittsburgh by a final score of 5-3 to improve to 58-59 on the season and 7-9 in interleague play.

Making their first trip to Pittsburgh in nearly seven years, the Sox received an early boost from the top half of their lineup. Matched up against Mitch Keller to begin things on Tuesday, Tommy Pham led off the first inning with a line-drive single.

Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez followed by drawing back-to-back walks to fill the bases for Alex Verdugo, who drove in his side’s first run on a groundball single to right field. Christian Arroyo and Eric Hosmer tacked on two more with run-scoring singles of their own, though Hosmer’s — a 214-foot fly ball — deflected off the glove of Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz before landing in left field.

With the bases still full, Enrique Hernandez came through in his first plate appearance in more than two months by lifting a 350-foot sacrifice fly to left field to plate Verdugo. An inning later, Pham reached base again on a one-out single. He moved up to second base when Martinez drew a walk and scored from there after Pirates centerfielder Bryan Reynolds failed to catch a 366-foot line drive off the bat of Verdugo.

That sequence of events gave the Red Sox a five-run lead, which was plenty big for Nick Pivetta. Making his 24th start of the season on Tuesday, Pivetta allowed just one hit and three walks to go along with six strikeouts over seven scoreless innings of work.

The one hit Pivetta surrendered came with two outs in the bottom of the first and put runners at first and second. The right-hander did not buckle, though, as he proceeded to get Kevin Padlo to ground out to himself to extinguish the threat.

From there, Pivetta settled in by retiring 18 of the next 20 batters he faced through the end of the seventh. Of the 99 pitches the 29-year-old threw on Tuesday, 63 went for strikes. He induced a total of eight swings-and-misses in the process of picking up his ninth win and lowering his ERA on the season to 4.28.

In relief of Pivetta, Austin Davis received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander made things interesting in the eighth by loading the bases with one out on two singles and a walk. That prompted Cora to turn to John Schreiber, who struck out Reynolds on a nasty slider and was one strike away from ending the inning.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Schreiber served up a bases-clearing, three-run double to Gamel on another slider at the bottom of the strike zone. All three of those runs were charged to Davis as the Pirates trimmed the deficit down to two runs at 5-3.

Matt Barnes was called upon to end it in the ninth. He did just that by punching out Cruz and Rodolfo Castro and retiring Greg Allen on 12 pitches to earn his third save of the season (and first since May 21) to secure the win.

So, despite going hitless from the second inning on, the Red Sox picked up their fourth win in their last five games. Pham led the way with two singles and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot while Verdugo, Arroyo, and Hosmer, had one hit and one RBI between them.

Next up: Hill vs. Contreras

The Red Sox will go for their third straight series victory in Wednesday’s contest against the Pirates. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston and rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski will follow out of the bullpen. Fellow righty Roansy Contreras is slated to take the mound for Pittsburgh.

First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote pitching prospect Shane Drohan to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox have promoted pitching prospect Shane Drohan from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Drohan, 23, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 10th among pitchers in the organization.

In 22 appearances (20 starts) for the Drive this season, Drohan has posted a 4.00 ERA and 4.19 FIP to go along with 136 strikeouts to 40 walks over 105 2/3 innings of work. That includes a 1.17 ERA in three outings this month.

Among qualified South Atlantic League pitchers, the left-hander ranks first in strikeouts per nine innings (11.58), fifth in walks per nine innings (3.41), first in strikeout rate (30.2%), fifth in walk rate (8.9%), first in swinging strike rate (17.2%), second in batting average against (.225), third in WHIP (1.24), fifth in ERA, sixth in FIP, and fourth in xFIP (3.90), per FanGraphs.

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Drohan was first taken by the Phillies in the 23rd round of the 2017 draft out of Cardinal Newman High School. But he opted to honor his commitment to Florida State University rather than go pro as a teenager.

After three seasons with the Seminoles and one summer on Cape Cod, Drohan was selected by the Red Sox in the fifth and final round of the pandemic-shortened 2020 amateur draft. He signed with the club for $600,000 and made his professional with Low-A Salem last May.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Drohan throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-92 mph fastball that tops out at 94 mph, a 75-78 mph curveball, and a 78-81 mph changeup, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Drohan, who turns 24 in January, has the potential to become a back-end starter at the big-league level. He does not become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft until after the 2023 season.

(Picture of Shane Drohan: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox activate Kiké Hernández, Rob Refsnyder from injured list; Yolmer Sánchez designated for assignment

Before opening up a three-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the Red Sox reinstated outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day injured list and utilityman Enrique Hernandez from the 60-day injured list.

In order to make room for Refsnyder on the major-league roster, fellow outfielder Jaylin Davis was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday night. In order to make room for Hernandez on both the 26- and 40-man rosters, veteran infielder Yolmer Sanchez was designated for assignment, the club announced.

Refsnyder returns to the Red Sox nearly three weeks after being placed on the injured list because of a right knee sprain on July 30. The 31-year-old began a rehab assignment with Double-A Portland this past Saturday and went 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs, three RBIs, four runs scored, and three walks while appearing in two games (both in right field) with the Sea Dogs.

Originally signed to a minor-league deal back in December, Refsnyder has been a pleasant surprise for Boston this season. After serving as a COVID-related substitute in late April, the right-handed hitter had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester in early June. Across those two stints, he has slashed .309/.385/.500 with six doubles, four homers, 12 RBIs, 16 runs scored, 10 walks, and 23 strikeouts over 34 games (109 plate appearances) at the big-league level.

Hernandez, on the other hand, had been sidelined for much longer while recovering from a right hip flexor strain he originally sustained in Anaheim on June 7. The versatile 30-year-old was sent out on a rehab assignment with the WooSox exactly one month after being placed on the 10-day injured list, but that was short-lived.

The Red Sox were forced to pull Hernandez from his rehab assignment after just one game. They subsequently sent him to visit a hip specialist in New York, where he received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to speed up the healing process. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 23.

From that point forward, Hernandez resumed baseball activities earlier this month and, like Refsnyder, rehabbed in Portland last week, going 3-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs, one walk, and four strikeouts in four games.

In addition to the hip strain, Hernandez revealed to reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) in Pittsburgh that he also dealt with a core injury that led to a hematoma developing in one of his abdominal muscles. As a result, he had 16 cubic centimeters of blood drained out through a needle in his back.

That procedure left Hernandez feeling as though “a switch turned off” on the entire right side of his body, hence the lengthy stint on the injured list that lasted more than two months.

Hernandez will bat seventh and start at shortstop for the first time this season in his return to Boston’s lineup on Tuesday night. The right-handed hitter is currently batting .209/.273/.340 with 16 doubles, four homers, 24 RBIs, 27 runs scored, 18 walks, and 38 strikeouts over 51 games (238 plate appearances) to this point in the year.

With Hernandez back in the fold, the Red Sox needed to create an opening on both their major-league and 40-man rosters. They did so by designating Sanchez for assignment.

Sanchez, 30, signed a minor-league deal with Boston in February. Like Refsnyder, the former Gold Glove Award winner made his Red Sox debut as a COVID-related substitute in June. He then had his contract selected from Worcester last month shortly after fellow infielder Trevor Story was placed on the injured list with a right hand contusion.

Primarily serving as infield depth, Sanchez has appeared in a total of 14 games for Boston this season. In those contests, the switch-hitting Venezuelan batted .108 (4-for-37) with two RBIs, one run, five walks, and 13 punchouts while seeing all of his playing time at second base.

The Red Sox will have the next seven days to either release or waive Sanchez, who has accrued enough big-league service time to refuse an outright assignment to the minors if he were to clear waivers.

Following Tuesday’s series of moves, Boston’s 26-man and 40-man rosters are back at full capacity.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

In midst of rocky 2022 season with High-A Greenville, Red Sox top prospect Nick Yorke appears to be finding his groove again

He may no longer be regarded by Baseball America as one of the game’s top 100 prospects (for now), but it appears as though Red Sox infield prospect Nick Yorke is starting to find his groove again.

In High-A Greenville’s last series against the Hickory Crawdads at Fluor Field, Yorke appeared in all six games and went 8-for-24 (.333) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, five runs scored, three walks, and five strikeouts. Those two homers were just his second and third since the beginning of July.

The 2022 season has been a tough one for Yorke from both a performance-related and physical perspective. After being named the organization’s Minor League Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, the 20-year-old has been limited to just 63 games so far this season due to a plethora of injuries — including turf toe, back stiffness, and left wrist soreness.

Over the course of those 63 games, the right-handed hitting Yorke has batted .237/.306/.376 (85 wRC+) to go along with eight doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 38 runs driven in, 39 runs scored, five stolen bases, 26 walks, and 68 strikeouts across 294 plate appearances.

Defensively, Yorke has unsurprisingly seen all his playing time on the field come at second base. The 6-foot, 200-pounder has logged 453 innings at the keystone position and has yet to commit an error of any sort.

Despite all of the struggles he has endured this season, Yorke is still ranked by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox originally selected the native Californian with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft out of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.

Yorke, who does not turn 21 until next April, does not seem like a candidate to get promoted to Double-A Portland at the moment. That could potentially change if he continues to stay hot at the plate for Greenville.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox’ Wikelman Gonzalez named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week

Red Sox pitching prospect Wikelman Gonzalez has been named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week of August 8-14, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Gonzalez, 20, tossed six scoreless, no-hit innings in his last start for Low-A Salem in their contest against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Saturday. The right-hander issued just one walk and plunked one batter to go along with five strikeouts on 81 pitches (49 strikes).

In 21 starts for Salem this season, Gonzalez has posted a 4.54 ERA — but much more respectable 3.83 FIP — with 98 strikeouts to 48 walks over 81 1/3 innings of work. That includes a 1.69 ERA (2.76 FIP) in the month of August.

Among Carolina League pitchers who have thrown at least 80 innings to this point in the year, Gonzalez ranks third in strikeouts per nine innings (10.84), fourth in strikeout rate (27.4%), second in batting average against (.209), and seventh in FIP, per FanGraphs.

While those numbers are certainly encouraging, Gonzalez has also produced the eighth-highest xFIP (4.49), the second-highest walk rate (13.4%), and the highest line-drive rate (28.3%) in the Carolina League when using those same parameters.

The Red Sox originally signed Gonzalez for $250,000 as an international free-agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2018. The Maracay native is now regarded by Baseball America as the No. 14 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks sixth among pitchers in the organization.

Since making his professional debut in June 2019, Gonzalez has pitched at three different levels. He began the 2021 campaign in the Florida Complex League before earning a promotion to Salem last August.

According to his Baseball America scouting report, the 6-foot, 170-pound hurler “features an easy, compact delivery” and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 93-94 mph fastball that tops out at 97 mph, an 87-89 mph changeup, and a 78-80 mph curveball.

Gonzalez, who does not turn 21 until next March, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter. The Red Sox, of course, would need to add the righty to their 40-man roster by the November deadline in order to prevent that from happening.

Given his age and lack of experience in the upper-minors, though, it is no sure thing that another club would scoop up Gonzalez in December’s Rule 5 Draft if he were to be left unprotected by the Sox.

That club would then need to carry Gonzalez on their major-league roster for the entirety of the 2023 season or would otherwise have to offer him back to Boston if he could not stick with them.

In the meantime, one would have to think Gonzalez could be on the verge of a promotion to High-A Greenville when taking into consideration how he has pitched as of late.

(Picture of Wikelman Gonzalez: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Red Sox option Jaylin Davis to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox optioned outfielder Jaylin Davis to Triple-A Worcester following Sunday night’s 3-0 win over the Yankees, the club announced earlier Monday afternoon.

Davis, 28, has batted .333/.407/.375 with one double, two RBIs, four runs scored, three walks, and 11 strikeouts over 12 games (27 plate appearances) this season while seeing playing time at all three outfield positions.

Boston originally claimed Davis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants in late April. It designated him for assignment on May 14, but the Appalachian State product cleared waivers and was subsequently outrighted to Worcester. He had his contract selected on July 23 and has been on the the club’s 40-man roster since then.

With the WooSox this year, the right-handed hitting Davis has slashed .236/.335/.462 to go along with nine doubles, two triples, five homers, 15 runs driven in, 28 runs scored, one stolen base, 26 walks, and 68 strikeouts across 56 games spanning 221 trips to the plate.

By optioning Davis, the Red Sox have created an opening on their 26-man roster. That vacancy will likely be filled by fellow outfielder Rob Refsnyder, who is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list in Pittsburgh on Tuesday after missing the last two-plus weeks with a right knee sprain.

The same can be said for Enrique Hernandez, who has been sidelined with a right hip flexor strain since early June. The only difference between Refsnyder and Hernandez is that the latter was transferred to the 60-day injured list in late July, meaning he does not currently occupy a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster.

So the Red Sox will need to clear a spot on both their 26- and 40-man roster for Hernandez before opening a three-game series against the Pirates at PNC Park on Tuesday. They could accomplish this by designating someone like Yolmer Sanchez for assignment, though that remains to be seen.

(Picture of Jaylin Davis: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox infield prospect Enmanuel Valdez off to encouraging start with new organization

Recently-acquired prospect Enmanuel Valdez has gotten his tenure in the Red Sox organization off to a strong start.

In Triple-A Worcester’s 6-5 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Moosic, Pa. on Sunday, Valdez went 1 for 4 with a two-run single while batting third and starting at second base.

Since joining the WooSox earlier this month, the left-handed hitter has batted a stout .297/.372/.649 with one double, four home runs, 15 RBIs, nine runs scored, one stolen base, five walks, and nine strikeouts over 10 games (44 plate appearances). Two of those homers came in the same game this past Friday.

Valdez, 23, was one of two prospects (the other being Wilyer Abreu) the Red Sox acquired from the Astros in the trade that sent veteran catcher Christian Vazquez to Houston on August 1.

Now regarded by Baseball America as the No. 16 prospect in Boston’s farm system, Valdez originally signed with the Astros as an international free-agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in July 2015. The San Juan de la Maguana native began the 2022 season with Houston’s Double-A affiliate before earning a promotion to Triple-A Sugar Land in early June.

Between the Space Cowboys and WooSox, Valdez has slashed .296/.352/.577 to go along with 26 extra-base hits (14 homers), 47 runs driven in, 35 runs scored, two stolen bases, 16 walks, and 38 strikeouts across 48 games (217 plate appearances) at the Triple-A level.

Defensively, Valdez was initially signed as a shortstop seven years ago but has since proven capable of moving all across the field. Already with the WooSox, the 5-foot-9, 191-pounder has logged 70 innings at second base, nine innings at third base, and eight innings in left field. He also has experience at first base, shortstop, and in right field.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, Valdez is “a bat-first infielder with a good combination of power and contact but major defensive questions.” He “has a bat-first second base profile with a lot of offensive skills to believe in.”

Valdez, who turns 24 in December, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The Red Sox would need to add him to their 40-man roster by the November deadline if they wish to prevent that from happening.

(Picture of Enmanuel Valdez: Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette /USA TODAY NETWORK)

Michael Wacha tosses 7 scoreless innings in first start since June 28 as Red Sox blank Yankees, 3-0, to earn series victory

The Red Sox won their second straight series against an American League East opponent with a shutout victory over the Yankees on Sunday night. Boston defeated New York by a final score of 3-0 to improve to 57-59 on the season.

Matched up against Jameson Taillon out of the gate, leadoff man Tommy Pham set the tone right away in the first inning. Pham led off by ripping a line-drive double to left-center field. He moved up to third base on a Rafael Devers groundout and scored the game’s first run on an RBI groundout off the bat of Xander Bogaerts.

Michael Wacha took over from there. Making his first start since June 28 after being activated from the 15-day injured list earlier in the afternoon, Wacha showed no signs of rust in his return to the mound. The veteran right-hander kept the Yankees off the scoreboard while scattering two hits and one walk to go along with a season-high nine strikeouts over seven strong innings of work.

After retiring the first 14 batters he faced, Wacha saw his bid for a perfect game come to an end when he gave up a softly-hit two-out single to Miguel Andujar. He then issued his first and only walk of the evening to Isiah Kiner-Filefa before getting Kyle Higashioka to ground out to Devers at third base.

Wacha yielded a one-out single to Andrew Benintendi in the sixth but left him there by fanning Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson. He ended his night by punching out two more in a scoreless top of the seventh.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 89 (59 strikes), Wacha threw 36 four-seam fastballs, 21 changeups, 19 cutters, eight curveballs, and five sinkers. The 31-year-old hurler induced a game-high 10 swings-and-misses with his changeup and also averaged 93.8 mph with his four-seamer. He picked up his seventh win and lowered his ERA on the season to 2.44.

Moments before Wacha recorded the final out of the seventh, Devers broke out in the latter half of the sixth. After Pham led the inning off with another single, Devers promptly clubbed a 433-foot two-run home run to deep right field off Taillon.

Devers’ 25th homer of the season left his bat at a blistering 110.4 mph. It also gave the Red Sox some breathing room in the form of a 3-0 lead.

In relief of Wacha, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Brasier made quick work of the Yankees in the eighth to pave the way for Garrett Whitlock, who did the same in the ninth to secure the victory and his fourth save of the year.

All told, three Boston pitchers (Wacha, Brasier, and Whitlock) combined to toss nine scoreless innings in which they only gave up two hits and one walk while striking out 11.

Offensively, Pham went 3 for 4 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot while Devers went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and one run scored. Both of Devers’ hits left his bat at more than 110 mph. They were the two hardest-hits of the game, per Baseball Savant.

Also of note, Sunday’s contest took all of two hours and 15 minutes to complete.

Next up: On to Pittsburgh

The Red Sox will enjoy an off day on Monday before traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates on the road for the first time since September 2014. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the ball for Boston in Tuesday’s series opener while fellow right-hander Mitch Keller is expected to do the same for Pittsburgh.

First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)