Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas begins rehab assignment in Florida Complex League

Top Red Sox prospect Triston Casas began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Tuesday afternoon.

Batting third and starting at first base for the FCL Red Sox in their game against the FCL Braves at JetBlue Park, Casas went 0-for-1 with two walks and a strikeout. He was replaced at first base by Lyonell James in the top of the sixth inning.

Tuesday’s outing marked Casas’ first in-game action at any level since May 17, when he suffered a high right ankle sprain while running the basepaths at Polar Park. He was placed on Triple-A Worcester’s injured list five days later and has been rehabbing in Fort Myers since early June.

Due to the nature of his sprain, the left-handed hitting 22-year-old struggled to put any weight on his landing foot, which prevented him from swinging a bat pain-free until just recently.

Prior to spraining his ankle, Casas was batting .248/.359/.457 with nine doubles, six home runs, 22 RBIs, 22 runs scored, 23 walks, and 35 strikeouts in his first 36 games (156 plate appearances) of the season with the WooSox.

Regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball, Casas very well could have been on the cusp of making his major-league debut right about now had he stayed healthy.

Instead, the former first-round pick out of American Heritage High School has lost nearly two months of development time. With that, it seems unlikely that Casas will be getting called up anytime soon, though a late-season promotion certainly cannot be ruled out depending on where the Red Sox are at later in the year.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Brayan Bello lasts just 4 innings in second start as Red Sox fall to Rays, 10-5

The Red Sox did not arrive in St. Petersburg, Fla. until about 4 a.m. eastern time Monday morning. It showed in their loss to the Rays on Monday night as Boston fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 10-5 at Tropicana Field to drop to 47-40 on the season.

Brayan Bello, making his second start of the season, did not fare much better than he did in his major-league debut against the Rays at Fenway Park last Wednesday. This time around, the rookie right-hander allowed five earned runs on seven hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over four innings of work.

All five of those Tampa Bay runs came within the first two innings of Monday’s loss. In the first, Bello put three of the first four batters he faced on to fill the bases for Josh Lowe, who lifted a softly-hit two-run single to center field to give the Rays an early 2-0 lead. The Sox were able to respond in their half of the second, though, as Xander Bogaerts reached second base via a leadoff double, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored from third on an infield RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Despite getting one of those runs back, Bello ran into more trouble in the bottom of the second by issuing a leadoff walk to Luke Raley. He then got the first two outs of the inning, but gave up run-scoring hits to three of the next four batters he faced to make it a 5-1 game in favor of Tampa Bay.

Again, Boston responded in its half of the third. Jarren Duran went from first to third on a Christian Vazquez double. Both runners were then driven in on a two-run double from J.D. Martinez that cut the deficit down to two runs at 5-3. Duran struck again in the fourth by plating Rob Refsnyder on an RBI single, although he was tagged out in between first and second base to end the inning.

Bello, meanwhile, had begun to settle in a bit and ended his night by tossing back-to-back scoreless frames. The 23-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 82 (48 strikes) and was taken off the hook in the top of the fifth.

There, while matched up against Luke Bard, J.D. Martinez ripped a 105.9 mph double and was immediately driven in by Bogaerts. Bogaerts and Verdugo then proceeded to advance to second and third base, but both runners were stranded in scoring position with Trevor Story grounding out and Franchy Cordero striking out to extinguish the threat.

In relief of Bello, Austin Davis received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander yielded just one single in the bottom of the fifth before making way in the sixth for fellow southpaw Jake Diekman, who took over in a 5-5 game but could not keep the tie intact.

Instead, Diekman plunked the first Ray he faced in Taylor Walls, got the first out of the inning, and then surrendered a go-ahead RBI double to Yandy Diaz. Kaleb Ort came in for Diekman and allowed the runner he inherited to score on an RBI single from the pinch-hitting Harold Ramirez.

Phillips Valdez was next. He retired the side in order in the seventh but did not receive much defensive help in the eighth. Bobby Dalbec failed to catch a pop-up off the bat of Raley that should have gone for the first out of the inning. Walls then grounded into a force out at second before advancing to third on a Brett Phillips single. Diaz drove in Walls on a sacrifice fly before Ramirez scored Phillips on an RBI base hit back up the middle.

A groundball from Randy Arozarena that could not be corralled by Cordero kept the inning alive for Yu Chang, who plated Tampa Bay’s 10th and final run on another RBI single. Valdez was charged with three runs in the eighth. All three were unearned.

Down to their final three outs of the ninth, the Red Sox went down quietly against Jason Adam. They did not record a single hit in the last four innings of another defeat at the hands of a divisional opponent.

Next up: Sale’s 2022 debut on deck

Chris Sale will make his highly-anticipated season debut for the Red Sox in the second game of this four-game set. Boston will need to activate the left-hander from the 60-day injured list before first pitch on Tuesday night.

Opposing Sale will be veteran right-hander Corey Kluber for the Rays. Kluber and Sale finished first and second in American League Cy Young Award voting back in 2017.

First pitch from Tropicana Field on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Kevin Plawecki on COVID-19 related injured list, recall Connor Wong From Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed catcher Kevin Plawecki on the COVID-19 related injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow backstop Connor Wong was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced prior to Monday’s game against the Rays.

It is unclear if Plawecki, who is vaccinated, has tested positive for COVID-19. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that the 31-year-old is exhibiting COVID-like symptoms and is currently awaiting test results. He was previously sidelined from April 18-25 after testing positive for the virus.

By placing Plawecki on the COVID-related injured list, the Red Sox have cleared a spot on their 40-man roster, which now sits at 39 players. As noted by Cotillo, that is significant since it means they will not have to create an opening when they activate left-hander Chris Sale from the 60-day injured list ahead of his 2022 debut on Tuesday.

Boston will, however, need to make room on its 40-man roster for Plawecki once he is cleared to return to action. Plawecki came into play Monday slashing .156/.267/.221 with one home run and five RBIs in 30 games (91 plate appearances) this season.

Wong, meanwhile, will serve as the Sox’ backup catcher while Plawecki is out. He is active for Monday’s series opener at Tropicana Field.

This will mark Wong’s second stint of the season with the big-league club. The 26-year-old appeared in two games back in April and went 1-for-6 with an RBI. In 57 games with the WooSox this season, the right-handed hitting Wong has batted .267/.340/.404 (101 wRC+) to go along with 13 doubles, six home runs, 20 RBIs, 29 runs scored, and seven stolen bases across 250 trips to the plate.

By recalling Wong, the Red Sox now have all three players they acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade on their major-league roster. Wong joins the likes of Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs in Tampa Bay.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Ceddanne Rafaela enters Baseball America’s top 100 prospects rankings

In the midst of a breakout season, Ceddanne Rafaela has entered Baseball America’s top-100 prospect rankings. Previously unranked, Rafaela is now regarded by Baseball America as the No. 84 prospect in all of baseball.

The Red Sox at present have five of the top 100-prospects in the game, as Rafaela joins the likes of shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 14), right-hander Brayan Bello (No. 24), first baseman Triston Casas (No. 29), and second baseman Nick Yorke (No. 50). Outfielder Jarren Duran was previously in the top-100 but has since graduated from his prospect status.

Boston’s reigning Minor League Defensive Player of the Year, Rafaela began the 2022 season with High-A Greenville. After posting a .729 OPS with Low-A Salem last season, the 21-year-old batted a stout .330/.368/.594 in 45 games with the Drive (he also hit for the cycle on May 17) before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 7.

Since then, the right-handed hitting Rafaela has slashed a steady .287/.331/.574 to go along with six doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 19 RBIs, 21 runs scored, five stolen bases, five walks, and 23 strikeouts across his first 28 games (125 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs. Among Eastern League hitters who have made at least 120 plate appearances to this point in the season, Rafaela ranks 13th in batting average, second in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.905), third in isolated power (.287), second in speed score (8.8), and 16th in wRC+ (141), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Rafaela has continued to impress defensively while playing several positions. So far in Portland, the versatile 5-foot-8, 152 pounder has logged 36 innings at shortstop and 197 innings in center field. He showed off his athleticism by robbing Mets prospect Brandon McIlwain of a game-tying home run in the fifth inning of Portland’s 7-4 win over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Friday.

Rafaela, who turns 22 in September, has come a long way from a development standpoint since signing with the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Curacao in July 2017. Taking that into consideration, the Willemstad native is all but a lock to be added to Boston’s 40-man roster this fall in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft.

Both Rafaela and Bello, who also signed with Boston in 2017, will be representing the Red Sox organization in next weekend’s All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium. Bello, of course, may not be able to attend if he is still on the big-league roster.

(Picture of Ceddanne Rafaela: Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Izzy Wilson earns Eastern League Player of the Week honors

Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Izzy Wilson has been named the Eastern League Player of the Week for the week of July 4-10, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

In Double-A Portland’s last series against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Mirabito Stadium, Wilson went 9-for-19 (.474) at the plate with two doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBIs, seven runs scored, two walks, and two strikeouts over the course of games.

Wilson, 24, originally signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox back in January after spending last season with the Angels organization. The 2022 campaign has not been all that kind to the left-handed hitter, who even after last week’s performance is batting just .160/.269/.278 (56 wRC+) with three homers, 16 RBIs, 24 runs scored, and three stolen bases through 51 games (186 plate appearances) for Portland.

Defensively, Wilson has seen the majority of his playing time with the Sea Dogs come in right field. The 6-foot-3, 190 pounder out of Sint Maarten has logged 310 1/3 innings in right while also making nine starts in center field. He has recorded three outfield assists, which currently is tied for the most on the Sea Dogs.

Wilson, who does not turn 25 until next March, becomes the second Sea Dog to earn Eastern League Player of the Week honors this season and joins the likes of Pedro Castellanos by doing so. He is eligible to become a minor-league free-agent again at the end of the year. In the meantime, he is presumably aiming to join Castellanos in Triple-A Worcester before the 2022 season comes to a close.

(Picture of Izzy Wilson: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Xander Bogaerts named All-Star reserve, joining Rafael Devers in representing Red Sox

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has been selected as a reserve for the American League All-Star team, Major League Baseball announced on Sunday.

Bogaerts will be heading to his fourth All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium on July 19. He will be joined in Los Angeles by teammate Rafael Devers, who was named the starting third baseman for the American League for the second consecutive year on Friday.

Following a 2-for-4 showing in Sunday night’s 11-6 win over the Yankees, Bogaerts is now batting .311/.389/.449 on the season with 21 doubles, seven home runs, 35 RBIs, 50 runs scored, three stolen bases, 35 walks, and 70 strikeouts over 82 games and 350 plate appearances.

Among American League shortstops, the right-handed hitting 29-year-old ranks first in doubles, fourth in RBIs, first in runs scored, first in walks drawn, first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, and first in OPS (.838).

Despite those impressive numbers, Bogaerts finished behind the White Sox’ Tim Anderson (who will be starting at shortstop for the AL) and the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette in fan voting. He was selected as a reserve through player voting.

Barring any changes in the coming days, Bogaerts and Devers will be the only two players in the 92nd Midsummer Classic. The two started at shortstop and third base for the American League in last year’s exhibition at Coors Field.

Besides Bogaerts and Devers, catcher Christian Vazquez, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, starter Nick Pivetta, and reliever John Schreiber were among those on the team who garnered at least some All-Star consideration.

In Bogaerts’ case in particular, this could very well be the last time he represents the Red Sox in the All-Star Game. The native Aruban can — and most likely will — opt out of the final three years of the six-year, $120 million extension he signed with Boston in April 2019 in favor of becoming a free agent.

Former members of the Red Sox who will be joining Bogaerts and Devers in Los Angeles next week include first-time All-Stars Andrew Benintendi and Martin Perez, two-time All-Star Kyle Schwarber, and six-time All-Star Mookie Betts.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero, Christian Vázquez, and J.D. Martinez all homer as Red Sox beat Yankees, 11-6, to earn series split

The Red Sox wrapped up their weekend on a solid note by coming from behind for a second night in a row to ultimately beat and earn a series split the Yankees. After Alex Verdugo walked it off in 10 innings on Saturday, Boston rallied from multiple four-run deficits to defeat the Yankees by a final score of 11-6 at Fenway Park on Sunday.

Nick Pivetta, making his 18th start of the season, was unfortunately the primary reason why the Sox fell behind early on Sunday night. In just 3 1/3 innings of work, the right-hander got rocked for six runs on eight hits, and two walks, to go along with five strikeouts.

All six of those Yankees runs came within the first three innings. In the first, Pivetta served up a blistering two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton. In the second, he gave up a pair of run-scoring hits to Jose Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Filefa. And in the third, he surrendered another two-run blast to Matt Carpenter.

Franchy Cordero had just crushed a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the second off Yankees starter Jameson Taillon to briefly cut the Red Sox’ deficit in half, but Carpenter took things into his own hands to give New York a 6-2 lead.

Taillon, however, fell victim to the long ball again in the latter half of the third inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Christian Vazquez clobbered a 380-foot solo shot over the Green Monster to make it a three-run game at 6-3.

Pivetta, meanwhile, came back out for the fourth but gave up base hits to two of the final three batters he faced before getting the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The 29-year-old wound up throwing 90 pitches (59 strikes) in the process of raising his ERA on the season to 4.08.

Kaleb Ort took over for Pivetta with two outs to get in the fourth inning. Making his first-ever appearance at Fenway Park, Ort retired the dangerous duo of Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo before getting through a scoreless fifth with the help of an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play.

To lead off the bottom of the fifth, Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base on a line-drive single. He then moved up to second on a Bobby Dalbec groundout and to third on a Jarren Duran groundout before being driven in by Vazquez. Following a Yankees mound visit, J.D. Martinez proceeded to tie things up by clubbing another two-run homer 392 feet into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

Martinez’s ninth big fly of the season — and his first at Fenway Park since June 14 — knotted things up at six runs apiece going into the sixth. There, former Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman loaded the bases with no outs. Boston was only able to get one run out of it, though, as the pinch-hitting Jeter Downs plated Trevor Story on fly ball that was dropped by D.J. LeMahieu to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

After Hirokazu Sawamura tossed a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh (and Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing balls and strikes), the Sox struck again in their half of the seventh when Martinez reached base on a Kiner-Filefa throwing error. Like Chapman, Miguel Castro proceeded to load the bases with no outs. Following another mound visit, Story cleared said bases on a 402-foot three-run double that nearly left the yard.

It may not have been a grand slam, but it still plated three. Story then scored from second when Cordero greeted new Yankees reliever Albert Abreu by dropping a sacrifice bunt. Abreu fielded the ball cleanly, but he made an errant throw to first base that deflected off Rizzo and allowed Story to score on a heads-up play.

Taking a commanding 11-6 advantage into the late innings, Matt Strahm stranded one runner in the eighth while Ryan Brasier faced the minimum in the ninth. Downs, for his part, had taken over at third base after pinch-hitting for Duran earlier in the contest. The rookie infielder made a superb barehanded play while charging towards the ball to rob Kiner-Filefa of a potential infield single with an absolute dart to first base . He then showed off his hops to start the game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 47-39 on the season and to 11-20 against divisional opponents. This is the first time in tries this year that the Sox have not lost a series to an American League East rival.

Next up: Happy flight to St. Petersburg

It will be a quick turnaround for the Red Sox as they will board a flight to St. Petersburg before opening a four-game series against the reeling Rays on Tuesday night.

In the series opener, rookie right-hander Brayan Bello will be making his second start for Boston while Tampa Bay will roll fellow righty Matt Wisler. First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 7: 10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox call up Jeter Downs, Phillips Valdez from Triple-A Worcester, place Christian Arroyo, Connor Seabold on injured list

The Red Sox have placed right-hander Connor Seabold on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm extensor strain. They also placed utility man Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain.

To take their place on the roster, right-handed reliever Phillips Valdez and infielder Jeter Downs have been recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced prior to Saturday’s game against the Yankees.

Seabold was removed in the third inning of his most-recent start on Friday night after experiencing arm tightness on a slider he threw. The 26-year-old told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) after the game that he was not too concerned about it, though he did miss a considerable amount of time with the WooSox last season due to elbow inflammation.

Arroyo, meanwhile, left Friday’s game in the top of the eighth inning due to a tight groin and was replaced in right field by Rob Refsnyder. The 27-year-old previously missed time this season after testing positive for COVID-19 in June.

Per manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox are still awaiting test results on Seabold’s arm. Arroyo’s injury, on the other hand, is not believed to be too serious, but serious enough where he will be sidelined for the next 10 days at minimum.

Seabold and Arroyo become the 11th and 12th players on the injured list for Boston, as they join the likes of Matt Barnes, Tyler Danish, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill, James Paxton (60-day), Chris Sale (60-day), Josh Taylor (60-day), Michael Wacha, Garrett Whitlock, and Enrique Hernandez.

With Seabold being shelved for the time being, Valdez has been summoned from Worcester for the fourth time already this season. The 30-year-old hurler owns a 5.40 ERA in 11 appearances (13 1/3 innings) at the big-league level in 2022.

As for Downs, this will mark his second stint in the majors this season after he made his highly-anticipated debut at Fenway Park on June 22. Since returning to Worcester the following day, the right-handed hitter has batted a scorching .370/.500/.783 (.231 wRC+) with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 14 games (58 plate appearances) for the WooSox.

In addition to homering in each of his last three games, Downs was scratched from Worcester’s lineup on Saturday in anticipation of this move happening. With Rafael Devers dealing with back soreness, it seems likely that Downs could see some playing time against the Yankees this weekend.

As was reported earlier in the day, the Red Sox also announced that righty reliever Kaleb Ort had his contract selected from Worcester while fellow reliever Michael Feliz had been designated for assignment.

Ort, who will wear the No. 61, has taken Feliz’s spot on Boston’s 40-man roster, which is now at full capacity.

(Picture of Jeter Downs: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox release Hansel Robles

The Red Sox have released veteran reliever Hansel Robles, the team announced earlier Saturday afternoon.

Robles was designated for assignment on Wednesday so that top pitching prospect Brayan Bello could be added to the big-league roster ahead of his big-league debut. The move also created a space on the 40-man roster for the addition of Michael Feliz, who has since been designated for assignment himself.

Originally acquired from the Twins at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for Alex Scherff, Robles quickly became one of Alex Cora’s most trusted relievers during the latter half of the 2021 season. After making 14 straight scoreless appearances in September and being heavily relied upon during the playoffs, Robles was brought back on a minor-league contract in March.

It was therefore no surprise that the 31-year-old right-hander made Boston’s Opening Day roster out of spring training, thus locking him into a guaranteed salary of $2.25 million for the 2022 campaign.

Robles got his first full season in a Red Sox uniform off to a solid start, allowing just one earned run across nine April appearances. Things began to take a turn for the worst in May, though, and those struggles were compounded by a trip to the injured list (back spasms) that lasted about two weeks.

Upon returning from the IL on June 9, Robles gave up runs in five of his next 10 outings, bringing his ERA on the season up to 5.84 and his FIP up to 5.74. During this rough stretch, Robles’ fastball velocity was down from where it usually was. He lost his spot on the 40-man roster after giving up a run in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s 8-4 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park.

Given the fact that any team that claimed Robles would be on the hook for the rest of his 2022 salary, it was not surprising to see that the Dominican-born righty cleared waivers. Since he has accrued enough major-league service time, he exercised his right to reject an outright assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency.

Now free to sign with whichever club he chooses, Robles will still be collecting from the Red Sox until the end the season.

(Picture of Hansel Robles: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Kaleb Ort from Triple-A Worcester, designate Michael Feliz for assignment

The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Kaleb Ort from Triple-A Worcester. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Michael Feliz has been designated for assignment, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Ort is expected to be activated ahead of Saturday’s game against the Yankees at Fenway Park. The 30-year-old made his major-league debut for Boston last September, appearing in one game as a COVID-related substitute while the club was in Seattle.

Originally acquired from the Yankees in the minor-league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, Ort has spent the vast majority of the last two seasons with the WooSox. This year alone, the Michigan-born righty has posted a 3.12 ERA and 2.62 FIP with 47 strikeouts to 16 walks over 33 relief appearances spanning 34 2/3 innings of work.

Undrafted out of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Ort initially signed with the Diamondbacks out of independent ball in 2016 but was released the following spring. He then latched on with the Yankees in May 2017 and spent the next three-plus years in the organization before getting scooped up by the Red Sox in December 2020.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Ort may not be much of a prospect at this point, but he has still proven to be an effective weapon out of Worcester’s bullpen the last two seasons thanks to a two-pitch mix that consists of a high-90s fastball and whiff-inducing slider.

Feliz, meanwhile, was added to Boston’s 40-man roster on Thursday and made his 2022 debut in Friday’s 12-5 loss to the Yankees. The 29-year-old relieved starter Connor Seabold and allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, two walks, and four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. Thirty-four of the 57 pitches he threw went for strikes.

The Sox will now have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Feliz, who has accrued enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency.

(Picture of Kaleb Ort: Abbie Parr/Getty Images)