Red Sox hire Charlie Madden as bullpen catcher

The Red Sox have hired Charlie Madden as a bullpen catcher, per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. The move comes after Madden was officially released by the club on Wednesday.

Madden, 26, was originally selected by Boston in the 24th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Mercer University. The Georgia native was a lifetime .220/.291/.344 hitter in the minors before the 2020 season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following spring, Madden was in minor-league camp with the Red Sox and was expected to begin the 2021 season with Triple-A Worcester. Although he was assigned to the WooSox’ roster, the right-handed hitting backstop actually joined the big-league club in May.

At that time, Madden was told by director of player development Brian Abraham that he would be used as a taxi squad catcher. It was initially unclear how long Madden’s stint as a catcher on the taxi squad would last, but he remained with the team for the remainder of the regular season and throughout the postseason.

“The reason Charlie is here is because our staff knew he had all those qualities,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) back in October. “And when you’re looking for someone to do this job, you want someone wired like Charlie; with a head on his shoulders like Charlie has. He’s been great as a part of this group. All the credit … to our people who knew him and identified him as a good candidate for this.”

Becoming Boston’s taxi squad catcher allowed Madden to work closely with the team’s coaching staff and pitchers, including fellow 2017 draftee Tanner Houck, who credits Madden for his ability to ‘break down analytics and present it in a simple, understandable way.’

“He understands all of the analytical side but then he can sit there and talk about it in a baseball format and not just say, ‘Oh, well, the numbers are saying this,’” Houck explained to Smith last fall. “He can say, ‘From a hitter’s perspective I would probably see this.’ Or ‘In this situation, I’d probably be sitting (on this pitch) if I was facing you.’”

With Madden joining Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s coaching staff for the 2022 season as a bullpen catcher, he will be sharing those responsibilities with Mani Martinez.

An opening for a second bullpen catcher came about when Mike Brenly, who served in the role from 2016 through 2021, was promoted to major-league staff assistant in December.

(Picture of Charlie Madden: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Bobby Dalbec homers as Red Sox blow out Twins, 14-1, in Grapefruit League opener

The Red Sox kicked off Grapefruit League play with a one-sided 14-1 victory over the Twins at JetBlue Park on Thursday afternoon.

Jarren Duran set the tone right away, leading off the bottom of the first inning with an infield single. Bobby Dalbec immediately followed suit, taking Twins starter Cole Sands deep to left field for his first home run of the spring.

Dalbec’s two-run blast gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead. Non-roster invitee Ryan Fitzgerald doubled Boston’s advantage later in the inning when he drove in Franchy Cordero and Jeter Downs on a two-run single of his own.

After right-handers Michael Feliz (Thursday’s starter) and Taylor Cole provided a scoreless frame each out of the gate, left-handed pitching prospect Chris Murphy surrendered his side’s first run when he issued a bases-loaded walk to Miguel Sano in the top half of the third.

Andrew Politi came on to get out of the jam Murphy had created by retiring Gary Sanchez, then sat down the side in order an inning later. Zack Kelly, another non-roster invitee, took over for Politi in the fifth and put up another zero. In the latter half of the frame, Downs scored on a double steal before Yolmer Sanchez crossed home plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Roldani Baldwin.

Heading into the sixth inning in possession of a 6-1 lead, Red Sox manager Alex Cora handed things over to John Schreiber out of the bullpen. Schreiber worked his way around a two-out walk in the sixth before fanning one in a clean seventh inning of work.

A half-inning later, the Red Sox continued to pad their lead when the power-hitting Tyreque Reed laced a ground-rule, two-run double off Twins reliever Kody Funderburk.

In the eighth, recently-signed righty Tyler Danish kept Minnesota off the scoreboard once more before the Boston bats pushed across six more runs in their half of the inning. Elih Marrero ripped a bases-clearing, three-run double off Melvi Acosta while Reed collected one more RBI and Nick Sogard drove in two of his own.

That sequence put the Red Sox up 14-1, going into the ninth. Geoff Hartlieb closed things out in 1-2-3 fashion to preserve the blowout win in Boston’s Grapefruit League opener.

All told, the Sox tallied 14 runs on 14 hits and are now 1-0 this spring with 18 exhibition games remaining before Opening Day.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Mazza

The Red Sox return to JetBlue Park on Friday afternoon to take on the Rays. Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi is slated to get the ball for Boston. He will be opposed by former teammate and fellow right-hander Chris Mazza.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted on NESN.

(Picture of Bobby Dalbec: Boston Red Sox)

Red Sox pitching prospect Bradley Blalock undergoes Tommy John surgery

Red Sox pitching prospect Bradley Blalock’s season is over before it really even started. The young right-hander took to Instagram on Thursday to announce that he had undergone Tommy John surgery, which was performed by Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze, Fla.

“Well my 2022 Season was cut short on March 2nd,” Blalock wrote. “Thank you to Dr. Andrews and his staff for performing my TJ. The Road to recovery starts now and I couldn’t be in better hands than the training staff down in Fort Myers. Time to get to work.”  

Blalock, 21, entered the 2022 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 36 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox originally selected the Georgia native in the 32nd round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Grayson High School.

After his first full season in pro ball was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blalock opened and spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign with Low-A Salem.

In 23 starts for the Salem Sox, Blalock posted a a 4.27 ERA and 4.18 FIP to go along with 85 strikeouts to 36 walks over 86 1/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-2, 200 pound hurler operates with a three-pitch mix that includes a mid-90s fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Blalock was projected by SoxProspects.com to begin the 2022 season with High-A Greenville. He will instead be sidelined for the rest of the year and should be getting back into form within the next 12-15 months.

(Picture of Bradley Blalock: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Red Sox bring back catcher Deivy Grullón on minor-league deal for 2022 season

The Red Sox have brought back catcher Deivy Grullon on a minor-league contract for the 2022 season, per the team’s transactions log. The deal includes an invite to major-league spring training, though Grullon has already been assigned to Triple-A Worcester.

A former international signee of the Phillies out of the Dominican Republic, Grullon first joined the Red Sox organization when he was claimed off waivers from Philadelphia in September 2020. He appeared in four games for Philly in 2019 and just one game for Boston (against his former team oddly enough) two years ago before being optioned back to the alternate training site.

That December, the Sox designated Grullon for assignment to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Matt Andriese. He was quickly scooped up by the Reds and spent the 2021 season with three other organizations (Rays, Mets, White Sox) before being released by Chicago late August.

Between three different Triple-A affiliates, the right-handed hitting backstop slashed .196/.270/.441 (85 wRC+) with five doubles, 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, 21 runs scored, 14 walks, and 59 strikeouts over 43 games spanning 159 plate appearances. He also threw out 5 of a possible 36 base stealers from behind the plate.

This off-season, Grullon returned to his home island to suit up for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League. The Bonao native appeared in seven games with Aguilas and posted a .535 OPS.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 240 pounds, Grullon is still relatively young as he only just turned 26 years old in February. He should provide the Red Sox with some experienced catching depth in Worcester behind the likes of Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez.

(Picture of Deivy Grullon: Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

What to expect from Red Sox outfield prospect Armando Sierra heading into 2022 season

It was exactly 14 months ago Tuesday when the Red Sox signed outfielder Armando Sierra for $150,000 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic.

Although he was not the headliner of Boston’s 2021 international signing class (hello, Miguel Bleis), Sierra still received some attention from evaluators within the industry.

Last April, Baseball America’s Ben Badler identified Sierra as a potential sleeper prospect within the Sox’ international ranks, noting that the then-17-year-old had “an advanced approach to hitting for his age” as well as the ability to hit for power.

As a follow-up to that, Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero all but confirmed Badler’s observations in an email exchange with BloggingtheRedSox.com.

“Armando was a player we scouted later on in his signing year. After scouting him a few times, he stood out for his strong frame and his power,” Romero said at the time. “As we continued to see him, it became apparent that not only did he have above average power for his signing class, but he also was developing a stronger approach.”

In the months following his signing, Sierra continued to work out at the Sox’ Dominican academy in El Toro before making his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last July.

Across 53 games for the club’s DSL Blue affiliate, the young right-handed hitter batted a respectable .284/.373/.379 (117 wRC+) to go along with 10 doubles, two home runs, 35 RBIs, 24 runs scored, 21 walks, and 41 strikeouts over 193 plate appearances.

Against left-handed pitching, Sierra slashed .296/.424/.370. Against right-handed pitching, he slashed .284/.365/.383 with both of his home runs and 33 of his 35 runs driven in.

Among all Dominican Summer League hitters who made at least 190 trips to the plate last year, Sierra ranked 27th in batting average, 48th in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, 51st in OPS (.752), and 54th in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Sierra was labeled as a corner infielder even before signing with Boston. In his introductory course to pro ball, the 6-foot-2, 189 pounder logged 95 innings in left field and 115 innings in right while recording a total of two outfield assists. He also appeared in eight games (seven starts) as a first baseman.

Shortly before the 2021 DSL summer came to a close last fall, SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall wrote in September that Sierra’s “power potential is impressive. He is a below-average athlete and does not project to add much defensive value, but he has big-time raw power. He gets his whole body into his swing, but there are significant questions with his hit tool that could limit his power utility against more advanced pitching.” 

Sierra, who turned 18 in January, is not regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system. Given his age, the Sabana Grande de Palenque presumably still has room to grow physically and as a baseball player.

SoxProspects.com projects that Sierra will return to the Dominican Summer League for the start of the 2022 minor-league season. That being said, a promotion to the Florida Complex League later in the year certainly seems plausible.

(Picture of Red Sox cap: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Red Sox make signing of Jake Diekman official, place James Paxton on 60-day injured list

The Red Sox have officially signed left-hander Jake Diekman to a two-year deal that also includes a team option for 2024, the club announced on Wednesday. In a corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster, fellow southpaw James Paxton was unsurprisingly placed on the 60-day injured list as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery

Diekman, 35, first agreed to a multi-year contract with the Sox over the weekend and was spotted at the Fenway South Complex with Matt Strahm on Monday. He then passed his physical on Wednesday, leading to his signing becoming official.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Diekman’s deal includes $8 million in guaranteed money. He will earn a base salary of $3.5 million over the next two seasons with the chance to earn an additional $4 million in 2023. If the Red Sox decline his club option, Diekman will net $1 million in the form of a buyout.

A former 30th-round draft choice of the Phillies out of Cloud County Community College in 2007, Diekman has pitched for five different teams over the course of his 10-year big-league career. The Nebraska native became a free agent this winter after spending the last 2 1/2 seasons with the Athletics.

In 67 appearances (third-highest on the team) out of Oakland’s bullpen in 2021, Diekman posted a 3.86 ERA and 4.46 FIP to go along with 83 strikeouts to 34 walks over 60 2/3 innings of work. His splits against left-handed hitters were similar to his splits against right-handed hitters, as he yielded a .716 OPS against the former and a .711 OPS against the latter.

There were 14 left-handed relievers across Major League Baseball who tossed at least 60 innings last year. Among them, Diekman ranked first in strikeouts per nine innings (12.3), first in strikeout rate (31.7%), 11th in walks per nine innings (5.0), 11th in walk rate (13%), ninth in batting average against (.211), 13th in WHIP (1.34), and ninth in xFIP (4.09), per FanGraphs.

Throughout his career, Diekman has primarily been a four-pitch pitcher who operates with a four-seam fastball (averaged 95.3 mph in 2021), a slider, a sinker, and a changeup. Based off the data available on Baseball Savant, the 6-foot-4, 195 pound hurler had one of the top whiff rates (35.1%) in all of baseball last season.

Diekman, who will wear the No. 35 with the Sox, brings plenty of experience to his new team and should prove to be a versatile, high-leverage relief option for manager Alex Cora. He recorded seven of his 14 career saves last year and has otherwise made 479 lifetime appearances between innings seven through nine.

With the additions of Diekman and Strahm, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has bolstered the left side of Boston’s bullpen to complement the likes of Austin Davis, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Josh Taylor.

(Picture of Jake Diekman: Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign reliever Dan Altavilla to two-year minor-league deal, per report; right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last June

The Red Sox have signed free-agent reliever Dan Altavilla to a two-year minor-league contract, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last June and may miss most if not all of the 2022 season.

A former fifth-round draft selection of the Mariners out of Mercyhurst University (Erie, Pa.) in 2014, Altavilla debuted for Seattle in 2016. Four years later, the Pennsylvania native was traded to the Padres as part of a larger deal that also sent pitcher Austin Adams and catcher Austin Nola to San Diego.

In nine appearances out of the Friars’ bullpen down the stretch in 2020, Altavilla posted a 3.12 ERA and 2.61 FIP with 10 strikeouts to five walks over 8 2/3 innings of work.

Last season, Altavilla was limited to just two relief outings in April before being placed on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation. The righty was then transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 28 — approximately one month before he ultimately went under the knife.

The Padres outrighted Altavilla off their 40-man roster in November, allowing him to become a free agent in the first place.

Since Altavilla is still recovering from Tommy John, it feels safe to assume that the Red Sox made this move with either the second half of the 2022 season or the beginning of the 2023 season in mind.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 226 pounds, Altavilla is a two-pitch pitcher who works primarily with a slider and a high-octane four-seam fastball. For his big-league career, which spans six seasons between the Mariners and Padres, Altavillia owns a 4.03 ERA and 4.39 FIP in 116 innings.

(Picture of Dan Altavilla: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi named Red Sox’ Opening Day starter

For the third consecutive year, Nathan Eovaldi has been named the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter, manager Alex Cora announced on Wednesday.

The news comes after Cora revealed earlier this week that Eovaldi would make his first spring training start against the Rays on Friday, lining the right-hander up to get the Opening Day nod on regular rest against the Yankees in the Bronx on April 7.

Eovaldi, who turned 32 last month, is entering the final season of the four-year, $68 million contract he signed with the Red Sox in December 2018. He is coming off a career-best 2021 campaign in which he posted a 3.75 ERA and 2.79 FIP to go along with 195 strikeouts to 35 walks over 32 starts spanning 182 1/3 innings of work while also being named an All-Star for the first time and finishing fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting.

This off-season, Eovaldi spent his winter at home in Houston, throwing bullpens at least once a week to catcher Connor Wong. He did not face hitters during that time, but did so as part of a two-inning live batting practice session at Fenway South on Tuesday.

With that, Eovaldi is expected to go another two innings in his upcoming Grapefruit League start against Tampa Bay at JetBlue Park. The veteran hurler told reporters on Tuesday that he believes he can be stretched out to 100 pitches by the time his name is called on Opening Day.

Since Eovaldi is slated to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022 season, he was also asked about his future in Boston. The ACES client responded by saying he has spoken with his agents about exploring a new deal before the year is over.

“I’m very open to staying here with the Red Sox,” Eovaldi said. “I haven’t been in this situation. I usually try not to focus on it.”

As for how the rest of the Sox’ starting rotation will shake out to begin the year, Cora said Wednesday that it is still a work in progress. Chris Sale, of course, is out of the equation since the left-hander will miss the start of the 2022 season due to a stress fracture in his right rib cage.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox slugger Kyle Schwarber to sign with Phillies, per report

Kyle Schwarber will not be returning to the Red Sox in 2022. The free-agent slugger has instead reached an agreement with the Phillies, as first reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury.

According to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, Schwarber and the Phillies have agreed to a four-year deal, pending a physical, with an average annual value of just under $20 million. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman relays that the total value of the contract is $79 million.

Schwarber came to the Red Sox from the Nationals last July in a trade that sent pitching prospect Aldo Ramirez back to Washington. At that time, the then-28-year-old was on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain he suffered earlier that month.

It took until August 13 for Schwarber to make his Red Sox debut, but he certainly made his impact felt and endeared himself to the fanbase quickly. Over 41 regular season games with Boston, the left-handed hitter slashed .291/.435/.522 with 10 doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 33 walks, and 39 strikeouts across 168 plate appearances.

Traditionally an outfielder throughout his big-league career, Schwarber made 15 appearances in left field for the Sox and 10 appearances at first base, marking the first time he had played the infield position since 2017.

All told, Schwarber was a member of the Red Sox for just over three months before hitting free agency by declining his mutual option in November. It was reported several times throughout the off-season that Boston was interested in a reunion with the 29-year-old, though nothing came to fruition on that front.

Earlier Wednesday morning, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke with reporters from JetBlue Park just after Salisbury reported the details of Schwarber’s agreement with Philadelphia.

“I don’t need to tell you guys what he did here, what he meant here, how he fit here. We stayed in touch with him the whole way,” Bloom said of Schwarber. “Just ultimately, like I said, you want to make sure it actually aligns in terms of term, in terms of price with other things you might be able to do — not just now but over the whole time you might have him.

“Ultimately, we just thought it was to a level that didn’t make sense. As much as we love him, and we do,” he added. “In such a short time, he became an incredible part of this team. Very beloved in the region. And he’s a great fit for Philly.”

(Picture of Kyle Schwarber: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox ace Chris Sale has stress fracture in right rib cage, will not be ready for start of 2022 season

Red Sox ace Chris Sale has a stress fracture in his right rib cage and will not be ready for the start of the season, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom announced on Wednesday morning.

Sale sustained the injury while throwing a live batting practice at his alma mater — Florida Gulf Coast University — last month. The soon-to-be 33-year-old felt the effects in the following days before meeting with Dr. Patrick Joyner, who diagnosed the stress fracture.

“I was throwing a live session over at FCGU, it was a Thursday and after that felt a little side discomfort, nothing too crazy — I didn’t think anything of it,” Sale explained. “Over the next handful of days, not only did it stick around, it kind of got worse.”

The live bullpen session in question was live streamed on Instagram. Not by Sale, who does not have any social media accounts, but by Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes.

“Probably a lot of you saw the live BP that was streaming on Instagram,” said Bloom. “Obviously we were not in touch with him at that time (because of the MLB lockout). Talking to him, that’s when this happened. That’s actually the last time that he threw. We found about it when we were able to get back in touch with him.”

Sale joked that his injury was the “curse of social media,” noting that “I get on social media for the first time and look what happens.”

As soon as the lockout ended last Thursday, Sale alerted the Red Sox of the injury in his first phone conversations with Bloom and manager Alex Cora. His timetable as of now has yet to be determined, but he will not be ready for Opening Day.

“We’re talking weeks, not days before we can get a baseball back in his hand,” Bloom said of Sale. “Obviously everything he does is rotational. … He’s doing a lot better now than when he first came in. But we don’t know (a timetable). We just know he’s not going to be ready for the start of the season.”

Sale himself seems optimistic about his recovery. Although disappointed by the prospect of another setback as he approaches the two-year anniversary of his Tommy John surgery, the veteran lefty appears to be maintaining a positive outlook.

“I’ve never dealt with this, but I know bones take, what, six to eight weeks to heal,” he said. “That’s a pretty universally across-the-board timeline. I’m like a dog on a chain right now. I can’t wait to get off this thing. The last couple of years have sucked, and I’ve run into some pretty unlucky circumstances, but what can you do?”

(Picture of Chris Sale: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)