Tag: 2020 season

Red Sox 2020 Season Preview: Prepare for Weirdness Over the Next Two-Plus Months

You want to get weird? Well, the 2020 Major League Baseball season is going to get weird. Teams will be playing 60 games in 66 days from now until the end of September, all while playing in mostly empty ballparks since the United States is still in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic.

The Red Sox are in for a rather weird season themselves considering everything that’s gone down since last September.

With chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and manager Ron Roenicke at the helm now, the Sox are projected to be a mediocre club in 2020, which we’ll touch on later.

For now, here’s an overview for what this season preview is going to look like:

  • 2020 schedule and break down of opponents
  • Roster
  • Projections
  • Prospects
  • Predictions
  • Summary

Let’s get to it.

THE SCHEDULE:

THE OPPONENTS ON THE SCHEDULE:

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, teams will be limited to playing opponents in the same region this season (AL East vs. NL East in the Red Sox’ case).

Atlanta Braves – 6 games (3 at home, 3 on road)
Baltimore Orioles* – 10 games (6 at home, 4 on road)
Miami Marlins – 3 games (all on road)
New York Mets – 4 games (2 at home, 2 on road)
New York Yankees* – 10 games (3 at home, 7 on road)
Philadelphia Phillies – 4 games (2 at home, 2 on road)
Tampa Bay Rays* – 10 games (4 at home, 6 on road)
Toronto Blue Jays* – 10 games (7 at home, 3 on road)
Washington Nationals – 3 games (all at home)

* – Divisional opponent

THE OPENING DAY ROSTER: 

Right-handed pitchers:
Nathan Eovaldi
Ryan Weber
Brandon Workman
Matt Barnes
Ryan Brasier
Colten Brewer
Austin Brice
Marcus Walden
Heath Hembree
Phillips Valdez
Dylan Covey

Left-handed pitchers:
Martin Perez
Matt Hall
Jeffrey Springs
Josh Osich

Catchers:
Christian Vazquez
Kevin Plawecki
Jonathan Lucroy

Infielders:
Mitch Moreland
Michael Chavis
Jose Peraza
Jonathan Arauz
Xander Bogaerts
Rafael Devers
Tzu-Wei Lin

Outfielders:
Andrew Benintendi
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Alex Verdugo
Kevin Pillar
J.D. Martinez (DH)

THE PROJECTIONS:

According to FanGraphs, the Red Sox are projected to be a .500 team this year and finish with a 30-30 record, good for third-place in the American League East. The site has the Sox outscoring their opponents by an average of .07 runs per game. For full team projections courtesy of FanGraphs, click here.

THE PROSPECTS:

Among MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects in baseball, the Red Sox are represented by middle infielder Jeter Downs (No. 44) and first baseman Triston Casas (No. 77).

Unlike Casas, Downs is in Boston’s 60-man player pool along with a handful of the club’s other top prospects, such as Bobby Dalbec (No. 3), Bryan Mata (No. 4), Jay Groome (No. 7), Jarren Duran (No. 8), Tanner Houck (No. 10), C.J. Chatham (No. 12), Connor Wong (No. 15), and Jonathan Arauz (No. 30)

With there being no organized minor-league baseball this year, it was imperative that the Red Sox gather up their most touted prospects to ensure they continue to develop during these unprecedented times.

Among the bunch, Dalbec and Houck seem like the most ready for the jump to the majors, while as a Rule 5 Draft pick, Arauz made the Sox’ Opening Day roster so that he would not have to be offered back to the Houston Astros for the time being.

THE PREDICTIONS:

Like FanGraphs, I believe the Red Sox will finish third in the American League East this year with anywhere between 28 and 33 wins on the season. The lineup, led by Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez, will be one of the best in the American League, but pitching struggles will ultimately hinder the Sox’ hopes of making it back to the postseason even with the league’s playoff format for this year expanding to 16 teams.

SUMMARY:

Watching the Red Sox offense score their fair share of runs will probably be enjoyable. Watching the pitching staff give up their fair share of runs on the other hand? Not so much.

Still, even if Boston is not aiming to be an American League powerhouse this year, it’s great to have Major League Baseball back in the fold.

 

Red Sox’ Michael Chavis Helping Teammate Alex Verdugo Get Acclimated to New Club

Upon getting traded from the Dodgers to the Red Sox in February, Alex Verdugo never could have expected what was in store for him or the 2020 Major League Baseball season. That being Opening Day getting pushed back nearly four months because of a global pandemic.

At the time he first reported to the Fenway South complex in Fort Myers on February 15, it looked as though Verdugo would miss the opening stages of the 2020 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back.

Now though, in part because of the long, pandemic-induced layoff, the young outfielder is just about all systems go as Opening Day 2.0 approaches.

Verdugo, along with the rest of the Red Sox for that matter, have been getting back into playing shape these past few weeks at Summer Camp in Boston, and it has given him the opportunity to get closer, but not too close, to some of his new teammates.

As a matter of fact, one of those new teammates reached out to Verdugo and asked if he would want to share a Fenway Park suite with him during camp. That teammate’s name? Michael Chavis.

When speaking with NESN’s Jahmai Webster on Thursday night’s installment of After Hours, Verdugo went into detail about how that over-the-phone exchange between Chavis and him played out.

“He texted me ‘Hey bro, did you have anyone you wanted to room with?'” Verdugo recounted to Webster. “I was like, ‘Man, I don’t really know anybody…I don’t know…no?’ And he was like, ‘All right, I’m putting your name down for mine.’ I was like, ‘All right, cool, man. It’s all good.’ I think it helps. It’s made this transition easy, cool. We kind of already knew each other. We’ve been messing around with each other, talking hitting and just picking each other’s brains. I know when I’m getting frustrated he’s there to be like, ‘Hey man, I know you can hit, bro. Just relax, you’re good.’ So, it’s cool to have that.”

Seeing as how they were both drafted out of high school in 2014, I would assume that’s how Verdugo and Chavis knew each other a little bit prior to them being on the same major-league ballclub.

Both players are also 24 years of age, and both are coming into a season where they will be competing for at-bats in a rather crowded Red Sox infield and outfield. Fortunately, they can both play multiple positions, as Verdugo is more than capable of moving around the outfield when necessary, while Chavis can play a little bit of first and second base depending on different pitching match-ups.

For Verdugo, coming into a new organization after only knowing one for the last 5 1/2 years of your life has to be somewhat of a daunting task. That being said, it’s encouraging to see that the Arizona native appears to be getting more comfortable with his new club with the help of a fellow 2014 draft class member.

Also, it was quite amusing when, on the subject of not being able to access the home clubhouse at Fenway Park due to COVID-19 concerns, Verdugo said, “We’re so used to having no space, now we have all the space in the world” when referencing the aforementioned suites that have been converted into locker rooms on the pavilion level.

 

Jackie Bradley Jr. to Wear Microphone During Red Sox’ Home Opener on Friday

With no fans allowed in ballparks for at least the opening stages of the 2020 season, MLB clubs are going to try to do their part in keeping spectators attuned to what’s transpiring on the field.

The Red Sox, for instance, will be miking up players and coaches during select home games throughout the 2020 season, the club announced via a press release Thursday.

As noted in this tweet from The Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato, outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. will be receiving the honors for this experience first during Friday night’s season opener against the Orioles at Fenway Park

In what could be his final Opening Day as a member of the Red Sox, it will be interesting to see what Bradley Jr. has to say with a microphone attached to his jersey collar and how often NESN utilizes his sound bites.

Given the fact that Bradley Jr. will be mic’d up in a regular season game, I can’t imagine he will be partaking in any on-field interviews with Dave O’Brien, Jerry Remy, or Dennis Eckersley, but it should still be entertaining considering the level of access the 30-year-old Gold Glover could provide to fans watching the game on television.

Speaking of in-game interviews, Bradley Jr. does have some experience being mic’d up, as he chatted with the ESPN broadcast team during a Grapefruit League game against the Pirates last year.

Red Sox Shut Down Eduardo Rodriguez Due to COVID-19 Recovery Complications

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been shut down from all baseball activities due to minor complications related to his recovery from COVID-19, his manager Ron Roenicke told reporters Thursday.

Per Roenicke, the Sox’ medical staff discovered these “minor complications” before the decision to shut down Rodriguez was made.

The 27-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19 while at home in Miami earlier this month, and even though he would test negative right now, Rodriguez has still “not physically recovered” from his bout with his virus.

As disheartening as this news may sound, Roenicke is viewing it as only a “setback” and is fully confident Rodriguez “will be available to pitch at some point in 2020.” That is probably the case because, as the Sox skipper later clarified, what’s currently hampering Rodriguez has been prevalent in other COVID-19 cases as well.

“The news that we need to shut [Rodriguez] down for a period of time is obviously rough on him,” Roenicke said Thursday. “It is mild. He knows that.”

Rodriguez, along with fellow left-handers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor, was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 14 due to testing positive for the virus.

The Venezuela national re-joined his club over the weekend and threw a bullpen session at Fenway Park this past Saturday, but it now appears that he will not be throwing off a mound anytime soon, although Roenicke is hoping the southpaw will only miss a week’s worth of time.

Of course, this coronavirus has proven to be somewhat unpredictable. For all the talk about how harmless it is for people in his age group, it was quite jarring to hear about what Rodriguez, a 27-year-old professional athlete, had to endure while he was sick.

For more on that, I recommend checking out this story from MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith.

Zack Godley Works Three Scoreless, No-Hit Innings in Red Sox’ Final Exhibition Game Before Opening Day

In their final tune-up before the start of the 2020 regular season, the Red Sox only managed to play 4 1/2 innings of exhibition baseball against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night due to the weather. If games were official after only 4 1/2 innings, the Sox would have lost by a final score of 2-0, but it’s not like that matters too much anyway.

Zack Godley got the start for Boston in this one, and he made a solid case for a spot in the back end of the Sox’ rotation by working three scoreless, no-hit innings to go along with just one walk and two strikeouts on the night.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 35, 24 of which were strikes, the veteran right-hander turned to his curveball exactly 40% of the time he was on the mound Wednesday while also topping out at 91 MPH with his cutter, a pitch he threw 16 times.

If things align the way he wants them to, Godley could open the season as Boston’s No. 4 or 5 starter, meaning his first official start in a Red Sox uniform would come in next week’s interleague series against the New York Mets.

In relief of Godley, Brian Johnson was the only other Sox hurler to get some work in on Wednesday due to the weather, and he did not look his best given the fact that he served up a two-run blast to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a hanging, 3-2 curveball down the heart of the plate in the top half of the fourth.

Still, if there is any positives to take away from the left-hander’s rather rough outing, it’s that he tossed a scoreless fifth inning right before this game was going to be called.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup, fresh off plating six runs on Tuesday, was matched up against Blue Jays right-hander Trent Thornton to begin things on Wednesday.

As it turns out, the Boston bats were only able to muster one hit off of Thornton, a two-out single from former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar in the third, and another hit off of Toronto reliever Shun Yamaguchi in the fourth. That being a two-out single off the bat of Xander Bogaerts.

Other than that, not much to report on seeing how Mother Nature cut this exhibition contest short.

Some observations from this one:

Should Zack Godley start over Brian Johnson? The answer at this point seems to be leaning towards ‘yes.’

Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is pretty good.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, the games finally start to count. Opening Day is this Friday and a three-game weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles is on tap.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will be making his first career Opening Day start for Boston, while lefty Tommy Milone will be doing the same for Baltimore.

The Sox won 63% of their games against the O’s last year. That would translate to six wins in 10 games against their divisional foes in 2020.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Real baseball is back, folks.

 

Former Red Sox Star Mookie Betts Officially Signs 12-Year, $365 Million Extension With Dodgers

Former Red Sox star Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a 12-year, $365 million contract extension, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Per Passan, because Betts is under contract for $27 million ($10 million in prorated salary) this season, the total value of his extension with Los Angeles is $392 million over the next 13 years. Also from Passan:

And from the Dodgers, it’s now official:

Prior to being dealt to Los Angeles in February, Betts and the Red Sox were reportedly $120 million apart in extension talks, as Boston had offered the 27-year-old $300 million over 10 years and Betts countered with $420 million over 12 years, according to WEEI’s Lou Merloni.

The two sides obviously could not reach a compromise though, as the 2018 American League MVP was eventually traded to the Dodgers with left-hander David Price in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong.

As his tenure with the Red Sox was winding down, it appeared as though Betts was set on becoming a free agent this winter. But, due to the financial insecurities across baseball that have stemmed as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps the Tennessee native had a change in heart and decided to take the money when he could.

With this record-setting extension, Betts will be under contract through the end of the 2032 season. By then, the former fifth-round pick will be 39 years old.

This news also marks the end of any speculation that Betts could re-sign with the Red Sox as a free agent this winter, as had been the hope among fans when the four-time All-Star was traded away.

If Betts continues to be as productive as he has since making his first Opening Day roster in 2015, he’ll likely be on a Hall of Fame trajectory. In other words, he’ll eventually be donning a Dodgers cap on his plaque in Cooperstown.

Even after five months, it’s still somewhat mind-boggling that the Red Sox would trade a player of Betts’ caliber. Without taking the financial aspects into consideration, which are important, Betts is just about everything you would want in a professional baseball player. From being a once-undervalued homegrown talent to an MVP and perennial All-Star. he was the perfect face of the franchise for Boston. It’s just too bad John Henry and Co. didn’t value that as much as the Dodgers clearly do.

Blue Jays Still Without a Home Ballpark for 2020 Season as Pittsburgh Plan Unravels

Contrary to what was posted on here earlier Wednesday, the Red Sox will not be traveling to Pittsburgh for their lone road series of the year against the Toronto Blue Jays this season.

That being the case because, according to The Associated Press’ Marc Levy, the Pennsylvania Department of Health will not allow the Jays to play their home games at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This decision from the PDH comes despite the fact that the Blue Jays and Pirates had already reached an agreement to share the ballpark for this truncated, 60-game season, which for Toronto begins this coming Friday.

With no home ballpark at this point, the Blue Jays have quite a bit of work to do before their “home” opener on July 29 against the Nationals. As a matter of fact, it looks like that series could take place at Nationals Park seeing how the two sides play two games against each other in the nation’s capital right before then.

schedule

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Mason, “It’s unclear where the Jays go from here. Hypothetically, they could play all 30 of their home games in road cities, but that would leave them at a massive disadvantage.”

Alternative venues the Blue Jays could use for their home games in 2020 include TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., the home of their spring training facility, and Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY., the home of their Triple-A affiliate that has been serving as the club’s alternate training site since Summer Camp began.

Baltimore’s Camden Yards has been thrown out there as well.

Red Sox Relievers Darwniznon Hernandez, Josh Taylor ‘Still a Ways Away’ From Returning After COVID-19 Bouts

Red Sox left-handed relievers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor are not close to returning to the team anytime soon, manager Ron Roenicke said Wednesday on his weekly segment with WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni, and Fauria.

Hernandez and Taylor both tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month and were placed on the 10-day injured list along with fellow southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez on July 14.

Top prospect Bobby Dalbec, who also tested positive for the virus, was cleared to return two weekends ago and avoided a stint on the injured list.

Both relievers were cleared to return to baseball activities earlier this week, but neither have been able to put together a lengthy bullpen session to this point.

“They are gassed after 20 pitches” Roenicke said of Hernandez and Taylor on Wednesday. “It tells me that they are still a ways away. It would be nice, knowing they are relievers, you don’t have to have the build up with the innings, but you still need to build them up enough to where they pitch one inning, they can come back the next night or the night after, and they’re not there right now.”

Added the Sox skipper: “The velocity that these guys depend on…right now, they don’t have that same stuff. So, it could be a while. We’re certainly trying to get them back as soon as we can, but that physical part of it, we want to do right by them.”

Hernandez and Taylor proved to be key cogs out of the Red Sox bullpen during their rookie seasons in 2019. The former, who turned 23 in December, posted a 3.95 ERA and .721 OPS against over 28 appearances and 27 1/3 innings of work as a reliever, while the latter, who turned 27 in March, posted a 3.11 ERA and .638 OPS against over 51 appearances and 46 1/3 innings of work as a reliever.

In terms of preparedness, Hernandez is likely closer to in-game action than Taylor is seeing how he was able to throw while self-isolating at his home in Venezuela, while Taylor had to self-isolate in a Boston hotel room.

 

Former Red Sox Star Mookie Betts on Verge of Signing Massive Contract Extension With Dodgers, per Report

Any hopes of the Red Sox reuniting with Mookie Betts this winter appear to be dead, as the Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly closing in on a massive contract extension with the 27-year-old outfielder, according to WEEI’s Lou Merloni.

Per Merloni, the extension the Dodgers and Betts are on the verge of agreeing to is worth anywhere between $350 to $400 million for 10-plus seasons.

Based off this follow-up from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it would appear that these rumors are in fact legitimate and Betts will indeed ink a long-term extension with the Dodgers relatively soon.

After both sides were reportedly off by $120 million in extension talks over the winter, the Sox, with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom at the helm, dealt Betts and left-hander David Price to Los Angeles in February in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong.

At the time, that transaction got Boston under the vaunted $208 million luxury tax threshold, but as it turns out, the 2020 Major League Baseball season will have to played until at least the start of September for that to carry out into this offseason. In other words, if the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic halts the season at any point prior to the August 31st trading deadline, the Sox’ luxury tax penalties will not reset and they will essentially be in the same position they were prior to dealing Betts and Price.

At least on the surface, one of the motivating factors in the Red Sox trading away Betts was the notion that the four-time All-Star was locked in on becoming a free agent for the very first time in his career this winter. It might not be a great look in the eyes of Red Sox fans if he goes back on that now, but, given the uncertainties surrounding how much teams will be willing to spend in free agency because of the pandemic, it’s certainly understandable why Betts may be more open to forgoing free agency when taking financial security into account in the midst of a nationwide pandemic.

Of course, one of the hopes in the Sox trading Betts to get under the luxury tax was the idea that the club was going to lure the 2018 American League MVP back in free agency with a lucrative contract this winter. That now appears unlikely to happen barring any significant changes on Betts’ or the Dodgers’ front.

Blue Jays to Play Majority of 2020 Home Games at PNC Park, Meaning Red Sox Will Travel to Pittsburgh Instead of Toronto in Late August

UPDATE: It looks like this could be falling apart as I am typing this, so there’s that.

The Red Sox were originally supposed to visit PNC Park earlier this month to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game, Independence Day weekend series.

Instead, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Sox will be limited to just playing regional opponents this year, but they will still be making a trip to Pittsburgh after all.

That being the case because, as of Wednesday morning, it looks like the Toronto Blue Jays will be playing a majority of their 2020 home games in the Steel City, barring a few exceptions against the Nationals and Yankees.

This all comes as the Canadian government ruled over the weekend that the Blue Jays would not be permitted to play regular season games in Toronto due to the pandemic. From the Associated Press’ report:

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement.

Ahead of this truncated, 60-game season, the Red Sox are scheduled to play the Jays 10 times in 2020. Three of those games were supposed to take place at Rogers Centre from August 25 through August 27, but it now looks like they will now take place at PNC Park, a venue the Sox last visited in 2014.