Tag: 2021 season

Andrew Benintendi crushes 2 homers for Royals; former Red Sox outfielder has found success since moving down in Kansas City’s lineup

Andrew Benintendi’s tenure with the Royals did not get off to the best of starts.

After being dealt from the Red Sox to Kansas City as part of a three-team, seven-player trade back in February, Benintendi struggled throughout his first spring training in Arizona, and that coincidentally carried over into the regular season as well.

Through his first 15 games as a member of the Royals, the 26-year-old put up an underwhelming .193/.270/.246 slash line with just three extra-base hits (all doubles), four RBI, three stolen bases, six walks, and 17 strikeouts over 63 plate appearances.

In that time, Benintendi — primarily Kansas City’s No. 2 hitter — failed to barrel up a single ball and posted a dismal wRC+ of 51 to show for his efforts.

As of the morning of April 21, it looked as though the former first-round pick was still on the path towards regression that started during the final month of the 2019 season.

But on that day against the Rays, Benintendi did something he had not done in a while: make significantly hard contact, and he did it twice by barreling up a pair of balls in the fourth and eighth innings.

Both balls the left-handed hitter squared up went for lineouts, but the fact he made more than solid contact on more than one occasion was encouraging — and a harbinger of positive things to come.

Since then, Benintendi has been on a roll as of late. He came into Saturday’s action riding an eight-game on-base streak and undoubtedly put together his best performance of the season to this point against the Twins at Target Field.

Batting seventh and starting in left field for Kansas City, the Cincinnati native went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs — his second and third homers of the season, two RBI, and three runs scored while leading his side to an 11-3 victory over Minnesota.

At the time Benintendi hit his first big fly of the afternoon (about 4 p.m. eastern time), Red Sox manager Alex Cora was fielding questions from reporters during his pregame Zoom call at Globe Life Field.

Cora had the Royals-Twins game on the television playing in his office as well.. That being the case because at one point, while talking about Eduardo Rodriguez, he paused, saw Benintendi’s home run, and said, “Look at Benny. He hit a homer.”

Following Saturday’s showing, Benintendi raised his batting average on the season to .262 and his OPS on the season to .757.

Over his last seven games alone, Benintendi is slashing an unworldly .435/.519/.870 with three homers six RBI, seven runs scored, four walks, and one stolen base dating back to April 23.

The success Benintendi has enjoyed as of late can be linked to when he was dropped from second to seventh in the Royals’ lineup on April 19.

The Red Sox moved on from Benintendi over the winter after originally taking the outfielder in the first round of the 2015 amateur draft out of the University of Arkansas.

In exchange for Benintendi, the Sox acquired outfielder Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later from the Royals as well as pitching prospect Josh Winckowski and one player to be named later from the Mets.

Cordero, the only player Boston got back in that trade who has seen any major-league time to this point, came into Saturday’s game against the Rangers sporting a .176/.236/.216 slash line to go along with 26 strikeouts in 55 trips to the plate (47% strikeout rate).

(Picture of Andrew Benintendi and Michael A. Taylor: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Darwinzon Hernandez has struck out 6 of the last 7 hitters he has faced: ‘The fastball up in the zone is hard to hit,’ Alex Cora says

There was a stretch between April 16-28 where Darwinzon Hernandez appeared in a grand total of one game for the Red Sox.

In that one game, which came against the Mariners on April 22, the left-handed reliever gave up four runs (three earned) on two hits, two walks, and one strikeout in the 10th inning of what would go down as a 7-3 loss for Boston. Three of those runs came on a three-run home run off the bat of Mitch Haniger.

“That home run he gave up against Seattle, I don’t want to say it was a wake-up call,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday. “But it was kind of like, ‘I need to attack hitters differently.'”

For a full week after that implosion, which raised his ERA on the year to an unsightly 5.14, Hernandez was not used for the remainder of the Sox’ series against the Mariners, nor was he used in their two-game set against the Mets in New York.

It was not until this past Thursday night that the 24-year-old was called upon again, as he took responsibility for the eighth inning in a game the Red Sox were trailing by three runs to the Rangers.

Matched up against Texas’ 3,4, and 5 hitters — Joey Gallo, Adolis Garcia, and Nate Lowe — Hernandez needed just 13 pitches (nine strikes) to punch out the side in order. He induced seven swings-and-misses in the process of getting all three of Gallo, Garcia, and Lowe to strike out swinging.

On Friday, Hernandez was once again deployed in the eighth inning against the Rangers, though this time his side had a five-run lead to work with.

Even with that lofty cushion, the Venezuelan hurler stayed on the aggressive side of things by thoroughly attacking the strike zone in the process of punching out three more batters.

He very well could have struck out the side in yet another perfect inning of relief, but an 0-2 fastball to Lowe with two outs that was very clearly a strike was ruled a ball by home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn. Lowe wound up reaching base on an infield single moments later.

So although he could not notch the 1-2-3 inning, Hernandez punched out the very next hitter he faced in Garcia on three straight strikes to retire the side.

“We talk about his fastball up in the zone,” Cora said. “Yesterday, he did it. He did it again today. He made a great pitch to the lefty that got a hit at the end (Lowe). It was a good pitch in the zone. It was called a ball. But, he’s slowing down now. The slider is playing. The fastball up in the zone is hard to hit.”

Following Friday’s showing, Hernandez lowered his ERA on the season to 4.00 through his first 10 outings and nine innings pitches of 2021.

Per Baseball Savant, the 6-foot-2, 244 pound southpaw currently ranks in the 99th percentile in whiff rate (44.8%). And as noted by Red Sox Stats, he is getting hitters to swing-and-miss at his fastball a major-league-best 50% of the time.

“If that guy throws the ball the way he did,” said Cora, “it’s going to put us in a great place with the bullpen.”

(Picture of Darwinzon Hernandez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez enjoys multi-homer game against Rangers even while dealing with migraine symptoms: ‘He’s on a mission,’ Alex Cora says

J.D. Martinez really wasn’t supposed to be in the Red Sox’ starting lineup for their game against the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Friday night.

After the team arrived in Arlington in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, Martinez’s head did not hit the pillow of his hotel room bed until about 4 a.m. local time.

Shortly after falling asleep, the 33-year-old awoke four hours later to what he described as “a crazy migraine” that prevented him from going back to bed.

“It’s some muscle or something that tightens up,” he said. “I don’t know why it happens, but it just tightens up and then I get this crazy migraine.”

Even while dealing with the migraine and the neck pain that came along with it, Martinez — with the help of the team’s athletic trainers — started at designated hitter for the Red Sox on Thursday and made it to the eighth inning before more symptoms arose.

“Right before my third at-bat, I was in the cage swinging, getting loose, and it just hit me,” Martinez recalled on Friday. “I was feeling terrible. Everything was so bright… It got to the point where I felt a little dizzy.”

Martinez wound up being pinch-hit for by Christian Arroyo in the eighth inning of Thursday’s loss and was on track to get a day off on Friday. But he started to feel better later on after getting some more work done on his neck, which led to him negotiating with Red Sox manager Alex Cora in order to be in the lineup come game time on Friday.

“I felt a lot better,” Martinez said. “So when I was leaving, Alex was just like, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you tomorrow.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. I’ll be fine.’ He was like, ‘No, take a day.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m in. I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know tomorrow if anything.'”

Martinez woke up Friday morning still experiencing some discomfort, and after receiving more treatment from trainers, he made sure to let Cora know he was good to go.

“In that situation, it’s either you feel OK or you don’t,” Cora said in regards to Martinez. “Physically, he doesn’t need [a day off], so you got to trust him. He came into the office, he told me last night he should be OK. This morning, he texted me right away, ‘I’m good to go.’ And he was good to go.”

The Red Sox benefitted from having Martinez in their lineup on Friday, and the trust between player and manager was a catalyst for that.

“Alex always has a good feel with all that stuff,” said Martinez. “He knows I want to be in there everyday as much as I can.”

In his 25th start of the season on Friday, the Sox slugger broke out of a 2-for-14 rut by going 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored, marking his second multi-homer game of the season already as part of a 6-1 win over the Rangers.

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, Martinez is now slashing an impressive .351/.430/.745 with a league-leading nine home runs and 25 RBI through his first 107 plate appearances of the year.

The fact that Martinez is off to this hot a start is certainly encouraging after the down season he had in 2020, but Cora was hesitant to pin all those struggles last year on the lack of access to video alone.

“I think it’s more about his routine, what he can do,” said Cora. “This is a guy that it’s an all-day process with his swing. He feels better physically. He’s in a better place with his mechanics… Now, he’s in a good place, he’s doing a great job. It’s not only on the field what he’s doing, it’s in the cage, talking to players.”

Cora also implied that Martinez is out to prove that his 2020 was a fluke and he is still indeed one of the best hitters in baseball. One month into the season, and Martinez is doing just that.

“He’s on a mission,” Cora said. “He’s on a mission.”

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez crushes 2 homers; Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers each go deep once as Red Sox bounce back with 6-1 win over Rangers

After managing to score just four total runs over their last three games, the Red Sox broke out of their offensive slump in a big way on Friday with a 6-1 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

All six runs Boston scored came by way of the home run ball, with J.D. Martinez hitting a three-run homer and Xander Bogaerts crushing a solo homer in the first inning, and Martinez and Rafael Devers clubbing a pair of solo shots in the fourth.

Nathan Eovaldi improved to 4-2 for the Sox, while Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Austin Brice closed things out out of the bullpen.

Martinez goes yard twice, Bogaerts and Devers once

Matched up against Japanese right-hander Kohei Arihara, for the Rangers, a leadoff walk drawn by Christian Arroyo in the top half of the first proved to be the catalyst for an explosive inning.

That being the case because Alex Verdugo followed by drawing yet another free pass to put runners at first and second for Martinez.

On the very first pitch he saw from Arihara, the Sox slugger crushed a three-run homer to left-center field to give his side an early 3-0 lead.

Xander Bogaerts followed by mashing his fourth home run of the season — a 405-foot bullet to left field — off Arihara to make it a 4-0 game.

Fast forward to the third, and Martinez struck once more, this time depositing an Arihara splitter a whopping 440 feet to dead center for his second big fly of the night and his major-league leading ninth big fly of the season. 5-0.

Devers tacked on one more run by collecting his seventh homer of the season later inning, and that would prove to be all the scoring the Red Sox would need to secure the victory.

Eovaldi eclipses 1,000 innings plateau

Coming into his start on Friday with 994 2/3 career innings pitched under his belt, Eovaldi would need to go at least 5 1/3 innings deep against the Rangers to reach the 1,000-inning mark.

In his home state of Texas, the veteran right-hander did just that — and more– by providing the Sox with six strong innings of work in which he yielded just one earned run on four hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The lone Rangers run Eovaldi surrendered came in the bottom half of the second, when he plunked Adolis Garcia with a pitch and allowed him to score on a two-out RBI single off the bat of old friend Brock Holt moments later.

Outside of that, the 33-year-old was able to keep things in check, retired nine of the last 12 hitters he faced, and finished with a final pitch count of 91 (59 strikes). His next start should come against the Tigers back at Fenway Park on Thursday.

Arroyo makes impressive throw while on the move

In Eovaldi’s final inning of work, Garcia tapped a sharply-hit groundball towards the middle side of the infield.

Christian Arroyo, who started at second base for Boston on Friday, managed to corral the ball with a slide and, while on his knees, made a quality throw to first base in order to get the runner out.

Next up: Rodriguez vs. Lyles

After wrapping up the month of April at 17-10, the Red Sox will hand the ball to Eduardo Rodriguez to kick off the month of May on Saturday night. The left-hander will be matched up against Rangers right-hander Jordan Lyles.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Red Sox lineup: Christian Arroyo returns, J.D. Martinez starting at DH for Friday matchup against Rangers

After being used as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Rangers, Christian Arroyo is back in the Red Sox’ lineup for Friday’s contest at Globe Life Field.

The 25-year-old had been held out of Boston’s starting lineup since Tuesday after taking a 93.8 mph fastball off his left hand during an at-bat in the first inning of Sunday’s 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Mariners at Fenway Park.

Arroyo was able to remain in that game until its conclusion, but he needed to have X-rays done immediately after. Those X-rays came back negative, which allowed the infielder to avoid a stint on the injured list.

Following three straight days off from Monday-Wednesday, Arroyo pinch-hit for J.D. Martinez with two outs in the top half of the eighth inning on Thursday.

Martinez was removed due to what the Red Sox described as “migraine-like symptoms,” and manager Alex Cora further explained what that meant during his postgame media availability.

“It’s a migraine,” Cora said. “He felt his neck, and started getting some headaches, whatever. Hopefully, it’s something that is nothing too serious, right? And he can be back on Saturday.”

At that time, it seemed unlikely that Martinez would be in the Sox’ starting lineup on Friday, but he is indeed back, starting at designated hitter and batting out of the three-hole.

Arroyo, meanwhile, is starting at second base and leading off for the fourth time this season. Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up behind him:

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will be getting the ball for Boston, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Kohei Arihara for Texas.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: David Berding/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on rookie Garrett Whitlock: ‘From what he does in the bullpens to the weight room to the training room — even carrying the beer on the plane. It’s kind of like perfect’

Regardless of the situation, Garrett Whitlock continues to get outs for the Red Sox on a consistent basis.

The latest instance of that came in Wednesday’s contest against the Mets, when the rookie right-hander was deployed in the sixth inning of a game the Sox had a one-run lead in.

Needing all of 31 pitches, Whitlock retired six of the eight batters he faced while striking out four over the course of two scoreless frames of relief in the sixth and seventh. He later picked up his third hold of the season.

Since making his major-league debut on April 4, the 24-year-old has yet to allow a run on just six hits and two walks to go along with 18 strikeouts over six outings and 13 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen.

“He keeps growing. He keeps getting better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Whitlock on Thursday. “Yesterday was fun to watch. 1-0 game in New York, and to give us six outs where we were bullpen-wise, it was amazing. So he keeps growing, he keeps learning, he keeps getting better. And he’s an important piece of our bullpen.”

Prior to being selected by the Red Sox from the Yankees in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, Whitlock had not pitched above the Double-A level and had last pitched in a minor-league game in 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery that summer.

In his three seasons as a Yankees minor-leaguer, the 2017 18th-round draft pick never once swung a bat, but he nearly had to do so on Wednesday in a National League ballpark.

Cora asked Whitlock how many hits he had in the minor-leagues because his spot was coming up in the Sox’ lineup. The righty told him he had zero.

“And I was like, ‘Well, you better be ready. You might have to hit in the big-leagues,'” recalled Cora. Whitlock responded with a simple, “Whatever you need.”

To say Cora and the rest of the Red Sox brass have been impressed with Whitlock to this point would probably be an understatement. Not only is the Georgia native, who Cora described as “a cool individual,” dazzling while on the mound. He is making positive impressions off the field as well.

“He just goes about his business,” said Cora. “He trusts his stuff. He has a clean delivery. He throws a lot of strikes. And the stuff is that good. You saw it yesterday. That two-seamer in to [Jonathan] Villar, that was really good. We talked about it the first week. You guys asked me, ‘Who caught your attention? ‘ It was him. From what he does in the bullpens to the weight room to the training room — even carrying the beer on the plane. It’s kind of like perfect. Everything’s so structured. So we’ve got a good one.”

Per Baseball Savant, Whitlock currently ranks in the 98th percentile in expected weighted on-base average, the 98th percentile in expected ERA, the 89th percentile in expected batting average, the 93rd percentile in expected slugging percentage, the 93rd percentile in strikeout rate, and the 90th percentile in chase rate.

In simpler terms, he has done an effective job of mixing his sinker, changeup, four-seam fastball, and slider thus far.

“He’s competing since day one in spring training,” Cora said. “It wasn’t a given that he was going to make the team. Since day one, he’s been competing. He never showed hesitation about his work or what we were preaching to him. He just keeps going and it’s fun to watch. In an era that everybody puts pressure on people and everybody’s in the spotlight and everybody knows what you are doing because of social media, he’s just the same Garrett as when we got to spring training February 11.”

Whitlock, who turns 25 in June, would be under team control with the Red Sox through 2026 if he sticks on the club’s big-league roster for the remainder of the season.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: David Berding/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ J.D. Martinez dealing with migraine-like symptoms, will likely not play on Friday, Alex Cora says

Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez was forced to exit Thursday’s game against the Rangers in the eighth inning due “migraine-related symptoms.”

Martinez was slated to bat third for Boston in their half of the eighth against the left-handed Joely Rodriguez, but the designated hitter was instead pinch hit for by Christian Arroyo, who reached base on catcher’s interference.

“It’s a migraine,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said when asked why Martinez was removed from Thursday’s contest. “He felt his neck, and started getting some headaches, whatever. Hopefully, it’s something that is nothing too serious, right? And he can be back on Saturday.”

As the above quote implies, Cora also said that the Red Sox will be staying away from Martinez on Friday.

The 33-year-old slugger went 0-for-1 with a groundout and a pair of walks on Thursday prior to coming out of the eventual 4-1 loss to the Rangers.

Through 24 games this season, Martinez is slashing an impressive .333/.417/.678 to go along with a team-leading seven home runs and 21 RBI, though he has cooled off a bit as of late.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox manage just three hits off Kyle Gibson; Hirokazau Sawamura gets taken deep twice in 4-1 loss to Rangers

The Red Sox did not arrive in Arlington until about 2:30 a.m. local time on Thursday morning, just hours ahead of their series-opening matchup against the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

In said contest, the Sox bats could manage all of one run on three hits as they saw their three-game winning streak come to an end following a 4-1 loss to Texas.

Rafael Devers was responsible for that lone Red Sox run. The 24-year-old plated Alex Verdugo from second on a two-out RBI double off Rangers starter Kyle Gibson in the top half of the sixth.

Devers’ 20th RBI of the year knotted things up at one run apiece. But outside of that, Gibson proved to be a tough opponent in this one. The veteran right-hander worked his way around three hits and three walks while limiting Boston to one run over six innings of work.

Perez puts together solid outing

Opposing Gibson was a former teammate of his in the form of Martin Perez for Boston.

Coming off back-to-back outings in which he pitched just 3 2/3 innings, the left-hander put together his best start of the season on Thursday.

Over 5 2/3 innings, Perez yielded two runs — only one of which was earned on zero walks and one hit batsman to go along with a season-high seven strikeouts on the night.

Fielding errors prove costly

In Perez’s fourth inning of work, the Rangers’ Joey Gallo laced a one-out double to the opposite field.

Alex Verdugo tracked down the ball in the left field corner, appeared to bobble it for a moment, and then made a casual throw back to the infield.

Verdugo’s throw was a casual one at best, and it wound up eluding the cutoff man in Devers and rolled to the other side of the infield, allowing Gallo to advance to third.

The Rangers took full advantage of the Red Sox’ sloppiness, as Adolis Garcia plated Gallo on a sacrifice fly to deep center field to give his side an early 1-0 lead.

Fast forward to the sixth, and Xander Bogaerts failed to come up with a groundball off the bat of Garcia, which allowed the Rangers outfielder to reach base safely with one out in the inning.

Perez’s outing came to an end after he retired Nate Lowe for the second out of the inning, leading to Hirokazu Sawamura coming on with one out to get in the sixth.

Sawamura wound up serving up a two-run home run to the very first man he faced in Nate Lowe, and the Red Sox suddenly found themselves down by two runs at 3-1.

In the seventh inning, Sawamura got taken deep once again, this time by Isiah-Kiner Falefa to raise his ERA on the year to 3.18.

Hernandez strikes out the side

In relief of Sawamura, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez needed all of 13 pitches to punch out Texas’ 3-4-5 hitters in order in a scoreless bottom half of the eighth.

Martinez dealing with migraine

J.D. Martinez left Thursday’s game in the eighth inning due to migraine-like symptoms. He was pinch-hit for by Christian Arroyo. It sounds like the Red Sox will be staying away from Martinez on Friday.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Arihara

Friday’s pitching matchup between the 16-10 Red Sox and 11-15 Rangers will feature a pair of right-handers, with Nathan Eovaldi getting the ball for Boston and Kohei Arihara doing the same for Texas.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Hirokazu Sawamura: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Danny Santana to begin rehab assignment with High-A Greenville next Tuesday

UPDATE: Cora has confirmed that Santana will indeed begin a rehab assignment next week.

Red Sox minor-league signee Danny Santana will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Greenville when the 2021 minor-league season starts next Tuesday, according to SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield.

Santana, 30, signed a minor-league deal with the Sox last month that included an invite to big-league spring training.

Shortly after signing, however, Santana suffered a right foot infection in mid-March that required surgery as well as a stay in the hospital.

Since then, the Dominican native has been able to return to the field and has been rehabbing in Fort Myers. It would appear that he is now at a point where he can take it up a notch in regards to the level of competition he is facing.

“He’s going through his progression. He’s getting his at-bats,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Santana over the weekend. “He’s feeling good. Actually, I’ve been in touch with him every other day. And he’s progressing well.”

Originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent back in 2007, Santana has proven to be a super-utilityman of sorts over the course of a seven-year major-league career.

Over the last two seasons with the Rangers alone, the switch-hitter has played every defensive position besides pitcher and catcher.

In addition to playing everywhere in his time with the Rangers, Santana also put together one of the best season of his career with Texas in 2019.

Across 130 games spanning 511 plate appearances, the 5-foot-11, 203 pounder slashed .283/.324/.534 with 28 home runs, 81 RBI, and 21 stolen bases en route to being named the Rangers’ Player of the Year.

Last year, though, Santana was limited to just 15 games on account of a right elbow sprain and was ultimately non-tendered by Texas in December.

“A switch-hitter with speed and power,” Cora said Thursday afternoon. “We saw it two years ago. He was amazing. Against us he was really good. I do believe he’s a quality at-bat from the left side. He brings speed. We can run a little bit more. That’s what he does… Let’s see where it takes us. We need him to get healthy and get his repetitions. And we have to be patient and see where it takes.

“But he’s a good player,” added Cora. “He’s a player we recognized during the offseason just like the other two (Kiké Hernández and Marwin Gonzalez). It just happened his situation was a little bit different with the surgery. It’s a player we really like. And we do feel when he’s right, he can contribute to a championship-caliber team.”

Before going down with that right foot infection this spring, Santana seemed to have a legitimate shot at cracking the Sox’ Opening Day roster as a bench piece given his defensive versatility and ability to hit from both sides of the plate.

Now that he is on the cusp of getting back into game action, Santana’s Red Sox debut could come sooner rather than later if Franchy Cordero (.191/.255/.234, 25 K in 51 PAs) continues to struggle at the plate.

That being the case because Cordero can be optioned to the minors and — as noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier — the Triple-A season begins next week.

Speier also notes that Santana’s initial pact with the Sox included an April 30 opt-out if he is not called up to the big-leagues, but that opt-out date has now been pushed back “by a couple of weeks” to mid-May.

(Picture of Danny Santana: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox closer Brandon Workman designated for assignment by Cubs

Former Red Sox closer Brandon Workman has been designated for assignment by the Cubs, the club announced Thursday afternoon.

Workman, 32, initially signed a one-year, $1 million deal with Chicago back in February and had the opportunity to earn an additional $2 million in availabele incentives.

In the span of just 10 appearances out of the Cubs’ bullpen, the right-hander surrendered nine runs (six earned) on 12 hits, seven walks, and 11 strikeouts over eight innings of work. That’s good for an ERA of 6.75 and an OPS against of .997.

Prior to signing with Chicago, Workman had spent the 2020 season with both the Red Sox and Phillies.

Opening the year with Boston, the former second-round pick posted a 4.05 ERA over seven outings and 6 2/3 innings pitched before being traded to the Phillies along with fellow reliever Heath Hembree in exchange for right-handers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold in late August.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Workman’s struggles escalated as he yielded 11 runs (10 earned) in just 13 frames prior to hitting free agency in October.

The fact that Workman struggled as much as he did was somewhat baffling considering how dominant he was in his final full season with the Red Sox in 2019.

In 73 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen that year, the Texas native produced a miniscule 1.88 ERA while recording 16 saves to go along 104 strikeouts over 71 2/3 innings pitched.

In 31 appearances since, he has put up a 6.18 ERA and 5.69 FIP over 27 2/3 innings.

Considering that he enjoyed a great deal of success not too long ago, is not making much money this year, and is still just 32 years old, it should be interesting to see if any teams have any interest in Workman while he is up for grabs on waivers. The Cubs will have seven days to either trade, waive, or release the righty in the meantime.

(Picture of Brandon Workman: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)