Tag: 2021 season

Red Sox roster moves: Eduard Bazardo, John Schreiber, Connor Wong optioned to alternate training site

Following their 5-3 victory over the Braves at JetBlue Park on Tuesday afternoon, the Red Sox made their fourth round of spring roster cuts, as the club optioned three players to their alternate training site.

Right-handed pitchers Eduard Bazardo and John Schreiber and catcher Connor Wong were all optioned to Boston’s alternate site in Worcester, but they will remain at the Fenway South complex through the end of spring training.

Bazardo, 25, was initially added to the Sox’ 40-man roster back in November after showing out at the team’s fall instructional league late last year.

The Venezuelan-born righty is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 28 prospect in Boston’s farm system and carries with him a 1.80 ERA through his first four appearances of the spring — the most recent of which came in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s contest against Atlanta.

Schreiber, meanwhile, joined the Red Sox’ 40-man roster when he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers last month.

The 27-year-old, equipped with a funky delivery, has gotten off to a tough start with his new club this spring, allowing a total of two earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings of relief spanning two appearances out of the bullpen.

Prior to getting claimed by Boston in February, Schreiber has spent the first two years of his big-league career with Detroit in 2019 and 2020, posting a 6.28 ERA and 4.21 FIP over 28 total outings and 28 2/3 total innings pitched while consistently being shuttled between Triple-A and the majors.

Finally, we arrive at Wong, undoubtedly the most familiar name on this brief list.

One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts/David Price trade last February, the 24-year-old Wong is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 15 prospect in the Sox’ organization, ranking tops among catchers.

The former third-round pick out of Houston, who hits from the right side of the plate, clubbed his first home run of the Grapefruit League campaign for Boston on Tuesday.

Since camp broke in February, Wong has drawn plenty of praise from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“There’s a calmness about him that managers like,” Cora said of Wong. “And we’re very happy. Last year, he was part of the big trade, and I bet everything was going so fast for him. And now for him to slow everything down, and being able to work, it’s a testament of who he is as a person, as a player. And obviously he’s somebody that we’re counting on in the future.”

All three of Bazardo, Schreiber, and Wong will now begin the 2021 season at the Red Sox’ alternate training site in Worcester.

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Following Tuesday’s moves, the Sox now have approximately 47 players at major-league camp in Fort Myers with Opening Day just over two weeks away.

(Picture of Eduard Bazardo: Mark Brown/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora provides update on Danny Santana (foot infection): ‘This is going to take a while’

On Monday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that veteran utilityman Danny Santana had been hospitalized since Saturday due to a right foot infection.

On Tuesday, during his pregame Zoom session with reporters, Cora provided an update on Santana’s status.

“He’s still in the hospital,” Cora said of Santana earlier Tuesday morning. “He had the procedure yesterday. Everything went well. Actually, Danny texted me. He feels a lot better. He might take two or three more days for him to be there, and then after that the stitches. It’s going to take a while.”

Cora had hoped that Santana, who signed a minor-league deal with Boston earlier this month, would be able to return to the club sooner rather than later. That, however, now seems unlikely.

“It’s not sooner rather than later,” said the Sox skipper. “This is going to take a while. But, it is what it is. We just want him healthy and we’ll be patient with him.”

Before suffering this foot infection, the 30-year-old Santana seemed like somewhat of a dark horse candidate to crack the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster considering the fact that he is a switch-hitter and has major-league experience at every defensive position besides pitcher and catcher.

Now, it would appear that the Dominican native — formerly of the Twins, Braves, and Rangers — will have to work his way back from this setback. He will presumably remain in Fort Myers for the foreseeable future in order to rehab.

(Picture of Danny Santana: Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on top prospect Triston Casas: ‘For him to be around us, it’s beneficial for us’

He may have gone hitless in his first start of the spring on Monday afternoon, but it was still encouraging to see top Red Sox prospect Triston Casas back on the field.

The 21-year-old infielder made his spring debut against the Twins on Sunday and went 0-for-2 after pinch-hitting for Xander Bogaerts in the sixth inning of an eventual 5-5 draw with the Twins.

On Monday, he started at designated hitter and eventually moved to first base while going 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout batting out of the nine-hole.

Again, even while not getting into the hit column against the Rays on Monday, Casas still put some of his tools on full display by drawing a six-pitch walk off Hunter Strickland in the second inning and by smoking a line-drive flyout to right field off left-hander Josh Fleming in the fourth.

Before making his Grapefruit League debut over the weekend, Casas had missed some time at Red Sox camp in Fort Myers after being evaluated for a non-baseball-related medical issue in Boston earlier this month.

Now that he is back at camp, it appears that the 2018 first-round draft pick will have the chance to get more in-game at-bats through the end of spring training.

“We know the hitter. I’m starting to know the player,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Casas earlier Monday morning. “He’s a guy that asks a lot of questions. He’s always checking where he’s at, what he needs to do. Yesterday, we had to move him to third base, and you could see he was prepared. He’s looking around, he’s looking at Carlos [Febles] pre-pitch. For him to get at-bats, it’s good. But just for him to be around us, it’s beneficial for us.”

According to Baseball America, the left-handed hitting Casas — listed at 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds — is the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system going into the 2021 season.

The Miami-area native is projected to begin the 2021 season with Double-A Portland, but, as previously mentioned, he will presumably get the chance to get into some more Grapefruit League games these next few weeks.

“He had a big smile,” said Cora in regards to Casas’ first game back on Sunday. “For everything he went through the last few weeks, it was refreshing to see him out there.”

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

Jeter Downs, top Red Sox prospect, ‘OK’ after leaving Sunday’s game with left side soreness, could be ready to get back into games by Wednesday

After being removed from Sunday’s game against the Twins due to left side soreness, Red Sox infield prospect Jeter Downs was evaluated by the team on Monday.

“He’s OK,” Sox manager Alex Cora said of Downs’ status following Monday afternoon’s 3-2 loss at the hands of the Rays. “We don’t feel it’s oblique-related. It was a bruise. So hopefully treatment tomorrow and be ready to play in two days.”

Downs, 22, landed hard on his left side after diving for a groundball in the bottom half of the seventh inning of Sunday’s contest against Minnesota at Hammond Stadium.

He was lifted at shortstop for Chad De La Guerra, and it now appears as though he won’t return to Grapefruit League action until Wednesday at the earliest.

The right-handed hitter — listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds — is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the Sox’ farm system behind only Triston Casas.

Through his first 11 games of the spring, Downs is 4-for-9 at the plate with one home run, three RBI, and two walks. He was reassigned to minor-league camp on Friday.

Cora recently praised Downs for his ability to slow down what’s going on around him while on the field and at the plate.

“Just like I’ve been saying about Nick (Yorke) and (Connor) Wong, there’s something about them that the game doesn’t speed up on them,” the Sox skipper said. “He’s very calm. Sometimes, it looks like he’s too calm on the field. But that’s not bad.

“You can see the approach at the plate,” added Cora. “He makes great swing decisions. Defensively, he struggled (one) day but besides that, he has been solid and he has been good. He learned a lot last year working with (minor-league coach Bruce Crabbe) as far as defense, his set-up and his pre-pitch. He took all that into camp. I’m very happy with him. We just need him to keep working, keep getting stronger. I think that’s going to help him out. He’s a good, solid player.”

Downs, who turns 23 in July, is projected to start the 2021 minor-league season at the Red Sox’ alternate training site in Worcester.

(Picture of Jeter Downs: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Danny Santana hospitalized with right foot infection

Red Sox minor-leaguer Danny Santana has been hospitalized for the last two days after suffering an apparent right foot infection, manager Alex Cora announced Monday morning.

Santana, 30, originally signed a minor-league pact with Boston earlier this month and even got into one Grapefruit League game before being sent to the hospital.

“Danny had a foot infection,” Cora said earlier Monday. “He’s actually right now in the hospital. It got bad two days ago. Hopefully, they’re going to do something today with him him, drain him or something like that. I got to check with Brad [Pearson].

“But it’s going to take a while now for him to get going,” added Cora. “He’s been in the hospital for the last two days with IV and antibiotics. So let’s hope that this is controllable and he’s going to be back with us hopefully sooner rather than later.”

The Dominican native came off the bench as a designated hitter for Boston in this past Friday’s 8-2 victory over the Rays at JetBlue Park. He went 1-for-2 with a single in the fifth inning and was not bothered by his right foot at that time.

“He showed up two days ago and it looked pretty bad,” said Cora. “Right away we sent him to the hospital and they’re taking care of that. There had to be something there before when he played but he didn’t feel anything. He wasn’t in pain. You saw him move around. He moved well and then the next day he showed up with it.”

Prior to signing with the Sox, the switch-hitting Santana had spent the past two seasons with the Rangers. He had been non-tendered by Texas in December after appearing in just 15 games in 2020 on account of multiple stints on the injured list

In 2019, though, Santana enjoyed great success, as he slashed a robust .283/.324/.534 to go along with a career-best 28 home runs and 81 RBI over 130 games played en route to being named the Rangers’ Most Valuable Player.

The fact that the 5-foot-11, 195 pounder is less than two full years removed from that solid of a campaign surely made him an appealing, buy-low candidate for the Red Sox.

It also doesn’t hurt that over the course of his seven-year major-league career with Texas, Atlanta, and Minnesota, Santana has played every defensive position besides pitcher and catcher, so he is versatile.

Taking those factors into consideration, it seemed like Santana had a legitimate shot at cracking Boston’s Opening Day roster since he provides more bench flexibility as a switch-hitter, but that now seems unlikely to happen.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, not only is Santana now dealing with a right foot infection, but he also came into camp behind in his throwing after undergoing an ulnar collateral ligament repair and augmentation procedure last September.

“We want him to be healthy,” Cora said of Santana. “Let’s take care of this thing and hopefully he can be with us sooner rather than later.”

(Picture of Danny Santana: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on outfield prospect Jeisson Rosario’s potential: ‘We believe that there’s more there’

Red Sox outfield prospect Jeisson Rosario was one of seven players the club optioned to their alternate training site over the weekend.

The 21-year-old has not seen much action this spring after suffering a left hamstring injury while running after the ball in the fifth inning of a game against the Twins back on March 3.

While Rosario has not played since then, the Red Sox still believe they have something in the centerfielder, who was one of the two prospects (Hudson Potts being the other) they acquired from the Padres in exchange for Mitch Moreland last August.

“Good athlete,” Sox manager Alex Cora said of the young outfielder on Saturday. “We believe that there’s more there. Physically, we need to get him in a better spot. It was a tough offseason for him with the birth of his child. He was here for [fall instructs] and then went back to Miami. It’s not that he was way out of shape, but he can do better.”

Per his Instagram, Rosario and his partner welcomed their first child into the world back in January, so that was the time frame Cora was referring to.

The Dominican native — listed at 6-foot-1 and 191 lbs. — comes into the 2021 season as the No. 20 prospect in Boston’s farm system, per Baseball America.

The last time he saw any organized minor-league action, the left-handed hitting, left-handed throwing Rosario slashed .242/.372/.314 (102 wRC+) to go along with three home runs, 35 RBI, and 11 stolen bases over 12o games played for High-A Lake Elsinore in 2019.

Upon acquiring him from the Padres last summer, the Sox sent Rosario to their alternate training site in Pawtucket and then to their fall instructional league in Fort Myers before adding the speedster to their 40-man roster in November in order to avoid being eligible for December’s Rule 5 Draft.

At fall instructs, Rosario got off to a decent start, but started to struggle as camp went on, according to SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall.

“Rosario did not show a stand-out tool and did not seem like a potential difference maker,” Cundall wrote back in November. “His frame is not that projectable. His best tools were on defense, where his instincts stood out and he showed an above-average arm. His run times, however, were closer to average than plus, which is a concern — if his speed continues to decrease, it could limit his defensive upside.

“At the plate, Rosario’s approach was OK,” added Cundall. “He worked counts but did not seem to be seeing the ball that well and showed fringy contact ability and minimal raw power. The Instructs games were not the ideal showcase for Rosario — he lacks loud tools, but as one of the more advanced players there, scouts expected more out of him against inexperienced pitching.”

Taking that report into consideration, it would appear that Rosario — who does not turn 22 until October still has plenty of room to grow in regards to his development. He is currently projected to begin the 2021 season with Double-A Portland.

“He’s so young that we just got to get him in a good spot,” said Cora. “If he does that, his athletic ability is going to take over. He controls the strike zone, which is very important. And he’s a good athlete.”

(Picture of Jeisson Rosario: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox top prospect Jeter Downs suffers injury to left side in Sunday’s game against Twins, will be evaluated on Monday

After coming on as a defensive replacement at shortstop for Marwin Gonzalez in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 5-5 draw against the Twins, Red Sox infield prospect Jeter Downs would have to leave the game an inning later.

Fielding a ground ball off the bat of Jose Miranda to lead off the bottom half of the seventh, the 22-year-old dove to his left, landed hard on his side, and as NESN’s Jerry Remy put it, “never got a handle on the baseball” as Miranda reached first base safely without a throw.

Upon getting back on his feet, it appeared that Downs was a bit shaken up as he crouched down in front of second base, leading to Red Sox manager Alex Cora and associate head athletic trainer Brandon Henry coming out to check up on the young infielder.

Following a brief conversation between the three, Downs exited the game and was replaced by Chad De La Guerra at shortstop while fellow top prospect Triston Casas took over at third base.

During his postgame media availability, Cora couldn’t get into the specifics about what was hampering Downs, only assuring that more information will be revealed on Monday.

“They checked him and it seems like he’s OK,” Cora said via Zoom. “They’re going to obviously wait for him tomorrow, see how he feels at night, and we’ll have more tomorrow.

“It was his left side,” he added. “We can’t say it’s an oblique injury or just a bruise. We’ll wait until tomorrow.”

Downs, who was one of three players the Red Sox acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts/David Price trade last February, is currently regarded by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 2 prospect behind only Casas.

The right-handed hitting middle infielder out of Colombia was reassigned to minor-league camp on Friday and is projected to begin the 2021 season at the Sox’ alternate training site in Worcester.

(Picture of Alex Cora, Jeter Downs, and Brandon Henry: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Nathan Eovaldi eclipses 100 mph 10 times in second start of spring: ‘When he gets to the ballpark, everything is at full speed’

Through the first three innings of his second start of the spring on Sunday afternoon, Nathan Eovaldi was moving right along.

The veteran right-hander had retired 9 of the first 11 Twins hitters he faced at Hammond Stadium, with the only damage coming on a leadoff home run off the bat of Byron Buxton to begin the bottom half of the third.

After escaping the third while stranding another base runner, Eovaldi headed into his fourth and final frame of work with a respectable pitch count of 41 as he looked to end his outing on a positive note.

Instead, the 31-year-old hurler saw Minnesota tack on an additional three runs on an additional five hits — including a hard-hit two-run double from Miguel Sano and softly-hit RBI single from Andrelton Simmons — before eventually retiring the side by getting Max Kepler to ground out to second.

At the end of the day, Eovaldi finished with a final pitch count of 65 (41 strikes) while yielding four earned runs on seven hits and zero walks to go along with three punchouts over those four innings of work.

Among those 65 pitches Eovaldi threw on Sunday, approximately 30 were four-seam fastballs, and approximately 10 of those fastballs registered on the radar gun at 100 mph or more, per Baseball Savant.

“I felt really good,” Eovaldi told reporters following his outing. “I’ve been doing a lot of work on my mechanics and my mechanics feel like they’re falling into place really well. I don’t feel like I’m fighting myself as much anymore. I threw some decent splitters today. My curveball felt really good. I threw some really good sliders today as well. I felt like I was locating the ball really well and attacking the zone and that’s what I came out there to do today. To work fast, get first-pitch strikes, and keep the pressure on them.”

Between the Sox and Twins, nine pitchers in total took the mound at Hammond Stadium on Sunday. Among those nine, Eovaldi was responsible for the 30 fastest pitches.

On the surface, that seems like a reassuring point, but it also brings into question if Eovaldi would be better off to save some of those high-octane bullets for later in the regular season as opposed to turning to them now in Grapefruit League play.

“It’s hard for us to slow him down,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his flame-throwing starter. “That’s who he is. When he gets to the ballpark, everything is at full speed. We understand that, and we have to live with it. He’s in a great spot physically. He’s made some adjustments in the offseason. You see it, it’s full blast from the get-go. But, it’s something that that’s who he is, and we’re not going to change him.”

As for what went wrong in the fourth inning Sunday, Eovaldi attributed those struggles to just how dangerous the Twins lineup can be, but he also acknowledged that his performance as a whole was a step in the right direction heading into the new season.

“Other than that fourth inning, today felt really good going out there,” the Houston native said. “I think I had one 3-2 count, and that was to Sano in the first or second inning. Other than that, pitches felt really good. It’s just kind of now mixing them. I want the splitter to be a little bit better than it is now. But, everything else feels really good after today.”

Eovaldi has now recorded five strikeouts through his first two starts and 5 1/3 innings pitched of the spring. His next Grapefruit League outing could come against the Braves in North Port on Saturday.

“The more he pounds the strike zone with his stuff, he’s going to be successful,” said Cora. “And we like that.”

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ J.D. Martinez could see more playing time in left field in 2021

While the Red Sox are going to get creative with their outfield alignments this season depending on who they are playing and where they are playing, one name that cannot be forgotten about is J.D. Martinez.

The 33-year-old slugger has primarily served as Boston’s designated hitter since signing with the club in February 2018 — and for the most part has excelled in that role — but don’t be surprised if he plays more outfield this year.

Through his first seven appearances of the spring, Martinez has made five starts at DH and two in left field.

In his first three seasons with the Red Sox, the three-time All-Star’s number of appearances in the outfield have decreased from 57 in 2018 to 38 in 2019 to just six in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

While Martinez’s career numbers would suggest that he is more productive at the plate while DH-ing (lifetime 125 wRC+) as opposed to playing left field (lifetime 119 wRC+), Red Sox manager Alex Cora suggested that being in the outfield comes with its benefits.

“It’s good for him in spring training to move around,” Cora said when speaking with reporters Friday morning. “Actually, it keeps him out of the cage while he’s DH-ing, which is good. It’s kind of managing his workload. And I don’t think J.D.’s a bad outfielder. He’s just a big guy. He doesn’t move as well as other guys.”

Since joining the Sox in 2018, Martinez has logged a total of 875 2/3 innings between left and center field. In that time, he’s been credited with negative-13 defensive runs saved while posting an ultimate zone rating of negative-10.

Put another way, the defensive metrics have not been kind to the Florida native as of late, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy playing the outfield when he can.

“You saw the first game [of the spring], right away he threw to the right base, almost out at second. Threw to the plate, almost out,” said Cora. “So it’s good for him to move around and he likes it. I think as far as preparation, he doesn’t get stuck on the DH thing. When he knows I’m going to use him in the outfield, he goes out there, he shags, he moves around, he’s throwing, which is good for him. I do believe it puts him in a better spot.”

Martinez himself echoed this same sort of sentiment last month, attributing the fact that he saw more playing time in the outfield to the success his team enjoyed in 2018.

“I told [Cora]. I said, ‘Hey, the last time I played in the outfield — like 80 games — we won a World Series. I don’t know,” he recalled while shrugging his shoulders when speaking with NESN’s Tom Caron and Jim Rice on February 24.

2018 was also a year in which Martinez enjoyed a great deal of individual success, as he became the first player ever to win two Silver Slugger Awards in the same season for his offensive efforts as both an outfielder and designated hitter.

“Like I always remind him, I was the one that gave him two Silver Sluggers,” Cora said of Martinez Friday with a smile on his face. “I was responsible for that.”

Cora was then asked if he received any sort of compensation from Martinez, who netted $200,000 in bonuses for winning the two Silver Slugger Awards three years ago.

“What’s the next question?” the Sox skipper asked before chuckling for a moment. “I’ll call [super agent] Scott [Boras] on that one. I got to check with Scott.”

Cora — like Martinez now — was represented by Boras over the course of his 14-year major-league career.

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

Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas ‘a full-go’ at spring training after being cleared to return to baseball activities

After missing some time due to a non-baseball-related medical issue that required a trip to Boston earlier this month, Red Sox infield prospect Triston Casas has been back in Fort Myers and has been given the go-ahead to fully participate in spring training activities.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Friday morning that he got the word from the team’s head athletic trainer, Brad Pearson, that Casas was indeed ready to return to the field.

“We had the morning meeting and Brad gave him a full-go with everything,” Cora said via a Zoom call. “Hopefully we can get him a few at-bats in games. It will be important I think for the organization and for the kid, too. So, let’s see how he feels in the next two days, and we’ll try to get him up there.”

Casas, who turned 21 in January, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the top prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 47 prospect in baseball.

The young first baseman was originally selected by the Sox with the 26th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla.

In his first full season as a pro, the 6-foot-4, 252 lb. left-handed hitter slashed an impressive .256/.350/.480 to go along with 20 home runs and 81 RBI over 120 total games between Class-A Greenville and High-A Salem in 2019. He was named the Red Sox’ minor-league Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts.

Coming off a 2020 season with no minor-league baseball, Casas spent much of the summer at the Red Sox’ alternate training site in Pawtucket before attending his third fall instructional league later in the year.

The one-time University of Miami commit received an invite from the Sox to major-league spring training last month. And while the club has trimmed down the size of its spring training roster, Casas remains.

“He’s a hard worker,” Cora said of Casas. “For the time that he missed, he seems like he didn’t miss much. Physically, he’s in good shape. He’s amazing at taking care of himself. So hopefully by the weekend, we can get him a few at-bats on the big field.”

Casas is projected to start the 2021 season — whenever it does start — with Double-A Portland.

Because he is not currently on Boston’s 40-man roster and is still ways away from garnering big-league consideration, it seems unlikely that Casas would start the year at the club’s alternate training site in Worcester, but that possibility cannot be ruled out quite yet.

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