Tag: alex cora

Hard-throwing Red Sox relief prospect Franklin German ‘is very much on the Alex Cora watchlist’

Red Sox pitching prospect Franklin German’s first season as a full-time reliever is off to a promising start.

In six relief appearances for Double-A Portland so far this in 2022, the right-hander has allowed one unearned run on two hits, no walks, one hit batsman, and 15 strikeouts over eight innings of work.

Among Eastern League pitchers who have accrued five or more innings on the mound, German ranks second in strikeout rate (57.7%), tied for first in walk rate (0.0%), sixth in batting average against (.080), third in WHIP (0.25), first in FIP (0.27), and second in xFIP (1.36), per FanGraphs.

It’s obviously a small sample size, but still noteworthy nonetheless. German, of course, was the prospect the Red Sox acquired from the Yankees alongside fellow righty Adam Ottavino in January 2021.

While Ottavino provided Boston with experienced bullpen depth at the big-league level last year, German struggled to find his footing as a starter in Portland. The former 2018 fourth-round draft pick out of the University of Florida posted a 5.45 ERA over his first 19 outings (18 starts) of 2021 before permanently moving to the Sea Dogs’ bullpen in late August.

Since moving to the ‘pen on a full-time basis, German has surrendered just three hits and one walk while striking out 22 of the 43 batters he faced going back to last season. One reason behind the success he has enjoyed as a reliever is as simple as an uptick in fastball velocity.

As The Athletic’s Peter Gammons wrote on Friday, German “threw in the mid-90s” in 2021. But “he showed  up in Fort Myers this spring throwing 98-100, and says when he was moved to the bullpen for five appearances last September, he was far more excited and velocity picked up.”

Per Gammons, German has been clocked at 99-102 mph so far this season while putting up big swing-and-miss numbers. Because of the stuff he has displayed, the hard-throwing hurler ” is very much on the Alex Cora watchlist.”

German, who turns 25 in September, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 25 prospect in Boston’s farm system. In addition to his high-octane fastball, the 6-foot-2, 195 pounder also works with a changeup and slider.

Seeing how he is currently dominating at Double-A, one has to wonder how long it will be until German earns a promotion to Triple-A Worcester, or perhaps even the major-leagues. For what it’s worth, he will need to be added to the Sox’ 40-man roster by late November if the club intends to protect him from the 2022 Rule 5 Draft.

(Picture of Franklin German: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox)

Red Sox muster just 3 hits off Alek Manoah in 1-0 loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox had an opportunity to salvage a series split against the Blue Jays but, much like their lineup, were unable to take advantage of it. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 1-0 at Rogers Centre to lose the four-game series and drop to 8-12 on the season.

Garrett Whitlock, making his second start and sixth overall appearance of the year for the Sox, was not as sharp as he was in his last time out but was still effective nonetheless. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on four hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts over three innings of work.

The lone run the Jays scored off Whitlock came as a result of a Christian Arroyo fielding error in the bottom of the third inning. Lourdes Gurriel reached base on Arroyo’s miscue, advanced to second base on a walk drawn by Raimel Tapia, and scored from second on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Alejandro Kirk.

Kirk’s run-scoring base hit gave Toronto an early 1-0 lead and was the precursor to Whitlock’s day ending once he recorded the final out of the third. Of the 61 pitches the 25-year-old hurler threw on Thursday, 41 went for strikes. He threw 37 sinkers, 17 sliders, and seven changeups.

In relief of Whitlock, Austin Davis received the first call from manager Alex Cora out of the Boston bullpen in the middle of the fourth. The left-hander notched the first two outs of the frame and issued one walk before making way for John Schreiber, who ended things in the fourth while also working his way around a two-out double in an otherwise clean fifth inning.

Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes followed with a scoreless frame each in the sixth and seventh, while Hansel Robles sat down the side in order in the eighth.

To that point in the contest, a Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez-less Red Sox lineup had already squandered multiple scoring chances against Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah.

It took until the fifth inning for a Boston batter to get into scoring position when Arroyo reached base via a one-out single and immediately stole second. He was, however, stranded there after Bobby Dalbec and Travis Shaw both struck out swinging to extinguish the threat.

Fast forward to the seventh, and Enrique Hernandez led the inning off with his eighth double of the season. With Manoah seemingly on the ropes, Bradley Jr. advanced Hernandez to third on a softly-hit groundout, but neither Arroyo nor Dalbec could drive him in.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth with Jordan Romano on the mound for Toronto, Alex Verdugo grounded out to second, and Rafael Devers laced a 100.3 mph single back up the middle to put the tying run on base for Hernandez, who hit the ball hard himself but right into Gurriel’s glove in right field. Bradley Jr., on the other hand, struck out on four pitches to seal the 1-0 defeat for Boston.

All told, Red Sox hitters went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base as a team en route to losing three out of four to the Blue Jays north of the border.

Next up: On to Baltimore

The Red Sox will now conclude their lengthy road trip with a three-game weekend series in Baltimore that begins on Friday night. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston in the opener and will be piggybacked by Tanner Houck. The Orioles have yet to announce who will be starting for them opposite Hill.

Regardless, first pitch from Camden Yards on Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alek Manoah: Joshua Bessex/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts leads the way with 4 hits as Red Sox snap skid with 7-1 win over Blue Jays

With Alex Cora back in the dugout, the Red Sox put an end to their four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a much-needed win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-1 to snap their skid and improve to 8-11 on the season by doing so.

Matched up against Jays starter Ross Stripling to begin things on Wednesday, the Sox got right to work when Xander Bogaerts reached base via a two-out double in the top of the first inning. Rafael Devers followed with a sharply-hit double of his own that scored Bogaerts and made it a 1-0 game in favor of the visitors.

That sequence provided Michael Wacha with an early one-run cushion and he took advantage of it while making his fourth start of the year for the Sox. Over six quality innings of work, the veteran right-hander allowed just one run on four hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The lone run the Blue Jays got off Wacha came in the third inning following a pair of back-to-back leadoff singles from Tyler Heineman and George Springer. Bo Bichette advanced Heineman to third on a fielder’s choice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove the catcher in on a fielder’s choice that was nearly an inning-ending double play.

Instead, Wacha gave up the tying run at the time. But the righty rebounded by getting through the rest of the third unscathed, stranding a runner in scoring position in the fourth, and retiring each of the final six batters he faced from the fifth through the end of the sixth to end his outing on a high note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 (57 strikes), Wacha ultimately improved to 2-0 while lowering his ERA on the season to 1.77. The 30-year-old hurler threw 42 four-seam fastballs, 26 changeups, 11 curveballs, nine cutters, and four sinkers. He induced eight swings and misses with his changeup and averaged 93.6 mph with his heater.

Shortly before his night came to a close, the Red Sox put Wacha in position to earn the win by pushing across two more runs in their half of the sixth. Greeting new Blue Jays reliever Trent Thornton, Bogaerts led of with a single, moved up to third on a Bogaerts single, and scored on an RBI single off the bat of J.D. Martinez. Devers, meanwhile, scored on an Enrique Hernandez sacrifice fly that gave Boston a 3-1 lead.

In relief of Wacha, Jake Diekman got the first call from Cora for the bottom of the seventh and sandwiched a six-pitch walk of Santiago Espinal in between the first two outs of the inning. Hirokazu Sawamura then came on to face George Springer, who ripped a single to center field to put runners on the corners. To his credit, Sawamura escaped the jam by fanning Bichette on a 96.5 mph four-seamer.

Moments after that happened, Martinez led off the top of the eighth with a blistering 106.2 mph double off Julian Merryweather. Hernandez laced a 105.2 mph double of his own to plate Martinez. A well-executed sacrifice bunt from Jackie Bradley Jr. allowed Hernandez to move up to third and Bobby Dalbec brought him in on a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Red Sox up 5-1.

John Schreiber took over for Sawamura in the bottom half of the eighth and impressed in his 2022 debut by sitting down the side in order on 14 pitches.

The ninth inning was all about insurance for the Sox. Bogaerts drove in Trevor Story with his fourth hit of the night and Rob Refsnyder, who was pinch-hitting for Martinez, drove in Alex Verdugo on his first. That made it a 7-1 game going into the bottom of the ninth for Tyler Danish.

Danish, in turn, wrapped things up with a 1-2-3 frame to lock down the commanding, six-run victory.

Some notes from this win:

From the Red Sox’ J.P. Long:

Next up: Whitlock vs. Manoah in series finale

The Red Sox will go for a series split with the Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon when they send right-hander Garrett Whitlock to the mound for his second career big-league start. Whitlock will be opposed by fellow second-year righty for Toronto.

First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Alex Cora returns to Red Sox after missing last 6 games with COVID-19

Alex Cora has rejoined the Red Sox in Toronto and is expected to return to his post as manager for Wednesday’s contest against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, as was first reported by MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Cora has missed each of Boston’s last six games after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before the Sox’ series finale with the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on April 21.

The 46-year-old, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, had already been staying in a hotel upon testing positive after one of his four-year-old twin boys contracted the virus two weeks ago and remained isolated there while experiencing mild symptoms.

In Cora’s place, bench coach Will Venable took over as Boston’s acting manager for the second time in as many seasons and led the club to a 1-5 record to drop the Red Sox to 7-11 on the season.

While losing five of their last six and four straight overall to American League East opponents, the Sox are averaging fewer than three runs per game and have been outscored 26-17 during this rough stretch.

With Cora back in the dugout, though, perhaps the Red Sox’ fortunes will change for the better. They have two more games remaining in Toronto before concluding this lengthy road trip with a three-game weekend series in Baltimore.

As Cora makes his return on Wednesday, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the start for the Sox opposite fellow righty Ross Stripling for the Jays in the third game of this four-game series.. First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox reinstate Kevin Plawecki from COVID-19 related injured list, option Connor Wong to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have reinstated catcher Kevin Plawecki from the COVID-19 related injured the list, the team announced before Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Toronto. In a corresponding move, fellow backstop Connor Wong was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Plawecki, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, initially tested positive for the virus last Monday and was placed on the COVID-related IL as a result. Since he is vaccinated, the 31-year-old was eligible to return sooner than 10 days so long as he registered two negative PCR tests, showed no signs of a fever, and received approval from the joint COVID medical committee.

In total, Plawecki missed seven games while sidelined due to COVID-19. Before that, the right-handed hitter appeared in four games for Boston and went 1-for-10 with one RBI, one run scored, one walk, and four strikeouts. He will be batting ninth and catching Nathan Eovaldi to begin things on Monday at Rogers Centre.

Wong, meanwhile, was called up for the first time this season when Plawecki tested positive on April 18. The 25-year-old caught two games in the Sox’ last series against the Jays at Fenway Park and went 1-for-6 with one RBI and one strikeout.

With Plawecki being reinstated, the only Red Sox player who remains on the COVID-19 related injured list is infielder Jonathan Arauz, who tested positive one day after Plawecki did.

Elsewhere, Sox manager Alex Cora has yet to re-join the team after testing positive last Thursday. Acting manager Will Venable told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) earlier Monday that Cora is feeling better and has not been ruled out for the Blue Jays series, though he has not yet been cleared to return either.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Garrett Whitlock to make first career start for Red Sox on Saturday

Garrett Whitlock will make his first career start for the Red Sox when they go up against the Rays on Saturday, acting manager Will Venable told reporters at Tropicana Field on Friday evening.

Rich Hill, who has been on the bereavement list since his father, Lloyd, passed away last week, was originally slated to start Saturday’s contest. The Red Sox, however, opted to move Hill’s start to Sunday so that the left-hander could get an extra day of rest after being away from the team to attend his father’s services over the last few days.

With Hill’s spot in the rotation becoming vacant, Boston decided it would be best to have Whitlock fill in for the veteran southpaw on Saturday night.

Since coming over from the Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, Whitlock has only been used by the Sox as a reliever. So far this season, the right-hander has posted a miniscule 0.93 ERA and 2.74 FIP to go along with 11 strikeouts to two walks across four appearances spanning 9 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

On Saturday, the plan will be for Whitlock to throw three or four innings, as he will only be working on three days rest. Though it will be his first time doing it at the big-league level, starting games is nothing new for the 25-year-old, who made a total of 38 starts over three seasons (2017-2019) in the Yankees organization.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, the Red Sox view Whitlock as a starter in the long-term. They made that much clear when they signed the righty to a four-year extension earlier this month that includes escalators based on the number of innings he pitches.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Sporting colorful glove, Phillips Valdez has been effective out of Red Sox’ bullpen early on this season

In case you have not noticed, Red Sox reliever Phillips Valdez is sporting a new glove this season.

Previously, Valdez has worn a red glove throughout his first two seasons in Boston. This year, however, the right-hander has been rocking a bright blue glove that features red lacing.

When asked about what led to the change by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith earlier this month, Valdez said he saw his friend, Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera, wearing a similar glove in the Dominican Republic. He thought Cabrera’s glove looked “nice,” so he decided to get one for himself.

After making the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster for a third consecutive year, Valdez has gotten his 2022 campaign off to a strong start. While pitching mostly in low-leverage situations out of Boston’s bullpen, the 30-year-old has struck out 10 and walked only one over six relief appearances spanning eight innings of work.

It’s obviously early, but among major-league relievers who have pitched eight or more innings so far this season, Valdez ranks second in strikeout rate (35.7%), sixth in walk rate (3.6%), second in batting average against (.080), first in WHIP (0.38), third in FIP (1.68), and first in xFIP (2.36), per FanGraphs.

According to Baseball Savant, Valdez has also been effective in other areas while utilizing his changeup, sinker, and slider. The 6-foot-4, 192 pound hurler currently ranks in the 89th percentile in fastball spin, the 86th percentile in expected batting average, the 85th percentile in expected slugging percentage, the 87th percentile in walk rate, and the 89th percentile in punchout rate.

Whether it be the new glove or something else, Valdez has proven to be a valuable member of Alex Cora’s bullpen a few weeks into the 2022 season. Boston may be in 0-6 in Valdez’s appearances, but he is at the very least allowing Cora to preserve his other, more high-leverage relievers for another day.

With that, Valdez could very well remain on the Sox’ big-league roster even after roster sizes shrink from 28 to 26 players on May 2. That is no guarantee at this point, but still something worth monitoring nonetheless.

(Picture of Phillips Valdez: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox show late life, but come up short in 3-2 loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox lost more than just their manager to COVID-19 on Thursday. Hours after Alex Cora tested positive for the virus, Boston came up just short and fell to the Blue Jays by a final score of 3-2 at Fenway Park. With the win, Toronto takes the three-game series and drops the Sox to 6-7 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his third start of the year, allowed two earned runs on three hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts on the afternoon. The right-hander retired six of the first seven batters he faced before running into some trouble in the top of the third.

There, Houck issued a leadoff walk to Gosuke Katoh and one-out single to Raimel Tapia that put runners at first and second base for Bo Bichette, who drove in his side’s first run on an RBI single through the right side of the infield. After advancing to third on that base hit, Tapia himself scored on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly.

Faced with an early 2-0 deficit, Houck was able to rebound as he stranded Bichette at second base before retiring the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings to end his day on a positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 71 (47 strikes), Houck turned to his four-seam fastball nearly half of the time he was on the mound Thursday. The 25-year-old hovered around 94-96 mph with the pitch and induced a game-high six swings-and-misses with it.

Houck’s next appearance will come out of the bullpen in St. Petersburg this Sunday, as he is ineligible to pitch in Toronto next week due to his unvaccinated status.

In relief of Houck, Ryan Brasier received the first call from acting manager Will Venable out of the Boston bullpen in the sixth inning. The righty yielded a one-out double to Guerrero Jr. and a two-out walk to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. He then got Matt Chapman to lift a 43-foot popup that was altered by the wind and fell in between Brasier, Christian Vazquez, and Travis Shaw, allowing Guerrero Jr. to score all the way from second.

Austin Davis came on for Brasier and recorded the final out of the sixth while also getting the first two outs of the seventh before issuing a two-out single to Tapia. Hirokazu Sawamura was then called upon to take over Davis, and he escaped any damage by getting Guerrero Jr. to fly out to center field.

Sawamura continued on in the eighth and put up another zero there, while Phillips Valdez did the same to hold the Jays to three runs on the day.

On the other side of things, a J.D. Martinez-less Red Sox lineup was once again held in check by a Blue Jays starter. Jose Berrios had the honor of doing so on Wednesday, and Kevin Gausman picked up where he left off on Thursday.

Facing off against a familiar foe in Gausman, the Sox were held to a pair of singles through four innings. In the fifth, Vazquez attempted to stretch a one-out single off the Green Monster into a double and was instead gunned down by Tapia for the final out of the frame.

Boston threatened again in the sixth when Christian Arroyo advanced to second base on a Trevor Story groundout, but was left stranded there after Devers grounded out to the catcher.

Gausman maneuvered his way around two more base hits in the seventh and made quick work of the bottom third of the Sox’ order in the eighth.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, Story led things off with a hard-hit single that at long last knocked Gausman out of the game. That proved to be the spark Boston needed.

With Jordan Romano now on the mound for Toronto, Devers drew a walk that moved Story into scoring position. Bogaerts scored the Sox’ first run by driving in Story on an RBI double down the left field line.

An Alex Verdugo groundout to the right side of the infield pushed across Devers and advanced Bogaerts — representing the tying run — up to third base. Dalbec then laced a 102.7 mph groundout that Bogaerts could do nothing with.

It was now all up to Jackie Bradley Jr., who got ahead in the count at 3-0 but ultimately grounded out to first base and lost a footrace to Guerrero Jr. for the third and final out.

Just like that, the rally was dead, and the Blue Jays just barely held on for a series-clinching, 3-2 victory.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position on Thursday and left four runners on base as a team. They scored a total of five runs in this series.

Phillips Valdez has yet to allow a run through his first six appearances and eight innings pitched of the 2022 season. He has struck out 10 of the 28 batters he has faced thus far.

In their first homestand of the year, the Red Sox went 3-4 and find themselves back under .500 once again.

Next up: On the road

The Red Sox will now embark upon a 10-game road trips that includes stops in St. Petersburg, Toronto, and Baltimore.

For Friday’s series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Corey Kluber doing the same for Tampa Bay.

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

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox manager Alex Cora tests positive for COVID-19

Red Sox manager Alex Cora has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced during Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Cora, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus, registered a positive test shortly before first pitch on Thursday and is not managing the team. He is currently experiencing mild symptoms and will not travel with the Red Sox to St. Petersburg for their upcoming series against the Rays that begins on Friday.

Earlier this week, Cora told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that he had been staying at a local hotel after one of his sons had contracted COVID-19.

In Cora’s place, bench coach Will Venable has taken over managing responsibilities for Boston. This will be Venable’s second time filling in for Cora. The 39-year-old did so last May while Cora was attending his daughter’s high school graduation in Puerto Rico.

Besides Cora, the Red Sox currently have two players on the COVID-19 related injured list in catcher Kevin Plawecki and infielder Jonathan Arauz. Christian Vazquez, who tested positive on Tuesday, returned to Boston’s lineup on Thursday after a two-day absence.

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

Red Sox injury updates: Alex Cora provides latest on J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story

The third inning of Wednesday night’s 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park was one to forget for the Red Sox.

J.D. Martinez led off the bottom of the inning by lacing a 104.4 mph line-drive double down the left field line off Toronto starter Jose Berrios. It was Martinez’s second hit of the game already, but the veteran slugger could be seen grimacing as he made his way to second base.

That Martinez was in clear discomfort prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant training manager Masai Takahashi to pay him a visit from the home dugout. It did not take long for the three to decide it would be best for the 34-year-old to be removed from the contest.

And so Christian Arroyo pinch-ran for him while taking over designated hitter duties. Martinez, as it turns out, was later diagnosed with left adductor tightness.

“He’s a little bit sore,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith). “Nothing yet as far as (roster) moves. We should be day-to-day with him. He won’t play tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at.”

Cora added that Martinez first brought up that he may have been experiencing tightness the other day, but it was nothing to be too concerned about.

“He does such a good job taking care of his body that when he’s a go, he’s a go,” Cora said of Martinez. “It just felt like as soon as he hit that ball, he felt it running. I think it was more about being smart about it. Just come out of the game, take care of it and hopefully it’s something that’s just a couple of days.”

Shortly after Arroyo replaced Martinez, Berrios had already recorded the first two outs of the third inning and was preparing to face Trevor Story for a second time. The Blue Jays right-hander fell behind in the count at 2-1, then unintentionally hit Story in the head with a 93 mph sinker.

Fortunately for Story and the Sox, the ball seemed to get more helmet than anything. After he got back on his feet, the 29-year-old was able to convince Cora and Boston’s training staff to let him stay in the game.

“He’s doing OK,” Cora said. “Pretty scary of course. But he went through all the concussion tests on the field. He was good to go. Right now they are checking on him. Hopefully tomorrow he doesn’t feel too bad and he can go.”

In a separate conversation with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams, Story said he went through the concussion protocols and will be ready to play in Thursday’s series finale.

(Picture of Alex Cora and Trevor Story: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)