Tag: alex cora

Michael Wacha hurls 3 scoreless innings in 2022 debut as Red Sox roll on with 5-0 win over Braves

The Red Sox’ quest for a perfect spring continued at JetBlue Park on Monday afternoon as they improved to 5-0 in Grapefruit League play with a 5-0 victory over the Braves.

Looking to make his case for a spot in the Sox’ Opening Day starting rotation, Michael Wacha made a strong first impression in his 2022 debut. The veteran right-hander, who signed a one-year, $7 million deal with Boston in November, scattered four hits and one walk with one strikeout in his three innings of work against Atlanta.

Wacha received an early offensive boost from his catcher in Christian Vazquez, who drove in the Red Sox’ first run of the day on an RBI double off Touki Toussaint with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Vazquez’s two-base hit scored Xander Bogaerts from second to make it a 1-0 game in favor of Boston.

After retiring each of the last three batters he faced to escape a jam in the third inning, Wacha made way for the Sox bullpen beginning in the fourth. Darwinzon Hernandez received the first call from manager Alex Cora and proceeded to strike out the side in his spring debut.

Following a scoreless top of the fifth from Michael Feliz, fellow non-roster invitee Rob Refsnyder doubled his side’s advantage by plating Jarren Duran on a run-scoring double to left field. Rafael Devers then scored Yolmer Sanchez with an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead heading into the sixth.

From there, John Schreiber fanned a total of four over his two innings of relief before Jonathan Arauz scored on a throwing error by Braves catcher Hendrik Clementina in the bottom of the seventh.

In the eighth, Silvino Bracho twirled a perfect frame in the top half while Ryan Fitzgerald crushed his second home run of the spring to lead off the bottom half. That sequence paved the way for Kaleb Ort to strand one runner and punch out a pair in a scoreless ninth inning to secure a five-run win for the Sox.

All told, it was another impressive performance from Red Sox pitching on Monday. Six different Boston hurlers (Wacha, Hernandez, Feliz, Schreiber, Bracho, and Ort) combined to keep the Braves off the scoreboard while limiting them to six hits and three walks to go along with 11 strikeouts.

Next up: Hill vs. Patino

Rich Hill will take the mound in a Red Sox uniform for the first time since 2015 when Boston travels to Port Charlotte on Tuesday to take on the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. The seasoned southpaw will be opposed in young right-hander Luis Patino for Tampa Bay.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game will be televised, but only on Bally Sports Sun.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello looking to make most of first invite to major-league spring training

Brayan Bello enters the 2022 season regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in the Red Sox farm system, which ranks first among pitchers in the organization.

It has been quite the rise for Bello, who at this time last year was Baseball America’s 20th-ranked Boston prospect.

The 22-year-old right-hander is coming off a 2021 season in which he posted a 3.87 ERA and 3.02 FIP to go along with 132 strikeouts to 31 walks over 21 starts (95 1/3 innings pitched) between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. He also represented the Red Sox in last July’s All-Star Futures Game and was named the team’s Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year.

As a reward for his exceptional campaign, Bello was added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster last November so he would receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft. The lockout began shortly thereafter, though, which barred the former international signee from communicating with his club since he was now considered a major-leaguer.

Forced to spend his off-season and work out at home in the Dominican Republic instead of Fort Myers, Bello was about as excited as anyone when the lockout ended earlier this month since it meant he would be receiving his first-ever invite to big-league spring training.

“I’m really happy because that just shows the hard work that I put in to be able to even be invited to big-league camp,” Bello recently told The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams. “Like, that’s really what was the goal to be able to have this opportunity. So now that I’m here, like, I’m trying to just take advantage of it.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Bello has a repeatable delivery and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s four-seam fastball that touches 98 mph, a changeup that is considered to be a plus offering, and an improving slider. He is also working on developing a two-seamer, per his Baseball America scouting report.

“Everybody raves about him,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bello, who will likely be making his spring debut on either Tuesday or Wednesday. “[He doesn’t have] a physical presence. But what they said stuff wise, he’s really good.”

Bello, who turns 23 in May, is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Portland for the start of the 2022 minor-league season next month. He should, however, make it as far as Triple-A Worcester this year and could be on the cusp of making his major-league debut sooner rather than later.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)

Red Sox bring back Hansel Robles on minor-league deal

The Red Sox are bringing back reliever Hansel Robles on a minor-league deal for the 2022 season that includes an invite to major-league spring training, as was first reported by Univision’s Mike Rodriguez. According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Robles will earn $2.5 million if he is added to the major-league roster.

Robles, 31, was first acquired by the Sox from the Twins last July in a deal that sent pitching prospect Alex Scherff to Minnesota. The veteran right-hander made his team debut on August 1 and, after a shaky start, proved to be one of Alex Cora’s most reliable bullpen arms.

In 27 relief appearances for Boston, Robles posted a 3.60 ERA and 3.37 FIP to go along with 33 strikeouts to 13 walks over 25 innings of work. In the postseason, four of his six outings were scoreless.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Robles remains on his home island as he is currently dealing with visa issued. The Red Sox are hopeful he can join the team in Fort Myers within the next few days.

“We’ve got the agreement. He’s still in the Dominican,” Cora said Saturday. “They’re going through that whole process. Hopefully, we can speed it up and he can be here sooner rather than later.”

Update: The deal is now official, per the team’s transaction log.

Robles, who turns 32 in August becomes the latest reliever the Red Sox have added in some capacity in the past week. Boston signed left-handed relievers Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm to major-league deals last weekend and have since signed fellow southpaw Derek Holland to a minors pact.

All told, the addition of Robles means the Red Sox currently have 26 non-roster invitees on their spring training roster. It seems as though the 6-foot, 220 pounder has a good shot at making Boston’s Opening Day roster, though he will have to earn his spot on it.

(Picture of Hansel Robles: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox bring back Travis Shaw on minor-league deal for 2022 season

The Red Sox have brought back corner infielder Travis Shaw on a minor-league deal for the 2022 season, the club announced on Friday morning. If Shaw is added to the big-league roster, he will earn $1.5 million, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Shaw, who turns 32 next month, spent the latter half of the 2021 season with the Red Sox after being claimed off waivers from the Brewers in August. In the process of reuniting with the team he began his big-league career with, the left-handed hitter slashed .238/.319/.524 with three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBIs, six runs scored, five walks, and 17 strikeouts over 28 games spanning 48 plate appearances. He was used strictly as a pinch-hitter in the postseason.

“Obviously, he did a good job for us,” Sox manager Alex Cora said of Shaw when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) on Friday. “You never know what can happen from here to the start of the season. It’s somebody that, the way he went about it last year with limited at-bats, the quality of the at-bats and we know he can play good defense. He looks in good shape. He made some adjustments in the off-season. We’ll give him at-bats and see where it takes us.”

A former ninth-round selection of the Red Sox out of Kent State University in 2012, Shaw debuted for Boston in 2015 and crushed 29 home runs over the next two seasons before being traded to Milwaukee for reliever Tyler Thornburg in December 2016.

While Thornburg disappointed in his time with the Sox, Shaw got off to a hot start with the Brewers. He crushed a total of 63 home runs from 2017-2018, but struggled in 2019 and was ultimately released by Milwaukee that December. The Ohio native spent the 2020 campaign with the Blue Jays and returned to the Brewers in 2021 before re-joining the Red Sox last summer.

With Shaw back in the picture, Boston has added a left-handed hitting infielder who could complement the right-handed hitting Bobby Dalbec at first base this year, though he must earn a spot on the major-league roster first.

In addition to Shaw, the Red Sox also announced on Friday that catcher Deivy Grullon has been added to the spring training roster as a non-roster invitee. Boston now has 25 non-roster invitees on their spring training roster.

(Picture of Travis Shaw: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox hire Charlie Madden as bullpen catcher

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nathan Eovaldi named Red Sox’ Opening Day starter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Sox’ Triston Casas ranked by MLB Pipeline as No. 2 first-base prospect in baseball

For the second consecutive year, Triston Casas has been identified by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 first-base prospect in baseball heading into the 2022 season.

Last year, Casas only trailed White Sox rookie Andrew Vaughn for the top spot. This time around, the Red Sox first baseman falls in line behind Tigers top prospect Spencer Torkelson for the No. 1 ranking.

In evaluating this position group, MLB.com’s William Boor writes that Casas has 60-grade arm strength (20-80 scouting scale) since he both pitched and played third base in high school. Boor also projects that Casas will make his major-league debut this year.

Casas, who turned 22 in January, enters the 2022 season ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system behind only fellow infielder Marcelo Mayer.

At this time last spring, Casas was preparing for his third full season in the Red Sox organization after being selected by the club in the first round (26th overall pick) in the 2018 amateur draft out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla.

Coming off a 2020 campaign that was altered drastically by the COVID-19 pandemic, Casas opened the 2021 season with Double-A Portland. While he had to step away from affiliated ball on two separate occasions to help Team USA qualify for and win a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, the left-handed hitter still batted .284/.395/.484 (142 wRC+) with 12 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, 57 runs scored, six stolen bases, 49 walks, and 63 strikeouts across 77 games (329 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs.

Shortly before the minor-league season came to a close, the Red Sox promoted Casas to Triple-A Worcester. In nine games with the WooSox, the Florida native slashed .242/.381/.485 (130 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, one triple, one homer, seven RBIs, six runs scored, one stolen base, eight walks, and eight strikeouts over nine games and 42 trips to the plate.

Most minor-leaguers knew their season was over by October. Casas, however, was not done, as he was one of eight Red Sox prospect who headed out west to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.

Appearing in 21 games with Scottsdale, Casas crushed just one home run but posted a .982 OPS (12th-highest in the league) en route to being named an AFL All-Star.

Following the conclusion of the brief AFL season, Casas was able to remain in touch with the Red Sox throughout the MLB lockout since he has yet to be added to the club’s 40-man roster. As such, the hulking 6-foot-4, 252 pounder participated in the Sox’ Winter Warm-Up program that preceded the start of minor-league spring training.

Had the lockout not ended last week, Casas would still be at minor-league camp in Fort Myers. He was instead one of 12 non-roster invitees added to the Red Sox’ spring training roster on Saturday and is likely to get into some Grapefruit League games as soon as this weekend.

With Casas being present at major-league camp for a second straight spring, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has the opportunity to get another extended look at the promising 22-year-old who may share some of the same habits as veteran slugger J.D. Martinez.

“Very structured in his routine. Very J.D.-like if you want to call it that,” Cora said of Casas this past Sunday. “So I think they’re going to be fighting for that cage time. But because he (Casas) is a rookie, he probably has to show up at five in the morning and get it. Because when J.D. gets here, it’s his cage.”

Regardless of how he performs this spring, Casas will likely return to Worcester for the start of the 2022 minor-league season. He could, however, be knocking on the door and eventually be making his big-league debut at some point this summer.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Former Red Sox shortstop José Iglesias agrees to one-year deal with Rockies, per report

Former Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias has agreed to a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies, according to Univision’s Mike Rodriguez.

Iglesias, 32, will earn $5 million with the Rockies in 2022 after spending the 2021 season with both the Angels and Red Sox. He was initially released by Los Angeles on September 3, thus allowing him to latch on with Boston just three days later

A former top prospect who originally signed with the Sox as an international free agent out of Cuba in 2009 and was dealt to the Tigers in July 2013, Iglesias returned to Boston’s lineup for the first time in over eight years last summer.

The Red Sox signed Iglesias as veteran infield depth as they were navigating their way through a COVID-19 outbreak. The right-handed hitter delivered and then some, batting a stout .356/.406/.509 with four doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBIs, and eight runs over 23 games (64 plate appearances) while providing exceptional defense at second base to close out the regular season.

Because he was added to Boston’s major-league roster after the start of September, though, Iglesias was not eligible to play in the postseason. The Red Sox, in turn, outrighted the 5-foot-11, 195 pounder off their 40-man roster in early October, though he remained with the team as part of the “Uber Squad” during their run to the American League Championship Series.

Despite leaving a solid impression on Alex Cora and his teammates, Iglesias and the Red Sox never got close to a reunion at any point this off-season, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

As a result, Iglesias now joins his fifth organization since making his big-league debut in 2011. With the Rockies, his second National League team, Iglesias will look to reach 10 years of major-league service time.

(Picture of Jose Iglesias: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

New Podding the Red Sox episode: Red Sox infield prospect Nick Sogard joins the show

On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Red Sox infield prospect Nick Sogard.

Sogard, 24, was traded from the Rays to the Red Sox last February alongside catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez. The switch-hitting infielder spent the 2021 season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland and batted .276/.346/.461 with 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, and eight stolen bases over 80 games.

Among the topics Nick and I discussed are how he found about the trade and his initial reaction to it, his relationship with his older cousin Eric Sogard, what he thought of his 2021 season, his defensive versatility, the key differences in the level of competition between High-A and Double-A, going back-and-forth between the two levels, how he spent part of his off-season in Nashville, what he has made of spring training in Fort Myers so far, getting to work with Alex Cora a little bit, his expectations for the 2022 season, and much more!

The episode is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.

My thanks to Nick for taking some time out of his spring schedule to have a conversation with yours truly. You can follow Nick on Twitter (@NickSogard22) by clicking here and on Instagram (@Nick_Sogard) by clicking here.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!

(Picture of Nick Sogard: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)