Tag: alex cora

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on pitching prospect Chris Murphy: ‘He is a guy I’ve been looking at. He has a good fastball’

Chris Murphy has drawn the attention of Red Sox manager Alex Cora so far at minor-league spring training in Fort Myers, Fla.

Cora, who under normal circumstances would have likely been preparing for a Grapefruit League game against the Yankees on Monday, was instead seen roaming the backfields of the Fenway South complex and watching the action unfold in front of him.

In a brief conversation with the few reporters on-hand, Cora noted that Murphy “is a guy I’ve been looking at. He has a good fastball.”

Murphy, 23, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in the Sox’ farm system, ranking sixth among pitchers in the organization. Boston originally selected the left-hander in the sixth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of San Diego.

After impressing in his pro debut with the Lowell Spinners that summer, Murphy missed the entirety of the 2020 minor-league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The California native did, however, participate in fall instructs and carried the momentum he gained there into the following spring.

Upon breaking minor-league camp with High-A Greenville in May, Murphy posted a 4.21 ERA and 5.81 FIP to go along with 81 strikeouts and 23 walks through his first 14 starts (68 1/3 innings pitched) of the year before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland in late July.

In seven outings (six starts) with the Sea Dogs, Murphy pitched to the tune of a 5.45 ERA — but much more respectable 3.52 FIP — with 47 punchouts to just 13 walks over 33 innings of work to close out the year. The southpaw was named Double-A Northeast pitcher of the week on two separate occasions during that stretch (August 22 and September 12) thanks to two superb performances against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Among all Double-A Northeast pitchers who compiled at least 30 frames on the mound last season, Murphy ranked 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings (12.82), 20th in strikeout rate (34.1%), 26th in swinging strike rate (15.3%), 35th in FIP, and 27th in xFIP (3.56), per FanGraphs.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Murphy is a four-pitch pitcher who works with a 90-94 mph fastball that tops out at 96 mph, an 80-82 mph changeup, a 73-75 mph curveball, and an 80-84 mph slider. It should be noted that his arsenal fared far better against left-handed hitters (.401 OPS against) than right-handed hitters (.914 OPS against) between High-A and Double-A in 2021.

Back in January, Murphy was one of 12 Red Sox pitchers who took part in the team’s Winter Warm-Up program. The lefty was also just one of two players (the other being Triston Casas) to speak with the media that week and he emphasized the importance of attacking the strike zone as well as tunneling his pitches.

“Especially right now, I’m all about the analytics like where does my fastball play and what plays off of it and how can I create tunnels,” said Murphy. “Changeup/slider. Something that we’re getting big on this offseason is making two pitches go (releasing them) looking the same and breaking two different ways. So that’s what we call tunneling. And how to make a fastball up look appealing to a hitter when it’s not really in the zone; get swings-and-misses up in the zone.”

Murphy, who turns 24 in June, is projected to return to Portland’s starting rotation for the start of the 2022 minor-league season. He has a chance to emerge as the top left-handed pitching prospect in the organization, which is important considering the fact he can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this December.

The Red Sox, of course, would need to add Murphy to their 40-man roster by the November deadline if they intend on protecting him from the 2022 Rule 5 Draft.

(Picture of Chris Murphy: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer is ‘eager to take his game to the next level’

He may not be one of the 28 players participating in the team’s Winter Warm-Up program this week, but things are still looking up for top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer heading into the 2022 season.

Last Wednesday, Mayer was recognized by Baseball America the No. 15 prospect in the game. The following day, Baseball Prospectus listed Mayer as their 17th-ranked prospect. He was already identified by MLB Pipeline as the ninth-best prospect in baseball to close out 2021.

Mayer, who turned 19 last month, is coming off his introductory course to pro ball. The Red Sox, of course, selected the Chula Vista, Calif. native with the fourth overall pick in last summer’s draft out of Eastlake High School.

Faced with the pressure of being the highest Boston draft pick in more than 50 years, Mayer very easily could have chosen to honor his commitment to the University of Southern California rather than go pro in 2021. He instead decided to sign with the Sox and received a hefty $6.664 million bonus by doing so.

That Mayer was indeed signing with the Red Sox became significant news. After being paraded around Denver for All-Star Game festivities, he flew into Boston the following week to put pen to paper.

Before taking in a game between the Red Sox and Yankees at Fenway Park on July 22, the then-18-year-old signed his first professional contract and subsequently got his first taste of the big-leagues. He met Alex Cora, took batting practice, fielded groundballs alongside fellow shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and spoke to the Boston media.

“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work,” he said at the time in regards to the journey ahead. “I’m going to do whatever I can to put myself in the best position and work my butt off.”

After leaving Boston and making the trek down south to Fort Myers, Mayer was officially assigned to and debuted for the Red Sox’ rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate on August 5.

In the process of notching his first professional hit, home run, and stolen base, the left-handed hitting infielder slashed a solid .275/.377/.440 (121 wRC+) to go along with four doubles, one triple, three homers, 17 RBIs, 25 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 15 walks, and 27 strikeouts over 26 FCL games and 107 plate appearances.

Defensively, Mayer logged 177 2/3 innings at shortstop. The 6-foot-3, 188 pounder committed a total of 10 errors over that stretch while also recording 18 putouts and 42 assists and turning three double plays.

Off the field, Mayer made his impact felt by being a clubhouse leader who was fluent in both English and Spanish. The son of of a Mexican-born mother and Southern Californian-born father, the bilingual Mayer became someone international and domestic prospects could lean on.

“I’m able to get along with both of them and kind of unite them in a sense because there are kids that speak zero English and kids that speak zero Spanish,” Mayer told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “Being able to help them get along and interact with each other is pretty cool.”

Mayer continued to show the kind of person he is during the Red Sox’ fall instructional league program. There, in the JetBlue Park clubhouse, he could be seen chatting with fellow prospect and Dominican-born outfielder Miguel Bleis, among others.

“There are a lot guys that are bilingual, but not everybody gravitates toward them,” minor-league hitting coordinator Lance Zawadzki said. “So I think a big thing with him is character.”

Brian Abraham, the Sox’ director of player development, echoed the same sort of sentiment in a separate conversation with McCaffrey.

“He’s a natural leader,” stated Abraham. “Guys naturally gravitate to him, some of the young Latin American players who were there during instructional league as well as some of our domestic players, which is really special.”

Since fall instructs ended late last year, Mayer has been staying plenty busy this off-season. Between frequent visits to Fort Myers and check-ins from different Red Sox instructors regarding a variety of topics (including nutrition and strength and conditioning), the 19-year-old is ready to take 2022 head on.

“With how good he’s been, it’d be a whole lot easier to say, ‘I don’t need it or we’ll see what happens,’” Zawadzki said. “But he’s really been eager to take his game to the next level.”

Mayer is projected by SoxProspects.com to start the 2022 campaign out with Low-A Salem. The Red Sox will surely exhibit patience when it comes to managing development, but one thing is for certain: Mayer is looking forward to embarking upon his first full professional season.

“I’m super excited to finally get my first full season in,” he told McCaffrey. “I’m curious how it’s going to be because I honestly have no clue. I know it’s going to be like what I experienced (in the FCL), but probably at a different facility. I know night games, so that will be cool. I’m looking forward to starting my professional career.”

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox first base coach Ramón Vázquez leads Criollos de Caguas to second straight Puerto Rican Winter League title

Red Sox first base coach Ramon Vazquez made some history on Thursday night by becoming just the third manager to ever win four titles in the Puerto Rican Winter League (Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente).

Vazquez’s Criollos de Caguas took down Indios de Mayaguez by a final score of 4-3 at Estadio Isidoro “Cholo” García on Thursday to win the best-of-seven championship series four games to one.

This marks the second straight year in which Caguas have come out on top in Puerto Rico. The back-to-back national titles brings their total up to 20, which is the most among teams in the LBPRC.

Alex Cora, of course, hails from Caguas, so it is safe to assume the Red Sox manager is proud of what his hometown team accomplished on Thursday.

Vazquez himself has been at the helm of Criollos for the most recent pair of those 20 championships. He previously won two titles as manager of Cangrejeros de Santurce in 2015-2016 and 2018-2019.

A veteran of nine major-league seasons, Vazquez originally joined Cora’s coaching staff in Boston in November 2017. After serving as a coach and interpreter through his first three years with the club, the Aibonito native was named quality control coach/interpreter upon Cora’s re-hiring in Nov. 2020.

Last season, Vazquez shifted from quality control coach to first base coach when it was revealed that unvaccinated individuals such as Tom Goodwin would not be granted on-field access during the playoffs.

Goodwin, who had served as Boston’s first base coach since 2018, was relieved of his duties in October. Two months later, the Red Sox announced that Vazquez would be taking over as first base coach on a full-time basis and that he would also be responsible for coordinating the team’s base-running instruction.

Now 45 years old, Vazquez is about to embark upon his fifth season as an integral member of the Red Sox coaching staff. Before that, though, he will be representing his home island of Puerto Rico in the 2022 Caribbean Series.

The tournament, which begins next Friday and runs through February 3, will feature winter league champions from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and host nation Dominican Republic.

Criollos de Caguas have won five Caribbean Series titles in their storied history. They most recently finished as the runner-ups behind Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League last year.

(Picture of Ramon Vazquez: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)

Red Sox infield prospect Matthew Lugo closed out his 2021 season with Low-A Salem on a high note

One of the youngest players the Red Sox selected in the 2019 amateur draft was second-round pick Matthew Lugo.

Lugo, then just 18 years old, was fresh out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico and ultimately forwent his commitment to the University of Miami to sign with the Sox for an over-slot deal of $1.1 million that June.

After beginning his professional career in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and closing out the year with the short-season Lowell Spinners, Lugo — like many minor-leaguers had his 2020 season taken away from him due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Lugo had the chance to participate in some organized baseball activities during the Sox’ fall instructional league in Fort Myers, the young infielder came into the 2021 campaign having not seen any real in-game action in nearly two years.

Now 20 years old, Lugo broke minor-league camp with Low-A Salem last spring and spent the entirety of the year there. In 105 games for Salem, the right-handed hitter batted .270/.338/.364 (95 wRC+) to go along with 21 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 50 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, 38 walks, and 94 strikeouts over 469 trips to the plate.

On the surface, those numbers may not look all that inspiring, but Lugo was among the youngest hitters to play in the Low-A East last year. Interestingly enough, the Manati native fared far better against right-handed pitchers (.294/.367/.402 slash line against in 387 plate appearances) than left-handers (.160/.198/.187 slash line in 82 plate appearances).

In spite of those reverse splits, Lugo saved his best for last in terms of offensive production by batting a scorching .349/.432/.587 (171 wRC+) with five doubles, two triples, two homers, 13 RBIs, 18 runs scored, one stolen base, eight walks, and 16 strikeouts over 17 games (74 plate appearances) in the month of September.

Defensively, Lugo saw time at both second base and shortstop with the Salem Sox in 2021. The 6-foot-1, 187 pounder logged 53 innings at second base and 797 1/3 innings at shortstop, committing a total of 35 errors while turning 44 double plays.

Going into the off-season, Lugo was assigned to Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League back in November. He had previously played for his hometown Atenienses de Manati during the 2019-2020 off-season but has yet to appear in a game for Caguas.

Lugo, who turns 21 in May, is the nephew of former All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran — a close friend of Red Sox manager Alex Cora. He ended the 2021 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 18 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, Lugo “is described as strikingly mature in his routines and work, including strength work that led one evaluator to describe him as, pound for pound, the strongest prospect in the system. While many expected him to move to second base in pro ball, he has made significant strides at shortstop and many with the Red Sox now believe he can stick at the position.”

On that note, Lugo is projected by SoxProspects.com to begin the 2022 season at High-A Greenville. He will not become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft until next year.

Picture of Matthew Lugo: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Nick Yorke recognized by MLB Pipeline as Red Sox’ breakout prospect in 2021

To nobody’s surprise, Nick Yorke was recently recognized by MLB Pipeline as the Red Sox’ breakout prospect in 2021.

Boston’s top pick — and 17th overall selection — in last year’s amateur draft, Yorke made a strong impression at major-league camp this spring before beginning the minor-league season with Low-A Salem.

After initially getting off to a slow start, Yorke wound up slashing an impressive .323/.413/.500 to go along with 14 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 47 RBIs, 59 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 41 walks, and 47 strikeouts over 76 games (346 plate appearances) with the Salem Sox.

Around the same time he was named the Low-A East Player of the Month for August, Yorke earned a promotion to High-A Greenville on Aug. 24. The right-handed hitting infielder capped off his professional debut by batting .333/.406/.751 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 17 runs scored, two stolen bases, 11 walks, and 22 strikeouts across 21 games (96 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Among all qualified hitters who played at either Low-A or High-A this year, Yorke ranked fourth in batting average (.325), ninth in on-base percentage (.412), 25th in slugging percentage (.516), 13th in OPS (.928), and 12th in wRC+ (149), per FanGraphs.

As a result of such a strong campaign at the plate between Salem and Greenville, the 19-year-old was named Boston’s Offensive Player of the Year in September and was recognized at Fenway Park for earning the honor.

Defensively, Yorke was used strictly as a second baseman this season and committed a total of nine errors in 741 2/3 innings at the position. Despite there being some concerns that Yorke may not be able to stick at second base in the long-term, the Red Sox remain committed to keeping him there as he continues to develop.

“He showed how much improvement he can make in one offseason, just with his body, his athleticism, his improvements on defense,” Sox director of player development Brian Abraham said of Yorke when speaking with The Athletic’s Chad Jennings earlier this month. “To me, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t continue to improve and be an impact player there.”

Yorke, who does not turn 20 until next April, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in Boston’s farm system heading into 2022. The 6-foot, 200 pound California native is projected by SoxProspects.com to begin next season where he ended this season: Greenville.

That being said, it’s certainly possible Yorke could find himself at Double-A Portland sooner rather than later next year if he gets off to a hot start come April.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Christian Vázquez playing winter ball in Puerto Rico with hopes of hitting the ground running in 2022

Last week, it was revealed that Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez would be playing for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Winter League this off-season.

Since making his season debut for Santurce on Wednesday, Vazquez has gone 2-for-17 (.118) at the plate with a single, a double, a walk, and one strikeout over five games played. He has yet to see any time behind the plate for the Crabbers and has instead served as the team’s first baseman or designated hitter thus far.

For established veterans such as Vazquez, it is unusual to see them dedicate part of their off-season to playing winter ball. The Bayamon native participated in the Puerto Rican Winter League on a consistent basis while coming up through the minors and early on in his major-league career, but had not done so in nearly five years.

Under normal circumstances, the Red Sox may not have allowed Vazquez to suit up for Santurce this winter since they only recently picked up his $7 million club option for the 2022 season. As a result of the ongoing Major League Baseball lockout, however, teams are not allowed to contact their players.

Perhaps taking advantage of this loophole, Vazquez made the decision on his own volition to return to his home island with the hopes of setting in motion a plan to rebound from an underwhelming 2021 campaign.

After putting up a 105 wRC+ from 2019-2020, the 31-year-old backstop slashed an uninspiring .258/.308/.352 (77 wRC+) to go along with 23 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 49 RBIs, 51 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 33 walks, and 84 strikeouts over 138 games (458 plate appearances) this past season.

In order to bounce back in 2022, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports that Vazquez “felt that his best way to hit the ground running this coming spring was to play winter ball.” As noted by Speier, the right-handed hitter “last played winter ball before 2017 — a year in which he solidified his everyday big-league role by hitting .290/.330/.404.”

While it’s unknown if the Red Sox would have approved of his decision to play in Puerto Rico this winter, Vazquez is suiting up for Santurce with some motivational factors in mind.

Not only is Vazquez coming off a down season, but he is slated to become a free agent next winter. And even though Boston prolonged Vazquez’s free agency by picking up his $7 million club option in October, the decision to do so “was not a no-brainer” as “there was internal debate over whether he was worth that salary after a down year in 2021,” according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Even in the wake of exercising Vazquez’s option earlier this fall, the Sox reportedly made an attempt to acquire Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pirates, who ultimately dealt him to the Marlins in late November.

With that being said, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. could be on the lookout for a controllable backstop via trade since both Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki can become free agents after next season.

At the moment, Vazquez is in line to remain as Boston’s top catcher heading into the spring. But, as Speier writes, he “is preparing for 2022 with eyes wide open about the possibility that the Sox may move on from him after the season — or perhaps even during or before it.”

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

Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez to play in Puerto Rican Winter League for first time in 5 years

For the first time since the 2016-17 off-season, Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez will suit up for his home island of Puerto Rico this winter.

Vazquez will play for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Winter League and is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday, according to Edwin Hernández Jr. on Twitter.

The 31-year-old backstop was born and raised in Puerto Rico and was drafted by the Red Sox in 2008 out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in Gurabo. This will mark his seventh season playing in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente and his first in five years.

As alluded to by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, established big-league veterans typically do not participate in winter ball, which makes it seem likely that someone of Vazquez’s stature is there to get in some reps as a designated hitter before the start of spring training.

Besides Vazquez, the Red Sox have had four other players on their 40-man roster participate in winter ball this year. Right-handers Kutter Crawford and Phillips Valdez have pitched for Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican League, outfield prospect Jeisson Rosario has appeared in one game for Tigres Del Licey of the Dominican League, and infielder Jonathan Arauz has been playing in Panama.

On the flip side of that, first baseman/outfielder Franchy Cordero lost his spot on Boston’s 40-man roster in October, but has been playing for Leones del Escogido of the Dominican League throughout the off-season.

As Vazquez prepares to make his 2021 debut for Santurce on Wednesday, it is worth mentioning just how important the 2022 season should be for him. The right-handed hitter is coming off a down year in which he batted .258/.308/.352 with 23 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 49 RBIs, 51 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 33 walks, and 84 strikeouts over 138 games spanning 498 plate appearances.

Despite those underwhelming numbers, the Red Sox still picked up Vazquez’s $7 million club option for 2022, though there was reportedly some internal debate before the final decision was made.

With that being said, it was hinted at by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo last week that Boston could “make a surprising move to upgrade at catcher — and add a controllable player — sooner rather than later.”

Until then, though, Vazquez and backup Kevin Plawecki figure to be the Sox’ top two catching options heading into 2022 followed by prospects Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox finalize coaching staff for 2022 season, hire Luis Ortiz and Ben Rosenthal as assistant hitting coaches

The Red Sox have finalized their coaching staff for the 2022 season under manager Alex Cora, the club announced earlier Monday morning.

As was first reported by The Boston Herald’s Steve Hewitt in November, Peter Fatse has officially been named as the Sox’ new hitting coach while taking over for Tim Hyers.

Fatse, 34, originally joined Boston’s coaching staff as assistant hitting coach under Hyers in October 2019. After serving in that role for the last two seasons, the Hampden, Mass. native was promoted to become the club’s hitting coach in the wake of Hyers departing for the same role with the Rangers last month.

With Fatse moving up the ladder, the Red Sox added two new assistant hitting coaches to Cora’s staff in Luis Ortiz and Ben Rosenthal.

Ortiz, 51, is a former big-league third baseman who was drafted by Boston in 1991 and spent parts of two seasons with the club in 1993 and 1994. The Santo Domingo native served as Texas’ hitting coach for the last three seasons after spending the 2018 campaign as an assistant hitting coach with the Dodgers. He also has experience as a coordinator/instructor within the Rangers, Guardians, and Padres’ organizations.

Rosenthal, 42, went undrafted out of San Diego State University, but spent two seasons (2004-2005) in the Cardinals organization before calling it a playing career in 2006. From that point forward, the Arizona native served as an assistant coach at Bishop Gorman High School (Nev.) from 2011-2012, head coach of Mira Mesa High School (Calif.) in 2013, and as third base coach and hitting coach for Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) from 2014-16.

Since 2017, Rosenthal had been coaching in the Astros organization, most recently serving as the hitting coach for Houston’s Triple-A affiliate from 2019 through the end of the 2021 season.

In addition to this one promotion and two new hires, the Red Sox announced three more internal promotions. Ramon Vazquez has been named the club’s new first base coach, Andy Fox has been named major-league field coordinator, and Mike Brenly has been named major-league staff assistant.

Vazquez has been part of Cora’s staff since 2018 and will make the transition from quality control coach to first base coach after the Red Sox parted ways with Tom Goodwin in October. He will also coordinate the club’s base running instruction.

The 45-year-old should be familiar with that role since he became Boston’s first base coach during the 2021 postseason after Goodwin was forced to leave the team as a result of MLB protocols not granting on-field access to those who were not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Fox, who turns 51 next month, has been with the Red Sox for 11 years as the club’s minor-league infield coordinator (2011-2021) and assistant field coordinator (2019-21). He also worked with the major-league team during the later stages of the 2021 season.

Brenly, on the other hand, will assume the role of major-league staff assistant after spending the last six seasons as a bullpen catcher for the Red Sox.

Besides all these changes, the rest of Cora’s staff from the 2021 season will remain intact. Will Venable is back as bench coach, Dave Bush is back as pitching coach, Kevin Walker is back as bullpen coach, Carlos Febles is back as third base coach, and Jason Varitek will return as Boston’s game planning coordinator and catching coach.

“I feel fortunate to work with such a talented and diverse group of coaches,” Cora said in a statement released by the team. “In addition to Luis and Ben bringing fresh perspectives from outside of our organization, I am excited for the new opportunities presented to Pete, Ramón, and Mike. Andy has been a valuable member of the Red Sox for more than a decade, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the major-league staff. I look forward to working with this group to achieve the ultimate goal of winning another World Series.”

(Picture of Alex Cora: Elsa/Getty Images)

Is Tanner Houck’s future with the Red Sox as a starter or reliever?

Earlier this month, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter identified Tanner Houck as a potential breakout candidate for 2022, citing that the Red Sox right-hander has “proven he has the stuff to miss bats at the MLB level” and it is now “just a matter of doing it over a full season” in Boston’s starting rotation.

After a stellar — albeit brief — three-start debut in 2020, Houck embarked upon his first full big-league season earlier this year. The 25-year-old made the Sox’ Opening Day starting rotation out of spring training and made his impact felt immediately by striking out eight while allowing just three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk over five innings of work against the Orioles on April 3.

Houck was used out of the bullpen in a game against the Rays two days later and was then optioned to the Red Sox’ alternate training site. He was recalled from the alternate site to serve as the 27th man and start Game 1 of a doubleheader against the White Sox on April 18, but that would mark his last major-league outing for quite some time.

Upon getting sent back down to the alternate site, Houck was lined up to start the first game of the minor-league season for Triple-A Worcester against the Buffalo Bisons on May 4. He did just that, but wound up suffering a sore flexor muscle in his right arm that resulted in him getting shut down.

It took a little more than a month for Houck to return to the mound, and he ultimately found his way back to the Red Sox’ pitching staff on July 16. From that point forward, the 6-foot-5, 230 pound righty was used as a starter 11 times and as a reliever four times across five separate stints with Boston to close out the regular season.

All told, Houck posted a 2.58 ERA and 3.52 FIP to go along with 87 strikeouts to 21 walks over 18 appearances (13 starts) and 69 innings pitched in 2021. He also put up a 5.23 ERA (5.30 FIP) in 10 1/3 innings of relief in the postseason.

Houck’s first full season in the majors may have been a productive one, but it was also one that left us with some lingering questions. For starters, can Houck make it in the big-leagues as a starting pitcher?

This has been a prevalent topic since the Red Sox selected Houck with the 24th overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft out of the University of Missouri, and it is one that remains relevant today.

In the 13 starts Houck made for Boston this past season, he averaged less than five full innings per start and only made it to the sixth inning on two occasions. The primary reason Houck was held back in his starts had to do with his struggles when facing the same lineup multiple times.

When going through a lineup for the first time as a starter in 2021, Houck pitched to the tune of an impressive 1.50 ERA and 2.04 ERA across 30 innings. When going through a lineup for a second time as a starter, he still produced a respectable 3.81 ERA and 2.09 FIP across 26 innings.

Once Houck faced the same lineup a third time through is where things started to get dicey, though. In a small sample size of 2 2/3 innings pitched, the young hurler got lit up for nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits, no walks, and two strikeouts. That’s good for an ERA of 27.00 as well as a FIP of 9.01 and OPS against of 1.489.

What led to the difficulties Houck encountered when going through a lineup multiple times? Well, the answer to that question may lay within Houck’s pitch usage.

Since debuting for Boston last September, Houck has very clearly favored his fastball and slider, but has also been working to incorporate a splitter as a third pitch that he first began throwing last year.

This past season alone, the Missouri native threw 443 four-seam fastballs, 426 sliders, 195 sinking fastballs, and 85 split-finger fastballs, per Baseball Savant. Of those offerings, Houck’s slider was undoubtedly his best pitch as he held opposing hitters to an expected batting average of .144 while producing a 42.4% whiff rate with it.

As far as the splitter is concerned, Houck relied on the pitch in 2021 (7.4%) more than he did in 2020 (3%) and yielded positive results with it by allowing just one hit in 19 attempts while inducing a swing-and-miss 36.8% of the time.

“It’s a pitch that I feel confident in, and I’ve grown very much with it, so I’m excited to see where it takes me in the future,” Houck said of his splitter when speaking with FanGraphs’ David Laurila back in September. “I’ve had success with it as of late, throwing it off my slider, my two-seam, and my four-seam. I’m continuing to develop it, so I imagine that the usage will go up over time.”

Despite the success Houck enjoyed with his splitter and other pitches this year, the question remains as to whether he can stick with the Red Sox as a rotation regular or is rather best suited for a bullpen role.

During last month’s GM meetings, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was — as MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith wrote — noncommittal to Houck or fellow righty Garrett Whitlock as members of the team’s 2022 starting rotation.

“I would say possibilities,” Bloom said when asked about Houck and Whitlock starting in 2022. “I have said this before, I think the ceiling (is for them) to be really good major-league starters. There are steps on the way to establishing themselves as that. I think it’s great that they have that upside. They’ve done it. They’ve came up as starters. … It gives us options and flexibility heading into the winter. So we’ll see how it all shakes out. We certainly want to have more depth either way. I have no doubt that if that ends up being their role, they would be very capable. It just might not be the best alignment for our team.”

Since that time, the Red Sox have obviously been busy in free agency when it comes to stockpiling rotation depth. In the wake of Eduardo Rodriguez departing for the Tigers, Bloom and his staff have added veteran pitchers with starting experience such as Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, and James Paxton leading up to Major League Baseball’s lockout taking effect in early December.

Once the lockout eventually ends and MLB’s transaction freeze is lifted, the Sox figure to be active in free agency and the trade market for starting pitchers yet again.

“I think the big thing for us is that we do know we want a number of capable arms, but it didn’t necessarily have to fall the way that it did,” Bloom recently said in regards to the additions of Wacha, Hill, and Paxton. “We love the guys we got, but we were in touch with the whole market. I think the key for us is to use our resources as best we can. We want to make sure we’re making what, in our mind, are good deals. Those can be small deals or they can be big deals.”

If the Red Sox were to sign another free-agent starter such as Carlos Rodon or deal for a controllable arm like Frankie Montas, that would only push Houck further down the club’s rotation depth chart.

Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Hill should be penciled in to be Alex Cora’s top four starters next spring. After that, it gets a bit murky since Paxton is coming off Tommy John surgery and Wacha may wind up in the bullpen.

With that, Houck will presumably have an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Sox’ 2022 Opening Day starting rotation once spring training arrives in a few months. Whether he comes out on top in that competition has yet to be determined.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Worcester Red Sox name Chad Tracy as new manager

The Worcester Red Sox have named Chad Tracy as their new manager for the 2022 season, the team announced on Monday.

Tracy, 36, had spent the last seven seasons in the Angels organization, most recently serving as the club’s minor-league field coordinator since 2018 before being let go towards the end of September.

A former third-round draft choice of the Rangers out of Pepperdine University in 2006, Tracy played in the minor-leagues for eight seasons with three different organizations. He played 390 games at the Triple-A level but never got the call up to the majors and wound up finishing his playing career with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League in 2013 and 2014.

The following year, Tracy officially joined the Angels’ coaching ranks by becoming the manager of Low-A Burlington and followed that up by managing High-A Inland Empire from 2016-2017 before being promoted to minor-league field coordinator.

A native Illinoisan, Tracy is the son of former Dodgers, Pirates, and Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who managed Red Sox manager Alex Cora during his time with Los Angeles.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, when Cora was first hired as Boston’s manager in November 2017, he considered two candidates (Jim Tracy and Ron Roenicke) to become his bench coach before ultimately landing on Roenicke. So there is somewhat of a connection there.

In being named the next man to lead the WooSox, Tracy becomes the 18th manager in team history while taking over for Billy McMillon. McMillon, who had served as PawSox/WooSox manager since 2019, was let go by Boston at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.

Joining Tracy’s staff will be Jose David Flores, who has been named as Worcester’s bench coach. The soon-to-be 51-year-old most recently spent the 2018 season as the Phillies’ first base coach and served as the Orioles’ third base coach from 2019-2020.

Flores is a native of Puerto Rico and spent five seasons in the Astros’ organization after being selected by Houston in the 38th round of the 1990 draft. He has coached and managed in the Puerto Rican Winter League and managed Team Puerto Rico in international play from 2011-2012.

Besides the additions of Tracy and Flores, the rest of the WooSox’ coaching staff will look very similar to the one they rolled out in 2021. Hitting coach Rich Gedman and pitching coach Paul Abbott are both back for the 2022 season, while Mike Montville has been promoted to assistant hitting coach after serving as a coach this year.

(Picture of Polar Park: Christine Peterson/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK)