Tag: alex cora

Where do things stand between Red Sox and Eduardo Rodriguez as qualifying offer decision looms?

The Red Sox extended a qualifying offer to Eduardo Rodriguez on November 7, giving the left-hander 10 days to either accept or reject the one-year, $18.4 million deal for 2022.

A full week has passed since Rodriguez received Boston’s qualifying offer, which means he has just three more days, or until Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. eastern time, to make his decision.

If accepted, Rodriguez would return to the Sox on that aforementioned one-year deal for the 2022 campaign. If rejected, the ISE Baseball client would remain a free agent, though any other club that signs him would then owe Boston compensation in the form of a draft pick.

In the time that has gone by since the Red Sox extended a qualifying offer in Rodriguez’s direction, the Venezuelan southpaw has also received a multi-year contract offer from Boston, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Rodriguez, 28, is just two years removed from finishing sixth in American League Cy Young voting in 2019, but missed all of the compressed 2020 season after contracting myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) as a result of a bout with COVID-19.

This past season, the 6-foot-2, 231 pound hurler posted a 4.74 ERA and 3.32 FIP to go along with 185 strikeouts to 47 walks over 32 appearances (31 starts) spanning 157 2/3 total innings of work.

On the surface, Rodriguez’s 4.74 ERA may seem deterring. However, among the 18 left-handers who accrued at least 150 innings this season, he ranked second in strikeout rate (27.4%), third in FIP, and second in xFIP (3.43), per FanGraphs.

Because of those improved peripherals, Rodriguez is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to net himself a five-year, $70 million contract in free agency this winter. FanGraphs‘ Ben Clemens also projects he could land a four-year, $80 million pact if the opportunity presents itself.

To that end, Red Sox general manager Brian O’Halloran told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) during last week’s GM meetings that the club was engaged in contract talks with Rodriguez and that they “would love to bring him back.”

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom added on to that, indicating that the Sox were indeed interested in bringing Rodriguez back on some sort of multi-year deal.

“I think when there’s mutual interest in some kind of longer-term deal, it makes sense to talk as much as you can and to keep that line of communication open,” Bloom said. “So I expect that will happen.”

The Red Sox originally acquired Rodriguez, then a 21-year-old pitching prospect, from the Orioles in exchange for fellow lefty Andrew Miller at the 2014 trade deadline. As an impending free agent, Miller remained in Baltimore for just a few months before signing a lucrative four-year deal with the Yankees that winter.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, has for the most part established himself as a key cog in Boston’s starting rotation since making his major-league debut in May 2015. As O’Halloran alluded to, he is clearly someone the Red Sox would like to bring back for 2022 and beyond.

That being said, Rodriguez does not turn 29 until next April, so his earning window would still be pretty wide open even if he were to accept the Sox’ qualifying offer and set himself up to hit the open market again at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

If he elects to become a free agent now by rejecting the qualifying offer, it does appear as though Rodriguez already has a number of suitors. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported on Sunday that the Angels, Blue Jays, and Tigers were among the teams interested in Rodriguez’s services.

Interest from the Red Sox and other clubs aside, Rodriguez is technically still on the clock as those involved anxiously await the result of his decision, which is due no later than Wednesday evening.

(Picture of Eduardo Rodriguez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

With acquisition of Tim Locastro, Red Sox gain speed and athleticism, Chaim Bloom says

New Red Sox outfielder Tim Locastro has — and quite frankly always has had — elite speed in the field and on the base paths.

As a junior at Ithaca College in 2013, Locastro stole 40 bases in 41 attempts, setting the single-season program record in stolen bases as well as runs scored (71).

Upon being selected by the Blue Jays in the 13th round of the 2013 amateur draft, Locastro swiped 32 bags in his first full professional season with Low-A Vancouver in 2014 and was only caught four times.

As a prospect, Locastro was well-known for his “plus-plus speed” and was traded from the Blue Jays to the Dodgers in July 2015. With Los Angeles, the right-handed hitter’s speed was highly coveted leading up to his major-league debut in late September of the 2017 campaign.

Locastro appeared in just 21 total games for the Dodgers, however, as he was dealt to the Yankees at the conclusion of the 2018 season before ultimately winding up with the Diamondbacks that following January.

In his debut season with Arizona in 2019, Locastro put his speed on full display by recording 17 stolen bases without getting caught once. He led all of Major League Baseball with a sprint speed of 30.8 feet per second and finished tied for second in bolts (61), or any run with a speed of at least 30 feet per second.

While his stolen base numbers took a dip in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Locastro did enjoy a career year at the plate in which he slashed .290/.395/.464 (134 wRC+) across 33 games and 82 plate appearances. In the process of putting up those impressive numbers, he was perfect in stolen base attempts (4-for-4) while again putting up an MLB-best sprint speed of 30.7 feet per second.

Coming into 2021, Locastro had yet to be caught stealing (26-for-26) for his big-league career. He picked up stolen base No. 28 at Chase Field on April 13 to set the MLB record for most successful stolen bases to start a career, passing Hall of Famer Tim Raines in the process of doing so.

Just four days after breaking Raines’ record, though, Locastro was finally caught stealing for the first time, as he was picked off at second base by then-Nationals catcher Yan Gomes at Nationals Park on April 17.

Locastro stole two more bases and was caught two more times in a Diamondbacks uniform before he was traded back to the Yankees in exchange for pitching prospect Keegan Curtis at the start of July.

New York re-acquired Locastro in order to inject more speed into a station-to-station lineup that was in desperate need of a boost. Just nine games into his Yankees tenure, though, the Auburn, N.Y. native suffered a season-ending injury in a game against the Red Sox.

Manning left field for the Yankees in the first inning of a July 17 contest against the Sox in the Bronx, Locastro leaped to catch an Alex Verdugo fly ball in foul territory, but landed awkwardly and could be seen grabbing at his right knee after crashing into the wall down the left field line.

As a result of said play, Locastro came up gimpy and was later replaced in left field by Tyler Wade before being diagnosed with an ACL tear that same night.

The Yankees placed the 29-year-old on the 10-day injured list the following day and transferred him to the 60-day injured list a week later. At the end of the season, they must have felt that it was not worth it to add Locastro back to their 40-man roster and instead placed him on waivers.

This gave other clubs the opportunity to put a claim in for the 6-foot-1, 190 pound speedster, which is exactly what the Red Sox did last Friday.

Now a member of Boston’s 40-man roster, which currently sits at 33 players, Locastro was expected to begin running again sometime this fall after undergoing knee surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City back in late July.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom essentially confirmed as much in a recent conversation with BloggingtheRedSox.com.

“Tim’s on track for a full recovery from his injury,” Bloom said via email. “With his speed and athleticism, he’s great depth for us to add at the beginning of the off-season.”

Locastro, who does not turn 30 until next July, certainly fits the profile of player the Red Sox have added since Bloom took over two years ago in that there is little risk and plenty to gain from it.

As previously mentioned, Locastro is extremely fast and is dangerous on the base paths, which is something Alex Cora’s Red Sox were lacking this past season. Not only that, but he plays all three outfield positions as well and has been a plus-defender in right field (positive-3 defensive runs saved, positive-2.1 ultimate zone rating in 207 1/3 innings) throughout his career.

Additionally, Locastro comes with club control, as he is slated to become eligible for salary arbitration for just the first time next season and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn approximately $700,000 in 2022.

There is, of course, risk involved in acquiring someone like Locastro considering the fact that he is a player who primarily relies on their speed and is coming off a major ACL injury.

Still, the addition of Locastro — should he prove to have recovered from his injury — does provide the Red Sox with experienced outfield depth. It could also make some for some interesting positional battles come spring training.

That being said, spring training is still a long ways away and there is still plenty of off-season ahead. As Bloom put it, “We’ll see how things play out from here.”

(Picture of Tim Locastro: Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Red Sox among teams on hand to watch Justin Verlander’s showcase in Florida

The Red Sox were one of several teams on hand to watch Justin Verlander pitch at a showcase on Monday, reports Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link).

Per McAdam, the Sox were one of 15-20 big-league clubs in attendance to observe Verlander’s workout at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, Verlander threw 25 pitches while hovering around the mid-90s and topping out at 97 mph with his vaunted four-seam fastball. McAdam adds that he apparently “looked impressive.”

Verlander, who turns 39 in February, became a free-agent last week after spending the last 4 1/2 seasons with the Astros. The veteran right-hander has not appeared in a game since July 24, 2020, however, as he suffered a forearm strain that ultimately required Tommy John surgery last September.

In his most-recent full season of work, 2019, Verlander posted a 2.58 ERA and 3.27 FIP to go along with a career-best 300 strikeouts and 42 walks over 34 starts spanning 223 innings of work en route to winning his second American League Cy Young Award.

Despite the fact that he has not pitched on a major-league mound in well over a year, Verlander still received a qualifying offer from Houston. This means that if the 38-year-old were to reject it and a remain a free agent, any other team that signs him would then owe the Astros compensation in the form of a draft pick.

In the Red Sox’ case, that would require them to forfeit their second-highest available selection in next year’s draft while also having their international signing bonus pool for next year’s international signing period reduced by $500,000

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) on Sunday, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom indicated that the team was now in a better spot to pursue qualified free agents, such as Verlander, than they were a year ago.

“I think we’re in better position than we were a year ago,” Bloom said. “Even a year ago, I remember we talked about it and I said it’s certainly not something that’s off the table for us. Now at the time I said that knowing that most likely with those guys (last year’s qualified free agents), it wouldn’t line up. I don’t know how this offseason is going to play out. But I think just where we’re positioned now with the depth that we have internally, although we’re nowhere close to where we want to be, we are in a better position than where we were.

“So I think it’s likelier there could be a fit there,” he added. “But we’re just going to do as we would with any move, just access all the implications. And if it is something that makes sense for us, we’ve got to be ready to bounce.”

A client of ISE Baseball, Verlander does have some Red Sox connections, as manager Alex Cora served as Houston’s bench coach during their controversial World Series run in 2017.

Verlander, like Eduardo Rodriguez, has until November 17 to decide if he will either accept the Astros’ $18.4 million qualifying offer and remain in Houston for the 2022 campaign, or reject it and test the open market instead.

(Picture of Justin Verlander: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Former Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers joining Rangers in same capacity, per report

Former Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers has joined the Rangers organization in the same capacity, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Hyers, 50, departed from the Red Sox last week even after the team made an offer for him to return in 2022. The reasoning behind his departure mainly revolved around the idea of pursuing other opportunities, as he explained to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Less than a full week after leaving the Sox, it turns out Hyers has indeed found a new opportunity for himself. And while he reportedly drew interest from the Yankees, he ultimately lands with the Rangers.

Hyers was originally named to Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s coaching staff in November 2017 after previously serving as the club’s minor-league hitting coordinator from 2013-2015.

Over the four seasons Hyers was put in charge of their offensive approach, the Sox led all of Major League Baseball in  runs per game (5.31), batting average (.266), slugging percentage (.455), and OPS (.790). They additionally ranked third in on-base percentage (.335) and fourth in wRC+ (108) over that stretch, per FanGraphs.

In between stints as Boston’s minor-league hitting coordinator and major-league hitting coach, Hyers served as an assistant hitting coach for the Dodgers from 2016-2017. At that same time, current Rangers manager Chris Woodward served as Los Angeles’ third base coach under Dave Roberts from 2016-2018.

Any sort of relationship Hyers and Woodward established with the Dodgers presumably played a role in the former joining the latter’s coaching staff with the Rangers.

While Boston’s offense enjoyed plenty of success under Hyers in 2021, the same cannot be said for Texas, who finished the season with a record of 60-102 while regularly fielding unproductive lineups.

In the process of finishing with one of the worst records in baseball, the Rangers ranked 28th in the league in runs per game (3.86), 29th in batting average (.232), 30th in on-base percentage (.294), 28th in slugging percentage (.375) and dead last in OPS (.670). They ultimately dismissed their former hitting coach Luis Ortiz last month.

By hiring Hyers, the Rangers will obviously be hoping to have a revamped offense in 2022. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are expected to promote Peter Fatse, who served as assistant hitting coach under Hyers each of the last two seasons, to become the team’s new hitting coach.

Fatse, 34, is a native of Hampden, Mass. and played his college baseball at the University of Connecticut before being selected by the Brewers in the 24th round of the 2009 amateur draft.

(Picture of Tim Hyers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Martín Pérez switches agencies with Red Sox expected to decline left-hander’s club option for 2022

Red Sox left-hander Martin Perez has switched agencies at a time where he could be headed towards free agency, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Perez, previously represented by Miami-based OL Baseball Group, recently made the switch to Octagon. The agency actually announced the move last month on Instagram.

The Red Sox have until this coming Sunday at 5 p.m. eastern time to decide whether they will accept or decline the $6 million club option attached to the one-year, $4.5 million deal they signed Perez to back in February.

This past season, his second with Boston, proved to be a turbulent one for Perez. After opening the year as the team’s fifth starter, the 30-year-old southpaw posted a 4.77 ERA and 4.91 FIP to go along with 85 strikeouts to 33 walks over 22 starts spanning 100 innings of work.

Since he was averaging fewer than five innings per start while proving to be ineffective throughout the months of June and July, Perez was moved to the Red Sox bullpen full-time beginning on August 6.

As a reliever, Perez was primarily used by manager Alex Cora in low-leverage situations. Still, the Venezuelan hurler put up a 4.50 ERA and 4.17 FIP with 12 strikeouts and three walks in 14 innings pitched out of the bullpen to close out the season. He also missed time from Aug. 30 until September 14 on account of testing positive for COVID-19.

In the postseason, Perez was left off Boston’s roster for the Wild Card Game against the Yankees, but made both the American League Division Series and Championship Series rosters.

While Perez did not appear in the Sox’ four-game triumph of the Rays, he was used on four separate occasions against the Astros, allowing a total of five runs — four of which were earned — on six hits, four walks, and zero strikeouts over three total innings of work. That’s good for an ERA of 12.00.

All told, it seems unlikely that the Red Sox will pick up Perez’s team option for next season, which is exactly what they did around this same time last year as well.

Instead, if they do indeed allow the lefty to hit the open marker for the fourth consecutive off-season, Boston will then owe Perez $500,000 in the form of a buyout.

Again, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. have until Sunday to make up their mind on this. The same can be said for right-hander Garrett Richards ($10 million) and catcher Christian Vazquez ($7 million), who also have club options that need to be decided on by the end of the weekend.

(Picture of Martin Perez: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The offseason is here, which means it’s decision time for the Red Sox

The Braves have won their second World Series title since moving to Atlanta in 1966, as they put the finishing touches on their six-game series victory over the Astros in Houston on Tuesday night to cap off another exciting Fall Classic.

With the Braves officially putting an end to the World Series on Tuesday, the Major League Baseball offseason is truly ready to get rolling. That applies to the Red Sox, as well as the 31 other clubs they are competing with.

For the next five days, the Red Sox will have the opportunity to exclusively negotiate with their five definite free-agents to be in right-handers Adam Ottavino and Hansel Robles, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, infielder Travis Shaw, and infielder/outfielder Danny Santana.

All five of those players will file for free agency on Wednesday, but won’t officially hit the open market until Sunday, or five days after the conclusion of the World Series.

While that group of five will all become free-agents later this week, there is a chance more could be added to that list as Wednesday marks the beginning of another five-day window in which teams have to decide on club options and players have to decide on player options.

In regards to how this affects the Sox, right-hander Garrett Richards ($10 million), left-hander Martin Perez ($6 million with a $500,000 buyout), and catcher Christian Vazquez ($7 million) all have team options that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. will either have picked up or declined.

On the other side of the scale, veteran slugger J.D. Martinez has the ability to opt out of the final season of the five-year, $110 deal he signed with Boston in February 2018. The 34-year-old would be leaving $19.35 million on the table for 2022 if he were to opt for free agency this winter instead.

Kyle Schwarber, meanwhile, has an $11.5 mutual option for 2022 attached to the one-year, $10 million contract he signed with the Nationals in January. This means the Red Sox and Schwarber would both have to be on the same page in order to have that mutual option picked up, which seems unlikely based off the kind of season the 28-year-old first baseman/left fielder just put together.

To go along with the five-day window to decide on options and whatnot, the Red Sox will also have the next five days to determine if they will be handing out a qualifying offer to any impending free-agent who qualifies for one.

The qualifying offer, which is calculated yearly, by averaging the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in baseball, will be worth $18.4 million this season.

Of the handful of Red Sox players who will/could be headed towards free agency, it is worth mentioning that someone like Schwarber is ineligible to receive one since he was traded in the middle of the season. Martinez, on the other hand, could be offered one if he were to opt out of the final year of his deal.

Rodriguez, who turns 29 in April, is a more interesting case when considering the rollercoaster of a 2021 season he had. Still, any player who does receive a qualifying offer has the choice to accept, and thus return to their club on a one-year deal, or reject, and therefore become a free-agent.

That being said, the Red Sox would receive draft compensation from whatever team signed a player they had previously and unsuccessfully extended a qualifying offer towards.

If the Red Sox were to extend a qualifying offer towards any eligible player, said player would have 10 days from the time they received the qualifying offer to decide if they want to accept or reject it.

With that, the offseason is here, and while there is plenty more to come for Bloom and the Red Sox, this means it is yet again time to make some key decisions.

(Picture of Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox)

Red Sox expected to promote Peter Fatse to become team’s new hitting coach

Red Sox assistant hitting coach is expected to replace Tim Hyers as the team’s new hitting coach, according to The Boston Herald’s Steve Hewitt.

Per Hewitt, the Sox will promote Fatse to the role of hitting coach after Hyers informed the club that he would not be returning to Alex Cora’s coaching staff for the 2022 season.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier first reported on Hyers’ departure on Monday morning, citing that the 50-year-old “plans to pursue other opportunities, possibly college openings, but more likely with another team, perhaps including a broader role in another organization.”

Along with Hyers, the Red Sox announced last week that they had parted ways with first base coach and outfield instructor Tom Goodwin.

Fatse, meanwhile will become Boston’s hitting coach after spending the previous two seasons as the team’s assistant hitting coach under Hyers.

The 34-year-old out of Hampden, Mass. was originally named to Cora’s coaching staff in October 2019 to replace former assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett.

A product of the University of Connecticut, where he was teammates with future All-Stars such as Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes and Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, Fatse was selected by the Brewers in the 24th round of the 2009 amateur draft.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds at the time, the left-handed hitting infielder/outfielder played two seasons in the Brewers organization and two additional seasons of independent league baseball before calling it a career in 2012.

Two years prior to retiring, Fatse — a graduate of Minnechaug Regional High School who resides in Wilbraham, Mass. — founded the Advanced Performance Academy in Palmer, Mass. in 2010. He additionally served as the academy’s director of player development before joining the Minnesota Twins as their minor-league hitting coordinator in January 2019.

After overseeing Minnesota’s farm system throughout the 2019 season, Fatse was officially added to Cora’s coaching staff as assistant hitting coach on Oct. 31 of that year.

As noted by Speier, Hyers and Fatse developed a strong working relationship while overseeing one of the more potent offenses in all of baseball. There were even discussions between Hyers and the Sox to elevate Fatse to co-hitting coach before the former announced that he would be leaving.

That being said, Speier took to Twitter earlier Monday to note that while “Fatse is expected to be promoted,… the precise approach to the hitting coach roles is still being worked out by the Sox.”

Those details, as well as who could serve as Boston’s new assistant hitting coach under Fatse, will likely be revealed once the Red Sox make the promotion official, though it is not yet known when that will take place.

(Picture of Peter Fatse: Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Tim Hyers not returning as Red Sox hitting coach next season

Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers will not be returning to manager Alex Cora’s coaching staff for the 2022 season, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Per Speier, Hyers “declined the team’s offer to return” for 2022 and instead “plans to pursue other opportunities – possibly including college openings, but more likely with another team, perhaps including a broader role in another organization.”

Hyers, who turned 50 last month, was initially named Boston’s hitting coach in November 2017 after previously serving as the team’s minor-league hitting coordinator from 2013-2015 and as an assistant hitting coach with the Dodgers from 2016-2017.

In the four seasons Hyers was in command of the club’s offensive approach, the Red Sox — as noted by Speier — led all of Major League Baseball in runs per game (5.31), batting average (.266), slugging percentage (.455), and OPS .790. They also ranked third in on-base percentage (.335) and fourth in wRC+ (108) over that stretch, per FanGraphs.

With Hyers opting not to return to Boston next year, the Red Sox will now have another vacancy to fill on Cora’s 2022 coaching staff after the club parted ways with first base coach and outfield instructor Tom Goodwin last week.

That said, the Sox still expect to retain the rest of their coaching staff going into next season, and that includes assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse.

Fatse, a native of Hampden, Mass., was named Boston’s assistant hitting coach under Hyers at the conclusion of the 2019 season. Together, the two not only oversaw one of the American League’s most potent offenses the last two years, but they also developed a strong working relationship.

On that note, Speier reports that Hyers and the Red Sox had been discussing the idea of elevating Fatse to the role of co-hitting coach, so it should be interesting to see how much consideration the 34-year-old gets from the team to take over for Hyers fully.

UPDATE: The Boston Herald’s Steve Hewitt is reporting that Fatse has indeed been promoted by the Red Sox to become the team’s new hitting coach in place of Hyers.

(Picture of Tim Hyers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts on Jerry Remy’s passing: ‘He will be missed’

Longtime Red Sox player and NESN color analyst Jerry Remy passed away at 68 on Saturday night after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

Remy often described Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts as his favorite player to watch from the broadcast booth.

“Bogaerts is very special,” Remy told MLB.com’s Ian Browne last April. “He can do everything. I love his style of hitting. He’s not a launch and lift guy. He basically tries to hit line drives. He now has the ability to play with the whole ballpark line to line with his offense which makes him, to me, an outstanding hitter. To top it all, he’s just a tremendous person.”

Remy and Bogaerts share plenty in common. Both are infielders, both were All-Stars and fan favorites in their time with the Red Sox, and both had/have spent the majority of their major-league careers in Boston.

When it was revealed by the Red Sox on Sunday that Remy had indeed passed away following his fight with lung cancer that dates back to 2008, Bogaerts was the lone active player to offer some words of condolence in a series of statements released by the club.

“This is a such a sad day. My thoughts are with Jerry’s family and his loved ones,” Bogaerts said. “As a player, I always loved seeing Rem in our clubhouse at Fenway every day. He was the first person you’d see when you came in. Whether it was just to say hello or to talk baseball, he was always there. You knew he loved the Red Sox and that he was always pulling for us. He will be missed.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora also made a statement in regards to Remy’s passing, adding that: “Like everyone else in Red Sox Nation today, I’m absolutely devastated by Jerry’s passing.

“We connected because of our love for the game of baseball. I will miss all of our conversations about the game and just passing time together throughout the years, whether in the clubhouse or dugout,” added Cora. “Jerry was so passionate about the Red Sox and even though he had to step away for treatment late in the season, he was with us every step of the way — especially in October.

“We kept in touch just about every day and encouraged each other to keep fighting. It was great seeing him at Fenway when we started our run; he was a source of inspiration for so many of our players. My condolences go out to his wife, Phoebe, and his children and their grandchildren. We will miss you, Rem!”

Cora took to Twitter as well and ended his tweet by writing “Descansa en Paz, amigo,” which translates to “Rest in Peace, friend.”

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox part ways with first base coach Tom Goodwin

The Red Sox will not be bringing first base coach Tom Goodwin for the 2022 season, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom announced from Fenway Park on Monday afternoon.

Goodwin, 53, had served as Boston’s first base coach shortly after Alex Cora was first named manager of the Red Sox in October 2017.

In addition to his first base coaching responsibilities, Goodwin also served as the club’s outfield instructor and base running coordinator in his four seasons with the organization.

This past season, Goodwin — who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 — was forced to miss time on two separate occasions after being identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive for the virus.

On account of his unvaccinated status, Goodwin was not eligible to coach in the postseason since Major League Baseball was only granting on-field access to non-playing personnel (managers, coaches, athletic trainers, etc.) who were vaccinated.

And so in late September, quality control coach Ramon Vazquez took over as Boston’s first base coach for the rest of the year. Goodwin, on the other hand, remained in the Red Sox dugout and provided instruction to the club’s outfielders until the regular season came to a close.

When speaking with reporters during an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Bloom clarified that the decision to part ways with Goodwin had nothing to do with his vaccination status and was instead baseball-related.

“He helped bring this organization and this city a championship,” Bloom said. “It doesn’t take anything away from that.”

With Goodwin’s dismissal, the Red Sox now have an opening at first base coach. It’s unclear at the moment who will fill that vacancy, though Bloom did indicate that the rest of Cora’s coaching staff is expected to remain intact through the winter and return next spring.

“Obviously, it’s early,” said Bloom. “We haven’t put pen to paper with everybody who we need to. But the intent is that everybody else will be back.”

(Picture of Tom Goodwin: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)