Tag: Baseball

Red Sox make first round of spring training roster cuts; Matthew Lugo among four players reassigned to minor-league camp

Before defeating the Marlins, 4-1, at JetBlue Park in the afternoon, the Red Sox made their first round of spring training roster cuts on Sunday morning.

Per a team announcement, right-handers Dan Altavilla and Victor Santos, catcher Elih Marrero, and infielder Matthew Lugo were all reassigned to minor-league camp in Fort Myers, Fla.

Of these four, Altavilla is the only one with prior major-league experience. The 30-year-old righty originally signed a two-year minor-league deal with the Red Sox last March, but he did not pitch at all in 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery while a member of the Padres in June 2021.

Since debuting with the Mariners in 2016, Altavilla owns a lifetime 4.03 ERA (4.39 FIP) with 129 strikeouts to 60 walks in 119 career relief appearances (116 innings between Seattle and San Diego. He will likely begin the season with Triple-A Worcester, but he could ultimately help the Red Sox out of the bullpen at some point in 2023.

Lugo, meanwhile, is the most notable prospect listed here . The 21-year-old briefly held the title of the youngest player at Red Sox camp and has fared well in Grapefruit League play by hitting .400 (4-for-10) with two doubles, one triple, five RBIs, one run scored, zero walks, and four strikeouts over seven games this spring.

A former 2019 second-round draft selection out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, Lugo spent the vast majority of the 2022 minor-league season with High-A Greenville. The right-handed hitter batted .288/.344/.500 with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs in 114 games (512 plate appearances) for the Drive before appearing in three games with Double-A Portland in late September. He was also named co-Rookie of the Year in the Puerto Rican Winter League after posting an .810 OPS in 39 games with the Criollos de Caguas.

Lugo, who turns 22 in May, is expected to return to Portland for the start of the 2023 season. The Manati native is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 18 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system and has past experience at every infield position besides first base.

With Sunday’s subtractions, the size of Boston’s spring training roster has shrunk from 64 to 60 players. Twenty of the 60 players who remain are not on the 40-man roster and are therefore at camp as non-roster invitees.

BOSTON RED SOX NON-ROSTER INVITEES (20)

Pitchers (8): Taylor Broadway, Matt Dermody, Jake Faria, Durbin Feltman, Norwith Gudino, Oddanier Mosqueda, Ryan Sherriff, Chase Shugart

Catchers (4): Jorge Alfaro, Caleb Hamilton, Ronaldo Hernández, Stephen Scott

Infielders (1): Christian Koss

Outfielders (3): Greg Allen, Narciso Crook, Raimel Tapia

Infielder/Outfielders (4): Ryan Fitzgerald, Niko Goodrum, Daniel Palka, Nick Sogard

(Picture of Matthew Lugo: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu strains left hamstring

Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu suffered a left hamstring strain in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 4-1 League win over the Marlins at JetBlue Park.

Abreu entered the game in the top of the seventh as a defensive replacement for starting right fielder Alex Verdugo. The left-handed hitter led off the bottom half of the frame with a line-drive single off Marlins reliever Devin Smeltzer, but he rounded the first base bag awkwardly and was in clear discomfort as a result.

After getting checked out by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a member of the team’s training staff, Abreu was lifted for pinch-runner Stephen Scott. The 23-year-old finished his day going 1-for-1 with a base hit in his lone plate appearance.

“Right before he stepped on the bag, he felt it,” Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “He felt it. He stopped right away, so that’s good. But he’ll be out for a while.”

Abreu becomes the third member of the Red Sox to sustain some sort of hamstring injury within the last week, joining catcher Connor Wong (Thursday) and left-hander James Paxton (Friday). Both Wong and Paxton have since been diagnosed with low-grade strains. It’s likely that more information regarding the severity of Abreu’s strain will become available on Monday.

The Red Sox originally acquired Abreu (and fellow prospect Enmanuel Valdez) from the Astros in the trade that sent catcher Christian Vazquez to Houston last August. Abreu closed out the 2022 season with Double-A Portland and batted .242/.399/.375 with five doubles, four home runs, 19 RBIs, 25 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 36 walks, and 45 strikeouts across 40 games (168 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs while seeing playing time at all three outfield positions.

After playing in the Arizona Fall League, Abreu was added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster in November in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft. The native Venezuelan is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 22 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Prior to getting injured on Sunday, Abreu had gotten his first spring with the Red Sox off to a solid start by going 4-for-12 (.333) with a triple, a home run, four runs driven in, five runs scored, two walks, and four strikeouts in seven Grapefruit League games. He crushed a grand slam in Thursday’s 15-3 rout of the Phillies.

As of now, it remains to be seen just how much time Abreu will miss because of this hamstring strain. Abreu, who turns 24 in June, only has 129 career games at the Double-A level under his belt and is expected to return to Portland for the start of the 2023 minor-league season. Because he is on the 40-man roster, though, any sort of absence could have an affect on Boston’s outfield depth in the upper-minors to begin the year.

(Picture of Wilyer Abreu: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

David Hamilton’s two-run double propels Red Sox to 4-1 win over Marlins

Thanks to a four-run seventh inning against the Marlins on Sunday, the Red Sox remain unbeaten this spring. Boston improved to 6-0-3 in Grapefruit League play by defeating Miami by a final score of 4-1 at JetBlue Park.

Corey Kluber, making his second start of the spring for the Red Sox, scattered two hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings of work. After facing the Marlins in his 2023 debut last Tuesday, the veteran right-hander kicked off his afternoon by punching out Luis Arraez, Jorge Soler, and Garrett Cooper in the top of the first. He then put runners on first and second base with only one out in the second, but escaped that jam by getting Joey Wendle to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

In the third, Kluber retired Miami’s No. 8 hitter, Jacob Stallings, before Jon Berti reached base on a fielding error committed by shortstop Christian Koss. He then fanned Soler for the second out of the inning, but followed that up by issuing a free pass to Cooper. Having already thrown 52 pitches to that point in the contest, Kluber was given the hook in favor of fellow righty Chase Shugart, who stranded the two runners he inherited by striking Jazz Chisholm Jr. out.

Richard Bleier, who the Red Sox acquired from the Marlins in January, took over for Shugart in the fourth and put up a zero by retiring the only three batters he faced. Fellow offseason trade acquisition Wyatt Mills was responsible for the fifth inning. Mills plunked Stallings to lead off the inning. The seasoned backstop then went from first to third on an Arraez single before scoring on a two-out RBI base hit from Cooper that gave Miami a 1-0 lead halfway through.

Kutter Crawford was called upon in the sixth and neutralized the Marlins lineup by racking up three strikeouts over three perfect frames of relief. While he was in the middle of that, the Red Sox offense came to life in their half of the seventh.

There, Devin Smeltzer gave up two singles while also beaning Justin Turner to fill the bases. The Marlins reliever then retired Niko Goodrum and Ryan Fitzgerald for the first two outs, but Narciso Crook kept the inning alive by drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in the tying run from third. Ronaldo Hernandez did the same on the other side of a Miami pitching change and David Hamilton followed by plating both Ceddanne Rafaela and Crook by lacing a two-run ground-rule double into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

That sequence put Boston up, 4-1, heading into the eighth. After Crawford — who was later credited with the the winning decision — capped his day off with another 1-2-3 frame, Kaleb Ort worked his way around a single and a walk in the ninth to pick up the save and secure the come-from-behind victory for the Red Sox.

Other notable numbers:

Sunday’s contest took two hours and 32 minutes to complete. In addition to going 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Hamilton also stole his first base of the spring in the sixth inning. Rafalea, a speedster himself, went 2-for-2 with a run scored off the bench.

Abreu strains left hamstring:

After leading off the seventh inning with a line-drive single, outfielder Wilyer Abreu was forced to exit with what was later diagnosed as a left hamstring strain. The 23-year-old will “be out for a while,” per Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Next up: Sale Day

The Red Sox will conclude their homestand in Fort Myers by taking on the Tigers on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to make his highly-anticipated spring debut for Boston while right-hander Matt Manning is scheduled to start for Detroit.

First pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of David Hamilton: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ James Paxton diagnosed with Grade 1 hamstring strain

Red Sox left-hander James Paxton has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) on Saturday.

Paxton strained his right hamstring in the second inning of Friday’s 9-4 Grapefruit League win over the Twins in Fort Myers. The 34-year-old was scheduled to pitch two innings but had to come out of the game with a trainer after recording the first two outs of the second.

“It’s a strain. Not as bad, but probably similar to [Connor] Wong,” Cora said. “We’ll know how he’s reacting. If we need imaging, we’ll do it. But right now, we don’t feel that way.”

When speaking with reporters outside the Red Sox clubhouse on Friday, Paxton said he began feeling discomfort in his hamstring on his second-to-last pitch to Michael A. Taylor. He retired the outfielder with his next offering, but could be seen grabbing at and stretching out his right hamstring in an attempt to get loose.

At that point, Paxton received a visit on the mound from Cora and a member of the team’s training staff. The decision was then made that the lefty’s day would be over right then and there.

“My hamstring just grabbed on me a little bit just as I was kind of starting to find that firing pin to let the ball go a little bit harder,” said Paxton. “I wanted to step on it a little bit and the hamstring just grabbed.”

Before departing, Paxton proved to be effective against the Twins on Friday. He struck out Carlos Correa as part of a 1-2-3 first inning and then got the first two outs of the second. Twelve of the 19 pitches he threw went for strikes and he topped out at 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball, per Baseball Savant.

As part of Saturday’s announcement, Cora revealed that Paxton will be shut down temporarily, which puts his status for Opening Day into question. If he falls behind in his progressions enough, Paxton could very well start the season on the injured list for the second year in a row.

“Obviously, he’s going to fall behind a little bit here,” Cora said. “It doesn’t look that bad. It sucks because he worked so hard to get to this point. We’ll be patient, just like he will be and he’ll be ready whenever he’s ready.”

Paxton originally signed a one-year, $6 million contract with Boston in December 2021 that came with a two-year club option and a one-year player option. At that time, the southpaw was about eight months removed from having undergone Tommy John surgery while still a member of the Mariners.

After his rehab from the procedure was initially delayed by posterior elbow soreness last May, Paxton was able to began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League in August. Just two batters into his start for the FCL Red Sox, though, Paxton suffered a Grade 2 lat tear, which ended his 2022 season before it really even started.

In November, the Red Sox declined Paxton’s two-year, $26 million club option that would have covered the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Paxton, in turn, elected to remain in Boston by exercising his $4 million player option for the 2023 campaign.

“I’m comfortable here,” Paxton told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith last month. “They know me. I know them. And I’m trying to establish myself back in the big-leagues and I felt like this was the place for me to do it.”

Dating back to the start of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Paxton has been limited to just six starts spanning 21 1/3 innings. For his major-league career, which spans nine seasons, he has only surpassed the 150-inning plateau twice (2018, 2019) due to different injuries, most of which have been arm-related.

The Red Sox came into camp with seven starters (Paxton, Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck), competing for five rotation spots. Since workouts began though, Paxton has gone down with a hamstring injury, Bello was slowed by right forearm tightness, and Whitlock has yet to fully ramp up after undergoing hip surgery last September.

Since Boston is expected to exercise caution with all of its starters in camp, it’s certainly possible all three of Bello, Paxton, and Whitlock start the season on the 15-day injured list. If that is indeed the case, the Red Sox do have rotation depth to turn to in right-handers Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski. Beyond those two, prospects with starting experience in the minor-leagues — such as Bryan Mata, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter — are on the 40-man roster as well.

(Picture of James Paxton: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)

Kenley Jansen works scoreless third inning in spring debut as Red Sox, Astros once again play to 4-4 tie

For the second time in four days, the Red Sox and Astros played to a 4-4 tie in Grapefruit League action. After it happened in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, a winner could once again not be determined in Saturday afternoon’s contest at JetBlue Park.

Nick Pivetta, making his first start of the spring for Boston, lasted just 1 1/3 innings against Houston. The right-hander came into camp still on the mend from a recent bout with COVID-19 and displayed his rustiness on Saturday by allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts.

After retiring the first two batters he faced in the top of the first, Pivetta gave up a groundball single to Jake Meyers and followed that up by serving up a two-run home run to Corey Julks. He got through the rest of the inning unscathed but ran into more trouble in the second by surrendering three straight singles to lead things off.

Pivetta struck out the next two batters to keep the bases loaded, but he then balked to bring in Rylan Bannon from third and issued a walk to Chas McCormick to refill the bases. Jake Faria came in for Pivetta and managed to escape any further damage by getting Jake Meyers to ground out to Rafael Devers at third.

Still, it was not a productive day for Pivetta, who needed 43 pitches to record five outs. That being said, the Red Sox lineup promptly came to life in their half of the second inning by putting up a three-spot against Astros starter Shawn Dubin.

Triston Casas led off with a single and Jorge Alfaro followed with a double. Jarren Duran then drew a walk to fill the bases for Rob Refsnyder, who plated Casas and moved Alfaro and Duran up an additional 90 feet with an RBI groundout. With one out and runners at second and third, Raimel Tapia came through with a game-tying, two-run double to left field that pulled Boston back even with Houston at three runs apiece.

The Red Sox and Astros then traded zeroes for the next five innings. Kenley Jansen made quick work of Houston in his spring debut by retiring the side in order in the top half of the third. The veteran closer did not commit a single pitch clock violation, either. Fellow free agent addition Chris Martin was responsible for the fourth inning. He worked his way around two walks and struck out one in a scoreless frame.

Josh Winckowski took over for Martin in the fifth and collected four strikeouts while scattering two hits and two walks to the 12 batters he faced across three more scoreless innings. Oddanier Mosqueda saw Boston’s run of five consecutive shutout frames come to an end when he surrendered a two-out RBI single to Zach Daniels in the top of the eighth.

Shortly after that go-ahead run crossed the plate for the Astros, though, the Red Sox quickly responded in their half of the inning. Niko Goodrum and Enmanuel Valdez each singled with one out to put runners on the corners for Daniel Palka. Palka, in turn, drove in the tying run (Goodrum) with a sacrifice fly to right field.

In the ninth inning of a 4-4 contest, Cam Booser faced the minimum in the top half for Boston and Cesar Gomez did the same for Houston in the bottom half. That is how the game, which ultimately took two hours and 36 minutes to complete, ended.

Other notable numbers:

Duran, who drew two walks and scored one run, was the only member of the Red Sox lineup to take ball four on Saturday.

By going 1-for-2 with that two-run double on Saturday, Tapia is now batting .357 (5-for-14) with four doubles in five Grapefruit League games this spring. He is currently tied for the team lead in doubles and is tied for third with nine total bases.

Next up: Kluber vs. Rogers

At 5-0-3, the Red Sox will close out the first weekend of March by hosting the Marlins in Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Corey Kluber is slated to start for Boston opposite Miami left-hander Trevor Rogers. This is the same pitching matchup we saw in Jupiter last Tuesday.

First pitch from JetBlue Park on Sunday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ James Paxton leaves first start of spring early with hamstring injury

James Paxton was scheduled to pitch two innings in his first start of the spring for the Red Sox against the Twins on Friday afternoon. The left-hander unfortunately fell short of that goal due to a right hamstring injury.

After recording the first two outs of the second inning at Hammond Stadium, Paxton could be seen grabbing at and stretching out his right hamstring in an attempt to loosen it up. That prompted a visit from Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a member of the team’s training staff.

Paxton, who to that point had retired all five batters he faced while recording one strikeout over 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work, then left the field with a trainer and was pulled from the game in favor of fellow lefty Rio Gomez.

“We’ll know tomorrow,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) following Boston’s 9-4 win over Minnesota. “Obviously, not perfect. Hopefully it was just a cramp. I think obviously with him, we’ve got to be very careful. It’s a shame because he was throwing the [heck] out of the ball today. His location was great, velo was up. … And that happened. Hopefully it’s nothing and we can just continue to move on.”

Paxton himself said he first felt discomfort on his second-to-last pitch to Michael A. Taylor with one out in the second. He got the center fielder to fly out to left with his next offering, but was unable to continue after that despite only needing to get one more out.

“My hamstring just grabbed on me a little bit just as I was kind of starting to find that firing pin to let the ball go a little bit harder,” Paxton said. “I wanted to step on it a little bit and the hamstring just grabbed. We’ll see what we got. We don’t really know yet. But we’ll see how I come in feeling tomorrow and go from there.”

Of the 19 pitches Paxton threw on Friday, 12 went for strikes. He punched out Twins shortstop Carlos Correa as part of a 1-2-3 first inning and needed nine pitches to get the first two outs of the second. According to Baseball Savant, the 34-year-old southpaw topped out at 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball.

“I think there’s positives and negatives,” Paxton said of his shortened outing. “I think that going out there and filling up the zone like I did felt good. Some good breaking balls, fastball felt pretty good. I felt like it was coming out of the hand well. But then this happens and now we’re gonna have to deal with this so that I can continue moving forward. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get back out there.”

Paxton has been with the Red Sox since signing with the club as a free agent in December 2021. At that time, the veteran hurler was about eight months removed from undergoing Tommy John surgery after making one start for the Mariners that season. He spent most of the 2022 campaign rehabbing before suffering a Grade 2 left lat tear in his first rehab outing in late August.

Given his recent injury history, Paxton elected to exercise his $4 million player option for 2023 and return to the Red Sox without any sort of limitations this spring. Even if this latest setback proves to be minor, Boston will undoubtedly exercise caution when it comes to Paxton’s health moving forward.

Paxton is one of seven candidates vying for five spots in the Red Sox’ Opening Day starting rotation alongside the likes of Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, though, Bello, Whitlock, and now Paxton have all been slowed by different issues this spring, which could put someone like Kutter Crawford into the rotation mix early this season.

Paxton said that he is unsure if he strained his hamstring or simply experienced a cramp. Regardless, he is disappointed and frustrated by what transpired on Friday.

“This is not how I wanted this to go,” said Paxton. “I wanted to go through spring training clean. But I can’t control that. All I can control is going to work on this now and doing whatever I can to get back out there and pitch again.”

(Picture of James Paxton: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)

Reese McGuire and Triston Casas both homer, James Paxton leaves first start of spring early as Red Sox defeat Twins, 9-4

The Red Sox remained unbeaten this spring after taking Game 2 of the 2023 Chairman’s Cup from the Twins on Friday afternoon. Boston defeated Minnesota, 9-4, at Hammond Stadium to improve to 5-0-2 in Grapefruit League play.

Matched up against Sonny Gray to begin things on Friday, the Red Sox lineup got off to a quick start by putting up a three-spot in the top half of the first inning. After reaching base on a one-out single and advancing 90 feet on a pickoff error, Alex Verdugo scored his side’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of Justin Turner.

Turner himself moved up to second on a Minnesota fielding error that allowed Triston Casas to reach base before scoring on a two-out single from Bobby Dalbec. Casas, who advanced to third on that play, then came in to score when Reese McGuire reached on yet another fielding error committed by the Twins.

That sequence gave Boston an early 3-0 lead right out of the gate, but Minnesota was able to get two of those runs back an inning later. James Paxton, who retired the side in order in his first inning of work this spring, recorded the first two outs of the second before exiting the game with a right hamstring injury. He was replaced by fellow left-hander Rio Gomez, who issued a five-pitch walk to Joey Gallo before serving up a two-run home run to Kyle Farmer.

Despite seeing their three-run advantage shrink to one-run, the Red Sox continued to capitalize on Twins mistakes in their half of the third. After Turner and Casas each reached with no outs and Dalbec loaded the bases with a one-out single, McGuire came through by crushing a 395-foot grand slam off reliever Emilio Pagan to make it a 7-2 contest in favor of Boston.

Again, though, Minnesota retaliated. John Schreiber took over for Gomez in the bottom of the third and filled the bases with one out before spiking a wild pitch that allowed Eliot Soto to come in from third. Michael A. Taylor then grounded out to to Enmanuel Valdez at second base, which gave old friend Christian Vazquez more than enough time to score from third and trim the Twins’ deficit down to three runs at 7-4.

Following a scoreless fourth inning from Ryan Sherriff, Casas picked up where he left off by leading off the fifth with a 400-foot solo blast to deep right field for his second home run of the spring. Brandon Walter then came out of the bullpen for Boston and struck out three over two scoreless frames of relief. Fellow southpaw Chris Murphy followed that up by stranding two base runners and punching out the side in the seventh.

In the eighth, former Twins catcher Caleb Hamilton took Brock Stewart 438 feet deep over the berm in left field for his first big fly in a Red Sox uniform. Taking a 9-4 lead into the latter half of the frame, Murphy got the first two outs before loading the bases on a single and back-to-back walks. Norwith Gudino came in and promptly escaped the jam by fanning Soto on three consecutive sliders.

With three more outs to get in the ninth, Gudino picked up two more punchouts to slam the door on the Twins and record the save in doing so.

More on Paxton’s start:

Prior to leaving the game with a trainer, Paxton had already retired the first five batters he had faced on Friday. The 34-year-old southpaw struck out one over 1 2/3 innings of work while throwing 20 pitches (12 strikes). His fastball topped out at 94.7 mph, per Baseball Savant.

Next up: Pivetta makes spring debut

The Red Sox will return to JetBlue Park to host the Astros on Saturday afternoon. Nick Pivetta, who came into camp still on the mend following a recent bout with COVID-19, will make his first start of the year for Boston. Fellow right-hander Shawn Dubin is slated to start for Houston.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Reese McGuire: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Jorge Alfaro has unique clause in contract that could make him available to all other teams later this month

Red Sox catcher Jorge Alfaro has a unique clause in his contract that could complicate his future with the club, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Alfaro signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in January that came with an invite to major-league spring training. It has since been revealed that the deal also comes with an “upward mobility” clause that would go into effect on March 25.

As noted by Cotillo, this differs from a standard opt-out. It instead allows Alfaro to secure a major-league opportunity elsewhere if the Red Sox are not willing to give him one. If Alfaro is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by March 25, he can request to become available to all 29 other teams in hopes of landing a big-league job.

If another club is interested in Alfaro, the Red Sox would then have 72 hours to either add Alfaro to their own 40-man roster or allow him to switch teams. If no other club is interested in Alfaro at the time of his request, Boston would be able to keep the 29-year-old without committing a 40-man roster spot to him.

Alfaro will soon be leaving Red Sox camp in Fort Myers to play for Team Colombia in the World Baseball Classic. The Sincelejo native has appeared in two Grapefruit League games so far this spring and has gone 3-for-6 (.500) with one double and two strikeouts.

After deciding against signing or trading for a catcher on a major-league deal this winter, the Red Sox brought in Alfaro as a non-roster invitee. The right-handed hitter is currently competing with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong for a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster. Because Alfaro can play first base and serve as a designated hitter, Boston could very well carry all three backstops on its 26-man roster come March 30.

More likely than not, though, the Red Sox will elect to carry the left-handed hitting McGuire and one of Alfaro and Wong, who both hit from the right side of the plate. Wong, who suffered a left hamstring strain in Thursday’s 15-3 win over the Phillies, also has one minor-league option remaining, meaning he can be shuttled between Triple-A Worcester and Boston up to five times this season. The same cannot be said for Alfaro, who is out of options.

A veteran of seven major-league seasons between the Phillies, Marlins, and Padres, Alfaro possesses intriguing power, athleticism, arm strength, and speed. With San Diego last year, he ranked in the 97th percentile of all big-leaguers in max exit velocity (115.2 mph), the 96th percentile in average pop time to second base (1.89 second), and the 85th percentile in average sprint speed (28.7 feet per second), per Baseball Savant.

On the other side of the coin, though, Alfaro does own a rather high career strikeout rate of 34.1 percent to go along with a career walk rate of just 4.2 percent. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder has also had his issues as a receiver after leading the National League in passed balls in each of the last two seasons.

Alfaro, who does not turn 30 until June, will have the next three-plus weeks to determine what his immediate future looks like. That being said, Wong’s status moving forward could impact his decision. Additionally, depending on how things play out in spring games (and in the World Baseball Classic) Alfaro could draw interest from catcher-needy teams who would be willing to guarantee him a roster spot. If that happens, the Red Sox would then have to decide to either add Alfaro to their own roster or let him go.

If Alfaro remains with Boston past March 25 without being added to the big-league roster, he would have the ability to opt out of his deal on June 1 and July 1 in order to test free agency. If Alfaro is in the majors with the Red Sox at some point this season, he would earn a base salary of $2 million.

(Picture of Jorge Alfaro: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox have No. 10 farm system in baseball, per Baseball America’s latest organizational rankings

According to Baseball America’s latest organizational talent rankings, the Red Sox have one of the top farm systems in baseball heading into the 2023 season.

Baseball America ranked the Red Sox 10th in its annual rankings. Each year, the publication “looks at the totality of a farm system’s talent, with an emphasis on top prospects but also factoring in the depth of the organization’s prospect ranks.”

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have steadily climbed Baseball America’s organizational rankings since Chaim Bloom took over as the club’s chief baseball officer in October 2019. Bloom inherited a farm system that finished dead last (30th) in 2019. They were ranked 20th in both 2020 and 2021 before making the jump to No. 11 last year. This time around, the organization cracked the publication’s top-10.

“Slowly but surely, Boston’s system is improving,” Baseball America wrote. “The group isn’t deep, but it’s led by near-ready first baseman Triston Casas and talented shortstop Marcelo Mayer. Breakout prospect Ceddanne Rafaela and toolsy wunderkind Miguel Bleis add upside to the system, and Japanese import Masataka Yoshida gives Boston a plug-and-play outfielder for its new-look lineup.”

In January, the Red Sox landed five players on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. Mayer is currently ranked 10th, Casas is ranked 28th, Rafaela is ranked 71st, Yoshida is ranked 87th, and Bleis is ranked 88th.

That Yoshida is considered by the publication to be a prospect is certainly interesting when you consider the fact that he is 29 years old, played in Japan for seven seasons, and signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston in December. Other experts within the industry, such as Keith Law of The Athletic, do not view Yoshida as a prospect even though he is a rookie with no major-league experience.

Taking that into consideration, though, Yoshida will likely graduate from his prospect status before long since he projects to be Boston’s starting left fielder. The same can be said for Triston Casas after the 23-year-old first baseman debuted last September. Right-hander Brayan Bello, who pitched 57 1/3 innings last season, has already graduated from his prospect status after exceeding his rookie limits in 2022.

Finishing in front of the Red Sox in this year’s preseason organizational rankings are the Orioles, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Guardians, Mets, Rays, Nationals, Reds, and Cardinals. Rounding out the top-15 are the Pirates, Rangers, Brewers, Rockies, and Yankees. The only other American League East team not yet mentioned, the Blue Jays, were ranked 17th.

(Picture of Wilyer Abreu, Matthew Lugo, and Ceddanne Rafaela: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox catcher Connor Wong suffers left hamstring strain; ‘It doesn’t look great right now,’ Alex Cora says

UPDATE: Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) on Friday that catcher Connor Wong has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain in his left hamstring.

“We’ll see how it goes. I think treatment will determine what’s next,” Cora said of Wong’s prognosis. “We have to calm him down first and then we’ll know more throughout the week.”

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Red Sox catcher Connor Wong suffered a strained left hamstring in the fifth inning of Thursday’s 15-3 win over the Phillies at JetBlue Park.

Wong entered the game in the top of the fifth as a defensive replacement for fellow backstop Jorge Alfaro. The right-handed hitter got one at-bat in the latter half of the frame, but he strained his left hamstring while trying to beat out a grounder to shortstop. He was then replaced at catcher by Elih Marrero in the sixth.

When speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) on Thursday afternoon, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated that Wong would undergo further testing and that the club would know more about the 26-year-old’s status on Friday.

“We’ll know tomorrow,” Cora said. “He’s tight. It doesn’t look great right now, but hopefully we get better news tomorrow morning.”

Wong, who turns in 27 in May, is one of two catchers on Boston’s 40-man roster alongside Reese McGuire. Rather than go and out add a backstop to the major-league roster this winter, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom elected to sign Jorge Alfaro to a minor-league deal in January. Since both Wong and Alfaro hit from the right side of the plate, the two were expected to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a complement to the left-handed hitting McGuire.

While Wong has one minor-league option remaining, Alfaro does not. Furthermore, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported on Thursday that Alfaro has an upward mobility clause in his contract that requires the Red Sox to either add him to their big-league roster by March 25 or let him go to another club that has interest in putting him on its 40-man roster.

Wong is coming off a 2022 season in which be batted .188/.273/.313 with three doubles, one home run, seven RBIs, eight runs scored, five walks, and 16 strikeouts in 27 games (56 plate appearances) with the Red Sox. He also threw out three of 21 base stealers from behind the plate.

As noted by Cotillo, Wong appeared to have an inside track on making Boston’s Opening Day roster coming into camp last month. If this strained left hamstring results in him missing a significant amount of time, that could complicate matters. In that scenario, Alfaro would be the favorite to make the roster in Wong’s place, though the 29-year-old will be away from the team for some time as he prepares to play for his native Colombia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

If Wong only sustains a minor setback as a result of this injury, the Red Sox could still elect three catchers on their Opening Day roster since Alfaro offers some versatility as a designated hitter and as a first baseman.

(Picture of Connor Wong: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)