Tag: Baseball

Red Sox designate Kevin Plawecki for assignment, call up Franklin German from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox designated catcher Kevin Plawecki for assignment prior to Saturday’s 9-0 loss to the Royals. In a corresponding move, reliever Franklin German had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester.

Plawecki, 31, spent the last three seasons in Boston after first signing with the Red Sox in January 2020. While primarily serving as a backup to Christian Vazquez, the right-handed hitter slashed .305/.364/.414 with four home runs and 32 RBIs over 89 games in his first two seasons with the club.

While that sort of production earned Plawecki additional playing time during the Sox’ postseason run last October, his numbers have taken a hit this year. Coming into play on Saturday, Plawecki was batting just .217/.287/.287 to go along with eight doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs, 15 runs scored, 14 walks, and 28 strikeouts across 60 games spanning 175 trips to the plate.

On the other side of things, Plawecki had established himself as a quality game-caller who was well-liked among the Red Sox pitching staff. That being said, he only managed to throw out four of 44 base stealers this season.

Taking those factors, as well as the fact that he is slated to become a free-agent this off-season, into consideration, the Red Sox elected to move on from Plawecki now since he is not in their future plans.

With only 17 games remaining on the schedule, the Sox want to give younger backstops such as Connor Wong and Reese McGuire as many opportunities to catch as possible. Wong, 26, is under club control through 2027 while McGuire, 27, is under club control through 2025.

“We’ve got to be thinking about the future,” manager Alex Cora said Saturday. “Reese and Connor, they’re going to be catching a lot the rest of the season.”

German can now also be considered part of Boston’s future plans after making his big-league debut and being added to the Sox’ 40-man roster on Sunday. The right-hander allowed four runs on two hits and two walks without recording an out in the sixth inning, but he is still viewed as one of the more intriguing relief prospects in the organization.

The Red Sox acquired German and Adam Ottavino from the Yankees last January. The former fourth-round draft selection began the 2021 campaign in Double-A Portland’s starting rotation but has not looked back since becoming a full-time reliever.

Upon making the jump from Portland to Worcester in late May, German posted a 2.58 ERA and 3.36 FIP with 46 strikeouts to 16 walks over 32 relief appearances (38 1/3 innings) for the WooSox. He held opposing hitters to a .153 batting average against.

German, who turns 25 later this month, becomes the sixth different Red Sox player to make their major-league debut this season, joining the likes of Brayan Bello, Triston Casas, Jeter Downs, Zack Kelly, and Josh Winckowski. He will wear the No. 71.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

Red Sox get shut out for second time this month in 9-0 loss to Royals

The Red Sox failed to score a run in their loss to the Royals on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Kansas City, 9-0, at Fenway Park to drop to 70-75 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 23rd start of the year for the Sox, was tagged for nearly half of those runs. The veteran left-hander surrendered four earned runs on eight hits and zero walks to go along with four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Royals got the scoring started in the top of the third. After reaching base on a one-out single, Nate Eaton stole second and scored from there on an RBI single off the bat of MJ Melendez. Malendez also advanced to second before scoring on another RBI single from Salvadar Perez that gave Kansas City an early 2-0 lead.

Boston had a chance to respond right away in the latter half of the frame. Matched up against Royals starter Brady Singer, the bottom third of the Sox lineup filled the bases without recording an out. Despite getting that far, though, Tommy Pham popped out to the catcher, Rafael Devers struck out looking, and J.D. Martinez popped out into foul territory.

Hill, meanwhile, ran into more trouble in the fifth. After Bobby Witt Jr. drove in Melendez with an RBI single, Witt Jr. scored all the way from first on a Vinnie Pasquantino double that right fielder Alex Verdugo lost in the sun.

Pasquantino was the final batter Hill faced. The 42-year-old southpaw finished with a final pitch count of 81 (58 strikes) and was charged with his seventh loss of the season as his ERA rose to 4.70. He was given the hook in favor of Ryan Brasier, who needed just three pitches to record the final out of the fifth.

The sixth inning marked the major-league debut of relief prospect Franklin German. The right-hander failed to retire any of the four batters he faced, as he loaded the bases with no outs before yielding an RBI single to Nate Eaton. Eduard Bazardo was called upon to extinguish the flames, but he allowed all three runners he inherited to score on a Melendez force out and singles from Witt Jr. and Pasquantino.

German was tagged for four runs on two hits and two walks. Bazardo, on the other hand, worked his way around a leadoff double in the seventh before handing things over to Tyler Danish, who served up a leadoff double to Melendez and a two-out RBI single to Pasquantino to make it a 9-0 game in favor of Kansas City.

Following a 1-2-3 top of the ninth from Danish, the Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom half to seal their fifth shutout loss of the season and their second in the last 10 days.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Bubic in rubber match

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Righty Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston opposite lefty Kris Bubic for Kansas City.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez comes through with game-winning single as Red Sox come from behind to defeat Royals, 2-1

The Red Sox battled back for a series-opening win over the Royals on Friday night. Boston defeated Kansas City by a final score of 2-1 to improve to 70-74 on the season.

Michael Wacha, making his 20th start of the year for the Sox, pitched well yet again. The veteran right-hander allowed just one run on seven hits and zero walks to go along with four strikeouts over seven strong innings of work.

That lone Royals run came in the top half of the sixth. After giving up a leadoff triple to M.J. Melendez that got over the head of Enrique Hernandez in center field, Wacha yielded a one-out, opposite field RBI single to Salvador Perez that pushed across the first run of the contest.

Wacha then got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground into an inning-ending 6-5-3 double play. Michael Taylor led off the seventh inning with a single, but Wacha retired the next three batters he faced to end his night on a solid note. The 31-year-old hurler finished with 88 pitches (65 strikes) and induced 10 swings-and-misses. He did not factor into Friday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA to 2.61.

In relief of Wacha, Garrett Whitlock received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty worked his way around a two-out single in an otherwise clean inning of work.

To that point in the contest, a Trevor Story-less Red Sox lineup had been held in check by the Royals pitching staff despite having their fair share of scoring opportunities.

In the fifth inning, for instance, Alex Verdugo and Triston Casas each drew a walk off Kansas City starter Jonathan Heasley while Christian Arroyo reached on a groundball single to fill the bases for Hernandez, who grounded into 6-4-3 double play to extinguish the threat.

Two innings later, J.D. Martinez and Casas drew a pair of two-out walks, bringing Arroyo to the plate to face off against Royals reliever Amir Garrett. With the potential tying run at second base, Arroyo fanned on four pitches to send things along to the eighth.

Following Whitlock’s scoreless frame, the Sox finally broke through in the latter half of the eighth. Hernandez led off by drawing a five-pitch walk off Dylan Coleman. Abraham Almonte, who was pinch-hitting for Kevin Plawecki, drew a free pass of his own to put runners at first and second.

After Tommy Pham popped out, Rafael Devers drew yet another walk off Scott Barlow to fill the bases. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging, but Verdugo delivered by taking ball four to drive in the tying run (Hernandez) from third.

On the very next pitch from Barlow, Martinez dealt the finishing blow by ripping a game-winning RBI single through the left side of the infield to plate Almonte and give the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 2-1.

Taking a one-run lead into the ninth, Boston turned to Matt Strahm to close it out. The lefty issued a two-out walk to Michael Massey to put the tying run on base, but followed that up by getting Hunter Dozier to fly out to Hernandez in center.

Strahm picked up his fourth save of the season as the Red Sox put an end to their two-game losing streak. Whitlock earned the winning decision.

Next up: Hill vs. Singer

The Red Sox will go for a series win over the Royals on Saturday afternoon. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill is expected to start for Boston while right-hander Brady Singer is in line to do the same for Kansas City.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Trevor Story (left heel pain) remains out of Red Sox Sox lineup, targeting weekend return

Trevor Story is not in the Red Sox’ starting lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Royals at Fenway Park. The second baseman has missed each of Boston’s last two games after banging his left feel on the first-base bag in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Earlier this week, Red Sox manager Alex Cora had been optimistic that Story would be able to return by Friday at the latest. That no longer appears possible, but Cora remains hopeful that the 29-year-old will be back in the lineup at some point this weekend.

“He’s doing a little better,” Cora said of Story (via MLB.com’s Ian Browne), who is officially dealing with left heel pain. “We’re going to push him tomorrow to do more baseball activities. Hopefully he can post tomorrow or Sunday.”

Story, who was sidelined for more than six weeks earlier this summer because of a small hairline fracture near his right wrist, has batted .340/.389/.500 with five doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored, three stolen bases, four walks, and 17 strikeouts in 13 games (54 plate appearances) since returning from the injured list on August 27.

With Story out of the lineup, Christian Arroyo is starting at second base in his place while also batting seventh on Friday.

(Picture of Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote infield prospect Matthew Lugo to Double-A Portland

In a series of minor-league transactions made on Friday, the Red Sox promoted infield prospect Matthew Lugo from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland.

Lugo, 21, will start at second base and bat sixth in his Double-A debut as the Sea Dogs go up against the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday night.

Originally selected in the second round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, Lugo — the nephew of the former All-Star outfielder — forwent his commitment to the University of Miami by signing with the Red Sox for $1.1. million. He is now regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

In 114 games with the Drive this season, Lugo batted a stout .288/.344/.500 to go along with 25 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, 78 RBIs, 76 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 35 walks, and 100 strikeouts over 512 plate appearances. He was named South Atlantic League Player of the Month in August.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, the right-handed hitting Lugo ranked 12th in strikeout rate (19.5%), sixth in batting average, 27th in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, 10th in OPS (.844), sixth in isolated power (.212), sixth in speed score (7.4), and 10th in wRC+ (126), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Lugo will be making just his eighth start of the season at second base on Friday. In Greenville, the 6-foot-1, 187-pounder logged 58 innings at second, 216 1/3 innings at third, and 628 2/3 innings at shortstop, where he committed 20 errors.

As noted by SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, though, Lugo moved from short to third in early August. There, the Manati native looked “a lot more comfortable defensively” while also being “more consistent” at the plate.

Lugo, who does not turn 22 until next May, should provide the Sea Dogs with a late-season boost after fellow infielder Alex Binelas was placed on the 7-day injured list because of a hamstring issue.

Beyond Lugo, the Red Sox also promoted right-hander Wyatt Olds and left-hander Brendan Cellucci to Portland on Friday.

(Picture of Matthew Lugo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Jeurys Familia elects free agency after being outrighted by Red Sox

Two days after designating him for assignment, the Red Sox outrighted veteran reliever Jeurys Familia off their major-league roster on Friday. Rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A Worcester, Familia elected to become a free-agent, the club announced.

Familia, who turns 33 next month, originally signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Phillies in March after spending the bulk of his big-league career with the Mets.

The right-hander struggled to a 6.09 ERA and 4.88 FIP in 38 relief appearances (34 innings) with Philadelphia before being released in early August. Shortly thereafter, the Red Sox inked Familia to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Worcester. He made just one appearance for the WooSox before having his contract selected on Aug. 13.

Four days later, Familia made his Boston debut against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He gave up one run on three hits in the ninth inning of an 8-3 win, signaling that the difficulties he endured with the Phillies may have carried over to the Red Sox.

Including that performance, Familia posted a 6.10 ERA and 5.14 FIP to go along with eight strikeouts to seven walks over 10 relief outings (10 1/3 innings) with Boston. His Red Sox tenure ended on a sour note, as he issued three walks (one intentional) and surrendered a game-winning three-run double to Gleyber Torres in the 10th inning of Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park.

When taking questions from the media in front of his locker afterwards, Familia revealed that he had been designated for assignment. The Red Sox made that move official on Wednesday while also adding recently-claimed infielder Yu Chang to the active roster.

Though he could have elected to try and sign with another team before season’s end, Familia told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that he was instead going to return home to the Dominican Republic to prepare for 2023.

“I’m going to have to take some time off and rest a little bit and then get back to work so I can be ready for next year,” Familia said through interpreter Carlos Villora Benítez.

In his time with the Phillies and Red Sox this season, Familia walked nearly 11 percent of the batters he faced. That ranks in the 15th percentile among qualified major-league pitchers, per Baseball Savant.

“I’ve fallen behind the hitters too much,” said Familia. “When you fall behind the hitters, [there’s a] 90 percent chance the hitter gets on base. I haven’t been able to command my pitches.”

Familia, who broke in with the Mets in 2012 and emerged as an All-Star closer during his time in New York, took note of how difficult it can be for a reliever to go through a rough stretch when they are only being used sparingly. Prior to Tuesday’s outing, for instance, Familia last pitched on September 5.

“Even though they’re struggles I’ve been having the whole season, it’s even more difficult when you pitch and then you have six or seven days off and have to go there and battle,” Familia said. “It’s harder when you’re not pitching day in and day out. It’s not an excuse at all or anything like that. It’s just how it works.”

While Familia’s 2022 season was nothing short of ugly, the 32-year-old c0uld very well bounce back with another team in 2023. That said, he will likely have to entertain minor-league offers this winter in order to make that happen.

(Picture of Jeurys Familia: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Yorke headlines group of 8 Red Sox prospects who will play in Arizona Fall League

For the second consecutive year, the Red Sox will send eight prospects to play in the Arizona Fall League next month.

Catcher Stephen Scott, first baseman Niko Kavadas, second baseman Nick Yorke, outfielder Wilyer Abreu, and right-handers Thaddeus Ward, Aaron Perry, Jacob Webb, and Ryan Zeferjahn will join fellow minor-leaguers from the Braves, Orioles, Angels, and Giants organizations in suiting up for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Of the eight, Yorke (No. 4), Abreu (No. 22), Ward (No. 25), and Kavadas (No. 30) all crack Baseball America’s Top 30 Red Sox prospects list. Abreu, Perry, Ward, and Zeferjahn can all become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft at the end of the year as well.

Yorke, Boston’s top pick in the 2020 draft, had a tough season at High-A Greenville. Limited to just 80 games due to a number of injuries (including turf toe, back stiffness, and left wrist soreness), the right-handed hitting 20-year-old batted .231/.303/.365 (84 wRC+) with 10 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 48 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 33 walks, and 94 strikeouts over 373 plate appearances. If there’s any consolation, he did hit .320 with a 148 wRC+ in the month of September.

Abreu, one of two prospects acquired from the Astros in last month’s Christian Vazquez, has been on an absolute tear with Double-A Portland. Going back to the start of September, the left-handed hitting 23-year-old has slashed .300/.492/.550 (184 wRC+) with one double, three home runs, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, six stolen bases, 17 walks, and 13 strikeouts in his last 13 games (59 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs. He has also played all three outfield positions.

Ward, 25, is regarded by Baseball America as the ninth-ranked pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Florida-born right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last June and has been limited to just 51 1/3 innings this season as a result.

Since making the jump from Greenville to Portland in early August, Ward has posted a 2.43 ERA and 3.57 FIP to go along with 41 strikeouts to 14 walks over seven starts spanning 33 1/3 innings of work for the Sea Dogs. He was placed on the 7-day injured list on Wednesday because of back stiffness but is not expected to be sidelined for long, according to SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield.

Kavadas, who turns 24 next month, was selected by the Red Sox in the 11th round of last year’s draft out of the University of Notre Dame. In his first full professional season, the burly left-handed hitter has made it all the way to Portland after batting a combined .295/.460/.603 (186 wRC+) with 24 home runs and 76 RBIs in 96 games (415 plate appearances) between Low-A Salem and Greenville.

Though his production has dipped with the Sea Dogs (117 wRC+ in 22 games), Kavadas still represents one of the more intriguing prospects in the Red Sox farm system given his power potential and plate discipline.

As for the other four prospects Boston will be sending out west, Scott was originally drafted as an outfielder out of Vanderbilt University in 2019 but has since become a full-time catcher. The 25-year-old has thrown out 23 of 83 base stealers between Greenville and Portland this season.

Perry, 23, made just three relief appearances for the Drive this season and did not allow a run over three innings. Webb, also 23, was recently promoted to Portland after pitching to a 3.72 ERA (3.24 FIP) in Greenville. Zeferjahn, 24, has yielded just one run in his first five relief outings with the Sea Dogs after being promoted in late August.

The 2022 Arizona Fall League season kicks off on Monday, October 3 and concludes with the AFL Championship Game on Saturday, November 12. The Scorpions will play their home games at Scottsdale Stadium.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox infield prospect Chase Meidroth gets pro career off to strong start with Low-A Salem

Chase Meidroth, who the Red Sox selected in the fourth round of this summer’s draft out of the University of San Diego, ended his first professional season on a strong note with Low-A Salem.

After being scouted by J.J. Altobelli and signing with Boston for $272,500, Meidroth appeared in just three Florida Complex League games before earning a promotion to Salem on August 9. In 19 games with the Red Sox, the right-handed hitting infielder batted .309/.424/.559 to go along with five doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs, 15 runs scored, four stolen bases, 12 walks, and nine strikeouts over 85 plate appearances.

It’s a small sample size, but among the 229 hitters who made at least 80 trips to the plate this season, Meidroth ranked third in strikeout rate (10.6%), 16th in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, seventh in OPS (.982), seventh in isolated power (.250), 11th in line-drive rate (30.5%), and eighth in wRC+ (167), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Meidroth saw all his playing time on the field this year come at second base. With Salem, the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder logged 114 1/3 innings at the keystone and did not commit an error.

Meidroth, who turned 21 in July, was regarded by Baseball America as the 258th-ranked prospect in the 2022 draft class after spending three years at San Diego, where he was selected to the All-West Coast Conference First Team as a sophomore.

The Torrance, Calif. native also spent part of his summer on Cape Cod, where he got a chance to swing a wood bat while slashing .286/.434/.381 with one home run and seven RBIs in 22 games (84 plate appearances) with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Per his Baseball America scouting report from before the draft, Meidroth “is a small hitter who uses a line drive swing with average bat speed to make lots of contact and spray the ball into the gaps. His home run power is almost exclusively to his pull side. … He is a below-average runner who is best at second base.”

While he is not yet on Baseball America’s Top 30 list, Meidroth is currently ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 52 prospect in Boston’s farm system. He is projected by the site to make the jump to High-A Greenville for the start of the 2023 season.

(Picture of Chase Meidroth: Robert Simmons/RTS Photography)

Red Sox commit 3 costly errors in 5-3 loss to Yankees

The Red Sox committed three errors and were swept by the Yankees on Wednesday night. Boston fell to New York by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to drop to 69-74 on the season and 20-42 against American League East opponents.

Brayan Bello, making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, was the victim of poor defense behind him. The rookie right-hander immersed himself into the rivalry by allowing three unearned runs on six hits and just one walk to go along with six strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

All three of those runs came in the top of the fifth. Bello fanned Jose Trevino to begin the inning, but Aaron Hicks followed by reaching on a fielding error committed by Xander Bogaerts. Hicks moved up to second base on an Aaron Judge single before Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Gleyber Torres ripped a line drive to Alex Verdugo in right field. Verdugo attempted to gun down Hicks at home plate, but instead made an inaccurate throw that got past cutoff man Christian Arroyo and rolled to catcher Connor Wong.

As Hicks crossed the plate, Wong tried to get Torres caught in a rundown between first and second base. He instead made a poor throw that Arroyo had no chance of getting to and wound up in right field.

While Judge had already scored, Torres was on his horse and scored on a head-first slide to complete a Little League three-run home run that gave the Yankees a 3-0 plate.

Bello got through the rest of the fifth unscathed, but the damage had already been done. The 23-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 98 (59 strikes) and induced 14 swings-and-misses. He was the tough-luck loser on Wednesday, though he did lower his ERA on the season down to 5.10.

Shortly after Bello’s night came to an end, the Red Sox got one of those three runs back in their half of the fifth. Rob Refsnyder led off with a hard-hit single off Yankees starter Nestor Cortes. He then scored all the way from first on a two-out RBI double from Wong.

Trailing by two runs going into the sixth inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora called upon Zack Kelly out of the Boston bullpen. Kelly issued a leadoff walk to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who promptly stole second base and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Trevino.

Following shutdown innings from Kaleb Ort and Eduard Bazardo, the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire led off the bottom of the eighth with a groundball single off Jonathan Loaisiga. Tommy Pham followed with a single of his own to put runners at first and second for Verdugo.

Verdugo grounded into a force out at third base, but Bogaerts filled the bases by blooping a single to right field. Pham then scored from third on a Rafael Devers groundball that got through the legs of Yankees first baseman Marwin Gonzalez.

The bases were still loaded with one out for J.D. Martinez, who seemingly drove in Verdugo by beating out a 6-4-3 double play. New York challenged the ruling on the field, however, and it turns out Martinez’s left foot missed the first-bag completely. The call on the field was overturned, meaning the inning ended without Boston tacking on additional run.

Ryan Brasier allowed one unearned run in the ninth on an Abraham Almonte fielding error in center field. Almonte, who had pinch-hit for Refsnyder in the seventh, led off the bottom of the inning with a line-drive double. He moved up to third and then scored on an Enrique Hernandez groundout. McGuire struck out against Clay Holmes to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday and left six men on base as a team.

Next up: A weekend with the Royals

The Red Sox will have the day off on Thursday before welcoming the Royals into town for a three-game weekend series. Veteran right-hander Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston in Friday’s opener while fellow righty Jonathan Heasley will take the mound for Kansas City.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN

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

Red Sox’ Luis Perales identified by Baseball America as under-the-radar pitching prospect with great fastball

Luis Perales was recently identified by Baseball America as an under-the-radar pitching prospect with a great fastball.

Perales, 19, was one of three Red Sox prospects to make the publication’s Florida Complex League Top 10 Prospects list earlier this month. The young right-hander placed eighth after posting a 1.08 ERA and 2.31 FIP with 34 strikeouts to nine walks over nine appearances (seven starts) spanning 25 innings of work.

On August 18, Perales earned a late-season promotion to Low-A Salem. The native Venezuelan made four starts for the Salem Sox and produced a 3.38 ERA (5.44 FIP) with 16 strikeouts to 11 walks across 10 2/3 innings to close out the year.

“For us to push somebody at his age, who started off in the Dominican this year at the academy working out, to make his way to Salem is something we don’t see often,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “So it’s pretty special.”

The Red Sox originally signed Perales for $75,000 as an international free agent coming out of Guacara in July 2019. But he did not make his professional debut until last summer after the 2020 minor-league season was shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then made just one start and pitched two innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2021.

“Overall, he’s so young that we’re just trying to get him consistent,” Romero said. “He’s young in age. But he also hasn’t pitched very much. So getting him mechanically consistent to let his stuff play. We know there’s velo in the fastball. The quality of the fastball is very good. It’s just one slight thing and it’s 98 and it’s moving off of the plate. So it’s just focusing on: throw the ball over the plate, work on your secondary (pitches), same thing, and then we can start refining things. But really for now, it’s keep it simple, throw the ball over the plate, let them try to hit it.”

As for what makes his fastball so great, Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes wrote, “Perales sits 94-97 mph, touching 98 mph at peak, with spin rates in the 2,400-2,500 rpm range and 19-20 inches of induced vertical break. While Perales’ strike and chase rates are just fringy, he has been able to induce whiffs on around 40% of swings this season, a number well above the minor league average. Perales’ fastball features a combination of power, movement and the ability to generate a difficult angle to the plate despite a fairly generic release. Command and strike-throwing are an issue at present, but at just 19 years old the fire-balling righthander has time to hone his craft in the coming years.”

In addition to his heater, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound righty also works with a “potentially plus breaking ball in the low-to-mid 80s and a changeup that flashes above-average” potential.

“We get caught up in attacking and game-planning for swing-and-miss. And when your stuff is that good, you don’t really need that,” said Romero. “Let the defense do some work and those swings-and-misses will come naturally in time. Just syncing up his delivery and making sure he’s in the strike zone. If he does that, he’ll be fine.”

Perales, who does not turn 20 until next April, has yet to throw more than three innings in any of his outings. The Red Sox, as noted by Romero, are exercising caution when it comes to managing his workload moving forward.

“He’s worked a decent amount of innings, just not official because they haven’t come in league play,” Romero said. “Whether it’s instructional league or winter program, he’s always built up. So he does have some innings under his belt. But when he’s done here, he’ll go into the instructional league also and work some. And then hopefully next year, we’ll see. He’ll be a very intriguing starting pitching prospect for us.”

(Picture of Luis Perales: Bryan Green/Flickr)