Tag: covid-19 vaccine

Red Sox place Kaleb Ort on restricted list, call up Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed reliever Kaleb Ort on the restricted list. In a corresponding move, outfielder Jarren Duran was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced before Friday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Ort is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and is therefore unable to enter Canada legally. That mandate will be dropped by the Canadian government on Saturday, however, so the right-hander will be able to join the Red Sox in Toronto for the final two games of the series at Rogers Centre.

In 24 relief appearances for Boston this season, Ort has posted a 6.26 ERA and 4.91 FIP to go along with 27 strikeouts to 15 walks over 27 1/3 innings of work. The 30-year-old hurler picked up the first save of his big-league career in Thursday’s 5-3 win over the Orioles at Fenway Park.

Rather than replace Ort with another pitcher, the Red Sox opted for a position player in Duran. The speedy 26-year-old missed Boston’s last trip to Toronto due to his unvaccinated status, but he has since received the shots and traveled with the team to Canada on Thursday.

In his first major-league action since late August, Duran will bat leadoff and start in center field for the Red Sox on Friday. The left-handed hitter is currently slashing .220/.283/.365 with 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 23 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 14 walks, and 63 strikeouts over 57 games (219 plate appearances) this season.

With Duran on the active roster for the time being, the Sox will be carrying catcher Ronaldo Hernandez, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez, and right-handers Bryan Mata and Josh Winckowski on their taxi squad.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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Red Sox place Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck on restricted list, add Tyler Danish and John Schreiber from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening a four-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Monday, the Red Sox placed right-handers Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck on the restricted list. To take their place on the roster, fellow righties Tyler Danish and John Schreiber were called up from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced.

Both Crawford and Houck are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore cannot travel to Canada. The two hurlers have accounted for approximately 16% of the 142 2/3 Red Sox pitchers have thrown so far this season, but will be unavailable for the team’s next four games at Rogers Centre.

While on the restricted list, neither Crawford or Houck will accrue service time nor receive pay. They will not count against Boston’s 40-man roster, either.

Houck, who opened the season in the Sox’ starting rotation, pitched out of the bullpen in Sunday’s loss to the Rays since he was not going to be able to make his next scheduled start in Toronto on Tuesday. Instead of starting against the Blue Jays, the 25-year-old will likely take the mound against the Orioles in Baltimore on Friday.

Crawford, on the other hand, made his first career Opening Day roster earlier this month and has primarily been used by Boston as a multi-inning reliever. The 26-year-old owns a 9.00 ERA to go along with 11 strikeouts to six walks through his first five appearances and seven innings pitched of the 2022 season. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, he is a candidate to be optioned to Worcester when rosters shrink from 28 to 26 players on May 2.

As far as the additions the Red Sox made on Monday, Danish re-joins the team after being sent down to the minors on Sunday. The 27-year-old has made two relief appearances for Boston this year and has yet to allow a run over three scoreless innings. He has also struck out five and walked two of the 10 batters he has faced thus far.

Schreiber, meanwhile, made his Red Sox debut last season while the club was navigating its way through a COVID-19 outbreak. In his lone big-league appearance of 2021, the righty yielded one run over three innings of relief against Cleveland on September 5.

With the WooSox this season, Schreiber has pitched to the tune of a 1.74 ERA and 2.94 xFIP with 13 strikeouts and just two walks across five appearances spanning 10 1/3 innings of work.

Because he is taking the spot of a player on the restricted list, Schreiber will be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Worcester once this series against the Blue Jays has concluded.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Tanner Houck says he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning he will not be eligible to pitch in Toronto

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck revealed to The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams on Sunday that he is not yet vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, the right-hander will not be eligible to pitch against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The Red Sox will visit Rogers Centre for the first time this season later this month. Houck was in line to start the second of that four-game series on April 26, but will instead miss it due to his vaccination status.

“I think it’s a personal choice for everyone whether they get it or not,” Houck told McWilliams earlier Sunday morning. “So, that’s all I really got to say on it.”

Any individual traveling to Canada must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Canadian government defines this individual as someone who has received at least two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Travelers must have received the second dose of Moderna/Pfizer or first dose of Johnson and Johnson at least 14 calendar days prior to entering the country.

For the Red Sox, these guidelines apply to their series against the Blue Jays in Toronto from April 25-28, June 27-June 29, and September 30 through October 2.

Besides Houck, it is already known that fellow Boston starter Chris Sale is not vaccinated against the virus. The left-hander is currently on the 60-day injured list as he continues to recover from a stress fracture in his right rib cage, so he was not going to be able to pitch in next week’s series north of the border anyway.

Still, unless either pitcher gets vaccinated or the Canadian government changes its rules, Houck and Sale will not be eligible to travel to or play in Toronto this season.

In Houck’s case, the 25-year-old hurler will be placed on the restricted list during the Sox’ series in Toronto. While away from the team, Houck will be placed on the restricted list and will not receive any pay or service time for the games he misses.

The Red Sox will, however, have the ability to replace Houck on the active roster while he is on the restricted list. Although the club has yet to announce who will take Houck’s turn in the starting rotation on April 26, it would not be surprising if that responsibility fell to Garrett Whitlock, who pitched in relief of Houck on Saturday.

“We knew it beforehand,” Sox manager Alex Cora said following Sunday’s 8-1 win over the Twins. “So, we’ll plan accordingly.”

As noted by McWilliams, Cora also indicated that Houck will not be the only player Boston places on the restricted list for their trip to Toronto. According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, “the identities of the others are unknown.”

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox quality control coach Ramón Vázquez taking over as team’s first base coach due to Tom Goodwin’s unvaccinated status

Red Sox quality control coach Ramon Vazquez will take over as the team’s first base coach for the remainder of the regular season after coaching there on Tuesday, manager Alex Cora said before Wednesday’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Tom Goodwin, who has primarily handled first base coaching responsibilities this season, is not vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning he would not be allowed on the field in the postseason on account of Major League Baseball’s vaccine mandate for non-playing personnel.

Vazquez had previously filled in for Goodwin over the summer when the latter was forced to quarantine in Toronto after being identified as a close contact of bench coach Will Venable, who — despite being vaccinated — tested positive for COVID-19 in August.

Earlier this month, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Major League Baseball “will require managers, coaches, athletic trainers and other non-playing personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to gain access to the field and other restricted areas in the postseason.”

When speaking with reporters prior to Wednesday’s contest with the Orioles, Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that Goodwin is the only member of the Red Sox coaching staff who has yet to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We have to prepare for the postseason, if we get there,” Cora said. “Obviously MLB, they mandated or they decided that the staff has to be vaccinated. As you guys know, Goody is not. So we’ve got Goody on the bench and working with the outfielders. And Ramon will be coaching first the rest of the season.”

As indicated by Cora, Goodwin will remain with the Sox for the remainder of their road trip while still providing instruction to the club’s outfielders, as he has since the start of the 2018 season.

Vazquez, on the other hand, has also been a member of Boston’s coaching staff for the last four seasons. In addition to coaching first base and working with the team’s infielders, he also “serves as a liaison between the major-league club’s advance scouting and statistical analysis efforts for the purpose of presenting information to players and coaches,” per the Red Sox media guide.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo and Ramon Vazquez: Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Red Sox activate Garrett Whitlock from COVID-19 related injured list, option Colten Brewer to Triple-A Worcester

Before wrapping up their three-game series against the Angels on Sunday, the Red Sox activated right-hander Nick Pivetta from the COVID-19 related injured list.

In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever Colten Brewer was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, the team announced earlier Sunday.

Whitlock was originally placed on the COVID IL on Saturday due to side effects from vaccination. He wound up only missing one game on account of feeling under the weather after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Through 10 appearances out of the Boston bullpen this season, the 24-year-old rookie has posted a 1.77 ERA, a 2.92 FIP, and a 21:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 1/3 innings pitched.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, “Whitlock will be available out of the bullpen in Sunday’s series finale but is unlikely to pitch after throwing three innings Thursday night against Oakland.”

Brewer, meanwhile, was not used in the brief amount of time he was up with the Red Sox this weekend after beginning the year in the WooSox’ bullpen.

The 28-year-old hurler has compiled a 4.59 ERA, a 5.14 FIP, and a 77:48 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 69 total appearances (four starts) and 80 1/3 innings pitched in parts of two seasons with Boston since coming over from the Padres in a November 2018 trade.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)