Tag: richard bleier

Red Sox place Richard Bleier on 15-day injured list, recall Brennan Bernardino from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening a three-game series against the Angels in Anaheim on Monday night, the Red Sox placed veteran reliever Richard Bleier on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation. In a corresponding move, fellow left-hander Brennan Bernardino was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced.

Bleier made his 19th appearance of the season for Boston in Sunday’s 7-0 loss to the Padres in San Diego. Over 1 1/3 innings, the 36-year-old gave up one run on one hit, which came on a solo homer off the bat of the left-handed hitting Matt Carpenter in the bottom of the third.

Following Sunday’s performance, Bleier now owns a 5.85 ERA and 5.44 FIP with 12 strikeouts to three walks across 20 innings of relief in his first season with the Red Sox. While the southpaw has excelled when it comes to getting batters to chase (36.6 percent chase rate) and not giving up free passes (3.4 percent walk rate), he has struggled in other areas.

According to Baseball Savant, Bleier currently ranks in the 10th percentile of all big-league pitchers in expected batting average (.291). He also ranks in the 13th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.498), the seventh percentile in strikeout rate (13.8 percent), the fourth percentile in whiff rate (16.3 percent), the first percentile in fastball velocity (86.9 mph), and the third percentile in fastball spin.

Acquired from the Marlins for Matt Barnes and cash considerations in late January, Bleier was brought in to tame opposing left-handed hitters out of the bullpen. As was the case on Sunday, though, Bleier has not had the best of time against lefties and is actually faring better against righties.

So far, lefties are hitting a stout .429/.467/.786 with one double and three home runs in 31 trips to the plate against Bleier this season. Righties, on the other hand, are batting just .231/.268/.346 with three doubles and one home run over 56 plate appearances.

At this point in time, it remains to be seen if Bleier will require more than 15 days on the injured list. If that is not the case, Bleier will first be eligible to be activated on Tuesday, June 6, when the Red Sox open a three-game set against the Guardians in Cleveland.

Bernardino, meanwhile, is up with Boston for the second time this season. The 31-year-old was optioned to Worcester last Tuesday, but he actually joined the big-league club in San Diego over the weekend as a member of the taxi squad. He was eligible to be called up on Monday since he is replacing an injured player.

Claimed off waivers from the Mariners in mid-April, Bernardino has appeared in 11 games for the Red Sox thus far. In that time frame, the native Californian has pitched to a 3.65 ERA (4.75 FIP) with 10 strikeouts to three walks over 12 1/3 innings of work.

With Bleier going on the injured list, Bernardino joins Joely Rodriguez as the only two lefties available to manager Alex Cora out of the Red Sox bullpen.

(Picture of Richard Bleier: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Red Sox held to just 5 hits, see eight-game winning streak come to an end in 6-1 loss to Phillies

The Red Sox saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Boston fell to Philadelphia by a final score of 6-1 in the series finale at Citizens Bank Park to drop back to 21-15 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his seventh start of the year for the Sox, allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

After facing the minimum through three scoreless frames out of the gate, Houck ran into some trouble in the fourth. The right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Bryson Stott and Trea Turner to lead off the inning. He then issued a five-pitch walk to Bryce Harper, which filled the bases for Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos, in turn, opened the scoring by grounding into an RBI force out at third base. Had Rafael Devers fielded the grounder cleanly, he could have gone for the force out at home and possibly start a 5-2-3 double play. Devers instead bobbled the ball, which forced him to make a diving tag on Turner for the only out he could get.

Stott scored from third as a result of Devers’ bobble. Kyle Schwarber then doubled the Phillies’ early lead by plating Harper on a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield.

Despite falling behind first, the Red Sox quickly got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth. After Phillies starter Taijuan Walker retired Devers and Jarren Duran for the first two outs of the inning, Triston Casas cut the deficit in half by crushing a 416-foot solo shot into the trees in deep center field.

Casas’ fourth home run of the season left his bat at 106.4 mph and brought Boston back to within one run of Philadelphia at 2-1. Houck then made quick work of the Phillies’ 8-9-1 hitters in the bottom of the fifth and came back out for the sixth.

After giving up a one-out single to Harper, Houck got Castellanos to ground out for the second out of the inning. With Schwarber due to hit next for the Phillies, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the somewhat surprising decision to bring in lefty reliever Richard Bleier.

Schwarber came out on top in the left-on-left matchup. The former Red Sox slugger took Bleier 434 feet deep to right field on a 1-0, 88.3 mph sinker down the heart of the plate for his eighth home run of the year. The towering two-run blast put the Phillies up, 4-1, and officially closed the book on Houck’s afternoon.

Finishing with a final pitch count of just 74 (50 strikes), Houck was charged with the tough luck loss. The 26-year-old did, however, induce a game-high 12 swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.26.

Now trailing 4-1, the Red Sox got a scoreless seventh inning out of Ryan Brasier. The Phillies then put this game out of reach by pushing across two runs on a J.T. Realmuto two-run single off recent trade acquisition Zack Littell.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, former Red Sox left-hander Matt Strahm put the finishing touches on his first save in a Phillies uniform by retiring Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida, and Raimel Tapia in short order.

The one run the Red Sox pushed across on Sunday is the fewest they have scored in a game since April 10, when they were shut out by the Rays at Tropicana Field. Boston had just five hits and zero walks as a team, though Yoshida (2-for-4) was able to extend his hitting streak to 16 games with a first-inning single.

Wong throws out two more base stealers

Despite going hitless at the plate on Sunday, Connor Wong did throw out two more would-be base stealers. The 26-year-old gunned down his counterpart in J.T. Realmuto at second base for the final out of the second inning. He then threw out Edmundo Sosa at second for the final out of the seventh. Wong has now thrown out eight of 16 potential base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: On to Atlanta

With their eight-game winning streak behind them, the Red Sox will have an off day in Atlanta on Monday. They will then open a quick two-game series against the Braves on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite fellow right-hander Charlie Morton.

First pitch from Truist Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Raimel Tapia: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Red Sox reliever Richard Bleier says Baltimore fans acted in a ‘completely inappropriate’ way on Tuesday night

Members of the Red Sox bullpen were targeted by fans during Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.

As was first reported by WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, several Red Sox relievers were not happy with the security near the visitors’ bullpen. A few pitchers were sprayed by beer and one staff member was even spat on.

“More than a few called it the worst they had ever seen,” Bradford tweeted late Tuesday night.

Reliever Richard Bleier confirmed such behavior when speaking with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams prior to Wednesday afternoon’s series finale in Baltimore.

“Completely inappropriate,” Bleier said. “I played here and that’s not the fan base I remember. It was something I’ve never seen before.”

Bleieir, who spent parts of four seasons with the Orioles from 2017-2020, told McWilliams that the two alleged incidents involved different people, both of whom ran off. While the lefty said there was not much security could do in that situation, the O’s announced on Wednesday that those two fans were later identified and ejected from the ballpark.

Because of the design and location of the Camden Yards bullpens in left-center field, fans are right on top of the players. As such, they can easily banter with and heckle them if they so choose. Evidently, two of the 14,343 spectators who were in attendance on Tuesday made the decision to take things too far.

“It’s unfortunate, for sure,” said Bleier. “Hopefully they’re doing things that prevent this from happening again. It’s definitely not acceptable. … I’ve been in some rough areas in terms of bullpens where we’re, like, right in the middle of it, and I’ve never had that happen before.”

(Picture of Richard Bleier: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox overpowered, swept by Rays as 7-run inning leads to 9-3 loss

Despite all the struggles they endured this week, the Red Sox had a chance to secure a winning road trip with a victory over the Rays on Thursday. Boston instead fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 9-3 and were swept in four games as a result.

With the loss, their 13th straight at Tropicana Field, the Red Sox drop to 5-8 on the season. The unbeaten Rays, meanwhile, improve to a perfect 13-0, matching the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers for the best start to a season in major-league history.

Thursday’s series finale actually started in positive fashion for Boston. With old friend Jeffrey Springs starting for Tampa Bay, Rob Refsnyder gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead in the first inning by taking the lefty 409 feet deep to left field for his first home run of the year.

The Rays quickly responded, though, as Yandy Diaz crushed a leadoff home run off Red Sox starter Corey Kluber to begin things in the bottom of the first. Kluber would settle in, however, and Boston got back on the board in the top of the fourth.

After Springs was forced to exit with ulnar neuritis, Justin Turner greeted new Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Turner stole third base and then came into score on an Enrique Hernandez force out to put the Red Sox up 2-1. An inning later, Turner struck again, this time plating Christian Arroyo on an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game heading into the bottom of the fifth.

That is where things began to unravel for Boston. Kluber, who retired each of the last nine batters he had faced, yielded a leadoff double to Harold Ramirez. After issuing a one-out walk to Josh Lowe to put runners on the corners, Kluber gave up an RBI single to Francisco Mejia to cut the lead to one run at 3-2.

With two outs, Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to pull Kluber for left-hander Richard Bleier. Bleier, in turn, allowed the then-game-tying run to cross the plate on an RBI single from Brandon Lowe that was just out of the reach of Arroyo. Randy Arozarena then gave the Rays their first lead of the afternoon with a groundball single of his own.

After plunking Wander Franco to fill the bases, the pinch-hitting Manuel Margot laid down a perfectly-executed bunt off Bleier to push across Lowe. Ramirez then broke it open with a bases-clearing, three-run double down the left field line to cap off a seven-run fifth inning and give the Rays a commanding 8-3 edge.

Kluber was charged with three of those seven runs. All together, the veteran right-hander surrendered four earned runs on four hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work. He was hit with the losing decision and is now 0-3 with a 6.92 ERA through three starts.

Bleier, on the other hand, was charged with the other four runs that crossed the plate in the fifth. Kutter Crawford, who was just recalled from Triple-A Worcester, took over the lefty and served up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe in the seventh. Besides that one blemish, the righty was effective in his three frames of relief.

Offensively, the Red Sox did not have a response for the Rays bullpen after the fifth inning. They went 1-2-3 against Kevin Kelly in the sixth, stranded a runner at scoring position in a hitless seventh inning, and then went down quietly against Braden Bristo in the eighth and ninth. In total, Boston had just four hits as a team while going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Casas’ 14-pitch walk

With one out and one runner on in the fourth inning, Triston Casas fouled off seven consecutive pitches in the process of working a 14-pitch walk off Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger. Upon taking ball four, Casas flipped his bat and let out an emphatic yell towards the Red Sox dugout.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the last at-bat by a Red Sox hitter that lasted longer than 14 pitches came on April 25, 2012, when Adrian Gonzalez had a 15-pitch groundout against Liam Hendriks, who was then starting for the Twins.

Next up: Sandoval vs. Houck in first of four against Angels

On the heels of a 3-4 road trip, the Red Sox will head home and open a four-game weekend series against the Angels on Friday night. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener while left-hander Patrick Sandoval is expected to do the same for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Red Sox reliever Joely Rodríguez leaves game with right side injury

Red Sox reliever Joely Rodriguez suffered a right side injury in the eighth inning of Saturday’s Grapefruit League game against the Orioles at JetBlue Park.

Rodriguez had allowed one run on two hits before facing Colton Cowser with one out in the eighth inning. On his fourth pitch to the Orioles center fielder (and 13th of the appearance), the left-hander threw a ball and immediately grabbed at his right side.

After receiving a visit from Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a team trainer, Rodriguez was immediately taken out of the game. According to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, the 31-year-old southpaw was “was groaning in pain as he went to the clubhouse and was holding onto his side.”

Following Boston’s 9-6 win over Baltimore, Cora indicated that Rodriguez — who was initially diagnosed with right torso pain — will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury.

“Sore,” Cora said, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “We’ll know more tomorrow how he comes back and probably do some imaging to see where we’re at. He’s in pain, in the right torso area.”

The Red Sox signed Rodriguez to a one-year, $2 million deal that comes with a $4.25 million club option for 2024 back in November. Coming into the year, the Dominican-born hurler was expected to be one of Boston’s primary left-handed relief options this season alongside Richard Bleier.

Saturday marked Rodriguez’s fourth appearance of the spring for the Red Sox. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the club has taken things slowly with Rodriguez after he underwent offseason shoulder surgery. Prior to Saturday’s incident, Rodriguez was expected to be ready for Opening Day. It now appears as though he could start the season on the injured list.

If Rodriguez is sidelined to begin the year, the Red Sox could very well look to add another lefty reliever to pair with Bleier before the regular season begins. Internally, non-roster invitees like Matt Dermody, Ryan Sherriff, and Oddanier Mosqueda — who have all been reassigned to minor-league camp — represent a few possibilities.

On the 40-man roster, the Red Sox have a pair of intriguing lefties in Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter, though neither prospect has yet to pitch at the major-league level. They are both slated to begin the year in Triple-A Worcester’s starting rotation.

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

Wyatt Mills records three strikeouts as Red Sox tie Astros, 4-4, in Grapefruit League action

The Red Sox remained unbeaten in Grapefruit League play on Wednesday as their contest against the Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches ended in a 4-4 tie.

Matched up against Houston’s top pitching prospect, Hunter Brown, to begin things, Boston got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, Reese McGuire reached base via catcher’s interference. Brown then issued a bases-loaded walk to Niko Goodrum before plunking fellow non-roster invitee Greg Allen to give the Red Sox an early 2-0 lead.

On the other side of things, Richard Bleier served as an opener in what was a bullpen game for the Boston pitching staff. The veteran left-hander allowed one run on two hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with one strikeout over two innings of work.

After stranding Jose Altuve at second base in a scoreless bottom of the first, Bleier issued a leadoff walk to Kennedy Corona to kick off the second. Corona moved up to second on a J.J. Matijevic single and to third on a 6-4-3 double play before scoring his side’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of of Quincy Hamilton. Bleier then retired the final batter he faced to limit the damage to one run.

From there, Boston and Houston exchanged zeroes over the next three innings. Wyatt Mills struck out three across two scoreless frames before Kaleb Ort kept the Astros off the board in the fifth. To kick off the top half of the sixth inning, the speedy Ceddanne Rafaela led off by reaching base on a pop-up single and advancing to second on a Mauricio Dubon throwing error. A Wilyer Abreu walk and Enmanuel Valdez single loaded the bases with one out for Triston Casas, who plated Rafaela with an RBI groundout to third base. Abreu then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 4-1 game in favor of Boston.

Taking a three-run lead into the latter half of the sixth, Ort issued a leadoff walk to Migeul Palma before recording the first two outs of the inning. Rather than getting out of the frame unscathed, though, the righty served up a two-run home run to 2022 second-round draft pick Jacob Melton, which brought the Astros back to within one run at 4-3.

Joe Jacques could not preserve that slim one-run lead in the seventh. The lefty was greeted by back-to-back hits from Marty Costes and Dubon to put runners at second and third with no outs for Houston. Palma then drove in Costes from third on a game-tying sacrifice fly to center field.

That is where the score would remain. While the Red Sox lineup could not muster anything else offensively, Rio Gomez and Luis Guerrero each sat down the side in order in the eighth and ninth. As such, this contest ended in a 4-4 draw that took two hours and 23 hours to complete.

Other notable numbers:

Through two appearances this spring, Mills has yet to allow a run or hit in the process of striking out five of the 10 batters he has faced over three scoreless innings of relief.

McGuire and Raimel Tapia (2-for-3) accounted for both of Boston’s extra-base hits on Wednesday. Valdez, who went 1-for-2 with a walk, was thrown out at home plate to end the top of the second while trying to score on a Christian Arroyo single.

Next up: Back to Fort Myers

At 3-0-2, the Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Thursday afternoon to take on the reigning National League champion Phillies. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to make his first start of the spring for Boston opposite Philadelphia left-hander Bailey Falter.

First pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.

(Picture of Wyatt Mills: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Matt Barnes takes apparent shot at Chaim Bloom when reflecting on time with Red Sox: ‘That organization represents so much more than who’s currently running it’

Former Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes had the opportunity to watch his old team take on his new team in Grapefruit League action on Tuesday night. The Marlins right-hander decided against it.

Barnes pitched in Miami’s 4-3 win over the Astros on Monday. As such, the righty was not required to in attendance for Tuesday’s tilt against Boston. He instead left Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for his apartment after lunch, well before the Red Sox defeated the Marlins, 7-2, to remain unbeaten this spring.

It has now been a little over a month since the Red Sox designated Barnes for assignment and subsequently traded him to the Marlins for left-handed reliever Richard Bleier. At that time, the 32-year-old described the decision as “a complete blindside.”

Though four-plus weeks have passed since he was moved, Barnes told Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe that while he holds no grudge against the organization he spent the first 12 years of his professional career with, he does take issue with who is running the club at present.

“I’m not mad and I don’t have any animosity toward the Red Sox organization because that organization represents so much more than who’s currently running it,” Barnes said. “The people at the top were so great to me.”

According to Abraham, Barnes “mentioned being grateful” to Red Sox ownership, general manager Brian O’Halloran, and assistant general managers Eddie Romero and Raquel Ferreira. He did not make any mention of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, however.

Bloom, of course, made the decision to give Barnes a two-year, $18.75 million contract extension in July 2021. At that point in time, Barnes was among the top relievers in the American League and had just been named to his first All-Star Game.

After posting a 2.61 ERA during the first half of the 2021 campaign, though, Barnes struggled to a 6.48 ERA in 22 appearances (16 2/3 innings) down the stretch. He only made Boston’s ALDS roster as an injury replacement that October and was left off the ALCS roster entirely.

Last year, Barnes got off a rough start in which he produced a 7.94 ERA in 20 games before hitting the injured list with right shoulder inflammation in early June. He returned to action two months later and ended his season on a strong note by forging a 1.59 ERA in his final 24 outings. The Red Sox, however, were convinced that those numbers did not reflect Barnes’ true performance.

“They told me I was lucky,” said Barnes. “Unfortunately, a lot of people in this game make decisions based on a spreadsheet.”

This appears to be another indirect shot at Bloom, who explained in January that while he holds Barnes in high regard, the decision to move on from him had more to do with giving other relievers in the organization — especially those who still have minor-league options — an extended look in 2023.

“This was not an easy move. But one that we felt was the right one,” Bloom told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) on Jan. 24. “It wasn’t anything bad about Matt, who I’m sure is going to continue to have success in his career. It was a reflection of where we thought we were and how we saw the pen coming together and what those other guys have a chance to do for us.”

Cotillo also reported on Tuesday that he was always told Bloom was one of Barnes’ “biggest fans (if not the biggest) in the organization. There was not a lot of surprise when it was Barnes who got the rare in-season extension.”

In trading Barnes to the Marlins, the Red Sox agreed to send Miami $5.5 million in cash considerations as part of the deal. Barnes, who turns 33 in June, can become a free agent for the first time next winter if his $8 million club option for 2024 is not picked up at the end of the year. He told Abraham that he is looking forward to a fresh start with a new team.

“It’s been great here so far. The guys are awesome; the staff is awesome,” Barnes said. “We have some really good talent on this team. I’ve seen that in a few weeks. As weird as it’s been, the adjustment has been pretty good. But it’s hard when you go from knowing everybody to knowing nobody.”

Following Tuesday’s exhibition contest in Jupiter, the Red Sox will not see the Marlins again until they host them in a three-game series from June 27-29. Barnes said he will save being “buddy-buddy” with his former teammates and coaches until he steps into Fenway Park as a visitor for the first time in his big-league career.

“I know I was fortunate to play as long as I did in Boston,” he added. “But I’ve got some good years left in me. We have a lot of talent in this clubhouse and we’re here to win.”

(Picture of Matt Barnes: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers, Masataka Yoshida among 12 Red Sox players who will take part in 2023 World Baseball Classic

The Red Sox will have 12 major- and minor-leaguers representing their respective countries/territories in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which gets underway next month.

Rafael Devers (Dominican Republic), Masataka Yoshida (Japan), Enrique Hernandez (Puerto Rico), Alex Verdugo and Jarren Duran (Mexico), Nick Pivetta (Canada), Richard Bleier (Israel) and Kenley Jansen (Netherlands) make up 20 percent of Boston’s current 40-man roster.

Jansen, who signed a two-year, $32 million deal with the Red Sox in December, is on Netherlands’ roster but only as a member of their designated pitcher pool, meaning the veteran reliever will not be eligible to join the team during pool play.

Ceddanne Rafaela, one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system, was expected to play for the Netherlands, but the 22-year-old out of Curacao was instead omitted from the team’s final roster.

Trevor Story originally committed to play for the United States last July but took himself out of consideration for a roster spot by undergoing an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow last month. As a result, the Red Sox have no representation on Team USA. It should be noted that while both Verdugo and Duran were born in the United States, they are of Mexican-American descent.

Turning to the minor-league side of things, Jorge Alfaro and Rio Gomez will both play for Colombia. Alfaro signed a minors pact with the Red Sox last month and received an invite to big-league spring training. Gomez, on the other hand has been in the organization since being taken in the 36th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of the University of Arizona.

Edwin Diaz will join Hernandez in representing Puerto Rico after signing a minor-league deal with Boston in January. The 27-year-old infielder had been playing for Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series before they were eliminated by Mexico on Wednesday.

Norwith Gudino is the Sox’ lone representative from Venezuela. The 27-year-old right-hander inked a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in December and — in similar fashion to Jansen — is part of his country’s player pool.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic begins on March 8. Pool play runs through March 15 and the quarterfinals take place from March 15-18. The semifinals run from March 19-20 and the championship game will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami on March 21.

Before that all happens, the Red Sox will take on Puerto Rico in an exhibition game at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers on March 8. Team Puerto Rico will also train at the Fenway South complex prior to the start of the tournament.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)