Tag: spring training

Red Sox sign former Olympian Jamie Westbrook to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent utilityman Jamie Westbrook to a minor-league contract, the club announced earlier Monday evening. The deal comes with an invitation to major-league spring training.

Westbrook, 28, spent the 2023 season with the Yankees organization after inking a similar minors pact with the club last December. In 117 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the versatile right-handed hitter batted .294/.400/.496 with 20 doubles, 21 home runs, 65 RBIs, 70 runs scored, six stolen bases, a team-leading 67 walks, and 81 strikeouts over 496 plate appearances.

A native of Arizona, Westbrook was originally selected by his hometown Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 2013 amateur draft out of Basha High School in Chandler. He forwent his commitment to Pepperdine by signing with Arizona for $450,000 and made it as far as Triple-A Reno before reaching minor-league free agency at the conclusion of the 2019 campaign.

Shortly thereafter, Westbrook latched on with the Giants but was released before the COVID-shortened 2020 season even began. With the pandemic putting a halt to Minor League Baseball, Westbrook instead spent the rest of his 2020 playing for the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the independent Constellation Energy League in Texas. He leveraged his performance there into a minors pact with the Brewers.

As part of an eventful 2021 season, Westbrook helped the United States win a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, where he was teammates with — among others — Triston Casas. Stateside, Westbrook spent most of the year with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. He remained with the Brewers through the winter before being traded to the Tigers for cash considerations last April. With the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate) in 2022, he posted a .726 OPS in 120 games.

All told, Westbrook is a lifetime .279/.345/.434 hitter with 216 doubles, 28 triples, 120 home runs, 564 RBIs, 608 runs scored, 51 stolen bases, 352 walks, and 682 strikeouts in 1,110 career minor-league games (4,559 plate appearances). That includes a career .283/.376/.460 slash line with 50 homers and 184 runs driven in over 347 total games (1,431 plate appearances) at the Triple-A level.

On the other side of the ball, Westbrook is listed as an outfielder but has past experience in the outfield as well. With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this past season, the 5-foot-7, 193-pounder logged 602 innings at second base, 308 2/3 innings at third base, and 18 innings in left field. For his minor-league career, he has made at least one start at every position besides center field, pitcher, and catcher.

To that end, Westbrook — who does not turn 29 until June — figures to provide the Red Sox with experienced depth all over the field at Triple-A Worcester next year. He has yet to make his major-league debut, but will be looking to do so with Boston in 2024.

In addition to Westbrook, the Red Sox invited six other non-roster players to spring training on Monday in left-handers Helcris Olivarez, Jorge Benitez, and Cam Booser, right-hander Frank German, outfielder Mark Contreras, and infielder/outfielder Eddy Alvarez.

Benitez and Olivarez both signed minor-league contracts with Boston last month after spending the 2023 season with the Mariners and Rockies organizations, respectively. Booser, who made 48 relief appearances for the WooSox this year, re-signed with the Red Sox on a minors pact in late October while German, who debuted for Boston last September, returned to the organization over the summer after brief stints with the White Sox and Reds.

Contreras, as was previously reported, signed a minor-league deal with the Sox in November after spending the first sevens of his professional career in the Twins organization. Alvarez, another member of Team USA’s 2021 Olympic team, initially signed a minors pact with Boston in July after being let go by the Brewers. Just five innings into his first game with the WooSox on July 26, though, Alvarez suffered a fractured foot while running the bases and missed the rest of the season as a result.

Of the seven players the Red Sox invited to spring training on Monday, three (Alvarez, Contreras, and German) have prior big-league experience. Of course, the club will likely add more non-roster invitees to their spring training roster before camp opens in February.

(Picture of Jamie Westbrook: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox option Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester, clearing way for Raimel Tapia to make team

The Red Sox have optioned outfielder Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester, the club announced following Tuesday’s Grapefruit League finale against the Braves at JetBlue Park.

By optioning Duran, the Red Sox have effectively cleared the way for non-roster invitee Raimel Tapia to make the team as a fifth outfielder. Tapia, however, is not yet on Boston’s 40-man roster, which is currently at full capacity. And so the club still needs to clear a spot in order to officially add the 29-year-old outfielder to the mix.

Duran and Tapia were essentially competing for a reserve outfield spot behind the likes of Masataka Yoshida, Adam Duvall, Alex Verdugo, and Rob Refsnyder on Boston’s Opening Day roster. Whoever came out on top would be in line to serve as a left-handed hitting complement to the right-handed hitting Refsnyder off the bench.

In just nine games with the Red Sox this spring, Duran went 6-for-18 (.333) at the plate with three doubles, one home run, one RBI, five runs scored, one stolen base, four walks, and three strikeouts. The 26-year-old was away from the team for a little more than two weeks earlier this month to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. But he was used sparingly in that time and only accrued five plate appearances.

Tapia, meanwhile, signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in January and proved to be one of the club’s top offensive performers this spring. In Grapefruit League games, he batted .326/.383/.605 with six doubles, two homers, five RBIs, seven runs scored, three stolen bases, three walks, and six strikeouts across 47 trips to the plate.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Tapia had the ability to opt out of his deal on Monday, but he elected to remain with the Red Sox through their final game of the spring and went 1-for-2 with a double and run scored in Tuesday’s 7-5 loss to the Braves.

With Duran optioned and Tapia set to make the team, the Red Sox are now tasked with creating an opening for the latter. As noted by The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams, it appears as though the club will accomplish this by placing infielder Adalberto Mondesi (ACL rehab) on the 60-day injured list to begin the season.

The Red Sox have just one roster-related decision remaining, and it pertains to the final spot in the bullpen. It will either go to Kaleb Ort, who is already on the 40-man roster but has struggled mightily this spring, Oddanier Mosqueda, Ryan Sherriff or an external option is not yet with the club.

If one of Mosqueda or Sherriff — who were in camp as non-roster invitees — or an outside addition gets the job, another 40-man roster spot would need to be cleared. In that scenario, Ort could very well wind up getting designated for assignment.

All things considered, the Red Sox must finalize their initial 26-man roster to start the season before their Opening Day matchup against the Orioles at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas, and Connor Wong all homer as Red Sox fall to Braves, 7-5, in spring finale

In their final game of the spring, the Red Sox came up short against the Braves on Tuesday afternoon. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 7-5 at JetBlue Park.

Kutter Crawford, making his fourth start and fifth overall appearance of the spring, allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over four innings of work.

The Braves got to Crawford right away in the top of the first, as the right-hander allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base on two singles and a walk. With one out and the bases loaded, Michael Harris II drove in Atlanta’s first run by grounding into a force out at second base. Crawford managed to escape any further damage by getting Ozzie Albies to ground out to short.

Despite falling behind early, the Red Sox wasted no time in getting on the board themselves in the latter half of the first. Matched up against veteran starter Charlie Morton to begin things on Tuesday, Rafael Devers ripped a one-out double to center field. Two batters later, Masataka Yoshida torched a two-run shot over the center field wall for his first home run of the spring and his first in a Red Sox uniform.

Triston Casas followed Yoshida’s lead the next inning, as he led off the bottom of the second by taking Morton deep to dead-center for his fourth homer of the spring. The solo blast put Boston up, 3-1, going into the third.

Crawford, who retired the side in order in the second, ran into more trouble by giving up back-to-back hits to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson to lead off the inning. He then recorded the first two outs of the frame on a pair of strikeouts, but was unable to get out of the jam as he yielded a game-tying, two-run single to Harris II. Albies followed by plating Harris II on an RBI double to give Atlanta a 4-3 lead.

In the fourth, Crawford served up a one-out solo homer to Orlando Arcia before walking Arcia and retiring both Olson and Austin Riley to end his day on a more positive note. The 26-year-old hurler finished with 73 pitches and a 4.15 ERA in 17 1/3 innings pitched this spring. His first start of the regular season will come against the Pirates at Fenway Park next Monday.

Richard Bleier received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in the fifth inning. The left-hander got two quick outs before walking Ehire Adrianza and giving up a single to Sean Murphy. He then gave up an RBI single to the pinch-hitting Ethan Workinger that scored Adrianza, but left fielder Jarren Duran managed to gun down Workinger, who tried to stretch his single into a double, at second base to end the inning.

The Red Sox got that run back in the bottom of the fifth to keep the deficit at two. Raimel Tapia led off with a hard-hit double off Braves reliever Jared Shuster and advanced to third on a balk. Yu Chang then drove Tapia in from third with an RBI single to left field.

John Schreiber put together his most impressive outing of the spring by striking out the side in the sixth inning. But Kaleb Ort’s struggles continued in the seventh, as the righty allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach on a double and walk before surrendering a one-out RBI double to Adrianza, which gave Atlanta a 7-4 lead.

After Luis De La Rosa induced a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the top of the eighth unscathed, Connor Wong led off the bottom half by crushing a long home run to deep right-center field off new reliever Jake McSteen. Wong’s first big fly of the spring trimmed Boston’s deficit down from three runs to two at 7-5.

That is where the score would remain, though, as Theo Denlinger put up a zero in the top half of the ninth and the Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom half to put the finishing touches on a 7-5 loss.

With the loss, the Red Sox finish the spring with a 14-14-4 record in Grapefruit League play and a 16-14-4 record in all competitions. Spring training is officially over in Fort Myers.

Next up: Opening Day at Fenway

The Red Sox will head north and enjoy an off day on Wednesday before taking on the Orioles in the first of a three-game series on Opening Day. Corey Kluber is slated to get the ball for Boston while fellow right-hander Kyle Gibson will do the same for Baltimore.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Jordan DiValerio on pitching in relief of Chris Sale in Grapefruit League debut: ‘It’s definitely a big deal’

In the ninth inning of Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Twins at JetBlue Park, Red Sox minor-league pitcher Jordan DiValerio appeared in a Grapefruit League game for the first time in his professional career.

DiValerio struck out the first batter he faced in Kala’i Rosario and then issued a walk to Dalton Kelly. But the right-hander escaped any further damage and held the Twins scoreless by getting Ernie Yake to ground into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

“I didn’t know I was going in until the phone rang and they said, ‘DiValerio, you got it.’ I was like, ‘Alright, here we go,'” DiValerio told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “In the locker room, after, was when it hit me. It was a big moment, but you have to play it off as it is just another game.”

Beyond the fact that he got to pitch in a major-league spring training game for the first time, DiValerio also worked in relief of Red Sox starter Chris Sale, who helped recruit him to the organization a little less than three years ago.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 college baseball season to come to a screeching halt that March, DiValerio was in the midst of his senior season at St. Joseph’s University. The Philadelphia-area native had posted a 2.38 ERA in his first four starts (22 2/3 innings) for the Hawks that spring, but his chances of getting drafted became slim once the 2020 amateur draft was reduced to just five rounds.

As such, DiValerio became an undrafted free agent that June. Because the signing bonus for these players was capped at $20,000, there was not much teams could do to separate themselves in the recruiting process. DiValerio experienced that firsthand, but the Red Sox found a way to stand out by getting Sale involved.

“It was honestly incredible,” DiValerio said in regards to his over-the-phone conversation with Sale. “Just knowing they would have their ace, their No. 1 guy, give me a call, it just meant so much. It showed me they cared and wanted me here.

“I was in my apartment, got a call and they were like, ‘Hey, just letting you know, Chris Sale is going to call you soon,'” DiValerio recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ I thought they were joking around. Then I get this random phone call, pick up and he was like, ‘Hey, Jordan, it’s Chris.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’

“I just talked to him a little bit and he told me how much of a family the Red Sox were,” he continued. “Everybody fits in. It doesn’t matter if you’re a minor-leaguer or a big-leaguer. That’s exactly how I felt going into the dugout [on Sunday]. Everybody was saying, ‘Good job’ and giving me high-fives. Guys I have never talked to before said, ‘Good job!'”

By the time DiValerio got into Sunday’s game, Sale had already pitched five innings, fulfilled his media obligations, and headed home. Still, to share the same box score with Sale was “definitely a big deal” for DiValerio, who has yet to bring up the aforementioned phone call in the few instances he has bumped into the lefty at the Fenway South complex.

“We met a couple of times, but I haven’t brought up the phone call,” DiValerio said with a laugh. “I feel like it’s weird.”

DiValerio, 25, spent the majority of the 2022 season with High-A Greenville, posting a 5.32 ERA — but much more respectable 4.38 xFIP — with 67 strikeouts to 15 walks over 29 relief appearances (67 2/3 innings) for the Drive. Of the 74 pitchers in the South Atlantic League who accrued 60 or more innings last year, DiValerio ranked fifth in walks per nine innings (2.00), fifth in walk rate (5.0 percent), and 11th in swinging-strike rate (15.6 percent), per FanGraphs.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, DiValerio throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of an 89-91 mph that tops out at 94 mph, a 77-79 mph curveball, a 78-80 mph changeup/splitter, and an 82-84 mph slider, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

DiValerio, who does not turn 26 until October, is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 minor-league season. With that being said, it is certainly possible DiValerio earns a promotion to Double-A Portland at some point this year if he continues to make strides with the Drive.

(Picture of Jordan DiValerio: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Tanner Houck ends spring on sour note as Red Sox muster just 4 hits in 6-1 loss to Braves

The Red Sox were held to just four hits by the Braves in their penultimate game of the spring on Monday afternoon. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 6-1 at CoolToday Park to drop to 14-13-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Tanner Houck once again struggled in his sixth and final start of the spring for the Sox. The right-hander surrendered six earned runs on five hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over just three innings of work.

The Braves first got to Houck in their half of the second. After Michael Harris reached base via a one-out triple, Ozzie Albies drew a walk and stole second. With runners at second and third now, Houck promptly served up a towering three-run blast to give Atlanta an early 3-0 lead.

Houck ran into more trouble in the third by walking leadoff man Ronald Acuna Jr. He then gave up a two-run home run to Matt Olson, who has now taken the righty deep three times this spring. After getting Austin Riley to ground out, Houck yielded a solo shot to another former Oakland Athletic in Sean Murphy.

Having already reached 60 pitches, Houck did not come back out for the fourth. Instead, the 26-year-old hurler finishes his spring with a 9.74 ERA, a 25:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and a .325 batting average against over 20 1/3 innings. Despite those struggles, Houck is still lined up to make his first start of the regular season against the Orioles at Fenway Park on Sunday.

In relief of Houck, Kenley Jansen received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Making his first appearance since leaving Friday’s game against Atlanta with lightheadedness, the veteran closer worked into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by getting Olson to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Chris Martin took over for Jansen in the fifth and retired three of the four batters he faced. The Red Sox then picked up their first hit of the day in the sixth inning when Yu Chang — who was making his Grapefruit League debut — ripped a two-out double off Braves reliever Joe Jimenez. But Chang was stranded at second as Alex Verdugo grounded out to end the inning.

After Josh Winckowski tossed two more scoreless frames of relief, the Sox finally got on the board in their half of the eighth. There, Niko Goodrum led off with a double, Chang reached on a fielding error, and Rob Refsnyder reached on a two-out infield single. With the bases loaded, Niko Kavadas was hit by a Luis De Avila pitch, which allowed Goodrum to score from third and make it a 6-1 game.

That is where the score would remain, though, as Oddanier Mosqueda struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning and the Red Sox went down quietly in the ninth. All told, Monday’s contest took two hours and 25 minutes to complete.

Verdugo’s assist

After getting taken deep by Eddie Rosario in the second inning, Tanner Houck gave up a line-drive hit to Sam Hilliard. Right fielder Alex Verdugo fielded the ball cleanly and made an accurate throw back to the infield in time to get Hilliard — who tried to extend his single into a double — out at second.

Next up: Crawford gets the ball in Grapefruit League finale

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers to host the Braves in their final game of the spring on Tuesday afternoon. Kutter Crawford will take the mound for Boston while fellow righty Charlie Morton is slated to do the same for Atlanta.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester, clearing way for Yu Chang to make team

The Red Sox have optioned infielder Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester, the club announced earlier Monday morning.

Dalbec, 27, appeared in 18 Grapefruit League games for Boston this spring, batting .235/.304/.510 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs, six RBIs, 11 runs scored, five walks, and 21 strikeouts over 56 plate appearances.

After breaking camp the last two years as the Sox’ primary first baseman, Dalbec found himself in a much different spot this spring. With Triston Casas taking over those responsibilities moving forward, Dalbec’s path to making Boston’s Opening Day roster came in the form of undertaking a utility role.

While he has mainly played first and third base throughout his big-league career, Dalbec logged 33 innings at shortstop in Grapefruit League play. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) on Monday that Dalbec will play a lot of third base and continue to move around the infield in Worcester.

“It’s not easy, but one thing for sure, he’s not gonna stop working,” Cora said of Dalbec. “And that’s something we told him. From the get-go, he knew the situation.

“He’s going to be part of it at one point,” added Cora. “For us to accomplish the things that we are set to do, it’s more than 26 guys. Bobby’s still a good player. I think the at-bats are gonna help him. He’s just got to be ready, and whenever we call his name, if we need it, just be ready to come here and contribute.”

This marks the second time in the last seven months that Dalbec has been sent down to the minors. He was also optioned in early September, when Casas was called up, and slashed .250/.302/.563 with five home runs and eight RBIs in 13 games (53 plate appearances) with the WooSox.

By optioning Dalbec, the Red Sox have ensured fellow infielder Yu Chang that he will be making the team. The two were essentially competing for the same roster spot off the bench this spring and, unlike Dalbec, Chang is out of minor-league options, meaning Boston could not send him down to the minors without first exposing him to waivers.

Chang appeared in 11 games for the Red Sox in September and re-signed with the club on a one-year, $850,000 contract last month. The 27-year-old did not report to camp in Fort Myers until last Thursday after playing for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic and being delayed by visa issues. He was named MVP of Pool A after going 7-for-16 (.438) at the plate with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, five runs scored, two walks, and two strikeouts in four games.

A native of Taiwan, Chang made his Grapefruit League debut for Boston on Monday, going 1-for-3 with a sixth-inning double off Braves reliever Joe Jimenez. Despite the lack of time he has been in camp, the Red Sox have full confidence in Chang.

“Physically, he’s in a good spot,” Cora said. “Obviously, at-bats have been limited, but he did enough in between the the tournament and camp to stay in shape. It’s hard because of the optics of, ‘Man, Bobby was here the whole time,’ but we knew that this was a possibility. The fact that [Chang] has experience at shortstop helps. We just have to make sure he goes through the whole process and he stays healthy.”

Chang, who turns 28 in August, has prior big-league experience at all four infield positions and is considered to be a plus defender. The versatile 6-foot-1, 187-pounder will round out a Red Sox infield mix to begin the year that includes Casas, Justin Turner, Christian Arroyo, Enrique Hernandez, and Rafael Devers.

(Picture of Bobby Dalbec: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Kiké Hernández leaves game with right wrist contusion but is not expected to miss any time

Red Sox shortstop Enrique Hernandez was removed from Sunday’s Grapefruit League game against the Twins after getting hit in the wrist by a pitch.

In the bottom of the third inning, Hernandez began to swing his bat and was hit on the right wrist by a pitch from Twins starter Sonny Gray. The 31-year-old took his base after being checked out by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a member of the team’s training staff. He then played the field for one more inning before being replaced by Bobby Dalbec in the top of the fifth.

Shortly thereafter, Hernandez was officially diagnosed with a “right wrist contusion.” When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) following Boston’s 7-2 loss to Minnesota at JetBlue Park, Cora indicated that Hernandez was taken out for precautionary reasons and is likely to be back in the starting lineup on Monday.

“He’s OK,” Cora said. “Got hit, got a little ding there but he should be OK.”

Hernandez is expected to play a key role for the Red Sox this season after Trevor Story underwent right elbow surgery in January. They will also be without offseason acquisition Adalberto Mondesi (ACL recovery) to begin the year, so outside of Bobby Dalbec and Yu Chang, Boston is particularly thin when it comes to middle infield depth.

With Sunday’s contest in the books, the Red Sox have just two exhibition games remaining (both against the Braves). They will then fly to Boston ahead of their Opening Day matchup against the Orioles at Fenway Park this coming Thursday.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Red Sox spring training: Chris Sale goes 5 innings, Rafael Devers homers in 7-2 loss to Twins

The Red Sox will not be taking home the Chairman’s Cup after being bested by the Twins in Sunday’s series finale. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 7-2 at JetBlue Park to drop to 14-12-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Chris Sale, making his fourth and final start of the spring for the Red Sox, allowed two earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

Both of the runs Sale gave up came on one swing of the bat. After taking a shutout bid into the fourth inning, the veteran left-hander yielded a leadoff single to Kyle Farmer. Two batters later, he served up a two-run home run to Ryan Jeffers that barely cleared the fence in right-center field.

Sale evaded any further damage in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, Cole Sands took over for Twins starter Sonny Gray, who struck out four over three scoreless, no-hit innings. Rafael Devers promptly greeted the new reliever by crushing a leadoff home run to right field. Devers’ first homer of the spring cut Boston’s deficit in half at 2-1.

Justin Turner followed by drawing a walk and moving up to third base on a one-out double from Adam Duvall. Triston Casas then took ball four himself to load the bases, but Christian Arroyo extinguished the threat by grounding into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

Still trailing by one going into the fifth, Sale put runners on the corners with only one out. But he got out of the jam thanks to Reese McGuire gunning down the pinch-running Ernie Yake at second base and Farmer lining out to Bobby Dalbec to end the inning. The 33-year-old southpaw finished with 79 pitches. He will make his next start against the Orioles at Fenway Park on April 1.

Shortly after Sale’s day had come to an end, the Red Sox got the lefty off the hook. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Bobby Dalbec scored the then-tying-run on back-to-back singles from Devers and Turner. A two-out walk drawn by Masataka Yoshida then loaded the bases, but Duvall ended the rally by going down swinging against new Twins reliever Jose Bravo.

Though Boston had fought back to pull even with Minnesota at two runs apiece, that stalemate did not last too long. Kaleb Ort took over for Sale out of the Red Sox bullpen in the sixth and recorded two quick outs before running into some trouble. Ort issued a two-out walk to Michael A. Taylor and followed that up by surrendering a go-ahead, two-run home run to Willi Castro to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.

Richard Bleier had difficulty with the long ball himself as he served up a two-run shot to Hernan Perez with two outs in the seventh. In the eighth, John Schreiber gave up a one-out double to Mark Contreras, who scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Andrew Betchold. Jordan DiValerio faced the minimum in the ninth by recording one strikeout, issuing one walk, and inducing another 4-6-3 twin killing.

Down to their final three outs, the Red Sox went down quietly in their half of the ninth. Jorge Alfaro popped out while Dalbec and Raimel Tapia both lined out against Connor Sadzeck to put the finishing touches on a 7-2 loss.

By defeating the Red Sox on Sunday, the Twins won the five-game series, 3-2. As such, they will be taking the 2023 Chairman’s Cup trophy back with them to their own complex in Fort Myers.

Other worthwhile observations:

After allowing two runs in the sixth inning of Sunday’s loss, Kaleb Ort now owns a 9.64 ERA (10 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings of relief) through eight appearances this spring. The hard-throwing righty is currently competing for the final spot in Boston’s Opening Day bullpen.

In his four starts this spring, Chris Sale pitched to a 4.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts to just three walks over 15 innings. Opponents hit .288 off him.

Enrique Hernandez was struck in the right wrist by a Sonny Gray pitch in the bottom of the third inning. He remained in the game for two more innings before being replaced at shortstop by Bobby Dalbec. According to the Red Sox, the decision to take Hernandez (who was later diagnosed with a right wrist contusion) out was purely precautionary, meaning he is not expected to miss any time.

Next up: Houck starts

The Red Sox will travel to North Port to take on the Braves in their penultimate game of the spring on Monday afternoon. Tanner Houck will be getting the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Jesse Chavez for Atlanta.

First pitch from CoolToday Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game will be televised, but only on Bally Sports Southeast.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen on the mend after leaving Friday’s game with dizziness

After leaving Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Braves with lightheadedness, Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen appears to be doing better.

Jansen left in the ninth inning of Friday night’s 9-8 win over Atlanta at JetBlue Park after feeling dizzy on the mound. The right-hander told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that the feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced while pitching before.

“I’m a little bit better,” Jansen said Saturday. “I still, a little bit, feel something. I was just out of it. It’s not smart to keep pitching in spring training games when you’re kind of blacking out, out there, a little bit.”

Jansen was back at the Fenway South complex in Fort Myers on Saturday morning, but the Red Sox sent him back home to rest shortly thereafter. According to Cotillo, the 35-year-old “complained of dizziness and nausea and wondered aloud if he had contracted a virus.”

In a separate conversation, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was optimistic that Jansen would be able to return to camp later Saturday afternoon and make his scheduled appearance in Sunday’s home game against the Twins.

“He doesn’t feel great today so we sent him home,” said Cora. “Hopefully, he can come back around 1:30 (p.m.) and do his workouts. We still have him for tomorrow. Let’s see how he feels.”

When asked about the possible cause of Jansen’s ailment, Cora said: “Maybe something he ate. I gave him some rice and beans after the game last night, some pork chops. He probably didn’t feel good about that.”

Before departing on Friday, Jansen had already given up a then-game-tying, two-run home run to minor-league catcher to Adam Zebrowski. He surrendered three runs altogether and now owns a 7.71 ERA in five appearances (4 2/3 innings pitched) this spring.

The Red Sox signed Jansen to a two-year, $32 million contract in December. The three-time All-Star was brought in to anchor a bullpen that was among the worst in the American League last season.

Over the course of establishing himself as one of the top closers in baseball, though, Jansen has dealt with heart issues throughout his career. In 2011, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, which has caused him to miss time in the past. He has also undergone two cardiac ablation procedures (in 2012 and 2018) to combat the issue.

Despite Friday’s scare, the Red Sox and Jansen are both confident that this latest incident was not related to the righty’s heart. As such, Jansen — as of now — is expected to be ready for Opening Day on March 30.

“There’s no concerns about the other stuff that happened in the past,” Cora said.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber tosses 4 innings in final tune-up before Opening Day as Red Sox fall to Rays, 4-2

The Red Sox were held to just four hits in a loss to the Rays on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 4-2 at Tropicana Field to drop to 14-11-4 in Grapefruit League play.

More important than the offensive numbers was Corey Kluber making his final start of the spring for the Sox. The veteran right-hander allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks to go along with one strikeout over four innings of work.

The Rays got to Kluber right away in the top of the first, with Tristan Gray belting a one-out solo shot 379 feet down the right field line to give Tampa Bay an early 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, the Red Sox responded with a big fly of their own. After Ceddanne Rafaela led off the top of the fourth with an infield single, Enmanuel Valdez followed by crushing a 396-foot two-run home run to right field off Rays starter Yonny Chirinos. Valdez’s second homer of the spring had an exit velocity of 101.1 mph and put Boston up, 2-1.

Kluber had settled down to that point but ran into more trouble in the latter half of the fourth. There, he allowed two of the first four batters he faced to reach base, which put runners at second and third with two outs for Taylor Walls. Walls, in turn, came through with a two-run double that landed in front of right fielder Wilyer Abreu and scored both Harold Ramirez and Christian Bethancourt.

With the Rays retaking the lead at 3-2, Kluber stranded Walls at second base by getting the final batter he would face in Jose Siri to line out to left field. All told, the 36-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 62 (38 strikes). He induced nine total swings-and-misses and averaged 85.6 mph with his cutter (his most-frequently used pitch), per Baseball Savant.

Kluber finishes the spring having posted a 3.24 ERA with 15 strikeouts to seven walks over five starts (16 2/3 innings). The two-time Cy Young Award winner will next take the mound when the Red Sox host the Orioles on Opening Day (March 30) at Fenway Park.

In relief of Kluber, Zack Kelly received the first call out of the Boston bullpen in the middle of the fifth. The righty fanned a pair over two scoreless frames before making way for Durbin Feltman, who issued a leadoff walk to Siri to begin things in the seventh.

The quick-footed Siri put his speed on full display by stealing second base and moving up to third on a wild pitch while Feltman was busy recording the first two outs of the inning. With runners on the corners and the pinch-hitting Daniel Robertson at the plate, Feltman was caught napping as Siri took off for home and scored rather easily thanks to a poor throw back to the plate.

Siri’s successful steal of home extended the Rays’ lead to two runs at 4-2. After Feltman worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the Red Sox were suddenly down to their final three outs. With Pete Fairbanks on the mound for Tampa Bay, Stephen Scott, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Narciso Crook all went down quietly to end it.

Other worthwhile observations:

Top prospect Marcelo Mayer replaced David Hamilton at shortstop in the sixth inning. The 20-year-old made his only trip to the plate in the eighth and ripped a single off old friend Heath Hembree before stealing his first base of the spring.

Niko Kavadas, another prospect who made the trip to St. Petersburg, accounted for Boston’s only double in the top of the fifth inning. Enmanuel Valdez was the only other member of the starting lineup to register an extra-base hit in Saturday’s contest, which took all of two hours and six minutes to complete.

Next up: Chairman’s Cup finale

The Red Sox will wrap up the final weekend of the Grapefruit League campaign by hosting the Twins in Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon. Since the two sides split the first four games of the series, Sunday’s bout will determine who takes home the 2023 Chairman’s Cup.

Boston will be sending left-hander Chris Sale to the hill while Minnesota will roll with right-hander Sonny Gray. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)