Tag: yankees

Tanner Houck fires 6 strong innings, but Red Sox go down quietly in 3-1 loss to Yankees

The Red Sox received a strong outing from Tanner Houck, but were held to just one run and dropped the middle game of their three-game set against the Yankees as a result. Boston fell to New York by a final score of 3-1 at Yankee Stadium to drop back to under .500 at 32-33 on the season.

Houck pitched well in his 12th start of the year for the Sox. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with six strikeouts over six innings of work.

After retiring the first nine batters he faced, though, Houck surrendered a leadoff home run to Gleyber Torres, who laced a first-pitch sinker 359 feet into the right field seats to open the scoring for the Yankees.

It took until the sixth inning for the Red Sox to respond. After leaving six runners on base through the first five frames, Rafael Devers led off the top of the sixth by taking Yankees starter Domingo German 417 feet deep to right-center field for his 15th home run of the season and his second in as many nights.

Devers’ 108.4 mph blast tied the score at 1-1. Adam Duvall followed with a single — his first hit since returning from the injured list on Friday — and stolen base, but he, too, was stranded in scoring position as Triston Casas and Christian Arroyo both struck out while Reese McGuire flew out to extinguish the threat.

Houck came back out for the latter half of the sixth and induced two quick outs before serving up a go-ahead solo shot to Willie Calhoun on a 1-2, 88.7 mph splitter at the bottom of the zone. Calhoun’s homer barely cleared the right-field fence, but it travelled far enough to put the Yankees back up, 2-1, heading into the seventh.

Finishing with 93 pitches (56 strikes), Houck induced 14 swings-and-misses while mixing in his slider, sinker, splitter, four-seamer, and cutter. Despite lowering his ERA on the season down to 5.23 on Saturday, the 26-year-old hurler was charged with the losing decision.

With Houck’s night done, Brennan Bernardino received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Bernardino gave up a leadoff single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who moved up to second base on a groundout. Josh Winckowski was then brought in to face Kyle Higashioka with two outs in the inning.

On the first pitch he saw from Winckowski, Higashioka ripped a sharp groundball up the middle. Arroyo, the second baseman, attempted to field the ball by diving for it, but it instead nicked off his glove and rolled away. As a result, Kiner-Falefa was able to score all the way from second since Arroyo’s throw back towards home plate did not have much behind it.

That sequence of events provided New York with some valuable insurance in the form of a 3-1 lead. Duvall led off the eighth by getting plunked by Tommy Kahnle, but he failed to move past first.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo laced a one-out single off Yankees closer Clay Holmes to bring the tying run to the plate. Masataka Yoshida then punched out before Justin Turner grounded out to end it in two hours and 29 minutes.

All told, the Red Sox went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and left 11 runners on base as a team. They have won two of their last eight games and are averaging 2.38 runs per game over that stretch.

Devers passes Williams

Devers’ sixth-inning homer was the 21st of his career against the Yankees. With it, the 26-year-old slugger broke a tie with Ted Williams for the most against New York by a Red Sox player before turning 27.

Next up: Bello gets ball in rubber match

As the Red Sox look to avoid falling two games under .500 for the first time since April 14, they will send Brayan Bello to the mound in Sunday night’s series finale. The Yankees will counter with fellow right-hander Clarke Schmidt.

First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers off Gerrit Cole for seventh time as Red Sox hold on to take opener from Yankees, 3-2

In their first of 13 meetings this season, the Red Sox made a statement against the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. Behind a strong start from Garrett Whitlock and home runs from Rafael Devers and Enrique Hernandez, Boston held on for a 3-2 win over New York to get back to .500 at 32-32 on the year.

Going up against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the Sox drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning. After being held in check through the first three frames, Devers ripped a one-out ground-rule double over the right-center field wall. Adam Duvall fanned for the second time in as may trips to the plate, but Triston Casas came through by plating Devers on a hard-hit RBI single.

Two innings later, Devers struck again. In familiar fashion, the slugging third baseman took a first-pitch changeup at the bottom of the zone from Cole and deposited it 405 feet into the visitors’ bullpen to put Boston up, 2-0. The towering, 106.2 mph solo shot was Devers’ 14th big fly of the season and the seventh of his career off Cole.

Whitlock, meanwhile, was in the midst of his sixth start of the year for the Red Sox. Facing the Yankees for the first time in his career as a starter, the right-hander allowed just two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of work.

After maneuvering his way around some traffic through the first five innings, Whitlock served up a 448-foot leadoff homer to Josh Donaldson to begin things in the sixth. Though the Yankees trimmed the deficit in half of Donaldson’s solo blast, the Red Sox wasted little time in getting that run back in the seventh.

Having already chased Cole out of the game, the Sox got to reliever Albert Abreu. Connor Wong struck out for the first out of the inning, but Hernandez cranked a solo shot down the left field line for his sixth homer of the year. The 391-foot blast left Hernandez’s bat at 104.3 mph and gave Boston a 3-1 advantage.

Whitlock came back out for the latter half of the seventh and issued a leadoff single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a groundball that was mishandled by second baseman Christian Arroyo. Kiner-Falefa, who was thrown out by Wong on a steal attempt in the second inning, promptly stole second base and advanced to third as Wong’s off-target pickoff attempt skipped into center field.

Kiner-Falefa took advantage of more sloppy play from the Red Sox moments later, this time scoring from third when Whitlock spiked ball four to the pinch-hitting Gleyber Torres into the dirt. Whitlock was then given the hook for Nick Pivetta, who stranded the lone runner he inherited by inducing two quick outs to preserve Boston’s one-run lead.

Finishing with 88 pitches (63 strikes), Whitlock induced 10 of his 18 swings-and-misses with his sweeper, a pitch he threw 26 times. The 26-year-old also averaged 94 mph and topped out at 96.3 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 43 times. He ultimately picked up the winning decision while lowering his ERA on the season down to 4.78.

Pivetta was only needed to record the final two outs of the seventh. Chris Martin continued that trend out of the bullpen by making quick work of the Yankees in the eighth to pave the way for closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth.

Jansen retired Jake Bauers and Kiner-Falefa on five pitches for the first two outs of the inning. Back-to-back singles from Billy McKinney and Torres made things interesting, but Jansen rallied and notched his 14th save of the year by getting Anthony Volpe to pop out to end it in a swift two hours and 28 minutes.

Duvall returns from injured list

After missing the last 54 games with a fractured left wrist, Adam Duvall returned to the Red Sox lineup on Friday. Batting fifth and starting in center field, the 34-year-old slugger went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.

Next up: Houck vs. German

The Red Sox will look to take their first series of the season from the Yankees on Saturday night. Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while New York will counter with fellow right-hander Domingo German.

First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox make minor trade with Yankees by sending outfielder Greg Allen to New York

The Red Sox have traded Triple-A outfielder Greg Allen to the Yankees for minor-league right-hander Diego Hernandez and cash considerations, the club announced on Friday.

Allen, 30, joined the Red Sox organization as a minor-league free agent in mid-January. The speedy switch-hitter spent the first seven weeks of the 2023 season with the WooSox, batting .250/.407/.388 with eight doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 RBIs, 25 runs scored, 21 walks, and 29 in strikeouts in 37 games (151 plate appearances). He also went a perfect 23-for-23 on stolen base attempts while seeing playing time in left and center field.

Per SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, Allen had an upward mobility clause in his contract. He triggered that clause earlier this week, meaning he will more than likely be added to New York’s major-league roster in the coming days. Boston addressed Allen’s departure by signing fellow outfielder Bradley Zimmer to a minors pact and assigning him to Worcester on Friday.

In similar fashion to Zimmer, Allen was originally selected by the Guardians in the sixth round of the 2014 amateur draft out of San Diego State. The California native first broke in at the big-league level with Cleveland in 2017 and has since played for four different teams.

On that note, this will not be Allen’s first go-around with the Yankees, as he spent the entirety of the 2021 season in the organization. He appeared in 73 games for the club’s Triple-A affiliate and got into 15 major-league contests, going 10-for-37 (.270) at the plate with four doubles, one triple, two RBIs, nine runs scored, five stolen bases, five walks, and 13 strikeouts.

All told, Allen is a lifetime .232/.299/.366 hitter with 10 homers, 67 RBIs, and 45 stolen bases across 282 games (800 plate appearances) with the Guardians, Padres, Yankees, and Pirates. He is looking to get into at least one big-league game for the seventh consecutive season.

Hernandez, meanwhile, is an 18-year-old righty from Mexico who signed with the Yankees for $25,000 as an international free agent in January 2022. In 12 outings (five starts) in the Dominican Summer League last season, the Puebla native posted a 2.10 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 48 strikeouts to 14 walks over 34 1/3 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .188 batting average against.

(Picture of Greg Allen: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Former Red Sox slugger Franchy Cordero agrees to deal with Yankees

Former Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Franchy Cordero has agreed to a one-year, major-league contract with the Yankees, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. It is a split deal that will pay Cordero $1 million in the big-leagues and $180,000 in the minors. Barring a late surprise, the 28-year-old appears set to make New York’s Opening Day roster.

Cordero spent the last two seasons with the Red Sox after originally being acquired from the Royals as part of the three-team, seven-player trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City in February 2021. In 132 games with Boston, the left-handed hitter batted .209/.279/.350 with 23 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 38 RBIs, 48 runs scored, five stolen bases, 36 walks, and 143 strikeouts over 411 plate appearances.

To begin his Red Sox tenure, Cordero struggled to the tune of a .189/.237/.260 slash line across 48 games in 2021. Though he found success at Triple-A Worcester during that time, he was still designated for assignment that October and was subsequently re-signed to a minor-league deal.

Cordero returned to Worcester for the start of the 2022 campaign and was called up for the first time in late April. He proceeded to hit .282/.346/.479 with two homers and 12 RBIs in his first 25 games back with the big-league club, most notably crushing a walk-off grand slam against the Mariners at Fenway Park on May 22.

As the calendar flipped from May to June, though, Cordero began to struggle again. He produced a .721 OPS in June and then slumped to the tune of a .162/.240/.279 line in July before being sent down to Worcester in early August. Cordero was recalled later that month after Eric Hosmer hit the injured list. He homered four times in his next 12 games but his season unfortunately came to an end on September 5 when he crashed into the left field wall at Tropicana Field and suffered a high right ankle sprain.

Cordero was projected to earn $1.5 million as an arbitration-eligible player in 2023 but was non-tendered by the Red Sox in November. It was previously reported that Boston liked what Cordero brought to the table in terms of tools and personality, but it could not guarantee him a clear path to playing time thanks to the emergence of fellow left-handed hitting first baseman Triston Casas.

Shortly after being cut loose by the Red Sox, Cordero inked a minors pact with the Orioles in December that came with an invite to major-league spring training. In 18 Grapefruit League for with Baltimore, the Dominican native slashed a blistering .413/.426/.674 with four doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBIs, nine runs scored, one stolen base, zero walks, and 11 strikeouts over 47 trips to the plate.

Despite those relatively strong numbers, Cordero could not crack the Orioles’ Opening Day roster. As such, he was granted his release from the organization on Monday.

Cordero, who does not turn 29 until September, should provide the Yankees with some experienced depth in the outfield and at first base, if needed. The Red Sox do not play their top division rivals until early June, so it will be interesting to see what kind of role — if any — Cordero has carved out for himself by then. As Jarren Duran put it on Wednesday, “it might be weird seeing him without the beard.”

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall hits first homer of spring as Red Sox draw with Yankees, fall to Orioles in split-squad doubleheader

As part of a split-squad doubleheader on Sunday, the Red Sox drew with the Yankees at home and lost to the Orioles on the road. In Fort Myers, Boston tied with New York, 3-3. Up the road in Sarasota, Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 6-4.

At JetBlue Park, Tanner Houck made his third start of the spring for the Red Sox. The right-hander surrendered two earned runs on four hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work.

Both of those Yankees runs came in the top half of the fourth. There, after getting through the first three innings unscathed, Houck allowed the first two batters he faced (Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Billy McKinney) to reach base on a HBP and walk. He then gave up an RBI single to Andres Chaparro and a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Jake Bauers to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Having thrown 75 pitches already, Houck was given the hook in favor of fellow righty Chase Shugart, who promptly got Rodolfo Duran to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The Red Sox lineup responded by playing two runs of their own in the latter half of the fourth.

After doing very little against Yankees starter Yoendrys Gomez, Reese McGuire mounted the mini-rally by drawing a one-out walk off new reliever Jimmy Cordero. He then scored all the way from first base when the speedy Greg Allen roped a hard-hit triple to the triangle in center field. Two batters later, Allen was able to knot things up at two runs apiece by scoring on a passed ball.

That stalemate did not last long, however, as Chris Martin took over for Shugart out of the Boston bullpen and immediately served up a leadoff home run to Anthony Volpe in the fifth. Again, though, Boston quickly responded. In similar fashion to Volpe, Adam Duvall led off the bottom of the fifth by crushing a solo shot over the faux Green Monster in left field.

Duvall’s first homer of the spring — and first in a Red Sox uniform — pulled Boston back even with New York at 3-3. That is where the score would remain, as the two sides exchanged zeroes over the next four inning. Zack Kelly stranded a pair of base runners in the sixth before Bryan Mata before Bryan Mata followed with three scoreless frames of relief.

With a chance to walk it off in the ninth, top prospect Marcelo Mayer laced a leadoff double to center field to get things started against Demarcus Evans. Mayer, however, failed to advance from there, as Evans retired Karson Simas, Niko Kavadas, and the pinch-hitting Ahbram Liendo to keep the 3-3 tie intact.

At Ed Smith Stadium, Kutter Crawford made his second start and third overall appearance of the spring for the visiting Red Sox. The right-hander allowed three earned runs on five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work.

The Orioles first got to Crawford in their half of the second. There, Ramon Urias drew a leadoff walk, went from first to third base on a Nomar Mazara one-out single, and scored the first run of the day on a line-drive RBI single off the bat of Jorge Mateo. Crawford was able to retire the side in order in the next inning, though, and the Red Sox responded by putting up a four-spot in the fourth.

Matched up against one of baseball’s top pitching prospects in Grayson Rodriguez, Ceddanne Rafaela led off the fourth with a groundball single. He then stole second base while Daniel Palka was in the process of drawing a walk. That put runners at first and second with no outs for Niko Goodrum, who plated Rafaela with a then-game-tying infield single.

Rodriguez issued another walk to Caleb Hamilton to fill the bases for Narciso Crook, in turn, ended Rodriguez’s outing by singling in a run (Palka) of his own. David Hamilton then drew a bases-loaded walk off new Orioles reliever Morgan McSweeney before Nick Sogard drove in (Caleb) Hamilton on a groundout for the fourth and final run of the frame.

Despite having a brand-new three-run lead to work with, Crawford was not able to get through the bottom of the fourth. He instead gave up a one-out single to Austin Hays and a two-out RBI double to Mateo, who proved to be the final batter he would face.

Ryan Miller came on with one out still to get in the fourth, but the righty filled the bases on a walk and HBP before serving up a go-ahead grand slam to catcher Adley Rutschman. Rutschman’s slam put Baltimore up, 6-4, heading into the fifth.

From there, Kaleb Ort worked his way around a walk in a scoreless fifth inning while Matt Dermody continued his impressive spring by fanning three across three perfect innings of relief. The Red Sox lineup, however, was unable to get anything else going offensively as 6-4 would go on to be Sunday’s final score.

With a tie against the Yankees and a loss to the Orioles, the Red Sox are now 9-3-4 in Grapefruit League play with 16 more games remaining on the schedule before Opening Day.

Next up: Murphy vs. Manoah

The Red Sox will travel to Dunedin to take on another division rival in the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Murphy is slated to get the ball for Boston while All-Star right-hander Alek Manoah is lined up to do the same for Toronto.

First pitch from TD Ballpark is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN 360.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Narciso Crook goes deep twice, leads power surge for Red Sox in 11-7 win over Yankees

The Red Sox went deep six times en route to a high-scoring win over the Yankees on Thursday afternoon. In the first of 15 meetings between the two rivals this year, Boston defeated New York by a final score of 11-7 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

With Clarke Schmidt starting for the Yankees, the Red Sox jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in their half of the second inning. After Reese McGuire reached base via a one-out single, Narciso Crook got his side on the board first by crushing a 327-foot two-run home run down the right field line.

Nick Pivetta, who was making his second start of the spring for Boston, had already worked a scoreless first inning. But the right-hander ran into some trouble in the second after issuing a pair of walks to Josh Donaldson and Rafael Ortega. He then gave up a game-tying, two-run single to Jose Trevino.

Having already thrown 33 pitches in the second inning alone, Pivetta was pulled by Red Sox manager Alex Cora with two outs. Ryan Miller, who was acquired from the Yankees in the minor-league phase of December’s Rule 5 Draft, was called upon on to record the final out of the second. Pivetta’s day, however, was not yet over.

After Schmidt stranded one runner in the top of the third, Pivetta came back out for the bottom half of the inning. The 30-year-old hurler surrendered a leadoff single to Aaron Judge but ended his afternoon on a more positive note by fanning Anthony Rizzo on five pitches.

All told, Pivetta allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks to go along with two strikeouts over two total innings of work. He finished with 57 pitches (34 strikes) and averaged 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball while inducing four swings-and-misses.

Durbin Feltman took over Pivetta with one out in the third and stranded the lone runner he inherited by inducing a pair of groundouts. He was responsible for the fourth inning as well, but he gave up a one-out double to Oswald Peraza and allowed him to score the then-go-ahead run on two wild pitches while Trevino was at the plate.

Following a scoreless fifth inning from Zack Kelly, though, the Red Sox erupted for six runs in the top of the sixth. Facing off against old friend Tyler Danish, minor-league outfielder Tyler Dearden clubbed a 422-foot solo shot to right-center field to lead things off. After Ceddanne Rafaela reached base with one out, Daniel Palka delivered with a 375-foot homer of his own that put Boston up, 5-3.

Niko Goodrum and McGuire then reached on back-to-back singles before Crook came through with his second big fly of the day. This one left his bat at a blistering 105.3 mph and was deposited 424 feet over the left field wall. The sharply-hit three-run blast gave the Red Sox some breathing room in the form of an 8-3 lead.

Kelly remained in for the bottom of the sixth and retired the final three batters he faced. Eddinson Paulino, who pinch-ran for Enmanuel Valdez the inning prior, led off the seventh inning by launching a 389-foot home run off new Yankees reliever Demarcus Evans. Chase Shugart was next up out of the bullpen after Kelly and also faced the minimum while punching out top prospect Jasson Dominguez in the latter half of the seventh.

After Norwith Gudino put up another zero in the eighth, the Red Sox made sure to make their last at-bats count in the ninth. Christian Koss drew a leadoff walk off Randy Vazquez. Three batters later, Phillip Sikes capped off the scoring by drilling a 395-foot two-run homer that had an exit velocity of 105.7 mph to right field.

Taking a commanding 11-3 advantage into the bottom of the ninth, Gudino served up a pair of home runs (including a three-run shot to Dominguez), but he was ultimately able to hang on and secure an 11-7 victory for the Red Sox.

With the win, which took two hours and 47 minutes to complete, Boston improves to 9-0-3 in Grapefruit League play and 11-0-3 in all competitions this spring.

Other worthwhile observations:

Batting out of the nine-hole and starting in left field on Thursday, Dearden went 2-for-3 with his sixth-inning home run. The 24-year-old was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 29th round of the 2017 amateur draft.

McGuire and Crook went a combined 4-for-6 on Thursday with five RBIs and four runs scored between them.

Next up: Kluber starts against Blue Jays

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Friday afternoon to host the Blue Jays at JetBlue Park. Veteran right-hander Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston opposite fellow righty Zach Thompson for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Narciso Crook: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox reliever Tyler Danish signs minor-league deal with Yankees

Former Red Sox reliever Tyler Danish has signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees, according to WFAN’s Sweeney Murti. The deal comes with an invite to major-league spring training.

Danish, 28, was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster in late October after clearing waivers and elected to become a free agent in lieu of accepting a minor-league assignment.

The Red Sox initially signed Danish to a minors pact last February. The right-hander was added to the club’s 40-man roster before Opening Day and was called up from Triple-A Worcester shortly thereafter.

Having last pitched at the big-league level in 2018, Danish posted a 5.13 ERA and 4.97 FIP with 32 strikeouts to 12 walks over 32 relief appearances (40 1/3 innings pitched) for the Red Sox this past season. He was sidelined from July 7 until August 28 with a right forearm strain.

Per Baseball Savant, Danish worked with five different pitches in 2022. The 6-foot, 200-pound hurler featured a low-80s curveball, a low-90s sinker, a mid-80s changeup, a low-90s four-seam fastball, and a rarely-used high-80s slider. He held opposing hitters to a .175 batting average against with his curveball, which was his most frequently-used offering.

A native of Florida, Danish was originally selected by the White Sox in the second round of the 2013 amateur draft out of Durant High School in Plant City. He broke in with the North Siders in 2016 and forged a 4.85 ERA in parts of three seasons (13 innings) for Chicago before electing free agency at the conclusion of the 2018 campaign.

From there, Danish spent a brief amount of time in the Mariners organization before pivoting to independent league baseball midway through the 2019 season. He pitched for both the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League and Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association before inking a minor-league deal with the Angels last May.

All told, Danish owns a lifetime 5.06 ERA at the major-league level, a 3.65 ERA in indy ball, and a 5.51 ERA in 107 outings (39 starts) at the Triple-A level. He is out of minor-league options, but he should have the chance to compete for a spot in the Yankees’ Opening Day bullpen once spring training begins in February.

(Picture of Tyler Danish: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox could risk losing Nathan Eovaldi to Yankees in free agency if New York is unable to land Carlos Rodón, per report

The Yankees may turn their attention to Red Sox free agent Nathan Eovaldi if they are unable to sign left-hander Carlos Rodon, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

As the top remaining free agent starter on the market, Rodon is reportedly seeking a deal of seven-plus years for at least $30 million per year. The Yankees have already made Rodon an initial offer, but there is apparently a sizable gap between what the 30-year-old southpaw wants and what New York is willing to give him.

“Rodon remains the Yankees’ top priority despite the gap, and the sides are expected to work on potential compromises over the next few days,” Heyman wrote on Tuesday. “The Yankees believe Rodon wants to come to New York, but if they can’t bridge their difference, they may turn to their next choice, believed to be ex-Yankee Nate Eovaldi. Rodon brings some advantages, his left-handedness being one in Yankee Stadium.”

Eovaldi, who pitched for the Yankees from 2015-2016, should already be quite familiar with the organization. If general manager Brian Cashman and Co. are unable to reel in Rodon, the 32-year-old righty could provide a veteran presence to a starting rotation that is projected to include Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, and Domingo German.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Eovaldi’s market has been a slow-moving one this winter. That likely has to do with the fact that the righty is attached to draft pick compensation since the Red Sox extended him a qualifying offer last month.

Eovaldi, who turns 33 in February, posted a 3.87 ERA and 4.30 FIP with 103 strikeouts to 20 walks over 20 starts (109 1/3 innings) for Boston in the final year of his four-year, $68 million contract this season. His workload was limited to due to bouts with low back and right shoulder inflammation. The Red Sox, per Cotillo, did not make any extension offers to Eovaldi during the regular season but have had talks with the ACES client since the World Series ended.

In addition to issuing him a $19.65 million qualifying offer, the Red Sox also gave Eovaldi a multi-year contract offer. He rejected both of those offers, meaning Boston will receive a compensatory pick between the fourth and fifth round of next year’s draft if Eovaldi signs elsewhere.

Earlier this week, WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported that other teams had shown more interest in Eovaldi than the Red Sox had since free agency began in November. The Yankees could very well be one of those teams, though the Sox would still like to add a starter two to their rotation mix for 2023, meaning Eovaldi could still be part of their plans.

“I think everybody knows the situation,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said of Eovaldi during last week’s Winter Meetings in San Diego. “There has been contact and there has been mutual desire for him to come back here. But nothing to report on that front.”

While Eovaldi remains unsigned for the time being, the native Texan did commit to pitch for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic on Wednesday.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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)

Trevor Story (sore left heel) not in Red Sox lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against Yankees; Christian Arroyo starting in his place

Red Sox second baseman Trevor Story is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Story has been dealing with soreness in his left heel since Sunday, when he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the seventh inning of a 1-0 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Upon making contact with the first-base bag, Story came up gimpy and was removed from the game. He was replaced defensively by Christian Arroyo, who will be starting in his place at second base on Tuesday while batting sixth.

Story, who spent more than six weeks on the injured list earlier this summer because of a small hairline fracture near his right wrist, does not expect to be out too long this time around. The 29-year-old told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) that he is day-to-day after banging his left heel. Red Sox manager Alex Cora also said he does not believe Story’s injury is serious and he should be by Wednesday or Friday at the latest.

Since returning from the 60-day injured list on August 27, Story has batted a stout .340/.389/.500 with five doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored, three stolen bases, four walks, and 17 strikeouts over his last 13 games (54 plate appearances). He has also provided the Red Sox with superb defense at second base, a position he had never played at the major-league level prior to this year.

Arroyo, meanwhile, has been on a hot streak of his own at the plate. The right-handed hitting 27-year-old is slashing .342/.377/.488 with 10 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 17 RBIs, 15 runs scored, two stolen bases, seven walks, and 23 strikeouts across his last 32 games (131 plate appearances) dating back to July 30.

On the other side of the ball, Arroyo will be making his 26th start of the season at second base on Tuesday. In the process of logging 223 innings at his primary position this year, Arroyo has posted four Defensive Runs Saved and an Ultimate Zone Rating of 1.1., per FanGraphs.

Latest on Yu Chang

Speaking of infielders, the Red Sox claimed Yu Chang off waivers from the Rays on Monday. Chang is already on Boston’s 40-man roster, but the 27-year-old will need to be added to the major-league roster since he is out of minor-league options.

Because of this, the Red Sox will need to remove someone — whether it be by placing them on the injured list, optioning them, or designating them for assignment — from the 28-man roster in order to activate Chang.

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that Chang is not expected to join the club on Tuesday, so they are not required to make a roster move yet. However, it will be something to monitor in the coming days.

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