The Red Sox announced this morning that they’ve released right-hander Adam Ottavino. The veteran triggered an opt-out clause in his contract prompting the release, as noted by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Meanwhile, Cotillo reports that veteran southpaw Matt Moore does not plan to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and will remain with the organization at Triple-A Worcester. In other roster news, Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) yesterday that Masataka Yoshida will begin the season on the injured list as he builds up his throwing program.
Ottavino, 39, is a veteran of 14 MLB seasons who previously pitched for the Red Sox back in 2021. He provided the Red Sox with decent middle relief work that year, pitching to a 4.21 ERA with a 3.96 FIP in 62 innings of work. He’s spent three seasons since then in Queens with the Mets, and that three-year stint generally went quite well for both sides as he posted a 3.14 ERA and 3.66 FIP in 183 1/3 frames, picking up 16 saves and striking out 27.6% of opponents along the way. Unfortunately, Ottavino’s results declined with the club as time went on, and his work with the Mets last year was rather pedestrian.
In 56 innings of work last year, Ottavino managed an ERA of just 4.34, 9% worse than league average by ERA+. His peripheral numbers remained solid, as he posted a 3.67 FIP and struck out 28.6% of his opponents, but that still wasn’t enough for any of the league’s 30 clubs to overlook his age and lackluster production last year to offer him a major league deal. That led him to settle for a minor league pact with the Red Sox back in February. Camp hasn’t gone especially well for Ottavino, however, as he’s allowed six runs in just five innings and surrendered free passes to five of the 25 batters he’s faced. Those struggles were enough to keep him out of the Red Sox Opening Day bullpen, and now Ottavino will have the opportunity to survey the open market for a more direct path to playing in the majors for his 15th season.
As for Moore, the southpaw enjoyed back-to-back dominant relief seasons in 2022 and ’23 but the wheels came off for the 35-year-old in 2024. In 48 1/3 innings of work with the Angels last year, Moore posted a lackluster 5.03 ERA with an even uglier 6.17 FIP as he allowed 11 homers in just 51 appearances and walked 12.4% of opponents as his strikeout rate fell below 20%. It was a brutal performance all around, but the tantalizing upside the veteran showed when he posted a 2.20 ERA and 3.29 FIP in 126 2/3 innings of work in the two years prior was enough to earn Moore a minor league pact with the Red Sox this winter. He’s pitched reasonably well in Spring Training with three scoreless innings, but has gotten only those three innings of work in this spring and will head to Triple-A to build up in hopes of cracking the big league roster later in the year. As an Article XX(B) free agent, Moore will have additional opportunities to opt out on both May 1 and June 1 if not added to the club’s roster by those dates.
As for Yoshida, the veteran came into camp this spring battling for his roster spot despite there being three years remaining on his five-year, $90MM contract with the club. Yoshida battled thumb and shoulder issues last year and ultimately ended up undergoing labrum surgery back in October, which Yoshida is still recovering from. While Yoshida is well enough to hit at this point, Rafael Devers now figures to serve as the club’s incumbent DH with Alex Bregman taking over at the hot corner, meaning Yoshida won’t be able to play for the Red Sox until he’s healthy enough to play left field. That’s led to the club’s plan to start him on the injured list this year and send him to Triple-A Worcester on a rehab assignment, where he’ll be able to build up his arm strength over the course of a 20-day rehab assignment. Given that plan, it seems as though Yoshida should be expected back with the Red Sox in Boston at some point in late April, barring any setbacks.
Yoshida is in no man’s land. Being a poor outfielder, and with Devers at DH, there’s no room in Boston unless Devers or Bregman is hurt. Other teams would not touch Yoshida’s contract.
Except, he is a very good hitter, which you seem to have forgotten. Other teams would “touch” his contract, if Red Sox would eat a little. He isnt overpaid by much.
56mil left on his contract
Mediocre 2024
Routinely injured
Gonna be hard to sell a tm on him
sox would have to eat majority of the $
That being said, mets ate most of verlander & scherzer $ (80mil combined or something) and got good prospects in return
“Routinely Injured”?
248 games in 2 years isnt that bad.
Eat 15-18 Mil and he’s gone. There are plenty of good bat/bad defense outfielders/DHs, around the league, getting paid in the 12-15Mil range.
Missed 2 months last yr. And starting this yr on DL
So ye, routinely hurt
15-18 covered by the other tm mayb
Sox eat the rest
I checked, those prospects weren’t that good and the Mets were a couple aces short last year. Mets made a dumb move to trade both of them
“I checked, those prospects weren’t that good and the Mets were a couple aces short last year. Mets made a dumb move to trade both of them”
And if they kept them they would have still been short a couple of aces. Between the two of them they were league average and thats being generous. I believe their combined output was roughly tylor megill and for 80Mil.
Top 100 guys Gilbert Clifford & Acuna aren’t good prospects? Both Verlander & Scherzer were hurt last year so even if we kept them we would have been worse off without starters or prospects. Senga getting hurt made us miss our best pitcher when we needed it most but we still went on a good run
@monte
That dude is a troll
Dont waste your time
Obviously solid trade to move 40 yr old banged up max during a 90 loss season in exchange for top 100 prospects & build for the future
Quite true. In 2024 7500+ DH at-bats were taken by players with sub-.240 batting averages for the season, including under the Mendoza cutoff. Yoshi’s a good bet to better that by 40 points with smart, bat control at bats.
If they would his useless butt would be long gone by now
Sadly no one is taking it
Let’s see bloom put his money where his mouth is and take him in stl
Let that contract get him fired twice
I’ve been saying it all along. Yoshida is the elephant in the room. Even if he plays the outfield, there are too many left hand bats with him playing. Eat the contract and trade him.
He can’t play the OF
At all
And especially not in bos
Okay, outfield or not, he is a decent hitter but we don’t need another left handed hitter. He will sit guaranteed when we play a southpaw. That’s a lot of money on the bench.
Yoshida apparently has options. So, if they are going to pay most of his salary anyway, they may just keep him in AAA as good depth.
I don’t think he will be satisfied playing in AAA. He didn’t sign with us to do that and he is definitely capable to play in the Majors.
Good point, but I doubt the Red Sox care about players being satisfied as we just saw with Devers. They apparently want to put the best team possible on the field.
They might care if sending him to AAA in turn sends a bad signal to players in Japan; i.e., “Boston will not treat you properly.” Fair or not, teams need to consider such optics.
Hit not play
Red Sox dont rely on Japanese players to the extent that one playing in Worcester might dissuade someone else in Japan. It shouldnt be a concern.
Play him in Worcester until he’s 100 percent healthy (Hopefully by May). Then, take what you can get for him in market. By then, at least one of the twenty-nine other teams will badly need a LH hitter. The other real possibility is there’s an injury on Red Sox by then, and he could come back up and produce raising his trade value.
Gomez – That bad signal was already sent long ago. Yamamoto and Roki didn’t even want to meet with the Red Sox when they were meeting other teams.
Honor and respect is very important to Asian players, and the Red Sox are obviously severely lacking in both.
And the nasty posts about Yoshida we’ve seen here and elsewhere only further the reputation of Red Sox fans being racist. I mean seriously, you’ve got moronic statements like he can’t play LF and can’t hit and should be released. It’s obviously coming from a place of hatred or at the very least racial bias.
Fact is he’s an above average hitter who was a longtime star in Japan and WBC hero. He deserves as much respect as the non-Asian players receive.
That was exactly my thought @Gomez Toth. Internationally, it doesn’t look good if an MLB-capable player is riding in the Minors
I can’t respond to Fever, but where did anyone mention race? Seems like he’s trying to start something.
Yep, FPG shows up and a good conversation immediately turns into racism and made up statements he says as facts.
I tend to hope for the best in that some of the Yoshida hate isn’t race-related.
It is a fair criticism of the player to point out he’s slow, has a weak arm, and doesn’t field particularly well. In his favor he takes good ABs, but, lacks the power you usually like in a LF/DH candidate making it a tough fit.
All of these things were well known at the time he came over from NPB however, so, it’s not his fault.
I agree the damage was done with japanese and/or fresh from NPB players, this isn’t the same as back when japanese vets or fresh faces like Koji, okijima, dice-k, etc etc were brought in under Henry. There’s been serious erosion done reputationally in the post DD years.
It will take painstaking efforts and a number of years to undo that portion of the reputation. Honestly, I think the best thing for it is the one thing they will *not* do…
If I were in a position of authority in the FO to influence conversations, I would have top brass meet with Yoshida, his reps, translators, etc. I would say to him, our previous front office didn’t know the young players that would develop, and, obviously we are a different team and baseball ops than when you signed. We know your role here isn’t what you’d hoped for when you came to MLB. Give us a list of where you would rather be, knowing, we couldn’t control where they will play you or your role when you get there. We will do what it takes, money-wise, to facilitate a trade to one of those clubs, *if* they are at all interested. Meanwhile, if word of this conversation gets out before we accomplish the trade and we lose the ability to bargain, obviously, we will not be able to make it happen.
After the trade, that bit of respect to try making good for the player with a strong NPB history, might make some inroads to repairing the reputation. If they eat $30m, consider it marketing money for the future Japanese pipeline.
LSalvi – That first sentence of yours doesn’t really apply. The degree a team relies on Japanese talent pipelines has no bearing on how much playing a well respected vet from their league in AAA needlessly will dissuade other npb players from interest in BOS.
The Japanese market is very different from the Caribbean market, which is different from the domestic US market in what it takes to attract players.
Don’t forget guys NPB teams have posted for a pittance, like happened this offseason, based on requests by the players instead of waiting a little longer and making a huge windfall off the rights fees.
Even their league itself has a very different culture in how teams are run and what’s expected of their players in practices, off the field, etc etc etc.
You are right about Japan
You are wrong about yoshida
He’s not a good of and In Boston where they already have multiple CFs on the roster plus abreu, it’s malpractice to give him innings in the of
bj – Nobody here is saying Yoshida is a good or even an average outfielder. Where did you get that from?
Yes, of course Yoshida is a major defensive downgrade from Abreu/Duran/Anthony/Rafaela.
But since the Red Sox insist on Raffy being a fulltime DH, the only way Yoshida can hit is by playing LF.
That is EXACTLY why Red Sox Nation has been saying you have to look at the big picture of the Devers demotion. It’s not just about improving 3B defense.
Fever, he gets respect but his underwater contract is a problem. I’ve posted countless times that I believe he can win a batting title but honestly, I have never seen a non-overweight or non-catcher player run slower. It hurts his ability to play the outfield. He also has a poor arm so to me it’s the payroll percentage he takes up for the value he gives. If Boston didn’t have Duran who suddenly became a superstar, we’d be more appreciative.
dewey – I agree with everything you say.
Unfortunately the minute they signed Bregman, every other team in MLB knew Yoshida wouldn’t be able to play for the Red Sox anymore. The Red Sox have zero leverage. Yoshida will have little opportunity to rebuild his value for a trade now.
If he could DH fulltime, he could begin rebuilding his value on Opening Day.
These dumb, costly mistakes by the Red Sox front office add up and impact future spending. It’s proof the Red Sox have no logical plan, they haven’t had a plan since Dombrowski left.
But today I don’t care, because my UConn Huskies are looking good for a major upset!!!! And if I just jinxed them, I will hang my head in shame like ARod after the 2004 ALCS.
If the Red Sox were to worry about optics, they may never get back to winning. I suspect Japanese players, like all free agents will come to Boston if they are the highest bidder and they don’t have a predetermined place they want to go like the LA Dodgers.
So much for the Huskies, Fever. I too am from CT but no longer live there (assuming you do)
Wtf are you talking about
Saying he’s a bad defender and not worth his contract is standard discourse for a player who is….a bad defender and not worth his contract
Your virtue signaling is not only worthless but just wildly inaccurate
GaSox – I totally agree, some of the Yoshida-hate likely isn’t race related.
So Priester is off the team and Newcomb is the 5th starter, good decision by the Sox.
Did you hear the latest? Interest in the Red Sox has decreased so much that they have actually LOWERED the price for NESN360 …. and not only that, everyone who signs up gets FOUR FREE REGULAR SEASON TICKETS to a game at Fenway.
Who could have imagined 7 years ago it would come to this, tons of ticket freebies being given out just for watching them on NESN and attending FSG Fest in January.
Can’t wait for Forbes to come out next month.
bj – You’re new here, right? Then you haven’t seen the vitriol (look it up) directed at Yoshida over the past year. People treating him like trash even though he’s a damn good hitter, especially when fully healthy.
Or did you simply change your handle?
Fever, injuries open up doors that presently are closed. It could be Boston where suddenly everyone is happy Yoshida is there or another club that finds itself in a pickle. Let’s have patience.
Go lady Huskies!
Gomez – It does not matter what signal it sends to Japanese players. They all sign with the Dodgers.
dewey – Well it’s just a 20-day rehab assignment for Yoshida, that doesn’t leave much time for an injury. Plus I’m not one to ever root for injuries, it’s just not in me.
No I’m new
But he’s simply not god and overpaid
(Also you asked who thought he wasn’t a bad defender…and you did or at least implied it in an earlier comment)
He got the bag, but that doesn’t mean he should get any extra treatment
Sox have a good history with Japanese players if anyone wants to pay attention though. If they want to rely on this, that’s on them
They just didn’t make shots
They outplayed Florida
Just couldn’t put the ball in the ocean
Basketball is a make miss game
But they got much better looks than Florida did
But can’t beat them being that awful on 3s and layups
Fever – I don’t usually root for injuries either. It takes an exceptionally d-bag of a player to come close to rooting for injuries, and even then, it’d be like wishing Alex Rodriguez gets an ingrown toenail LOL.
However, that bug that ripped through camp. A lot of guys lost a LOT of weight. I worry about durability because of that. Glad mechanics don’t seem to have been hurt much in the guys which are always concerns when guys gain or lose tons of muscle. I’m just a little weary is all
GASoxFan
I tend to hope for the best in that some of the Yoshida hate isn’t race-related.
=============================
I think most fans like Japanese players. For some people, everything is about race.
FPG shows up and a good conversation immediately turns into racism and made up statements he says as facts.
=========================
I guess you’re new to RS threads?
Yes they would with 1/3 covered by sox
Unless the Sox eat 2/3-to-3/4 of his contract.
Ottavino can help the Pirates immediately
It he doesn’t pitch like he did this spring.
Posted a 10 dot ERA
Put it this way, even if he does, he still qualifies as a closer candidate for them 🙁
Thank goodness!
Ottavino is cooked
Yoshida’s deal never made any sense and it’s aging like milk. He can’t field and is a terrible base runner. He is plus hitter for average but mediocre power.
No other choice but to return to one of the NY teams.
This is a fallacy.
If Campbell gets the 2b job then the Red Sox will have more starting RH bats (5) than LH bats (4) along with a bench of 3 RH bats and 1 LH bat.
The previous lefty/righty issue only applied the middle of their lineup and the addition of Bregman (and to a lesser degree health of Story) resolved it.
Without Yoshida the Red Sox will have 2 LH OFers and 2 RH OFers, So Yoshida reduces the balance regardless of whether he’s a lefty or righty.
Let’s say the Red Sox eat $10 million a year, which I doubt. Who needs an injury prone DH only type? Name one team that thinks he’s valuable AND can afford the remainder?
Arte Moreno on line one…
Preller on line two, boss.
Solar energy sales on line 3
I think Yoshida at 8m per becomes a pretty hot commodity. Even Pham gets over half that.
Long time listener first time caller.
Well, that didn’t take long.
They need to eat some of the contract and get rid of him already. He’s a great contact hitter but let’s face it dude got 0 pop is NOT a DH and with his glove being as bad as it is he’s the odd man out. Much rather give the roster spot to Rome than keeping this over paid platoon hitter. Most teams he’d be riding the bench. I like Yoshi but he doesn’t fit here and kinda never did. Another dumb Bloom move we are still paying for…(for more dumb Bloom moves see “Trevor Story”)
But the real question is… do you believe in dinosaurs?
Gwynning – you’re discussing things with the O.G. Carl… from the Jurassic period.
OF COURSE they believe in dinosaurs. They served bronto-burgers! Where did you think Carl’s Jr. and their mammalian burgers idea came from? These guys, right here, proudly serving dinoburgers all those millions of years ago!
Do you have a working brain ?
ERA is meaningless for a relief pitcher
When will the sport move on to “inherited runners allowed to score” as the most important stat for a relief pitcher
Strand rate % has existed for a long time. ERA most certainly matters for closers. Is greater emphasis placed on a stat only because you understand it?
You are misguided
Lots of stats exist
Some are ignored
Some are rarely mentioned
Some are obsessive with too many writers
@Captainmike1 Your lead comment is misguiding.
This is the internet
Not the best place to make clear detailed discussions
So let me get this straight… you want inherited runners allow to score to be most important?
So a pitcher who rarely entered with men on base because he comes in for clean innings, which would be an inherited scoring of 0.00, who gets shelled for 4 runs that inning, an ERA of 36.00, to be viewed positively because he succeeded in the most important stat?
Makes no sense.
ERA is more important, and, watching strand rate on inherited runners is just to determine the relatively fewer appearances of a higher leverage nature.
Whatever you want to think is your right even if you are wrong
I never said ignore ERA, I just want it to be secondary
There is no “most important stat.” There’s just information, in a variety of forms. ERA is one piece of information that tells you one thing. Inherited runners scored is a different piece of information that tells you something else. Both are part of a bigger picture.
Really
All writers ever mention is ERA
There is no “most important stat.”
=====================================
Spot on! Only fans restrict themselves to 1-2-3 stats. GMs probably have 25-50 things they look at.
I was trying to make a point but that went miles above you
OPS counts more. IRS is too volatile.
Just to let you guys know
I have a 4 year accounting degree from an accredited accounting college in NY state and worked for years analyzing manufacturer data
I do know analysis quite well
Mike – There’s quite a few of us here with similar backgrounds.
Number Guys tend to be baseball fans ;o)
Championship teams have guys with high ERA’s. You don’t think that what Wakefield did in Game 3 of the 2004 series helped the comeback? It absolutely did. Here you go, pound the crap out of this guy. See you tomorrow. Who loses 19 to 8 before winning four straight? A smartly managed team, that’s who. You use guys who are less essential in games you are going to lose! This is not rocket science. Let the other team tee off on some lower quality guy. It accomplishes nothing for the winning team, in fact it probably makes them struggle as soon as someone gets out there who is really good. Why waste that really good guy in a game you’re going to lose anyway? Aggregate team stats are kind of meaningless if you win games WHEN IT COUNTS.
Sometimes the innings eaters are veterans, sometimes they’re young guys getting their feet wet. Don’t discount the value of these guys, just don’t pay them a ton of money.
hayzee – Wake was an exception though. As a knuckler it didn’t require much energy to pitch a lot, which meant he could pitch often …. no need for him to rest 4 days between starts.
Julian Tavarez pitched 134.2/3 innings to the tune of a 5.15 ERA in 2007. Brandon Workman and Alfredo Alceves in 2013. Ryan Dempster, same year, 171 1/3 innings and a 4.57 ERA. Drew Pomeranz in 2018 along with Joe Kelly and Heath Hembree.
You need these guys on your team.
Every postseason before 2004, there would be guys on the mound that weren’t trustworthy. Heck even in 2004, they had to go to Leskanic. Yikes.
Adam Out-the-lead-goes
“0” chance Ottavino was making the club.
the Red Sox are inadvertently constructing a roster bottlenecked by veteran inertia—players like Ottavino, Moore, and Yoshida whose peak value lies in the past or in limbo, tying up resources (roster spots, rehab time, minor league development) that could be allocated to younger, higher-variance talents. A purely logical play would have been to cut bait on at least one of these three earlier (e.g., trading Yoshida mid-2024 or declining Ottavino’s minor league deal) and pivot to prospects or undervalued free agents with longer-term upside. By clinging to these known quantities, Boston risks a season-long cascade of inefficiencies: a thin bullpen if Moore falters, an overcrowded lineup when Yoshida returns, and a missed chance to capitalize on Ottavino’s likely rebound with another team.