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Red Sox Notes: Winckowski, Sale, Paxton

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Tthe Red Sox are amidst a stretch of ten games in nine days, thanks to a doubleheader against the Orioles on Saturday. That could necessitate the club using a spot starter, with manager Alex Cora suggesting Josh Winckowski as a possible candidate, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

The right-hander was a 15th round selection of the Blue Jays in 2016, but went to the Mets as part of the Steven Matz trade, about two weeks before the Mets sent him to Boston in the three-team Andrew Benintendi deal. Last year, his first in the Red Sox organization, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, throwing 112 total innings with a 3.94 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate, earning himself a spot on the 40-man roster.

This year, the 23-year-old seems to have taken things forward a notch over his first seven starts and 31 2/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester. His ERA is at 3.13 with a 27.9% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 57% grounder rate. He last started for the WooSox Sunday, which would line up as the team’s 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader on five days’ rest.

Further down the road, the rotation should get a boost from the return of Chris Sale, who threw a 15-pitch bullpen session today. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that Sale is scheduled for another bullpen on Friday and is likely to throw another next week. Cora suggested that Sale could be in line to throw live batting practice following next week’s session if all goes well. That’d mark his first time throwing to hitters since he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib cage in March.

There’s still a long road ahead before Sale can contribute to the big league team, though it’s encouraging that he’s at least making progress. The lefty threw 42 2/3 innings last year in his return from Tommy John surgery and was effective, though not quite at the ace level of previous years. His 3.16 ERA was over a run higher than his 2018 mark, with his 28.4% strikeout rate coming in about 10 points below the same number from three years earlier.

Boston is also awaiting the season debut of James Paxton, who is rehabbing from last April’s Tommy John surgery. The southpaw is a bit behind Sale in his recovery after being sidelined by continued elbow soreness this month, but he tells Rob Bradford of WEEI (audio link) he’s feeling better and has again started throwing. Paxton suggested he’s looking to gradually progress from 60 to 120 feet during his work from flat ground before he could begin throwing bullpen sessions of his own.

The 33-year-old Paxton signed a convoluted free agent deal over the offseason. He’s making $6MM this year, and the Sox will have to decide whether to trigger matching $13MM options for 2023-24 at the end of the season. If the team declines their end, Paxton can exercise a $4MM player option for 2023 only or test free agency. How long Paxton’s stay in Boston lasts will certainly be determined by his progress in his ongoing recovery and his form whenever he makes his return.

Darwinzon Hernandez Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Red Sox pitcher Darwinzon Hernández recently underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee, the team informed reporters (including Ian Browne of MLB.com). While the club didn’t provide a specific timetable for his return, he’ll be out of action for the foreseeable future.

Hernández hasn’t appeared in the majors this season. The hard-throwing southpaw has spent the whole year on optional assignment to Triple-A Worcester, where he recently suffered the injury. Hernández had technically been working as a starting pitcher with the WooSox, opening seven of his eight appearances. He hadn’t worked more than three frames in any individual outing, though, positioning him as more of a multi-inning relief option for the MLB team.

That’ll be put on hold while he recovers from this procedure. It’s a hit to the Sox’s bullpen depth, as Hernández had been a frequently-used middle innings option for skipper Alex Cora in recent seasons. He tallied a personal-high 40 innings across 48 appearances last year, posting a 3.38 ERA. That solid run prevention mark masked control variability, as Hernández walked a far too high 17% of opposing hitters. That was also the case in 2019, when he walked 17.7% of batters faced over 30 1/3 frames as a rookie.

The 25-year-old has shown high-octane stuff alongside those strike-throwing woes. He averaged a bit north of 95 MPH on his heater and struck out 29.7% of batters faced last season. Both marks were actually down a bit from his 2019-20 numbers, but there’s little question the Venezuela native can miss bats at the MLB level if he’s around the strike zone.

Hernández has been placed on the minor league injured list for now, but he’ll continue to occupy a spot on the Red Sox’s 40-man roster. If Boston wants to remove him from the 40-man while he recovers, they could recall him and place him on the major league 60-day IL. That’d require paying him an MLB salary and allowing him to accrue major league service time, however, so the front office will presumably not make that call before the need for a roster spot becomes acute.

Red Sox Outright Jaylin Davis

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Outfielder Jaylin Davis, designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Worcester, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). He’ll remain with the organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Davis, 27, was claimed off waivers out of the Giants organization late last month. He hadn’t been outrighted previously in his career and doesn’t have three years of big league service time, so he didn’t have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.

Originally a 24th-round pick of the Twins back in 2015, Davis was traded from Minnesota to San Francisco in exchange for Sam Dyson at the 2019 trade deadline. Despite enormous Triple-A production with the Twins and Giants in ’19 — .306/.397/.590 with 35 home runs in 541 plate appearances — Davis has never managed to carry things over to the big leagues. He hit just .159/.221/.270 in parts of three seasons with the Giants (68 plate appearances) and was 2-for-4 in his pair of games with the Sox prior to his DFA.

Davis has continued to post solid power numbers in Triple-A, but he’s never replicated that 2019 production — even in the minors. He hit .230/.317/.503 with the Giants’ top affiliate last year and is out to a .257/.282/.446 start between the Triple-A clubs of the Red Sox and Giants so far in 2022. Strikeouts have become an increasing issue for Davis over the years, as evidenced by last year’s 31.7% punchout rate and this year’s mark of 32.1% in 78 plate appearances.

Red Sox Notes: Wacha, Hernandez

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  • Michael Wacha is slated to return from the 15-day injured list and start Friday’s game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters.  Friday is the first eligible day for Wacha’s activation, after being retroactively placed on the 15-day IL on May 5 due to left intercostal irritation.  After a few rough seasons, Wacha looked to be on pace for a bounce-back performance in his first five starts with Boston, with an excellent 1.38 ERA over 26 innings.
  • At the minor league level, Cora said left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez will be “down for a while” after suffering an MCL sprain in his right knee.  Hernandez has a 5.95 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Worcester, continuing his career-long pattern of recording plenty of strikeouts but also far too many walks.  Over 78 2/3 career big league frames with the Red Sox, Hernandez has a 3.66 ERA and 33.6% strikeout rate, but also a whopping 17.6% walk rate.

Red Sox Release Carlos Martinez

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The Red Sox have released right-hander Carlos Martinez, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Boston had signed the longtime Cardinals righty to a minor league deal earlier this month.

Martinez has now spent time with both the Giants and Red Sox organizations on minor league deals this year, although he didn’t pitch in a minor league game with the former as he finished up mending the thumb injury that ended his 2021 season. He took the mound for a pair of starts with Boston’s top affiliate in Worcester but was hammered for 10 runs on nine hits and a trio of walks in just 4 1/3 innings. He struck out just four of the 25 batters he faced (16%).

It’ll be the second brief stop for Martinez as he looks to make his way back to the big leagues. He’ll now search for a third organization this season, though it’s hard to imagine any club would place him directly on a big league roster after that showing with the WooSox and after he finished up the 2021 season with a 6.23 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate in 82 1/3 frames.

That said, Martinez has a lengthy track record of big league success — and that alone ought to continue intriguing pitching-hungry clubs. From 2015-19 — Martinez’s age-23 through age-27 seasons — he was one of the best young pitchers in the National League. A two-time All-Star with the Cardinals during that run, Martinez compiled 747 innings of 3.22 ERA ball while striking out 23.7% of his opponents against an 8.9% walk rate. Martinez fronted the St. Louis rotation for much of that time but also spent a good portion of the 2019 season as the team’s closer, racking up 24 saves with a career-best 26.5% strikeout rate that season.

Injuries, however, have completely derailed the right-hander’s career in recent years. He only landed in the bullpen in 2019 after a spring shoulder injury delayed his season and led to concerns about his workload as a starter. He missed seven weeks of the shortened 2020 season with a lengthy bout of Covid-19 and suffered a strained oblique muscle quickly after returning to the field. Martinez’s 2021 campaign was a roller coaster when healthy — he fired eight shutout innings in a May 2 start and a month later was rocked for 10 runs in less than one inning — and last year’s season ended for him in July when he suffered a torn ligament in his pitching hand that ultimately required surgery.

Martinez ought to be able to get a look with another organization, but he’ll need to string together some good outings in Triple-A before he’s viewed as an option to return to the Majors.

Red Sox Notes: Martinez, Bogaerts, Vazquez, Sale, Paxton

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J.D. Martinez’s five-year, $110MM deal with the Red Sox is up at season’s end, and the slugger again made clear this weekend that he’d love to return (link via Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). “Would I love to stay here?” Martinez asked rhetorically. “Yeah. I’ve expressed that to ownership.” Martinez added that he told the Sox he was “really open” to an extension as far back as the 2019-20 offseason. However, he also acknowledged that, as far as contract talks are concerned, “nothing has really happened since I got here.” Martinez further noted that if a Boston reunion isn’t in the cards, he’s at least excited to have a wider range of potential suitors thanks to the advent of the universal designated hitter.

While many nine-figure free agent deals prove regrettable by the time they draw to a close, Martinez has been a mostly sound investment for the Sox. Although he struggled in the shortened 2020 season, he boasts an overall .298/.369/.548 batting line with 118 home runs through 2296 plate appearances since signing his deal. That includes a huge .321/.370/.541 line (164 wRC+) to begin the 2022 campaign. Martinez will turn 35 in August, but his bat isn’t showing many signs of slowing down even as he enters his mid-30s. Boston has about $92.5MM in guaranteed money on the books in 2023, but $20MM of that is allocated to Xander Bogaerts, who is all but a lock to exercise an opt-out in his contract (barring an extension).

More out of Boston…

  • While Bogaerts is almost certainly ticketed for the open market at the end of the season, the star shortstop left open the possibility of in-season extension talks over the weekend. His agent Scott Boras downplayed those chances, telling Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) that extension talks with the Sox won’t take place during the regular season. Whether behind-the-scenes discussions take place or not, it has never seemed likely the sides will come to an agreement after they were extremely far apart in Spring Training. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last month that Boston had offered an additional one year and $30MM to convince Bogaerts to forego his opt-out possibility. That’s well shy of the three-time All-Star’s likely market value, and Bogaerts implied over the weekend the team would have to significantly raise their offer were they to try to reignite talks. “I don’t know how this would work,” he said.”But if they talk to Scott behind closed doors and it’s something that’s fair, he can come to me. We’ll see how that goes.
  • The Red Sox “were quietly shopping” Christian Vazquez over the winter but (obviously) never lined up with a potential trade partner, writes Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic in her latest mailbag column. Boston exercised a $7MM club option on the 32-year-old catcher at the end of the 2021 season but was also reported to be heavily in the mix for Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings over the winter — before he was ultimately instead traded to Miami. Vazquez slugged 23 homers in the “juiced ball” season in 2019 and had a stronger 2020 campaign (on a rate basis). However, he’s struggled to a .252/.302/.344 output in 583 subsequent plate appearances (2022 included). McCaffrey suggests that if the Sox don’t right the ship, Vazquez could again be a trade candidate this summer, which would leave prospect Connor Wong and veteran Kevin Plawecki as the team’s primary catchers. Of course, Plawecki himself is a free agent at season’s end and could change hands in such a scenario — assuming he can bounce back from the dreadful .139/.179/.167 slash he’s posted through his first 40 plate appearances.
  • Injured Sox ace Chris Sale, who is on the 60-day IL with a stress fracture in his rib cage, has been cleared to begin throwing and is playing catch, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. At last check, Sale wasn’t throwing and was dealing with a non-baseball, non-Covid related medical issue, but it seems he’s put that past him and is officially progressing toward a return to the mound. The seven-time All-Star has thrown just 42 2/3 innings since the conclusion of the 2019 season, primarily due to Tommy John surgery. Speier also notes that fellow southpaw James Paxton is still receiving treatment and has yet to begin throwing as he works back from 2021 Tommy John surgery. The Sox announced earlier this month that Paxton was dealing with continued soreness in his elbow.

Xander Bogaerts Open To In-Season Extension Talks

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Negotiations on a new contract extension between Xander Bogaerts and the Red Sox didn’t result in a deal prior to Opening Day, and at the time, Bogaerts implied that the opener was an unofficial deadline.  “I’ve got a season coming up in front of me and I don’t want to put any of our teammates in that type of distraction,” Bogaerts said. “They don’t deserve it.  We had time to get something done. It didn’t work out.”

Now, Bogaerts has left the door slightly open for more talks during the season, telling The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham that “I don’t know how this would work. But if they talk to [agent Scott Boras] behind closed doors and it’s something that’s fair, he can come to me.  We’ll see how that goes.”

Most players set Opening Day as the endpoint for any contract negotiations, echoing Bogaerts’ point that once games begin, the focus is solely on baseball.  (Even in Bogaerts’ proposed scenario, he would himself seemingly have no role in active talks.)  Most extensions that are announced during the season tend to be announced perhaps within the first few weeks, indicating that the two sides had things mostly finalized aside from a few small details.

That said, it isn’t uncommon for extensions to be struck during the season.  2021 alone saw multiple deals finalized well into the year, including extensions involving the Red Sox (their two-year pact with Matt Barnes) and another Boras Corporation client (Jonathan Schoop, who inked a new deal to stay with the Tigers).  However, all of those extensions were for significantly shorter terms and for less money than what Bogaerts is undoubtedly looking for in a new contract.

Bogaerts is already under contract via a prior six-year, $120MM extension signed in April 2019.  The shortstop can opt out of that deal after the season, leaving behind the $60MM he is guaranteed between 2023-25 plus a $20MM vesting option for 2026.  There is little doubt that Bogaerts will indeed opt out and hit the open market, as entering his age-30 season, the three-time All-Star could triple the $60MM he’d be leaving on the table in Boston given how this past offseason raised the bar for shortstop contracts.

With the larger shortstop market in mind, perhaps the key point in Bogaerts’ quote is “something that’s fair.”  Reports have suggested that the Red Sox made a curiously low offer to Bogaerts’ camp, with the team proposing to extend the term by just one guaranteed year — Bogaerts would earn around $30MM for the 2026 season, and still be paid $20MM for each of the next three seasons.  Boston’s proposal apparently didn’t get a response from Bogaerts and his reps, and one friend of Bogaerts described the offer as “a slap in the face.”

It could be that the Red Sox were simply starting low as a negotiating tactic, and as Abraham notes, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom have said that the Sox want to retain both Bogaerts and Rafael Devers (who is a free agent after the 2023 season).  That said, the Red Sox also signed Trevor Story to a big six-year, $140MM free agent deal, and the team has one of the game’s top shortstop prospects in Marcelo Mayer.  Between Story, Mayer, and the lowball offer, it would seem like the Sox are already preparing themselves for life beyond Bogaerts, unless he happened to take that below-market extension.

While Boras has a reputation for pushing his clients towards free agency, several high-profile Boras Corporation clients have indeed signed extensions over the years — even Bogaerts himself re-upped with the Sox entering his final year under team control.  Of those deals, however, Stephen Strasburg’s 2016 extension with the Nationals is the only big-money, multi-year pact signed in-season, and Strasburg and the Nats were much closer in talks than Bogaerts and the Sox seem to be at this point.

With Bogaerts this close to the open market, it would seem like the Red Sox would have to (if anything) overpay to prevent him from opting out.  The other factor involved is Boston’s mediocre start to the 2022 season, as with only a 13-21 record thus far, there has already been whispers that Bogaerts could be a deadline trade chip rather than a future cornerstone.  If the Red Sox continue to struggle and lean towards becoming deadline sellers, it could be that the Sox might take the approach of revisiting extension talks with Bogaerts around the All-Star break, and if a deal can’t be struck, the team would then focus on trading him.

Red Sox Activate Rich Hill, Designate Jaylin Davis

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The Red Sox have activated Rich Hill from the COVID-related injury list, and the veteran southpaw is set to start tonight’s game against the Rangers.  Righty Kutter Crawford was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game, creating space for Hill on the active roster.  In another move, the Sox also announced that outfielder Jaylin Davis has been designated for assignment.

Hill returns after a little over a week on the COVID-IL, as the lefty tested positive for the coronavirus.  Now in his age-42 season and in his fourth different stint with the Red Sox, Hill is still effective, posting a 2.86 ERA over his first five starts and 22 innings of the season.

With Michael Wacha still on the regular injured list due to left intercostal irritation, Hill’s return will bring one full-time starter back into the Red Sox rotation.  Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck comprised the rest of the starting five, with the expectation that Houck will likely return to bullpen duty once Wacha is ready.

Davis was claimed off waivers from the Giants in late April, and the outfielder has played nine games at Triple-A Worcester and two games at the big league level.  That makes it a fourth straight season of MLB action for Davis, albeit in somewhat sparing fashion, with only 28 games and 72 plate appearances on his resume in the Show.  The 27-year-old Davis is struggling to shed the “Quad-A” label, as he has yet to produce much in the majors, but also little else to prove in the minors (a .958 OPS over 554 PA at the Triple-A level).

Red Sox Notes: Trade Deadline, Bloom, Song, Hyers

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In an early look ahead to this year’s trade deadline, Joel Sherman of the New York Post identifies the 12-20 Red Sox as potential sellers. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom rebukes any notion that the team is preparing to punt on the season however, telling Sherman “We are not thinking that way [selling] at all […] The hole we are in is real, but it doesn’t reflect the talent on this club. We know it will take a lot to climb out, but we believe this group can do it.”

Accordingly, Sherman acknowledges how much baseball is left to be played this season and opposes a total teardown for a club that just last year made the playoffs. He does also cite Boston’s frequent record fluctuation this past decade (the team has finished first and last in the AL East four times apiece), however, as reason to brace for a disappointing final win tally. With a number of teams already ahead of them in the Wild Card hunt, to say nothing of their incredibly tough division, the Red Sox figure to have a harder time than most presumptive contenders in reaching the playoffs this year. Thanks to a handful of impending All-Star free agents and a wide open payroll next offseason though, there’s perhaps no team more qualified to reload at the trade deadline before trying for better results in 2023.

Some more news out of Boston…

  • Pitching prospect Noah Song was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 draft but has since seen his baseball career be put on hold due to Navy commitments. As Alex Speier of The Boston Globe details, however, Song has now completed flight school and applied for a service waiver that may allow him to resume his professional baseball career. At the time of his draft selection scouts viewed the right-hander as a first-round talent with mid-rotation upside, albeit one with obvious signing roadblocks, so his return could be quite the boon for a farm system on the rise. It remains to be seen how a multi-year layoff from baseball might impact Song’s athletic abilities or if additional naval obligations will keep his service waiver from being approved, but the Sox for their part seem prepared and supportive of either outcome.
  • In an interview with Christopher Smith of MassLive, former Boston hitting coach Tim Hyers discussed his rationale for leaving the franchise this offseason to take an identical role with the Rangers. Familial considerations, challenge-seeking, and a desire to let current Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse rise to the occasion all informed his ultimate departure. Hyers of course has been one of the sport’s more productive hitting coaches in terms of results, as high-octane offense was the calling card of Red Sox teams dating back to his first year under manager Alex Cora in 2018. Hyers’ coaching presence, and lack thereof, seems to be felt by his old and new club so far this season, as the Rangers have improved relatively as a run-scoring unit while the Red Sox currently find themselves as a bottom-three team in MLB in that regard. If there’s one silver lining here in the early-going for Sox fans, it’s that Hyers was approached by the Yankees after leaving his post with Boston but politely rebuffed the club.

COVID IL Notes: Wheeler, Arauz, Sosa, Wainwright

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Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, who’d been on the COVID IL since Sunday, has been cleared to rejoin the team and will start tonight’s game against the Dodgers, reports Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Enquirer. To make room for Wheeler on the active roster, the Phillies optioned left-hander Bailey Falter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It’s a timely return for the Phillies, who’ll avoid a crunch in rotation following a pair of rainouts and a Sunday doubleheader against the Mets last weekend. Even with Wheeler’s return, the rotation is still down a man with Zach Eflin still on the COVID list. However, the club has an off-day on Monday, meaning they can survive with four starters for a couple of turns through the rotation. After five starts this year, Wheeler’s ERA is sitting at 4.10, with a 22.5% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

Rounding up the latest virus-related transactions…

  • The Red Sox announced that they have reinstated Jonathan Arauz from the COVID-related IL. To make room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Josh Taylor has been transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Taylor has somewhat quietly become an important part of the Red Sox bullpen. Over the previous three seasons, he’s thrown 102 1/3 innings with a 3.69 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. He’s gradually earned himself some higher-leverage outings, notching 15 holds and a save last year. However, he began this year on the injured list due to back soreness. He began a rehab assignment last month, though that was paused after the issue lingered. The Red Sox evidently don’t think he’s close to a return, based on today’s transaction. Taylor will be eligible to return 60 days from his original placement on the IL, meaning he could be back in early June, though the club hasn’t provided any timetable for his next steps.
  • The Cardinals announced that Edmundo Sosa was activated from the COVID IL today. Kramer Robertson was optioned in a corresponding move. With the recent demotion of Paul DeJong, there’s an opening for Sosa to take over as the everyday shortstop in St. Louis. Last year, he broke out with a .271/.346/.389 showing for a 104 wRC+. However, he got off to a slow start this year, hitting just .160/.250/.160 in a small ten-game sample before landing on the injured list. He’ll be jockeying with Brendan Donovan, who is off to a hot start to his MLB career. Over his first 12 games in the big leagues, Donovan is hitting .278/.381/.556, 169 wRC+. Another path the team could eventually take would be to slide Tommy Edman over to shortstop and call up second base prospect Nolan Gorman, who is hitting .287/.350/.658 in Triple-A this year for a wRC+ of 157.
  • There’s one Cardinal that is still on the COVID IL, right-hander Adam Wainwright. It seems that he is back with the club and could be taking the ball for Sunday’s game, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Packy Naughton recently made a spot start to cover for Wainwright and would likely be bumped to the bullpen or optioned to the minors if Waino can indeed return this weekend. The 40-man roster currently has a vacancy, meaning a corresponding move won’t be necessary in that regard. Through six starts this year, Wainwright has a 3.18 ERA, 20% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 57.6% ground ball rate.
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