Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Eduardo Rodriguez, Bobby Dalbec Test Positive For COVID-19

By | at

Two additional Red Sox players are being isolated with coronavirus infections, the club informed reporters including Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and infield prospect Bobby Dalbec each tested positive for COVID-19 (and consented to the public disclosure of that information).

Fortunately, there is no indication that either player is dealing with significant complications. It even sounds as if there’s still some hope for Rodriguez to be ready for the start of the season — or, at least, the southpaw is holding out the possibility in hopes of taking the honor of an Opening Day nod.

As with all the other such cases around the league, the two keys here are to ensure the health of the infected players and prevent any further transmission. Before they are able to join the Boston Summer Camp, Rodriguez and Dalbec will need to get past the disease and twice test negative.

It’s a disappointing situation for both players. Rodriguez had an impressive spring after a quality, 200-inning 2019 showing. He’s looking to lay the groundwork for his final trip through arbitration and perhaps take another step forward as a front-line starter. Dalbec reached Triple-A last year and earned a top-100 leaguewide prospect grade from Baseball America. He’s surely hoping to debut in the majors in 2020.

Red Sox Sign First-Rounder Nick Yorke

By | at

The Red Sox have inked first-round pick Nick Yorke, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $2.7MM bonus.

That’s well shy of the $3,609,700 slot value allocated to the 17th overall selection with which York was taken. That was the expectation when the Sox surprisingly nabbed the high-school second baseman, who wasn’t widely seen as a first-round talent entering the draft.

The Boston organization obviously had a lot of faith in Yorke. Signing him to an under-slot deal also allowed the team to make more noise in the later rounds.

[RELATED: American League Draft Signings Picks & Bonus Info]

Yorke did draw one top-100 pre-draft ranking, from Baseball America. The calling card here is his hitting ability, which the Sox obviously feel bullish about. It’s not clear how much pop Yorke will develop, and there are varying views on where he’ll end up defensively, but the bat is compelling enough — in the Boston org’s view, anyway — to warrant the lofty selction.

Mookie Betts On Resumption Of Play

By | at

The Dodgers acquired Mookie Betts to chase a 2020 World Series. Before that, Betts spurned extension efforts by the Red Sox, making the 2020 season a critical platform year. There’s a lot at stake for both parties in the pandemic-shaped campaign.

Betts, who is finally back in a Dodgers uniform and nearing a potential regular season debut, discussed the situation with media members including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. The 27-year-old outfielder indicated that his focus is on more immediate concerns rather than the past or the future.

Betts spoke about the two overarching issues that have dominated the national discourse since baseball hit pause in March. He indicated that he is focused right now on health and safety matters as camp gets underway. While he expressed some uncertainty as to whether the league can manage a return to play in the midst of the spread of the coronavirus, Betts says it’s a matter that’s ultimately out of his hands.

The superstar had a different take on the social justice issues he also discussed. Betts spoke of a personal responsibility to “bring baseball into Black communities.” He also indicated displeasure with MLB’s handling of the protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s death. “I think baseball did not do a good job of that,” said Betts, “but I think voices were heard and that’s the main thing, that we get our voices heard and to make some changes.”

With Betts focused on gearing up to play in 2020, he says he’s not worried about contractual matters. “Free agency is on the back burner,” he says. While it’s likely MLB teams will be keeping a tighter hold on their wallets this winter, Betts doesn’t seem to be having second thoughts on his decision not to take what the Red Sox offered him in prior contract talks.

“I don’t regret turning that [extension offer] down,” says Betts. “Once I make a decision, I don’t go back and question myself. So I don’t worry about that. The market will be what the market is. We’ll just kind of cross that bridge when we get there.”

While Betts is quite sensibly not thinking about dollars and cents at the moment, it’s hard not to ponder his future here at MLBTR. We’ll see what the truncated 2020 season holds, but it’s quite likely that Betts will reach the open market as the best free agent position player in recent memory. Setting aside intervening financial uncertainties, it would stand to reason that Betts could top Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330MM pact and Mike Trout’s ten-year, $360MM extension (reached when he was two years from free agency). That’s all the more true given the boosted earnings we saw this past winter, when the Yankees promised $324MM to Gerrit Cole, a pitcher who was a full year older than Betts will be when he hits free agency.

Just how the market shapes up is impossible to say at this point. The near-term financial outlook is sure to depend on what kind of season MLB is able to pull off in the midst of a pandemic.

Red Sox Sign RHP Caleb Simpson

By | at

The Red Sox have signed right-handed reliever Caleb Simpson and added him to their 60-man player pool, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. His addition comes not long after the Red Sox revealed that two relievers, Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Simpson, 28, had spent his entire career in the Giants’ minor-league system before earning a chance with the Cubs as a non-roster invite during this year’s Spring Training.

Last season, Simpson reached Double-A with the Giants’ affiliate, pitching 29 1/3 innings and posting a solid 2.45 ERA. Evidently, he’s got impressive stuff in his arsenal, striking out 41 batters—good for a 12.6 K/9 rate.

However, as is the case with many pitchers of Simpson’s ilk, control and precision has been an issue at times: those 41 strikeouts were accompanied by 18 walks. In Spring Training this year, Simpson walked 8 batters in 4 2/3 innings of work. To be sure, there’s some potential here, and the Red Sox will hope they can hone in Simpson’s mechanics and consistency as he strives to break into the Majors.

Two Red Sox Players Test Positive For Coronavirus

By | at

The Red Sox have announced that left-handed pitchers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor have both tested positive for COVID-19, MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report. Taylor’s positive test came during the intake at Red Sox camp, whereas Hernandez stayed at home. Both players will be quarantined and unable to return to the team until they’ve tested negative twice.

Evidently, both players gave the team permission to reveal their identities as the players who received positive test results. Boston skipper Ron Roenicke wouldn’t say whether Taylor and Hernandez were exhibiting symptoms, which could alter their timeline in returning to the diamond.

Fellow Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who has abstained from reporting to Boston, is awaiting test results after coming into contact with a person who may have contracted the virus.

Both Hernandez and Taylor figure to be important pieces in the Boston bullpen this year, and there’s a considerable chance that the Sox will have to start the season without them. The two lefties each got their first foray into the big leagues last year, with Hernandez tossing more than 30 innings for Boston and Taylor tallying almost 50. Their roles this year might have been amplified, with relatively limited left-handed options in the bullpen mix for the Red Sox. Josh Osich is the other lefty reliever in the Boston 60-man player pool.

Clearly, though, the primary focus will be on the health and recovery of the Red Sox pitchers, and we wish them a quick and orderly return to health. We’ll hope to see Hernandez and Taylor on the mound and in good health at Fenway Park in the near future.

Red Sox Add Jonathan Lucroy To 60-Man Player Pool

By | at

The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve formally added catcher Jonathan Lucroy to their 60-man player pool. Lucroy joins the pool as a non-roster player and brings Boston’s total to 48 players (37 members of the 40-man roster and 11 non-roster invitees).

Lucroy, 34, inked a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the winter and reportedly reworked that deal in recent days before being formally added to the player pool. He’ll give the Sox a sixth catcher, joining Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, Jett Bandy, Juan Centeno and Connor Wong.

The 2019 season marked the third consecutive year of what has been a precipitous decline for Lucroy. Once arguably the game’s best all-around catcher, Lucroy batted just .232/.305/.355 between the Angels and Cubs last season and has posted a tepid .248/.315/.350 slash in 1263 plate appearances since Opening Day 2017. His formerly vaunted pitch-framing skills have taken a nosedive and now rate below the league average, and Lucroy’s caught-stealing rate has dipped since peaking at 39 percent in 2016.

That said, as far as depth options go, there’s plenty of value in bringing a two-time All-Star and 10-year big league veteran into camp to help work with the pitching staff and provide a safety net in the event of injuries elsewhere in the catching corps. Lucroy is also quite familiar with Boston skipper Ron Roenicke, who managed the 2011-15 Brewers when Lucroy was one of the club’s best players.

Red Sox Place Chris Sale On 60-Day Injured List

By | at

The Red Sox placed left-hander Chris Sale on the 60-day injured list, as per a team press release.  Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March and will miss the entire 2020 season.

Sale’s IL placement was inevitable given the nature of his injury, though as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe puts it, the “odd timing suggests [the Sox] may have a need for the 40-man spot” that now becomes available with Sale on the injured list.  Boston’s 40-man was full prior to the Sale transaction, so the club now has some flexibility with an open spot.

Jonathan Lucroy could be a possibility for that spot, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported earlier today that the Red Sox were working on a restructured version of the veteran catcher’s minor league deal, which is why Lucroy wasn’t on Boston’s initial 60-man player pool for training camp.  With teams expected to carry three catchers on their expanded MLB rosters, the Sox could choose to keep Lucroy and Kevin Plawecki as Christian Vazquez’s backups, which would require a purchase of Lucroy’s minors deal.

Marco Hernandez, Yairo Munoz, and Brian Johnson are some of the other notable non-roster players in the player pool, so Boston could be considering selecting one of their contracts as well.  Or, the Red Sox could be keeping a 40-man spot available should another player come available over the next few weeks.

Red Sox Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool

By and | at

Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.

Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.

The Red Sox’s initial 47-player pool consists of…

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Red Sox Notes: Coronavirus, Verdugo, McHugh

By | at

Meanwhile, speaking with Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald and other reporters Wednesday, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said “it’s a possibility” that Fenway Park will be able to host fans sometime this year. Kennedy added “there are clubs around Major League Baseball that are anticipating having fans in their ballparks,” though it remains to be seen whether that will prove to be wishful thinking.

  • Kennedy and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom offered further updates on the franchise, as Mastrodonato was among those to cover on Twitter. Bloom revealed the Red Sox have had one player test positive for the coronavirus, but that individual is no longer exhibiting any symptoms. Those who do test positive are required a 14-day quarantine/monitoring period, and then they have to test negative on multiple occasions before returning, Bloom said.
  • Bloom also spoke on on outfielder Alex Verdugo and right-hander Collin McHugh, two players who have dealt with injuries. A stress fracture in Verdugo’s back slowed him during the first version of spring training, but one of the key components of the Mookie Betts trade will be a full go for Boston when camp resumes in July. And McHugh, still on the mend from elbow problems that limited him in 2019, is making progress. The Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to pitch this season, which is his first with the club. Boston signed the ex-Astro to a one-year, incentive-heavy deal in free agency.

Red Sox, Third-Rounder Blaze Jordan Agree To Deal

By | at

  • The Red Sox have reached a deal on a $1.75MM bonus with third-round choice Blaze Jordan, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. It’s a well-above-slot pact for Jordan, a high school third baseman from Mississippi whose pick (89) came with a recommended value of $667,900.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top