- In an expansive interview with Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski expressed confidence about the club’s long-term outlook. The Red Sox are “pretty solidified” from a position player perspective, said Dombrowski, though he acknowledged that trying to replace what retiring designated hitter David Ortiz has brought to the table as a producer and leader will be nearly impossible. Dombrowski also noted that the Sox have five starting pitchers – David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz – under control for the next couple years. It remains to be seen where that will leave Clay Buchholz, who will attempt to keep the Red Sox alive when he starts Game 3 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Sunday. The Red Sox will have a decision to make after the season on Buchholz’s $13.5MM club option. Buchholz spent time in the bullpen this year, and Dombrowski doesn’t seem worried about his group of relievers going forward. “The bullpen, we’ve got (Craig) Kimbrel set up and some other good arms out there. We’re going to lose some bullpen guys, but that’s not quite as big an area [to fill],” added Dombrowski. Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa, all of whom have experienced success in Boston, are each scheduled to hit the open market after the season.
- The Red Sox finished third in the AL in wins and first in run differential during the regular season, but with the team facing a sweep, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald wonders if Dombrowski did enough to bolster the roster over the summer. In-season trade pickups Pomeranz, Fernando Abad and Aaron Hill haven’t contributed as much as Boston hoped they would since acquiring them, with Abad having missed the cut for Boston’s ALDS roster. Drellich asked Dombrowski if he should have made more significant summer deals, but the executive is content with the moves he made. “No, I’m comfortable with what we did, sure,” he said. “I don’t know what you mean ‘bigger.’ We led the league in runs scored, we were one of the best in pitching.”
Red Sox Rumors
Red Sox Notes: Tazawa, Porcello
- Junichi Tazawa’s time with the Red Sox may be coming to an end, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Once one of the team’s most trusted setup men, Tazawa’s struggles in 2016 have probably left him on the outside looking in when it comes to Boston’s playoff roster, and, as a free agent at season’s end, that would mean he’s pitched his last game in a BoSox uniform (barring a new contract in the offseason, of course). As Drellich points out, Tazawa pitched well against lefties this season, but if the team wants another weapon against left-handed bats, Fernando Abad would be the go-to option. As it stands, Drellich writes that Craig Kimbrel, Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara, Robbie Ross, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz are the likeliest members of the Red Sox to comprise the postseason relief corps. The 30-year-old Tazawa logged a 4.17 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings this season but struggled for much of the summer after a strong start.
- Junichi Tazawa’s time with the Red Sox may be coming to an end, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Once one of the team’s most trusted setup men, Tazawa’s struggles in 2016 have probably left him on the outside looking in when it comes to Boston’s playoff roster, and, as a free agent at season’s end, that would mean he’s pitched his last game in a BoSox uniform (barring a new contract in the offseason, of course). As Drellich points out, Tazawa pitched well against lefties this season, but if the team wants another weapon against left-handed bats, Fernando Abad would be the go-to option. As it stands, Drellich writes that Craig Kimbrel, Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara, Robbie Ross, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz are the likeliest members of the Red Sox to comprise the postseason relief corps. The 30-year-old Tazawa logged a 4.17 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings this season but struggled for much of the summer after a strong start.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that when he drafted Rick Porcello as the Tigers’ GM, he expected that Porcello would eventually blossom into a top-of-the-rotation arm. However, while Porcello has reached that status in 2016, Dombrowski explained that the manner in which his right-hander has done so is different than his initial vision. “When we drafted him we thought of him as this flamethrowing top-of-the-rotation type guy,” said Dombrowski. “What he’s done is he’s adjusted to the game.” Dombrowski went on to laud Porcello’s command, stating that he never dreamed it could develop to the point that it has. Porcello himself talked about the difficulties he felt after getting off to a poor start to his Boston tenure, likening last season’s prolonged slump to the one that earned him a demotion back to the minors in his second big league season. He added that he’s not making any assumption that his 2016 success is here to stay: “I don’t want to get complacent and be like, ‘I’ve done this now. I’ve arrived. Now I can stop.’ As appreciative as I am of that recognition, I can’t allow myself to think like that.”
Rob Manfred On A.J. Preller’s Suspension: “I Know Where A.J. Is”
Major League Baseball has had to deal with a number of situations recently in which it’s had to punish teams or front offices, rather than players. Those include the Padres’ failure to disclose some medical information in trades, which led to the suspension of GM A.J. Preller; the Red Sox’ manipulation of international signing practices; and hacking of the Astros’ database by a Cardinals front office employee. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald explores those issues an excellent article that includes new tidbits from commissioner Rob Manfred. (We also highlighted some of Manfred’s other thoughts on the Preller matter yesterday.)
Some throughout the game have wondered whether Preller’s 30-day suspension is enforceable. He would, surely, only need his phone and computer to continue to influence over the Padres’ decision-making. Manfred, though, says that the league has mechanisms in place to ensure Preller stays away.
“I know where A.J. is,” Manfred says. “We’ve also told the Padres that we will be making investigatory undertakings to verify that there has been no contact. They’re very, very explicit rules about what he can and can’t do. I think given the circumstances, I am comfortable we can enforce the penalty.”
The Red Sox, of course, were victims of Preller’s handling of medical information, having been deprived of relevant records in the Drew Pomeranz / Anderson Espinoza swap. The Sox could have rescinded the deal in either July or August, Drellich reports. When the Red Sox learned that the Padres had withheld information, they informed the league, but took the position that they wanted to keep Pomeranz, even after receiving the results of an MRI that increased their frustration with the situation. (The exact results of the MRI are not publicly known, although Pomeranz is currently struggling with left forearm soreness.)
“For a very, very long time, there has been a rule in baseball that if something happens in terms of lack of complete information or disclosure with respect to the trade that the remedy is to rescind the trade, and you saw that baseball rule operate,” Manfred says, referring to the partially-rescinded trade between the Padres and Marlins involving now-injured Colin Rea. (Rea originally headed from the Padres to the Marlins with Andrew Cashner and Tayron Guerrero for Carter Capps, Jarred Cosart, Josh Naylor and Luis Castillo, then headed back to the Padres for Castillo alone.) “Once that happens the rule in baseball has always been that we do not reconfigure trades. Figuring out exactly what happened when is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible. And even if we can figure that out, we are not institutionally capable of deciding who would have traded what for what.”
Manfred On CBA, Red Sox-Padres Trade, Preller, Ortiz
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December, but commissioner Rob Manfred said Sunday that he expects a new CBA in place by the end of the postseason, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). “Both parties still have significant issues on the table,” added Manfred, but he doesn’t believe those concerns are enough for either side to rip up the agreement and start negotiations from scratch (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, on Twitter).
Manfred, who’s in Boston on Sunday for Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s final regular-season game, also addressed several other important topics:
- After acquiring left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the Padres for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza in July, questions arose in August over whether San Diego was completely honest about Pomeranz’s medical information. It turned out the Padres didn’t reveal that Pomeranz was taking anti-inflammatory medication for his elbow at the time of the deal. Then, when MLB handed Padres general manager A.J. Preller a 30-day suspension in September, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner expressed displeasure with the commissioner’s office, saying, “We felt that some wrong was committed and that it’s important to have a level playing field. The Padres didn’t play on it.” Interestingly, the league gave the Red Sox the opportunity to undo the trade in early August, Manfred revealed, but the non-waiver deadline had already passed by then. Moreover, there was no way for the league to compensate the Red Sox, the commissioner stated. As a result, Boston turned down the offer and kept Pomeranz (Twitter links via MacPherson and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). The 27-year-old has scuffled since the trade and is currently dealing with left forearm soreness.
- Whether the Padres fire Preller for his questionable practices is up to them, not the league, according to Manfred (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I felt that that Mr. Preller behaved inappropriately in the situation. He behaved inappropriately to the detriment of two clubs,” said Manfred. “And I thought that a publicly announced suspension of 30 days, which is the longest suspension of a front-office person in 70 years, was a firm statement of our view on how he had behaved or, in this case, misbehaved.” As of Sept. 17, the Padres’ front office was reportedly split on Preller, who, in addition to crossing the Red Sox, didn’t disclose all available medical information in a July trade with the Marlins. As a result, the Preller-led Padres reversed part of what was a large transaction that centered on Andrew Cashner. Ultimately, the Padres re-acquired right-hander Colin Rea from Miami and sent pitching prospect Luis Castillo back to the Marlins. That came after Rea left his sole Marlins start with an elbow injury. Rea is now attempting to stave off Tommy John surgery.
- Ortiz was among 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, but Manfred downplayed that. The list didn’t distinguish therapeutic use exemptions from PEDs, per Manfred, who called it “unfair” and “wrong” that the positive test might negatively affect Ortiz’s legacy (Twitter links via MacPherson and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).
Red Sox Notes: DH, Ramirez, Kimbrel, Vazquez
The American League East-winning Red Sox are headed for the postseason, but designated hitter David Ortiz’s illustrious career is also nearing an end. Ortiz will play his final regular-season game Sunday, and despite his age (40), he has been the top hitter in Boston’s major league-best offense this year. With the offseason approaching, the Red Sox will soon need to find a replacement for Ortiz, which is something their pro scouting department has been working on since August, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. “We’ll do all that coverage in August and September,” general manager Mike Hazen told Drellich. “You have a month-and-a-half to scout the major leagues before you switch gears (to prepare for the playoffs), and if you’re not advancing, then you do it for all September.” While the Red Sox are looking into free agent options to take over for Ortiz, they’ll also consider moving first baseman Hanley Ramirez to DH on at least a part-time basis, per Drellich. Ramirez has bounced back from a dreadful 2015, his first season with the BoSox, to post a .286/.360/.500 line with 29 home runs in 616 plate appearances this year. His time at first base has also gone better than last season’s disastrous experiment in left field, though advanced metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating still give him low marks.
A couple more notes on the Red Sox, who will face the Indians in the ALDS:
- Closer Craig Kimbrel has scuffled over the past week, but manager John Farrell said Saturday that he isn’t considering flipping him and red-hot setup man Koji Uehara for the playoffs. “At this moment, no,” Farrell told Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The Red Sox will instead focus on fixing a flaw in Kimbrel’s delivery that has caused the longtime late-game ace to move “a little side-to-side,” per Farrell. “You get into some bad habits when you get a little rotational. I felt like tonight I was a little better,” said Kimbrel after taking the loss, 4-3, to Toronto on Saturday. Kimbrel walked a batter, threw a wild pitch and yielded the deciding run in the ninth inning. The 28-year-old has allowed at least one earned run in three of his previous four outings, but he hadn’t surrendered any in a 16-appearance streak that spanned from Aug. 13 to Sept. 22.
- Although catcher Christian Vazquez has totaled just eight at-bats since the All-Star break, the 26-year-old might crack the ALDS roster as Boston’s backup to Sandy Leon, per Chris Smith of MassLive.com. Of the Red Sox’s reserve backstop options (Ryan Hanigan and Bryan Holaday are the others), Vazquez could stand the best chance of countering Cleveland’s base-stealing prowess. The Indians rank fourth in the majors in steals (134) and third in FanGraphs’ BsR metric, while the strong-armed Vasquez has thrown out 41 percent of baserunners between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. Hanigan has helped prevent 7-of-25 runners from stealing this year, while Holaday has stymied a more impressive 8-of-22.
Lourdes Gurriel Setting Up Private Workouts With MLB Clubs
Free agent infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hosted a showcase attended by roughly two-thirds of the league earlier this month, is setting up private workouts with “about a half-dozen” clubs, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Currently known to have a private audition in the works are the Red Sox, Cardinals, Astros and Marlins, according to Heyman.
Gurriel, the younger brother of Astros infielder Yulieksi Gurriel, was declared a free agent in early August and is considered one of the better all-around prospects on the international market. He’s currently subject to international bonus pools, but that’ll change next month on Oct. 19 when Gurriel turns 23. At that point, he’ll be free to sign with any MLB club for any amount, so the Red Sox will have a shot at him even though they’re currently restricted in their signings of players that are subject to international bonus restrictions (i.e. players that are under 23 and/or have fewer than five years of professional experience).
Gurriel is a career .277/.362/.426 hitter in just under 1100 plate appearances in Cuba’s top professional league, although those numbers include some lackluster stats from his years as a teenager. Gurriel batted .308/.388/.466 as a 20-year-old in the 2014-15 season, and he was even more impressive as a 21-year-old in the 2015-16 season, hitting .344/.407/.560 with 10 homers in 245 plate appearances. Gurriel is primarily a shortstop but is also said to be capable of sliding over to third base, second base or the outfield. At 6’4″ and 205 pounds, it certainly seems possible that Gurriel will eventually have to move off of shortstop, given his size relative to his peers at that position.
Drew Pomeranz Won’t Start Again This Season
Red Sox left-hander Drew Pomeranz won’t make another start this season, manager John Farrell told reporters, including WEEI’s Rob Bradford. Pomeranz has been feeling some soreness in his left forearm and has also pitched a career-high 169 1/3 innings this season whilst splitting the year between San Diego and Boston. Farrell stated that Pomeranz came out of his last start “a little more sore” but emphasized that the lefty isn’t being shut down and will hopefully make a bullpen appearance before season’s end. If Pomeranz is deemed healthy enough, he could be a bullpen option in the postseason, but his status for the playoffs remains unclear, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
The news on Pomeranz is magnified by the fact that the Red Sox were reportedly unhappy with the lack of medical information disclosed by the Padres prior to the trade that sent Pomeranz to Boston in exchange for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Major League Baseball has already suspended San Diego general manager A.J. Preller for 30 days, without pay, due to the fact that the Padres withheld medical information in the Pomeranz trade. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that Red Sox officials declined comment about the specifics of what was withheld today in the wake of Farrell’s announcement, but it was “very clear” that the officials to whom he spoke are angry.
Bradford tweets that in spite of this recent development, the Pomeranz case will remain closed. Reports at the time of Preller’s suspension indicated that the White Sox, among other teams, were “enraged” with the Padres and felt that they were knowingly deceived, but based on Bradford’s tweet, it doesn’t appear that there will be any further action taken against San Diego. The 27-year-old Pomeranz pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 102 innings with the Padres this year, but his performance has slipped with the BoSox, as he’s worked to a more pedestrian 4.68 ERA in 67 1/3 innings. Boston controls him via arbitration for another two seasons beyond the current campaign.
Could Pablo Sandoval Be A Postseason Option?
- While a postseason return to the Red Sox for Pablo Sandoval seems rather implausible, manager John Farrell said it isn’t off the table entirely in an appearance on MLB Network on Sirius XM (Twitter link). “He’s done a very good job in rehab,” Farrell said of Sandoval. “In the event of an injury he could be part of the conversation.” Turning to the 30-year-old third baseman, who has only appeared in three games this year and struggled badly ever since coming to Boston, would obviously be something of a last-ditch move. But it’s also quite promising to see that Sandoval is even drawing this kind of consideration, as it suggests that the team is optimistic in his progress — and could perhaps yet receive from value from his sizable contract.
Red Sox Weighing Fernando Abad, Robby Scott For Postseason Pen
- It’s possible that Red Sox deadline addition Fernando Abad won’t even crack the team’s postseason roster, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. The veteran southpaw has largely been quite good against opposing lefties since coming to Boston, but he has still coughed nine earned runs with a dozen strikeouts and eight walks in his 12 2/3 innings of work. Though nothing has been decided, manager John Farrell did acknowledge that the club is assessing both Abad and rookie lefty Robby Scott for the postseason pen. Scott, 27, has just six MLB appearances on his ledger, though he has yet to allow a run.
Red Sox Reached Out To Berry Before Blue Jays Deal
- The Red Sox won’t have a late-inning baserunning specialist this postseason as they have in each of their recent World Series runs, writes WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. Boston has previously leaned on Dave Roberts, Joey Gathright and Quintin Berry to serve as a bench weapon late in postseason contests — deploying each with great success in base-stealing situations. The Sox reached out to Berry once again this season following his release from the Angels, but Berry elected to sign with the division-rival Blue Jays, who ultimately released him on Sept. 7 — after the postseason eligibility deadline. There was also some hope that Yoan Moncada could fill the role, but he’s committed a few baserunning blunders that have led the Sox to question whether he’s capable of handling such a stage, Bradford points out.
