The Red Sox received a highly promising start from southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez last night, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. While Rodriguez wasn’t quite up to the top velocity he showed last year, he was working comfortably at 93 mph and said he expects to see gains in that department as he continues to build up. The youngster made his 2016 debut just one day before the calendar flipped to June after a prolonged absence due to a knee injury. Boston will surely hope that Rodriguez can provide a boost to a rotation that has had its share of concerns over the season’s first two months.
Red Sox Rumors
Sam Travis Tears ACL
- Red Sox prospect Sam Travis has suffered a torn left ACL, Boston announced. The first baseman will be out for the rest of the season, though the team says the expectation is he’ll be ready for 2017. Travis looked like a useful depth piece in the near-term, and some had suggested that the young first baseman could factor into the team’s plans next year. While that may still prove to be the case, he’ll miss a big stretch of development and a chance to show that he’s ready. That makes it difficult to imagine Boston altering its spending plans based on the promise that the 22-year-old will be ready for a major role. A second-round pick in 2014, Travis had posted a solid (but hardly dominant) .272/.332/.434 slash in 190 plate appearances at Triple-A.
Dombrowski: Red Sox E-Rod Offer Topped Tigers' Offer For Miller In 2014
- Dave Dombrowski is happy to have “a championship type of guy” like Eduardo Rodriguez on the Red Sox roster, but the southpaw was a trade roadblock back when Dombrowski was the Tigers’ general manager. As Dombrowski tells Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, Detroit was eager to acquire Andrew Miller from the Red Sox at the 2014 trade deadline and Dombrowski felt a deal was imminent after the Tigers agreed to give then-Sox GM Ben Cherington the two players he was seeking. Cherington had to make one more call, however, which led to Miller being dealt to the Orioles for Rodriguez. “They didn’t say we had a deal but you thought you had a deal,” Dombrowski said. “There is a difference between the two….It’s ironic how it worked out because I’m the benefactor of it. Really when they got Eduardo Rodriguez, he was better than the guys we were offering. So I understood it.”
Red Sox Could Move Brock Holt From Left Field
- The Red Sox are considering removing Brock Holt from the everyday left field job when he returns from a concussion and shifting him back to a super-utility role, writes Ian Browne of MLB.com. Whether that happens will depend on how catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart fares in Holt’s place, said manager John Farrell – who’s encouraged by Swihart’s defensive work. “If [Blake] swings the bat, we could find Brock in more of a utility role and move him around. When Brock has been getting fairly regular at-bats, he’s been a very productive offensive player. That’s going to determine it,” commented Farrell. Swihart has collected just nine hits in 50 plate appearances this season, though he did have a two-triple performance Wednesday. Holt, who spent time at eight different positions in 2015 and made the All-Star team, got off to a slow start this season prior to his injury and hasn’t played since May 17.
Red Sox Notes: Betts, Workman
With 23 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, 5-foot-9, 180-pound Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts is showing rare power for such a diminutive player, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe details. Even scout Danny Watkins, who was instrumental in Boston’s fifth-round selection of Betts in the 2011 draft, is surprised. “I did not see home runs like this,” Watkins told Speier. “Honestly, I thought he could have some impact with power, but I really thought it would come in the form of doubles more than home runs. Knowing what I saw, it would still be very difficult for me to go back and project this type of performance by this age.” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is also taken aback by the 23-year-old’s power-hitting ways. “I don’t remember a thinner, smaller guy in that regard who generates the type of power he does. He’s just got exceptional talent.” Betts is currently on pace to reach the 30-homer plateau; if he does, he’ll join exclusive company – Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mel Ott – as the only players 5-10 or under to accomplish the feat by the age of 23, notes Speier.
- Red Sox right-hander Brandon Workman – on the mend from June 2015 Tommy John surgery – could serve as a bullpen reinforcement for the club later in the season, relays Ian Browne of MLB.com. Workman last pitched in 2014 and owns a less-than-stellar 5.11 ERA – including a 6.07 mark as a reliever – in 128 2/3 major league innings, but manager John Farrell likes that the 27-year-old racked up experience with a World Series winner in 2013. “Extremely valuable,” he said of Workman’s time with that Red Sox team. Going forward, Farrell added, “How he throws and how the arm strength returns will indicate how we factor him in and what he’s going to be capable of.”
Talent Evaluator: Red Sox Could Be A Fit For Carlos Gonzalez
Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is “the hot name out there” on the trade market, a National League scout told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The scout listed the Astros, Cardinals, Giants, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox and White Sox as potential buyers for the 32-year-old Braun, who has resembled his past NL MVP-winning self offensively this season in slashing .351/.424/.583 with nine home runs in 170 trips to the plate. Braun is in the first season of a five-year extension that could be worth either $94MM or $105MM, depending on what happens with the contract’s mutual option for 2021.
Clay Buchholz Unhappy With New Role
Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is displeased with his demotion to the bullpen, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Buchholz declined to talk to reporters for the second straight day and threw in a curse word as he walked away from them Saturday, according to Drellich. Manager John Farrell has left the door open for Buchholz to return to the rotation, saying, “While he might not like the current situation, that’s where we are. If he pitches to his talents and abilities, that role can potentially change.” Buchholz, 31, has been a solid starter for most of his career, but he put up a 6.35 ERA, 5.88 K/9 and 3.91 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings in that role this year and will try to right the ship as a reliever.
Here’s more on a few other established pitchers:
- The Rays will slowly transition reliever Brad Boxberger back into the closer role when he returns soon from core muscle surgery, manager Kevin Cash said (via Sam Blum of MLB.com). The righty led the American League in saves last year (41), but thanks to the brilliance of fill-in Alex Colome, the Rays haven’t missed him in the ninth inning. Nonetheless, Boxberger’s presence will aid a Rays bullpen that has been mediocre this year. In 137 2/3 innings from 2014-15, Boxberger compiled a 3.03 ERA, 12.55 K/9 (seventh among qualified relievers) and 3.67 BB/9.
- Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray threw a 35-pitch first bullpen session Saturday – his first BP session since going on the disabled list last Sunday with a trapezius injury – per Jane Lee of MLB.com. Gray “feels good,” manager Bob Melvin said afterward, and could return on or shortly after June 5.
- Two big-name Angels, southpaw C.J. Wilson and righty Tim Lincecum, are on similar timelines to make their major league debuts this year, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Wilson, who has been out all season with an injured left shoulder, will make his first of at least two starts with Triple-A Salt Lake City on Monday.
- In case you missed it, the White Sox and Padres are discussing a James Shields trade.
Red Sox' 2011 Draft Class A Decisive One
- The Red Sox’ terrific 2011 draft class has become the franchise’s foundation, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. The team had four of the first 40 picks in that draft, and used them to select Jackie Bradley and Blake Swihart, as well as Matt Barnes and Henry Owens. That group alone would have made the draft a good one, but the Sox also snagged Mookie Betts, Travis Shaw and Noe Ramirez in the later rounds. Bradley fell to the Sox at No. 40 in part because of a wrist injury that held him back in his junior year at South Carolina. Bradley was a gamble, and not all gambles on talented players whose stock have fallen work out — MacPherson mentions 2012 first-rounder Deven Marrero, and I might add 2010 39th overall pick Anthony Ranaudo, whose stock fell prior to the draft due to an elbow injury. Bradley, though, was a steal, and he, Betts and the rest of the Sox’ 2011 class looked poised to lead the organization forward.
Red Sox To Activate Eduardo Rodriguez, Move Clay Buchholz To Pen
The Red Sox have some important pitching changes in the works, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports on Twitter. Manager John Farrell says that the club will activate lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to start on Tuesday, with veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz bumped to the pen.
It’s been a long wait for Rodriguez, who has missed the first two months of the season while working back from a knee issue. He showed immense promise last year, and was expected to hold down a rotation spot for the foreseeable future.
Of course, expectations never were that he’d be taking the ball from Buchholz. That move may not last the rest of the season, but it’s a major step for a pitcher whose last major league relief appearance came in his sophomore season of 2008.
Shifting to a relief role also speaks volumes about where things stand with regard to Buchholz’s 2017 club option, which is valued at $13.5MM and comes with a $500K buyout. It seemed reasonably likely to be picked up heading into the year, but Buchholz has managed only a 6.35 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over his first ten starts.
That’s a steep drop-off from Buchholz’s work last year and most of the rest of his ten-year MLB career. If he can’t turn things around during the 2016 season, he could end up looking for a make-good free agent opportunity come next fall.
Buchholz's Rotation Spot In Jeopardy
It would appear that Clay Buchholz’s spot in the Red Sox rotation is in jeopardy. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets that following tonight’s loss, manager John Farrell conceded that Buchholz’s spot will be under discussion once Eduardo Rodriguez is healthy enough to return to the Majors. The Herald’s Michael Silverman tweets that Farrell made it sound as if Buchholz will leave the rotation, though the manager did emphasize that no decision has been made at this time. Buchholz had a perfect trip the order to open tonight’s game against the Rockies, but he quickly melted down, allowing a two-run homer to Carlos Gonzalez in the fourth inning. By the time his evening was finished, Buchholz had yielded six runs in five innings, causing his ERA to balloon to 6.35. Buchholz was accountable when speaking to reporters after the game. Via Britton (links to Twitter), he offered the following comments: “I’m here to pitch. If I don’t have a spot, that’s part of it. If I don’t like it, pitch better. I’m not demoralized. The team’s still winning. I’m basically the only one that’s struggling.” The Red Sox hold a $13.5MM club option on Buchholz for the 2017 season.
