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Latest On Red Sox, Pablo Sandoval

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9:35pm: Sandoval told reporters tonight that the MRI results on his shoulder weren’t promising, thus necessitating the second opinion, as Mastrodonato reports (links to Twitter). He still doesn’t know whether to expect a surgical outcome, however.

The veteran also denied a recent report suggesting that he doesn’t wish to stay in Boston if he isn’t an everyday player. “I didn’t say that,” said Sandoval. “When did I say that. A report? Like I said I’m here for my teammates … I’m not here to distract.”

3:52pm: Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who hit the disabled list with a shoulder injury earlier this week, is headed to see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his shoulder following yesterday’s MRI, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

The club will await those results before reaching any conclusions, but surgery of some kind remains a possibility, club president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove (via Twitter). There’s “a lot going on in [the] shoulder,” said Dombrowski.

These latest bits of information certainly appear to suggest that there could be a physical issue that has limited Sandoval. Whether or not that helps to explain his struggles — or offers optimism for a solution — remains to be seen. While it’s obviously somewhat strange to suggest that an injury could be a positive, in this case it may open some avenues to improve a difficult situation.

As Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald explained on this morning’s podcast (before the latest news), it’s far from clear that Sandoval has a real role on the current roster. But an absence that stretches beyond the 15-day minimum would certainly place a rehab stint on the table, and create some time and space for both player and team to assess things (if not also to regain some positive momentum).

MLBTR Podcast: Jason Mastrodonato on the Red Sox, Steve Adams on Slow Starters

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On this week’s show, Jeff is joined by Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald to discuss a host of Red Sox topics, including Pablo Sandoval’s rocky standing with the organization, Hanley Ramirez’s move to first base, the decision to option Rusney Castillo to Triple-A, the quick promotion of Christian Vazquez in light of Blake Swihart’s defensive struggles, and the rotation’s early problems. Jeff then welcomes MLBTR’s Steve Adams to look at the alarmingly slow starts of the Twins and Braves.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

AL East Notes: Swihart, Conger, Orioles

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The Red Sox’ recall of Christian Vazquez from Triple-A Pawtucket brings into question Blake Swihart’s immediate role with the club, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Vazquez is known to be an excellent defensive backstop, whereas there have been concerns with Swihart’s glove early this season. The team made veteran Ryan Hanigan available during Spring Training, he notes, but Swihart’s struggles might make it more difficult to part with a sturdy backup like Hanigan. Drellich explores the possibility of a position change for Swihart, whose bat is his best asset, although it’s not clear that the team has entertained any such notion at this time.

A couple more items pertaining to the AL East as teams gear up for their series…

  • The Rays were confident that they could cure Hank Conger’s throwing woes when they acquired him from Houston this offseason, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Conger permitted five stolen bases in yesterday’s contest and is 0-for-7 in throwing out runners to begin the season. An 0-for-7 skid wouldn’t necessarily be an extreme concern for many catchers, but Conger threw out just one of 43 attempted base stealers last season and has now yielded 44 consecutive stolen bases. Manager Kevin Cash acknowledged that controlling the running game is an area in which Tampa Bay needs to improve, noting that he felt Chris Archer did a good job holding runners yesterday in spite of the barrage of steals. Conger’s sudden struggles are a bit curious, considering he threw out 35 of 145 runners (24 percent) with the Angels from 2012-14 before the issue arose. Conger does grade out as an excellent pitch framer, so if the Rays can improve his throwing, they’d have the makings of a very strong defensive backstop.
  • Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun looks at what could be an unexpectedly crowded corner outfield situation for the Orioles now that Adam Jones is back in the lineup. Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard and veteran Nolan Reimold have hit well thus far, and Hyun Soo Kim remains on option despite limited playing time thus far. Jones and Mark Trumbo figure to be in there virtually every day (though Trumbo can DH against lefties in place of Pedro Alvarez), but there could indeed be a carousel of sorts to be managed by Buck Showalter. I don’t know that the logjam is as pronounced as it would appear, as Rickard’s early success doesn’t strike me as overly sustainable given his high BABIP and lack of hard contact. (As Meoli points out, he’s 4-for-20 after a fast start to the season.) The club will have to carry Rickard all year, though, to keep him, so he’ll have to get his share of playing time.

AL Notes: Betances, Gattis, Rangers, Perkins, Pablo

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Yankees righty Dellin Betances was one of several players who couldn’t agree to terms with his team on a pre-arbitration salary over the offseason, and George A. King III of the New York Post reports that the relief ace ended up being renewed at the league minimum of $507.5K. New York had offered Betances $540K, but dropped it down when he declined (on the advice of his agent) to agree to that amount. To be clear, he’s not complaining; the small protest was, of course, his only recourse. Betances, 28, will be in much better standing next winter, when he’ll reach arbitration for the first time. Though he doesn’t have a big history of saves to bring to the arb table, he has racked up quite a few innings for a reliever and has all the other numbers (including holds) needed to run up a significant tab.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Astros are readying Evan Gattis for duties behind the plate in the near future, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. Gattis broke in as a backstop, of course, but the 29-year-old didn’t see any time there last year, as Houston utilized him almost exclusively as a DH (with 11 outfield stings also mixed in). Houston has relied on a combination of Jason Castro and Erik Kratz at the catching position to open the year, having acquired the latter after presumed reserve Max Stassi was lost to injury. He’s expected back before long, but the opportunity to plug Gattis in at times could open some interesting roster possibilities for the Astros.
  • While the Rangers already utilized some significant prospect capital to add Cole Hamels last year, the organization could be in a position to do the same for another quality starter at this year’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports.  The club’s blue chip youngsters surely won’t be parted with lightly, but Rosenthal says that they could be pried loose if a top-quality, controllable rotation piece can be had over the summer.
  • The Twins may be looking at a reasonably protracted absence from closer Glen Perkins, as LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. According to Perkins, his shoulder troubles arose only recently, but he doesn’t expect to be ready after his 15-day minimum DL stint has passed.
  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval has undergone an MRI on his ailing left shoulder, with results expected tomorrow, team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters. He’s already been placed on the disabled list, of course. One major factor seemingly underlying Sandoval’s on-field struggles, of course, is his ongoing battle with weight, and Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald provides interesting insight from Sandoval’s former trainer, Ethan Banning. According to Banning, who worked with Sandoval in the winters before the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the former Giants star had to participate in concerted training efforts to cut back the pounds he had added over both of those offseasons. Per Banning, Sandoval’s struggle relates not to exercise but eating habits. He expressed confidence that the 29-year-old can overcome the issue, but suggested that he’ll need concerted oversight to make it happen.

Red Sox Notes: Vazquez, Sandoval, Contracts

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The Red Sox, who optioned outfielder Rusney Castillo to Triple-A Pawtucket following last night’s win over the Orioles, will recall catcher Christian Vazquez from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket tonight, reports the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich (Twitter link). Everyday catcher Blake Swihart hasn’t hit much and, perhaps more troublesomely, has demonstrated a few defensive hiccups, including missed pop-ups and some difficulty keeping the ball in front of him. (Swihart has allowed three passed balls on the young season.) The Red Sox, for the time being, seem poised to carry three catchers on the roster with Vazquez, Swihart and Ryan Hanigan, though it’s hard to envision that as a long-term arrangement. The 25-year-old Vazquez is recovering from Tommy John surgery that was performed on him last spring and played in five games at Triple-A prior to his promotion.

Here’s more on the Red Sox…

  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes that the Red Sox could quickly look for a way to cut ties with Pablo Sandoval, who was placed on the DL with a somewhat dubious shoulder strain. As Passan notes, the Red Sox opted not to even bother performing an MRI on Sandoval — a test that would be standard in evaluating anything other than a catastrophic injury. Sources tell Passan that Sandoval only wants to remain in Boston if he’s able to play every day, but there’s no way the Sox will run him out there on a daily basis at this point given his struggles at the plate (in 2015 and in Spring Training), his rapidly deteriorating defensive skills and questions about his conditioning. Despite persistent speculation about a Sandoval-for-James Shields swap (which frankly makes no sense for San Diego), the Padres have cooled on Sandoval since pursuing him as a free agent in the 2014-15 offseason, Passan hears. The only way the Sox would give Sandoval regular time, Passan writes, would be if he loses weight and others in their lineup struggle. However, he can’t reestablish even a modicum of trade value without playing, creating something of a catch-22 in Boston.
  • The Red Sox continue to be haunted by a series of deals from the second half of 2014, writes the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who looks back at a series of now-ill-fated moves that began with the July 31 trades of Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes and John Lackey for Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. Less than a month later, the Sox signed Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5MM deal, and in late November they announced the signings of Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez on the same day. Speier writes that the series of transactions helps to create a two-fold legacy for departed GM Ben Cherington, who helped the club to a 2013 World Series but has seen poor returns on nearly all transactions made from that point forth. However, Cherington’s unwillingness to deal prospects and moves to acquire young talent also left the club with a base of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Brock Holt, Swihart, Vazquez, Eduardo Rodriguez and others. And, that strong base makes it possible for the club to survive some of the more high-profile missteps (Sandoval, Castillo, etc.).

Red Sox Option Rusney Castillo

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The Red Sox announced after tonight’s game that outfielder Rusney Castillo has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. No corresponding move has been made at this time, though manager John Farrell told reporters, including the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato (Twitter link), that the club is happy with its outfield depth and won’t necessarily feel the need to replace Castillo with another outfield option.

Players being optioned to Triple-A don’t typically get this type of mention at MLBTR, but it’s also not every day that a player who is owed more than $56MM over the next five seasons is sent to the minor leagues. The move, though, isn’t necessarily a surprise when looking at the manner in which Castillo has been deployed thus far. Boston awarded Brock Holt the everyday nod in left field for the team this season, and with Chris Young serving as a platoon option for Holt, Castillo has essentially been relegated to an extremely well-compensated fifth outfielder. He’s appeared in just one game all season, collecting a mere four plate appearances.

The Sox undoubtedly would prefer that Castillo receive some regular at-bats, and clearly the feeling is that the best place for him to do so at this time is not at the Major League level. The 28-year-old Castillo struggled in limited exposure to big league pitching last season, batting .253/.288/.359 in 289 plate appearances, and a .183/.246/.200 showing in 22 Spring Training games didn’t do him any favors in terms of showing the club that he was ready for a major role in 2016. Castillo did post solid, if unspectacular numbers with Pawtucket last season, batting .282/.337/.385 in 172 PAs. The hope for the Sox will be that he can tap into some of the potential that prompted the former regime to sign him to a seven-year, $72.5MM contract in the first place.

While the entire scenario figures to be privately frustrating for Castillo, he appears to be taking an optimistic approach to the demotion, telling the Herald’s Evan Drellich: “I look at it as an opportunity to play every day and get better. I’m excited at the opportunity to start every day, which is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Castillo’s option marks today’s second notable move involving a player on a largely disappointing contract with the Red Sox. Earlier this afternoon, Boston announced that Pablo Sandoval has been placed on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. No timetable was given for Sandoval’s return.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Lohse, Davis, Rays

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Nick Swisher spoke to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about his excitement over rejoining the Yankees organization. “There’s no place I love more than New York,” said Swisher. “I think a lot of people know that. … I’m one of those lucky guys that gets an opportunity to come back and try to prove myself again.” Swisher also talked with Feinsand about the difficulty of dealing with significant knee injuries in recent seasons and the jarring feeling of getting a phone call to inform him of his release in Atlanta. The 34-year-old firmly believes he’s capable of contributing in the Majors again and looks forward to working his way back to a Yankees uniform. “To have the first phone call come from the Yankees, a place you think of as family, it was amazing,” said Swisher. “For this to happen during such a dark time, it makes you want to work that much harder, to train and play that much harder.”

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • The Orioles are among the clubs that hold interest in right-hander Kyle Lohse, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Baltimore’s 7-0 start to the season has drawn its fair share of headlines, but it’s worth noting that Ubaldo Jimenez is the only one of their starters to have topped five innings in an outing thus far. Bringing Lohse into the organization would provide the club with some veteran depth, although Lohse’s most recent work with the Brewers didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he’s still a quality big league option. The 37-year-old lost his rotation with the Brewers last season after recording a 6.31 ERA in 22 starts. Lohse did appear to turn it around somewhat upon his move to the bullpen, logging a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings of work.
  • Chris Davis tells the Boston Herald’s Chris Mason that the Red Sox had interest in him over the winter before he re-signed in Baltimore. “I pretty much tried to stay out of it as much as I could and let my agent handle it, but I remember their name coming up a few times,” said Davis. “I don’t know how in depth they talked. I don’t know if it was just a feeler or what was going on.” As Mason notes, the immediate fit might not be optimal, but with Hanley Ramirez perhaps sliding to designated hitter next season following David Ortiz’s retirement, it’s easy enough to see how Davis could’ve fit into the club’s plans beyond the 2016 campaign.
  • Never afraid to try something outside the box, the Rays have adopted the usage of virtual reality training for their hitters, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays batters have available to them a set of virtual reality goggles that allow them to stand at/near/behind the plate in the batting cage and watch a virtual simulation of that evening’s pitcher throwing to them. Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali both spoke very highly of the new tool, whereas Evan Longoria was optimistic about its benefits down the line but said he feels there’s room for improvement. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the technology and how it might benefit our players,” said Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman to Topkin. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t the only club using the technology; the Pirates and “several” other teams have begun to experiment with it.
  • Rays right-hander Alex Cobb and Chase Whitley each made 20 throws from halfway up the bullpen mound on Tuesday, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Each will throw again on Friday and next Tuesday before moving to the top of the mound late next week. Cobb noted that while the news isn’t exciting, he and Whitley both considered it to be a big day in their rehab. Both right-handers are making their way back from Tommy John surgery that was performed in May of last season.

Pablo Sandoval Placed On DL With Shoulder Strain

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The Red Sox have placed third baseman Pablo Sandoval on the disabled list with a shoulder strain an recalled infielder Josh Rutledge from Triple-A Pawtucket to take his place on the roster, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets. In order to clear a spot for Rutledge on the 40-man roster, the Sox transferred Brandon Workman to the 60-day disabled list. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that the Sox have outlined a conditioning program for Sandoval while he is on the disabled list.

Manager John Farrell acknowledged to the Boston media that a “breather” from the heavy scrutiny he’s received could do Sandoval some good, adding that the DL stint could indeed give him some time to work on conditioning. Speier tweets a few fully transcribed quotes from Farrell, who says he “firmly believes” that Sandoval will contribute to the club. The manager couldn’t trace the ailment, which Sandoval reported to the team today, to a specific moment, tweets the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson. “To give you an exact moment when it took place, I don’t have that, to be honest,” said Farrell. “He’s been hitting a lot extra.” Sandoval himself told reporters, including the Herald’s Evan Drellich (Twitter link), that he woke up this morning unable to move his arm. He had a similar problem in 2011 with the Giants and will meet with a doctor about the injury tonight.

Sandoval, who signed a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox in the 2014-15 offseason, lost the starting third base job to sophomore Travis Shaw this spring and has received a total of just seven plate appearances this season. The 29-year-old opened his first season in Boston with such great struggles versus left-handed pitching that he abandoned switch-hitting and hit exclusively left-handed for the bulk of the season. That change, however, did little to spark Sandoval’s disappointing bat, and after a dismal .210/.267/.335 batting line in the season’s second half, his overall 2015 line sat at .245/.292/.366.

While Sandoval once rated as a solid defender in the eyes of metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, his glove graded out terribly in 2015. Earlier today, ESPN’s Buster Olney released a video blog shooting down any speculation surrounding a Pablo Sandoval/James Shields swap — a trade proposal that is frequently suggested but indeed makes virtually no sense for the Padres (as we’ve written here multiple times) — and within the video he noted that evaluators to whom he’s spoken have deemed Sandoval “unplayable” at the hot corner.

Sandoval is earning $17MM this season and will have the same salary in 2017 before earning $18MM in 2018 and again in 2019. His contract contains a $17MM club option that comes with a $5MM buyout, meaning he’s owed a bit less than $75MM through the end of the 2019 season.

Quick Hits: Draft, Vazquez, Thames, Dodgers

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We’re a bit less than two months away from the 2016 amateur draft, and there figures to be quite a bit of chatter regarding the top high school and college talent in the nation over the coming months. Today, Keith Law and Eric Longenhagen of ESPN.com released their Top 50 draft prospects (subscription required and recommended), adding another excellent resource to stand alongside previously released rankings from Baseball America and from MLB.com. For those interested, MLBTR will run the first installment of its Draft Prospect Q&A series tomorrow afternoon, starting with one of the top bats of the class.

A few more notes from around the game as Tuesday night winds to a close…

  • The Red Sox have considered activating catcher Christian Vazquez from the disabled list, manager John Farrell told reporters, including the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter link). Per Farrell, nothing is imminent, but the club has had ongoing discussions about its catching situation. ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber points out (Twitter link) that sophomore backstop Blake Swihart had a rough game defensively but also notes that Vazquez, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has yet to catch three games in a row on his rehab assignment.
  • Former Blue Jays/Mariners outfielder Eric Thames sat down with Blake Murphy of VICE Sports to discuss his transition to the Korea Baseball Organization and his rise to the status as arguably the league’s best player. The 29-year-old outfielder/first baseman was the KBO’s MVP last season, batting .381/.497/.790 with 47 homers and, incredibly 40 stolen bases (despite never stealing more than eight in a North American season). Thames explained the work he’s put in with coach Jun-ho Jeon — known as the Stolen Base King of Korea. “Even little things like the way the glove’s tilted a little bit—’OK, go.’ ’On this pitch, go,'” Thames explained. “It’s like, are you serious? And then—bam!—it’s a high leg kick or a curveball. It’s like, how do you even know that? He’s one of those guys that has a natural eye for base-stealing.” While the KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly league, it’s tough to write off Thames’ outrageous production as a pure result of that environment. Thames discusses some elements that he feels have helped him improve his game and also discusses the cultural differences between playing in North America and in Korea. He’ll be a free agent next winter and added that he’s keeping an open mind to taking another shot at playing in the Majors. He’ll be somewhat of a wild card on next winter’s thin free agent market.
  • The Dodgers’ bullpen has struggled early on, writes Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, but the team isn’t planning on making any drastic alterations to the composition of its relief corps just yet. McCullough notes that if the Dodgers do elect to make some changes, there are myriad internal options, and those alternatives will only grow in numbers as Hyun-jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson get healthy. A return from any of those arms could push a starter like Alex Wood or Ross Stripling to the bullpen, and McCullough points out that the Dodgers’ large slate of arms and ability to take on salary should also present the club with various trade scenarios as the deadline approaches this summer.

Red Sox, Wesley Wright Agree To Minor League Deal

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4:45pm: Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports that Wright can earn $1MM in the Majors (Twitter link). He’ll head to Triple-A for the time being.

4:12pm: The Red Sox have signed left-handed reliever Wesley Wright to a minor league contract, per the MLB.com transactions page. The 31-year-old had been in camp with the D-backs but was released late in Spring Training when he didn’t make the club.

Wright split the 2015 season between the Orioles and the Angels, though he spent a good chunk of the season Baltimore’s DL due to a strained left trapezius muscle. The O’s had inked Wright to a big league contract in the offseason but designated him for assignment upon activating him from the 60-day DL in mid-July. Wright latched on with the Angels and was called up to the Major League club in September, tossing 5 2/3 innings and permitting a pair of earned runs to score across the season’s final month.

Prior to last year’s injury-marred campaign, Wright had spent 2012-14 in the bullpen for the Cubs, Astros and Rays, working to a combined 3.38 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings of work. He’s held opposing left-handed bats to a .237/.313/.334 batting line in parts of eight Major League seasons and will give the Sox some additional depth in their left-handed relief corps. Boston presently has lefties Tommy Layne and Robbie Ross in the ’pen, and the 40-man roster also includes lefties Roenis Elias and Edwin Escobar, each of whom is pitching at the Triple-A level to begin the season.

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