Chris Sale Tests Positive For Covid-19
Red Sox Chris Sale has tested positive for Covid-19 and will not make his scheduled start Sunday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). He’ll be placed on the Covid-19-related injured list, joining eight other Red Sox players who have either tested positive or are in protocol due to the recent team outbreak in Boston.
Major League Baseball’s health-and-safety protocols for the 2021 season stipulate that Sale will be away from the club for at least 10 days, further straining a rotation that has been heavily impacted by the team’s outbreak. Both Nick Pivetta and Martin Perez are currently on the Covid-related injured list, which has prompted recent starts from Kutter Crawford and Brad Peacock. Perez has been on the IL since Aug. 30 and could be nearing a return, and the Sox also currently have Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Tanner Houck in the rotation. The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham further reports that it’s also possible Pivetta could be activated to make Sale’s start Sunday.
The 32-year-old Sale missed the bulk of the 2021 season as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery but has been excellent in five starts since rejoining the team. He’s yet to pitch beyond the sixth inning but carries a 2.52 ERA with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate and 5.5 walk percent rate — both quite strong marks — in his first 25 innings since being activated.
The Red Sox have a fairly tenuous hold on the top Wild Card spot in the American League, leading the Yankees by a margin of just one game. Three more teams — Toronto, Seattle and Oakland — are within two games of that second Wild Card spot and within three games of Boston’s top spot. The Sox have managed to remain in competition despite an outbreak that has seen 10 players test positive since late August.
Sale’s positive test comes less than 24 hours after Red Sox right fielder Hunter Renfroe controversially claimed in a WEEI radio appearance with Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria that Major League Baseball had told the Red Sox to “stop testing and just treat the symptoms” (Twitter link with audio). Asked in a follow-up to confirm that MLB had instructed the Red Sox to stop testing, Renfroe replied with a simple, “Yes.”
Both Major League Baseball and the Red Sox moved quickly to refute the claim. Julian McWilliams and Kate McInerny of the Boston Globe cited a league spokesperson who called Renfroe’s claim “completely wrong and inaccurate,” while the team issued a statement indicating it has “been following MLB’s COVID-19 protocols all season long.” The Red Sox added that they have “continued to test and [the league’s] medical staff has been very supportive.”
Renfroe has not further addressed his comments, and there’s been some speculation that he misconstrued the league’s policy of reduced testing frequency for vaccinated, asymptomatic players, which went into place back in June. Under those updated protocols, vaccinated players are not tested for the virus unless they either display symptoms or are deemed a close contact from a person known to have tested positive.
Red Sox Sign Jose Iglesias
11:46am: The Red Sox have announced the signing of Iglesias to a Major League deal and added him to the active roster. Additionally, Boston has reinstated reliever Josh Taylor from the Covid-19 list, selected the contract of right-hander Michael Feliz and returned Covid replacement players Kutter Crawford, Jack Lopez and John Schreiber to Triple-A Worcester. None of the three had to be passed through waivers to be sent down and removed from the 40-man roster because they were specifically appointed as Covid-19 replacements.
11:30am: Shortstop Jose Iglesias, who was released by the Angels over the weekend, is at Fenway Park today, per the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham (Twitter link). The Globe’s Alex Speier tweets that the Red Sox are expected to announce the signing of Iglesias shortly. He’s represented by the MVP Sports Group.
The Red Sox, in the midst of a Covid-19 outbreak in their clubhouse, have a whopping 11 players in Covid protocol at the moment. That group includes infielders Xander Bogaerts, Christian Arroyo, Enrique Hernandez and Yairo Munoz, leaving the Sox in dire need of some infield help. Jonathan Arauz and Jack Lopez have been lining up in the middle infield in recent days, but Iglesias figures to step into that mix and begin logging some regular reps while the team awaits the return of Bogaerts and others.
It was a rough season for Iglesias in Anaheim — his lone year with the Angels. The 31-year-old wasn’t able to replicate last year’s enormous production at the plate — or even to come particularly close. It was just 150 plate appearances, but Iglesias posted a career-best .373/.400/.556 batting line with the Orioles in 2021 before slipping back to a .259/.295/.375 slash that falls more in line with his overall career numbers.
More troubling than a return to the norm at the dish, however, has been the decline in Iglesias’ glovework. He’s made 16 errors in 961 innings this year after making just 18 errors in 2393 innings from 2018-20 combined. Iglesias had never made more than 11 errors in a season but already has 10 throwing errors alone, in addition to six fielding errors. Defensive Runs Saved pegs Iglesias at a stunning minus-21 this season, while his Ultimate Zone Rating is a career-low minus-4.9.
Defensive struggles notwithstanding, Iglesias now returns to his original organization as a veteran reinforcement at a critical juncture. The Sox are quite unlikely to run down the Rays, who lead them by eight games in the standings, but are hoping to maintain a three-game lead over the upstart Mariners for the second AL Wild Card spot. They’re also just a half-game behind the Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot and would surely like to eek ahead of their archrivals in order to seize home-field advantage in a theoretical Wild Card showdown.
The Red Sox originally signed Iglesias back in Sept. 2009 after he left his native Cuba. He spent the next several seasons rising through their minor league ranks and making a handful of big league appearances before settling in as their shortstop in 2013. Boston, however, sent him to the Tigers that summer in a three-team trade that sent Jake Peavy from the White Sox to the Red Sox and Avisail Garcia from Detroit to Chicago. (The White Sox picked up both Frankie Montas and J.B. Wendelken from the Red Sox in the trade as well.)
It’s something of a full-circle moment for Iglesias, who won’t be eligible for the postseason roster due to the fact that he’s joining the organization after Aug. 31. He’ll still have the opportunity to help his original club reach the postseason again, though, and this late change of scenery can also provide him an offseason for the league’s other teams as he preps to head back to free agency this winter.
Red Sox Place Nick Pivetta, Danny Santana On COVID IL
11:30AM: Yet another Boston player has been impacted by the ongoing virus situation. The team has announced that utility player Danny Santana has been placed on the COVID IL, with outfielder Franchy Cordero being recalled to take his place on the roster.
8:17AM: The Red Sox have placed starter Nick Pivetta on the COVID IL, per a team announcement. Pivetta was scheduled to start this afternoon’s game against Cleveland. Instead, 25-year-old righty Kutter Crawford will have his contract selected and start in Pivetta’s place.
Pivetta is now the 10th Boston player to land on the COVID IL in the past week as part of an outbreak that has been spreading through the team. The loss of Pivetta could potentially be a significant one for the club, as he has been one of the more reliable members of the rotation this season. As fellow hurlers such as Martin Perez and Garrett Richards have struggled enough to get moved into bullpen duties, Pivetta has held a rotation spot all year with solid, in unspectacular, numbers. Across 135 innings this season, the righty has an ERA of 4.67, with a 25.9% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate, both of which are within range of league average.
In more positive news, Enrique Hernandez, the first Red Sox player to hit the IL as part of this outbreak, seems to be nearing a return. According to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, he could be activated as soon as Tuesday.
For the club, the outbreak doesn’t seem to be hurting their playoff push much. They’ve gone 7-3 over their past ten games and are sitting on a four-game win streak going into today’s action. They’re currently holding down the second Wild Card spot in the American League, four games ahead of the Athletics and Mariners.
As for Crawford, this will be his major league debut. He’s been in the Red Sox organization since being drafted in the 16th round of the 2017 draft. He climbed up the ranks of the minors, reaching Double-A in 2019. Unfortunately, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2020 season. Since returning to the mound this year, he’s thrown 75 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with an ERA of 4.16. However, his rate stats are excellent, a huge 34.4% strikeout rate and a measly 4.3% walk rate. As a COVID replacement, he can be removed from the 40-man roster at a later date without being exposed to waivers.
Red Sox Claim Geoff Hartlieb From Mets
The Red Sox announced that right-hander Geoff Hartlieb has been claimed off waivers from the Mets. Hartlieb has been assigned to Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester.
New York designated Hartlieb for assignment earlier this week, after the righty posted a 14.54 ERA over his 4 1/3 innings in a Mets uniform. This marks the second time Hartlieb has changed teams via waiver claim within the last two months, as the Mets acquired him from the Pirates in early July. For the season as a whole, Hartlieb has an 11.00 ERA over nine combined frames with New York and Pittsburgh.
A lack of control has been the main culprit for Hartlieb’s struggles this season, as he has walked 11 batters over those nine innings. The right-hander also had as many walks (19) as strikeouts (19) over 22 1/3 innings with Pittsburgh in 2020, though Hartlieb managed to evade damage and post a respectable 3.63 ERA.
Hartlieb becomes the latest player acquired by the Red Sox in recent days as the team has sought to rebuild its depth following a widespread COVID-19 outbreak. Beyond just being an extra arm on standby, Hartlieb also offers some interesting potential. Though he has yet to show much over his three MLB seasons, Hartlieb has a 3.18 ERA over 62 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, with a 28.73% strikeout rate and very high grounder rates.
Red Sox Add Taylor Motter, Option Connor Wong
The Red Sox have added Taylor Motter to the active roster, optioning Connor Wong to Triple-A, per the team. Motter was only recently claimed off waivers from the Rockies.
Motter played in 13 games with the Rockies, slashing .150/.227/.150 in 22 plate appearances. The 31-year-old utility man can play all over the diamond, which will be particularly helpful for a Boston team with nine players on the COVID-related injured list. In his career, Motter has bounced around, suiting up for the Rays, Mariners, Twins, and Rockies, as well as a short stint in the KBO.
Wong, 25, has appeared in just six games, but he’s had success in the early going. Wong has four hits in 14 plate appearances, including a double, triple, and a walk. He has also struck out seven times, however.
Jarren Duran Tests Positive For COVID-19
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has tested positive for COVID-19, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald). Boston had placed Duran, who had been feeling virus-like symptoms, on the COVID IL before tonight’s game. Catcher Connor Wong was recalled to take his active roster spot.
Duran becomes the eighth Red Sox player to test positive over the past week. Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo, Martín Pérez, Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura, Xander Bogaerts and Yairo Muñoz have all tested positive and are currently unavailable, as is reliever Josh Taylor (who was isolated as a close contact). Despite the series of hits to the roster, the Red Sox have pushed their lead over the Athletics to three games in the race for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
One of the game’s top prospects, Duran got his first big league call in mid-July. The 24-year-old has had some struggles at the plate to begin his career, hitting just .215/.241/.336 with a pair of homers over his first 112 plate appearances.
Red Sox Claim Taylor Motter
The Red Sox have claimed infielder Taylor Motter off waivers from the Rockies, per a club announcement. Colorado designated Motter for assignment earlier in the week.
Motter, 31, only got a brief look with the Rockies before being designated for assignment, going 3-for-20 in 13 games upon having his contract selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. The well-traveled, journeyman utility player had been enjoying a monster season in Albuquerque, where he’d batted .335/.460/.759 with 24 home runs, 16 doubles and a triple in just 265 plate appearances. That type of pop has never previously been there for Motter, who entered the year with 44 career Triple-A home runs through 1410 plate appearances.
The Red Sox will be the fifth big league team for Motter, a career .189/.261/.304 hitter in parts of four seasons between the Rays, Mariners, Twins and Rockies. Motter has spent the bulk of time at second base and third base in 2021, but he has at least 300 professional innings at every position other than catcher and pitcher.
With the Red Sox currently being overrun by a Covid-19 outbreak that has sent eight players to the Covid-19-related injured list, there’s ample room for them to plug Motter directly onto the MLB roster. Boston is currently without Xander Bogaerts, Enrique Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Yairo Munoz, so adding an infielder who can play multiple positions and was enjoying a hugely productive Triple-A season is eminently logical. Whether Motter can stick on the club once the Sox get back to full strength (or close to it) will be dependent on his performance in the days to come. He’d be ineligible for the postseason roster, should the Red Sox hang onto a spot, by virtue of the fact that he was acquired after Aug. 31.
Red Sox Select John Schreiber, Jack Lopez
The Red Sox announced they’ve selected right-hander John Schreiber and infielder Jack López to the big league roster. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, has been placed on the injured list. Infielder Yairo Muñoz has also landed on the COVID IL after testing positive today, bringing Boston up to seven positive tests. Additionally, reliever Ryan Brasier has been activated from the 60-day IL to make his season debut, while utilityman Danny Santana is back from the 10-day IL.
It’s the continuation of a virus-forced roster churn for the Red Sox. Schreiber will step into the big league bullpen for the first time this season after being outrighted off the 40-man roster during Spring Training. The 27-year-old has 28 2/3 innings of MLB experience, all coming between 2019-20 with the Tigers. Schreiber managed above-average strikeout and walk rates in that brief look, but he was tagged for a few too many home runs en route to a 6.28 ERA.
After clearing waivers, Schreiber was assigned to Triple-A Worcester. While Schreiber has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard in the majors, that hasn’t been the case at the minors’ top level, where he’s served up just three homers all year. He’s posted a 3.10 ERA with Worcester, showing the ability to work multiple innings when necessary.
López is up for his first big league opportunity. A longtime Royals farmhand, the versatile infielder also saw some time in the Braves’ organization but has spent this season in the Boston system. He’s spent the bulk of the season with Worcester, hitting .260/.321/.378 over 218 plate appearances. López is getting the start tonight at second base, where he’ll likely team with Santana and Jonathan Araúz to cover the middle infield with Bogaerts and Muñoz unavailable.
Brasier has been a reliable member of the Red Sox relief corps over the past couple seasons. He’s been held back by injury for the entire year. After suffering a calf strain early in the season, Brasier was struck in the head by a comebacker in June during his rehab. He has worked his way back to full strength and could be a key high-leverage option right away for the Red Sox with Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura and Josh Taylor all unavailable for virus-related reasons.
Xander Bogaerts Tests Positive For COVID-19
Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts has tested positive for COVID-19, the team informed reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). He was removed in the second inning of this evening’s game after the team became aware of the result. Bogaerts becomes the sixth Boston player to test positive in recent days. He’ll join Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo, Martín Pérez, Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura and Josh Taylor (who is in isolation as a close contact) on the COVID IL.
None of those losses will be tougher to overcome than that of Bogaerts, who is among the sport’s best overall performers. The 28-year-old shortstop has a fantastic .298/.366/.501 line with twenty home runs over 519 plate appearances this summer. That showing earned Bogaerts his third career All-Star selection. By FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement, Bogaerts ranks as the game’s thirteenth most valuable position player this season.
When Bogaerts departed, the Sox slid Jonathan Araúz over from second base to shortstop. Yairo Muñoz stepped into the lineup at second. That duo looks to be the likeliest middle infield tandem for the Red Sox over the next week-plus while Bogaerts recuperates.
The Red Sox will have to continue to rely upon their depth options as they navigate a difficult stretch on the schedule. Boston has series against the Rays, Indians, Rays again and White Sox through the end of next week. The Red Sox entered play tonight leading the A’s by two games for the final American League playoff spot.
Red Sox Select Brad Peacock, Stephen Gonsalves
5:40 pm: The Red Sox announced they’ve selected Peacock and left-hander Stephen Gonsalves. Righty Raynel Espinal has been removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Worcester. Gonsalves, a one time well-regarded prospect during his days in the Twins’ system, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the winter. Over 67 innings with Worcester, he’s worked to a 4.97 ERA with a huge 30.2% strikeout rate but a very high 16.4% walk percentage. Josh Taylor has also landed on the COVID IL as part of contact tracing efforts.
3:30 pm: Boston will lose a fifth player to the COVID IL, as reliever Hirokazu Sawamura has tested positive, Chris Cotillo of MassLive was among those to pass along. Sawamura has a 3.06 ERA over 46 2/3 innings this season, his first in MLB after nine seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
3:03 pm: The Red Sox are planning to select righty Brad Peacock to the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal). He’ll get the start for this evening’s game against the Rays. The Red Sox have a couple vacancies on the 40-man roster because of their recent placement of four players on the COVID-19 injured list, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding active roster move.
Boston just added Peacock from the Indians in exchange for cash considerations yesterday. He’ll almost immediately get brought up to the majors for the first time this season, the ninth consecutive (and tenth overall) in which he’s made it to the big league level. Peacock had spent the past eight years with the Astros, bouncing between the rotation and long relief throughout his time in Houston.
Peacock had a few rocky seasons to begin his career but he found quite a bit of success beginning in 2017, when he reeled off 132 innings with an even 3.00 ERA. He hasn’t repeated quite that level of production, but he remained a valuable member of the pitching staff over the next couple seasons. Between 2017-19, Peacock worked to a 3.46 ERA across 288 2/3 frames, striking out a fantastic 29.4% of batters faced against an average 9% walk rate.
The 2019 campaign was the last in which Peacock has picked up extended big league innings. He was limited to three relief appearances by a shoulder injury last year and ultimately underwent arthroscopic surgery last October. That kept him out of action until late June, when he hooked on with Cleveland on a minor league deal.
He has since made eleven appearances (ten starts) with their top affiliate in Columbus, where he’s worked to a 7.68 ERA over 34 innings. That’s obviously an unsightly run prevention number, but Peacock’s peripherals are quite a bit better. The 33-year-old has essentially league average marks in strikeout rate (23.8%) and walk percentage (8.8%). His 34.3% ground-ball rate is rather low — contributing to some home run troubles — but he’s also been plagued by an abnormally high .340 opponents’ batting average on balls in play and should strand runners at a better clip than his current 56.5% mark moving forward.