- Red Sox left-hander David Price didn’t last long in his rehab start Friday, so he’ll make at least one more before rejoining the big club, manager John Farrell announced Saturday (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). While Price “feels great physically,” per Farrell, he’s not stretched out to the team’s liking. Price, working his way back from a strained elbow, went two innings and threw 65 pitches in his initial start for Triple-A Pawtucket. That fell well short of the 85- to 90-pitch goal Boston had set for Price, who will take the hill again for Pawtucket on Wednesday.
Red Sox Rumors
Red Sox Notes: Peralta, Frazier
- With Jhonny Peralta relegated to backup duty in St. Louis, Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox would considering acquiring Peralta to help their shaky third base situation. Given Peralta’s recent injury problems and his .251/.299/.387 slash line (in 341 PA) since the start of the 2016 season, of course, there’s no guarantee that Peralta is necessarily an upgrade. Peralta is also owed around $7.4MM for the remainder of the season, though Cafardo feels the Cardinals would cover “a great portion” of that salary. Cafardo notes that Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knows Peralta well, having traded for Peralta in 2010 back when Dombrowski was the Tigers GM.
- The Red Sox have been scouting a veteran third baseman in Todd Frazier, and like in a hypothetical Peralta scenario, the White Sox would cover some salary in a trade (Frazier is owed a little under $9MM for the rest of 2017). Also like Peralta, Frazier isn’t in good form, hitting just .191/.280/.357 in 132 PA this season. Frazier has hit 75 homers over the last two years, however, and is a well-regarded clubhouse leader.
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David Price Throws 2 Innings In Rehab Start
- Red Sox lefty David Price only made it through two innings in his rehab outing tonight, as David Ricci of the Boston Globe reports. On the positive side, Price says that he felt that he was in good physical form during and after the outing. Still, it’s unclear what the next step will be for the valuable southpaw, who has yet to pitch this year in the majors while working through an elbow injury. Manager John Farrell said he’ll speak with Price before a course is determined, as the Globe’s Pete Abraham tweets.
Red Sox Designate Chase d’Arnaud, Select Hector Velazquez
The Red Sox have designated infielder Chase d’Arnaud for assignment, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He’ll make way for righty Hector Velazquez, whose contract was selected.
Boston also moved injured hurler Steven Wright to the 60-day DL. He was already expected to miss the entire season, so that was only a formality. The team now has one open 40-man slot.
Boston hardly utilized d’Arnaud after claiming him late last month from the Braves. He took just a single plate appearance, in fact. The versatile 30-year-old carries a .233/.289/.314 batting line over 448 plate appearances, with those spread over parts of six MLB seasons.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Velazquez has quite an interesting story. He signed with the Red Sox after a lengthy run in the Mexican League, culminating with a breakout 2016 season. Thus far, he has impressed at Triple-A. Over 29 frames, he owns a 1.55 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 while allowing only 18 base hits.
It’s worth noting that Velazquez is playing on a very unique contract arrangement. As Evan Drellich reported during camp, Velazquez received only a piece of the $30K bonus upon signing. But his deal includes an apparently newfangled provision that allows him to earn salary escalators based upon how many consecutive days he remains on the active roster.
Looking Back At The Lackey Trade
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers a look back at the stunning 2014 trade that the Cardinals pulled off with the Red Sox. While the deadline swap that brought in John Lackey devastated the St. Louis clubhouse at the time — Allen Craig and Joe Kelly went to Boston — it looks quite good for the team in retrospect. Goold explores it from all angles, including those of the players involved, while noting one of the intriguing remaining elements of the deal: Cards outfield prospect Dylan Carlson, who was taken with the comp pick the team added when Lackey turned down a qualifying offer after the 2015 season.
Red Sox Release Erik Cordier
- Righty Erik Cordier was released by the Red Sox, who signed him after a stint last year in Japan. Cordier, 31, has seen the majors briefly but went to the Orix Buffaloes for the 2016 campaign. He managed only a 7.30 ERA through 12 1/3 innings there. His early work at Triple-A Pawtucket in the current season was somewhat interesting. Through 8 1/3 innings, Cordier has allowed five earned runs on just four hits, with 15 strikeouts against nine walks.
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Pomeranz Cleared For Baseball Activities; More Testing For Thornburg
- An MRI of Drew Pomeranz’s left triceps didn’t reveal any new injuries, and the Red Sox lefty has been cleared to resume baseball activities, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. News on Tyler Thornburg, though, isn’t as good. The Sox are still trying to get to the bottom of the shoulder woes Thornburg is experiencing, as Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets. Thornburg is set for additional testing and medical consultations this week. He has yet to take the hill since arriving in Boston via trade over the winter.
Red Sox Notes: Quintana, Frazier, Pomeranz
- The Nationals and Red Sox have had evaluators watching White Sox players, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports. Both clubs have been scouting Jose Quintana, while the Nationals continue to have interest in closer David Robertson, and Levine figures the Sox could also be looking at Todd Frazier to address their need at third base. Chicago already completed major trades with both teams this past winter, of course, in deals that sent Adam Eaton to Washington and Chris Sale to Boston, so there is already a great deal of familiarity between these organizations. Quintana would fill the Nats’ revolving door in the fifth starter’s spot, though obtaining Robertson to help their struggling bullpen seems like the more pressing fit. The Red Sox could use Quintana and Frazier, though they seem likely to wait to see how David Price and their internal third base options return before deciding if upgrades are necessary.
- Drew Pomeranz left today’s Red Sox loss after three innings due to tightness in his left triceps. While the southpaw’s health has been a question mark since his trade to the Sox from the Padres last summer, Pomeranz told media (including Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal) that both his triceps and his lowered velocity this season were due to a problem in his mechanics, not due to any physical issues. Pomeranz will undergo an MRI tomorrow but said he believes he can make his next start.
David Price Could Rejoin Red Sox Next Weekend
- The rehab start Red Sox left-hander David Price was supposed to make for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday was postponed due to rain, so he threw a 75-pitch simulated game indoors, per Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Price will start Pawtucket’s game Friday at Triple-A Buffalo, weather permitting, and could rejoin the Red Sox if that goes well. “We’ll re-evaluate following Friday and wouldn’t rule out his return to us if everything goes according to plan,” said manager John Farrell (via John Tomase of WEEI). Price hasn’t pitched yet this season on account of an elbow issue that cropped up in early March.
Red Sox Struggling At Third Base
The Red Sox have struggled at third base this year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. The team planned to have Pablo Sandoval as their main third baseman, a dicey proposition since Sandoval missed most of last season. The team has since lost Sandoval, Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez to injury, forcing Josh Rutledge into duty at the hot corner. Red Sox third baseman have struggled to the tune of a .237/.286/.320 line this season. Holt (vertigo) is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Pawtucket, though, and could soon to the big leagues, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets. Here’s more from the East divisions.
