- Thanks to Allen Craig ($11MM) and Rusney Castillo ($10.5MM), the Red Sox’ affiliate in Pawtucket will have the largest Triple-A payroll ever. Neither are on the 40-man roster. Craig played sparingly for Pawtucket last year and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2015; he’s in what should be the last year of the $31MM contract he signed with St. Louis prior to the 2013 campaign. The Red Sox will almost certainly pay him a $1M buyout on his 2018 option once the season is over. Castillo was outrighted last season and is still owed $46MM through 2020.
Red Sox Rumors
Orioles Tried To Make Trade To Keep Aneury Tavarez
- The Orioles tried to make a trade with the Red Sox to keep Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavarez, Baltimore GM Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Sunday (Twitter link). The division rivals couldn’t agree to a deal, though, so the Orioles had to return Tavarez to the Red Sox. Duquette revealed that there was less urgency to retain Tavarez because of the emergence of 22-year-old outfielder Cedric Mullins, whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the Orioles’ 19th-best prospect. Mullins will start the season with Double-A Bowie.
Orioles Return Rule 5 Pick Aneury Tavarez To Red Sox
SUNDAY: Tavarez is indeed going back to the Red Sox, per an announcement from the Orioles.
WEDNESDAY: The Orioles have placed outfielder Aneury Tavarez, one of their two picks in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, on outright waivers, reports Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. If no team claims Tavarez, the 24-year-old will be offered back to the Red Sox organization, from which he was selected in December.
Any club that claims Tavarez would need to follow the same Rule 5 restrictions facing the Orioles; in other words, Tavarez must be carried on a team’s 25-man roster or else be placed on waivers and, upon clearing, offered back to Boston. Tavarez’s waiver period ends on Friday, according to Meoli. If he ends up back in Boston, the Red Sox are free to option Tavarez back to the minor leagues.
[Related: Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]
Tavarez faced an uphill battle to crack a crowded Orioles outfield picture this spring, though he performed reasonably well in the chances he was given, hitting .292/.382/.396 with a homer and eight steals in 48 at-bats. However, the O’s have Hyun Soo Kim, Adam Jones, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo and Joey Rickard as likely outfield options this coming season. Beyond that, non-roster invitee Craig Gentry has reportedly caught the eye of manager Buck Showalter. Elsewhere on the 40-man roster, Anthony Santander (another Rule 5 selection) is yet another option, though he’s currently dealing with some elbow soreness. Veteran utility infielder Ryan Flaherty, too, figures to see some time on the outfield grass this season as well.
Last year, Tavarez split the season between Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, batting a collective .330/.374/.495 with seven homers and 20 stolen bases in 441 trips to the plate. He followed that up with a solid, but lesser performance in the Dominican Winter League, where he batted .283/.349/.362 in 175 plate appearances (prior to the aforementioned Spring Training performance).
Red Sox Select Ben Taylor's Contract
Saturday’s minor moves:
- The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-hander Ben Taylor, who will open the season in their bullpen. Prior to Saturday, the 24-year-old hadn’t gotten above Double-A since the Red Sox selected him in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. Taylor held his own at that level last year, when the reliever recorded a 3.44 ERA, 11.12 K/9 and 3.18 BB/9 in 34 innings, and fared well in spring training as a non-roster invitee. MLB Pipeline ranks Taylor as Boston’s 19th-best prospect.
- The Tigers have released left-hander Travis Blackley, per an announcement from the veteran (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Blackley, who joined the Tigers on a minor league deal in December, didn’t pitch in the majors in any of the previous three seasons. Since 2014, the well-traveled 34-year-old has seen action in his native Australia, Japan, Mexico and Triple-A New Orleans. Blackley owns a 5.23 ERA, 6.17 K/9, 3.78 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent ground-ball rate in 192 2/3 major league innings (82 appearances, 26 starts).
Red Sox Outright Bryce Brentz
The Red Sox announced that outfielder Bryce Brentz has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Pawtucket, thus clearing a spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Brentz was out of options, making this the only way for the Red Sox to be able to send him to the minors.
The 28-year-old Brentz saw the most sizable chunk of Major League time in his career in 2016, logging 64 plate appearances with Boston and hitting .279/.313/.377 with a homer and three doubles. The former No. 36 overall pick (2010) once rated as one of the more promising farmhands in the Red Sox’ system, but his production stalled upon reaching the Triple-A level. In parts of five seasons with Pawtucket, Brentz is a .247/.309/.431 hitter in 1096 plate appearances — including a .250/.278/.402 slash there last season.
Drew Pomeranz To Open Season On DL
- The Red Sox announced today that lefty Drew Pomeranz will open the season on the 10-day DL due to a flexor strain in his left forearm. That does not appear to be a new injury, though; instead, the club is lining him up to pitch as scheduled while opening the door to carrying an extra player to open the year.
Robby Scott Will Make Red Sox' Opening Day Roster
Red Sox skipper John Farrell announced to reporters today that left-hander Robby Scott will be on the team’s Opening Day roster in place of the injured Tyler Thornburg (Twitter link via the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham). Scott, 27, made his Major League debut with Boston last season and tossed six shutout innings after a standout season in the minors. In 78 innings with Triple-A Pawtucket logged a 2.54 ERA with a pristine 73-to-14 K/BB ratio.
Wright Pitching With Knee Brace
- Red Sox right-hander Steven Wright pitched with an elastic brace on his left knee last night, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The knuckleballer has been feeling on-and-off soreness in his knee over the past several weeks, according to Abraham, but he termed the brace as a precautionary measure. The 32-year-old Wright added that he doesn’t believe there’s one singular incident that led to the soreness and doesn’t feel it’s impacted his pitching to this point.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Duffy, Sucre, Rutledge, Smith, Price
The rotation picture is slowly coming into focus for the Yankees, who still haven’t made clear who’ll round out their staff. As George A. King III of the New York Post reports, though, the organization has decided that Adam Warren will open the year in the bullpen while Luis Cessa will start out in the minors. That leaves four remaining possibilities for the final two rotation jobs: Luis Severino, Bryan Mitchell, Chad Green, and Jordan Montgomery. While Montgomery has produced intriguing numbers in the upper minors last year as well as during camp this spring, he’s considered a “long shot,” per the report.
Here’s more news out of the AL East:
- There’s some positive news for Rays shortstop Matt Duffy, who received a clean MRI on his still-ailing heel, Topkin tweets. But there’s still no timeline for his return with camp about to break. Given the delayed healing thus far, it seems likely the club will exercise plenty of caution. Meanwhile, the Rays have informed catcher Jesus Sucre that he’ll be on the active roster, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. He’ll function as the backup to the just-acquired Derek Norris, with Luke Maile and Curt Casali heading to Triple-A for depth.
- While the focus has been on the pitching staff, it appears the Red Sox will be dealing with a few tough roster questions on the position-player side to open the year. Infielder Josh Rutledge is likely to start the year on the DL with a hamstring issue, skipper John Farrell told reporters including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (Twitter links). What’s of added intrigue here is the fact that first baseman Mitch Moreland has been sent home with the flu, while Hanley Ramirez appears likely to be limited to DH duties. It seemed Rutledge had been slated to back up Moreland at the position; now, the club may be forced to press someone else into duty — Marco Hernandez and Steve Selsky were suggested as possibilities to take Rutledge’s roster spot — at least in a reserve function. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that this is likely only a short-term issue.
- As for the Red Sox’ pitching, there are a few minor updates worth noting. Righty Carson Smith is backing down a bit on his Tommy John rehab after experiencing tightness following his first pen session, Britton reports. It’s considered more a typical part of the process than any kind of setback. Starter David Price, meanwhile, is continuing a long-toss program (two days on, one day off) for the time being, Britton tweets. It’s not clear just when or how the team will decide to ramp things up for the lefty.
Marco Hernandez Could Make Red Sox
- Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez came up as a trade candidate last week, when it appeared he had no place on the club’s roster, though an injury to Rule 5 pick Josh Rutledge may have created room. Rutledge suffered a strained left hamstring Tuesday, and Hernandez could be the beneficiary, notes Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The problem is that the Red Sox want a right-handed hitter to complement corner infielders Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval, but Hernandez is a lefty.
