- The Red Sox have announced that they’ve purchased the contract of righty Hector Velazquez from the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League. The deal will be official once a physical is completed. The 28-year-old pitched well over the winter for the Mayos de Navojoa in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, with a 2.32 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings. He also fared well in the regular season for the Acereros de Monclova, with a 2.47 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 over 131 1/3 innings. He has spent his entire career in Mexico to this point.
Red Sox Rumors
"Many Clubs" Bullish On Brock Holt
Major League Baseball’s investigation into domestic violence allegations against Mets closer Jeurys Familia could be nearing a conclusion, according to Ken Davidoff and Matt Puma of the New York Post. The Mets excused Familia from their pitchers and catchers workout Saturday (and he won’t be in attendance Sunday), which is related to the league’s case, two sources informed Davidoff and Puma. Mets manager Terry Collins doesn’t expect Familia to miss any more time this spring beyond Sunday, but the league could hand the reliever a 30- to 50-game regular-season suspension in the coming weeks, Davidoff and Puma suggest.
More from the East Coast:
- While there’s interest across the majors in utilityman Brock Holt, the Red Sox aren’t looking to trade him, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “Many clubs like him a great deal,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Since debuting in the majors with Pittsburgh in 2012, the versatile Holt has seen action everywhere but catcher and pitcher, though Boston doesn’t have an obvious place to put him this year. Most of Holt’s playing time last season came in left field, where ballyhooed rookie Andrew Benintendi will line up in 2017. Even including 2016, though, the majority of Holt’s big league experience has come at third base, but the Red Sox are banking on a revival at the hot corner from fellow lefty-swinger Pablo Sandoval. Thus, barring another poor showing from Sandoval – which is quite possible, of course – Holt could struggle to find reps. Nevertheless, Holt told Cafardo he’s “extremely happy” to be in Boston. The 2015 All-Star is under Red Sox control through the 2019 season.
- Justin Smoak manning first base and Steve Pearce handling left field on an everyday basis would be the “best-case scenario” for the Blue Jays this year, general manager Ross Atkins told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “A lot could change, a lot could evolve,” continued Atkins. “(Melvin Upton Jr.) is a very good major-league player and he very well could be the guy that’s playing regularly in left field for us. What we’d like to do is to have a spring training that gives us that choice to make.” Hoping the 30-year-old Smoak carves out an everyday role seems unrealistic, as the former top prospect has underwhelmed in the majors and is coming off a subpar season. After signing a two-year contract extension in mid-July, the switch-hitting Smoak posted a .184/.283/.368 batting line in 99 second-half plate appearances. Should the lifetime .223/.308/.392 hitter’s issues continue in 2017, Pearce would primarily take the reins at first, which would open up left for Upton and Ezequiel Carrera.
- With Sean Rodriguez set to miss most or all of the season, the Braves are trying to find an in-house backup for star first baseman Freddie Freeman, details David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Right fielder Nick Markakis, utilityman Chase d’Arnaud, infielder Jace Peterson and catcher Tyler Flowers are all candidates to slot in behind Freeman – who missed just four games last year and has appeared in no fewer than 147 contests five of six full seasons. If Atlanta doesn’t settle on any of those four as a reserve first baseman, it could turn to free agent Kelly Johnson, as he and the team are still in touch, tweets O’Brien. Another go-around in Atlanta would be the fourth for Johnson, whom the Braves drafted in 2000 and then signed as a free agent in each of the two prior winters. The club subsequently traded the journeyman to the Mets during both the 2015 and ’16 seasons.
Blake Swihart Struggling With Throwing
- Spring Training is off to a rocky start for Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Though it’s obviously still early, Swihart has struggled badly with getting the ball back to the pitcher. As Drellich explains, that’s perhaps of particular concern here: Swihart is reacclimating to life behind the dish after a stint in the outfield (and then on the DL) in 2016 and has always faced questions about his defensive abilities.
Eduardo Rodriguez Returns To Mound
Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was cleared for his first pen session of the spring after suffering a minor knee injury in winter ball action, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. There was added concern given the trouble Rodriguez experienced with the same joint last year, but he was able to throw 40 pitches without incident today. Boston has some depth in the staff, with Rodriguez slated to compete with Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright for the final two rotation jobs, though maintaining that depth will hinge in no small part upon the ability of the 24-year-old to stay healthy throughout the coming season.
Carson Smith Hopes To Return To Mound By Mid-March
- Red Sox right-hander Carson Smith is expected to throw off of a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery on or around March 10th, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. That would presumably set up Smith for a mid-season return; if he’s able to remain on track, he could provide a nice boost to the BoSox pen in advance of the trade deadline.
Red Sox Notes: Rotation, Swihart
Though it’ll be a week or more before either Drew Pomeranz or Steven Wright is able to throw off a mound (as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes), Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski stated that he feels the Sox are deeper in rotation options than the vast majority of clubs (Twitter link via Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal). Mastrodonato’s colleague, Evan Drellich, recently took a look at the team’s lack of established options beyond the top six of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, Pomeranz and Wright, though, noting that each of Henry Owens, Roenis Elias and Brian Johnson comes with question marks. (The Sox also have Kyle Kendrick in camp on a non-roster invite.)
- Also from Mastrodonato’s column, Farrell acknowledged that Blake Swihart’s remaining minor league option could work against him in Spring Training. Both Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez are out of options, and the Red Sox won’t want to expose either to waivers at the end of camp, which seemingly signals a trip to Triple-A Pawtucket to open the season for Swihart. Certainly, injuries could change the plan for the Sox, but it’s tough to see all three fitting on the roster. “We’ve got three guys that are fully healthy, that’s No. 1, particularly with what Blake went through last year and the surgery in the offseason,” Farrell told Mastrodonato. “But with Sandy, Christian and Blake, yeah we feel really good about the core group that’s there. We’ll see how things unfold.”
Cuban Left-Hander Osvaldo Hernandez Declared Free Agent
Cuban left-hander Osvaldo Hernandez has been declared a free agent and can now sign with any team, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (via Twitter). Several teams are already interested in the 18-year-old southpaw, including the Astros, Braves, Mets, Padres, Rangers, Reds and Red Sox.
Due to Hernandez’s young age, his signing is subject to international bonus pools. (As a reminder of how the international signing system has been altered by the new collective bargaining agreement, check out this refresher from Baseball America’s Ben Badler). One factor that hasn’t changed is that teams who exceeded their international spending limits in the last two July 2 classes are still serving their previously-mandated penalties, i.e. limited to spending no more than $300K on any pool-eligible player. By waiting until this July 2 to sign, Hernandez could open his market up to teams like the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Angels, Rays, Yankees and Red Sox, as those six clubs would no longer be held to the $300K limit. Boston, it should be noted, can’t sign Hernandez at all until July 2 since the Sox were banned from signing any pool-eligible players whatsoever during this signing class.
With significant interest in Hernandez’s services already, however, the young southpaw may not feel the need to wait. Also, since the old CBA’s rules are still in effect until the 2017-18 international signing period begins, Hernandez probably stands a better chance of scoring a richer contract now than he will when the stricter pool rules are instituted after July 2. Of the teams connected to Hernandez already, the Braves, Astros, Reds and Padres have already surpassed their bonus pools for the 2016-17 international signing period, so they would be paying a 100 percent tax on Hernandez’s signing bonus if a deal was reached.
Hernandez didn’t appear on any of the top prospects lists from Baseball America, Fangraphs or MLB.com for the current international signing period, though BA’s list didn’t include players who weren’t already eligible to sign. The 18-year-old does already possess a fastball clocked between 92-94mph, according to Sanchez.
Red Sox Notes: Wright, Pomeranz, Travis, Moreland
- Along with Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox hurlers Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz are set to vie for the fifth spot in the club’s rotation this spring, but it could be at least a week before the latter two are ready to throw off a mound, manager John Farrell revealed Sunday (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). Wright still hasn’t returned to full strength since suffering a right shoulder injury as a pinch-runner last August, while Pomeranz received a stem cell injection on his ailing left elbow in October. Rodriguez hurt his right knee in December, but he got a clean bill of health in a recent checkup, per Ian Browne of MLB.com.
- On the offensive end, the Red Sox didn’t attempt to replace retired designated hitter David Ortiz with another big bat in the offseason. Farrell explained why Sunday, telling reporters – including Scott Lauber of ESPN.com – that the team didn’t want to make a long-term commitment to a right-handed-hitting veteran and block prospect Sam Travis. The Red Sox instead wanted a lefty-swinger, which led them to reel in Mitch Moreland on a one-year, $5.5MM deal. Moreland is no Ortiz, of course, but Farrell regards the longtime Ranger as an “ideal fit” for the Red Sox considering both his handedness and defensive prowess. Boston still feels it’ll have a high-end offense without Ortiz, so it prioritized upgrading its defense and went after Moreland.
Pablo Sandoval Among BoSox Facing Important Spring
- Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, left-hander Drew Pomeranz, right-hander Joe Kelly, first baseman Sam Travis and catcher Christian Vazquez are among the Red Sox who will need strong spring performances this year, opines Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. If the beleaguered Sandoval is unable to show enough defensively to win the third base job, the lefty-swinger could have trouble finding playing time in Boston, which is likely to deploy Hanley Ramirez as its designated hitter against righties. Vazquez, meanwhile, has no minor league options remaining and will battle with Sandy Leon (also out of options) and Blake Swihart for a roster spot. The Red Sox might attempt to trade Vazquez if he doesn’t crack their roster, or they could send Swihart to the minors, observes Mastrodonato.
Dave Dombrowski On Andrew Benintendi
- That the Red Sox were able to acquire ace Chris Sale from the White Sox without giving up left fielder Andrew Benintendi could propel them back to the World Series this year, opines Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Red Sox left-hander David Price called it “amazing” that the team landed Sale while retaining Benintendi, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski observed that “Andrew is not a player you’re ever looking to trade.” The 22-year-old Benintendi was terrific in his 118-plate appearance major league debut last season (.295/.359/.476) and enters 2017 as an AL Rookie of the Year front-runner. He’s also No. 1 on Baseball America’s just-released Top 100 prospects list – one spot ahead of second baseman/third baseman Yoan Moncada, who headlined Chicago’s return in the Sale trade. Right-hander Michael Kopech, the second-biggest piece the White Sox received, is 32nd.
