- 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 Rumors
Red Sox Notes: Vazquez, Sandoval, Contracts
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
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.
Chris Davis: Red Sox Had Interest In Offseason
- 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.
Pablo Sandoval Placed On DL With Shoulder Strain
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
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
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.
Does Pablo Sandoval Have A Role On BoSox Roster?
- The Red Sox didn’t use Pablo Sandoval to pinch-hit against righty reliever Mychal Givens today, leading ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber to wonder if the Panda really has any place on the Sox roster if the club isn’t willing to use him even in seemingly tailor-made pinch-hitting situations. Sandoval only appeared in three games and received seven plate appearances so far this season, after losing his starting third base job to Travis Shaw in Spring Training.
Werner: Red Sox Ownership Doesn't Influence Lineups
The Orioles are still baseball’s only undefeated team, moving to 6-0 after today’s 9-7 win over the Red Sox. Chris Davis broke a 6-6 tie in the ninth with a three-run homer off Craig Kimbrel (making his home debut for Boston) to score the game’s deciding runs. Here’s some more from around the AL East…
- In a radio interview on the Ordway, Merloni & Fauria show, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner expressed surprise that some Sox fans felt ownership would influence certain lineup decisions, most notably insisting that high-priced Pablo Sandoval retain his starting job. “Really our influence extends that we want the best lineup and we want to win now. Beyond that it’s up to John [Farrell] and Dave [Dombrowski] and the coaching staff to come up with the best lineup every day,” Werner said. “I think a lot has been made of this. Maybe there are some owners who would exert that kind of influence. The only influence that we would have is to say, ’You’re free to do whatever you want to do, and you shouldn’t worry about salary. You should worry about putting out the best lineup.’ ” WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford has a partial transcript of Werner’s interview.
Callis: Red Sox's Single-A Team Is Minors' Most Talented
- The Red Sox’s Class-A team, Salem, boasts the most talented roster in the minor leagues, Jim Callis of MLB.com opines in a piece highlighting the minors’ premier clubs. Boston has three of MLBPipeline.com’s 25 best prospects in Salem – second baseman Yoan Moncada (No. 6), third baseman Rafael Devers (No. 16) and outfielder Andrew Benintendi (No. 24) – as well as breakout candidates in righty Travis Lakins, middle infielder Mauricio Dubon and first baseman Nick Longhi, Callis writes.
