Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox Option Rusney Castillo

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2016 at 10:48pm CDT

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.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Lohse, Davis, Rays

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2016 at 6:23pm CDT

Nick Swisher spoke to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about his excitement over rejoining the Yankees organization. “There’s no place I love more than New York,” said Swisher. “I think a lot of people know that. … I’m one of those lucky guys that gets an opportunity to come back and try to prove myself again.” Swisher also talked with Feinsand about the difficulty of dealing with significant knee injuries in recent seasons and the jarring feeling of getting a phone call to inform him of his release in Atlanta. The 34-year-old firmly believes he’s capable of contributing in the Majors again and looks forward to working his way back to a Yankees uniform. “To have the first phone call come from the Yankees, a place you think of as family, it was amazing,” said Swisher. “For this to happen during such a dark time, it makes you want to work that much harder, to train and play that much harder.”

Elsewhere in the AL East…

The Orioles are among the clubs that hold interest in right-hander Kyle Lohse, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Baltimore’s 7-0 start to the season has drawn its fair share of headlines, but it’s worth noting that Ubaldo Jimenez is the only one of their starters to have topped five innings in an outing thus far. Bringing Lohse into the organization would provide the club with some veteran depth, although Lohse’s most recent work with the Brewers didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he’s still a quality big league option. The 37-year-old lost his rotation with the Brewers last season after recording a 6.31 ERA in 22 starts. Lohse did appear to turn it around somewhat upon his move to the bullpen, logging a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings of work.
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.
Never afraid to try something outside the box, the Rays have adopted the usage of virtual reality training for their hitters, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays batters have available to them a set of virtual reality goggles that allow them to stand at/near/behind the plate in the batting cage and watch a virtual simulation of that evening’s pitcher throwing to them. Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali both spoke very highly of the new tool, whereas Evan Longoria was optimistic about its benefits down the line but said he feels there’s room for improvement. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the technology and how it might benefit our players,” said Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman to Topkin. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t the only club using the technology; the Pirates and “several” other teams have begun to experiment with it.
Rays right-hander Alex Cobb and Chase Whitley each made 20 throws from halfway up the bullpen mound on Tuesday, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Each will throw again on Friday and next Tuesday before moving to the top of the mound late next week. Cobb noted that while the news isn’t exciting, he and Whitley both considered it to be a big day in their rehab. Both right-handers are making their way back from Tommy John surgery that was performed in May of last season.

Pablo Sandoval Placed On DL With Shoulder Strain

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2016 at 4:08pm CDT

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

By Steve Adams | April 12, 2016 at 10:30pm CDT

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

By Steve Adams | April 12, 2016 at 4:45pm CDT

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.

Quick Hits: Epstein, Mazara, Sandoval

By Mark Polishuk | April 11, 2016 at 11:20pm CDT

Some news as we head into Tuesday…

There isn’t much new to report on the extension talks between the Cubs and Theo Epstein, as the president of baseball operations told reporters (including Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com) that the two sides “haven’t talked a lot about” a new deal. “The talks we have had [were] very amicable, productive, moving in the right direction,” Epstein said. Epstein’s original five-year, $18.5MM deal is up after this season, though the lack of urgency in talks may reflect the seemingly small chance that he leaves Wrigleyville. Both Epstein and Cubs management have both expressed a desire to continue their relationship, plus one has to think it would be unusual for Epstein leave just as the team is starting to enjoy the fruits of its rebuild.
Nomar Mazara’s big debut for the Rangers is already drawing a lot of attention, though as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recaps, many opposing scouts were stunned by the $4.95MM bonus Mazara signed in 2011, which is still a record for a 16-year-old international player. Scouts at the time questioned Mazara’s ability to consistently make contact, and also the decision by Mazara’s trainer to keep him out of playing in actual games. His evolution into a top-rated prospect and (through two games, at least) a promising big-leaguer, however, has made the Rangers’ investment look very solid.
In another Mazara piece, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears from rivals scouts who explain why Mazara is a more polished hitter than another well-regarded Rangers prospect, Joey Gallo.
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.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Werner, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | April 11, 2016 at 9:58pm CDT

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…

Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that Nick Swisher hadn’t yet signed a reported minor league deal with the club as of Monday afternoon. Swisher will still have to pass a physical for the contract to become official, which could be difficult given his history of knee problems. Several opposing scouts weren’t impressed by Swisher’s health during Spring Training, with one scout telling King that Swisher’s “legs are gone.” The Yankees, however, felt Swisher could still contribute as a backup option at first, left field or DH, as Cashman said the club liked what they saw when Swisher faced them as a member of the Braves during the spring.
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.
Jimmy Paredes is making progress in recovering from a sprained left wrist, though once he returns from the DL, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko notes that the Orioles could have a bit of a roster crunch. Paredes is out of options, so he’d have to pass through waivers for the O’s to send him to Triple-A and there isn’t an obvious candidate to remove from the 25-man roster. Kubatko also notes that Mychal Givens, T.J. McFarland or Tyler Wilson could be send down once Brian Matusz makes his expected return from injury on Thursday.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Lucroy, Archer, Red Sox, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | April 10, 2016 at 10:29pm CDT

The Pirates surrendered the third-fewest runs in baseball last year, when center fielder Andrew McCutchen and left fielder Starling Marte lined up deeper than most at their respective positions, but the data-driven Bucs are experimenting with a shallower outfield alignment this season in hopes of allowing even less scoring. “Reviewing the numbers last year, there was so much collateral damage done in front of us last year — balls that fell in, extra bases that were taken by guys trying to get to balls,” manager Clint Hurdle said (via Adam Berry of MLB.com). “It was glaringly apparent that we could make an adjustment on our end, especially with the athleticism we have with our outfielders, and change the dynamic of what’s gone on as far as run prevention goes,” he continued. Both McCutchen and Marte have taken to the changes, according to Hurdle. “You give them the numbers, you show them the charts, you show them where damage is done or not done. They’re really good about understanding and trusting.”

AL Notes: Weaver, Vazquez, Yanks, Chisenhall

By Connor Byrne | April 10, 2016 at 7:30pm CDT

Angels righty and former ace Jered Weaver, who’s coming off a career-worst season in which his fastball velocity sat in the low 80s, made his 2016 debut Sunday and threw six innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win over Texas. Weaver allowed seven base runners (six hits, one walk), struck out four, and was encouraged afterward. “It makes me look forward to the future in baseball as opposed to thinking about shutting it down,” he told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter link). Weaver’s fastball resided in the 82 mph range Sunday and he didn’t generate many grounders (a common career trend), but he effectively used his curveball and changeup to keep Rangers hitters at bay. Whether he can continue to get by that way is up for debate, but Weaver seems confident, saying, “Haters equals motivation for me. I feed off of it.”

Central Notes: Gomez, Castillo, Polanco

By charliewilmoth | April 9, 2016 at 10:51am CDT

Outfielder Carlos Gomez would eventually like to retire with the Brewers, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel writes. “I feel in my heart and my mind that this is the organization where I grew up,” says Gomez. “My best memory in my career is in a Brewers uniform and I’d like to retire some day in this uniform.” Gomez, of course, currently plays for the Astros (who are currently in Milwaukee), and his desire to finish his career with the Brew Crew isn’t likely to result in an imminent transaction, and might not even lead to him signing with the Brewers once his current contract expires this fall. But it’s hardly surprising that the Brewers organization would hold a special place in his heart. After coming through the Mets system and playing for two seasons with the Twins, Gomez blossomed in Milwaukee, finishing in the top ten in NL MVP voting with a 7.4-fWAR season in 2013 and making the All-Star team that year and in 2014. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

Dave Dombrowski’s Tigers offered outfielder Rusney Castillo a $40MM deal when Castillo was a free agent, Jon Heyman tweets. That figure didn’t approach the $72.5MM offer Castillo eventually got from the Red Sox, but it suggests that Dombrowski liked Castillo even before taking over as the Red Sox’ president of baseball operations. Castillo’s deal with the Red Sox, of course, hasn’t worked out well so far, and he has yet to receive a plate appearance this season.
Fellow Pirates players say Gregory Polanco’s recent extension will help him perform better by protecting him from worry about his contract status, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. “I told [Polanco], just like when it happened to me, it’s good to get it out of the way,” says Andrew McCutchen, who received his own long-term deal in 2012. “I honestly think that’s kind of helped him. He’s going to be able to just go out and not worry. He’s financially set, and I’m looking forward to him being able to be the player that we know he can be.”

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