Red Sox Rumors

Injury Notes: Garrett, Altuve, Rosario, Rodriguez, Avisail

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2023 at 11:27pm CDT

The Royals placed Amir Garrett on the 15-day injured list yesterday, with a retroactive May 29 placement date. The left-hander is suffering from a valgus extension overload in his throwing elbow, which manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including MLB.com) is like a bone bruise. Garrett will miss roughly 3-4 weeks in total, and will be shut down for the next 5-7 days before being re-examined.

Since Kansas City already seems out of the pennant race, that means Garrett should be able to return well before the trade deadline, and perhaps establish himself as a trade chip for a Royals team that is already open to moving relievers. Garrett is a free agent this winter, making him even more of an obvious trade candidate as a rental player. Beyond his current health issue, however, the biggest obstacle in the way of a Garrett deal is his garish 17.7% walk rate, the highest yet for a pitcher who has struggled with control over most of his seven MLB seasons. While Garrett has only a 3.00 ERA over 21 innings and his strikeout (25%) and grounder (48.1%) rates are both respectable, the walk rate certainly stands out as a red flag for any interesting suitors.

More on other injury situations around baseball…

Jose Altuve didn’t play today and likely won’t play on Sunday, as Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle) that Altuve is dealing with a minor oblique problems. The second baseman felt discomfort after a swing in Friday’s game, and while the injury isn’t deemed serious enough to merit an MRI, the Astros are naturally being careful with Altuve given how oblique problems can linger or become easily aggravated. It’s a day-to-day situation for now, though Houston doesn’t have an off-day on the schedule until June 12.
The Guardians removed Amed Rosario from today’s game in the fourth inning due to left knee soreness. Rosario is day-to-day for now, and since Cleveland has an off-day on Monday, it seems very likely that Rosario will be sat for Sunday’s game to give him two full days to rest and recover. Rosario has struggled badly this season, hitting only .224/.270/.314 over 226 plate appearances, and he has the fourth-lowest fWAR (-0.7) of any qualified player in 2023. Any of Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, or Brayan Rocchio could get more playing time at shortstop if Rosario has to miss an extended amount of time.
Joely Rodriguez was warming up in preparation of entering tonight’s Rays/Red Sox game, but Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe) that Rodriguez had to halt his warmup due to soreness in his bicep and shoulder area. More will be known once some tests are run, but it certainly looks like Rodriguez could be headed back to the IL. An oblique injury in Spring Training already delayed Rodriguez’s season debut until May 17, and the left-hander has struggled to an 18.00 ERA over his four innings and five appearances.
The Marlins told reporters (including Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base) that Avisail Garcia’s rehab assignment has been temporarily halted, as he will receive examination on his sore back. Garcia has already been on the IL since April 29 due to lower back tightness, so while the team described the setback as “minor,” it is a little worrisome to see Garcia further delayed. The outfielder has played in four games with Triple-A Jacksonville during his rehab assignment.

Red Sox Release Jorge Alfaro

By Steve Adams | June 3, 2023 at 11:40am CDT

TODAY: MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that the Red Sox are granting Alfaro his release. Going forward, Alfaro figures to re-enter the free agent market as a quality depth option for catching-needy clubs.

June 1: Veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro has exercised an opt-out in his minor league deal with the Red Sox and is planning to test free agency, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Red Sox technically have 48 hours to add Alfaro to the roster before granting him his release. However, manager Alex Cora expressed comfort with current backstops Connor Wong and Reese McGuire last night and implied that the Sox weren’t likely to make any changes behind the plate, so it makes sense that Alfaro will explore other opportunities after a strong start to his season in Triple-A.

Alfaro, 30 next week, has gotten out to a hefty .320/.366/.520 start in Worcester this season. He’s connected on six homers, 13 doubles and even a pair of triples, adding a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts as well. Despite that hot start, Cora’s comments last night seem to suggest that Alfaro’s next big league opportunity won’t come with the Red Sox — at least not at this time. An injury in the next couple days could change that, but otherwise he appears quite likely to return to the market and look for an opportunity elsewhere.

The combination of Wong and McGuire have provided passable offense despite bloated strikeout rates, with McGuire’s sky-high BABIP in particularly making him something of a regression candidate. That duo hasn’t provided the defensive value the Sox hoped entering the season, however. McGuire is just 1-for-22 in terms of halting stolen bases, while Wong ranks among baseball’s worst pitch framers and pitch blockers, per Statcast.

Alfaro is just 5-for-35 in throwing out opposing baserunners this season, but Baseball Prospectus gives him average grades in terms of both pitch framing and pitch blocking. Alfaro doesn’t have a strong big league track record either defensively or offensively — he’s a career .256/.305/.396 hitter in the Majors — but there are so many teams in search of catching help that he could quickly find another opportunity elsewhere. Speculatively speaking, the Guardians and Padres are among the postseason hopefuls receiving negligible contributions behind the plate in 2023, but there are certainly other clubs that could take a look if (or perhaps when) Alfaro returns to the market.

Red Sox Extend Rob Refsnyder

By Nick Deeds | June 3, 2023 at 9:08am CDT

The Red Sox announced today that the club had agreed to a one-year contract extension with outfielder Rob Refsnyder with a club option for the 2025 season. As noted by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, Refsnyder’s deal will earn him $1.85MM in 2024, with the 2025 option being valued at $2MM. Speier adds that the deal includes performance-related bonuses and escalators.

A fifth-round pick in the 2005 draft, Refsnyder made his MLB debut as a member of the Yankees in 2005. While he impressed with a 16-game stint where he slashed .302/.348/.512 with a 130 wRC+ in 2015, subsequent cups of coffee in the big leagues didn’t yield nearly as promising results, leaving the Yankees to designate the then-26-year-old Refsnyder for assignment. He ended his Yankees career with a slash line of .241/.312/.332 in 92 games with the club. Refsnyder would spend the next several seasons making brief, unsuccessful appearances with the Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers and Twins despite consistently putting up consistent numbers at the Triple-A level, where he has a career slash line of .298/.379/.450 in 487 games.

Things began to turn around for Refsnyder when he arrived in Boston last season, however. In 90 games with the club since the start of the 2022 season, Refsnyder has posted a .299/.393/.457 slash line, good for a wRC+ of 139. While Refsnyder’s sky-high .387 BABIP during that time indicates success at this level is likely unsustainable, though his 10.9% walk rate, 24.4% strikeout rate, and .158 ISO all indicate that Refsnyder can at least be a solid fourth outfielder in the big leagues nonetheless. Currently, Refsnyder sits alongside Raimel Tapia on the Red Sox depth chart, coming off the bench to spell primary outfielders Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida, and Jarren Duran.

That performance earned Refsnyder additional job security in the form of a contract extension that appears to be a win for all parties. Refsnyder, who landed a $1.2MM contract to avoid arbitration this past offseason, was set to be arbitration-eligible for the final time in 2024 but now has a guaranteed big league salary headed into next season. Meanwhile, with the 2025 club option the Red Sox secured themselves an additional year at what is sure to be a discounted price should Refsnyder see continued success over the next two seasons.

Red Sox Place Chris Sale On Injured List With Shoulder Inflammation

By Anthony Franco | June 2, 2023 at 10:59pm CDT

The Red Sox have placed starter Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Corey Kluber was reinstated from the paternity list to take the active roster spot.

Sale left last night’s start in the fourth inning as his velocity was dropping. The Sox announced afterwards that he’d head for imaging. Sale addressed the Boston beat this evening, saying it’ll be around a week before he receives an official diagnosis (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). He said he doesn’t believe he’ll require surgery but it looks unlikely he’ll be back when first eligible a couple weeks from now.

Injuries have become unfortunately familiar for Sale over the past few years. One of the sport’s most durable arms between 2012-18, he’s battled health concerns since entering his 30s. He lost all of 2020 and most of ’21 to Tommy John surgery. Sale’s 2022 campaign was marred by a number of issues. He lost the first half of the year to a stress reaction in his ribs. Two starts into his return, he fractured a finger on his throwing hand when he was struck by a comebacker. Sale’s season officially ended in August when he broke his wrist in a bicycle accident.

This year’s 59 innings are already the most he’s logged since 2019. The seven-time All-Star has a middling 4.58 ERA through 11 starts. His underlying numbers are quite a bit better. Sale has punched out 28.5% of opponents and kept his walk rate to a tidy 6%. He’d had the results to match in May, posting a 2.42 ERA while holding batters to a .183/.224/.355 line in 26 frames.

Boston will have to proceed without arguably their best starter for at least two weeks. The Sox have run with Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and James Paxton alongside Sale in the rotation. Kluber and Nick Pivetta each recently moved from the starting five to the bullpen. One of that duo — presumably Kluber, the more recent of the two to slide to relief — is likely to step back into the rotation.

Nine Veterans With Upcoming Minor League Opt-Out Opportunities

By Anthony Franco | May 31, 2023 at 10:34pm CDT

As part of last year’s collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day now receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not added to the majors.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. The second of those dates spurred some roster movement this year. Chris Devenski, Jeff Hoffman and Billy Hamilton were all called up to keep them from testing the market. Chase Anderson and Gary Sánchez found MLB opportunities with other organizations after leaving the Reds and Giants, respectively.

As that third opt-out date nears, it’s worth checking in on a few players with opt-outs under the CBA (as well as one player whose minor league contract contained a June 1 opt-out provision).

Red Sox C Jorge Alfaro

Alfaro is not an Article XX(B) free agent, as he hit the open market via non-tender from the Padres last fall. However, the minor league deal he signed with Boston reportedly afforded him opt-out chances on both June 1 and July 1.

There’s certainly an argument for the 29-year-old catcher to trigger that provision. Alfaro has had an excellent year with the Red Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester. Through 187 plate appearances, he’s hitting .320/.364/.523 and has connected on six home runs. His 4.8% walk rate is modest but he’s kept his strikeouts to a near-average 23% clip while hitting for power.

Alfaro has had an inconsistent big league career, flashing power potential and big arm strength but struggling with his plate discipline and receiving work. He’s a .256/.305/.396 hitter in over 1600 major league plate appearances.

The Red Sox have used Connor Wong and Reese McGuire as their catching tandem. They’ve combined for a decent .272/.309/.440 line, with Wong supplying some power while McGuire has done a serviceable job reaching base. Neither Wong nor McGuire stands as an obvious roadblock to an addition behind the plate but their cumulative production has been solid. Manager Alex Cora was noncommittal on bringing Alfaro up, telling reporters today the club is “very comfortable with Reese and Wong” (relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Cora expressed his hope that Alfaro would stick in the organization even if the Sox don’t call him up this week, though it remains to be seen if he’ll find a better immediate opportunity elsewhere.

Nationals LHP Sean Doolittle

Doolittle’s return stint in Washington last year was cut short by a UCL internal brace procedure. He returned on a minor league deal but has been behind schedule as he works back to game shape. The 36-year-old has been on the injured list all season. He began a rehab stint a few days ago and has thrown two innings between Low-A and High-A. It seems likely he’ll remain with Washington and make it back to Triple-A Rochester before much longer.

Rangers LHP Danny Duffy

Duffy has spent the entire season on the injured list. He’s working back from forearm issues that have prevented him from throwing a major league pitch since July 2021. It’s unclear when he’ll be ready to return to game action.

Rays OF Ben Gamel

Gamel has had a solid showing in Triple-A since signing a non-roster pact in Spring Training. The left-handed hitting corner outfielder has a .257/.387/.436 line over 124 plate appearances for the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham. He’s walking at a stellar 17.7% rate against a manageable 24.2% strikeout percentage. He spent a couple weeks on the injured list earlier this month but returned to the Bulls’ lineup a week ago.

Unfortunately for the veteran, he could find it hard to crack a quality Tampa Bay outfield. Randy Arozarena has left field secured and the lefty-swinging Josh Lowe has had a breakout year to claim most of the right field reps. Luke Raley and Manuel Margot — neither of whom can be optioned to the minor leagues — are also in the outfield mix; Raley, in particular, has played very well this season. Gamel passed on his CBA opt-out dates in March and May.

Brewers OF Tyler Naquin

Naquin was an Article XX(B) free agent who didn’t break camp with the big league club. He split the 2022 campaign between the Reds and Mets, combining to hit .229/.282/.423 over 334 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitting outfielder has only played 13 games with Triple-A Nashville after signing with the Brewers, hitting .250/.294/.375 with a pair of homers. He’s been on the minor league injured list since April 28.

Tigers RHP Trevor Rosenthal

Rosenthal has had his last couple seasons washed away by injury. He lost 2021 to thoracic outlet syndrome and hip surgery, while his ’22 campaign was wiped out by hamstring and lat strains. The Tigers took a look at the one-time star closer in Spring Training and kept him in the organization with their highest affiliate in Toledo. Rosenthal pitched twice in the season’s first week before being placed on the minor league IL with a sprained throwing elbow.

Giants RHP Joe Ross

Ross is recovering from last June’s Tommy John surgery and will spend most of the year on the injured list. He bypassed his first two opt-out chances and seems likely to do so again.

Twins RHP Aaron Sanchez

Sanchez served a depth role for Minnesota last season, logging 60 innings over 15 outings (ten starts). He was tagged for a 6.60 ERA at the MLB level but performed well enough in Triple-A the organization brought him back. The former ERA champ has started ten games with their top affiliate in St. Paul this year. He has a 4.17 ERA over 41 frames. His 49.2% ground-ball rate is solid but he’s walked nearly 16% of batters faced while punching hitters out at just an 18.8% clip. Even with injuries to Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda, the Twins have had one of the game’s best rotations through two months.

Padres RHP Craig Stammen

Stammen suffered a capsule tear in his shoulder in Spring Training. The 39-year-old has spent the year on the injured list and has admitted the injury might unfortunately end his career.

Quick Hits: Castro, Kiermaier, Velasquez, Duvall, Chang

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 10:53pm CDT

The Mets and Red Sox each “pushed hard” to sign Willi Castro this past offseason, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports (Twitter link), but the utilityman chose to sign a minor league deal with the Twins. The move has nicely paid off for both the player and the team, as Castro has hit .258/.324/.452 over 103 plate appearances for Minnesota, with two of his four home runs coming in today’s win over the Blue Jays. Castro’s versatility has also been a boost to an injury-riddled Twins club, as he has seen action as a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, and in all three outfield positions.

More from around the baseball world as we wrap up a busy Saturday…

Vince Velasquez was activated from the 15-day injured list earlier today, but the Pirates right-hander allowed four runs in two innings before being removed from the game due to discomfort in his right elbow. Velasquez had previously been sidelined by inflammation in that same elbow, and while he is being examined by doctors, it would seem likely that he might be headed back to the IL. If Velasquez is again out of action, it would continue Roansy Contreras’ time as a starter, since Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier today that Contreras could be headed into a relief role.
Kevin Kiermaier made an early exit from today’s Twins/Blue Jays game due to some lower back discomfort. Toronto manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Kiermaier was feeling sore after a pair of throws, and “with how important he is to us, we wanted to be safe and make sure we didn’t make it worse.” Kiermaier will receive further examination and is day-to-day for now. In his first season with the Jays, Kiermaier has been outstanding, hitting .319/.366/.511 over 154 PA while delivering his usual high-level defense in center field. Given Kiermaier’s long injury history, it makes sense why the Blue Jays would err on the side of caution, and it’s probably safe to assume that Kiermaier won’t play Sunday since Toronto also has a Monday off-day for additional rest.
The Red Sox told reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe) that Adam Duvall is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday. Duvall was sidelined by a fracture in his left wrist, and a subsequent move to the 60-day IL means that June 9 is the outfielder’s earliest possible return date. Duvall was off to a huge start prior to his injury, posting a 1.544 OPS in his first 37 PA of the season. While Duvall is on the road to recovery, Yu Chang’s rehab assignment has been paused due to some soreness in his left hand while swinging. Chang has missed just over a month due to hamate bone surgery, and his setback isn’t expected to delay his rehab work by any more than a few days, pending further examination.

Injured List Activations: Davies, Whitlock

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 4:46pm CDT

Updates on some prominent players returning from the injured list…

The Diamondbacks reinstated Zach Davies from the 15-day IL, while also calling up Drey Jameson from Triple-A and optioning right-handers Brandon Pfaadt and Luis Frias. Davies made just two starts and threw 9 1/3 innings before going on the IL in early April due to a strained left oblique, but he’ll now return to Arizona’s rotation, beginning with tonight’s game against the Red Sox. Between Davies’ injury and Madison Bumgarner’s release, the D’Backs have turned to several of their younger pitchers to try and stabilize the rotation, but none of Ryne Nelson, Tommy Henry, Pfaadt, or Jameson have done particularly well in starting duty.
Garrett Whitlock will be the opposing starter against Davies tonight, as the Red Sox have activated the right-hander from the 15-day IL. The corresponding move took place yesterday, as Boston optioned left-hander Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A following Friday’s 7-2 win over the D’Backs. Whitlock has missed a month due to ulnar neuritis, or essentially inflammation of the funny bone near his right elbow. Whitlock has a 6.19 ERA over three starts and 16 innings this season, and while his results as a starter have been middling over the last two seasons, the Red Sox will continue to give Whitlock looks in the rotation. Struggling veteran Corey Kluber will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate Whitlock’s return to the starting five.

Red Sox Move Corey Kluber To Bullpen

By Steve Adams | May 24, 2023 at 11:55pm CDT

The Red Sox are moving struggling veteran Corey Kluber from the starting rotation to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora told hosts Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria in a radio appearance on WEEI this afternoon (Twitter link). They’ll move back to a five-man rotation consisting of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello for the time being.

Kluber hasn’t made an appearance out of the bullpen since 2013. The 37-year-old signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM this offseason, with the hope that he’d provide some stable innings to a group that was teeming with injury risk (Sale, Paxton) and young starters who’ll be on innings limits due to lighter workloads in 2022 (Whitlock, Houck). Things haven’t played out that way at all, however.

Through his first nine starts with Boston, Kluber has been tattooed for a 6.26 ERA. His 88.6 mph average fastball is the lowest of his career, and he’s also sporting career-worst marks in strikeout rate (17.7%), walk rate (9.4%) and HR/9 (2.38). He has just one quality start on the year and has only twice recorded an out in the sixth inning. On average, Kluber’s starts have lasted 4 2/3 frames.

Kluber becomes the second member of the Opening Day rotation to slide into a relief role. The performances from Houck and Bello have also displaced Nick Pivetta, who has started more Red Sox games than any pitcher dating back to 2021 and led the team in innings pitched last season.

Houck, 26, has had some rough starts, though the resulting 4.99 ERA is still superior to what Kluber has managed so far. Houck’s most recent outing — six innings, one run, three hits, two walks, eight punchouts — in particular seemed to cement the decision to move Kluber to a relief role. Overall, while Houck’s ERA is only south of 5.00 by the literal narrowest of margins, he’s shown roughly league-average strikeout and walk rates with a strong 51.8% ground-ball rate and a quality 0.92 HR/9 mark. Houck has struggled with men on base, leading to a well below average 61.8% strand rate, but there are plenty of positives in his overall performance.

Bello, 24, has made seven starts and logged a 4.08 ERA through 35 1/3 frames. He’s been slightly better than average in terms of strikeout and walk rate (23.6% and 7.6%, respectively), and his massive 59% ground-ball rate is among the league’s best. Bello has run into problems with the long ball, serving up homers at nearly double the rate of Houck (1.78 HR/9). He’s managed to strand a whopping 81% of his opponents, which will be tough to maintain, but if he can scale back the frequency of his home runs, the strikeout/walk/ground-ball trifecta should allow him to continue finding success.

It should of course be noted that the move to the bullpen for Kluber isn’t necessarily permanent — nor is Pivetta’s shift to a similar role. Both Sale and especially Paxton remain injury risks, and the Sox likely still want to keep an eye on the innings totals of Whitlock (82 1/3 innings in 2022) and Houck (60 innings). As such, it’s quite likely that there will be additional opportunities in the rotation as the season wears on, though whether it’s Pivetta, Kluber, someone from the farm system or an external addition who’s making those appearances will be dependent on how Kluber and Pivetta perform in relief and whether they remain stretched out in multi-inning roles.

Red Sox Notes: Kluber, Bleier, Infield

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2023 at 9:57am CDT

Boston’s offseason signing of veteran right-hander Corey Kluber hasn’t gone nearly as well as hoped, evidenced by the 37-year-old’s 6.26 ERA through seven trips to the hill thus far. The two-time AL Cy Young winner’s 17.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate are both career-worsts, as is his 88.6 mph average fastball. Kluber is in the 21st percentile of MLB pitchers or lower in terms of strikeout rate, opponents’ average exit velocity and opponents’ hard-hit rate. His lone quality start of the season came on April 25 in Baltimore.

The Red Sox have stuck with the right-hander through his struggles, and manager Alex Cora indicated over the weekend that Kluber will make his next scheduled start on the road against the D-backs, writes Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. That’ll mean the Red Sox will continue with a six-man rotation of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, a returning Garrett Whitlock — he’s expected to be activated from the injured list for Saturday’s start — and Kluber. However, Cora declined to commit to the permanence of that arrangement (or lack thereof). Asked if that group would continue to start for the foreseeable future, Cora replied: “For the foreseeable week, let’s put it that way.”

Whether the Sox would pull the plug on Kluber’s tenure entirely or look to move him to the bullpen, as they did with Nick Pivetta, is likely still being determined by the team’s front office. Certainly, the hope would be for Kluber to right the ship and begin to make good on the $10MM contract he signed over the winter, but there’s been little in the way of positives to foster optimism.

Boston’s bullpen, in general, has been solid this season, ranking 13th in the Majors with a 3.84 ERA. However, some cracks have begun to form over the past couple weeks. Closer Kenley Jansen has begun to struggle with his command and had a recent pair of blow-ups, while righty John Schreiber hit the injured list with a lat strain last week.

Last night, the Sox further announced that lefty Richard Bleier is headed to the injured list with shoulder inflammation. After a pair of tough outings early in the year, he’d been pitching well for about a month, working to a 2.77 ERA over a span of 13 innings from April 15 to May 15. However, Bleier was rocked for five runs (three earned) on six hits in 2 2/3 innings over his past two appearances before landing on the injured list.

The Sox didn’t provide a timetable for Bleier’s potential return. He’ll be replaced by fellow lefty Brennan Bernardino for the time being. The 31-year-old southpaw, claimed off waivers from Seattle earlier in the season, has a solid 3.65 ERA in 12 1/3 frames with the Sox since they picked him up, with a hearty 55% grounder rate and 5.6% walk rate helping to offset a tepid 18.5% strikeout rate.

Though Bleier will be out for at least two weeks, the Red Sox could soon be getting healthier in the infield. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com tweets that Yu Chang is slated to head out on a rehab assignment tomorrow, and Christian Arroyo could do the same as soon as Friday. Chang has been out for nearly a month since suffering a hamate fracture, while Arroyo’s been sidelined since early May due to a hamstring strain.

That pair’s impending return will push the Red Sox into some roster decisions, as both have been outperformed by current second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, who’s batting .270/.324/.476 with three homers and three steals in 68 plate appearances. Valdez has minor league options remaining, however, while both Chang and Arroyo are out of options. Boston has also gotten solid work in an even smaller sample from utilityman Pablo Reyes, whom they acquired from the A’s in exchange for cash 11 days ago. In 28 plate appearances, Reyes is batting .296/.321/.407 (8-for-27, three doubles, one walk, four strikeouts). Like Chang and Arroyo, he’s out of minor league options.

AL Notes: Whitlock, Red Sox, McCullers, Naylor, Donaldson

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2023 at 9:51pm CDT

Garrett Whitlock threw 79 pitches in a Triple-A rehab start today, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Whitlock will be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Whitlock’s return won’t push anyone out of the rotation for now, as Cora said that Boston will use six starters over their six games this week, sandwiched around Thursday’s off-day. The team will re-assess the pitching situation after this full turn through a six-man rotation, Cora said, taking advantage of another off-day on May 29 to reset the staff as necessary.

Between injuries and inconsistency, Boston has had one of the weaker rotations in baseball, though Chris Sale, James Paxton, and Brayan Bello have all been sharp lately. Cora has said in the past that the Sox plan to keep Whitlock as a starter, leaving Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber as the potential odd men out if the club does adopt a traditional five-man pitching staff. Houck’s secondary numbers are at least better than his 5.48 ERA would indicate, but it has been a rough season all-around for Kluber, whose ERA has ballooned to 6.26 over 41 2/3 innings after he was hit hard in tonight’s start against the Padres. Kluber signed a one-year (plus a 2024 club option) contract worth a guaranteed $10MM in the offseason, but that deal is already looking like a misfire given the veteran’s struggles.

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