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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 14, 2023 17:55:48 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Red Sox like the looks of Adalberto Mondesí but want more middle-infield help By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated February 14, 2023, 2 hours ago
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Though Kiké Hernández is penciled in as the Red Sox’ starting shortstop and Christian Arroyo will start the season at second base, the Sox still want to add another player who can contribute in the middle infield while Trevor Story (elbow) is on the injured list.
Adalberto Mondesí is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day as he continues to rehab an ACL tear in his left knee. But his progress has been steady, and the middle infielder is already making an impression on the Red Sox.
“I thought he was smaller,” manager Alex Cora said Tuesday. “But he’s like [Xander Bogaerts] as far as tall, strong, big legs. He was running Monday and you can see it. He has elite speed, and he’s running at 70 percent.”
Mondesí, known for his defense, is capable of playing shortstop and second. How the Red Sox use him remains to be seen.
They still want another player who, like Mondesí, can play both middle-infield positions.
José Iglesias, who most recently played with the Rockies and is still a free agent, certainly fits the profile. Iglesias, of course, has Red Sox ties; he came up with the organization and played for them for parts of three seasons from 2011-13. He rejoined them in September 2021 and played a huge part in the playoff push, batting .356/.406/.508 in 64 plate appearances. Story is on hand
Story arrived to spring training early and was spotted without a sling after right elbow surgery. Both Cora and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Story is progressing but isn’t near baseball activity.
For now, Story wants to be a key presence on a team that has seen a shift in its culture.
“He wants to be part of the group and be out there with them,” Cora said. “He’s trying to help people out. He’s a little bit more outgoing. He’s feeling comfortable with the surroundings.”
Story did not sign until spring training was already under way last year. He then missed more time following the birth of his son, and at the start of the season was sick with a stomach bug.
“It was a crash course when he signed here,” Cora said. Central figure
Adam Duvall will get most of the reps in center field to start the season, but the Red Sox will be strategic in their approach when it comes to managing the veteran’s workload.
“I don’t think it will be all on his shoulders,” Bloom said. “We know he can play out there. We also know with him, as with every player, we have to take care of them and make sure we’re not asking too much of any of our guys, especially early on.”
Duvall, 34, has 68 career starts in center, the least of the three outfield positions. Health is foremost
The Sox currently have seven potential starters in Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, and James Paxton. But the goal coming out of camp isn’t necessarily to get the rotation down to five. “It’s just to keep everybody healthy and make decisions toward the end of camp,” Cora said. “We cannot get ahead of ourselves. Obviously, there’s a lot of question marks, a lot of red flags, but as of now everybody’s on track.” Sale and Paxton missed most or all of last season because of injuries. Houck and Whitlock missed the end of the season with injuries. So health is certainly an area of concern … Sale will throw bullpen sessions Wednesday and Saturday and face hitters next week. Paxton is progressing, having thrown a bullpen Monday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 3:28:34 GMT -5
With recent exits, we’re seeing a leadership shift with the Red Sox By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated February 14, 2023, 7:19 p.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — J.D. Martinez shifted the Red Sox culture when he arrived in 2018. His attention to detail and preparation rubbed off on a lot of players, including Mookie Betts, who early in that season attributed his growth as a hitter to Martinez.
“J.D. has helped me out a lot,” Betts said during the team’s West Coast swing in April of that year.
At the end of that season, the Red Sox won the World Series, and Betts was named American League MVP. Success had established their culture.
Failure, too, has marked the Red Sox’ identity. As the Sox faded down the stretch in 2019, and a possible Betts contract extension and trade talks loomed, it was Xander Bogaerts who stepped into the role as the team’s voice. Bogaerts, like Betts the previous season, was in the midst of a career season and had agreed to a team-friendly contract extension earlier that year. Not only had Bogaerts established himself as one of the best shortstops in baseball, but he was the face of the Red Sox, often answering questions for his teammates.
But that identity, while there are still remnants of it, has entered a new era this spring. Betts and Martinez have been reunited in Los Angeles, and Bogaerts is down the road in San Diego.
At Fenway South, meanwhile, it’s clear Kiké Hernández relishes the idea of being a team leader. Hernández played an important role in recruiting Justin Turner, too, believing that he could be a Martinez-type figure for this team. Manager Alex Cora is encouraged that Turner can be that voice.
“I hate comparing situations, but it feels similar to what happened in ‘18, bringing J.D. to that group,” Cora said Tuesday. “With Turner here, it feels the same way. Just talking to him, [hitting coach] Peter [Fatse] having conversations with him about approaches and preparation and all that stuff. I think it’s very similar, but very different. Hopefully we can accomplish the same things when J.D. was here.”
Martinez’s process involves more technique and mechanics. It’s not for everyone. Sometimes, Bogaerts said, it could become too much for his brain to process. Turner’s process, though, is more about approach.
Yet Turner matching Martinez’s impact in the clubhouse isn’t a guarantee. The exodus of Martinez and Bogaerts, and a distant third in Betts, disrupted the Sox’ periodic table.
But does that matter?
“It all depends on who is coming in,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “From my standpoint, really over the last number of years, we brought in a lot of guys that I think are high-character guys that are really good guys in the clubhouse. I think we tried to focus on that this winter. I think we ended up bringing a lot of really good people to this group.”
It’s fair to question, though, if Hernández, a career .239 hitter who has built most of his career on being a valuable utility player, should be the one leading the pack in baseball’s most daunting division, one governed by superstars. But Bloom pushed back on that notion.
“From my standpoint, you can look at some of the really good Red Sox teams that we’ve seen here in the past, and the guys who set the tone in the clubhouse are not necessarily always the guys with the most All-Star appearances, or the longest résumés,” Bloom said.
Hernández hasn’t shied away from voicing his opinion on the team’s shortcomings. He said he felt the Red Sox needed a mentality shift, adding that they “got comfortable in that spot [last place in the division]. I don’t think this is an organization that should settle for last place.”
Cora and Bloom disagreed with that statement.
“When I saw it, I was like, no, I wasn’t comfortable,” Cora said. “I don’t think the group was comfortable. If you talked to [Rafael Devers], he’d be very, very clear that, that wasn’t acceptable.”
It’s worth noting, too, that Hernández missed more than two months last season as he dealt with a hip injury. So, his pulse of the team might not have been what it was in 2021.
Said Bloom: “I wasn’t [comfortable]. I’m not, but I’m actually glad he feels that way. I’m glad he’s taking a leadership role.”
Let’s see how long it can last.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 9:39:04 GMT -5
Alex Cora has problems to fix in Florida Biggest challenges yet face Sox manager
By Gabrielle Starr | gstarr@bostonherald.com | February 15, 2023 at 4:50 a.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Alex Cora understands the doubt.
How could he not? This is the second time in the last three years that the Red Sox have reported to spring training on the heels of a last-place season. And they’ve been picked to finish at the bottom again this year; hypothesizing that their losses outweigh their gains this offseason, Fangraphs’ ZiPS projections have Boston ending up with a 79-83 record.
Hey, that’s one game better than last year.
“The way we played last year, I don’t blame them,” Cora commiserated on Tuesday.
And since that final game in early October, the Red Sox have said goodbye to 32 players who appeared in at least one game last year, including Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Christian Vázquez (again), to name a few. In their place are 16 newcomers on the 40-man roster.
Still, the season is unwritten, and he thinks fans should give this team a chance. This week’s PECOTA projections are a bit kinder, currently making the Red Sox the fourth-place team, with a .502 winning percentage. Fangraphs’ Steamer projections are very high on Japanese star Masataka Yoshida, and the bullpen is markedly better thanks to the additions of Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Richard Bleier.
“I’m not gonna come here and say that we’re gonna play Nov. 5, or whenever Game 7 or Game 6 of the World Series is,” Cora told reporters. “But we’re going to get better. I always say, we’ve got a good baseball team, you know. We’ve got a bunch of guys that have done it before. Some of them they’ve been together in other venues and they were successful. Hopefully, we can accomplish that here in Boston.”
He also thinks the larger bases – one of three MLB rule changes – look like pizza boxes. Jerry Remy would’ve loved that. Protect Devers
It sounds like those hoping to see Yoshida and Rafael Devers hit back-to-back this year will be disappointed.
Speaking to reporters at JetBlue Park for the first time this Sox Spring, Alex Cora said he hoped to keep Yoshida and Devers separated in the lineup.
With Yoshida expected to be the leadoff man, Devers will find himself hitting third.
Yoshida is also a question mark, as he’s never played in the majors. Still, the clear appeal of batting him in the leadoff spot is his ability to get on base; over seven seasons in Japan’s Nippon league, the 29-year-old displayed mind-blowing plate discipline, drawing 427 walks to 307 strikeouts in 781 career games between the Orix Buffaloes and their minor-league affiliate.
It makes sense that the manager wouldn’t want to put two lefty hitters at the top of the lineup, but it brings up another issue: If not Yoshida, who will protect the superstar?
A former superstar would like to know. In January, David Ortiz went on WEEI and publicly voiced concerns that the Red Sox lineup couldn’t bolster the young slugger, leaving him exposed to strategic pitching.
“If I’m facing him, I’m pitching around him, regardless. No doubt about it… I have been there before, and if I had no one behind me, they won’t pitch to me… You have to find someone who can consistently protect him so he can continue to keep seeing pitches,” he said.
Remember Game 6 of the 2013 World Series? Ortiz had collected 11 hits over the previous five games, including pairs of doubles and home runs, and hadn’t struck out once. In what turned out to be the deciding game, St. Louis waved the white flag, intentionally walking him three times. But Ortiz added a fourth walk, scored twice, and the Red Sox clinched a championship at home for the first time since 1918.
The following season, Ortiz hit 35 home runs, while no one else in the lineup collected more than 17. In an unfortunate case of deja vu, Devers hit 27 homers last season and was the only Sox hitter with more than 16. Yoshida hit 20+ home runs in four of his last five seasons in Japan.
Devers is coming off a somewhat disappointing season. After starting strong and making his second consecutive All-Star team, a hamstring ailment landed him on the Injured List. Whereas he hit .324/.379/.601 with 22 home runs and 28 doubles in the first half (86 games), he only managed a .249/.325/.388 line, 14 doubles, and five home runs in the second half (55 games).
Still, the third baseman finished the season with 42 doubles and the aforementioned 27 home runs and was a finalist for the Hank Aaron and Silver Slugger awards, but the pressure is undoubtedly higher now that he’s signed to the longest and richest contract in franchise history; he needs to succeed, but the Red Sox also need to set him up for success.
In the early years, Ortiz had Manny Ramirez, and for the first six seasons of his career, Devers had some combination of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and/or JD Martinez. This year, he has Kiké Hernández, Triston Casas, Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, maybe Adalberto Mondesí? Trevor Story could return from elbow surgery at some point, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has refused to rule out an entire season on the sidelines.
It’s a roster with immense potential, but also some serious risk. The Red Sox will need a lot to go right, or the biggest investment in franchise history will find himself alone in the lineup. The new Bogaerts?
Cora is welcoming a slew of newcomers to Fort Myers, and admitted on Tuesday that one of this offseason’s acquisitions surprised him.
According to the Red Sox skipper, Adalberto Mondesí is “like Xander-esque as far as like, tall, strong, big legs.” Cora told reporters – including MassLive’s Christopher Smith – that he thought the middle infielder would be “smaller.”
Unfortunately, the similarities pretty much end there. While Mondesí brings some serious speed to the table (he stole 43 bases in 2019 and led MLB with 24 in 2020) that should play well on the new, larger bases, his bat leaves much to be desired.
Since his 2016 debut, Mondesí is a .244/.280/.408 hitter; over the same span, Bogaerts hit .295/.365/.480. Mondesí has played 358 career regular-season games, with 54 doubles, 20 triples, and 38 home runs; Bogaerts hit 243 doubles, 11 triples, and 136 home runs over 946 games between 2016-22 (he debuted in 2013). Mondesí has a career 30.2% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate; Bogaerts has an 18% SO% and 9.4% BB% over that span.
Chalk some of that up to the Mondesí not getting regular playing time, but it wasn’t always because the Royals had an everyday player blocking him. Whereas the new Padres shortstop has been consistently healthy throughout the first decade of his career, the newcomer has been on the Injured List more than half a dozen times since 2018. He played a career-high 102 games in 2019, but didn’t exceed 75 games in any of the other six seasons of his career. And on Tuesday, Bloom said he wouldn’t bet on Mondesí being ready for Opening Day, calling it the “best-case scenario.”
We’ll probably hear that phrase a lot this year.
Speaking of Bogaerts, he’ll have a familiar face joining him in San Diego; Michael Wacha is signing with the Padres, too.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 9:42:29 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 1h Trevor Story was a bit more specific about his timetable this morning than at Winter Weekend. Best case scenario, he will play in the second half of the season. Though Story acknowledged worst case scenario would be to miss the season, he is very confident in best case scenario
Sale, Pivetta and Schreiber highlight the pitchers who are throwing side sessions during today's first official day of Spring Training.
The Red Sox asked Alex Verdugo to become more athletic and he clearly looks to be in better shape than last year.
Kenley Jansen chose to skip the early rounds of the World Baseball Classic so he could focus on the pitch clock. "I'm the slowest guy in the league,' he said. Jansen hopes to join the Netherlands if they make it to the semifinals in Miami.
Any idea when you will be back?
“No, it's still too early to say for sure. But, you know, in my mind, I'm getting ready to play this year and hopefully sometime in the second half. I think, is realistic.” -- Trevor Story.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:40:11 GMT -5
What Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen, ‘slowest guy in the league,’ said about new pitch timer
Updated: Feb. 15, 2023, 10:15 a.m.|Published: Feb. 15, 2023, 10:13 a.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — New Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen isn’t hiding the fact that he has always worked at an extremely slow pace. He knows it will take time for him to adjust to the pitch timer MLB is implementing this season.
“As much as I want to compete for the World Baseball Classic, I just want to make sure — knowing that I’m the slowest guy in the league — I want to adapt to that quickly,” Jansen said here at JetBlue Park on Wednesday. “That’s why I choose to make sure I’ll be here in camp. And like I say, get to know my teammates and also adapt to certain stuff.”
The Red Sox finally added an established closer, inking Jansen for two years, $32 million. But there’s one problem. He had the third worst tempo (25.6 seconds) between pitches last year, behind only Jonathan Loáisiga (25.8) and Giovanny Gallegos (25.8), per Baseball Savant.
He led all pitchers for the worst slow percentage (22.3%) with the bases empty. He was second worst in slow percentage (57.3%) with runners on base.
“I‘d love to go play for Netherlands,” he said. “I also want to be here and know my crew. And also adapt to the pitch pitch clock.”
Netherlands begins WBC pool play in Taiwan as part of Pool A. Jansen is part of Netherlands’ designated pool. So he will join the team if it makes it to the semifinals in Miami.
Pitchers will have 15 seconds between pitches with the bases empty and 20 seconds between pitches with runners on base.
Jansen said he worked with a pitch timer during the offseason to prepare.
“It’s gonna be challenging on both sides,” Jansen said. “It’s not only going to be on pitchers but I think hitters are going to be uncomfortable too. Sometimes when they fall behind 0-2 or 0-1 quick, they take their time too. So it’s both ways. So both ways have to adapt. It’s not only pitchers. So it’s gonna feel fast, and we all gotta go figure out how to slow the game down in certain ways to not let the game speed up on you and things get out of hand.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:41:21 GMT -5
Red Sox shortstop fires back at reporter who asked if he has resumé to be a leader
Updated: Feb. 15, 2023, 10:25 a.m.|Published: Feb. 15, 2023, 10:18 a.m.
By
Nick O'Malley | nomalley@masslive.com
Spring training has just started for the Boston Red Sox, but things are already heating up between players and media.
It started when Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom fielded a question about Kiké Hernández, who’s currently in line to be the team’s starting shortstop and is in position to be one of the team’s leaders this season.
“Does he have the resumé to do that? He’s not Xander Bogaerts. Does have the resumé to be that guy?” the reporter asked.
Bloom paused before asking what the reporter asked by “resumé.
“Xander’s an All-Star, you know. Kiké's talking about the culture of the team. Just, you know, two different things, (Kiké)’s a guy who’s a multiple-position player,” the reporter said.
The Red Sox’s top baseball exec didn’t share the reporter’s concerns.
“I don’t think he needs to be anybody other than himself,” Bloom said.
It didn’t take long for word of the question to get around to Hernández, who took to Twitter to fire back at the reporter with a tongue-in-cheek question.
“Anybody know how to use LinkedIn? Need help with my resume,” Hernández wrote.
Hernández is entering his third season in Boston, where he’s primarily served as an outfielder -- in addition to spot duty in the infield. He’s now projected to take over the void at shortstop created by Bogaerts’ departure this offseason in free agency.
Hernández also figures to play a prominent role in establishing a new culture in the Red Sox clubhouse. Bogaerts had been the team’s longest-tenured veteran and most-respected leader.
Earlier this month Hernández said that he was looking to create a new culture in the Red Sox clubhouse after reuniting with former Dodgers teammates Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner.
“We’re going to look a lot different this year and we need it. I felt that we needed some guys that were not just good on the field but had the ability to change the culture in the clubhouse. And I know for a fact that’s a guy that can do that.”
Hernández won a World Series championship with Jansen in Turner in 2020 with the Dodgers before joining the Red Sox in 2021.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:44:06 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Rafael Devers: ‘We felt really embarrassed last year’
Updated: Feb. 15, 2023, 2:06 p.m.|Published: Feb. 15, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Kiké Hernández said Monday that it felt like the Red Sox got comfortable being in last place in 2022.
“I don’t agree with that one,” manager Alex Cora said Tuesday here at JetBlue Park. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘No.’ I wasn’t comfortable. I don’t think the group was comfortable. You talk to Raffy, he’ll be very, very clear that that wasn’t acceptable.”
Rafael Devers was asked about it here Wednesday.
“I don’t think we felt comfortable being in last place,” Devers said. “To be honest with you, last year was disappointing. I feel embarrassed by what we did last year. And that’s why I don’t think that’s going to happen again. We’re working towards that goal to be better and to fight for championships. That’s what we do here. And to be honest with you, we felt really embarrassed last year. ... But we know we have the guys in there that can turn the page around and can make it to the playoffs and win championships. Like I said before, it was something that happened last year. Nobody was happy. And now we turn the page and focus on 2023.”
Hernández said Monday, “We came into last place and it felt like we got comfortable being in that spot. And I don’t think this is an organization that should settle for last place. We are an organization that should be competing year in and year out. And we need to find a way to get back into that winning mentality. There was a lot of movement last year. There was a lot of young kids who made their debuts that didn’t know any better and things like that. So we just need to play more as a team. We need to be more vocal with each other and hold each other accountable a little more than we did last year.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:46:16 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 4h Chris Sale, Richard Bleier, John Schreiber, and Josh Winckowski among the 13 pitchers throwing bullpens today.
After signing late, his wife having a baby, etc., Trevor Story had a rushed acclimation to the Sox last season.
This year, even following elbow surgery, he arrived (with his family) the first week of February to be around every day and play a role in the team-building process.
Story hopes to be able to play this season but recognizes that may not happen. His rehab could 4-5 months or 8-10 months
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:46:41 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h So it turns out Rafael Devers likes hockey.
He attended the NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 4 in Sunrise, Fla., and got a signed jersey and stick from Alex Ovechkin.
"He's like Pujols for hockey, right?" Devers said. "Big guy. Wow.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:47:02 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Dwight Evans was in uniform today. Jim Rice and Luis Tiant are on their way this week.
No Yaz this year, I was told.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 14:49:50 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 16m Chris Sale: "When you kind of look at my career, if you get to ‘18, you throw the last pitch of the World Series, show up next spring training, sign a contract, what could go wrong, right? The answer that question was, just about everything. So I know how quickly it can be gone."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 18:03:31 GMT -5
'Full go': Sale opens camp with bullpen session 6:01 PM AST Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Here it was, the first day of Spring Training and Chris Sale was able to utter two words that had eluded him over and over the past three years.
“Full go,” said Sale.
Back in his heyday with the White Sox or even in his early years with the Red Sox, that would have been a pretty matter-of-fact thing for Sale to say.
Now? After three years in the breakdown lane following Tommy John surgery and then a series of freak injuries, those two words meant everything to Sale, who conducted a press conference after throwing a side session of approximately 35 pitches.
“I say that with confidence and with pride,” said Sale. “I took a long time to get here. It took a lot of work not only by myself but a lot of people around me, and I'm just very appreciative of them and the opportunity I have.”
When it came to Wednesday’s bullpen session, manager Alex Cora gave Sale the option of pitching on a mound where he could be measured by the Rapsodo pitching machine with all the bells and whistles and statistics or on the standard bullpen mounds where his teammates were throwing.
After three Spring Trainings of isolation, Sale jumped at the chance to take Option 2.
“I said [to Cora], ‘I've been treated special for long enough. I want to be one of the guys today.’ So it's nice, being in the mix of it, going through just being normal,” said Sale. “You know, having a workout, doing my running, having PFPs on a day, and bullpen days and not coming in to just get worked on. It’s fun.”
In other words, this is shaping up as a normal Spring Training for a pitcher who has lacked all forms of normalcy in his baseball routine since August of 2019, when his elbow started aching.
Sale spent 2021 fully rehabbing from Tommy John and even made 12 starts (including the postseason). It looked like a building block.
But then came 2022, a year which literally broke Sale. First there was the stress fracture in his right ribcage while working out during the lockout. Then came his brief return to the roster in July, when his left pinkie finger got drilled on a line drive by Aaron Hicks in the first inning of his second start. Sale, in disbelief, escorted himself off the mound at Yankee Stadium and showed Cora his dangling pinkie as he walked back to the clubhouse.
The plan was for him to come back late in the season, but Sale got in a bike accident in August and broke his right wrist.
How much misfortune could one pitcher have in such a short period of time, particularly one who had aced the competition for years?
“I mean, if you get to ‘18 you throw the last pitch of the World Series, show up the next Spring Training, sign a contract. What could go wrong, right?” said Sale. “And to answer that question, just about everything. So I know how quickly it can be gone. I had a good run. I mean, the floor just got pulled right out from under me.
“So [now I’m] just appreciating each day, appreciating each moment. Knowing what the big picture really looks like, and just appreciating what's in front of me on that given day.”
Wednesday wasn’t the day to speculate on how many innings Sale might pitch this season or how many games he might win, or project how long it will take him to regain a feel for his repertoire after missing so much time.
Instead, this was just a moment in time for Sale -- one in which he envisions being part of Boston’s starting rotation on Opening Day.
With two years left on his contract plus a club option of $20 million, Sale hopes to at last reward the Red Sox for the faith they placed in him with that five-year deal he signed prior to the 2019 season.
“I was given that to do a job and I haven't done that. And you guys know me enough by now to know that that has eaten me alive. So I wouldn't say I'm trying to live up to a dollar amount,” said Sale. “I'm just trying to live up to who I need to be and that's the guy that goes out there for 30-plus starts, 200 innings and wins games.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 18:06:38 GMT -5
Devers arrives to Spring Training with new role Jansen on pitch timer rule; Story aiming for second half return 15 minutes ago Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For the first time in his career, Rafael Devers was more than just the starting third baseman for the Red Sox as Spring Training got underway.
On Wednesday, the first day of camp, the two-time All-Star held court with the media as the face of the franchise.
David Ortiz held that title for many years. The torch was passed to Mookie Betts, albeit more briefly than anyone wanted. The past three years, it was Xander Bogaerts who carried the title.
Now that Devers is signed through 2033, he could hold “face of the franchise” status for another decade.
How does it make him feel to be considered the face of the team?
"Yeah, I'm very happy. This is the organization where I’ve always been and I’m happy to be here, and even more with a group that we have in there,” Devers said. “I think we can compete with any team and that's something I'm really looking forward to.”
Finishing last in the American League East in 2022 is something that pained the club’s star slugger.
“To be honest with you, last year was disappointing,” Devers said. “I feel embarrassed of what we did last year and that's why I don't think that's going to happen again. We're working towards that goal to be better and to fight for championships. And now we turn the page and focus on 2023.”
Here are some other nuggets gleaned from the first day of Spring Training at the Fenway South complex.
Jansen determined to beat the clock
New Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen’s biggest focus during Spring Training will be to improve his pace so he can get up to speed with the new pitch timer.
Pitchers will be required to begin their motion 15 seconds after receiving the ball with the bases empty or 20 seconds after receiving the ball with runners on base. If they don’t, they will be charged with an automatic ball.
Per Statcast, Jansen was the third slowest worker in the Major Leagues last season with the bases empty, taking 25.6 seconds between pitches. With one or more runners on base, Jansen took 31.4 seconds, making him the slowest in the game.
“I worked on it in the offseason. I’m going to be OK. We have six weeks to work on it here,” Jansen said. “It’s going to be challenging on both sides, not only on the pitchers but I think hitters will be uncomfortable too, because hitters sometimes when they fall behind 0-2 or 0-1 they take their time too. Both sides have to adapt. It’s going to feel fast and we all have to figure out how to slow the game down in a certain way, and not let the game speed up and get out of hand.”
Story expects to return in ‘second half’
At Winter Weekend in Springfield, Mass., last month, Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story spoke in vague terms about when he might be able to return from the internal bracing procedure he had on his right elbow. On Wednesday, Story got a little more specific.
“In my mind, I'm getting ready to play this year and hopefully sometime in the second half, I think, is realistic,” Story said.
Kiké Hernández is holding down shortstop until Story returns. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom hasn’t ruled out adding additional infield depth. Elvis Andrus and José Iglesias are two veterans who remain on the free-agent market. The Red Sox also acquired Adalberto Mondesi from the Royals, but he is likely to start the season on the injured list due to the torn left ACL he suffered last season.
Cora goes to bat for Yoshida’s defense
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has heard all the reports that Japanese rookie Masataka Yoshida is a below-average defender.
He doesn’t buy it.
“He'll play a lot of left field for us,” Cora said. “I know a lot of people have their reports. We got our reports but just watching him, he's a good athlete, he can move, he’s got good hands. One thing about how they play baseball [in Japan], they are very fundamentally sound. So all these stories that he's going to be a butcher out there, I don't agree with it, just watching the athlete. Maybe I'm wrong but I do believe he’ll be OK.”
“He has a good arm, too. I know somewhere there was a report that he doesn't have carry on his throws. [Hernández] played catch with him yesterday and he's like, ‘I don't know about this report that they're saying he doesn’t have carry, he does.’ He’ll be fine.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 18:09:25 GMT -5
Alex Cora jokes Red Sox’s Rafael Devers ‘still doesn’t want to spend money’ after $313.5M contract
Published: Feb. 15, 2023, 2:49 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Not much has changed for Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers since he inked a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension in January.
“He still doesn’t want to spend money,” manager Alex Cora joked. “It’s unreal. This guy is like — yeah. Nah, he’s been good. He’s been locked in with the team the whole time. I think obviously the relationship with (chief baseball officer) Chaim (Bloom) is a little bit different now. Just his input and where we’re at is important. He’s the same kid. Just getting ready to play. He looks great.” Enter your email address here to receive the Fenway Rundown email newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday.
Devers is the face of the franchise and the player who Bloom is building around. But Cora said Devers already acted as a leader before the contract.
“Raffy, that’s the thing that you guys don’t know: He’s been a leader of this team for a while here,” Cora said. “When he talks in that clubhouse, it’s important to those guys. The way he goes about his business, it’s important to those guys. Scouting reports, he talks about it. So yeah, now for everybody else this is the guy. But he’s been one of our guys for a while. There’s obviously other stuff that comes into play and we’ve been talking about it.”
Cora said Devers is “up for the challenge.”
Devers laughed when he was told Cora said he still doesn’t spend any money.
“This is an organization where I’ve always been and I’m happy to be here and even more with the group that we have,” Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “We can compete with any team. And that’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Devers wasn’t pleased by the Red Sox’s 2022 last-place finish.
“I feel embarrassed by what we did last year,” he said. “And that’s why I don’t think that’s going to happen again. We’re working towards that goal to be better and to fight for championships. That’s what we do here. And to be honest with you, we felt really embarrassed last year. ... But we know we have the guys in there that can turn the page around and can make it to the playoffs and win championships. Like I said before, it was something that happened last year. Nobody was happy. And now we turn the page and focus on 2023.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 15, 2023 18:17:41 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Chris Sale on comeback, contract: ‘I’m not trying to live up to a dollar amount’
Published: Feb. 15, 2023, 5:21 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale has pitched just 48 ⅓ regular season innings in the first three years of the five-year, $145 million contract he signed with the club in March 2019. He has previously lamented the fact he has been “paid to do nothing” for much of the contract.
But as Sale enters 2023, he’s not focused on the proving he’s worthy of the $55 million he’ll earn on the remainder of that deal. The now-healthy soon-to-be 34-year-old just wants to contribute.
”I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s proving the contract as much as I need to live up to what I need to be for my teammates, for my coaching staff, for the fans, for our owners,” Sale said Wednesday at Fenway South. “I said it a couple of weeks ago. I was given that (contract) to do a job and I haven’t done that... That has eaten me alive.
“I wouldn’t say I’m trying to live up to a dollar amount,” Sale said. “I’m just trying to live up to who I need to be. And that’s a guy that goes out there for 30+ starts, 200 innings and winning games.”
Since putting pen to paper shortly before Opening Day in 2019, Sale has faced a slew of injuries that have kept him off the mound. After missing the last six weeks of 2019 with elbow inflammation, he underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, then missed all of that season and most of 2021. He had a bumpy final six weeks of that season, then logged just 5 ⅔ innings thanks to three broken bones in six months. He fractured a rib throwing a pitch in February, had his pinkie broken by a line drive at Yankee Stadium in July and then broke his wrist in a season-ending bike accident in August.
All of that has made Sale appreciate the first nine years of his career, when he was one of baseball’s most durable pitchers and a seven-time All-Star.
“You get to ‘18, throw the last pitch of the World Series, show up next spring training, sign a contract, what could go wrong, right? And the answer that question was, ‘Just about everything,” he said. “So I know how quickly it can be gone. I had a good run. The floor just got pulled right out from under me. So I’m just appreciating each day, appreciating each moment, my relationships with people, my experiences with the people I have relationships with. Perspective is the word that I’ve used a lot. Knowing what the big picture really looks like, and just appreciating what’s in front of me on that given day.”
Sale has talked often about the perspective he has gained from being sidelined for most of the last three seasons. The fact that his struggles have coincided with the global COVID-19 pandemic has helped him stay grounded.
“We’ve all seen what’s going on in the world over the last three years on my same timeline,” Sale said. “Shoot, even what happened in my community (Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers) just a few months ago... People lost their homes. I nicked a pinkie, broke a wrist. I could have been in a Russian prison for 10 months. How fun would that have been? So perspective. It’s not going to change anything that’s happened, but hopefully it’ll change something in the future.”
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