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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:06:58 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 34m The #RedSox have yet to announce a Tuesday starter. Raynel Espinal's last start for Triple-A Worcester was Tuesday -- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K at Buffalo. He's the only length option on the taxi squad.
Raynel Espinal in 2021 at Triple-A Worcester -- 3.74 ERA, 91 1/3 IP, 66 H, 36 BB, 89 K, .203 BA against.
He's 29. Selected by the #RedSox from the Yankees in minor league phase of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft.
Why him instead of Connor Seabold? Full season of work. And service time.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:07:57 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 4m Hunter Renfroe is in St. Petersburg, but must pass Covid-related protocols before he is cleared to be with the team and added back to the roster. Alex Cora said Renfroe should be with the Red Sox no later than Tuesday. There's a chance for tonight.
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 2m Renfroe is out of the starting lineup, but he could be available off the bench. #RedSox would need to officially activate him prior to first pitch.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:08:28 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 28m Keep this in mind -- the #RedSox now have an extra 40-man spot with Perez going to the COVID IL. Those players don't count against the total. It's like the 60-day IL.
Also -- Sept. 1 allows for two more roster spots. Will go to 28. They could activate Santana and Brasier.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:09:15 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 50m Replying to @billkoch25 Martin Perez has tested positive for COVID-19. #RedSox conducting another widespread round of tests.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:09:53 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 48m Cora said Hunter Renfroe remains on the bereavement list. He has to clear COVID protocols again. Might not be allowed to join the team until Tuesday.
Danny Santana will play one more rehab game with Double-A Portland.
Ryan Brasier is with the team in Tampa Bay. #RedSox
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Post by Kimmi on Aug 30, 2021 16:31:27 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 50m Replying to @billkoch25 Martin Perez has tested positive for COVID-19. #RedSox conducting another widespread round of tests. Baseball wise, it's tough trying to deal with a COVID outbreak among the team. The Sox had been very fortunate health wise until recently.
This is a good time to remember, again, that there are more important things than baseball though. The coronavirus is still out there wreaking havoc on people's lives.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:40:50 GMT -5
another leaky gas can for the gas can gang
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 53m The Red Sox today acquired minor league RHP Brad Peacock from Cleveland, in exchange for cash considerations.
Peacock will join the Red Sox in St. Petersburg. No word yet on when he will be activated. Tomorrow is TBD for starting pitcher.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 16:48:17 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 30m #RedSox news today:
* Martín Pérez tested positive. TBA on who from taxi squad replaces him. * Ryan Brasier could be activated as soon as Wednesday. * Hunter Renfroe is in St. Pete. Going through intake. Activated tomorrow at the latest. * Santana playing an AA game tomorrow.
* Still TBA to start tomorrow. Of note: Raynel Espinal had his last AAA start skipped and he is here. So are Valdez and Schreiber.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 18:21:33 GMT -5
Jeff Passan @jeffpassan · 40m Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes is headed onto the COVID IL, sources tell ESPN. He’s the fourth player in the last few days to join, alongside Kiké Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Martin Perez. Boston’s depth will be tested over the next week or so as those on the IL recover.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 18:22:38 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 35m Make it four #RedSox players and a staff member who have now tested positive for COVID-19. Matt Barnes joins the rest.
Kiké Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Martin Perez have all tested positive for COVID-19 on this road trip. Strength coach Kiyoshi Mimose also positive.
In terms of roster health, the #RedSox are in freefall entering their final 30 games of the season.
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 29m #RedSox announce roster moves: - Martin Perez and Matt Barnes to the COVID-19 IL - Phillips Valdez recalled from Triple-A Worcester - Raynel Espinal (No. 80) selected to the 40-man
Valdez and Espinal are both on the taxi squad and with the team in Tampa.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 18:23:21 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 28m Sox have been playing with fire with this since April. Surprised it has taken this long to burn them.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 30, 2021 18:25:16 GMT -5
Brandon Lowe sees a big fat FB right over the heart of the plate and buried it gonna be a long 4 games Rays up 1-0
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 2:43:32 GMT -5
COVID-rattled Sox fall to TB: 'Keep grinding' 12:57 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
In the not-so-distant past, the Red Sox earmarked this four-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field as one that could be key to their chances of winning the American League East.
But by the time the Sox got to town on Monday, their mindset had shifted to “survival mode” due to how depleted the roster has become in recent days.
After a 6-1 defeat to the red-hot Rays, it has become blatantly clear to Boston that its playoff hopes will rest on the AL Wild Card race and not the division.
Manager Alex Cora’s team dropped to nine games behind the Rays with 29 to go. The Wild Card, fortunately, is a different story, as the Sox are currently in possession of the second spot -- two games in front of Oakland.
“We still have a good team. We’re in position to make the playoffs,” said Cora. “We know there will be guys coming back. I don’t know when, but they will come back. The way I see it: keep grinding, keep going.”
In truth, Boston’s biggest concern right now is containing the spread of COVID-19. Relievers Matt Barnes and Martín Pérez were the latest to test positive on Monday, joining position players Kiké Hernández and Christian Arroyo on the shelf indefinitely due to the unrelenting virus -- which Cora often refers to as an invisible enemy.
For the Red Sox, it feels more visible than ever at the moment. First-base coach Tom Goodwin was put into contact tracing shortly before first pitch on Monday. During the game, lefty reliever Josh Taylor was identified as a close contact and he won’t pitch again in this series. Cora revealed after the game that quality control coach Ramón Vázquez tested positive.
Meanwhile, strength and conditioning coach Kiyoshi Momose remains confined to a hotel room in Cleveland after his positive test on Sunday. Hernández and Arroyo are also stuck in Cleveland indefinitely.
“I’m just tired, to be honest with you, to be thinking about it the whole time and have to deal with this before a game and during the game and all that,” Cora said. “Honestly, that’s how I feel right now. The season part, all that stuff, that’s the easy part for me. To have to deal with everything that has to do with this, it’s not easy. I love to prepare for a game the easy way. Look at video, talk to hitters and pitchers and all that.”
Unfortunately, Cora has had too many discussions the last few days that have had zero to do with baseball.
“It was a lot tougher today than yesterday. Yesterday was tougher than the day before,” said Cora. “Hopefully tomorrow we’re OK. ... That’s what I pray for -- for this to be the end of it. And then it’s all about baseball -- making plays, putting the ball in play, pitching, all that stuff. This part is not comfortable, it’s not easy. But like I said on Feb. 10, it was one of my biggest fears, and it still is.”
As a leader, Cora knows that his job is to help his team come out of this rough patch.
“It’s part of life. I’ve been saying it all along. It’s not easy,” said Cora. “But it’s not only happening here, it’s happening all over the world. That’s the way I see it. I’m just glad the people who tested positive feel OK. They’re going to be OK. On the professional side of it, we just have to keep grinding. Nobody is going to stop the tournament because we have X amount of cases and X amount of guys in close contact. They’re not going to stop this.”
Once Monday’s game started, the Sox -- who had won two out of three in their previous three series -- tried to get the virus out of their minds and put together a win. But Brandon Lowe hit Nick Pivetta’s first pitch of the game over the fence, and Boston trailed most of the way. Bobby Dalbec belted a solo homer in the second to tie it momentarily, but the bats were silent thereafter.
Pivetta grinded through five innings (plus two batters in the sixth), throwing 108 pitches while walking five (one intentional) and striking out six.
By the end of a long Monday, the Red Sox were ready to flush a nondescript loss away in hopes that Tuesday will be more normal.
“It’s all going to come down to [handling] adversity,” said Pivetta. “There’s no room to really let that affect us in any way. We just have to go out and play baseball. That’s what it comes down to. Once you get out on that field, everything else is kind of white noise and you focus on the task at hand.
“Obviously, everybody is concerned about the players. I’ve heard that they’re doing good. They’re low on symptoms. Hopefully everybody comes out well and they can rejoin us as soon as possible when we need them.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 2:46:13 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Barnes, Pérez on COVID IL August 30th, 2021
ROSTER MOVES
Aug. 30: RHP Matt Barnes placed on COVID-19 IL Shortly before first pitch in St. Petersburg, the Red Sox learned that Barnes tested positive for COVID-19. The news came just hours after lefty Martín Pérez also tested positive. Barnes has been Boston’s closer for most of the season, but he had been pitching in lower-leverage situations of late in an effort to emerge from a prolonged slump. Those test results further depleted the club’s pitching staff and overall roster heading into a key series against the Rays.
Aug. 30: LHP Martín Pérez placed on COVID-19 IL The lefty, who was moved to the bullpen earlier this month, became the third Red Sox player to test positive for COVID-19 in the past four days, joining Kiké Hernández and Christian Arroyo. Boston was doing further contact tracing on Monday afternoon leading into the opener of a four-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Aug. 30: RHP Brad Peacock acquired from Cleveland for cash considerations The 33-year-old Peacock will join the Red Sox in St. Petersburg, but the club hasn’t said when he will be added to the roster. The Red Sox haven’t named a starter for Tuesday, so there’s at least a chance Peacock will be in play for that game. Peacock has pitched in parts of nine Major League seasons, most recently for the Astros in 2020. He has a 34-30 record and 4.01 ERA in 181 games, including 83 starts.
Peacock has spent the 2021 season at Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, going 0-4 with a 7.68 ERA in 11 games, including 10 starts. He struck out 38 and walked 14 over 34 innings.
Aug. 30: RHP Phillips Valdez recalled from Triple-A Worcester Valdez gives depth to a staff that suddenly needs it. The 29-year-old has made 25 appearances for the Red Sox this season, posting a 5.56 ERA (21 ER/34.0 IP) with 33 strikeouts. He has also recorded a 3.68 ERA (6 ER/14.2 IP) in 15 games for Worcester, striking out 18 batters and walking eight with a .241 opponent batting average.
Aug. 30: RHP Raynel Espinal selected from Triple-A Worcester This is the first trip to the Major Leagues for the 29-year-old Espinal. In 18 appearances (16 starts) this season, he is 9-4 with a 3.74 ERA (38 ER/91.1 IP) and a .203 opponent batting average. A native of the Dominican Republic, Espinal was originally acquired by the Red Sox from the Yankees in the Minor League phase of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft.
INJURY UPDATES
COVID-19 IL
RHP Matt Barnes Expected return: TBD Barnes will have to isolate for a minimum of 10 days following his positive test result on Monday. The earliest he can rejoin his teammates is on Sept. 10, when the Red Sox open a six-game road trip in Chicago against the White Sox. An All-Star after a solid first half of the season, Barnes has a 7.71 ERA since the break while converting five of seven save opportunities. (Last updated: Aug. 30)
LHP Martín Pérez Expected return: TBD The lefty has had mixed results since moving to the bullpen, notching a 6.43 ERA in nine games. However, Pérez was unscored upon in six of his past eight outings. The Sox have two other lefties in the bullpen in Josh Taylor and Austin Davis. It’s doubtful that Pérez will be able to re-join the Red Sox until their next road trip, which starts in Chicago on Sept. 10. (Last updated: Aug. 30)
1B/OF Danny Santana (left groin strain) Expected return: Wednesday With Hernández and Arroyo on the COVID-19 IL, the need for Santana has increased. The switch-hitter is expected to complete his Minor League rehab assignment on Tuesday, and he could join the Red Sox on Wednesday, when rosters expand to 28. Santana signed with the Sox in Spring Training, but he has had a hard time staying healthy. In 33 games for Boston, he has a slash line of .171/.230/.324 with four homers and 13 RBIs. (Last updated: Aug. 30)
RHP Ryan Brasier (concussion) Expected return: Aug. 31-Sept. 2 The righty reliever pitched in the eighth and perhaps final game of his Minor League rehab assignment on Sunday, when he fired a scoreless inning for Double-A Portland. Brasier joined the Red Sox in St. Petersburg for a four-game series against the Rays, but manager Alex Cora said he won’t be active for Monday’s opener. (Last updated: Aug. 30)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 2:57:43 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 6h Infield defense is gonna get itself a healthy slice of blame pie if this team manages to miss the playoffs. #RedSox
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