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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 8, 2022 15:54:02 GMT -5
Red Sox
Nick Yorke, Boston Red Sox prospect: ‘I felt super underrated coming into the draft, coming into the season’ Updated: Mar. 08, 2022, 2:39 p.m. | Published: Mar. 08, 2022, 2:29 p.m. Nick Yorke
Red Sox 2020 first-round pick Nick Yorke. (Christopher Smith, MassLive.com) By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke had a higher OPS (.928) in 2021 than the four high school position players selected ahead him in the 2020 MLB Draft.
Reflecting back on his season, his eye-popping stats don’t surprise him.
“I felt super underrated coming into the draft, coming into the season,” Yorke said here at JetBlue Park on Tuesday. “I’m overlooked by everyone. I just go in and do my thing. I’ve done it my whole life. So I’m going to try to keep doing it.”
He’s no longer overlooked. Baseball America ranks Yorke No. 31 on its Top 100 list.
Yorke batted .325 with a .412 on-base percentage, .516 slugging percentage, .928 OPS, 14 homers, 20 doubles, five triples, 76 runs, 62 RBIs and 13 steals in 97 games (442 plate appearances) at Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville.
He posted a 1.075 OPS with 10 homers, 12 doubles and four triples in his final 55 games with Salem, then slashed .333/.406/.571/.978 with 11 extra-base hits in 21 games at Greenville.
He finished with those numbers after he struggled the first month of the season. He had a .195./264/.220/.483 slash line in 21 games during May.
“I’m pretty tough on myself,” Yorke said. “I like to push myself. I like to succeed. So when I wasn’t, it was strictly based off I was trying to do too much. I was trying to be more than what I am. So just going back into that second month, (Nelson Paulino), the hitting coach in Salem, was just like, ‘Your swing looks amazing in BP. Try to keep that same effort level in the game.’ I kind of took off from there.”
Yorke not only has talent, but he loves the game. He even does dry work in front of the mirror in the hotel room.
“I pride myself on having fun,” Yorke said. “I think there’s very seldom people that have more fun than me on a baseball field. So just day-in, day-out I’m going to come with a big smile on my face.”
Yorke already has established a strong relationship with Alex Cora after being in big league camp last year.
“I don’t think you’re going to see any other big league manager out here taking double play feeds from us, hitting grounders, playing flip with us before we start workouts,” Yorke said. “It’s just amazing being able to talk with him, learn from him every day. So hopefully that’s going to be my manager in a couple years. So you want to build a good relationship with him. So it’s been great.”
Yorke said participating in major league camp last year as an 18-year-old helped him a lot heading into his first professional season.
“My first live at-bat (last spring) was off Matt Barnes,” Yorke said. “It’s only easier from there.”
Yorke spent the offseason working out at his former high school, Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Calif.
“Every day working out on the field,” he said. “So it was great.”
Yorke — who arrived here at JetBlue Park about a month before camp officially began — focused on losing weight during the 2020-21 offseason. His focus was different this winter.
“This year I came into the offseason already in shape for a season,” Yorke said. “So it was all just trying to build off that. Try to get bigger, stronger, faster without gaining weight or losing weight and all that. It was fun. We got after it this year.”
Struggling last year at the beginning should only help him as he moves forward in his career.
“Trying to make those adjustments on the fly was tough,” he said. “We got it down. And now that I have a better foundation, better base of what I need to do, how I succeeded in the past, just kind of try to build off of that. Keep building.”
Yorke is looking to improve his second base defense in 2022.
The position still is relatively new. He played half a season at second base his freshman year of high school before moving over to shortstop. He was a shortstop and center fielder in high school thereafter.
“One of the big focuses for me was turning double plays,” Yorke said. “Just working out. Reps after reps after reps after reps. Last year was pretty much my first year playing second base. So getting the footwork down, getting the angles down. It’s been a lot of work but it’s the work that needs to be done.”
MLB.com ranked Nick Yorke the 139th best prospect entering the 2020 Draft and the Red Sox shocked the industry selecting him 17th overall. He likely would not have gone so overlooked if he had a full high school senior season. COVID cut it short. He also was coming off rotator cuff surgery his junior year.
“Yeah, it sucked. We had five games my senior year of high school,” Yorke said. “Just those memories you have with your buddies, your friends, your coaches, your team, those are missed. We didn’t get those.”
He said it made him realize not to take any moment on the field for granted.
“You never know when it’s going to get ripped away like it did my senior year,” Yorke said.
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Post by Kimmi on Mar 9, 2022 16:03:07 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h As some people were asking:
* Players not on the 40-man roster are participating in spring training, as they usually would do. They are not locked out.
* Red Sox are not allowing fans in at Fenway South. If that changes we'll let you know. I wonder why they won't allow fans in to watch the minor league players train. I'm sure they could make some money off of it, and it would give fans something to enjoy while waiting for the lockout to end.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Mar 9, 2022 20:55:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h As some people were asking:
* Players not on the 40-man roster are participating in spring training, as they usually would do. They are not locked out.
* Red Sox are not allowing fans in at Fenway South. If that changes we'll let you know. I wonder why they won't allow fans in to watch the minor league players train. I'm sure they could make some money off of it, and it would give fans something to enjoy while waiting for the lockout to end.I thought the same thing. I'd let them in for free, and make it up concessions. In fact, I'd have jerseys available for some of our best prospects.
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Post by Kimmi on Mar 10, 2022 16:32:28 GMT -5
I wonder why they won't allow fans in to watch the minor league players train. I'm sure they could make some money off of it, and it would give fans something to enjoy while waiting for the lockout to end. I thought the same thing. I'd let them in for free, and make it up concessions. In fact, I'd have jerseys available for some of our best prospects. It makes too much sense. I guess that's why they're not doing it. LOL
Anyway, moot point now with regular spring training getting ready to start.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 11, 2022 7:55:44 GMT -5
Derrick S. Goold @dgoold · 10h #stlcards are rewriting the spring schedule so that it will be only against teams along the Treasure Coast: #NYMets, #Astros, #Marlins, and #Nationals.
They likely will play four days, have one off. They'll complete their exhibition schedule in Fla thre head home to STL.
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 10h Guessing the Sox-Twins-Rays-Braves do the same on this side of the state. Maybe mix in the Orioles or Pirates for a few.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 11, 2022 7:58:18 GMT -5
The Rays beat writer is saying a revised Spring Training sked will be hitting the streets likely today don't expect the Red Sox to be on the roads out west will not be an issue as they are all close to each other in the Cactus league players expected to roll in this week-end
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 11, 2022 14:33:27 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h Quiet on the major league side this morning.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 11, 2022 14:38:15 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox 2022 schedule: With MLB lockout lifted, Alex Cora’s team will open in New York on April 7 Updated: Mar. 11, 2022, 10:43 a.m. | Published: Mar. 11, 2022, 10:40 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox will open the 2022 regular season at New York against the Yankees on April 7.
The game will be at 1:05 p.m. Boston plays three games at Yankee Stadium (April 7, 9-10). It then plays three games in Detroit (April 11-13) before enjoying an off day (April 14).
The home opener is April 15 at 2 p.m. vs. the Twins. Boston plays four games at Fenway Park against the Twins (April 15-18), then three home games vs. the Blue Jays (April 19-21) before heading back on the road.
The Red Sox initially were scheduled to begin the regular season at Fenway Park on March 31. But the season was delayed after the MLB lockout extended until being resolved Thursday when the union and owners reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement
Players on the 40-man roster finally are allowed at the JetBlue Park complex.
The official report date for players is Sunday.
But Nick Pivetta already is here. He was throwing earlier on the agility field. No other major leaguers have been spotted here so far.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 4:38:24 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK It’s a slow start in Fort Myers as Red Sox spring training finally gets going By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated March 11, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Let the record show that spring training finally started for the Red Sox at 9:28 a.m. Friday when Nick Pivetta emerged from the clubhouse to play catch.
That proved to be the biggest on-field highlight of the day. Pivetta, righthander Eduard Bazardo, and lefthander Jay Groome were the only 40-man-roster players spotted at Fenway South a day after the lockout ended.
Players are scheduled to officially report Sunday, with the first exhibition game scheduled for Thursday against the Twins at JetBlue Park.
“Back to work,” said manager Alex Cora, who returned to the complex after spending a few days in Puerto Rico with his family. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is expected to arrive Saturday.
Major League Baseball threw out the old spring schedule after the lockout canceled nearly three weeks of games. Teams in Florida will play a regionalized slate against nearby teams. For the Sox, that means 15 of the 19 games will be against the crosstown Twins, Braves, and Rays.
The Sox are scheduled to finish Grapefruit League play April 5 and open the season April 7 in New York against the Yankees. Pitcher Pannone signed
The Sox signed lefthander Thomas Pannone to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old from Cranston, R.I., appeared in 49 games for the Blue Jays from 2018-19, going 7-7 with a 5.43 earned run average.
Pannone played at Southern Nevada before he was drafted by Cleveland in 2013. He was traded to Toronto in 2017 and last season was 5-11 with a 7.07 ERA for Triple A Salt Lake. Sox mourn Bowes
Donald Bowes, a supervisor on Fenway Park’s security staff, died after being struck by a car at approximately 4 a.m. Friday. Quincy Police said the 58-year-old Bowes was on Newport Avenue when the incident occurred. It is under investigation.
“Donny” was often stationed at Gate D, and greeted everyone with the same cheerful disposition and big smile.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Donny Bowes this morning,” the Sox said in a statement. “He was beloved by countless co-workers and Red Sox fans during his 15 years with the security department.
“Donny’s endless energy and infectious positive attitude made a significant impact on the Fenway Park experience. He will be greatly missed.” Time change
With the April 15 game against the Twins now the home opener, the Sox switched the start time to 2:10 p.m. … Starting Saturday, the practice fields at Fenway South will be open to fans from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for free. Ballpark tours will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. … For the moment, teams will have a 26-man roster with a maximum of 13 pitchers for the regular season. The league will consider adding a 27th player for a period of time to compensate for the shortened spring training based on feedback from team executives.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 4:40:08 GMT -5
So, when is Opening Day? Breaking down the next steps for the Red Sox By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated March 11, 2022, 2:39 p.m.
After 99 days, Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association came together and made a deal. Thursday’s new collective bargaining agreement means there will be Red Sox baseball at Fenway Park this season.
Here are all the logistics you need to know surrounding spring training and beyond. When does everything begin?
Players could report to spring training as early as Friday. Mandatory report date is Sunday. Spring training games are tentatively scheduled to begin next Thursday, with the Sox scheduled to take on the Twins at 1:05 p.m. at JetBlue Park.
The Red Sox season starts April 7 against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. They will have an off day that Friday before capping off the three-game set the following two days. Ultimately, an opening homestand with the Rays and Orioles will be rescheduled, with one of those series made up at the very end of the season and the other via off days/doubleheaders.
Opening Day is scheduled for April 15, a 2 p.m. game vs. the Twins that commences a three-game set.
Can the Red Sox make trades/acquire players now?
The lockout was officially lifted at 7 p.m. Thursday. Transactions were permissible starting then. Will there be a Rule 5 draft?
Not this year. The Rule 5 draft typically takes place in December during Winter Meetings. The lockout prevented that from happening.
The Rule 5 draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select players from other rosters. Those players become available if they are not added to their club’s 40-man roster within a four- or five-year span after signing.
The Red Sox found gold in the most recent Rule 5 draft, acquiring righthander Garrett Whitlock from the Yankees. What about the international draft?
That’s still pending. MLB and the Players Association have until July 25 to decide on it. If the sides agree on an international draft, then there will be no free agent draft-pick compensation. If the sides don’t agree, free agent draft-pick compensation will remain in effect.
When is arbitration?
The arbitration exchange date is set for March 22. Here are the Red Sox players who still must agree to terms: lefthander Josh Taylor, infielder Christian Arroyo, starter Nick Pivetta, outfielder Alex Verdugo, and third baseman Rafael Devers. Reliever Ryan Brasier and catcher Kevin Plawecki agreed to terms prior to the lockout, avoiding arbitration.
Players who have three years of big league service time are eligible for arbitration. The 22 percent of players with the most service time among those with 2-3 years of service are also eligible. Those players are known as “Super Twos.”
What are some important rule changes?
The automatic runner on second base during extra innings has been removed. Doubleheaders will revert to nine-inning contests instead of seven. The universal designated hitter will be implemented for the 2022 season. Unvaccinated players will be unable to play in games in Toronto; they will not be paid or credited with service time.
Also, the sides agreed that players can’t be optioned more than five times in a calendar year. Sox righthander Tanner Houck, for instance, was optioned four times between July 29 and Aug. 24 last season. He was optioned seven times altogether in 2021.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 4:42:13 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 11h #RedSox opening practices to the public at Fenway South starting tomorrow at 9 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m. It's free. Free parking on west side of the complex. Ticket info for Grapefruit League games is TBA. New Sox ST schedule. 19 games, seven against the Twins. Playing only the Twins, Rays, Orioles, Braves and Pirates.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 4:48:51 GMT -5
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Post by Kimmi on Mar 12, 2022 8:19:45 GMT -5
I am really starting to get pumped up for baseball. The offseason is always too long for me.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 8:35:30 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox underdog Rio Gomez takes father Pedro Gomez’s bracelet everywhere; ‘He’s there with me on the mound’ Updated: Mar. 12, 2022, 7:41 a.m. | Published: Mar. 12, 2022, 7:00 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox minor leaguer Rio Gomez said the bracelet he wears on his right wrist “holds all the power.”
“This goes everywhere I go now,” Gomez said. “This is my dad’s bracelet from when he was a kid. So old pictures of him, old videos of him from when he was a teenager, he has it on. I’ve worn it every day since. Even in the games, I just take it off and I put it in my back pocket. So he’s there with me on the mound.”
Gomez’s dad, longtime ESPN national baseball reporter Pedro Gomez, died of sudden cardiac arrest Feb. 7, 2021, at 58 years old. The bracelet originally was gifted to Pedro from his father, who immigrated to Miami from Cuba.
“It’s easy to bring this little piece of him everywhere I go,” Gomez said.
Gomez’s journey is one of perseverance. He’s here at 2022 Red Sox spring training — still pitching nine years after getting cut from his high school varsity team as a senior.
He walked on at Mesa Community College, then walked on at the University of Arizona.
As a 36th-round pick in 2017, the 6-foot, 190-pounder was a long shot to make it to the upper levels of the minor leagues. But the 27-year-old left-handed reliever made it to Double-A Portland last year where he allowed just one run during the final three months, including 24 ⅔ straight scoreless innings.
“I think the one thing he (dad) truly passed on to me was self-confidence,” Gomez said. “For the longest time, I didn’t always possess that self-confidence because of my past. ... There was a lot of times I doubted myself. But he was able to bring that confidence for me. After he passed, I finally had been able to develop and create my own self-confidence. And I think that was the biggest gift that he was able to pass on to me.”
‘Every emotion was felt’
The 2021 season didn’t start well for Gomez. He allowed 17 earned runs in 17 ⅓ innings (8.83 ERA) in his first 12 games, culminating with four runs allowed and no outs recorded in a June 13 outing.
His next appearance came June 20, Father’s Day.
“Father’s Day was the first outing I had when everything started to turn around,” said Gomez, who tossed a scoreless inning and struck out two.
From there, Gomez allowed only two runs the rest of the season.
The southpaw also threw two hitless and scoreless innings to record a hold on his dad’s birthday Aug. 20.
“Those were the two most incredible days because every emotion was felt,” said Gomez who added that he woke up both days feeling dread and sadness.
Gomez didn’t tell anyone on the coaching staff it was his dad’s birthday until he finished pitching. He let them know while sitting on the bench reviewing his outing with pitching coach Lance Carter.
“I didn’t want them to put me in the game just because it was my dad’s birthday,” Gomez said. “So it just all happened organically. ... It was just an incredible day.”
He stayed composed and in the zone throughout the day and during his outing.
“But then when Wimbo (manager Corey Wimberly) shakes my hand, and I know my day is done, the two innings are done, it’s like this exhale can finally take place. I can finally breathe,” Gomez said. “At that point, I can let all the emotions out. This happiness. This joy. But also this rush of sadness and grief to go with it.
“I walked into the clubhouse from the dugout and I just sat there and I cried for another 10, 15 minutes,” Gomez added. Pedro Gomez
Then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, right, jokes with ESPN's Pedro Gomez after a news conference in February 2008. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
‘Let’s give it one more year’
Gomez sat parked outside his parents’ house crying after being cut from his high school team as a senior. Pedro came out to the car and sat with him.
“He didn’t say anything but I didn’t need him to say anything,” Gomez said. “There was nothing that needed to be said. It was just more that support of him sitting in the car with me in the driveway of our house and letting me air it out and process it and cry. Because at that point, right then, it just felt like, ‘Oh, this is the end of my baseball career.’”
Gomez soon turned his disappointment into fuel and motivation.
“I just spent that whole spring working out, lifting on my own,” Gomez said. “Just doing everything I could because I just wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to baseball yet. I also had begun making preparations just in case. I was pretty much set to go to San Diego State just to be a student and not play baseball. ... Then the junior college I had been talking to said, ‘Hey, we know you got cut but we’ll still take you if you want the opportunity to walk on and try out.’”
Pedro encouraged Rio to go for it.
“I ended up telling myself, ‘Let’s give it one more year. Let’s just see what happens.’”
Gomez had to try out for the entire fall season before he knew whether he made the team.
“Throughout my entire career, there have been so many low points just like that (being cut in high school) where I couldn’t really turn to anyone else to find that support or receive that support except from him,” Gomez said. “There was so many times I didn’t even believe in myself. But he did. He’s the one who encouraged me to try junior college.”
‘I could finally throw a breaking ball’
Gomez likes to describe himself as “a body of work” pitcher.
“It’s not going to be that one inning where I’m going to blow you away with 96, 98 (mph), velocity like that,” he said. “It’s more pitchability. It’s just being able to mix it up. What can I do to be as consistent as possible? And that’s my path to success.”
Gomez felt he needed to make a change after such a poor start to the 2021 season. So he asked fellow Portland reliever Seth Blair — who had switched from an over-the-top delivery to a lower arm slot — to watch him throw at a lower angle. Blair immediately liked what he saw. He encouraged Gomez “to jump in the deep end” by using the different arm slot immediately in games.
“The breaking ball just came alive,” Gomez said.
His breaking ball — a sweeping curveball — soon overtook his split-changeup as his best secondary pitch.
“When I made that switch, that’s when everything changed,” he said. “I finally could throw a breaking ball and my whole career I had been searching for a breaking ball. I just had a tough time getting my wrist in that position from over the top. So I was really just a fastball/changeup pitcher.”
‘It’s already been a win’
The Gomez family took a vacation together every summer when Rio was growing up. They traveled to Boston when Rio was in high school. That was the first time he visited Fenway Park. He said he still remembers the game like it was yesterday.
“It was the most incredible atmosphere and feeling that I’ve ever felt at a baseball game and at a stadium and I’ve been to probably 15 stadiums,” Gomez said. “And there was something so special about that. I couldn’t believe that baseball could have that aura and that energy.”
Gomez was shocked to see that the stadium was still full with Boston down 4-0 in the ninth inning.
“Not a single fan had left,” he said. “In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox ended up scoring a run. It’s 4-1. And the crowd erupted. You would have thought they just hit a walk-off with the energy. All it was was one run and they ended up losing the game 4-1. But it was just incredible and I couldn’t believe baseball was like that.”
Gomez might pitch at Fenway someday. He might not. Either way, he knows his career is a success.
“Every level I’ve moved up, the closer you get, the farther you realize you still are,” Gomez said. “But on that note, all the things that have happened in the past, no matter what happens tomorrow or the rest of my career, it’s already been a success. It’s already been a win. Somebody told me, ‘Hey, you’re not good enough to play high school baseball.’ And I went on to go play junior college baseball. That was already a success there. Then I was able to go play Division I, Pac-12, University of Arizona baseball. All that has been a success. And then I was able to get drafted. They’re all steps to the ultimate dream. But they’re all dreams on their own as well.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 12, 2022 10:18:02 GMT -5
jcmccaffrey Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey 21m Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley and Christian Vazquez are among the guys here today
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