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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 13:53:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h JD Martinez has no regrets staying in Boston even though there’s a universal DH now. Says the passion for baseball fits his personality.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 13:56:53 GMT -5
J.D. Martinez on being Boston Red Sox trade candidate; ‘Every year I feel I could be ... This year especially’ Updated: Mar. 14, 2022, 2:32 p.m. | Published: Mar. 14, 2022, 2:16 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Slugger J.D. Martinez, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2022, said Monday he would love to finish his career with the Boston Red Sox.
He also said he’s aware he’s a potential trade candidate.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement instituted the universal DH. There are NL teams looking to acquire a DH. So Martinez’s trade market has expanded considerably beyond the few teams in the AL who might have interest.
“Oh, yeah. I figured,” Martinez said here at JetBlue Park. “Every year I feel like I could be, just because of my opt outs, a trade candidate. So this year especially with the NL and it being my last year.”
He decided to remain in Boston despite a chance to opt out after the 2019, ‘20 and ‘21 seasons.
The Red Sox always could trade Martinez and sign another DH such as Kyle Schwarber whose free agent market has expanded considerably because of the universal DH being instituted.
Martinez’s expiring contract paired with the expanded DH market makes a trade more conceivable.
Martinez opted into the final year of his contract before knowing there would be a universal DH in 2022. Would he have opted out if he knew what he knows now?
“I don’t think so,” Martinez said. “I think I made the right decision personally. And I’m excited to be here. I think this team has a chance to win again and that’s what I wanted to do. ... I’m starting to go toward later on in my career and trying to win the most is the most fun.”
The 34-year-old batted .286 with a .349 on-base percentage, .518 slugging percentage, .867 OPS, 28 homers, 42 doubles, three triples, 92 runs and 99 RBIs in 148 games (634 plate appearances) in 2021. His 42 doubles were tied for the major league lead.
The universal DH certainly could help to extend Martinez’s career.
“I think it’s good for baseball all the way around,” Martinez said. “I’ve been saying it. Obviously I’m biased to it. ... I think now it’s going to kind of level the playing field for pitchers, hitters, everyone. Now you’ll be able to judge a pitcher, judge a hitter strictly off their numbers and not by the league they are playing in, which I think is good for baseball all the way around. And it’s going to give the game more offense. You’re not just going to have that dead spot in the game.”
In four seasons with Boston, Martinez has hit .297 with a .369 on-base percentage, .548 slugging percentage, .917 OPS, 114 home runs, 128 doubles, seven triples, 361 RBIs and 323 runs in 498 games (2,177 plate appearances).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 13:58:33 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h JDM says he wouldn't have opted out even if he knew there would be a DH in the NL. Says it was an easy decision to stay, later on in his career he's trying to win first and foremost and thinks this is the team to do it. Says Boston is a first class org and it's fun to be here.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 14:00:18 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 57m A lot of stuff going on with Diekman the past few years, it will be interesting to see what tweaks the Sox have in store to get his fastball results back to being dominant.
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Post by Kimmi on Mar 14, 2022 15:42:19 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 15m We'll see what happens if they get another OF but Cora said he likes an outfield alignment of Verdugo-Hernandez-Bradley and having Arroyo at 2B. Defensively, it's a good alignment. I'm just not sure we can sustain Bradley's lack of offense. I just don't see JBJ as an everyday starter. I do see a bit of a bounce back for him though.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 17:24:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 53m There were about 7-8 reporters at Fort Myers today, the most in two years. Jerry would have enjoyed seeing things get back to normal.
Tom Caron @tomcaron · 59m Beautiful touch by NESN dedicating this conference room to Jerry Remy. Spent countless hours with him here talking baseball, and life. Still hard to imagine a #RedSox season without him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 14, 2022 17:25:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 21m Here's the @nesn spring training schedule. It will produce eight home games live from JetBlue Park and will air four away games.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Mar 14, 2022 20:24:49 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 15m We'll see what happens if they get another OF but Cora said he likes an outfield alignment of Verdugo-Hernandez-Bradley and having Arroyo at 2B. Defensively, it's a good alignment. I'm just not sure we can sustain Bradley's lack of offense. I just don't see JBJ as an everyday starter. I do see a bit of a bounce back for him though.I'm fine with that OF, if we can upgrade 2B.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 2:55:19 GMT -5
'It's fun to be here': J.D. wants to stay in Boston after '22 March 14th, 2022 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Now that the designated hitter is universal, Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez should have a lot of destinations to choose from when he becomes a free agent following the 2022 season.
While Martinez likes how this will improve his market, the truth is that he doesn’t have any desire to put on another uniform.
The right-handed-hitting masher hopes his fifth season in Boston won’t be his last.
“I would love it," Martinez said. "I’ve expressed where I stand with the team and I would love to finish my career here. That isn’t up to me, really.”
Ultimately, it will come down to the business of baseball. But Martinez has left no uncertainty with the Red Sox as to how he feels about playing for Boston.
“I’ve loved it here the whole time," Martinez said. "I’ve expressed my feelings toward the front office, I’ve told them -- I’ve told [chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom], I’ve told [manager] Alex [Cora] -- I love the group here. I love the personnel, everyone, the coaching staff -- I get along here with everybody. I think it’s a first-class organization. I’ve been part of some pretty good organizations with Detroit and Arizona, but this takes the cake. The Red Sox -- it’s fun to be here.”
Never did Martinez have more fun than in his first season with the Sox in 2018, which ended with him sitting on a duck boat during a championship parade through the streets of Boston. After what Martinez was a part of last season, an overachieving squad that came just two wins away from getting back to the World Series, he is thirsty for another duck boat ride.
In the unique contract that Martinez and agent Scott Boras agreed to four years ago, there were opt-out clauses after the second, third and fourth seasons.
For differing reasons, Martinez opted back in all three times.
Would he have opted out this past offseason if he knew for sure the universal DH would be installed as part of the new CBA?
“I don’t think so,” said Martinez. “I think I made the right decision, personally, and I’m excited to be here. I think this team has a chance to win again and that’s what I want to do. I want to win. I’m starting to go towards later on in my career and trying to win the most is the most fun.”
Other than the winning, what is it that Martinez loves so much about the Boston baseball experience?
“The passion,” Martinez said. “I talk about it all the time with my friends and family. When I first came here, everybody was like, ‘Are you going to be able to handle it? The media and the fans and all that stuff?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, there’s nobody harder on myself than me.’ They’re writing how bad I am and I’m at home pissed off because of how bad I am, trying to find out ways to [make it] work. The passion of the fans and the media and demand kind of fits my personality well.”
At the age of 34, Martinez should again be a force in 2022, teaming with shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers to form one of the most potent middle-of-the-order trios in the game.
Once again, you’ll be able to find Martinez in the cage early and often, and also the video room. He remains obsessive about the art of hitting and that will probably never change.
“I’ve always been a perfectionist. I’ve always wanted to be the best,” Martinez said. “I had a taste of failure early in my career, getting released and everything. It’s always put that sour taste in my mouth and I never wanted to feel like that again. I’ve always held that deep in my heart.”
While the Red Sox have firsthand experience with a DH who raked until the age of 40 in David Ortiz, Martinez has a more current source of inspiration these days.
Nelson Cruz, who will turn 42 on July 1, just signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Nationals.
“I tell him every time I see him, 'Nelson, you're my hero.' He starts laughing, he goes, 'Why?' I was like, 'I don't know how you do it, man. It's unbelievable.' I mean, the guys throw harder and Nelson just keeps getting older and keeps hitting,” Martinez said. “He's unbelievable. If that's the case [for me], thank God. But those guys are outliers.”
It remains to be seen if Martinez will become one of those outliers. While he loves winning and hitting, he also loves spending time on his boat and the other outdoor hobbies that are so easy to maintain year-round when you live in South Florida.
“It's tough. It's tough on your body. It's tough on your time. You know, one thing you can never get back in life is time,” Martinez said. “So it's one of those things where I'd love to stick around. Obviously, I'm not ready [to retire] yet, but to play into my 40s, that's kind of wild. You know, everyone loves talking about Tom Brady and he's the best and he's the GOAT, but what Nelson is doing right now is I think very impressive, too.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 2:56:44 GMT -5
Barnes sets sights on closer again; Bloom keeps options open March 14th, 2022 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A day after Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that he wasn’t ready to name a closer, Matt Barnes made it clear that he is ready to reclaim his old job.
The hard-throwing righty is ready to turn the page from his second-half woes of a year ago.
Barnes was asked early in his press conference on Monday if he felt it was realistic for him to be the closer again.
“Yes,” said Barnes, without any pause.
What did Barnes learn after having a dominant All-Star-worthy first half before being so shaky over the final couple of months of the season that he was taken out of high-leverage situations?
“Baseball is a very humbling game. You can’t ride the waves in this game,” Barnes said. “It’s going to eat you alive if you do. You’ve got to stay as flat and neutral as possible and take it day by day, and know that one of the beautiful parts about this game is [that] you always have a chance to go out there and perform, since we play every day.
“Like I said, we’re going to work and improve on that, trying to get rid of the second-half hiccups that have been historical in my career. And then I’ll be working with the coaching staff, the pitching staff, teammates, trainers, strength coaches and put together a good plan for this year.”
Once he had time to slow things down in the offseason, Barnes had a better grasp on what happened down the stretch.
“Yeah, it was kind of crazy,” Barnes said. “Obviously the first half of the season went really well. I think in the second half, I went through a stretch where I was in a lot of games -- kind of got tired -- and when you get tired, you start trying to recreate what you had had previously, right? And then you kind of create bad habits.
“So obviously creating bad habits, I didn’t perform well and then got COVID and then was sitting down for 10 days, two weeks, didn’t get to pitch in the game. And I come back, and then we only have a couple of weeks before the postseason.”
Barnes said that he will be better in the long run after having gone through such a tumultuous period.
“Comparing the first half to the second half, it was tough, not going to lie to you,” said Barnes. “It was tough going from the level I was at to not even making the postseason roster originally. But I think in everything we do, you don’t get to improve unless you experience tough times. You don’t improve by being great all the time. You don’t learn anything that way.”
One reason Cora might be comfortable with Barnes starting the season as the closer is that the righty has always been strong in April, holding opponents to a .179 average and a .572 OPS in that month.
Having a short memory has helped Barnes start seasons fast.
“I think that’s one of the nice things I’ve been able to do in my career, is whatever happened the year before, what happened in August and September last year, [they] have absolutely nothing to do with what’s going to happen in April,” Barnes said. “They’re seven months apart. You sit down and you don’t play catch for a month and a half, you don’t face hitters and get off a mound for three months after that. Sometimes that’s the best solution."
The one thing Barnes hopes most in 2022 is to avoid the dog days of August. In that month, he has a career ERA of 8.02.
“Let's just call a spade a spade,” said Barnes. “It has kind of been a trend -- the first half has historically been pretty good in my career and then that August has been kind of terrible and then September is better. We have to go to the drawing board and figure out why does that happen.
“Is it volume? Is it something we need to change in the weight room? Is it conditioning stuff? I don't know, right? We're going to sit down and have a game plan for that. How do we adjust? Maybe it's not just August. Maybe it's something we change in April, May and June. We'll get together. We'll figure out a plan, and then kind of go from there. First and foremost, not getting COVID will probably help.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 2:57:47 GMT -5
Injuries & Roster Moves: Paxton makes progress with TJ rehab March 14th, 2022
Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season. ROSTER MOVES
March 12 The following 12 players were added as non-roster invitees to Spring Training: Catcher Kole Cottam; infielders Triston Casas, Ryan Fitzgerald, David Hamilton and Christian Koss; outfielder Franchy Cordero; left-handed pitcher Chris Murphy; right-handed pitchers Durbin Feltman, Geoff Hartlieb, Brian Keller, Kaleb Ort and John Schreiber.
The most notable name on the list is Casas, the team’s most advanced hitting prospect. The left-handed hitter could make his Major League debut at some point this season. Hamilton has blazing speed and is one of the players who was acquired from the Brewers for Hunter Renfroe. Feltman could compete for a spot in the bullpen. -- Ian Browne
• All Red Sox transactions INJURY UPDATES
LHP James Paxton (Tommy John surgery) Expected return: Sometime after the All-Star break Recently acquired lefty starter James Paxton has been throwing regularly off flat ground since Spring Training opened, and did so again on Monday. Paxton could become an important piece for the Red Sox down the stretch and he could be on a timetable similar to what Chris Sale was on last season. Sale made his debut on Aug. 14. The Red Sox also hold a club option for Paxton for 2023, so they aren’t going to rush him.
“He's doing well,” said Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. “He's still a ways away, but he's on track. There was a [caveat] in the provisions of the lockout that allowed us to monitor rehabbing players, but not through direct conversation. We were up to speed on at least what he was doing, if not how he was doing, and he's on track. Based on the timing, we're looking more second half of the year. But nothing has changed with that, and we’re really happy with that.” -- Ian Browne (Last updated: March 14)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 3:18:15 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK J.D. Martinez doesn’t regret opting in for 2022 season with Red Sox By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated March 14, 2022, 7:16 p.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — J.D. Martinez had the option to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Red Sox and become a free agent. But the deadline to make that decision was in early November.
He declined. Four months later, baseball went to a universal designated hitter as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
That would have created more opportunities for Martinez had he been a free agent. But he expressed no regrets Monday.
“I think I made the right decision personally,” Martinez said. “I’m excited to be here. I think this team has a chance to win again.” Martinez will make $19.375 million this season, so there’s no reason to be too regretful.”
But 41-year-old Nelson Cruz just signed a one-year, $15 million deal to DH for the Nationals. In this market, the 34-year-old Martinez would have cashed in.
Martinez will benefit from the universal DH. He started 18 interleague games as an outfielder last season and had an .806 OPS with one home run.
He had a .945 OPS in 113 games as a DH and hit 26 home runs.
Martinez has played more games for Boston (498) than he did for Detroit (458), where his career took off from 2014-17.
“I’ve loved it here the whole time,” he said. “I’ve expressed my feelings to the front office. I love the group here … I get along great with everybody and I think it’s a first-class organization.”
Martinez even enjoys the criticism that comes with playing for the Red Sox.
“It’s passion,” he said. “When I first came here everybody was, ‘Will you be able to handle it? The media and fans and everything?’ But there’s nobody harder on me than myself.”
In 2018, Scott Boras negotiated a series of opt-outs in Martinez’s contract. None were used. He now hopes to stay with the Sox and will leave that to Boras to work out.
“I would love it … I would love to finish my career here,” Martinez said. Matt Barnes is open to closing again
Matt Barnes was an All-Star closer in 2022 then left off the roster for the American League Championship Series. He experienced more setbacks in half a season than he had previously in his career.
But when he asked if he was ready to close again for the Sox, Barnes didn’t pause.
“Yes,” he said.
Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora will let that decision play out. But Barnes made it clear he wants the job back.
Barnes feels he put too much pressure on himself to be “the backstop” of the bullpen. He went from working quickly and effectively to slowing down and pitching tentatively.
Barnes lost his job. Then came a case of COVID-19 that kept him off the field entirely.
“Baseball is a very humbling game,” he said. “You can’t ride the waves in this game, it’s going to eat you alive if you do. You have to try and stay as flat and neutral as possible and take it day by day … it was tough, I’m not going to lie to you.” Related: As Red Sox gather in Fort Myers, plenty of roster questions need answering
Barnes said he pitched off a mound 15 times while waiting for the lockout to end but has yet to face hitters. The plan is for him to do that once before getting in an exhibition game. NESN to air a dozen
NESN will air 12 of the Red Sox’ 19 Grapefruit League games, producing eight home games and airing the feeds of four road games.
The first game will be Thursday’s opener at JetBlue Park against the Twins. The games on Friday (Rays), Saturday (at the Twins), and Sunday (Orioles) also will be on. All have start at 1:05 p.m. starts. Rafael Devers gets some work in
Monday’s workout was largely voluntary after the players took their physicals. Rafael Devers headed out to Field 1 behind the clubhouse to take groundballs and hit. The 25-year-old third baseman appears to be in good shape … Chaim Bloom on the idea that unvaccinated players may be ineligible to play in Toronto this season: “We’re still getting our arm around all the nuances of that. It should go without saying: anything that can keep our players off the field is going to concern us. We have been and will continue to be staunch advocates for vaccinations. Of course we will continue to do everything we can to encourage everybody to get vaccinated.” … The first full-squad workout will be Tuesday. As they did in 2020, the Red Sox will have an organization-wide meeting in JetBlue Park at 10 a.m. Reporters will be prohibited from using the press box during the meeting … Two pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery, Bryan Mata and James Paxton, played catch during the workout. Paxton is on track for a July return.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 3:25:52 GMT -5
Red Sox’ Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck to be stretched out, but likely in non-conventional roles Sox want to see him throw more innings
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: March 14, 2022 at 3:59 p.m. | UPDATED: March 14, 2022 at 4:01 p.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox pitchers Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck are both being stretched out this spring, manager Alex Cora told reporters on Sunday.
But chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said he doesn’t expect Whitlock to fit into a typical starting pitcher mold, instead implying he could be in a new-age starting pitcher role that adapts based on his health and effectiveness.
“If we try to fit somebody cookie-cutter style into some sort of abstract role, we do them a disservice,” he said. “So the way we’re looking at it right now, especially with what he’s been through medically, work-load-wise last year, we do want to give him a chance to pitch more innings for us, just to do it in the right way, do it responsibly, not get too focused on what we call the role, but give him a chance to impact us as much as possible in a way that takes care of him.”
Whitlock, a Rule 5 pick from the Yankees last year, threw 73-1/3 innings with a 1.96 ERA for the Sox last year. He was dominant in the postseason, too, when there were questions of whether or not he’d be a starter in 2022.
Houck threw 69 innings with a 3.52 ERA while being optioned back-and-forth to Triple-A Worcester throughout the season. Starting in 2022, MLB capped the number of times a player can be optioned in a single season (five). Barnes ready to close again
After the most challenging year of his career, Matt Barnes arrived at Red Sox camp this spring with renewed hope.
Asked if he thought it was realistic for him to be the closer after finishing the season with a 6.48 ERA in the second half and being left off the original postseason roster, Barnes responded with an emphatic “yes.”
He said he might’ve put too much pressure on himself to be the closer last year but takes a lot of pride in that job.
“It was kind of crazy,” he said. “Obviously the first half of the season went really well. I think in the second half, I went through a stretch where I was in a lot of games, kind of got tired, and when you get tired you start trying to re-create what you had had previously. And then you kind of create bad habits.
“So obviously creating bad habits, I didn’t perform well and then got COVID and then was sitting down for 10 days, two weeks, didn’t get to pitch in the game, come back, and then we only have a couple of weeks before the postseason.”
Barnes had an electric first half in which he had a 2.61 ERA with 19 saves and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. The Sox signed him to a two-year contract extension worth at least $18.75 million before he fell apart in the second half.
“It was tough going from the level I was at to not even making the postseason roster originally,” he said. “But I think in everything we do, you don’t get to improve unless you experience tough times. You don’t improve by being great all the time. You don’t learn anything that way.” Sox support vaccines
Some Red Sox players who are unvaccinated could miss games this year.
If laws in Canada hold up, the Sox would not be able to use their unvaccinated players for games in Toronto. Though the rules could change, Bloom said, “it should go without saying that anything that could keep our players off the field is going to concern us. We have been and continue to be staunch advocates of vaccination.” Mid-season return for Paxton
Lefty James Paxton, who signed a one-year, $10-million contract with the Sox this year, was seen throwing on Monday, but remains far away from a comeback after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April.
“Based on the timing, we’re looking more at the second half of the year,” Bloom said. “But nothing has changed with that. Really happy with that.” Devers extension remains priority
Rafael Devers remains unsigned as he enters the season eligible for salary arbitration. He’ll be eligible for arbitration again in 2023 before he can hit free agency.
“Nothing’s changed with how we feel about him,” Bloom said. “He’s a cornerstone player for us and we hope he’s here for a long time.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 9:49:52 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Let's try this again.
March 9, 2020 was the last time reporters who cover the #RedSox had clubhouse access.
That ends today. Good step forward.
Xander Bogaerts says he is vaccinated.
Christian Arroyo also got vaccinated. Sounds like this may not be much of an issue for the Red Sox.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 9:51:46 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 1h Rafael Devers said he hasn’t discussed a contract extension with the Red Sox but would like to stay long term
Bogaerts on Correa rumors: “I’m a shortstop man. It’s a position I take a lot of pride in. I love being there.”
Sounds like he is not looking to move positions. Also, no one from the organization has talked to him about moving positions.
Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm have lockers here at JetBlue Park. It looks like those deals are getting close to being official.
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