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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 9:54:39 GMT -5
Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox have not discussed contract extension but he says, ‘This feels like home’ Updated: Mar. 15, 2022, 10:16 a.m. | Published: Mar. 15, 2022, 10:16 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Rafael Devers said he and the Boston Red Sox have not discussed a contract extension.
“We haven’t talked about that but obviously this is a great place to play baseball in,” Devers said through translator Bryan Almonte. “This is the Boston Red Sox. But I’m really not focused on that right now. Just focused on playing the season and see where it goes from there.”
Devers said he would like to stay in Boston longterm. The third baseman is eligible for free agency after the 2023 season.
“Of course,” he said. “Obviously this is the team that gave me the chance to be in the big leagues. I’m so comfortable here with the staff from the minor leagues all the way up to the major leagues. So this feels like home. Obviously I would love to play here.”
Devers made the All-Star team in 2021. He was a Silver Slugger and finished 11th in the AL MVP voting.
He batted .279 with a .352 on-base percentage, .538 slugging percentage, .890 OPS, 38 homers, 37 doubles, one triple, 101 runs and 113 RBIs in 156 games (664 plate appearances).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 11:14:10 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox free agent signees Jake Diekman, Matt Strahm arrive at JetBlue Park; Diekman gets 2-year, $8M deal with option Updated: Mar. 15, 2022, 11:07 a.m. | Published: Mar. 15, 2022, 10:41 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com and Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox have not made either the Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm signings official yet.
But both relief pitchers have arrived here at the JetBlue Park complex. They were seen together Tuesday morning outside the major league clubhouse.
Both deals are expected to be official once the lefties pass their physicals. On Sunday, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Strahm’s one-year deal is worth $3 million. Diekman, a source said Tuesday, is signing a two-year, $8 million deal with a $4 million club option for 2024. He will earn a $3.5 million base salary in each of the next two seasons. The option comes with a $1 million buyout if the Red Sox decline it.
Diekman posted a 3.86 ERA, .211 batting average against and 1.34 WHIP in 67 relief outings (60 ⅔ innings) for Oakland last year. He averaged 12.3 strikeouts and 5.0 walks per nine innings. He struck out 31.7% of the batters he faced and had a whiff rate in the 96% percentile. He has a career 3.73 ERA in 529 major league outings.
His four-seam fastball averaged 95.3 mph last season, per Baseball Savant. He also mixes in a slider and sinker.
Strahm has a career 3.81 ERA, 4.09 FIP and 1.20 WHIP in 157 major league outings (25 starts).
His best season came in 2018 for San Diego when he posted a 2.05 ERA in 61 ⅓ innings (41 outings, five starts). He had a .178 batting average against.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 11:16:01 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 35m Via video, David Ortiz made an appearance at the Red Sox team meeting.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 11:16:58 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 30m Sam Kennedy says John Henry was a “voice of reason” in the CBA talks.
Sam Kennedy says Opening Day is not yet sold out but will be.
Kennedy says the Red Sox are advocates of a pitch clock and limiting shifts.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 11:18:39 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 27m Red Sox opening day at Fenway still not sold out
Red Sox “lobbying hard” to get an All-Star Game, Sam Kennedy says
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 11:20:46 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 42m Sam Kennedy opens his spring training press conference with a tribute to late Red Sox security supervisor Donny Bowes.
Sam Kennedy says ticket sales were slow this winter due to COVID/lockout. "We are pacing well behind prior years."
Thinks things will pick up now that lockout is lifted.
Kennedy says Red Sox have made some progress with player vaccinations and have discussed timetables for getting that done. Won’t go into specifics about remaining holdouts.
Sam Kennedy: “Is John Henry invested in the Boston Red Sox? Yes. That’s undeniable.”
Henry was not in Ft. Myers today. Henry and Werner were in town for a FSG partners weekend recently. Kennedy expects them back here at some point during camp.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:39:00 GMT -5
Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts, Christian Arroyo say they are in fact vaccinated By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated March 15, 2022, 11:01 a.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts said Tuesday that he was vaccinated against COVID-19 in the offseason, as did second baseman Christian Arroyo.
“Yes. So get that out of here,” Bogaerts said while smiling.
Canada’s decision to rescind a waiver allowing unvaccinated professional athletes into the country without a quarantine would be an issue for the Red Sox given the 10 games they have scheduled in Toronto against the Blue Jays this season.
“It was the right thing to do,” Arroyo said.
The status of lefthanders Chris Sale and Josh Taylor is not yet known.
Major League Baseball cannot mandate vaccines for players under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. But unvaccinated players who do not travel to Canada could be placed on the restricted list for the series and lose pay and service time.
MLB essentially has issued a mandate for managers, coaches, trainers, and other personnel who work closely with teams, ruling that any unvaccinated employee would not be allowed in restricted areas.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:41:25 GMT -5
Finally, a chance to get inside info on the Red Sox — from inside the clubhouse, that is By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Columnist,Updated March 15, 2022, 1 hour ago
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Everybody was in a swell mood in the Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park Tuesday morning. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers said they are not worried about their contracts, Bogaerts and Christian Arroyo said they got vaccinated in the offseason, Chris Sale said he’ll talk Wednesday, and Franchy Cordero still looks like he could play linebacker for Bill Belichick.
It was a landmark day of sorts. No Boston media person had been allowed in any team locker room since March of 2020, when we were banned out of an abundance of caution as COVID-19 surged across America.
WBZ radio legend Jonny Miller, working his 51st spring training, led the charge into the Sox sanctum at 9 a.m., and a gaggle of reporters and TV crew members (all masked) followed. It was almost just like the old days.
Behemoth first base prospect Triston Casas probably didn’t know what to think when he started answering a single reporter’s question and was quickly surrounded by just about every Boston news station.
Elsewhere in the big room, Devers did his interview with the help of a Red Sox translator, but it’s clear that the Dominican third baseman now understands everything he’s hearing in English.
When Devers was asked what it was like being home during the lockout, he answered, “Obviously, for the Latin players, baseball is everything for us.”
The Red Sox have two more years of club control over Devers, and he said there have been no talks about a contract extension.
“I’m comfortable here,” said Devers. “It feels like home. If they talk to me and we get a deal done, great, but I’m just worried about what I can control on the field.”
The Bogaerts situation is more urgent because he signed a team-friendly deal in 2019, can opt out at the end of this season, and shortstops have been getting barrels of cash on the free agent market. Boston’s regal shortstop isn’t throwing down the gauntlet, but he no doubt has noticed that the Chaim Bloom Red Sox (under the orders of ownership) are minding the bottom line. Payroll flexibility and prudence are in since Dave Dombrowski was kicked out.
“The market’s pretty different, but I try not to think about that during the season,” said Bogaerts. “I’m in spring training and I got a deal done toward this time a couple of years ago, so you never know what’s going to happen, but I think once the season starts, I want to try not to worry about those type of talks.”
Bogaerts ($20 million this year) makes far less than shortstops Francisco Lindor ($34 million) and Corey Seager ($33 million) — and Carlos Correa is probably going to set a new standard. But Bogaerts won’t complain about being underpaid.
“That’s still a lot of money that I get for coming from Aruba and playing a game that I love,” he told Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal.
Asked if he’s vaccinated (unvaxed players will not be able to play games in Toronto unless restrictions change), Bogaerts smiled and said, “Yes, I am. So get that out of here.”
Bogaerts expanded on that thought later, telling WCVB’s Duke Castiglione, “We’ll talk about it as a team, as a group. Everyone’s their own person. Everyone is grown enough. Guys are old men. You try to convince them, but you can’t force things.”
Bogaerts almost sounded as if he missed have the media in the clubhouse.
“I prefer this to Zoom,” said the veteran. “Talking to a screen is a little weird. This way is fun. You feel more like people again.”
After the hourlong media availability, the Sox had their annual organization meeting (players, management, employees) on the JetBlue lawn. The ubiquitous David Ortiz appeared on the big screen via Zoom, and CEO Sam Kennedy sat in for absent owners John Henry and Tom Werner.
Kennedy later took questions in place of Henry and Werner.
“Would it be accurate to say that the bottom line is more important now than it used to be?” I asked.
“No, the club has never been run with a specific financial bottom-line metric,” said Kennedy. “We’ve put a focus on our bottom line, being competitive, and playing baseball deep into October.
“We’ve made mistakes over the years when we’ve spent and haven’t gotten there. So there’s no new- found focus on any financial metrics. There’s always been a focus on being responsible financially to make sure the health of the club is there for the long term.”
It’s been a long time since the Sox committed big money to a new player. Can fans expect any splash now that the Sox have room under the luxury-tax threshold? Will the Sox do anything large?
“I don’t know,” said Kennedy. “We’re going to see how this market unfolds and plays out, but I don’t think we’ll deviate from the plan to try and put a premium on winning now but also winning in the future.
“I know that’s a non-answer on a splash question.”
I’ll take that as a no.
Finally, is Henry (who also owns the Globe) as interested in this baseball team as ever?
Kennedy responded by basically telling us that Henry solved the lockout — working 24/7 and providing the voice of reason to get a deal done. The CEO concluded with, “Is John Henry invested in the Boston Red Sox? Yes. That is undeniable.”
The affable CEO then acknowledged, “It’s convenient for me to say, because he’s my boss …”
Understood.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:43:07 GMT -5
STAN GROSSFELD | POSTCARD FROM SPRING TRAINING Postcard from spring training: Xander Bogaerts works an early shift By Stan Grossfeld Globe Staff,Updated March 15, 2022, 1 hour ago
It is surprising to see Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts out taking ground balls early. He says the drills he did last season have helped him be consistent. He doesn’t listen to naysayers on his defense.
“People are going to criticize you regardless,” he said. “The more attention you pay to it, it’s not going to be beneficial to you.
“All you can do is go out there and make the ones you can make. You’re not going to make all of them. The more you make, the better for yourself.
“I think any ball hit to me is pretty much an out, but I’m not blessed with some of the range some of the shorter, faster guys are, but it is what it is.”
He’s not thinking about any move to second base, either.
“I haven’t thought about second, first, third, none of that,” he said. “As of now, I enjoy playing shortstop and I’m more comfortable there.
“This was early [training]. I might do extra work afterwards, if we have time. Spring training is going to be quicker this year, man, games starting the 17th. You’ve got to be smart about it too, because if you don’t and you overdo it, you’re going to run yourself into a wall.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:45:47 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h The Sox, for reasons unknown, are always coy about their Opening Day starter. But Eovaldi is starting this Friday and that lines him up for the opener.
#RedSox number updates:
Bradley retains 19 Paxton has 65 Hill has 44 Wacha has 52 Refsnyder has 30 Sawamura has 18
Cora on the vax issue: “We’re going to be OK.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:53:39 GMT -5
Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers willing to discuss contract extensions, but don’t want to move positions Bogaerts can opt out after 2022 season
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald March 15, 2022 at 10:55 a.m.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Xander Bogaerts smiled and shook his head.
“Oh you guys came with that one, huh?” he said. “Bro.”
In his first press conference of the year, the first question was as expected: if the Red Sox sign a free agent shortstop like Carlos Correa, would Bogaerts move positions?
“I’m a shortstop, man,” he said. “That’s where I’ve played my whole career. Obviously it’s a position I take a lot of pride in. If you look at my numbers, they’ve been pretty good for these years. I like being there. That’s it.”
It’s an interesting topic considering those who watch Bogaerts play defense every day, inside and outside of the locker room, rarely have any complaints. He makes the routine plays routinely, has become fantastic at charging balls in front of him, turns double plays with ease and consistently ranks in the top of the league in fielding percentage.
But for those who peek at the advanced defensive metrics, it’s easy to critique Bogaerts for not having the range and flair of some of the game’s more acrobatic shortstop.
Bogaerts isn’t looking at those.
“No, I just know all the balls hit at me, I get them out,” he said. “And I hit pretty decent. It all depends what shortstop you want. Do you want someone who can play extremely good defense and hit so-so? It’s all about what you want. I would obviously want to be a better defensive player and have better numbers.”
ESPN reported early in the offseason that Bogaerts would consider moving to second or third base to make room for a new shortstop, but Bogaerts said nobody in the Red Sox’ organization has ever talked to him about that and those ideas have only come from outside the organization.
“Outside or you guys?” he said. “You guys? Yeah. I haven’t heard of that. Hopefully it stays that way. I haven’t heard anything like that.”
Asked if the discussion bothered him, Bogaerts smiled and said, “No, but sometimes it’s like I don’t even know if I’m on the team. It’s like, ‘hey, I’m here.’ But what are you going to do? You guys have stories to write and have more info than us as players have. It’s out of my control, I can’t do much about it. But it’s like, ‘hey, I exist, I’m here.’ It is what it is.”
There’s an added level of intrigue given Bogaerts can opt out of his team-friendly contract at the end of the season and become a free agent. He signed for $20 million a year, a bargain for the Sox considering Fransisco Lindor ($34 million), Corey Seager ($32.5 million), Marcus Semien ($25 million), Fernando Tatis Jr. ($25 million), and Javier Baez ($23 million) are all making higher salaries.
“I mean they’re setting the market pretty different,” Bogearts said. “I try not to think about that during the season. I’m at spring training and I got a deal done a couple years ago at this time. You never know what can happen. But when the season starts, I want to focus on helping the team at that point and try not to worry about those types of talks. If something is going to get done, it’s going to get done now during the season.”
Asked if he feels underpaid, Bogaerts shook his head.
“No, not really,” he said. “I still am getting a lot of money for coming from Aruba and playing the sport I love. Obviously I’ve been blessed with this talent and I’ve been doing it for quite some time now, and I’m healthy. I don’t really look at it that way. But when that time comes, we’ll see what the options are. But I think what I get is nice for me and my family.”
Rafael Devers, who is eligible for free agency after the 2023 season, was also asked about his contract status and said the team has yet to approach him about an extension.
“But obviously this is a great place to play baseball,” he said. “This is the Boston Red Sox. But I’m not focused on that right now. Just focused on the season and see where it goes from there.”
Asked if he’d like to stay in Boston long-term, Devers said, “Of course. This is obviously the team that gave me the chance to be in the big leagues. I’m so comfortable with the staff from the minors up to the majors. This feels like home and obviously I’d love to play here.”
Devers has been a below-average third baseman by most metrics, but said he wants to stay at that position.
“That’s the only position I know,” he said. “It’s the only position I’m comfortable playing. I work hard to be the best third baseman I can be for this team every single day. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 13:56:12 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox 2022 ticket sales ‘pacing well behind,’ Opening Day not sold out yet but Sam Kennedy said ‘it will be’ Updated: Mar. 15, 2022, 2:31 p.m. | Published: Mar. 15, 2022, 2:12 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Tickets still remain for Opening Day at Fenway Park on April 15 vs. the Twins.
“Opening Day is not sold out yet but it will be,” Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy said here at JetBlue Park on Tuesday.
Red Sox tickets sales for 2022 are down overall.
“Ticket sales were understandably slow this offseason with the lingering effects of COVID and obviously the lockout,” Kennedy said. “So we are pacing well behind prior years. But I think now that we have an agreement, and now that people are getting more and more comfortable in an outdoor environment related to COVID, hopefully things will start to pick up and we can build on the good momentum of 2021.”
The average attendance at Fenway Park for the 53 full capacity home games in 2021 was 29,319 — an 18.8% decrease from the 36,106 average in 2019. But that trumped internal projections, Red Sox executive vice president of ticketing Ron Bumgarner told MassLive.com last year. The pandemic brought down attendance league-wide.
As our Chris Cotillo reported, Boston’s average percentage of seats filled (around 78.5%) ranked sixth in Major League Baseball by the final week of the 2021 season.
Kennedy said the Red Sox have seen “a pretty big uptick in sales in the last three, four days.” He also said he expects the first two spring training games at JetBlue Park on Thursday and Friday will be full.
“We’re hoping for full houses for the first two games here in Fort Myers,” Kennedy said. “If not officially sold out, pretty close, which is impressive for spring training baseball when you’re a 10,000-seat venue.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 17:00:01 GMT -5
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy: ‘We’re not going to deviate’ from long-term outlook Sox payroll could be under the CBT for third straight year
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: March 15, 2022 at 5:10 p.m. | UPDATED: March 15, 2022 at 5:32 p.m.
FORT MYERS — Two days into the start of Red Sox camp, there’s a clear message emerging from the front office.
However much money the Sox spend on their payroll in 2022 is irrelevant, Sox officials have said. What matters is that the team is competitive.
“Yeah, the way we’ve handled it is we’ve tried not to talk about specific payroll numbers, just because that would be tipping our hand to a very, very, very competitive American League East,” Sox president Sam Kennedy said Tuesday. “And so I guess I’ll just point to previous history and in our time here, this would be my 21st year in Boston with the Red Sox. We’ve been over the CBT threshold many times; we’ve been under many times. So to the extent that we can keep our competitors guessing, that is a good thing.”
It doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot of guessing to be done. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Monday the team doesn’t need to make a big splash in free agency/trades to be competitive, though he’s considering all options.
Bloom hasn’t handed out a contract larger than $14 million (Kiké Hernandez’s two-year deal) to any one player since he took over in 2019. The team has been under the luxury tax threshold in two straight years and is currently in line to be under again in 2022.
They have some clear needs for another outfielder, a second baseman and perhaps a first baseman in addition to more relief pitching.
“Can we expect a splash? I don’t know,” Kennedy said. “We’re gonna see how this market unfolds and see how it plays out. But I don’t think we’ll deviate from — I said this last year, said it two years ago – we’re not going to deviate from the plan to try and put a premium on winning now, but also winning in the future.” Henry, Kennedy want new rules
Kennedy noted that the baseball industry is “recovering from a horrific two-year period” and thinks one way of rebuilding it is speeding up the game and increasing offense.
He said principal owner John Henry, who usually speaks during the first week of camp but is not in Fort Myers as of yet, was a “voice of reason towards getting a deal done” and has supported some on-the-field changes.
“I for one am a big proponent of the pitch timer, eliminating the dead time and I’m also a fan of banning shifts and really appealing to a broader and younger demographic,” Kennedy said. “I think that anything that can encourage more balls in play, more action, is a good thing.”
Manager Alex Cora agreed about MLB needing a pitch clock, but said he doesn’t agree with eliminating defensive shifts. New year, new message
In his annual spring training meeting to the entire organization, Cora said he had to deliver a new message this year.
In 2018, he told the Sox how they were much better than they performed the year before. In 2019, he said it’s important not to turn the page, but to continue what they did the year before. And in ‘21, he focused on how the team was not being taken seriously and would need to prove a lot of people wrong.
This year, he said he made a mistake with his message in ‘19.
“He acknowledged that that was a mistake and that we need to reinvent ourselves each and every year,” said Kennedy, who was in the meeting.
Cora also told players to treat each people with respect and “just be a good human being,” Kennedy said. “It was a really powerful message.”
Said Cora, “We talked about life man.” Pitching a schedule
Nathan Eovaldi, who has started the last two Opening Day games for the Sox, impressed during live batting practice on Tuesday and will make his first Grapefruit League appearance on Friday.
The oft-injured starter said he feels great after making every start in 2021, but he’s concerned about the short spring before Opening Day on April 7.
“Usually you have a little wiggle room if you’re feeling sore,” he said. “But now it’s like, make sure you’re on top of everything. It’s almost like not a normal spring training because you want to make sure you’re careful.”
Eovaldi is a pending free agent after the season, but said, “I’m very open” to re-signing in Boston.
Nick Pivetta is scheduled to start Saturday’s game, but Cora said he’s not sure when Chris Sale will make his first appearance.
The games begin Thursday, which will be a bullpen day.
“Obviously none of the starters will play on Thursday,” Cora said. “There’s a good chance some of them will play Friday. A bigger chance they’ll play Saturday and from there we’ll go off and on.”
The Sox finalized a one-year deal with lefty Matt Strahm, who will earn $3 million. They’ve also reportedly agreed to a two-year deal worth $8 million with lefty Jake Diekman, per MassLive.com. Strahm will be in the bullpen, where the Sox have tried to add more southpaws.
“I think even in the playoffs, it’s something we recognized in the offseason that we want it to get better and we got better,” Cora said. Opening Day tickets available
Tickets to the Sox’ first home game at Fenway Park on Friday, April 15, against the Twins are not yet sold out, Kennedy said.
“Ticket sales were understandably slow this offseason with lingering effects of COVID and obviously the lockout, so we are pacing well behind prior years,” he said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 17:03:02 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2h Alex Cora said managers are working with MLB on the length of spring training games, re-entry rules and other accommodations because of the quick build-up
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 15, 2022 17:08:58 GMT -5
Analyzing Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm, the Red Sox’ two new lefty relievers By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated March 15, 2022, 1 hour ago
The Red Sox have added depth to their bullpen, recently acquiring lefthanders Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm. Diekman, 35, most recently played 2½ seasons for the Athletics. Strahm, 30, was a member of the Padres for the last four years.
Diekman’s deal is for two years and $8 million, with a $4 million team option for 2024 or a $1 million buyout; he will make $3.5 million in both 2022 and 2023. Strahm’s deal is for one year and $3 million.
Each comes with the hope that he can bolster the Red Sox bullpen. Here’s a breakdown of both:
▪ Diekman leans heavily on his four-seam fastball/slider combination. The average velocity on his fastball was 95.3 miles per hour last year, but with his wiry 6-foot-4-inch frame and three-quarter arm slot, it can smother the hitter or be a difficult pitch to time.
If Diekman’s wipeout slider is working — a pitch that held hitters to just a .121 batting average last season — he can be a dominant reliever.
Take the 2020 season, for instance. Diekman was one of the best relievers in baseball, carrying a 0.42 ERA in 21⅓ innings. He flashed 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest mark of his career.
“He has big stuff,” an American League executive said. “He misses bats and will take the [ball]. But his command fluctuates.”
Inconsistency is common for relievers. And over a 162-game season, command fluctuation has more wiggle room to reach the surface. The 2020 season was shortened because of COVID-19, and while DIkeman’s numbers were impressive — especially if you consider all the peculiar circumstances — the sample size wasn’t big enough to make a fair assessment.
The 2021 season, however, was.
Oakland’s plan heading into that season was to use a closer by committee. On some days, Lou Trivino would get the role. On other occasions, it would be Diekman. But Trivino took over as Diekman blew as many games (7) as he would save.
Diekman was placed in the setup role, but the A’s decided to trade for Andrew Chafin, another lefty, because Diekman became unreliable. In the end, Diekman was behind Trivino, Chafin, and Yusmeiro Petit.
Following a splendid August in which he put together a 1.64 ERA, Diekman sputtered in September. He yielded an 8.18 ERA that month, allowing a whopping 10 earned runs in 11 innings.
Nevertheless, at the season’s completion, Diekman held a respectable 3.86 ERA, striking out 12.3 batters per nine innings (83 in 60⅔ innings). That is likely in line with who Diekman is. He has a career ERA of 3.73 and averages 11.5 strikeouts over nine.
Diekman isn’t quite a top-tier reliever, but he certainly can be a very good one and give the Red Sox flexibility. He has had success against both lefties and righties; righties batted .200 against him last year while lefties hit .229. Manager Alex Cora should feel comfortable employing him in different scenarios, not just lefty-on-lefty matchups.
▪ Strahm dealt with a right knee injury much of the last two seasons. In September 2020, he was placed on the injured list with inflammation. In April 2021, the knee required patellar repair. He was activated in August, but by September the Padres decided to shut him down. He finished with just 6⅔ innings of work for the season.
Strahm doesn’t overwhelm hitters with velocity; he is more of a finesse pitcher. His four-seamer averages around 93 m.p.h. Like Diekman, he plays the fastball off the slider.
His numbers show him as somewhat of a reverse split-type pitcher. Righties have a career .229 batting average and .699 OPS against Strahm, while lefties are at .253 with a .732 OPS.
Strahm’s best season came in 2018 when he put together a 2.05 ERA and 0.978 WHIP in 61⅓ innings.
The additions of Diekman and Strahm were the Sox’ first attempt this offseason at trying to bolster their bullpen, one that stood in the middle of the pack last year but faltered in the playoffs, registering a 5.23 ERA. It’s a long time until October rolls back around, but the moves certainly detail what is at the top of the team’s to-do list.
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