Nick John

Sean Newcomb will be tasked with holding down the fort in the back of the Red Sox's rotation while the team waits out numerous pitching injuries. Can the southpaw make his case to stick on the roster long-term? The Boston Red Sox have managed to acquire a large amount of pitching depth for their rotation this year, and early on in the season, they’re putting it to good use. With three potential starters opening the season on the injured list, the Red Sox have had to tap into that depth. However, one player no one thought was a serious option to make the team when spring training began was Sean Newcomb. Newcomb signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training in the middle of January, the left-hander being thought of as some Triple-A depth after spending most of the past two years in the minor leagues. Newcomb had been a reliable starter for the Atlanta Braves between 2017-18 before moving to the bullpen in 2019, where he was decent. Newcomb then returned to the rotation, struggling in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. 2021 saw him moved back to the bullpen where he remained for most of the next few years. He didn’t last long in any of his stops, playing briefly with the Cubs before signing a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants for the 2023 season. Before the season ended, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics, appearing in seven games for them. He would make seven more appearances for the A's in 2024 before getting released in July. The Red Sox figured there was something still there, willing to take a chance on the left-hander with a minor league deal. Newcomb managed to make that decision look like a smart one. Appearing in five games in spring training, four of them starts, Newcomb was phenomenal. Throwing 14 1/3 innings, he finished the spring with a 0.63 ERA while striking out 13 batters. His WHIP may have been even more impressive, sitting at 0.837. Newcomb is known for his breaking balls having a ton of movement thanks to his ability to generate spin, but has had scattershot command in the past. In his final start of the spring, Newcomb threw four and two-thirds innings against the Minnesota Twins. He stifled the Twins’ lineup, surrendering just four hits and one unearned run. But what might have been the most important stat was the fact he surrendered zero walks. Across the entire spring, he only walked three batters. In that particular start, Newcomb threw 47 pitches, relying mainly on his slider and changeup, which he threw a combined 28 times. The shift in focus for his pitch mix is interesting; throwing his slider for 34% of his pitches and his changeup for 25.5% goes against his past usage of it. The 2023 and 2024 seasons will be ignored due to his lack of usage, but in 20 games in 2022, he threw his slider for only one percent of his pitches, the same as his changeup. In fact, between his four-seamer and cutter, his two fastballs made up 81% of his pitches for the season. Even in his incredibly short 2024 season, Newcomb did not throw a single slider and only used his changeup four percent of the time, while his fastball was thrown 47% of the time. On March 20th, he only threw his four-seamer on 12.8% of his pitches. A change in pitch philosophy may prove to be key for Newcomb, as a reliance on his four-seamer could be ineffective for him. In his spring outing, his fastball averaged only 89.6 mph, not a big difference from his slider or changeup as they averaged 85.5 mph and 88.1 mph, respectively. Though, his fastball may play closer to his old cutter instead based on its movement and speed during that March 20th start. Regardless, he cannot try to pitch like he has a dominating fastball — there is no way he could survive if he tried to rely on it. Even at his best, Newcomb's fastball only averaged around 93 mph. With a bigger reliance on movement, Newcomb may be able to make hay as a pitch-to-contact type, as he does not get many whiffs. Despite striking out three batters, he only generated two whiffs in the game, and his Contact% throughout the spring was 82.4%, meaning batters managed to make contact on nearly 83% of his pitches that were swung at. His percentage for strikes that were swung at and missed was only 8.7%. With the inherent movement of his pitches, the Red Sox may look for him to rely heavily on limiting hard contact. While high velocity is important in today’s game, Newcomb could be one of a rare breed to make it work with limited gas (i.e, the Kyle Hendricks model). Newcomb does not generate many swings with his pitches and does not throw many first pitch strikes. It’s a dangerous combination for a starter, especially one with control issues in the past. Newcomb’s amount of contact allowed can be mitigated by embracing his tendency as a ground-ball pitcher. For his career, he’s allowed ground balls at a 43.1% rate. However, in spring training, he saw that increase to 55.6%, while his fly ball rate sat at just 30.6%, a decrease from his career average of 35.5%. With an infield defense like the Red Sox have, Newcomb could get away with hard contact if it remains on the ground. It’ll be his ability to limit extra-base hits that will determine his season. The left-hander could possibly only be in Boston for a start or two, but if he manages to pitch well enough in those outings, it could lead to a difficult decision to keep him in the rotation, move him to the bullpen, or to designate him for assignment and hope they can sneak him down to Worcester. The best case scenario is that Newcomb creates that conversation, the worst case being that he struggles in his couple of starts and is designated for assignment. It's obvious that Newcomb won’t make or break the season, but the fact he looked this good in spring training without being a high strikeout pitcher makes you wonder if the Red Sox pitching lab may have unlocked something for him, or if he just got extremely lucky through the entire spring. Either way, as someone born and raised in Massachusetts, you can’t help but root for Newcomb to perform well in Boston. View full article

Following a shorter-than-expected appearance in the 2024 playoffs, do the Orioles have enough firepower on the mound to get over the hump in a loaded AL East? The Baltimore Orioles may be early-season favorites to win the AL East by some projections, but are they really? When you look at their offseason, they really failed to upgrade and improve where it was necessary. The offense will be fine, but can it carry a questionable pitching staff through the entire season? What’s Changed Since Last Year? The biggest change is obviously the loss of ace Corbin Burnes. Acquired from Milwaukee last year, Burnes started 32 games for the Orioles, won 15 games, pitched 194 1/3 innings, made the All-Star team and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. In response, the Orioles didn’t attempt to re-sign him, allowing the right-hander to leave for Arizona. They did, however, bring in two additions to the starting rotation, hoping to replace Burnes with 41-year-old Charlie Morton and rookie Tomoyuki Sugano. For the bullpen, the team will see the return of prized closer Félix Bautista after missing all of 2024. Offensively, the team made moves to help bolster the lineup and bench. Among them were the signings of Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and Ramón Laureano. O’Neill will slot into right field immediately replacing Anthony Santander, who left to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. With the moved in left field wall at Camden Yards, he’ll be able to provide a lot of power for the Orioles. Sánchez and Laureano look to help with the bench, both being suitable backups for the Orioles team as it’s currently constructed. What Remains The Same? A lot of the lineup remains the same, besides the subtraction of Santander. The outfield sees the return of Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins, while the infield will see Ryan Mountcastle at first base, Jordan Westburg at second base, Jackson Holliday at shortstop and Ramón Urías at third base until Gunnar Henderson is healthy enough to return. Then, the Orioles will have questions as to which infielder will sit. Behind the plate is none other than Adley Rutschman, and projected to be the designated hitter would be Ryan O’Hearn. A good portion of the rotation remained the same as Cade Povich and Dean Kremer return alongside Zach Eflin to try and help keep the rotation steady. The three pitchers are joined by Morton and Sugano to form an average rotation that is worse than last year, at least on paper. Pitchers Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers and Grayson Rodriguez all returned as well but are currently injured. The bullpen also has some familiarity, as those projected to make the team out of spring training have all been in the organization before this season. Seranthony Domínguez, Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano all return to help provide support to Bautista in the back end of the bullpen. Returning alongside them are left-handed pitchers Gregory Soto and Cionel Pérez. Where Do The Orioles Stand in the 2025 AL East Hierarchy? The Orioles feel like they’re one great starter away from being a favorite in the AL East. Prediction models have them near the top of the division, but their rotation scares me a bit when it comes to saying they’ll win it this year. The team is relying on a 41-year-old to last an entire season, and while Morton has shown he’s a good pitcher in previous campaigns, age will eventually catch up to him. Add to it the question marks surrounding Sugano’s transition from Japan, and it could make for a stressful start of the season while they wait for Rodriguez to return healthy. PECOTA projects the Orioles to currently win the division, hovering around 87 wins on the season. Their percentage to win the division is 33.4%, and their chances of making the playoffs altogether currently sits at 66.2%. FanGraphs projects a balanced lineup for the Orioles, as all of their starters have projected WARs over 1.0, with three starters having WARs higher than 3.0. That undersells the star power in Baltimore, but they have a balanced lineup where everyone should provide at either a league-average or slightly above production. Of course, that could change upon Henderson’s return from injury as well. Pitching wise, it doesn’t seem as confident as Eflin leads the rotation with a projected 2.7 WAR. Kremer and Morton follow behind him with 1.3 and 1.2 WARs respectively while Sugano and Povich both have projected WARs under 1.0. The bullpen is interesting. Bautista in his first season back is projected to have a 1.6 WAR, which is the highest of all their relievers. But after that, the trio of Domínguez, Akin and Cano have projected WARs of 0.6, 0.9 and 0.6 respectively. The three combined would help the pitching staff a lot, but eventually, they’ll get burnt out if used too often. The Orioles are an interesting team. They could be dangerous in the AL East, but I feel they still need a pitcher or two to really do some damage. As they’re currently constructed, I wouldn’t be surprised if they stay in contention for most of the season, but right now, I have to disagree with projections that have them as favorites. I just don’t think their pitching can keep up all season. If the Orioles manage to make a trade to bring in a top-of-the-rotation arm, their outlook could appear a whole lot rosier. View full article

It's mentioned in the article that both Bello and Giolito have pitched in minor league spring training games and Bello is throwing another tomorrow. Then after that they're both pitching for the Woosox. Plan for Bello is to hope his shoulder responds well after the two starts with the Woosox to rejoin Boston after that. Giolito will have one start with the Woosox and see how his hamstring is before deciding if he needs one more or will come to Boston.

I think it's likely Bello and Giolito are back by mid to late April so long as they don't suffer setbacks. Crawford wanting to be back before the end of April I feel might be wishful thinking

The Red Sox are down three starters, but their ample rotation depth means that they might not miss a beat. With the regular season only a few days away, the Boston Red Sox roster decisions are coming down to the last few spots in the bullpen. However, the spring didn’t go as planned, as the starting rotation is dealing with a few injuries. The good news is that the team has the depth to handle those losses. Since Craig Breslow took over, starting pitching depth a priority. Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester were brought in through trades, while the likes of Cooper Criswell, Patrick Sandoval, and Sean Newcomb signed contracts over the two offseasons. Those additions will come in handy, as three potential members of the starting rotation won’t be ready for the start of the season and will instead begin on the injured list. However, they may not be out for long. Kutter Crawford was the first pitcher to go down. He has been dealing with a knee issue since he was drafted. In an interview with MassLive’s Sean McAdam, Crawford admits that this issue has been with him since 2017, but only during last season did it get bad enough to really bother him. Crawford did not get into a single game during spring training due to the issue, but he did throw off of flat ground and in the bullpen a few times. There is nothing set in stone yet in terms of a rehab appearance, but the hope is that he’ll be able to pitch in Boston before the end of April. Brayan Bello has also been sidelined for a bit, but unlike Crawford looks to be closer to returning. Bello spent most of spring training ramping up after experiencing shoulder soreness at the start of camp. He progressed to throwing live batting practice, and his last appearance was in a minor league game on Saturday. In that game, he went 1 2/3 innings and he will throw again this upcoming Thursday in a minor league spring game in Fort Myers. The plan could change depending on how his shoulder recovers from Thursday’s outing, but Alex Cora said Bello will likely start twice during Worcester’s road trip to Jacksonville. If he’s finally built up after that, the belief is Bello will be back with Boston for the second road trip of the season in mid-April. Lucas Giolito was the latest of the group to go down, straining his hamstring in his first spring training appearance. He lasted two innings in that game but felt the injury during his first batter. Giolito feels the injury isn’t too big of a deal, having dealt with worse. He continued to throw on the backfields and eventually pitched two scoreless innings in a minor league game on March 23rd. While nothing has been officially announced, Giolito himself said that the plan is to have him start his rehab assignment with Worcester when they make their road trip to Jacksonville at the start of April. If all goes well, he should be back with Boston at some point in April. All three pitchers are expected to be key contributors to the Red Sox this season, so it’s good news that they won’t be out for long periods of time. However, thanks to their pitching depth the Red Sox are fortunate to not have to rush any of them back and can instead allow them the proper time to get ready for the season. The rotation is shaping up to include Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts, and after an incredible spring training, Sean Newcomb. That could change quickly depending on the length of the rehab appearances for Bello, Crawford, and Giolito. While it hasn't been stated or even hinted at, it may be safe to assume that once healthy, Bello and Giolito will slot back into the rotation for Fitts and Newcomb. Of course, should the youngsters pitch well, it'll make for an interesting discussion between Cora and Breslow as they try to figure out the best rotation. There's a good chance that Fitts will be sent back to Worcester and Newcomb will either slot into the bullpen and serve as a multi-inning reliever if he pitches well, or be designated for assignment should he struggle. Once everyone is healthy, some tough conversations will be required to decide who stays in the rotation and who is sent to the bullpen, or even Worcester. View full article

Fresh off a World Series appearance, the Yankees enter 2025 as one of the American League powerhouses, but injuries and personnel losses may finally be catching up to them. 2024 was a big year for the New York Yankees as they made it back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. It might be a tough task for the team to make it back there as more than a third of their starting lineup was not brought back. Add to it a rotation that has been dealt several injuries already and it’s looking like an uphill battle to repeat as the champs of the American League. But if there’s any franchise you can’t count out, it’s unfortunately the Yankees. What’s Changed Since Last Year? Let’s start with the elephant in the room. After trading for Juan Soto entering the 2024 season, the Yankees were unable to hammer out an extension with the star slugger before free agency. After a long free agency period that saw several teams attempt to sway Soto into signing with them, the left-handed slugger remained in New York. But he chose the Mets over the Yankees. After missing out on the generational hitter, the Yankees pivoted their free agency pursuit and immediately made moves to improve their pitching, the biggest being a seven-year deal with Max Fried, winning a bidding war with the Boston Red Sox. Fried was projected to slot in as the number two pitcher in the rotation when signed (more on that later). The Yankees weren’t finished either, trading for All-Star closer Devin Williams of Milwaukee to take over the ninth inning. They also signed Carlos Carrasco to a minor league deal, and he broke camp with the team. Offensively, the Yankees swapped out Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo for Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger, respectively. Rizzo and Verdugo were allowed to walk in free agency after mixed seasons in 2024. While Rizzo remains unsigned, Verdugo signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves near the end of spring training. Goldschmidt signed as a free agent after six years in St. Louis. The first baseman will look to add power to the lineup while providing a veteran presence in the clubhouse. Bellinger came over in a trade with the Chicago Cubs during the winter. Bellinger will be expected to handle center field, allowing Aaron Judge to return to his natural position of right field. What Remains the Same? Most of the lineup returns as it will be lead by MVP candidate Aaron Judge. The highly touted Jasson Dominguez also looks to finally play an entire season for the Yankees after getting two short runs the last two seasons. Joining the two outfielders in the lineup includes fellow first-round picks Austin Wells behind the plate and Anthony Volpe at shortstop. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is also back for another season with the Yankees, but this time he’s been projected to play second base instead of third base. Third base will instead be handled by Oswaldo Cabrera after DJ LeMahieu injured himself near the start of spring training games. Ben Rice should also see plenty of at-bats as the team waits for Giancarlo Stanton to be healthy enough to play again. On the pitching side, the Yankees retained most of their rotation... is what I would like to say if they weren’t injured. Gerrit Cole is gone for the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and Luis Gil is out with a strained lat, while Clarke Schmidt is dealing with shoulder fatigue. Because of this, the only starters from last year who are ready for the season are Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman. Will Warren, who made six appearances last year for the Yankees, looks like an option to begin the season in the rotation as well. The bullpen sees some familiar faces return in the way of Luke Weaver, Mark Leiter Jr. and Tim Hill. Yerry De Los Santos, who pitched in Scranton last season, looks to join the bullpen and provide assistance. Where Do The Yankees Stand in the 2025 AL East Hierarchy? As someone who hates the Yankees, I would like to say this team is a steep drop off from last year’s team and the Yankees will struggle all season. But, since I hate them, I also know it won’t happen, as we’ve all seen the Yankees eventually go on a run and put themselves into the conversation for the playoffs regardless of their roster. Despite that, I feel that as currently constructed, the Yankees will have a hard time winning the division and would need to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. PECOTA currently has the Yankees projected to finish third in the division, nabbing around 85 wins on the season. They have a 23% chance of winning the division and a meager (for them) 51.1% chance of making the playoffs. FanGraphs projects the Yankees to have a decent enough lineup with all but Ben Rice having a WAR above 1.0. The team is led by Aaron Judge having a projected 7.4 WAR for the season, followed by Anthony Volpe and his 4.0 WAR. Wells, Bellinger and Chisholm are all projected to have at least a 3.0 WAR as well. On the pitching side, Max Fried leads the way with a 3.4 WAR, while Carlos Rodón is second with a 2.6 WAR. After that, the rotation is rather average as Stroman is projected to have a 1.5 WAR and Warren a 1.2 WAR. For the bullpen, besides Devin Williams and his 1.4 WAR, there isn’t anyone who FanGraphs feels will stand out WAR wise as the next highest is Fernando Cruz and his 0.8 WAR. The Yankees might be dealing with injuries to quite a few players to open the season, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from watching New York play against other teams, it’s that they always find a way to improve and win. I wouldn’t be surprised if this team begins to shuffle its roster after less than a month if they get off to a slow start. It seems like they could struggle, but never count the Yankees out. View full article

As Opening Day looms, the Red Sox have cut two veteran relievers on minor-league deals. With the regular season less than a week away, the Red Sox are making decisions about the last few roster spots. On Saturday the Red Sox made it a little bit easier to envision what their bullpen will look like, as MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported that both Adam Ottavino and Matt Moore were told they would not be making the team. Ottavino triggered his opt-out clause in order to look for a roster spot elsewhere, and the Red Sox have released him. Both Ottavino and Moore were brought in on minor league deals and given non-roster invites to the major league camp. Moore also has opt-out in his deals that would need to be exercised by this weekend. Otherwise, he’ll begin the season in Worcester. Ottavino is no stranger to the Red Sox, having been traded to the team before the 2021 season. During that season he was a veteran presence in the bullpen and a valuable mentor. Ottavino would spend the next three seasons as an important piece of the New York Mets bullpen. This offseason, he didn’t receive many offers and instead chose to sign a minor league deal with the Red Sox on February 18, after pitchers and catchers had already reported. Ottavino appeared in five games this spring, pitching five innings, surrendering six earned runs, striking out eight, and allowing five walks. Of his five outings, four were scoreless appearances with multiple strikeouts. His one bad appearance was on March 11 against the Phillies; he lasted only a third of an inning and gave up six runs and three walks. Moore was another late signing, agreeing to a deal on February 23. The Red Sox were looking for left-handed depth following the news that Zach Penrod would miss time due to elbow soreness. Moore spent 2024 with the Angels, and he struggled to a 5.03 ERA in 48 1/3 innings pitched. However, his previous two seasons were much better and there was hope his performance could bounce back to its previous level. Moore, entering his age-36 season, pitched in only a few spring training games for the Red Sox and did not allow a run. In three appearances, he threw three innings and struck out two. Alex Cora has said that five relievers are locks for the roster: Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Liam Hendriks. That leaves three spots in the bullpen for five candidates: Brennan Bernardino, Cooper Criswell, Zack Kelly, Bryan Mata, and Greg Weissert. Following the roster cuts, the Red Sox have 45 players in the major league camp. Of those 45, Michael Fulmer and Seby Zavala have been told they will not open the season with Boston. Another six will open the season on the injured list. That brings the total down to 37 players fighting for 26 spots. The last few days of spring training will be filled with battles for the last few spots. View full article

The Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the AL East in a wildly disappointing 2024 campaign. Can they rebound this year in baseball's most competitive division? The Toronto Blue Jays are at an important point in time when it comes to their current core of players. With the likes of Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all hitting free agency at the end of the season, this could be the last season for the current core. The team failed to make the playoffs last year and the two seasons that they did make it with this core they lost in the Wild Card round. However, with a division that seems to be up for the grabs there might be a chance that the Blue Jays can make a run and capture at least a Wild Card spot. What’s Changed Since Last Year? The biggest moves by the Blue Jays were the acquisitions of Andrés Giménez, Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman and Max Scherzer. The Blue Jays knew they needed to supplement the main core of José Berríos, Bichette and Guerrero Jr. and brought in several players to assist. Giménez and Santander look to slot right into the starting lineup as the second baseman and left fielder (or DH) respectively. Giménez was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in December for Spencer Horwitz and prospect Nick Mitchell. Santander, on the other hand, was arguably Toronto’s biggest free agent acquisition in years, signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract that also includes a 2030 team option. The bench hasn’t changed much as Tyler Heineman, Davis Schneider and Addison Barger return to the team. The only new acquisition is outfielder Myles Straw who was acquired in a trade with Cleveland back in January. Max Scherzer is looking to prove he still has something left in the tank at 40 years old as he will be a part of the Blue Jays rotation, joining the likes of Berríos, Bassitt and Kevin Gausman. The bullpen has also changed slightly as the Blue Jays brought in the likes of Hoffman, Nick Sandlin and non-roster invite Richard Lovelady to try and improve on last year’s relief group. Instead of going after depth, the Blue Jays went after players they felt could help push this core over the edge and get them back to the playoffs, especially when it comes to Hoffman and Santander, who were both All-Stars in 2024. What Remains The Same? Honestly, most of the lineup. Horwitz was swapped for Giménez and with Davis Schneider projected to be on the bench this season after signing Santander, most of the batting order remains the same. Daulton Varsho is projected to start the year on the Injured List due to shoulder surgery, and for the time being, center field should be manned by Nathan Lukes. The lineup will again be led by face of the franchise Guerrero Jr. along with Bo Bichette, who looks to bounce back after an injury-plagued season. George Springer will continue to man right field while the recently-extended Alejandro Kirk will be the catcher. Ernie Clement looks poised to return as the starting third baseman as well. The rotation remains mostly intact from how it looked at the end of last season, as four out of five starters have returned and the fifth spot is projected to belong to Scherzer. iIf the Blue Jays’ top three pitchers can throw to their potential, they might have one of the better rotations in the AL East, especially with Berríos and Gausman leading the way for them. The bullpen has been shaken up this offseason as Génesis Cabrera left for the New York Mets. The Blue Jays still have the likes of Chad Green and Yimi García returning to help Hoffman in the back-end of the bullpen. Also returning is Brendon Little as a left-handed option, while it seems likely that Yariel Rodríguez could slide into a long-relief role this season. Where Do The Blue Jays Stand in the 2025 AL East Hierarchy? I won’t lie, I’m a Red Sox fan, and while my personal bias wants me to say the Red Sox will win the division (I said that in my Red Sox preview), I think the Blue Jays could have a good shot should all their players play up to their potential. Yes, regression is likely for players like Bassitt and Springer, but should they play just average baseball, the team should be in good shape, especially with Santander to help carry the offense alongside a healthy Bichette and Guerrero Jr. Do I think the Blue Jays will win the division? Not at this moment. Do I think they could get hot and make a run for it? Absolutely. PECOTA projects the Blue Jays to finish third in the division with roughly 85 wins on the season. Currently, they have a 21.7% chance to win the division and a 51.4% to make the playoffs all together. FanGraphs on the other hand has Bichette, Guerrero Jr., Santander, Giménez and Kirk as having a WAR of at least 3.0 with Santander having the lowest WAR at 3.1. Guerrero Jr. leads the projected offense and the team as a whole with 4.8 WAR, while Gausman leads all pitchers with 3.1 WAR. The Blue Jays lineup as a whole only has a single player with a WAR below 1.0, with that belonging to Lukes who will most likely be shifted to the bench when Varsho returns. The rotation is likewise deep as the lowest projected WAR belongs to Bowden Francis. With the American League East up for grabs this season, this could be the Blue Jays’ chance to make a run for it, especially knowing there’s a good possibility their core could be broken up this offseason. Should they find themselves in contention come July, there’s no reason they shouldn’t pull the trigger on a trade to help push this team into the playoffs. Of course, that all depends on if the team can play to its potential. View full article

The Tampa Bay Rays finished one game shy of .500 (and the Boston Red Sox) in 2024, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Are they due for a bounce back in 2025? The Tampa Bay Rays had a tough offseason, though it was more due to Hurricane Milton destroying Tropicana Field. As the Trop is under construction to be playable in 2026, the Rays will instead play at the New York Yankees’ spring training park (George M. Steinbrenner Field) un 2025. The Rays look to put this event behind them and make a push back into the playoffs after missing it in 2024. What’s Changed Since Last Year? For the Rays, not much has really changed. Besides being forced to play at a spring training ballpark in 2025, most of their roster has remained the same from last season. Their big moves involved the free agent signings of Danny Jansen to be their starting catcher and Ha-Seong Kim to play shortstop, though the latter won’t be back until May or June as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. On the pitching side, the Rays did what they’re well known for: getting players who aren’t big names. They acquired Mason Englert from the Detroit Tigers for minor league player Drew Sommers back in February. Englert pitched in 12 games for Detroit last season, throwing 21 2/3 innings. The other moves the Rays made for their pitching staff was purchasing former New York Mets’ top prospect Mike Vasil from the Philadelphia Phillies who drafted him in the Rule 5 draft and making another trade with the Tigers for Alex Faedo. They also selected Nate Lavender from the Mets during the Rule 5 draft. Departing from the team is Jeffrey Springs, who was traded to the Athletics for a package of Joe Boyle and minor leaguers Will Simpson and Jacob Watters. The bullpen did see some losses this offseason as Colin Poche and Jason Adam left the team to sign with the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres respectively. Phil Maton also signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Probably the biggest difference in the team will be the fact that Shane McClanahan will be returning from his second Tommy John surgery, which he had in August 2023. McClanahan is an ace and will help shape the top of the Rays’ rotation now that he is healthy again. What Remains The Same? You could joke about it, but almost everything. The rotation returns most of its pieces as Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen will comprise the heart of the group. With the return of McClanahan, there’s a good chance the Rays begin the season with a six-man rotation to help with his load management. The offense itself isn’t changed much either, as the team will still be carried by veterans Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe on the right side of the infield while Junior Caminero looks to play well in his first full season in the major leagues. The outfield will see the return of Josh Lowe, who can flash both speed and power, while Danny Jansen will join everyone as the new starting catcher. The bottom half of the lineup will be filled with young guys as Jonathan Aranda hopes to crack the starting lineup and Christopher Morel (who was acquired at the deadline for Isaac Paredes) will shift to left field. Jonny DeLuca will man center field while Taylor Walls returns to handle the duties at shortstop. Even the bench hasn’t changed much as Curtis Mead, Richie Palacios and José Caballero will reprise their roles from last season. Joining them is Ben Rortved, who is likely to lose his starting position at catcher to Jansen. The bullpen sees the return of several pieces as Pete Fairbanks, Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger, Kevin Kelly and Manuel Rodríguez are all back for another go-round. And while relievers can be volatile and have up and down seasons, each of them are coming off of respectable campaigns out of the bullpen in Tampa Bay. The Rays know how to use relievers and how to get the most out of them. That trait will continue into 2025 as they look to use a variety of relievers to help them win important ball games. Where Do The Rays Stand in the 2025 AL East Hierarchy? As a Red Sox fan, I would like to say that the Rays don’t have much of a chance. But if there’s anything I know about the Rays, it’s that you can never count them out. Especially when you think you can. Last season was a bit different as the Rays dealt with injuries to their rotation from the start of the season, with only three starters making more than 20 starts and none of them handling more than 29. That’ll likely change this year, and the Rays will be more dangerous than they appeared in 2024. PECOTA projects them to barely finish above .500 with roughly 82 wins and a fourth-place finish in the division. Overall, they have just under a 10% chance of winning the division and have a 34.5% chance of making the playoffs. Personally, I feel those numbers are a bit low for the Rays. FanGraphs projects well for the Rays, as their lineup appears to be rather deep (at least in terms of WAR). Out of the projected starters, only Taylor Walls is projected to have less than a 1.5 WAR. The lineup sees three starters being projected with a WAR over 3.0 as Díaz, Lowe and Caminero lead the way (Caminero is projected to lead the offense with 3.4 WAR). Even the Rays’ bench seems to be well off, as both Rortvedt and Caballero are projected to eclipse 1.0 WAR in part-time duty. From the pitching side of things, none of the Rays starters are projected to have a WAR less than 1.2, and McClanahan is projected to lead the rotation with a 3.0 WAR. The Rays may not have many stars on their team, but they make up for it with their depth of quality major league players. This team is built for the long grind of a 162-game season that includes injuries and slumps. However, come the playoffs, that might not be enough to overcome other teams who have brought in stars to help lead the way. View full article

I know. You had said we could add him to the 40 and then send him to Triple-A. I was saying you can't do that because he has no options remaining.

Wilyer Abreu had an excellent rookie campaign and the team has plenty of outfield depth. But will Abreu remain a platoon player, and if he does, can Rob Refsnyder continue the lefty-mashing brilliance he showed in 2024? In 2024, right field was a pleasant surprise for the Red Sox, as Wilyer Abreu proved himself to be a more than capable starting outfielder. Entering the season, it was assumed that Abreu would take over the starting right field position following the trade of Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees. Not necessarily assumed was that Abreu would prove to be more valuable than Verdugo, finishing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and winning a Gold Glove. His steady play helped solidify the outfield, manning one of the hardest right fields in baseball with relative ease. Abreu is penciled in as the starting right fielder for 2025, and the team looks for him to provide outstanding defense once again while taking a step forward with his bat. Red Sox Right Fielders at a Glance Starter: Wilyer Abreu Backup: Rob Refsnyder Depth: Blake Sabol, Nate Eaton (NRI), Trayce Thompson (NRI) Prospects: Roman Anthony, Jhostynxon Garcia, Miguel Bleis Red Sox RF 2024 fWAR ranking: Six out of 30 The Good Right away, it’s Wilyer Abreu. Since coming over from the Astros at the deadline in 2022, Abreu has been impressive. He climbed through the minor leagues and made his debut in 2023. Following a good showing in September, the Red Sox felt confident entering 2024 with him as the starting right fielder and he did not disappoint. In his rookie season, Abreu put up 3.1 fWAR while slashing .253/.322/.459 with 15 home runs in 132 games. Abreu has shown he can be a bright part of the future, especially if he continues to improve as he has every year since joining the organization. Joining him is Mr. Reliable, Rob Refsnyder, who has fulfilled his role with the team every season since joining Boston. Brought in because of his ability to hit left-handed pitching and play all three outfield positions, Refsnyder has slashed .278/.367/.427 with 18 home runs in 239 games in Boston. The ability to hit lefties is crucial, given Abreu's shortcomings (and Boston's lack of trust) in that area, but Refsnyder is also a leader in the clubhouse, providing a veteran voice for an otherwise young roster. The Red Sox also have an abundance of depth, both on and off the 40-man roster. Blake Sabol was brought in over the offseason, and although he's a catcher, he has experience in the outfield and could play there if needed. Nate Eaton and Trayce Thompson are both interesting depth options who have been playing well in spring training. Both are on minor league deals and will be in Worcester to open the season. Should an injury occur, they would be able to fill in. The future is even more exciting. Between Roman Anthony, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Miguel Bleis there is a lot of talent waiting to make its way up to Boston. Of course, Anthony is the crown jewel as the consensus top prospect in baseball after playing in Portland and Worcester. Across 119 games he managed to slash .291/.396/.498 with 18 home runs. At 20 years old, Anthony is showing in his first major league spring training that he is ready for Boston, running a 134 wRC+ during his first 10 games. Miguel Bleis also has interesting potential. Bleis could be one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in the system. When he’s healthy and playing well, Bleis looks like he could be one of the top prospects in the system, thanks to plus speed, plus range, and plus raw power while also boasting an above-average arm. The Bad Abreu has yet to prove that he can hit left-handed pitching well enough to be a full-time starter. Last season, a strict platoon limited him to 61 at bats against lefties. It may have been for the best, as he batted just .180, but he'll never learn if he doesn't get the chance. Even early in spring training, the team has planned to keep him limited against left-handed pitchers, at least to begin the season. Health is the next issue. Last season, Abreu missed nearly all of June due to an ankle sprain, while Refsnyder had two stints on the injured list last season. While the team has depth to deal with injuries, whether they can handle a long-term absence is unknown. Thompson and Eaton don’t exactly have a strong track records, as the former has only managed a career .212 batting average and has struck out in nearly a third of his career at bats. Eaton has only amassed 159 at bats with .201 batting average. They're enough to last a couple weeks, but anything longer may lead the Sox to look to promote Roman Anthony to the majors instead. Miguel Bleis has also missed time in 2021, 2022, the majority of 2023, and some time in 2024. On top of that, he struggled during his first time in High-A Greenville, striking out out 54 times in 52 games. The Bottom Line As with left field, so long as the Red Sox stay healthy, they’ll be fine. After missing time due to a mysterious gastrointestinal virus, it seems like Abreu will get into game action soon, improving his chances of being ready. The outfield is in good shape right now, as right field is being patrolled by one of the best defensive outfielders for the upcoming season all while having what could be a generational player waiting at Triple A. View full article

You can't. Thompson has no options remaining, you would have to DFA him to send him down. Nate Eaton on the other hand has options so they could send him back and forth freely if they needed to.

The Sox wouldn't add them to fill a small stint. They already said that wherever they play they want the Big 3 to be playing regularly. And why waste an option on them to have them up for 2 weeks when Romy or Sogard can handle things for a week or two.

Yeah, but when was the last time he played the outfield? If he gets hurt do you really want to rely on Blake Sabol or Seby Zavala? Unlike the Dodgers we don't have the same level of catching depth they had when they put Wong in the outfield

I could trust Romy handling LF for a small stint but I'd rather keep Wong out of LF. I still get flashbacks to Blake Swihart trying to play LF and getting hurt because of it. And with how our catching depth is currently, I'd prefer not to take a risk with Wong or any of the catchers.

The Red Sox upgraded their roster throughout the offseason, but one position they did not need to touch was left field. With Jarren Duran back in the outfield and sliding over to left field from center field, the Red Sox might have one of the best defensive outfields this season. Left field was one of the most consistent for the Red Sox last season, as they only used three players: Duran, Rob Refsnyder, and Tyler O’Neill. Of the three, only O’Neill is gone, as Duran is now the starting left fielder again. The explosive player looks to build off a career year and prove that his All-Star season was no fluke. Alongside him is once again Refsnyder and potentially Masataka Yoshida, as the Sox hope to have him play the field more than he did in 2024. Red Sox Left Fielders At A Glance Starter: Jarren Duran Backup: Rob Refsnyder Depth: Masataka Yoshida, Trayce Thompson (NRI) Prospects: Roman Anthony (NRI), Will Turner, Corey Rosier Red Sox fWAR Ranking Last Year: 1st out of 30 The Good Jarren Duran is coming off of a career year, which is something to look forward to. The left fielder made his first All-Star game and finished eighth in MVP voting this past season. Slashing .285/.342/.492, Duran led the Red Sox offense throughout the season. He also hit 21 home runs, leading the league in doubles and triples with 48 and 14, respectively. It might sound crazy, but Duran has a chance to build off his incredible season as he works to hit left-handed pitchers better. Last season, Duran began the year as the left fielder, but injuries forced him to move to center field after Ceddanne Rafaela was moved to shortstop. Now, the plan is for him to return to left field, where his weaker arm won’t be taken advantage of as often. Bringing back Refsnyder after he considered retirement is another positive. Refsnyder is a lefty killer, consistently hitting well against left-handed pitchers and providing a veteran voice in the clubhouse. Even with the loss of O’Neill to the Baltimore Orioles, Duran and Refsnyder are as good a duo to handle left field as any team in the major league can boast. The ability to make contact, hit for power, great speed, and good defense makes the Red Sox very comfortable with left field entering the season. The Bad There isn’t much depth. After Duran and Refsnyder, the only other player with major league experience playing left field consistently is Yoshida. Last season, he became the team’s designated hitter and hasn’t played in the outfield since 2023. It’s also likely that the team will want to avoid using him in left field to begin the season as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. After Yoshida, there’s Trayce Thompson, who’s lighting up the Grapefruit League. However, he’s not on the 40-man roster, and it's unlikely they will add him to it. Roman Anthony is more of a right fielder but has played some left field in the minors. However, the Red Sox would most likely prefer that he sticks to his main position if he’s up in the major leagues. Finally, Duran had some issues against left-handed pitchers. In 43 games, he hit .235/.289/.358 and struck out 57 times in 187 at-bats. The Bottom Line So long as the Red Sox stay healthy, they’ll be fine in left field. Duran will provide a consistent presence in left field, backed up by arguably one of the most consistent players since arriving in Boston in Refsnyder. Most teams would love to have this combination on their roster, especially as Duran broke out last season. Should the injury bug strike both of them, the Red Sox may be forced to call up top prospect Anthony and have him adjust to playing in front of the Green Monster. View full article

Seems the plan for Bello and Giolito right now is for them to spend the minimum and then rejoin Boston late April/early May at the latest. At beat we'll have Fitts and Priester for like 3 to 4 starts each before the rotation is back to full strength. Unless the duo pitch too well to be sent down