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The Red Sox Friday, May 28, 2021

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Red Sox option struggling outfielder to Triple A Worcester

Julian McWilliams

The Red Sox announced Thursday that they have optioned outfielder Franchy Cordero to Triple A Worcester.

Cordero, who was acquired from the Royals as part of the trade in the offseason, came to the Red Sox as a glowing talent with untapped potential. When he made his debut with the Padres in 2017, he was viewed as one of the best prospects in , but injuries and underwhelming play diminished that status.

Cordero stayed healthy with the Red Sox, but the subpar play continued. He hit just .179 with one home in 102 plate appearances and struck out a whopping 36.3 percent of the time. The Red Sox believed they could unlock Cordero’s ability, but for now he has run out of runway with the big league club.

Some Triple A time might be good for Cordero, providing him an opportunity to hone his swing and not look so overmatched. Reps at the plate are important, and Cordero doesn’t have many — just 229 plate appearances combined (minors and majors) since the start of 2019. He has struggled mightily to find his swing path, often finding his barrel beneath the baseball.

Cordero added to the Red Sox’ organizational depth, but with utility player now on the big league roster and outfielder Jarren Duran lurking at Triple A, it will be up to him to make the adjustments needed so he doesn’t become an afterthought.

Marlins in town

The Marlins (24-26) come into Friday following a four-game split with the Phillies. The Red Sox will face righthander Cody Poteet in the opener. Poteet has a 1.06 ERA in three starts (17 innings), striking out 13. Poteet, who made his major league debut this year, normally sits between 91 and 94 miles per hour with his fastball, topping out at 96. While his fastball isn’t overpowering, he’s had success with it this season, as opponents are hitting just .185 on his four-seamer. Poteet also features a , , and , but the changeup is his go-to secondary pitch and he’s yet to yield a hit on it.

The Marlins were an intriguing team last year, punching a ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2003. This year, they have been inconsistent, which can be typical for a young squad. As of Thursday, they were fourth in the NL East. Nevertheless, their talent is evident, with rookie Jazz Chisholm getting a lot of the headlines. The 23-year-old is hitting .286 with five homers and a .350 on-base percentage.

The Red Sox have Martín Pérez on the mound Friday. Pérez has been solid, with a 3.55 ERA in nine starts, striking out 44 in 45⅔ innings. Pérez has pitched at least five innings in each of his last five starts.

Home-field advantage?

The Red Sox (30-20) are second in the AL East but just 13-13 at home. Yet they have won five of their last seven games overall and have won their last four series. The Sox have 18 come-from-behind wins and are 27-3 record when they score at least four runs.

When hitters started to figure out, he started making some necessary adjustments

Julian McWilliams

Garrett Whitlock sat in the Fenway stands behind the home dugout on Wednesday afternoon, drenched in sweat. The righthander had just finished a typical throwing progression a day after a relief appearance in which Whitlock had tossed two scoreless against the Braves.

The scene around the ballpark was calm. Fans had yet to trickle in. The sun glimmered off the seats that fill what is considered a baseball sanctuary.

It’s easy to appreciate the Fenway Park experience. Easy to become entrenched with a fan base that showers its players with praise in their success, and condemnation in their failure.

Whitlock knows what the bottom feels like. To be plagued by Tommy John surgery, erased from the memory of an organization that doesn’t view you as a part of its future.

Whitlock’s focus, instead, is seen through the lens of staying in the big leagues and the adjustments needed to do so.

Whitlock’s story is well-documented: a shrewdly plucked by the Red Sox from the Yankees during last offseason’s . He hadn’t pitched above Double A.

The success this season was well-detailed, too: Whitlock went his first 13⅓ innings without yielding a run. He struck out 18 in that span and walked just two. Whitlock’s 6-foot-5-inch wiry and flexible frame lends itself to elite extension on the mound. The extension, then the arm-side run on his sinker and changeup, coupled with his upper-90s heater, make it hard for hitters to pick up. His arm slot can be likened to a dart thrower, making it even more of a headache for opponents.

But success in the big leagues has a lifespan, of course. Whitlock saw his early-season brilliance end May 2 when he allowed a leadoff homer to the Rangers’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the seventh inning, putting a close to his scoreless streak. He then allowed three runs (two earned) vs. the Tigers in his next appearance.

Despite that, though, and the Sox wanted to reassure Whitlock of one thing: They like him and see him as a part of the team’s future.

“I feel worse when things don’t go right than anything else,” Whitlock said Wednesday. “And so, when [Cora] tells me that, when [Jason] Varitek tells me that, it builds confidence. It means the world because it’s like, they trust me to go out there and do my job.”

Whitlock has come to understand that faith, something he leans on heavily, isn’t always a beautiful day at the ballpark, but more a fight in a back alley. The Red Sox have seen enough of Whitlock to know that they want to be in that fight with him.

“There’s a lot of positive reinforcement with Garrett, and really with anybody on our staff,” said pitching coach . “In Garrett’s case, when you’re a Rule 5 guy, first time in the big leagues, there’s an amount of doubt and insecurity, about whether you’re good enough and whether you can continue to be good enough. Whether you belong there.”

There’s the occasional look into the dugout, searching for your manager’s reaction. There’s the doubt, thinking that the league, perhaps, has figured you out, that makes you question if this is the bottom again. But the Red Sox and Whitlock understand that you can’t dwell in failure. The big leagues are too good. It’ll swallow you up if you do. So, they go back to the drawing board, infusing confidence and adjusting game plans.

For Whitlock, while his changeup-sinker-four-seamer mix is impressive, in order for him to take that next leap they know he will need another pitch. Despite working at different speeds, his changeup and sinker have the same arm-side run. As a result, big league hitters can sit on a location but still adjust to velocity.

So, Whitlock has been working on a slider, just to give hitters a different look on a pitch that, ideally, runs in an opposite direction. In addition to direction, Whitlock is trying to adjust the speed of his slider.

“Before surgery my changeup was only like 86-88 miles per hour. And then my breaking ball was like 79- 81,” Whitlock said. “My new changeup is anywhere from 80-85. If my breaking ball was right around that, too, then the hitters only have to try and adjust to different speeds. So, we’re trying to make the slider a little bit harder so that we have three different ranges that hitters have to adjust for.”

That’s easier said than done, of course. It’s a work in progress.

“I don’t know what his slider is going to look like quite yet,” Bush said. “At times, he’s thrown a little bit bigger version. Like a baby curveball. And then the other night it was 88. A nice short, hard slider. So, he’s trying different things. He’s been trying some different grips, and he’s working on finger pressure and the intent behind it.”

Whitlock hasn’t been scored upon in his last two outings. He pitched with precise command in Tuesday’s two-inning performance against the Braves, dotting the corners and remaining aggressive in the strike zone.

Tinkering aside, the intent is for Whitlock to be here for a while. By definition, he’s a Rule 5 pitcher, but he’s everything but that to the Sox. The league adjusted to him. He’s now adjusting back, with the Sox fueling his growth and confidence.

“It’s a day-by-day thing,” Whitlcok said. “That’s part of it. It’s the cat-and-mouse game. You work on it.”

It’s time for Fenway Park, TD Garden, and Gillette Stadium to go full capacity. Here’s how it’s going to work

Michael Silverman

Nothing says a pandemic is easing in New England quite like the “snip-snip” chorus of more than 25,000 zip ties being cut off Fenway Park’s seats.

In anticipation of the first full house at a Boston sports venue since mid-March 2020, a Fenway Park crew of 30-40 wielding snippers will begin roaming the aisles Friday to allow all 37,000-plus seat bottoms to swing freely again and permit the Red Sox to regain a full-throated home-field advantage for their 4:10 p.m. Saturday game against the Marlins.

As foreign as the experience of being in close proximity with tens of thousands of people at Fenway Park, TD Garden, and Gillette Stadium is sure to be after more than a year of quarantine and isolation, those prepping for the large-scale return of fans are doing their best to make it as natural as possible.

“We were just talking about resetting some of the furniture in one of the areas at the ballpark and how it feels really full,” said Pete Nesbit, Fenway Park’s senior vice president of ballpark operations, “so to have 25,000, 30,000, 35,000 people in the ballpark over the next few weeks, it’s going to be great — we can’t wait to have it here — but I think there is some level of anxiety with crowds being back in the building.”

The Red Sox expect 25,000-30,000 fans to turn up Saturday, though a sketchy forecast calling for rain adds some uncertainty.

Along with the emotional edge for the home teams and the monetary boost for employees and team ownership that a full house brings comes the never-disappearing specter of racism from Boston fans, an issue ex-Celtic Kyrie Irving raised before his return this week with the Brooklyn Nets. How that plays out when the Celtics face the Nets at the Garden Friday before 25 percent capacity and then close to 100 percent Sunday night remains to be seen.

In the meantime, TD Garden, Gillette Stadium, and Fenway Park are preparing to welcome back every possible fan for the first time in more than 14 months.

Hearing cheers at top volume will be appreciated by the players, said Red Sox outfielder .

“I think it’s going to help just having that home-field advantage,” said Verdugo. “It’s one of those things, just having a sold-out crowd.

“They’ve already been great now — the fans we’ve been able to have have been loud, making a lot of noise —it’s just something different about having a full sold-out crowd. It’s going to be fun again and it will kind of help us just have that extra adrenaline right off the bat.”

Seems like old times

Besides the removal of zip ties — a time-consuming process that needs to start before Friday night’s 25- percent capacity game so that crews won’t have to work overnight — Fenway Park is undergoing a transformation that should make it look almost identical to what the last full-capacity crowd saw on Sept. 29, 2019.

Plexiglass at the concession stands is being removed (some of it will be saved, just in case, but most will be disposed of because there’s not enough storage space at the ballpark). Signage about outdated CDC safety guidelines is coming down, and portable concession stands and those along Jersey Street are being outfitted and inspected.

More cleaning crews will be needed to dispose of more trash after games, and a full crew of ushers and security guards will be brought back, with the ballpark’s concessionaire, Aramark, handling the return of food and beverage workers.

“Overall, everyone’s very happy to get back to work,” said 67-year-old Robert “Dutch” Leonard of Boston, who’s returning for his 11th season as a Fenway Park bartender. “They like that job there, they like seeing season ticket-holders back and the bonds returned that were built over many years.

“Even during COVID, I had some regulars that would call back and check up every two months to see how we’re doing and making sure everything was well.

“Let’s hope there’s no bumps in the road, and if there are, we can get through them quickly. And the Sox are having a good season, so that’s another big plus.”

Red Sox ticketing will remain mobile-only, but the ballpark for now will still accept cash. The squad of sanitation “robots” will continue their tasks, air-purification units will remain in use, with hand-sanitizing stations and wipes remaining available.

Vaccination status will not be checked. Masks are recommended but not required for fans and some workers; Aramark workers will have to wear masks.

The Red Sox said they “do not anticipate any challenges finding enough Red Sox personnel to work the remaining games once we return to 100 percent capacity,” said Zineb Curran, vice president of corporate communications, in an email. “We are fortunate as an organization that we have long-tenured members of our game day staff that are as excited as our fans are to return to Fenway Park.”

Different at Gillette

Because of NBA and NHL guidelines, patrons and workers at TD Garden will still have to wear masks. The Garden will be at nearly full capacity, with tarps separating the seating bowl from both the rink and court for Bruins and Celtics playoff games..

A full cohort of ushers, security, concession, and Bull Gang workers will be in place by Sunday, said Bruins president Cam Neely.

“I have not heard that we are going to have issues in that regard, which is fortunate,” said Neely.

Attendance at Revolution and Cannons games this summer will not present a challenge to Gillette Stadium’s 65,000-plus capacity, but beginning with the Patriots’ exhibition opener Aug. 12 and over the nine regular-season home games through next January, every seat at Gillette will be filled.

The football team has the luxury of time to learn from the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics.

“We’re in a different position than other venues like TD Garden and Fenway Park in that we’re not faced with the challenge of going from 25 percent one day to 100 percent the next, so we have the benefit, a little bit, of drafting off their wake,” said Jim Nolan, chief operating officer of the Kraft Group, which owns the stadium, the Patriots, and the Revolution.

“For the Premier Lacrosse League events [in June], we’re going to maintain distancing in seats just for the comfort of people. Since we’re a 65,000-plus-seat building, we can maintain distance for the comfort of the fans for an event like that.”

Revolution and Cannons fans can request to be seated at least 6 feet from other fans, and stadium personnel will accommodate their wishes.

Gillette went 100 percent cashless during the pandemic, and it’s not going back. For those patrons who forget their plastic, there will be cash-to-credit machines that convert paper currency into a universal VISA card.

Hand-sanitizer stations will remain in place, as well as new cleaning standards for high-touch points and bathrooms during games. Bathroom fixtures are all touchless.

“We’ve been in constant communication throughout the pandemic with both the folks at Fenway Park and the folks at TD Garden to really establish best practices across the venues so that not only is there consistency but there’s a higher level of fan safety and comfort,” Nolan said.

“We have been to Fenway Park and TD Garden already to look at their operations at 12 and at 25 percent, and we will certainly be looking at their operations at 100 percent. You can learn lessons from other people.

“Having both of those in our backyard before us is a great opportunity for us to see how they do it. Every time we go, we pick up something we can bring back here.”

Inaugural Fenway Bowl has a new kickoff date: Dec. 29

Michael Silverman

One year later than planned, the inaugural “Fenway Bowl” has a new kickoff date.

This Dec. 29, the Red Sox’ 109-year-old baseball stadium will host its first , a matchup between American Athletic Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

The COVID-19 pandemic scuttled last year’s game, which had been announced in September 2019.

Pending final city licensing approval and barring a setback on the pandemic front, the game will begin at 11 a.m. and air on ESPN, marking a new twist to the efforts of , parent company of the Red Sox, to diversify revenue and maximize usage of its historic ballpark.

The event is part of a multiyear partnership between ESPN Events and Fenway Sports Management, FSG’s sales, marketing, and special events arm.

“As we approach the 2021 college football season, we are delighted to introduce the ballpark and its rich history to the excitement of NCAA bowl games for the first time,” said Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy in a statement.

“Our team is grateful for this collaboration with the American Athletic and Atlantic Coast Conferences, ESPN Events, and [Boston] Mayor [Kim] Janey, and we look forward to hosting an incredible experience for student-athletes, coaches, and fans, while enriching New England’s education community.”

Ticket information is not yet available. Updates will be forthcoming at fenwaybowl.com.

Despite the postponement of last year’s game, FSM maintained its Fenway Bowl “Honor Roll” charitable program, which recognizes the achievements of 30 teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators across New England.

Mark Lev, FSM president, emphasized the educational assistance the game can provide.

“Together with the ESPN Events team, we are thrilled to embark on a new chapter of college football at Fenway Park — a cornerstone of New England tradition that fans, families, and our communities can enjoy year-round,” said Lev.

“As part of this tradition, and in recognition of our region’s schools and institutions of higher education, we look forward to building on our efforts from the past year to support equitable and quality education across New England.”

The ballpark hosted its first college football game in 1914 and the AFL’s Boston Patriots between 1963 and 1968. In 2015, it hosted a Shamrock Series matchup between Boston College and Notre Dame. Two years later, the Fenway Gridiron Series, featuring New England college and high school teams, began. Three years ago, the ballpark hosted “The Game” between Harvard and Yale.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco pointed out Fenway’s destination qualities.

“Our primary goal with our bowl partnerships is to provide quality postseason experiences in desirable destinations for our student-athletes, their families, and our fans,” said Aresco. “The Fenway Bowl and the City of Boston provide everything that we are looking for in that regard.”

Said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips: “Boston is a tremendous city, directly within the ACC’s footprint, and we are proud that our football programs will have the opportunity to compete at the historic Fenway Park.”

Bishop Stang baseball blooming under former Red Sox pitcher Brian Rose

Brendan Kurie

There’s a new team among the powers in the Catholic Central League.

Bishop Stang, formerly of the now-defunct Eastern Athletic Conference, has started 7-1 in its first season in the CCL. The 15th-ranked Spartans, who lead the CCL’s Small Division, are 9-1 overall after dispensing with New Bedford, 11-1, in five innings Wednesday evening.

Coached by former Red Sox hurler Brian Rose, who started the 1998 Fenway Park opener, Stang baseball has come a long way in the last half decade.

Rose, who pitched for crosstown rival Dartmouth before being drafted in the third round in 1994, was hired in 2016 to turn around a Stang program that was a miserly 14-42 over the previous three seasons, reaching the nadir with a 2-16 mark in 2015.

After a 5-13 campaign in 2017, the Spartans went 9-9 in 2018 and 12-7 in 2019, winning the last-ever EAC crown with an underclassmen-laden roster. Spartan Village was looking forward to the 2020 campaign.

“We wanted that season bad,” junior lefthander Seamus Marshall said. “We thought we were going to be good last year. But we’re playing right now and that’s all that matters.”

After swallowing the disappointment of a shuttered 2020 season, the Spartans returned this year ready to make good on their promise.

“The last four years, since I got here as a freshman, we’ve known this was going to be the year,” senior lefthander Hayden Duke said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys in my class and the class underneath us. We’ve been building toward it and we knew it would be a hell of a team.”

Stang’s success starts with its three lefthanded . Duke has committed to UMass Lowell and is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA and 0.85 WHIP, Marshall improved to 4-0 with a 0.91 ERA after striking out nine against New Bedford, and Stonehill-bound senior Max Brulport has two saves as the team’s .

“We know that we have a dude who can get it done every day we go out there, which is super important,” Duke said. “I don’t think a lot of high school teams can say that.”

In addition, Jacob Laudati (2-0, 1.91 ERA), Ryan Martins and Cam Letourneau have provided pitching depth.

“We knew we had three good pitchers, but I was pleasantly surprised with a few other arms who walked through the door,” Rose said.

Heading into this season, Rose knew his defense was shaping up nicely and he had plenty of speed on the basepaths. The biggest question was how the bats would perform, considering the team’s top two hitters from 2019, Jack Sefrino and Luke Bala, graduated in 2020.

“Those are two huge holes to fill in the lineup,” Rose said. “We started taking batting practice and I was like, ‘Wow, we can hit.’”

Setting the table has been junior leadoff hitter and center fielder Justin Gouveia, who is hitting .618 while reaching base at a .683 clip. Junior Ben Saunders is batting .438, sophomore infielder Ryan Jones is hitting .407, and Duke is rapping out hits at a .370 clip.

The Spartans have also benefited from a pair of transfers. Senior catcher Griffin Ferreira (La Salle Academy) is hitting .500 and third baseman Ben LeBeouf (Bishop Hendricken) carries a .435 batting average and leads the team with two home runs.

“This is probably the best team I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Rose said. “It’s a pretty complete squad. Now, we have to pray for players to be healthy and keep competing.”

* The

Red Sox Notebook: Franchy Cordero optioned, but prospect Jarren Duran not the choice to replace him

Jason Mastrodonato

Jarren Duran will have to wait a little bit longer.

One of the Red Sox’ top prospects, Duran has been crushing the ball at Triple-A Worcester, where he’s hit .278 with a .991 OPS. He has seven homers and four stolen bases in 18 games.

But even after the Red Sox demoted struggling outfielder Franchy Cordero to Worcester on Thursday, Duran will not be added to the roster for their weekend series with the , according to a source.

The Sox had not yet announced a corresponding roster move as of Thursday evening.

Duran has been granted a leave of absence from the Woo Sox to begin playing with Team USA in Olympic qualifying games. The Red Sox have two prospects, Duran and Triston Casas, who are on the Team USA roster.

While most MLB clubs have begun calling up some of their top prospects for the summer, the Red Sox have resisted that urge. Manager Alex Cora said last week he thought it would be good for Duran to spend some time playing for Team USA, which is being managed by longtime Angels skipper Mike Scioscia.

There’s a strong argument to be made that the Red Sox could use Duran.

They’ve continued to play against both right-handers and left-handers, despite Renfroe’s struggles against righties. While he always hits lefties well, he’s batted just .186 with a .554 OPS vs. righties, consistent with his lopsided splits over a six-year big league career.

But Cora hasn’t had any better options to choose from.

Cordero had struggled all season since being acquired from the in the Andrew Benintendi trade. He was a late arrival to due to a bout with COVID-19 and never looked comfortable at the plate. The 26-year-old hit just .179 with a .501 OPS in 102 plate appearances. He has a .222 career average over parts of five seasons. He was immediately inserted in the Woo Sox lineup on Thursday.

The Woo Sox are also currently without infield prospect Jeter Downs, who is playing for Team Colombia in Olympic qualifiers.

The Red Sox have not announced a corresponding roster move for Cordero, though it’s likely they’ll add a pitcher to help with an upcoming stretch of 10 games in 10 days.

Former Red Sox relievers Colten Brewer, and Bobby Poyner are options to be promoted from Worcester, as is , who has thrown four straight scoreless outings.

No sellouts yet

Starting Saturday, the Red Sox will be allowed to have full capacity at Fenway Park, but don’t expect 35,000-plus just yet.

Team president Sam Kennedy said on the NESN pregame show Wednesday that he was expecting 20,000 to 25,000 in the stands this weekend.

“We do have lots of tickets available because we did not have our season ticket holders buy tickets in April and May because we didn’t know what our capacity would be,” Kennedy told NESN’s Tom Caron. “We’re just putting all the tickets out for sale for Saturday and Sunday to try to get to 100% capacity.”

The Red Sox will lift all pandemic-related restrictions starting as the state removes capacity limits and mask mandates on Saturday.

“Expect your normal Fenway Park experience.” Kennedy said. “We’re going to be able to sell food and beverages in our traditional way. There aren’t going to be rigid protocols.

“We do ask that people follow the CDC guidelines. If you’re vaccinated outdoors, no need to wear a mask. If you are not vaccinated, we ask that you wear a mask.”

Kennedy also warned that fans should prepare for long lines for concessions and restrooms. The Red Sox are only now trying to hire back all their seasonal employees.

“We also have some great summer jobs available,” Kennedy said. “Anyone 18 or over, come on down. Aramark is hiring. Lots of opportunities. Contact us. We’re getting ready to go for the summer.”

Season ticket holders will be given a chance to buy the rest of their seats for the season starting on June 8.

Sam Kennedy: Red Sox not expecting anything close to a sellout this weekend

Jason Mastrodonato

Starting Saturday, the Red Sox will be allowed to have full capacity at Fenway Park, but don’t expect 35,000-plus just yet.

Team president Sam Kennedy said on the NESN pregame show Wednesday that he was expecting 20,000 to 25,000 in the stands this weekend.

“We do have lots of tickets available because we did not have our season ticket holders buy tickets in April and May because we didn’t know what our capacity would be,” Kennedy told NESN’s Tom Caron. “We’re just putting all the tickets out for sale for Saturday and Sunday to try to get to 100% capacity.”

The Red Sox will lift all pandemic-related restrictions starting as the state removes capacity limits and mask mandates on Saturday.

“Expect your normal Fenway Park experience.” Kennedy said. “We’re going to be able to sell food and beverages in our traditional way. There aren’t going to be rigid protocols.

“We do ask that people follow the CDC guidelines. If you’re vaccinated outdoors, no need to wear a mask. If you are not vaccinated, we ask that you wear a mask.”

Kennedy also warned that fans should prepare for long lines for concessions and restrooms. The Red Sox are only now trying to hire back all their seasonal employees.

“We also have some great summer jobs available,” Kennedy said. “Anyone 18 or over, come on down. Aramark is hiring. Lots of opportunities. Contact us. We’re getting ready to go for the summer.”

Season ticket holders will be given a chance to buy the rest of their seats for the season starting on June 8.

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox option Franchy Cordero to WooSox; outfielder hit .179 in 34 games to start season

Chris Cotillo

The Red Sox optioned outfielder Franchy Cordero to Triple-A Worcester after Wednesday’s game, the team announced Thursday morning. Boston will need to make a corresponding roster move before Friday’s series opener against the Marlins.

Cordero, who came over from the Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade in February, has hit .179 (17-for- 95) with one homer, six doubles and a .501 OPS in 34 games with the Red Sox this season. The 26-year-old has only started four of the club’s last 11 games, so the move is designed to give him the chance to get more consistent at-bats at the minors’ highest level instead of getting limited opportunities in the big leagues. With now active, Kiké Hernández and Marwin Gonzalez will be tasked with more outfield work alongside Alex Verdugo, Hunter Renfroe, newcomer Danny Santana and -- occasionally -- J.D. Martinez.

Cordero is the latest notable name to join the WooSox in recent days, joining infielder/outfielder (optioned Monday) and reliever Austin Brice (outrighted Tuesday). He will join Marcus Wilson, César Puello, Michael Gettys, Tate Matheny and Yairo Muñoz in Worcester’s immediate outfield plans while top prospect Jarren Duran plays for Team USA in Olympic qualifiers.

Duran is very unlikely to be called up to take Cordero’s place, and it appears the Sox could promote a pitcher to take the roster spot before Friday’s game. Right-handers Colten Brewer and Brandon Brennan are both on the 40-man roster and appear to be the likeliest candidates, but non-roster relievers Brandon Workman, Kaleb Ort, Marcus Walden and Ryan Weber are possibilities as well.

Boston carried 14 pitchers and 12 position players for the first 45 games of the season before going to an even 13/13 split when Santana was activated last Friday. After using four relievers in Wednesday’s win over the Braves, the Sox might look to add an extra arm for this weekend’s series against the Marlins.

* The Worcester Telegram

WooSox announce vaccinated fans can ditch masks at Polar Park

Jim Wilson

The announced Thursday that starting with the next home game on June 1, masks will no longer be required for fully vaccinated fans at Polar Park, in accordance with current CDC guidelines and Gov. Charlie Baker's updated guidance.

The WooSox strongly encourage fans who are not fully vaccinated to continue to wear masks.

The WooSox also announced the health self-screening survey that was previously a requirement for all fans prior to entry will be eliminated starting June 1, but all WooSox staff will still be required to complete a COVID-19 self-screening survey each day prior to entering Polar Park.

The team announced that starting on June 1, Polar Park will operate at limited full capacity because several future areas of the ballpark (grass berms, the Plymouth Street Promenade and the Summit Street Fair) are still under construction. Those areas are scheduled to debut at various times throughout the season.

The WooSox will continue to adhere to the recommendations of local health officials regarding safety protocols at Polar Park. Numerous hand sanitizing stations will remain throughout the ballpark, cashless transactions will be encouraged and signage will promote social distancing whenever possible. Further, MLB protocols are still in place for restricted areas of Polar Park including the player’s parking lot, clubhouses and dugouts.

* RedSox.com

Firm of Bogaerts, Devers a potent left side

Mike Lupica

The glamour partnership on the left side of any infield was supposed to be on the left coast with the Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. at short and Manny Machado over there to his right. And Tatis has sure held up his end, with 13 homers and an OPS of 1.069. But Machado has had shoulder problems, which may explain why he is hitting just .228 so far, with only six home runs.

It is why the star combination at those two positions as we move up on a third of the season is being played on the other side of the country at Fenway Park, where and are quietly playing their fifth season together.

There is a reason why the Red Sox, who weren’t supposed to do much this season, are tied with the Rays for the most runs in the sport (Tampa Bay has played two more games going into Memorial Day Weekend), have the best team OPS at .767 and have produced the most total bases at 758.

Of course, J.D. Martinez is back to being the power guy in the middle of the order that he was when he first got to Boston. But it is Bogaerts and Devers who continue to be the young guys to watch on a 30-20 Red Sox team that might even be surprising itself so far.

There is no better or more valuable of a shortstop in than Bogaerts, who has been a crucial presence at Fenway since he broke in at third base at the age of 20 when the Red Sox were on their way to winning the 2013 Word Series. Bogaerts currently has more hits than anybody in the , and he carries a batting average of .339.

And then there is Devers. What he does not always give you with his defense -- he does have seven errors this season, but so does -- Devers more than makes up for at the plate. He is leading the Majors with 43 RBIs. So the Sox have the most hits from shortstop and the most RBIs from third base. The best part of all of this is that Bogaerts doesn’t turn 29 until October. Devers doesn’t turn 25 until the same month.

The kid they call Raffy was still just 20 when he came up to the Red Sox during the 2017 season. The same age as Bogaerts when he made his arrival in '13. The two of them have been together ever since. There has never been more talent on that side of the field in the history of the Red Sox. One a righty hitter. One a lefty hitter. Both of them line-drive machines.

On Thursday, I asked the great (if you aren’t able to listen to him do Red Sox games on NESN with Dave O’Brien and you’re missing out on a TV broadcast as entertaining as there is) just how talented he thinks Devers is.

This was Eck’s reply: “Off the charts.”

He really is that talented, with all that power, all that bad speed. Everybody remembers the Sunday night back in August 2017, not so terribly long after Devers had made it to the big leagues. It was the ninth inning at , and the Yankees were looking to close out a 2-1 win over the Sox. Aroldis Chapman on the mound, throwing 100 mph, as usual. At that point in the season, Chapman had given up just one to a lefty hitter all season.

Chapman threw a fastball to the kid clocked at 102.8 mph. Devers took Chapman out of Yankee Stadium to left-center. It is still the fastest pitch ever hit for a home run in the era when we’ve been tracking such things. More than anything, it was Devers announcing that he was here. He’s still very much here. Over there to Bogaerts’ right.

The last time the Red Sox had a game was on Wednesday night at Fenway, a 9-5 win over the Braves. Devers hit his 14th homer and knocked in three more runs. Bogaerts scored three more runs. It has gone that way a lot for the Red Sox this season. Again: Martinez, coming back from an off year in 2020, is back to being a dangerous presence. Alex Verdugo, whom the Red Sox got as part of the trade, is hitting .292, with six homers, 20 RBIs and 50 hits.

Verdugo bats second. J.D bats third. And then comes the firm of Bogaerts and Devers. It is hard to believe they have already been together as long as they have. Red Sox fans hope they stay together for a long time.

Here is what Mr. Bogaerts said of Mr. Devers after Devers’ big night against the Braves:

“When he’s locked in, he’s very dangerous. It’s very fun to see. He can put a team on his back for weeks and months. He’s not the type of guy who can do it just for a couple days.”

Lots of reasons why manager Alex Cora’s team is where it is. It starts with the left side of his infield. Guys over there keep getting it right. And looking pretty glam themselves in the process.

* WEEI.com

Red Sox send Franchy Cordero to Worcester

Rob Bradford

This wasn't how the Red Sox planned Franchy Cordero's first two months.

The outfielder, who had been part of the package the Red Sox received in exchanged for Andrew Benintendi, has been sent to Triple-A Worcester. There was no corresponding move, although it is likely a pitcher will be added to the 26-man roster.

In 34 games, Cordero hit just .179 with a .501 OPS, striking out 37 times and drawing just six walks. His only home run came in Philadelphia Sunday, a 473-foot blast.

Cordero struggled throughout virtually the entire initial two months of the season with the exception of the game in Philly and a three-hit affair against the Tigers on May 5.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, another piece in the Benintendi trade, Double-A pitcher Josh Winckowski, has been performing quite well. The righty starter has totaled a 1.80 ERA in four starts with the Sea Dogs.

After a slow start in April, Benintendi has been the Royals most consistent hitter, managing a .337 batting average for May.

How is going to impact the Red Sox' trade deadline plans

Rob Bradford

The trade deadline and Chris Sale. They will be two of the hottest topics involving the Red Sox for the next two months.

You can find Sale down in Fort Myers continuing his comeback from Tommy John surgery, with the lefty now throwing off a mound on his way to real, live game competition. There have been no proclamations or even guesses when it comes to a timetable for Sale’s return, but it certainly seems the pitcher’s presence isn’t far off from being felt.

So, when it comes to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, coming on the final day of July, it is interesting to contemplate how a Sale return might impact ’s way of thinking. Appearing on the Greg Hill Show, the Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer explained where he stood on the dynamic.

“He’s coming along,” Bloom said. “As you guys have heard, he’s coming along slowly but surely. He’s now been off a mound a bunch of times, kind of building up the duration of that every time that he gets on the mound. So we’re just going to keep moving forward. As you guys know, it’s been frustrating we’ve had all these little setbacks that had nothing to do with the Tommy John surgery. It just slowed down the timetable and the more it slows down the more careful you have to be. So time-wise it’s been frustrating but he’s done great with everything that actually has to do with the rehab itself. The way he is talking now, he sees what is going on here and he wants to help. And the way he’s talking right now, he’s really, really excited. He’s feeling it. We obviously want to make sure we’re not skipping steps, but he wants to come back and help this group out.

“As far as the deadline approach, look, it’s hard to imagine a more impactful acquisition than getting Chris Sale back on your club. But I don’t think it really changes for us just in terms of this is kind of how we looked at it coming into the season. You need as much depth as you can so you try and build a team that is not reliant on Chris coming back, and when he comes back that’s extra. Believe me, we’re going to be able to find a spot for Chris Sale when he’s ready to go.”

And if there was any doubt how Bloom and Co. were viewing their approach heading into the deadline, it wasn’t difficult to decipher the executive’s intentions with his team sitting one game out of first-place.

“I think when you’re looking out ahead of any trade deadline you have to be responsive to where you are in the standings, and we knew coming in that we had a talented group and we thought they had the upside to contend,” Bloom noted. “So I wouldn’t say this is coming out of nowhere, but obviously there was a lot of different ways this season can do. There is still a lot of time between now and the deadline. But you have to respect and factor where you are. We can’t 180 from the bigger picture goals that we have and get away from what we’re trying to do and worked so hard to try and do, reposition the organization for sustained success. But the playoffs are precious. They are important and you go out and do everything you can to help the group.”

The remaking of Brandon Workman is paying dividends

Rob Bradford

Brandon Workman will still have to wait his turn.

According to a source, Workman won't be the one replacing Franchy Cordero on the Red Sox' 26-man roster. It will likely be a pitcher who is already on the 40-man roster, an existence the former Sox closer doesn't currently enjoy. (Colten Brewer or Brandon Brennan are the likely candidates.)

But that doesn't mean the Red Sox won't be feeling the impact of Workman at some point this season.

The reliever has been opening eyes in recent appearances with Triple-A Worcester, having only allowed a run in the first of what has been six appearances. His latest outing, Wednesday, saw Workman strike out two of the three batters he has faced.

It might seem like a modest return, but considering the depths Workman had fallen into since leaving Boston for Philadelphia and then the Cubs, the difference is notable.

In his eight innings with the Cubs, Workman allowed nine runs on 12 hits, walking seven. That was coming off a horrific stint with the Phillies in 2020 the saw him give up 11 runs and 23 hits in just 13 innings.

And while the Red Sox aren't ready to throw their former game-ender back in high-leverage big-league situations, they are encouraged by the path Workman has taken since rejoining the organization.

For starters, his fastball has crept back up to 90-92 mph, which is of the utmost importance considering it helps separate from Workman's go-to pitch, the curveball. You remember that curve, the one he threw 47 percent of the time in 2019, with hitters managing just a .128 batting average against it.

But the true priority from the Red Sox' point of view is Workman re-establishing his cutter.

In that 2019 season, Workman threw the pitch almost 20 percent, with hitters managing just an .077 batting average against it. But after a 2020 where he saw it get hit around (.323) while relying on it more (34 percent), the reliever shied away from it with the Cubs.

Before being designated for assignment, Workman threw just 12 cutters in 2021.

That has changed. And so have the results.

"Work has been throwing the ball well," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora prior to his team's Wednesday win. "I think his breaking ball is playing a lot better. As far as usage, we want him to throw the cutter a little bit more and we are getting there."

* NBC Sports Boston

Devers doesn't get respect he deserves as young star

John Tomase

Discussions of the best young sluggers in baseball almost never include Rafael Devers.

You've got Washington's Juan Soto, 22, who's already a champ while posting numbers that rival Ted Williams at a similar stage of his career. There's Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero, who just became the first player to reach 16 homers this season and is still only 22. There's Braves MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr., a 23-year-old five-tool star who leads the NL with 15 bombs.

And then there's Devers, a 24-year-old slugger with few equals when it comes to authoritative contact. The only hitters in the game who barrel up the ball more frequently are Angels freak Shohei Ohtani, Rangers out-of-nowhere comet Adolis Garcia, and Acuna. Devers also ranks in the top four percent in hard-hit percentage and expected slugging percentage.

It's easy to lose Devers in baseball's sea of great young talent, however. This may be partly because he tends to start slowly, robbing him of any chance to build early-season momentum, a la Guerrero and Garcia. It may also be because he has yet to make an All-Star team. Or maybe it's a function of his defensive shortcomings, which make him more one-dimensional than some of the other players on the list.

Whatever the case, Devers is flying a bit under the radar while helping carry one of the best offenses in baseball. Rest assured, his teammates know what he means to the lineup.

"Yeah, he's locked in, man, and you guys know it," said Xander Bogaerts after Devers homered in Wednesday's 9-5 victory over the Braves.

"When he's locked in, he's very dangerous and it was very fun to see him put the team on his bat for weeks and months. He's not the type of guy who can just do it for a couple of days. He can ride it a long time. That's just a credit to the talent and the work he puts in. As I said, once you see him so confident, it's something that's very nice to see."

There's little doubt that Devers is finding his power stroke. He's got seven home runs and 22 RBIs in May alone, boosting his season totals to .278 with 14 homers, a league-leading 43 RBIs, and a .954 OPS. He has homered five times in his last 10 games.

Why Red Sox were 'enticing' to in free agency On Wednesday, he solved a couple of problems that have plagued him this season -- left-handers and fastballs. He launched an 0-2 curveball 434 feet from left-hander for the game-tying two-run homer in the fourth. He then broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth by smoking a Smyly fastball the other way for a double, giving him 14 extra-base hits in his last 18 knocks.

"He got an 0-2 breaking ball, put a great swing on it and hits a home run," said manager Alex Cora. "Then he stays on a fastball, doesn't get pull happy, and hits it off the wall. So that's a good sign right there for him to get a fastball and hit it the other way."

Because he bats fifth in a top-heavy Red Sox lineup, Devers often finds himself with RBI opportunities, and he has been cashing them in with regularity. At his current pace, he'll finish with over 140. Not bad for a guy who's only occasionally mentioned with baseball's other bright young lights.

"Devers just hits it hard," Bogaerts said. "It's coming hard at you, so you'd better get out of the way or you're going to get hit."

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Red Sox option underperforming Cordero to Worcester

Sean McAdam

Earlier this week, when the Red Sox were in need of a roster spot for the pending return of infielder Christian Arroyo, there was some speculation that the Sox might send slumping outfielder Franchy Cordero to Triple A Worcester to facilitate the necessary roster space.

Instead, the Sox sent infielder Michael Chavis back to Worcester.

But Cordero’s reprieve was only temporary. The Red Sox optioned him to Worcester Thursday without announcing a corresponding roster move. The Sox are off Thursday and could wait until Friday afternoon before promoting someone from Triple A.

Cordero was slashing .178/.228/.274 with a homer and nine RBI in 34 games, 27 of which were starts - all but one in left field.

He had endured lengthy slumps since the start of the season, including an 0-for-26 spell that stretched across several weeks. When he hit first home run Sunday In Philadelphia, its distance - estimated at more than 470 feet - was a reminder of his power and potential.

But too often, Cordero failed to make contact at the plate, striking out with alarming frequency. More than a third of his plate appearances ended in , a high number even in a -heavy era.

Cordero was the most established return piece of a three-team deal last winter which saw the Sox send outfielder Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City. The Sox also obtained pitching prospect Josh Winckowski and are due to acquire three additional players to be named later.

Cordero, though 25, was seen as an intriguing project with plus speed and plus raw power. A series of injuries with his two previous organizations (Royals, Padres), however, robbed him of development time.

The Sox viewed him as a tantalizing prospect with the potential for huge upside.

His first season with the Sox wasn’t aided by a case of COVID-19 prior to the start of spring training and costing him further time.

Even as Cordero struggled to find playing time and more consistent results at the plate, the Red Sox last week added super utility option Danny Santana, who, like Cordero can play the outfield and unlike Cordero, has something of an established track record at the big league level.

Santana’s arrival - and his quick impact with three extra-base hits in his first four games - made Cordero all the more expendable - for now, at least.

At Worcester, he’ll get time to work on his swing and do so away from the glare of the major leagues while at the same time, not hindering a team that finds itself, somewhat surprising, in the playoff hunt as the one- third mark of the season draws near.

Less certain is whom the Sox will add in Cordero’s absence. Option rules prohibit from recalling Chavis for another week and it would seem unlikely the Sox would turn to soon to outfielder Jarren Duran. Duran has enjoyed a strong first month at Triple A but the Sox have indicated they want him to further his development - both at the plate and in the outfield - in the minors.

It’s at least possible that the Red Sox could also be planning to add another arm, having only recently reduced from 14 to 13 pitchers for the first time this season. A demanding stretch - including a seven-game road trip to Houston and The Bronx awaits next week and it could be the team wishes to have a deeper for those series.

*

Right on schedule, Red Sox make a change and send Franchy Cordero to Triple A

Chad Jennings

Whether calculated or not, Alex Cora has a history of making meaningful changes 50 games into a season. He did it when the Red Sox released Hanley Ramirez in 2018, again when Andrew Benintendi was removed from the leadoff spot in 2019, and Cora did it again on Thursday, optioning Franchy Cordero to Triple A after nearly two months of underwhelming production.

Cordero’s last at-bat was a 474-foot home run — 118.6 mph off the bat — in his final Sunday, a reminder of his tantalizing talent, which remains overshadowed by his underwhelming production.

“It definitely feels good to be able to get a of one like that, especially just trying to make contact,” Cordero said. “It provides more confidence in knowing what I’m capable of doing.”

What Cordero is capable of doing, and what he’s actually, seem worlds apart at this point.

Sunday’s home run off Zach Wheeler was the third-hardest-hit ball in the majors this year (only Shohei Ohtani and have hit one harder). Even Cordero’s second-hardest-hit ball of the year — a 115.2-mph double May 19 against the Blue Jays — had a higher exit velocity than any of his teammates have generated this season. His 28.3 feet-per-second sprint speed, as measured by Statcast, is also the fastest of any Red Sox regular and ranks in the top 20 percent of the majors.

But of the 264 players with at least 100 plate appearances this season, only four have a lower wRC+, and if that sort of all-encompassing offensive metric isn’t your cup of tea, Cordero’s .179 batting average also ranks in the bottom 20, with his .274 slugging percentage in the bottom 15. He’s been one of the worst at consistently barreling the baseball, so his extreme exit velocities haven’t happened nearly enough.

The demotion came when he was actually showing some signs of life. He had a hit in each of his past four starts. Three of those hits were doubles. Another was the massive home run.

“He was on time and he put a good swing on it,” Cora said. “The previous at-bat was a good one too. Although it was an out, he fought off some tough pitches. (It’s) about swing decisions and being on time, and lately he’s been doing that.”

Perhaps it’s something to build on in Worcester, where the WooSox are without standout center fielder Jarren Duran, who has reported to play for Team USA in Olympic qualifier games through at least June 5. The fact that Duran is playing for Team USA — and this Cordero demotion, obviously, didn’t come out of nowhere — suggests Duran is not being called up. At least not yet.

More likely, because the Red Sox play the next 10 days in a row and 19 of the next 20, it seems they could call up a pitcher and revert to a nine-man bullpen (which they’ve carried most of the season). Recently promoted utility man Danny Santana is a switch hitter whom Cora prefers in the outfield — due to his lack of experience with the Red Sox infielders — so he’s a natural replacement for Cordero’s lost playing time.

If that’s the case — a pitcher called up on Friday, with Santana becoming a regular against righties — it’s a for-now move. The Red Sox will supplement their pitching staff, give Santana a chance to prove himself, and give Cordero regular at-bats to work through his offensive issues. But longer-term questions will remain.

1. Can Cordero begin to get the most out of his talent? He’s played in only 99 major-league games and 18 Triple-A games since 2018, so perhaps some regular playing time will unlock his potential. He’s also 26 years old, so this is the time to be productive.

2. How much longer before Duran is in the mix? Maybe the Red Sox will surprise us with a Duran promotion Friday, but that seems highly unlikely. Under Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox waited until the second half of last season to called up and , but 2020 was so unusual, it’s hard to draw many conclusions from that timetable. Duran has hit .278 with seven home runs this season, but those were the first 18 Triple-A games of his career, and Bloom has said he places a lot of value on Triple- A experience.

3. When will we fully evaluate the Andrew Benintendi trade? Benintendi has gotten hot for the Royals and went into Friday’s action hitting .342 with an .814 OPS in his past 21 games. Cordero was hardly the only player the Red Sox got for him (Josh Winckowski has a 1.80 ERA through four Double-A starts) but Cordero is the player who most immediately replaced Benintendi in left field, and clearly that’s been a negative in the short term. The Red Sox are still getting three players to be named later in the deal, so we’re a long way from final analysis.

For the time being, Cordero has run out of leash, and the Red Sox — right on schedule, per Cora’s past two seasons — are making a change. They stuck with Cordero for 49 games but will have someone new on the roster for game 50. It might not be the last time this particular roster spot undergoes a makeover this season.

The injury epidemic is robbing baseball of its stars, and its causes run deep

Peter Gammons

We know something is happening.

Watching the best player of this century pull up lame on the bases and realizing that we’re not going to see Mike Trout play with the joy of a 12-year-old alongside Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon for six to eight weeks just isn’t right. There were pre-season predictions that Mookie Betts, or would win an MVP, and when we awakened last Sunday they were hitting a combined .265 with 11 home runs, same as ; Byron Buxton, , Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Robert were on the ; hadn’t hit a home run and had played 14 games; there were significantly more uses of the I.L. — and that’s not even including COVID-19-related issues — through mid-May than there were during the corresponding periods in the 2017-19 seasons.

So we know something is happening, but we don’t know exactly what it is.

As this week opened, the Padres had the best record and largest run differential in the and had 11 pitchers on the I.L. The Mets were in first place with four starting pitchers on the list, not to mention four critical everyday players. The Rays had the second-best record and lowest payroll in the American League and had 10 pitchers on the I.L. , Seager and Javier Baez had started fewer games at shortstop than Freddie Galvis, and the game’s poster boy, Fernando Tatis Jr., had started fewer games than 27 other . The game is on a record pace for the highest percentage of innings thrown by relievers, and the real crunch of returning to a 162-game season after the 2020 stop-and-start won’t fully be felt until teams round the three-quarters/120-game pole in the third week of August. Message to all you Independent Leaguers: Before the third game of the 1986 ALCS, Richard Nixon arrived in Gene Autry’s box and hung up a sign that read, “Never Give Up.” This could finally be your year.

Joel Sherman wrote a superb May 19 column on the concerning injury trend, citing the 2021 non-COVID- 19 related injuries rising way beyond those of the 2017-19 seasons. We may well be at 400 uses of the I.L. by Memorial Day; Over 2017-19, there were always fewer than 300. I talked to six training and rehabilitation leaders and they cited a number of factors. Among them were the lack of routine in 2020 resulting from the pandemic, which resulted in players getting ready for a spring training and having it stopped a month after reporting, and the stop-and-go nature of the 60-game season, but also half the teams playing in October’s expanded playoffs, and then a shortened spring training clearly desired by agents close to the Players Association. Even a cold spring mattered, in the context of, as Dodger Performance Director Ron Porterfield said, “the reality that the most injuries usually occur in April.”

“There is no doubt that there have been an unusually high number of soft tissue injuries,” says Boston- based Mike Reinold, who trained in Birmingham at AMSI, and is director of a major conditioning and rehab center in Massachusetts and a consultant with the White Sox. “Some of it may be that in the offseason, a lot of players concentrate on getting right into cages, hitting and working on swings, but neglecting how their bodies work and how they are in the ideal condition for running, playing the field and the condition they require.”

According to Lee Sinins of MLB Network Research, from through May 23, there were 332 uses of the I.L. (not counting COVID-19 related absences; 72 additional absences were due to COVID, forcing player stops and starts) in 2021. Those numbers were 234, 257 and 245 in 2017, 2018, 2019, respectively.

The majority of the rehabilitation specialists believe that the combined effects of a season in which no pitcher threw 85 innings, a season of spring startup, sitdown, June restart, 60 games conducted in around 70 days, expanded playoffs, and then the scheduling vagaries of this season is obviously playing a huge role in the explosion of injuries.

But it’s not all circumstance. There may be other, underlying factors at play, ones that may be making the problems caused by pandemic scheduling even worse.

“In some areas of the country, kids are raised to play baseball year-round, their parents want them to be raised to be high-paid major leaguers and spend tons of money to people who profit from blind knowledge of their programs,” says one major-league hitting coach. “They teach explosion in the swing, violent movement. They’re usually very big into the launch angle, more than double what Ted Williams used and taught.”

The hitting camp teachers preach explosion, hoping to pull balls in the air at a 17 percent launch angle. Ted Williams is the greatest pull hitter who ever lived. He was a dead fly-ball pull hitter. His launch angle was, in his words, “five to nine percent.” He practiced his swing playing pepper. Now players aren’t allowed to play pepper, much less have any idea what it is. There were 34 players, including six making over $10 million, below the Mendoza Line as of last weekend.

The medical and training communities think the emphasis on that violent explosion leads to soft tissue injuries like pulled obliques.

One former manager and executive last week asked about Williams and oblique injuries. I told him Williams’ hitting style was from his feet through a very strong core and hip movement right out to his fingertips. Then Ted hit a great deal of pepper for the bat control and the feel of the swing to the ball. Williams said he usually liked to play pepper for at least 20 minutes a day; in 1959, when was walking down the left-field line at Fenway to go to the visiting clubhouse before his first start at that park, he watched Williams playing pepper with owner .

“I wish players would practice their pepper swings and use them 0-1 and 0-2,” says one former club president.

Major League pitchers can look at some of these swings and laugh at what they call “showcase hitters,” youngsters who take great batting practices and are applauded for exit velocity and launch angle; don’t get started on that. “You’d think in a season where runs are so difficult to come by that players would think about getting runners in from third with less than two outs with a simple stroke against the shift, but it doesn’t happen,” the Marlins manager and former Yankees star said.

One veteran pitcher says, “today guys go up trying to go bridge on 0-2 pitches, then complain because they’re getting breaking balls. Showcase hitters usually have a lot of problems making adjustments, as well as hitting fastballs up in the zone.”

Alex Cora has told one player who struck out in exactly that situation that he’ll have to make adjustments because in the game today “not getting the run in is unacceptable.” , Mattingly and others agree, but they don’t pay private instructors to teach exit velocity.

Every rehab expert thinks the focus on year-round baseball-only sports activities is dangerous and athletically regressive. One of the first 10 picks in the July draft may well be Boston College center fielder Sal Frelick; in high school, he was the Gatorade Massachusetts football player of the year and was likened to former NFL and Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie, an all-scholastic hockey player and the state baseball player of the year.

And if “explosion” is the secret culprit in this rash of injuries when it comes to hitters, “velocity” is its partner for pitchers.

Coming off a 60-game season in which there were no minor leagues, pitching was always going to be a problem. Everyone knew it was going to be dangerous to get 20-something-year-old pitchers a half-dozen starts in the minor leagues and ask them to fill a rotation from June 15 until October. Pitching is fragile, and when one looks at the most reliable — Shane Bieber, Gerrit Cole and have thrown more innings than any other pitchers since the beginning of the 2019 season, a testament to their work ethic and continued development (á la ). But this season also promises to see a record number of pitchers who start, relieve … heck, just appear.

“Every day it seems there are two starters that have forearm strains, eight to 10 relievers going on the I.L. and a couple of obliques, elbow reactions and lats,” says one National League pitching coach. “We have 13-man pitching staffs, rules to shorten extra innings and seven-inning games in doubleheaders, and we still need to use position players to regular pitchers’ arms.” Bless Tyler Rogers of the Giants, who, when his team’s series with the Dodgers ended last weekend had pitched in 25 of the Giants’ 47 games.

There were pre-season questions about the Dodgers having too much pitching. They’ve signed and added “interesting” pitchers like Nate Jones, and . Porterfield and the Dodger staff are rehabbing , , and Brandon Morrow for later in the season. Morrow? Sound familiar? He hasn’t pitched in a major-league game since July 15, 2018, but he’s rehabbing in Arizona, told not to try to be ready until September and the final month and playoffs.

The problem comes back to the development of pitching, from teenagers on up. “There are so many pitchers whose arms are broken at a young age,” says Eric Cressey, whose career with pitchers like Corey Kluber has made him one of the stalwarts of the industry. “Throwing a baseball as hard as these major leaguers do is the fastest motion in sports, and sooner or later it catches up to them. They learn to pitch through pain, they care, they work. There’s not a normal elbow in the draft.” Two of the top pitching prospects in the draft, Mississippi’s Gunnar Hoagland and LSU’s Jaden Hill, have already had Tommy John surgery. They may be drafted and rehabbed; the Dodgers took with a late first-round pick after he had TJ surgery, rehabbed him with Porterfield and he is now a premium major-league .

This is what Dr. James Andrews has discussed for a seeming generation, as have Glenn Fleisig, Jeff Bugas and Kevin Wilk at ASMI in Birmingham, Reinold, Ron Porterfield … the list goes on. Their processes are not for radar guns and spin rates, but development, conditioning bodies and syncing them to the individuals’ athleticism and an understanding of biomechanics. Asked about the number of forearm issues — that we in the layman’s world believe are the forerunners to Tommy John surgery — Reinold says “they often stem from overexertion, the effort for velocity. , … they don’t have the same strain.”

History shows us that drafts tend to see young pitchers come flying onto the radar throwing 100 MPH. Colt Griffin in 2001 was a Texas gunslinger, the next Kerry Wood, boasting 102 MPH and drafted by the Royals in the first round — and never made it higher than Double A. In 2014, the Marlins took another 100+ mph phenom named Tyler Kolek with the second pick in draft, and he has a mere five minor-league wins because of the injuries, while the Cardinals took a high school pitcher who was such a good athlete he could have been picked as a shortstop, named . He is the winningest pitcher in the major leagues right now.

“I went to one of those development centers where they try to build velocity,” says one major-league executive. “Some things were excellent. They helped kids learn about shaping pitches and certain forms of conditioning. But it was too much about velocity. A kid would throw a ball, it would register over 100 and everyone would cheer. The fact that it went up on the wall didn’t matter.”

Players used to laugh when Armando Benitez would turn around and look at the radar gun reading on the scoreboard after every pitch. Some teams used to manipulate what went up on the board; when Bartolo Colon was blowing heat, the Red Sox were known to occasionally post a low number because it upset him, and in 2007, when could throw 85 and still use his preparation and intelligence to get hitters out, the Fenway scoreboard would mix in 92s on the board to give him a boost.

But go back to the Braves’ Hall of Fame rotation of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and . “We were allowed to get our brains beaten out, learn to adjust to hit and grow,” says Smoltz. They threw two between starts, to hone command, touch and feel.

This may be a good time to remember that Rich Hill is, at 41, the oldest pitcher in the big leagues, that he was released by Syracuse in June, 2015, and then, a month later, when working out at the American where he played as a teenager, decided to go back to throwing overhand. Since that moment he has made 104 major-league starts, thrown 557 innings allowing 410 hits, won 46, lost 22, walked 180, struck out 642 and posted a 2.99 ERA, speaking of never giving up. Remember, when Hill made his major-league debut with the Cubs on June 15, 2005, he relieved Maddux, the first hit he allowed was a Miguel Cabrera double and his first strikeout victim was Juan Encarnacion.

Hill’s fastball sits in the high 80s.

“What’s happening is that these kids go to showcase tournaments—any kind of showcases—and when you read about them it’s all about who threw the hardest,” says an American League general manager. “When they get into , they’ve never learned command or touch or feel, only to launch rockets. That means they have trouble throwing strikes, their innings are limited, and in today’s game of a half- dozen relievers a game that often means one inning. There’s no learning process in an inning. There are no in-between bullpen sessions.”

It isn’t just the quest for velocity that troubles some pitching coaches. “I worry that some pitchers are so worried about spin rate that they pronate and hurt their arms trying to maximize those rates,” says one National League pitching coach. Porterfield monitors the friction on the elbow that comes from spin rate maximization. Some pitchers have suggested that the lighter introduced in 2021 are easier to spin, and the constant practice of creating spin may have caused physical problems. An executive has suggested that the widespread use of sticky substances keeps baseballs on fingers longer and could create unusual tension.

Between the increased spin and the premium on velocity, why do you think we have so many batters hit by pitches these days?

“Pitchers throw as hard as they can,” says the GM. “Today pitchers are told to pitch up. If there is any mechanical glitch, and with armside run, right-handers are throwing 100-mile-an-hour frisbees running at right-handed hitters’ heads, lefties at left-handed hitters’ heads.” We saw it April 30 when Cardinals left- handed reliever Génesis Cabrera threw a 97 mph fastball that hit in the face.

Carl Yastrzemski was in the on-deck circle on Aug. 18, 1967, the night was hit in the face; oh, he bravely came back, but by the age of 30, Conigliaro was done. had his jaw shattered by a Ken Tatum armside running fastball on May 31, 1971, and not only was Blair never the same, Tatum was so traumatized that he later admitted he could never again confidently throw balls on the inner half of the plate and was done three years later. And when he hit Blair, he was the best reliever in the American League.

In those days, players seldom wore helmets. Today, they have elbow pads and are virtually clad in armor. But what if Harper had been hit in the eye? He is a star player who plays as hard as anyone in the game, he is reliable to the point that he has played the most innings in right field across the combined 2019-2021 seasons.

Tom Verducci quoted a baseball official as calling this era “the most dangerous time in history to be a hitter.” He cited that the rate of hit batsmen in the last four years is the highest in history and the fact that wild pitches have increased 25 percent in the last decade.

Injuries and games missed could become a debate topic in the coming labor (dis)agreement negotiations. For instance, the Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr. contracts set the standards for this November’s free-agent shortstops, among them Corey Seager, Trevor Story, and Javier Báez. “I think after this season reliability will be a major factor in the signing process,” says one National League general manager. “Look back to last winter. Marcus Semien is one of the most reliable middle infielders in the game. We all know used to beg him to take a day off in Oakland, and he wouldn’t do it. He got a good deal from Toronto. I think the same will be true this winter.”

In case you’re on Fangraphs, yes, through last weekend Story had played the most innings at shortstop (2,119) of that pre-free agency group, behind Xander Bogaerts (2,168) and Nick Ahmed (2,156) at the position. Báez had played 1,918 innings, Seager 1,768, Correa 1,500 2/3.

But is it fair to question Seager’s durability? He’s had Tommy John surgery, came back to win the World Series MVP, then he got hit by a pitch and broke his hand. There was a YouTube video of all the star players hit by pitches in April. Should they be punished because there are pitchers who cannot throw strikes? A quick Cole/Bieber/Bauer/Jacob deGrom/Scherzer look shows nine HPs among them.

The Padres and Dodgers have played through all their injuries and are two of the best teams this season. The Mets have plugged along, and now can hope that deGrom and are healthy and in their rotation for the last three and a half months, with still a possibility for August. The Yankees rotation, considered to be a pre-season liability, has been dominant over the last three weeks.

In weeks, maybe months, we’ll see , Carlos Carrasco, Luis Severino, Framber Valdez and Chris Sale pitching. Baseball is not about numbers, it is all about the players. Period. It needs memorable players. When we see Beede or Scherzer in August, hopefully we’ll look out at a game and think of John Updike’s “on a hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill.”

Which is why we need Trout and Harper, Tatis and Betts, Scherzer and Cole and Kershaw where we can see them.