The Boston Red Sox Wednesday, March 11, 2020

* The Boston Globe

Trying to keep you informed — while keeping our distance — at Red Sox camp

Dan Shaughnessy

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nomar Garciaparra was ahead of his time. Come to think of it, maybe David Price can come back to the Red Sox now.

Tuesday morning was Day One of having no reporters in the clubhouse at spring training. It was the same at every NBA, NHL, and MLS locker room in North America. The coronavirus has temporarily (perhaps) created an atmosphere that players crave. Can’t say that I blame them. Who would want all those prying eyes when you are at your workplace?

Let the record show that I was one of the last reporters to darken the doorstep of the Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park before the ban was announced Monday night.

It was an uneventful experience, but I’ll tell you about it anyway since I may be the last Globie ever to work the Red Sox room at JetBlue.

It was early in the afternoon Monday. Most of the Red Sox regulars had done their early-morning workouts and gone home. A few were hanging around, waiting for a bus ride to North Port to play the Braves Monday night.

Alex Verdugo, the Dodgers prospect who will go down in history as the man hired to replace Mookie Betts, was hastily tying his shoes when I approached and asked if he had a moment.

"Sorry dude, gotta run,'' the young outfielder said politely. "Maybe catch you tomorrow.''

Hmmmm. Maybe not. Not now.

I had a nice conversation with John Andreoli, a 29-year-old outfielder who was born in Worcester and played at St. John’s in Shrewsbury, where his dad is still football coach. We talked about the many Holy Cross alums in his family and his decision to go to the University of Connecticut, where he played with Matt Barnes and George Springer. We talked about Tony Sanchez and Kevin Moran, guys he remembered playing against when they were at Boston College.

Andreoli played a summer at Wahconah Park for Pittsfield in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

"Only place where they have sun delays,'' he recalled. "The sun sets over the center-field fence at the start of night games, and they would allow us to stop the game for about 20 minutes if the sun was getting in our eyes.''

With help from Red Sox interpreter Bryan Loor-Almonte, I had a few moments with new second baseman Jose Peraza, a 25-year-old Venezuelan who appeared in more than 500 games with the Reds the last four seasons. Peraza said he researched to find the team with the greatest need for a second baseman and concluded Boston was the best place for him to sign.

He said he wants to prove that he can be an everyday player. He said he looks forward to playing in Fenway Park, adding, "Playing in front of all those fans every day is what we play for.''

He is friendly with Red Sox starting pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez and Martin Perez, both Venezuelans. Peraza said he doesn’t care where he hits in the lineup. A veteran of Venezuela’s hotly contested Caracas- Magallanes Caribbean Series, Pereza said he would not be intimidated by the intensity of Red Sox-Yankees games. He is wearing number 3 and he is your second baseman.

A few hours after my last loop in the locker room, the Red Sox PR staff sent out a media advisory regarding Tuesday access, stating, “The media relations staff will bring players and coaches out to the media bench between 9:15-10:15 a.m.” The memo advised reporters to request players in advance, and stated, “A minimum distance of 6 feet needs to be kept between the player/coach speaking to reporters.” (I think the Shaughnessy Rule is 10 feet.)

Reporters who requested interviews dutifully gathered by the outdoor interview bench at 9:15 Tuesday morning. They waited for just under two hours. In that time, the only players produced were Barnes and Brandon Workman, at the request of the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Sox fans who paid for the JetBlue Tour paraded through the Red Sox dugout.

When the interview room opened around 11 a.m., the area had been reconfigured. Chairs were backed away — a safe and respectful 6 feet — from the interview table.

"I know that it’s harder on you [media] guys now,'' said Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke. "We understand that, and I talked to the players and they need to be more accessible. When you guys need them, they need to be there for you. So I’m hoping that part is good.'’

Never mind us. What are the players thinking about the risk of coronavirus as they go to work, playing games in front of thousands of people?

"We’re all trying to learn more about it,'' said the manager. "Not just MLB, but what they are trying to do to stop this in the country and worldwide. Some players are more comfortable about this than others. They’re concerned about being out more in the public.

"I’m still high-fiving the players after good hits, and I think about it, and think maybe I should go inside and get some sanitizer. In baseball, it’s always hands. Whether it’s coronavirus or flu, we’re always touching each other’s hands. We’re trying to fist more, and elbow more.''

The Sox made some players available for group interviews during and after Tuesday’s exhibition game vs. the Cardinals at JetBlue. We all kept our 6-foot distance.

Welcome to Nomar Nirvana. More fists. More elbows. No handshakes. No high-fives. No spitting.

And no reporters in the clubhouse.

Rafael Devers not letting Yoan Moncada’s contract affect him

Julian McWilliams

Rafael Devers’s eyes lit up when a reporter mentioned Yoan Moncada’s name.

The two are close, and played parts of two seasons together in the minors, but Devers always lived in his buddy’s shadow. Remember, it was Moncada who agreed to a record-setting $31.5 million signing bonus to join the Red Sox back in 2015.

The pair have since gone their separate ways: Devers, becoming the potential franchise cornerstone for the Red Sox, and Moncada, who was a part of the Chris Sale trade back in 2016, as a dominant force for the Chicago White Sox.

Nevertheless, Devers living in Moncada’s shadow still lingers.

Last week, Moncada agreed to a five-year $70 million contract extension, meaning he will have earned more than $100 million by the time he’s 30 years old. Devers, meanwhile, was recently renewed by the Sox at $692,500 for 2020.

“I’m not really looking at what someone else is getting,” Devers said Tuesday through team interpreter Bryan Almonte. “Like, obviously, I’m still focusing on myself right now. Extension talks, it will be great to have if it comes to that, but right now, I’m not really focused on that. I’m focused on playing the game.”

The idea of a Devers extension has lived in the backdrop of what has been a newsy spring training for the Red Sox. It’s just a hypothetical, though one both sides should consider. Yet the reality that the Sox renewed — and couldn’t agree to a contract — with Devers is a bit telling.

“Obviously, we’ve been in contact with everyone to try to come to an agreement on a contract, and that’s what we’re really going to wait on moving forward,” Devers said. “I feel fine. It’s not going to change the way I approach the game or how I work.”

The last player to renew and not agree was Mookie Betts back in 2017, when he earned $950,000. Devers, like Betts that year, is in his final year before arbitration. At the time, Betts said he didn’t agree because he saw value in taking a stand.

“I didn’t know that about Mookie,” Devers said. “I’m just focused on myself and what I’m dealing with, with my contract. I’m just trying to figure that part out.”

Brewer making a good impression Colten Brewer struggled in his first season with the Red Sox. In 54⅔ innings, he registered a 4.12 ERA and was optioned twice.

This spring, however, Brewer has made quite the impression on interim manager Ron Roenicke. Brewer has a 2.16 ERA in 8⅓ innings, tossing 2⅔ innings of scoreless baseball Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s throwing the ball great,” Roenicke said. “He’s so much more aggressive in the strike zone. Last year was kind of off and on. When he was in the strike zone, he was really good, and then he would get a little wild. Right now, what I see, he’s just getting after it.”

The Sox stretched Brewer out a good bit Tuesday. They plan to stretch him out even more his next outing, during a simulated game.

“We’re trying to extend him as long as we can,” Roenicke said, “but he’s going to be one of the guys that, depending on what we do with that fifth spot, he could be a big piece of that.”

The team doesn’t plan to start Brewer. Roenicke acknowledged that if they were, he would probably just have started him during the spring instead of bringing him in for relief.

“Right now we love the way he’s throwing the ball,” Roenicke added. “We just want to make sure he’s got the innings.”

Johnson’s role still not defined Eduardo Rodriguez will most likely be the Opening Day starter. Nate Eovaldi probably will fill the No. 2 spot in the rotation, followed by Martin Perez. The rest, of course, is still a question mark. Brian Johnson could help fill the rotation, he could be a reliever, or he could be the pitcher to follow the opener.

He got the start Tuesday and didn’t do much to move the rotation needle. He threw 62 pitches in three innings, and allowed two runs while also walking three. He allowed the pair of runs in the first inning, but regrouped in the second and third.

“In the first inning, I was rushing a little bit,” Johnson said. “I was really driving off the backside. I would like to have made that adjustment sooner than later, but the second or third inning, I did.”

Johnson wants to win a job as a starter, but acknowledged that he’s ready to be utilized in whichever role the Sox see as the best fit. He had some success when the team used him in short spurts last year as a starter, and is willing to come in as the second pitcher if and when the Sox implement the opener tactic.

“It’s different thinking about it,” Johnson said. “Once they explained it to me last year, it kind of makes more sense, because your first three hitters are probably your best hitters. So, it’s just one less time you would have to turn a lineup over and face them. I have no problem with it.”

Loose threads The Sox will reassess Chris Sale in 10-14 days, Roenicke said, after consulting with team trainers … Alex Verdugo took 20 swings in the cage for the first time on Monday, and swung again on Tuesday … The coronavirus has put teams on high alert. When a reporter asked Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins if he thinks his club, whom the Red Sox open against on March 26 in Toronto, potentially could open the season in an empty ballpark, he said, “I certainly hope not. I don’t envision that.”

Tuesday’s Red Sox spring training report: Strong performance from Boston bullpen

Julian McWilliams

SCORE: Red Sox 3, Cardinals 2

RECORD: 8-10-2

BREAKDOWN: Brian Johnson gave up two runs in the first inning of his three-inning outing at JetBlue Park. The bullpen followed with six shutout innings. Christian Vazquez had a run-scoring double in the fourth inning, and infielder Jantzen Witte ― who has played 661 games in the Red Sox minor league system over a seven-year career ― had a two-run single in the sixth.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Righthander Colten Brewer pitched 2⅔ shutout innings, striking out three, to pick up the victory.

NEXT GAME: The Sox travel to Port Charlotte, Fla., on Wednesday to face the Tampa Bay Rays at 6:35 p.m. Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to start for the Red Sox. The game will be broadcast on NESN and WEEI-AM 850.

Congress commissions evaluation of Minor League Baseball as part of ongoing dispute

Michael Silverman

FORT MYERS – After Congress on Tuesday mandated an independent report to explore the harm that could result from its proposal to strip affiliation from 25 percent of minor-league baseball teams across the country, Major League Baseball offered an alternative focus – look at all the problems Minor League Baseball has caused.

“Major League Baseball would gladly participate in a serious Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of the many problems in Minor League Baseball that are impeding the development of players – including the widespread inadequacy of facilities, playing conditions, nutrition programs and burdensome travel demands,” said an MLB spokesperson via email. “A thorough study would show that the status quo is not just outdated but failing both players and communities across the country that are at risk of being left behind by minor league owners who can move their team and leave town at any moment.”

MLB’s response came soon after the US House of Representatives passed unanimously House Resolution 6020. The language in the resolution lists all the positives that minor-league baseball provides to communities, and it commissions the GAO to evaluate the contributions of minor-league baseball to the US.

While a GAO report does not carry the weight of an enacted piece of legislation or a court order, its findings could wind up impacting the ongoing and frequently contentious negotiations between MLB and MiLB over a new professional baseball agreement before the current deal expires in September.

“Is this report going to make a huge impact on negotiations between Major League Baseball and the minor leagues – I don’t know, it might,” said Warren Zola, executive director of the Boston College Chief Executives Club, a program of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Zola said he understood the value of a non- or bipartisan GAO report, “but candidly, you and I could write a 10-page paper today that would distill the exact same results of ‘the system is broken and it needs to be fixed’ and ‘it generates money but it’s not efficient.’ But there’s nobody in Congress who says ‘I want to be against baseball so I’m going to vote against this analysis.’”

MLB’s plan to dramatically cut the size of the minor leagues would have a devastating impact on the cultural and economic health of cities and towns across our country. As a long-time partner to the league, Congress is monitoring this proposal closely.

Rep. Lori Trahan, a co-chair of the “Save Minor League Baseball” Task Force that introduced the bill, expressed pleasure at the resolution’s passage.

“Today, the House of Representatives stood up for millions of families that benefit from having a Minor League Baseball team like the Lowell Spinners in their community,” said Trahan, whose district encompasses much of Lowell, home of the Red Sox’ Class A Spinners, one of the original 42 teams on MLB’s hit list.

“MLB’s plan to dramatically cut the size of the minor leagues would have a devastating impact on the cultural and economic health of cities and towns across our country. As a long-time partner to the league, Congress is monitoring this proposal closely.”

Major League Baseball concluded with a reminder on the role it wants Congress and the GOA to play.

“MLB is confident that we can simultaneously keep baseball in the communities in which it is currently being played and modernize our player development system so that it fits the 21st century, improves playing conditions and increases opportunities for players,” said the MLB spokesperson. “We look forward to working with Congress and the GAO, but the most constructive role they can play at this time is to encourage Minor League Baseball to continue working with MLB to address the real issues impacting minor league players and communities.”

Minor League Baseball did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

As precaution amid coronavirus outbreak, NESN’s Jerry Remy will skip Red Sox’ road trip to Baltimore

Michael Silverman

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Even though NESN broadcaster Jerry Remy’s health is sound right now, the risk of being exposed to coronavirus means he will skip part of the Red Sox’ season-opening road trip later this month.

Remy has survived multiple bouts with cancer, his latest cropping up in August 2018 when a tumor was discovered in his lung.

He is cancer-free, but given his medical regimen and history, he followed his doctor’s “strong suggestion” and will skip the Red Sox’ three-game series in Baltimore March 30-31 and April 1.

“I talked with Dr. [Larry] Ronan [Monday] and with all this going on, he feels that travel wouldn’t be the best thing for me right now,” said Remy, who requires immunotherapy treatment every three weeks and a combination of vaccine and immunotherapy treatment, as well as a CT scan, every three months. “With all my underlying conditions, they don’t want me getting sick somewhere else other than at Mass General. They don’t want me quarantined somewhere and I can’t get back to Mass General, where they would really want me.”

Remy was not on the schedule for the season-opening series in Toronto March 26-29, and he was also scheduled to miss the second road trip to Seattle and Oakland, April 9-15.

If coronavirus does not affect the Red Sox schedule, Remy will be at Fenway Park for the season opener on April 2.

“It sucks, but it is what it is,” said Remy. “It always bothers me to miss games. But if it’s only three, that’s fine. If the thing goes on and on and I have to miss more trips, that’s going to really bother me. But you have to take your health, that’s obviously No. 1. You can’t control this stuff. You see how it’s affecting things here already. You wonder what it’s going to be like a month from now, but you just don’t know. All I can do is, temporarily at this point, say that I will not do the Baltimore series and I’ll be off the road for six weeks and then we’ll reassess what the virus is doing and go from there.”

Remy’s next scheduled trip is to Minneapolis and Toronto at the end of April.

Overall, Remy’s outlook is positive.

“My CT scans have been great for 14 months, so whatever they’ve done has been working, it’s great,” he said. “Even with that, you can’t put yourself at risk with all this craziness going on.”

* The Boston Herald

Rafael Devers feels ‘fine’ about Red Sox’ contract renewal

Jason Mastrodonato

FORT MYERS — Asked about choosing not to agree to a contract and forcing the Red Sox to renew it this spring, Rafael Devers was less direct than Mookie Betts was three years ago about taking a stand.

In 2017, Betts said that forcing the team to renew his contract at $950,000 rather than agree to the deal was to make a point, though he said there were no hard feelings with the club.

Devers was renewed at $692,500 on Monday.

“I didn’t know that about Mookie,” he said through a team translator. “I’m just focused on myself and what I’m doing with my contract. That’s what my focus is on, trying to figure that part out.

“I feel normal. I feel fine. It’s not going to change the way I approach the game or how I work. I’m still going to try to be the best version of myself that I can be.”

Sale update The 10 day period of Chris Sale’s temporary shutdown due to elbow soreness is due to be up on Thursday. But interim manager Ron Roenicke said it’s not a guarantee that Sale will test his arm that soon.

“I think Friday maybe,” Roenicke said. “I talked to Brad a little bit more about it. The doctors gave him a window of about 10 to 14 days to let it calm down. He said he wants to evaluate it in 10 days and if he’s not ready, to evaluate it in 14 days.”

Sale said he’d know if he needs Tommy John surgery or not when he starts throwing again and can better understand how his elbow feels.

Good news on Verdugo Outfielder Alex Verdugo (back) took 20 swings in the cage for the first time this spring on Monday. He was also scheduled to swing again on Tuesday. And he’s throwing from 90 feet.

“All those things tell me he’s coming along really well,” Roenicke said.

Competition heating up Brian Johnson (3.86 ERA) gave up two runs and walked three while striking out one in three innings of work in the Sox’ 3-2 win over the Cardinals. He’s fighting for a spot as a starter, opener or reliever.

Colten Brewer (2.16 ERA) impressed, striking out three in 2-⅓ scoreless innings and also in the running to be an opener.

Jonathan Lucroy returning to form, Red Sox consider using three catchers

Jason Mastrodonato

FORT MYERS — Jonathan Lucroy is changing the way the Red Sox look at their 26-man roster.

An MVP candidate when he played for Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke when Roenicke managed the Milwaukee Brewers in 2014, the 33-year-old Lucroy was a late signing this spring and looked like he had only an outside chance at the backup catcher job after an injury-plagued season in 2019.

At the time Lucroy was signed, Roenicke said he did not plan on carrying three catchers. Christian Vazquez is the clear starter and Kevin Plawecki was signed to be the backup. Lucroy has played some first base before, but Roenicke said he’d only be competing as a backstop this spring.

A few weeks later, Roenicke changed his mind.

The skipper said Tuesday that Lucroy has played himself into contention for a roster spot and the Sox will now consider carrying three catchers.

They don’t have an obvious choice as their 26th man, with Rule 5 pick Jonathan Arauz trying to prove himself worthy despite having just 28 career games above High-A.

“The thing that’s different about that is, who that 26th player is going to be?” Roenicke said Tuesday. “Is it going to be a guy that can swing it offensively, also? Can it be a pinch hitter? Lucroy plays a little first base. Vazquez plays first base – we had him at third some last year; we won’t try to do that a lot – so they’re not just a catcher.”

The concept of a utility catcher, someone who can catch and play the field, is one that’s trending in MLB.

“Because our catchers are good offensively, it allows us to maybe carry three,” Roenicke said. “I think ideally, you always think about two, but that 26th man really allows you to go three.”

Offensively, Lucroy was once an elite catcher while with the Brewers. But he’s slowed down the last few years and had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck. His swing is starting to look good again.

He’s 4-for-17 with two doubles, five walks and five strikeouts in Grapefruit League action.

“Getting back to the good hands that I saw when I had him in Milwaukee,” Roenicke said. “This guys is a really good offensive player, and he’s starting to swing better. He had a couple of hits early and then didn’t do much, and now he’s starting to swing the bat again. And he can really hit.

“So, I see he’s getting back to that player I saw before, and hopefully we continue. This guy is a really good player.”

Catching instructor Jason Varitek has helped Lucroy develop a new one-knee set-up that Roenicke hopes will make him an elite pitch-framer again.

If Lucroy keeps hitting, he could open the year on the big league roster.

“Results are important, because the last couple of years, he hasn’t been the same player,” Roenicke said. “So we need to see results. And when I saw results, it doesn’t mean that he needs to hit .300. Are his swings getting back to where they were? Is he squaring up a lot of baseballs? Is he framing the balls better now? Is he blocking better?

“A couple of days ago, it was unbelievable. He was 9 for 9 blocking balls in the dirt. When we see those things, that tells us that he’s getting back to the type of player that we hope he will get to.”

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox pitching taking shape

Bob Rathgeber

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After giving up 57 runs in a recent seven-game span, Red Sox pitching appears to be in the home stretch for the opener in Toronto two weeks from Thursday.

Not all is settled, for sure. Who will be the fourth and fifth starters? Will they use an opener? How solid is the bullpen? How long will Chris Sale be out?

In the last three days, including Tuesday’s 3-2 victory over the Cardinals, answers to some of these questions are taking shape.

For one, Ryan Weber appears on the verge of winning a spot as the fourth starter.

That comes after his sparkling start Monday night against Atlanta. He pitched four scoreless one-hit innings. So far, Weber has worked nine innings without allowing a run, has struck out 11 and hasn’t walked a batter.

Originally signed by the Braves, Weber came to the Red Sox as a free agent prior to the 2019 season. He split time with Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket. With Boston, he started three of the 18 games he appeared in.

Weber does not have a blazing fastball. Some would say you could catch him with a pair of pliers. In fact, his fastball averaged just 88.4 mph last year, 19th slowest in the big leagues.

However, his control is spot on. He walked just eight batters in 40 innings with the Sox last season.

The back of the bullpen looks strong, and eight-inning hold artist Matt Barnes was dazzling against the Cardinals. He faced three batters and struck them all out.

“It was good,” Barnes said Tuesday. “Things are going in the right direction.”

Barnes said his command was good. His fastball was overpowering and a crisp curve took care of two of the three strikeouts.

This was Barnes’ third appearance this spring and he hasn’t been scored on. He hopes to continue the pace he kept in the second half of last year, when he pitched to a 2.63 earned run average.

Barnes is a strike-out pitcher. He was one of only three relievers with more than 100 strikeouts last year. Red Sox closer Brandon Workman and Oakland’s Liam Hendriks were the other two.

The right-hander is durable. He’s the lone American League pitcher to make at least 60 appearances and pitch at least 60-plus innings in each of the last four years.

No. 2 starter Nathan Eovaldi continues to show that he is over the elbow issues that sidelined him for six weeks last year. In three starts this spring, he’s pitched eight scoreless innings, including three on Saturday.

Non-roster left-hander Brian Johnson is trying to make the team as the fifth starter. In light of that, he is being stretched out and worked three innings Tuesday, throwing 64 pitches.

Slow start for Bogaerts

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who got a late start to his spring training because of an ankle injury, has a hole in his bat so far. In 12 at-bats, he has struck out 7 times, including twice on Tuesday. His timing remains off, and his swing is rusty.

Popular Cards

The Red Sox and Cardinals played before the largest crowd of the spring Tuesday at JetBlue Park, 10,090. It was the 135th consecutive sellout at Fenway South. St. Louis helped the Minnesota Twins, who also train in Fort Myers, fill Hammond Stadium on Sunday. The Twins drew their largest crowd of the spring, with more than 9,000 filling the stands.

* MassLive.com

Brandon Workman Boston Red Sox 2020 closer after fighting to make 2019 roster; ‘It’s obviously different having a job’

Christopher Smith

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Brandon Workman was out of minor league options for the first time and fighting to make the Opening Day roster at 2019 spring training camp.

“It’s in my hands. If I perform well, I have a spot. If I perform bad, that’s on me and I won’t,” Workman said last March. "I can live with that.”

Workman not only won a job in the 2019 Red Sox bullpen. He then took over as Boston’s closer during the second half.

The righty led all major league relievers (minimum 40 innings) with a .123 batting average against in 2019. He allowed only eight extra-base hits (seven doubles, one homer). His 1.88 ERA ranked sixth. He allowed the fewest hits (29).

“It’s obviously different having a job coming into camp,” Workman said recently. “So it’s just been about getting ready for the season.”

He didn’t allow an earned run in 63 of his 73 outings last year. He allowed more than one run in just four outings.

“It’s incredible. To put up numbers like that is absurd," reliever Josh Taylor said. “He’s earned it. He’s put so much time and effort into his career, this organization already. You love to see it for a guy like that. He’s worked hard. He’s still busting his ass today. It’s good to see. It’s good to see it pay off for someone like that.”

He’ll enter the 2020 regular season as Boston’s closer.

“I think with what he did last year, he deserves that shot to be the closer,” interim manager Ron Roenicke said.

Did he sit back during the offseason and appreciate the eye-popping stats he posted?

“Obviously I had a really good year last year, but I didn’t spend a lot of time looking up my stats,” Workman said.

“No, honestly not really. I see my ERA on the board every time I pitch. And I know that,” Workman added. “But all the other ones I don’t get into too much.”

He used his curveball the most of his three pitches last year. He threw it 47.0% of the time, holding opponents to a .132 batting average against and .194 slugging percentage, per Statcast.

His fastball averaged 92.9 mph. He threw it 33.7%, holding hitters to a .134 batting average and .149 slugging percentage.

“He might not have the best stuff or the flashiest stuff in the big leagues, but just his mindset of not backing down," reliever Heath Hembree said. "And if he’s throwing 92, 93, he’s throwing it like it’s 105 mph with no fear. That plays. And you can tell that. The year he had was very exciting for me to watch.”

Workman added in a cutter (19.3%), holding opponents to a .077 batting average and .103 slugging percentage with it (Statcast).

“I think it was just pitch execution,” Workman said. “I was able to make my pitches pretty much all year. I didn’t make a lot of mistakes in the zone last year.”

Hembree added, “Obviously he’s had some adversity through his career as far as injuries and as far as being backed into a corner of just trying to fight for a spot on the team. We all knew his situation last year in spring training was obviously different than it is this year. He earned his spot on the team last year and it just kind of went from there. You could tell he pitched with that chip on his shoulder of having to earn his spot when he felt like it should have been more established than it was.”

Workman experienced plenty of adversity after a strong rookie season in 2013 when he allowed only one unearned run in 8 ⅔ postseason innings, including 3 ⅓ innings in the World Series. He underwent Tommy John surgery June 15, 2015. He missed both 2015 and ’16 because of the injury.

“He keeps it light. He keeps it loose, but there’s another switch he has,” Hembree said.

Workman is eligible for free agency after the 2020 season.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Workman said. “I’m excited.”

It has been a while for Workman who Boston drafted in 2010. He joins Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia and Jackie Bradley Jr. as the only remaining players from the 2013 World Series team still on the roster.

“That’s just the way the process goes,” Workman said.

Jerry Remy, Boston Red Sox NESN analyst, won’t travel to Baltimore as precaution because of coronavirus outbreak (report)

Christopher Smith

Jerry Remy, who already was scheduled to miss the Red Sox’s opening series in Toronto March 26-29, has decided not to work Boston’s second series at Baltimore (March 30-April 1) because of the coronavirus outbreak, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Remy already has beaten six cancer relapses. The 67-year-old was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008.

“(Dr. Larry Ronan) feels that travel wouldn’t be the best thing for me right now,” Remy told the Globe, per Boston.com. “With all my underlying conditions, they don’t want me getting sick somewhere else other than at Mass General – they don’t want me quarantined somewhere and I can’t get back to Mass General."

Remy also isn’t scheduled to work Boston’s second road series at both Seattle (April 10-12) and Oakland (April 13-15), according to the article.

Boston Red Sox injuries: Chris Sale to be reevaluated at 10-14 days, Alex Verdugo starts swinging (reports)

Christopher Smith

Chris Sale (flexor strain) will be reevaluated 10-14 range following his injury, Ron Roenicke told reporters, including Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams, in Fort Myers on Tuesday.

Sale — who is entering the first year of a five-year, $145-million contract extension — felt soreness after throwing a simulated inning Sunday (March 1). He told the training staff the next day and underwent an MRI. Both Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache reviewed the MRI and determined the ace had a flexor strain but would not need Tommy John right now.

Friday marks 10 days from when Andrews reviewed the MRI.

NESN’s Guerin Austin reported he will be evaluated Friday, then a few days later if he’s not ready to throw.

Roenicke also told reporters Alex Verdugo began swinging a bat Monday. He took 20 swings in the cage, per McWilliams.

Verdugo will start the regular season on the injured list because of a stress fracture in his back. The Red Sox acquired the right fielder in the Mookie Betts trade.

Coronavirus in MLB: Boston Red Sox Opening Day game not expected to be played in empty stadium, says Blue Jays GM (report)

Chris Cotillo

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins does not envision a scenario that would cause Toronto’s Opening Day game against the Red Sox to be played in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus outbreak, he told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith on Tuesday.

The Sox and Jays are scheduled to begin the season on March 26 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Though the league plans on starting its season on time, teams are operating with the knowledge that games could be played in empty stadiums if the coronavirus outbreak spreads.

Major League Baseball already closed its clubhouses to media members, temporarily changing its media policy to require reporters to remain at least six feet away from players and coaches during interviews. Other leagues, including the NHL, NBA and MLS, have also banned media members from locker rooms.

Canada has 77 confirmed cases, including 34 in Ontario. So far, no MLB games have been altered due to the ongoing outbreak, though the NHL’s San Jose Sharks may need to reschedule games after a California county banned gatherings of over 1,000 people through March.

The Red Sox open the season with four games in Toronto before going to Baltimore for a three-game series. The home opener is scheduled for April 2 against the White Sox and begins a six-game homestand through April 8.

* RedSox.com

Sale set to resume throwing on Friday

Dawn Klemish

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Chris Sale hasn’t thrown since learning he has a flexor strain in his left elbow, but that will change Friday, when the ace is scheduled to test out the arm he’s been resting.

Doctors recommended Sale give the injury 10-14 days to calm down, with the southpaw not surprisingly pushing for the earlier end of that spectrum. Since his diagnosis, Sale has been constantly working with the Red Sox's training staff to monitor the progression, and they felt like Friday could be a step forward.

“We talked to [head trainer] Brad [Pearson] a little bit more,” Boston manager Ron Roenicke said on Tuesday. “[Sale] said he wants to evaluate it at 10 days, and then if he’s not ready, to re-evaluate at 14 days.”

It’ll be a telling day for Sale, who spent the offseason rehabbing his left elbow following inflammation that ended his 2019 season on Aug. 13 before it began acting up in camp again. Should Sale be able to throw without issue, he’ll progress to playing catch at differing distances and eventually throw off the mound.

If not, he’ll try again a few days later, then move to a more serious round of testing and evaluation to reveal the next step. Sale acknowledged last Thursday when the strain was diagnosed that a next step could be Tommy John surgery.

The seven-time All Star has 2,007 career strikeouts across 10 seasons, including a career-best 308 in 2017, his first year with the Red Sox. His absence leaves Boston searching to fill out the rotation behind Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Martín Pérez and Ryan Weber.

Verdugo back in the swing of things Alex Verdugo’s spring has probably felt longer than most, as the outfielder has been very limited in activity as he recovers from the stress fracture in his back. It was good news for everyone, then, that Verdugo took 20 swings in the batting cages on Monday and Tuesday and reported no problems. He’s also extending his throwing distance from 60 feet to 90 feet.

A key piece in the Mookie Betts trade with the Dodgers, Verdugo won’t be ready to start the season on time but will eventually land in the outfield.

Brewer open for business? If Tuesday’s 3-2 win against the Cardinals is any indication, it appears Colten Brewer is being stretched out to fill an opener role. The 27-year-old entered in the sixth inning and earned the victory with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

Brewer also fanned three, including the first two hitters he faced. Roenicke was impressed enough by the righty’s work that he said the Red Sox will stretch Brewer out even further next time around, in a “B” game on the back fields.

If the Red Sox decide to learn toward an opener in lieu of a fifth starter to begin the season, Roenicke said Brewer could “be a big piece of that.”

“He's throwing the ball great,” Roenicke added. “He’s so much more aggressive in the strike zone. Last year was kind of off and on … but right now, what I see, he’s just getting after it. Just going right at people.”

Up next Rodriguez has been on a roll this spring and will look to extend his dominant streak on Wednesday when the Red Sox travel to face the Rays in a night game in Port Charlotte.

Rodriguez scattered three hits and struck out four in four innings against the Braves his last time out, and his offspeed stuff was looking nasty as he looks to fill the void left by Sale at the front of the rotation. Also slated to throw in the 6:35 p.m. ET matchup are right-handers Ryan Brasier, Heath Hembree, Domingo Tapia and Austin Brice.

Versatility aiding Johnson's cause with Red Sox

Dawn Klemish

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As Brian Johnson reached the dugout steps following the first inning, all he could do was flash a smile toward his teammates and shake his head. Tuesday's game definitely did not start out in his favor.

Though Johnson never really got a feel for his curveball during the Red Sox’s 3-2 win against the Cardinals at JetBlue Park, he did regain command of his game shortly afterward. The left-hander walked the first batter of the second inning, then induced a groundout followed by a double play to end the threat.

Johnson gained steam each frame, allowing just a single in the third to round out his day with three hits, two runs, three walks and a strikeout.

“I don’t think there was a change in game plan [after the first inning], I think it was more of a, ‘Just take a deep breath’ and not let it affect my next two innings,” he said of the opening frame. “What’s done is done, and I can’t change that. I really just wanted to attack the zone and work more glove side, because I was missing up arm side a lot.”

With Spring Training more than half over, every start is of the utmost importance to guys like Johnson who are looking to be one of 26 to head north with the team. The non-roster invitee is still very much in the mix with a Red Sox pitching staff that has little set in stone, and every outing is an opportunity for a push.

“A little wide in the first inning; hurt him, obviously,” Boston manager Ron Roenicke said. “BJ is a command guy. He’s got great feel for his curveball, he usually throws his fastball where he wants to. He’ll elevate it when he needs to, and he couldn’t do that right off.”

Johnson is able to float from the rotation to the bullpen with ease, a versatility that the 29-year-old could use to his advantage as a lefty used in long relief or as an opener, should Boston toy with that option again this year. It’s an idea he’s willing to embrace and one that would play to his strengths as far as flexibility goes.

“I feel like I know what I want to do now as a starter, and what I want to do out of the ’pen, so it’s just a little different mindset,” Johnson said.

“The only thing I can do is go out there every five days or whenever they tell me to, whether it’s out of the ‘pen or as a starter, and really go out there and do what I can,” he added. “The rest is up to them, and I just look forward for the opportunity to fight for that spot.”

* ESPN.com

Which players could move into MLB Rank's top 20 after 2020?

Dan Szymborski

The new MLB Rank from ESPN of Major League Baseball's top 100 players is out, and as usual, my compulsive need to project the future already has me thinking about the 2021 list. After all, who likes waiting?

Since I'm curious about what next year's top 20 could look like, rather than travel into the future and ask the rest of the writers -- and besides, I don't actually have a time machine -- I asked the ZiPS projection system to rank the 10 players most likely to join the top 20 next year who didn't make it this time around. I'm also including where ZiPS has them pegged as far as their ranking for next year.

1. Ozzie Albies, 2B, Atlanta Braves (projected 2021 ranking: 11)

The emergence of two young outfield phenoms in the NL East, teammate Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto, has perhaps left Albies a bit overlooked in the public eye. But let's not forget Ozzie hit .286/.354/.456 while playing solid defense at second as a 20-year-old rookie in 2017 and has only grown from there.

Just 22 years old in 2019, Albies hit .295/.352/.500 in 160 games at second base and contributed just as much to Atlanta's year as anyone else on the team. Albies became one of the best fastball hitters in the majors last season and while people keep saying he can't add more power given his size, that's exactly what people thought when they called his .171 isolated power as a rookie a fluke. Albies' ISO was .205 in 2019.

2. Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees (projected 2021 ranking: 14)

The prize from the Aroldis Chapman trade a few years back, Torres improved from a solid rookie campaign to the lower echelons of stardom in his follow-up season. Torres isn't an OBP star, but that would be a bit greedy to expect from a shortstop in his early 20s coming off a 38-homer season, isn't it?

It hasn't shown up in his walks yet, but Torres made great strides with his plate discipline in 2019. He raised his zone-swing rate from 66% to 74%, while his out-of-zone swings dropped by about a percentage point. Generally speaking, when players swing more often, their contact rate suffers, but Torres saw his improve from 70% to 74%. It remains to be seen just how well Torres can handle playing shortstop in the long term, but his bat is so good that it might not even matter.

3. Marcus Semien, SS, Oakland Athletics (projected 2021 ranking: 16)

Few players are as great an example as Marcus Semien as to why you shouldn't prematurely decide that a prospect can't do something. The book on Semien was that he was too erratic and error-prone at short to stay there defensively, and the White Sox lost interest in him fairly quickly. There were some rough years in Oakland, but Semien worked as hard on his defense as perhaps anyone ever has and, with the help of Ron Washington, has improved to the extent he was a deserving Gold Glove finalist in 2019.

Oh yeah, and he also hit .285/.369/.522 and finished third in the AL MVP vote. While you want to see him do all of it again, his improvement was across the board and there was no wacky BABIP spike you sometimes see in these types of seasons that seem to come out of nowhere. There aren't many shortstop with 6.9 WAR seasons on their résumé.

4. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians (projected 2021 ranking: 17)

The first half of 2019 was a miserable failure for Ramirez, but one can't forget that Jose Ramirez was third in WAR among position players from 2016 to 2018, hitting .300/.375/.533 while playing top-tier defense at the hot corner. He's also just 27 years old in 2020, and after an overhaul of his approach at the plate, he hit .327/.365/.739 in 43 games until a broken hamate bone prematurely ended his season.

5. Jack Flaherty, SP, St. Louis Cardinals (projected 2021 ranking: 19)

The Cy Young award went to the right guy in the National League, but Jack Flaherty had a second-half run as dominating as any you or I have ever seen or will ever see, allowing just 10 earned runs in 15 second- half starts. Remember Orel Hershiser's 59-inning scoreless streak in late 1988? Hershiser's 26 earned runs allowed for the half was more than twice as many as Flaherty's total. Flaherty did this all as a 23-year-old, and there's no particular reason to think he can't be one of the top NL starters in 2020.

6. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox (projected 2021 ranking: 20)

Like Gleyber Torres, Rafael Devers accomplished the challenge of being more aggressive at the plate while simultaneously making more contact. Also like Torres, Devers made better contact, as well, finishing with a .311 batting average and 32 home runs. Devers is still young (the Red Sox's season was long over by the time he turned 23), and only an average glove is keeping him from graduating into elite territory.

7. Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays (projected 2021 ranking: 22)

Who knew that Toronto's apparent plan to accumulate sons of former major leaguers would work out so well? Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still has a bright future. But with a sterling debut and his having nothing like Vladi's limitations on defense, Bo is ahead of Guerrero as an overall player right now. Bichette's .311/.358/.571 rookie line will probably come down a bit, but after turning 22 years old just last week, he has a lot of upside.

8. Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland Indians (projected 2021 ranking: 24)

There was no projection I was more worried about going into the 2019 season than Bieber's. Entering the season, ZiPS projected Bieber's WAR at 14th among all pitchers, at a 3.71 ERA in 187 innings. Suffice to say, there are a few sleepless nights when the projection system you create pegs a former fourth-rounder who was not a top prospect, and with a 4.55 ERA in his debut season, to finish just under Clayton Kershaw.

But then Bieber was even better than the projection, ranking eighth in WAR and finishing with a 3.28 ERA in 214 ⅓ innings. He also largely eliminated his problems against left-handed batters, the one big flaw in his rookie campaign. After projecting big things from Bieber in 2019 and Bieber achieving those big things, ZiPS is hardly going to project him to play worse.

9. Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres (projected 2021 ranking: 26)

Machado had a bit of a down season in his first year in San Diego, but don't forget he's still just 27 years old even though it feels like he's been in the league forever. Manny was ninth among hitters in WAR from 2015 to 2018, and I'm going to need to see more than one "merely" very good season at age 26 to be convinced that kind of performance is in the rear-view mirror. For now, I'll choose to believe Manny was cursed by having to play in San Diego's ultra-generic, blue-and-white uniforms, and everything will be fine now that the team is back in proper mustard and brown.

10. J.T. Realmuto, C, Philadelphia Phillies (projected 2021 ranking: 28)

Unlike a certain other Phillies acquisition last winter, Realmuto did exactly what he was supposed to in his first season in Philadelphia. Not only did Realmuto remain an elite offensive catcher in 2019, he also took steps toward being an elite defensive catcher. One can say Yasmani Grandal is right there with Realmuto, but when projecting the future, Realmuto has a three-year edge in terms of age -- an important thing for catchers and their ticking-time-bomb knees.

* WEEI.com

Jerry Remy won't travel to Baltimore for late March series due to coronavirus concerns

Ryan Hannable

Now the coronavirus is impacting sports media.

According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe, NESN's Jerry Remy will not travel to Baltimore for the March 30-April 1 Red Sox series against the Orioles because of a strong recommendation from his doctor amid fears of coronavirus.

“I talked with Dr. (Larry) Ronan (Monday) and with all this going on, he feels that travel wouldn’t be the best thing for me right now,” Remy said to the Globe. “With all my underlying conditions, they don’t want me getting sick somewhere else other than at Mass General – they don’t want me quarantined somewhere and I can’t get back to Mass General, where they would really want me.”

Remy was not scheduled to be in Toronto March 26-29 or the second road trip to Seattle and Oakland, April 9-15.

“It sucks but it is what it is,” said Remy. “It always bothers me to miss games. But if it’s only three, that’s fine. If the thing goes on and on and I have to miss more trips that’s going to really bother me. But you have to take your health, that’s obviously No. 1. You can’t control this stuff. You see how it’s affecting things here already. You wonder what it’s going to be like a month from now but you just don’t know. All I can do is, temporarily at this point, say that I will not do the Baltimore series and I’ll be off the road for six weeks and then we’ll reassess what the virus is doing and go from there.”

The NESN analyst has survived several bouts of cancer with the latest coming in Aug. of 2018 when he had a tumor in his lungs.

* NBC Sports Boston

If MLB, NBA and NHL really want to limit spread of coronavirus, they'll shut their doors

John Tomase

LeBron James isn't going to like this, but shut 'em down.

Empty the arenas. Clear the ballparks. Drain the rinks.

The rest of the world is acting aggressively to slow the spread of the coronavirus before it becomes a pandemic that overwhelms global testing and treatment capabilities. U.S. leagues should follow suit, absorbing short-term pain in the interests of the long-term public good.

James, the Lakers star and MVP candidate, has already declared he's not interested in playing without fans, and it's an understandable sentiment. They're called spectator sports for a reason, after all.

But the response to coronavirus is a matter of public safety, and the window to act is rapidly closing.

The NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS took a microscopic step in this direction by banning reporters from locker rooms and clubhouses, as if those 20-50 media members pose a greater threat to the leagues' players than, say, the 20,000-50,000 fans packing their facilities. It's akin to providing the Andrea Doria with one sparkling new bailing thimble as it sinks off the coast of Nantucket.

A cynic might wonder if leagues are acting opportunistically, with the goal of cementing these bans in perpetuity, but this cynic will suppress those suspicions for the time being in the interests of the greater good.

And this is about the greater good.

The World Health Organization believes that, unlike the seasonal flu, COVID-19 can potentially be contained (plenty of experts disagree). Large swaths of China, Italy, and Korea have been effectively shut down, and draconian measures enacted in Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, have dropped the number of cases from a high of 3,000 a day in February to about 200 now.

Unlike authoritarian China, however, the United States can't quarantine 15 million people and make them order their food online. There are limits to what we can demand of our population in a democracy.

Giving up our games for a few weeks doesn't cross that line, however. Skipping a Red Sox matinee or watching the Bruins at home instead of in person isn't an overreach. It's common sense, especially in places like Seattle, where the sickness is spreading; about 40 cases have been diagnosed in Boston.

Brad Stevens on concerns: 'Nobody wants to play without fans' It's hard to imagine every ballpark and arena in America being fitted with padlocks until the threat has been reduced, but the alternative — sporting events as mass incubators — strikes me as far worse. The product will suffer in the short term, especially as it's played in eerie silence, but that's a small price to pay.

As a first step, teams in affected areas should be proactive about closing their doors.

We're going to hear a lot about "social distancing" in the next few months, because it's our first line of defense against the spread of disease. The more people packed together, the greater the odds of transmission. If you didn't know that spit travels six feet in the course of regular conversation with someone who's coughing, you do now. Sorry.

Harvard and Amherst have already moved classes online and told students not to return from spring break. The Ivy League will not hold a conference basketball tournament. Apple employees are working from home. Boston canceled its traditional St. Patrick's Day parade and Austin its massive South by Southwest music festival. Other schools, businesses, and events will undoubtedly follow suit.

"What's the big deal?" you might ask, perhaps spurred by a certain hyperactive Twitter account with roughly 75 million followers and a vested interest in wishing this entire ordeal away. "More people die of the flu! The mortality rate is only 1 percent! I'll be fine!"

You probably will be, but this isn't about you. It's about our older, higher-risk populations. Every infection a healthy 30-something beats with little more than a cold is an opportunity to pass the sickness to a more vulnerable community. Because this virus is new, no one is immune, and a vaccine might be two years away.

We live in a peculiar political age where a significant chunk of the population feels a knee-jerk desire to scoff at clearly established dangers to our health and safety with know-nothing denialism, be it guns, climate, or illness. Some of them even stare directly into eclipses, giving new meaning to the lyric, "blinded me with science."

There's no wishing away coronavirus, though. We're slipping from the containment phase of this epidemic to the mitigation one, and if leagues really want to do their part, they'll start telling their fans to stay home.

* The Athletic

An unexpected casualty of the chaotic Red Sox winter? The media guide

Jen McCaffrey

This offseason for the Red Sox was unlike any other; that much has been clear from the outside. But for the team’s media relations staff, it was an especially frantic time — yet not for the obvious reasons.

From the hiring of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to the ongoing MLB investigation of the team into alleged sign-stealing to the parting of ways with manager Alex Cora followed by the blockbuster trade of Mookie Betts and David Price, it has been anything but a typical winter, with twists and turns aplenty.

But any member of a baseball media relations staff knows the real monster looming over his or her head every offseason, and this one in particular, is making the media guide. It’s a book distributed to media members, opposing teams and league officials (fans can buy them, too) that’s several hundred pages long. It’s chock-full of information on anything and everything one would want to know about the team — not just statistics, but biographies on ownership, front office staff, players and coaches, and the names and photos of every person in scouting, player development, analytics, the medical staff and minor-league operations.

The goal is to have the media guide ready for the first game of spring training, which usually falls the final week of February. In the previous three years, the online version of the guide has arrived anywhere from Feb. 21 to Feb. 26, with the hard copy delivered a few days later. But now it’s mid-March, and the media guide is still not done yet, though the online version is expected to arrive sometime this week. One team sent its media guide to the rest of the league on Feb. 11. The Red Sox have been getting emails inquiring about their guide for weeks, said Justin Long, the senior manager of media relations and baseball information.

“Putting a media guide together is never easy just because it’s so much information. It’s a 500-page book is what it is,” Long said. “This might the hardest one we’ve had to do. It’s March and we’re just finalizing it. So, it’s taken the longest. We have 69 player bios. I don’t know if that’s the most there’s ever been in a Red Sox media guide but it feels like it. So, yeah, this one feels like it’s been really tough.”

Long is the point person for the media guide, though all five people on the Sox media relations staff work diligently on the book throughout the winter.

“One of the most common questions we get as a department from our friends and family is, ‘What do you do in the offseason?’” Long said. “There are a lot of things we do, from the writers’ dinner to Winter Weekend to transactions and coordinating interviews and big-picture projects you’re working on for the organization. But a big part of it is you work on the media guide. Problem is, people don’t know what a media guide is.”

It’s basically an encyclopedia on the team, and it’s complete and accessible to the point that it’s often quicker to look up something in the media guide than to search for it online.

“In reality, you’re working on the media guide for most of the day throughout the offseason,” Long said. “Once you get to crunch time and spring training, for me anyway, you’re working on it during the game, you go home and eat dinner, then work on it at night proofing and editing. The final weeks of putting it together, it is just non-stop.”

The offseason tumult had the media relations staff already working extra to keep up, as the Red Sox changed general managers and then parted ways with Cora just before spring training. But as is often the case, injuries and player turnover made a tough situation worse. When Long contracted pneumonia in early February, just a couple weeks before the media guides would normally go to print, the process was derailed. His illness coincided with the trade of Betts and Price, forcing the Red Sox to cut 14 pages of the media guide dedicated to the two players. Meanwhile, Bloom kept signing and trading for players like Kevin Pillar, Jonathan Lucroy and Collin McHugh, who needed to be added to the book.

Changes keep coming, even as the group works frantically to finish the guide. Last week, right-hander Hector Velázquez was cut to make room for McHugh the day before Long sent the book to the printer for a first rough draft. Velázquez was claimed on waivers by the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, but because it was so late in the process, he’ll remain in the media guide.

And that’s to say nothing of the potential changes wrought by the spread of the coronavirus, which is wreaking havoc across MLB. None of that will be chronicled in the guide.

The actual process of putting the media guide together begins just after the season ends. Last year’s guide was difficult because the team won the World Series, and the staff had a significantly shorter offseason to put it together.

Typically, the staff takes time off after the season ends. Before he takes his vacation, Long reviews the previous season’s guide to see if there are ways to improve it. The staff shaved about 60 pages after last year just by condensing some sections within the player bios.

“We get a lot of questions about the history of the Green Monster,” Long said. “Like, if ESPN or Fox comes into town and they’ll say, ‘Hey, do you guys have any info on this?’ and we didn’t. We had it, but it was our archivist who had it, and so we said, ‘Let’s do that with the media guide and put in a two-page spread this year.’ So, you’re looking at things, trying to be more efficient, trying to add something that wasn’t in there in the past, taking out things you don’t need anymore.”

One thing that has evolved over the years is the statistics the Red Sox use, adding OPS for hitters and WHIP for pitchers, instead of just batting average and ERA.

“You’re kind of looking at the writer’s perspective, you’re looking at it from the broadcaster’s perspective, which are very different, and you’re kind of looking at it from a fan’s perspective,” Long said. “So, you’re trying to include as much information as possible without getting too detailed.”

The staff divvies up sections to work on. Long and media relations coordinator Kyle Montemagno wrote a majority of the 69 player and 10 coach biographies.

Those biographies are important, especially at the most hectic times of the year. A common practice among media relations staffs is to share bios of players involved in trades so each has information on its incoming player.

“When we traded Mookie and David, one of the first things I did after that was send the Dodgers those two bios because those were already done,” Long said. “It was hard letting them go because I spent so much time on them, but you know it’ll help the other PR staff. So, rather than them scrambling, saying, ‘OK, what do we write about Mookie Betts?’ it’s ‘OK, here’s seven pages of Mookie Betts. This will give you a start.’”

With rumors swirling all winter that Betts might be traded, the staff decided to hold off as late as possible on deciding the design of the media guide cover. In years past, a small group of key players graced the cover. Last year, the staff went with a photo of the World Series trophy being raised into the air with a picture of the players on the field at Dodger Stadium in the background.

“Going into the offseason, we truly didn’t know who was going to be on our team and who wasn’t,” Long said. “We did know there was a chance there would be a lot of roster shuffling, so rather than commit to certain players, we kind of went in and said, ‘Let’s have a safe option for the cover like a beauty shot of Fenway and we’ll just put that aside and reevaluate come February.’”

The staff settled on a group of five players for the cover: Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, Eduardo Rodríguez and Chris Sale.

While the player bios mainly consist of career statistics and accomplishments, most of the capsules also contain a section for personal information. Long knows certain players well enough to know their personal lives haven’t changed much in terms of marriages or the birth of children, but with so many new faces this year, it was a bit hectic checking in on the details with nearly 70 players.

“It’s one of the first things on my checklist when I get to spring training,” he said. “There’s a lot of scrambling trying to get all that information.”

Long also tries to include random tidbits about players, like right-hander Chris Mazza being distant cousins with the DiMaggio family or Jackie Bradley Jr. being a distant relative of Michael Jordan or that McHugh playing the ukulele.

Some players don’t want any personal information included in the media guide, however. Long remembered one player who was married with children but asked to leave it out so fans of opposing teams wouldn’t be able to taunt him with that knowledge.

The bios for the front office, ownership and other departments within the organization can usually be finalized much earlier in the winter because most of the time, there won’t be many changes. The unexpected removal of Cora as manager was made easier by the fact the media relations staff already had a bio for interim manager Ron Roenicke. Bench coach Jerry Narron, however, was a late addition, creating more page shuffling.

“When I get to a point where I think, ‘OK, I’m ready to print these out to read through,’ it means we’re pretty close,” Long said. “But even when you’re pretty close, there are hundreds (of edits) ranging from anything like two periods at the end of a sentence to bigger-picture things like looking at J.D.’s bio and saying, ‘You know, I’m missing a note that really sums up his last five years,’ or, ‘I need a better defensive note for Jackie that sums him up.’ So, anything from the smallest proofreading to bigger-picture things of, ‘How can I better sum up this player?’ And that’s hundreds and hundreds of edits and then you go through and make all those and print them out again and read it again. It’s a long process.”

This is Long’s fourth year as the point person on the media guide. He was hired in 2015 from the Yankees’ media relations staff and worked alongside Jon Shestakofsky on the Red Sox media guide for his first two years. When Shestakofsky left the Red Sox for a job at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he turned over those duties to Long.

“I knew it was a lot of work, but when Shesta left, there was a lot I had to learn on the fly,” he said. “Just got thrown into it.”

Long sent the initial draft of the media guide to their printer, MassPrinting in North Reading, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. MassPrinting will FedEx the first rough draft hard copy to the media relations staff at JetBlue Park. That draft was supposed to arrive Tuesday, but of course, there was another delay. Long received a note while tracking the delivery, “The package has been damaged and the sender will be notified. This package is being held for a future delivery date.” MassPrinting will make a new copy and send it.

Once the Red Sox eventually get their rough draft media guide, they’ll go through it one last time to make sure there are no major edits needed.

At that point, the Red Sox will give MassPrinting the go-ahead to start printing the roughly 3,500 copies needed to distribute to every major-league team, the league offices, front office staff and coaches, the team store at Fenway Park and to season ticket holders as well as, yes, members of the media.

“The day the media guide arrives is one of the best days of the year,” Long said. “Just because you know how much work we all put into it. And once you open it up and see there are no glaring mistakes on the cover, take a quick look through it and once you know it’s OK and in good shape, it is just such a huge load off our backs. It is such a huge sigh of relief. And then you feel like, ‘OK, spring training can finally begin now.’

He smiled.

“Spring training,” he said. “is going to be very short this year.”

For evangelist of the analytics department, right words make the numbers work

Chad Jennings

FORT MYERS, Fla. — In this winter of dramatic, high-profile changes, a Red Sox press release announcing new scouts and in-house promotions didn’t exactly move the needle. It was a quickly deleted email, hardly headline news, but buried in the fifth paragraph was this sentence: “In Baseball Research and Development, Greg Rybarczyk has been promoted to Director, Education and Process Analysis.”

And it was Rybarczyk who addressed half of the Red Sox roster on Tuesday.

It was supposed to be a 30-minute meeting, but it went long. Rybarczyk was explaining defensive alignment strategy, but the infielders and outfielders had questions. And the questions were the point.

“One of the things we decided, sort of collectively,” Rybarczyk said, “is that we were doing probably a better job of creating tools that would help us figure out the answers to questions, and not as good of a job communicating (those answers) throughout the organization.”

Whatever the new title might be, Rybarczyk’s basically the evangelist of the analytic department. He’s the messenger. He’ll still run numbers and help with strategy, but he’s also going to be in the major-league clubhouse more often, and he’ll visit minor-league affiliates for the first time in his career. He’s already been in spring training for four weeks, far longer than he’s used to.

Rybarczyk, 50, has been a Red Sox analyst since 2014, but he has a LinkedIn page for the ages. He attended the Navy’s Surface Warfare Officers School, then he served as navigator and damage control officer and held several other titles aboard the USS South Carolina. He’s been a physics instructor for the Navy, a design engineer for General Electric and a senior reliability engineer for Xerox. He’s a certified master black belt of Six Sigma, and he knows more about nuclear power plants than any baseball executive should.

Rybarczyk is a smart man, an accomplished man, but he got into baseball largely through his ability to communicate complex data.

His first big baseball success was Hit Tracker, a technology he created and eventually licensed to ESPN for their Home Run Tracker, which is used during broadcasts. The Red Sox met him when he spoke at the PITCHf/x Summit in San Francisco a decade ago.

“We saw a lot of presentations that day that had good content but poor presentation,” senior vice president Zack Scott said, “and his stood out as having both. He has the ability to break down complicated analysis into its simplest form, making it digestible to any audience.”

Two years ago, Rybarczyk was instrumental in the design of the Red Sox defensive alignment cards, which their infielders began to keep under their hats to know where to stand against specific hitters. When outfielders began to carry them as well, Mookie Betts made an easy catch in Minnesota after an extreme shift toward center field and immediately waved his card toward the dugout in appreciation.

“I tell people, if you’re a dress designer, the pinnacle of your career will be the day somebody wears your dress on the red carpet at the Oscars,” Rybarczyk said. “Well, for a guy who creates defensive positioning cards, who better than to have Mookie Betts waving it on TV? That’s a mic-drop moment.”

Moments like that have helped players get on board with the defensive strategy, but the Red Sox want to make it even easier for them to absorb and use the information. Rybarczyk doesn’t want players to stand in a certain spot or throw a certain pitch just because some guy with an advanced degree told them to do so. He wants to explain the science behind the strategy (without, you know, actually explaining the science).

“It’s nice to know how those little dots on that piece of paper, how they come up with it,” Mitch Moreland said. “They’re all working for the same cause. It’s not like they’re going out trying to put us in a bad spot, but it helps to be able to understand it, too.”

Rybarczyk wouldn’t go into detail about Tuesday’s meeting. It was his first full presentation with the players, he’s still building a rapport, and he doesn’t want to lose their trust by speaking out of turn. But he did say many of the questions were about ways to improve. The players just wanted to get better, and Rybarczyk was there to help.

He can compare pitch selection to a deck of cards (eliminate the worst ones, and your hand should improve). He can compare defensive positioning to choosing a wedding date (he can’t guarantee it won’t rain, but he can find the best odds of sunshine). He likes to start by telling coaches and players that games are won by making plays on the field. He’s not there to oversell his role or dismiss their concerns. It’s all about doing his part and pulling at the same rope.

“There’s an inclination that everybody has to make the world more about yourself than maybe it usually is,” Rybarczyk said. “So, if we’re the analysts, we want to live in a world where it’s the thinking that wins the wars and wins the ballgames and wins the girls. Wouldn’t that be a great place if that all depended on how smart you are? Because that happens to be our skill set! We’re not able to hit a fastball, or God bless us, a curveball. But we can think!”

And if they can better explain the way they think, to the guys who can really play, they just might win a few more in the process.

* The New York Times

Closing Off Locker Rooms, but Not the Stands, Over Coronavirus Concerns

David Waldstein

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper, one of baseball’s biggest stars, kept inching closer to reporters while chatting in a tunnel at Spectrum Field here on Tuesday.

On a normal day, the interview would have been held at Harper’s locker in the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training clubhouse. But on Tuesday a Phillies public relations official instructed Harper and a handful of media members to remain six feet apart from each other, in accordance with new leaguewide regulations put in place over concerns about the novel coronavirus during baseball’s preseason — and perhaps beyond.

Harper, though, was not concerned. By the time his 11-minute interview session was over, he had moved to within a couple of feet of the reporters. He even offered to hug one.

“I just live, man,” Harper, a 27-year-old slugger, said. “I don’t worry about a disease or a virus or anything; I live my life. I’m doing everything the same. I’m shaking people’s hands, I’m high-fiving them.”

But Major League Baseball — along with the N.B.A., the N.H.L. and Major League Soccer — are more concerned. On Monday, they jointly instituted new regulations restricting locker room access to only players and “essential employees.”

For the first time in recent memory, members of the news media were excluded from the locker rooms of all four major active North American sports leagues at the same time.

Typically, media members are granted access before and after games to talk to players and gather information for their reports. Starting Tuesday, and for the foreseeable future, players will instead be brought out of the clubhouses and locker rooms to speak with reporters in hallways or on the field, with league officials recommending a minimum of six feet between them.

Harper and Rhys Hoskins, the Phillies’ first baseman, both said they were following those guidelines. But after they leave the stadium, they said, they have been following their normal routines, including shopping and eating at public restaurants.

“I am, yes,” said Hoskins, the Phillies’ representative for the M.L.B. players’ union. He added, “I have not changed the way that I live.”

Fans of the four sports, too, have largely been able to keep to their same routines. None of the leagues have announced plans to cancel games or hold them in empty stadiums, as some leagues in countries like Italy have done. But the landscape is changing quickly, and the leagues remain in consultation with health officials and are prepared to act according to their recommendations.

Organizers of other public events have already taken more drastic measures. On Tuesday, the Ivy League canceled its men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments, and on Sunday the Indian Wells tennis tournament, one of the biggest on the calendar, was canceled, too. The New York Road Runners also canceled the NYC Half, a half-marathon with about 25,000 runners that was scheduled for Sunday morning.

Other large gatherings — including Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and political rallies for the Democratic presidential candidates Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Bernie Sanders, both of which were scheduled for Tuesday — have been canceled.

For now, the only restrictions for the professional sports leagues center on nonessential people who have access to locker rooms, like sports equipment sales people, food vendors, traveling scouts and media members. Instituting those measures without any restrictions for fans in the stadiums drew some criticism, including from Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

“I found it quite curious that the four major organizations — N.H.L., soccer, Major League Baseball, and the N.B.A. — put out guidelines to protect their athletes but not their fans,” Newsom said at a news conference on Tuesday.

In Los Angeles, the N.B.A.’s Lakers roped off a square-shaped area for LeBron James to meet with reporters on Tuesday morning ahead of a game against the Nets at Staples Center.

“I miss you guys,” James said. “I miss you guys being right here, like, right here in my bubble. Very challenging to do an interview like this.”

James was asked whether he felt safer.

“So much safer,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You guys are such a threat.”

James had previously said that if the N.B.A. closed arenas for games, he would not play. But he amended that stance on Tuesday, explaining that he did not realize at the time that such a plan was actually under consideration by league officials.

“I’d be disappointed,” James said. “But at the same time, you got to listen to the people that’s keeping track of what’s going on. And if they feel it’s best for the safety of the players, the safety of the franchise, the league to mandate that, then we’ll all listen to that.”

The reason the four leagues have chosen to limit access to the locker rooms and still allow fans into the stadiums — for now — is the steamy nature of locker rooms.

According to a spokesman for M.L.B., the league was advised by medical experts that clubhouses — with multiple people showering, changing and eating in and around them — were particularly vulnerable to the spread of microbes.

“In the past, if a guy gets the flu in the clubhouse, pretty much a good amount of guys will get that; the cold, the same thing,” said Zack Britton, a Yankees relief pitcher. “It’s going to be tough to completely wipe out anything.”

In Tampa, Fla., the Yankees set up a similar area to the Lakers’ for their players to conduct interviews, with a 7-foot-by-13-foot rectangular barrier keeping them from reporters. The team said that Gary Sanchez, its catcher, had a fever and tested positive for the flu but was not tested for the coronavirus. He is expected to stay away from the team for a few days.

At Tuesday’s spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays, his teammates Brett Gardner and Kyle Higashioka signed baseballs for fans, but many players have followed advice to limit their autograph signing and interactions with fans.

“I think ultimately if we can keep the players healthy, then we’ll be able to keep playing,” said Gerrit Cole, the Yankees’ ace pitcher.

There are indeed no plans to cancel games or keep fans away, even at baseball’s spring training, where a high percentage of spectators are older retirees, considered among the most vulnerable demographic for the virus. Thousands of fans have continued to file in and sit within inches of each other, sharing restrooms and visiting concession stands.

“Yeah, I guess it is a little bit strange,” said Neil Walker, the Phillies’ veteran infielder. “But people who are paying customers and want to come to watch spring training baseball or watch the XFL or college basketball or whatever, are taking risks on an educated guess about how serious they feel this thing is.”

Bill Heyser, a financial adviser from nearby Odessa, Fla., went to Spectrum Field on Tuesday to watch his son-in-law Alec Asher pitch for the Minnesota Twins against the Phillies. He said if he were just an ordinary fan, he might not have attended.

“I’m sure it can spread more quickly in a stadium environment like this,” Heyser, 58, said. “But when your kids are involved, you put away your fears and go out to watch the greatest game in the world.”

Hoskins did acknowledge that some might feel the leagues were ignoring the risks to fans.

“I could see how that would be perceived, for sure,” Hoskins said. “I do appreciate the league having the players safety in mind.”