It’s likely too soon to expect the Red Sox to make any significant moves — indeed, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said yesterday that the market hasn’t really developed yet, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. But that doesn’t mean the club is not readying for the deadline. As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes, third base is an obvious area to target — even with Pablo Sandoval returning from the DL. Dombrowski acknowledged that the veteran’s “so-so” play early on has left the organization feeling unsettled at the hot corner. “We think he can do it,” said Dombrowski. “But now he’s got to go out and do it for us.” Of course, there are some other internal possibilities. Deven Marrero has impressed with the glove and hit two home runs last night, though his overall offensive work (in the both the majors and at Triple-A) remains uninspiring. And then there’s top prospect Rafael Devers, who’s playing at Double-A at twenty years of age.
While we watch to see how the third base situation shakes out in Boston, here are some more notes from the AL East:
- It’ll be interesting to see whether and when the Yankees make their own decisions in the infield. As ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand writes, top prospect Gleyber Torres could represent an alternative to Chase Headley at third base. Torres, who draws big praise for his poise, just earned a promotion to the highest level of the minors after posting a strong .273/.367/.496 batting line (with 17 walks against 21 strikeouts) in 139 plate appearances at Double-A.
- The Yankees will soon face a decision on veteran reliever Ernesto Frieri, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag notes on Twitter. Frieri, 31, can opt out from his minors deal tomorrow. He has been effective through twenty Triple-A frames, allowing five earned runs on just 11 hits while compiling 23 strikeouts against eight walks. Frieri was last a reliable MLB contributor in 2013.
- Blue Jays outfielder Steve Pearce is still “at least” a few more weeks away, manager John Gibbons tells MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (Twitter link). The 34-year-old went to the DL recently with a calf strain. He had been off to a rough start to the season, slashing just .205/.256/.373 with 24 strikeouts and just five walks through 90 plate appearances. Fortunately for Toronto, Ezequiel Carrera has hit well in Pearce’s stead.
- It seems that Orioles closer Zach Britton is proceeding as hoped as he works back from a forearm strain. Per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, via Twitter, Britton is now ramping up his throwing on flat ground. It doesn’t appear that he has taken to the mound as of yet, though there also haven’t been any setbacks so far. While the club isn’t yet ready to put a specific timeline on the lefty, the original schedule still seems reasonable.
If Sandoval doesn’t show any improvement soon the Red Sox just need to eat the money and release him.
He’s pacing himself…
Can’t use the word “eat” around Pablo, he’s sensitive…
The old see-food diet!
JianYang has an app for that!
Not likely to happen. best hope is if he doesn’t produce, they call it a re-occurrence of a past injury and he goes back on the DL. Unless the Six can unload payroll, the also won’t be making any big moves unless it’s at the deadline where 2/3rds of the salary goes against the trader’s budget. There’s too much money at stake for the Sox to stay under the luxury tax threshold this year.
Not likely to happen. Best hope is if he doesn’t produce, they call it a re-occurrence of a past injury and he goes back on the DL. Unless the Sox can unload payroll, they also won’t be making any big moves unless it’s at the deadline where 2/3rds of the salary goes against the trader’s budget. There’s too much money at stake for the Sox to stay under the luxury tax threshold this year.
Pablo…. what happened after the 2014 ring?
Onion rings? Where?
Send Torres to the Pirates for Cole.
More like Frazier
One way or the other, they should pull the trigger—
Agreee. But Torres won’t be in a package for Cole.
No way. Eventually you can only speak for the junior NY team.
Sorry mike, but cole or frazier will go to pittsburgh if the yankees want cole
Sorry champions,Mickey is correct. Curious who’s your team?
No team. I live in scotland so its kinda hard to follow one team
Here we go again all of the young Yankees are untouchable but the reality is if they get Cole they will give up a haul that will include Frazier plus much more…
Those young Yankees are the future! Just because other teams gut their system doesn’t mean the Yankees will! Welcome to 2017.
You might be right but then they won’t get Cole. The Pirates aren’t going to give him away and he is going to require a lot to get. I kind of hope the Yankees stick to there guns should be fun between them and the Red Sox next three or four years.
Yes me too,to be honest they are playing way above their heads. Headley has come back to earth and so will Castro and Gardner. They do need pitching but probably go for a mid tier arm. There’s a lot to like about their young arms in the system more then the Sox have..Karelian hurt!
*Kaprelian
The Red Sox have had trouble pitchers I don’t really see any impact arms in the near future for the Red Sox. The Red Sox do have a good team and I do agree that the Yankees have been playing over the heads still the Red Sox are only three games back and haven’t played all that well yet. I think the Yankees are doing the right thing with the youth movement. Both teams should be stacked for a few years to come.
“Developing”
Check out Severino. He still throws 100mph after 100 pitches. They should have kept Nova. It takes most pitchers 2 full years to be back completely after TJ surgery and Pittsburgh is reaping rewards for Yankees healing him up. Kapreilian is on his second time now. He’s two years out if ever makes it back to true form. Without breaking the farm or the bank they should trade for Nova. Maybe Refsnyder and another two mid grade prospects. Yankees have a bunch of position players coming up still in next two years and they are not going to have any spots for them. Montgomery looks like he will be decent starter and Adams in minors is looking good too. Yankees could make this young team for years to come be even more exciting than the Jeter, Mo years. Castro to DH/ fill in for infielders for days off , Torres plays second, Didi short, Bird first, Sanchez catching, Nolan Arenado at third for 2018. I would take that infield over most of baseball.
Arenado isn’t a free agent.
Lay off the pipe. Torres is,wait for it..untouchable!
Orioles need Britton back
Oriole’s need a lot of things – coming from a loyal O’s fan!!
Britton only matters if they’re leading games–which they’ve not done much of lately.
Sox need to resolve third base, this Pablo ordeal has long since become irritating. Howie Kendrick as a stop gap to Devers later this summer? Love Howie.
Devers isnt ready yet. Id rather they took their time with him than rush him.
I agree on not rushing Devers, but I still see a place for Devers later this season, much like the Sox did with Bogaerts. Devers has cooled off lately, but he can hit.
Just wait. Next month, its a buyers’ market.
Will the Yankees go after a 1B? If so, will it be Joey Votto or Eric Hosmer?
Will Astros acquire a top end SP? It could be Matt Cain or Jason Vargas but, it won’t be Jose Quintana, Garrit Cole or Matt Harvey.
One thing is almost certain, the Red Sox will acquire a 3B and it won’t be Todd Frazier.
Hanley
Why would the Yanks acquire a 1B?
Everyone wants Votto but he has made it clear he likes Cinci and isn’t going anywhere and has full veto rights.
Bruins1012…Very True and for an everyday player like Votto Cincy would demand a much bigger haul than Pitt for Cole or Chisox for Quintana would probably require even though they will get a nice return on them also.
The guys a stud hitter!
Votto’s being compensated extremely well for his services. I doubt teams want to take on the rest of that deal either.
GarryHarris…With what…Here’s the thing that is certain….DD has emptied the cupboard!
Forget Cole. He’s going to cost a haul in prospects, cost a ton of money to resign, and he pitches in the NL central. Pittsburgh is where pitchers who get smacked around in the AL Beast go to revive their careers like Burnett and Nova. Forget Quintana too.
Cole has the arsenal to pitch wherever against whomever.
Yeah, if Cole is healthy. Haven’t we had enough expensive ticking time bombs in the rotation, with the latest being Tanaka.
DD has turned the Red Sox into a train wreck waiting to happen. What does he have left to trade? I hope he is not showcasing Travis. That is just throwing good money after bad.
I just want the Red Sox to be good enough for the Yanks to mop up the field with them for the next 186 years. But an ALCS smackdown of Aaron Boone proportions is long overdue.
Lol living in the past.
Bruiins1012…LOL…I wouldn’t be so sue about that.
Except for the Sox current outfield, and 2 0r 3 pitchers and 1 infielder, who do your think might just have the better horizon for years to come.
The Yankees potentially are matching up pretty well with most in the East including your beloved Sox. Pretty potentially lineup and promising young pitching in Severino, et all, with lots of promise in the minors.
Old mother Hubbard your farm cupboard is empty thanks to DD, while the Yankees is chock full of promise.
The Red Sox have a ton of young talent already up people seem to forget that. I’ll take there Betts, Bogey, Beni, JBJ, with Travis and Devers on the way don’t need a lot of minor league talent. There pitching looks good for the next few years as well. I think the Yankees are going to be good as well should be interesting but don’t kid yourself and think the Sox are going away they are very young and should be good for years.
I think the Sox will be good. I like them 1995 to 2003 good. The Yanks will just be a little better. No more Papi makes a big difference. He was the one who tipped the scales in Boston’s favor, after almost a century. He will not be replaced, Just like Rivera will never be replaced. We’ll see next week where these teams stand against each other.
We will see in the next few years a few games mean next to nothing. To small a sample size.
From the Sox fans handbook. That was their motto until they finally won one, then they were wicked awesome and Yankees Suck was the next motto. The Yanks are much more loaded for the long haul than Sox. The ship started to sink after Theos influence wore off and DD came in to finish the job. Also Price is a guy that the Yankees always hit well. Why would he ever have signed him if he wants his ace to be able to beat the Yankees. He’s always been in their division. Less exposed pitchers usually fare better in keeping the hitters off balance. Watch out for the team being formed in next couple of years if you want to talk about young and long term. I hope the next chant learned in Boston is Red Sox suck.
Look I think the Yankees are doing a good job of retooling but you are selling the Red Sox way to short. They have an excellent young core of players that are going to be good for a long time. Saying they are going to suck is quite silly. The Red Sox young core is more established then the Yankees we will see my guess is the Red Sox will win the division this year. Next couple of years it’s going to be up for grabs as the young Yankees take on the young Red Sox.
Just so you no Sale is now the Ace of the Red Sox and the Yankees haven’t hit him very well.
Know
Well they did beat him this year in the 1 matchup he’s faced against them thusfar.
Forget about it. Although the Yankees are in first place right now when you really compare the 2 teams the Sox are in a much better situation for overall talent moving forward. You can’t compare Bennitendi, JBJ and Betts with Bogarts, Pedroia and Moreland combined with Sale, Price, Rodriquez, Porcello and Pomorantz and a closer like Kimbrell and expect the Yankees to match up to that. The Yankees best players are so young that the AL pitchers haven’t even made adjustments to them yet. Let’s see how they perform for the full year and into next year. The Yankees at some point have no choice but to trade young talent for pitching. FA’s coming up do not look very good. As important Big Papi was the Sox are loaded. Also I think Pablo will be a lot better than people think. He’s down 25lbs. Went 3 for 4 on Saturday. He just needs some games behind him and no burgers – Lol