2024 Red Sox MiLB Acquisitions & Removals

JM3

JM3

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Fred not Lynn said:
In defense of Adams, it was 2-1 when he left the game. The Mount St Mary’s bullpen appears to have struggled somewhat…

(I guess it could have been 2-0…anyway, he gave his team a chance to win. Mt St Mary’s has actually been getting better though. I’ve seen an extended road trip where their only win was a no-hitter. For the opponent)
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A guy who allows 1 earned run in 6 innings with 12 strikeouts doesn't need a ton of defending. It also seems like he's been in the lab working hard on his stuff since & it's paid off.
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
Released January 6th - Michael Valera (#232 of 242)

Valera, who turns 25 next month, was another older, low-bonus signing, receiving $7k in July 2019. The 6'2 RHP from San Pedro de Macoris, DR pitched 2 scoreless innings in Rookie Ball in '19 was not able to pitch regularly until '21 due to the COVID year, at which point he had a rough DSL season at age 22, putting up a 7.96 ERA, striking out 11.1 per 9, but walking 5.4 in 31.2 IP.

Walks would be a continuing trend for Valera who spent '22 in the FCL, putting up a 6.64 ERA with 13.7 k/9 & 6.2 bb/9 in 20.1 IP. Valera started '23 repeating the FCL, & had a solid stretch, 2.70 ERA, 10.8 k/9, 2 bb/9 in 13.1 IP & was promoted to A-Ball. Valera again struggled with walks in A-Ball, 5.93 ERA, 12.2 k/9, 5.6 bb/9 in 30.1 IP.

It is not surprising that he was let go based on his advanced age & lack of control. SoxProspects notes that he sits 92-94 & tops out at 96, but lacks secondary pitches, control or command.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/valera-michael.htm
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View: https://twitter.com/brendan_camp/status/1758620764750725152
 
JM3

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I should probably put this here & not just in the rankings talk but the Red Sox traded John Schreiber to the Royals for David Sandlin, which seems like a really shrewd move & a good return for a fungible reliever. Here's a Lance Broz writeup on Sandlin's arsenal:

Sandlin's data is a mixed bag. 4S-Sweeper-Split-Curve Stands 6-foot-4 but his extension is around 5.6' (4th percentile). Fastball averaged 94-95, 17" induced vertical from a 6.2' release. Nets out to below average in a stuff model. Threw it 60% last year. .330 xwOBA is good. Slider is a sweeper. 84-85 with 9" sweep, above-average pitch. Clear feel for it, above-average zone, strikes and swing-miss. Splitter looks great. 88 mph, spin around 1.6k, 11" vertical separation from 4S. 40% swing-miss and chase here. Even with fastball success, I think that usage is bound to come down given the underlying grade. Will probably be limited by that pitch long term, but sweeper-splitter are both above-average on shape and have results to back it up.
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View: https://twitter.com/LanceBroz/status/1758908410211217547

The Red Sox might see some potential to increase the extension on a guy who reportedly was hitting 100 this off season & showed good control in A-Ball last year.

The extension on that still says 5'9, so moving in that direction.

View: https://twitter.com/aduvall013/status/1753540824988569989
 
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LogansDad

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I wonder is he starts in Portland or if they give him a month or two in Salem before he gets moved up. Portland should be a lot of fun this year.
 
JM3

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LogansDad said:
I wonder is he starts in Portland or if they give him a month or two in Salem before he gets moved up. Portland should be a lot of fun this year.
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He only made 2 starts in High-A last year & they weren't great, so I would expect he'll start in Greenville.

Ferm Sheller said:
The commentator called him the "Sandman" in that clip. Henceforth, this is what we should call him.
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SANDMAN it is.

SANDMAN might have impressed the Red Sox holdover people.

On June 9th, SANDMAN had his best start of the season against Salem:

7 IP
0 runs
4 hits
1 bb
9 k's

Interesting consistency - he never allowed more than 3 ER in any start all season.
 
JM3

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McAdam got a couple scouts' takes on Sandman:

Scout No. 1: “Big, strong body, who is just athletic enough to maintain his delivery. Had battled command issues with his fastball and changeup. Has a menu of a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. Must improve walk rate to get to his durability and innings potential. Lacks a bit of feel, but overall, a lot to work with. Projects to fourth or fifth starter or has the floor of a middle-relief role.

“Fastball runs between 93-95 mph, occasionally topping out at 98 mph. Slider is between 85-90 mph with a curve at 77-79 mph ad and a changeup at 89-90 mph. Has below-average control for now but with a chance to upgrade. Could be anywhere from a back-end starter to a multi-inning reliever.”
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The walk rate stuff is a bit weird as he walked 1.99 per 9 innings in A-Ball last year. He walked 5 in 8 innings in High-A, but not exactly an actionable sample size.

Scout No. 2: “Sandlin has a mid-90s fastball, with a slider, curve and a changeup/splitter. None of the pitches are plus outside of his fastball velocity. This looks to be like a swap of a platoon righthanded reliever for an A-ball potential starter. In other words, a present guy with a limited ceiling for, potentially, a higher-end return with risk.”
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https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/02/scouts-take-on-red-soxs-starting-pitching-prospect-acquired-from-kansas-city.html
 
JM3

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Here's my bb/9 list updated to include Sandman:

Jedixson Paez 1.3 (A)
Jordan DiValerio 1.9 (A+)
Max Castillo 2.2 (AAA) - MLFA
Brock Bell 2.3 (A, A+) - MiLB R5
David Sandlin 2.4 (A, A+) - Schreiber trade
Cooper Criswell 2.4 (AAA) - FA
Richard Fitts 2.5 (AA) - Verdugo trade
Isaac Coffey 2.5 (A+, AA)
Hunter Dobbins 2.5 (A+, AA)
Isaiah Campbell 2.6 (AA) - Urias trade
Justin Hagenman 2.6 (AAA)
Nick Robertson 2.7 (AAA) - trade for O'Neill
Ryan Miller 2.8 (AA) - MiLB R5
Justin Slaten 3.0 (AA, AAA) - R5
Ryan Fernandez 3.0 (A, AA, AAA) - R5
Gabriel Jackson 3.0 (A, A+)
Cristian Nunez 3.1 (FCL, A)
Brian Van Belle 3.2 (AA, AAA)
Alex Hoppe 3.2 (A+, AA)
Grant Gambrell 3.3 (A+, AA, AAA)
Jonathan Brand 3.3 (A)
Brandon Walter 3.4 (AAA)
Nathan Landry 3.5 (A, A+)
Yordanny Monegro 3.6 (FCL, A, A+)
Cam Booser 3.7 (AAA)
Greg Weissert 3.8 (AAA) - Verdugo trade
Juan Daniel Encarnacion 3.8 (A+)
Taylor Broadway 3.9 (AA, AAA)
Angel Bastardo 4.1 (A+, AA)
 
JM3

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Breslow on Sandlin:

“It was a combination of raw stuff, projection and the chance to maybe tweak the usage a little bit and improve performance,” Breslow said about what they saw in the young righty.
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& Sandlin's health:

He spent time on the 60-day IL during the second half of last season because of a lat injury. But Breslow said Sandlin “is fully ramped up” for spring training. He will report to minor league camp.
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https://www.masslive.com/worcesterredsox/2024/02/red-sox-trade-whos-prospect-david-sandlin-acquired-for-john-schreiber.html
 
JM3

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Bailey on Joely:

“Excited for him. We know health is a priority for him,” Bailey said. “He’s got electric stuff. He’s around here getting his physical done. Excited to meet him. I know he’s a loud, boisterous personality and a good guy to have around so we’re excited to have him back here.”
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Bailey said the Rodríguez signing was about adding depth.

“We’ve got to get lefties out. You can’t ever have enough lefties,” he said. “There was an opportunity from the front office to sign him and we jumped at it.”
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https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/02/red-sox-bring-back-free-agent-left-hander-who-struggled-with-injuries-in-2023.html
 
JM3

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We have added Jason Alexander.

View: https://twitter.com/GreenvilleDrive/status/1760015847169429747


Turns 31 next week. RHP, 71.2 career MLB innings, all in '22. 18 games, 11 starts, 5.40 ERA.

The only thing not in the blue on his Savant page was his groundball rate (87th percentile).

Sinker/slider/changeup type guy. Sinker got lit up, which is a problem when you throw it more than half the time.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jason-alexander-669920?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb

5.86 ERA in AAA last year. Less than 6 k/9 at both those spots. I guess this year's Jake Faria?

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds, Alexander is known for his ability to keep the ball on the ground, as evidenced by his 46.1 percent groundball rate with Nashville last year. He could potentially provide the Red Sox with experienced rotational depth at Triple-A Worcester alongside the likes of lefty Brandon Walter and righties Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Grant Gambrell, and Brian Van Belle, among others.
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https://bloggingtheredsox.com/2024/02/27/red-sox-sign-former-brewers-righty-jason-alexander-to-minor-league-deal/
 
zenax

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Heating up in the bullpen said:
Bonaci suspended for the entire 2024 season.

“A highly-regarded Red Sox minor league prospect will miss all of the 2024 season.

Infielder Brainer Bonaci was suspended for violating Minor League Baseball’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, according to the Boston Globe.”

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/02/red-sox-prospect-suspended-for-entire-2024-season-report.html
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When did the Globe change its URL to masslive.com?
 
Ferm Sheller

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zenax said:
When did the Globe change its URL to masslive.com?
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It didn't. The story on masslive.com is crediting the Globe as the source of the news. That's not Heating Up In The Bullpen talking, he's merely quoting the story from masslive.com.
 
JM3

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View: https://twitter.com/SoxProspects/status/1764040295769919999


YPA is 26 & was last really seem being not very good in Greenville in '21. He was signed as an IFA for $75k in June '18.

Martinez signed for $5k in June '22 & never really got much run. He had a 24 wRC+ in 30 PAs after being promoted to FCL.

Zayas was signed as a UDFA after the '22 draft. He had a 64 wRC+ last year for the FCL Sox in his age 19 season, striking out 33% of the time.

Butler was the Red Sox 20th round pick in '22, getting a $72,500 bonus. He was wild af last year. Across FCL & A-Ball he struck out 10.9 per 9 but walked 11.2 per 9 in 27.1 innings. The 6'0 lefty apparently hasn't sorted out that whole control thing yet this Spring.
 
YTF

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Heating up in the bullpen said:
Bonaci suspended for the entire 2024 season.

“A highly-regarded Red Sox minor league prospect will miss all of the 2024 season.

Infielder Brainer Bonaci was suspended for violating Minor League Baseball’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, according to the Boston Globe.”

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/02/red-sox-prospect-suspended-for-entire-2024-season-report.html
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That decision was effectively a no-brainer.
 
JM3

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We have bid Wandy adieu.

03/03/24FCL Red Sox released RHP Wandy Abreu.
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He was my #225. Was decidedly mid last year in FCL - 4.76 ERA, 5.27 xFIP, 7.7 k/9, 4.7 bb/9.

& just for fun, here's something I wrote in the Salem thread in mid-January...

Here is the way-too-early A-Ball roster projections from SoxProspects (https://www.soxprospects.com/2024.htm):

Rotation
LHP Connelly Early
RHP Nicholas Judice
RHP Elvis Soto
RHP Luis Cohen
RHP Wandy Abreu
RHP Francis Hernandez

It will be an interesting mix in Salem because a lot of the guys projected for both the bullpen & the rotation have pitched either very little or not at all, including Early & Judice. Elvis is the only one in the projected starting rotation who pitched in Salem last year, pitching 24 pretty decent innings. Wandy was pretty bad in FCL & I wouldn't think they would want him in the A-Ball rotation. Hernandez was a good results, bad underlying guy, & he was mostly a reliever in the FCL last year (14 games, 27.1 innings), so I wouldn't expect him to be in the rotation either. I'm a big LuCo guy, though, & think he was the Red Sox best FCL pitcher last year...which wasn't that high of a bar unfortunately. I would expect the other 2 starters to come from the bullpen group of '23 draftees (Wehunt/O'Donnell/Feeney/Carlson), Mullins, or Stebens who, like Judice, was a multi-inning reliever in college. Willian Colmenares is someone who I would expect to take the Elvis route & be part of the Salem rotation a bit later in the year. Eybersson Polanco is another potential candidate for that mid-season promotion.
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View: https://twitter.com/SoxProspects/status/1764706805488161176
 
JM3

JM3

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03/11/24 FCL Red Sox released OF Deundre Jones.
03/11/24 Greenville Drive released RHP Nate Tellier.
03/11/24 Greenville Drive released LHP Jorge Rodriguez.
03/11/24 Greenville Drive released RHP Jordan DiValerio.
03/11/24 Salem Red Sox released RHP Luis De La Rosa.
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I discussed LDLR at length recently & really don't get cutting him if he's a decent human, but what do I know?

Jones #179 - Couldn't hit in FCL last year.

Tellier #273 - Not good in Greenville & older.

JRod #128 - Assume he never got healthy.

DiValerio #231 - A bit better than Tellier, but not much. Didn't walk anyone but lacked stuff.

LDLR #52 - RIP
 
JM3

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Lose Remerswaal said:
With a name like that I guess he was just cut out for a higher alternative
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Jaret does sound like a rodeo name.

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1A03SzO7Q0/?igsh=NTFqMjZ6ZTdsZHNl


He does have a Bible verse in his Insta bio...

Romans 6.23...

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Will need a Biblical scholar on this one.

Betting the Sioux City over...

View: https://twitter.com/brendan_camp/status/1770144619969331421
 
simplicio

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LDLR not being able to find another milb job seems at least as surprising as his release in the first place. Some makeup issues at play?
 
JM3

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simplicio said:
LDLR not being able to find another milb job seems at least as surprising as his release in the first place. Some makeup issues at play?
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That's my working assumption... but I really don't know? MiLB jobs are a lot scarcer than they used to be, but statistically speaking LDLR was very good in A-Ball at age 20, & finished the season very strong.

I think the Red Sox releasing him is more surprising than no one else picking him up because once one team does it, you're left to think there have to be some kind of red flags.
 
JM3

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Welcome to the org Bryce Bonnin Ribeye.

View: https://twitter.com/SoxProspects/status/1770798771498008751

Two new RHPs in #RedSox ML camp: Bryce Bonnin & Conor Steinbaugh. Bonnin was a 3rd rd pick by the Cubs in 2020. Missed 2023 w/ a shoulder impingement. Has reportedly topped out at 99 mph in the past. Steinbaugh is an Akron alum, got his velo up to 94 mph in Feb workouts.
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SP is a bit confused. He was drafted in the 26th round in '17 but didn't sign & then by the Reds in the 3rd round in '20.

Released by the Reds on the 11th.

View: https://twitter.com/HeyGingersaurus/status/1767295388464058469


View: https://twitter.com/ATBBTTR/status/1271222886402056193
 
JM3

JM3

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03/24/24Greenville Drive released RHP Maceo Campbell.
03/24/24Greenville Drive released OF Gilberto Jimenez.
03/24/24Salem Red Sox released RHP Garrett Ramsey.
03/24/24Salem Red Sox released SS Lyonell James.
03/24/24Worcester Red Sox released SS Joe Dunand.
03/24/24Worcester Red Sox released 1B C.J. Cron.
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CAMPBELL #213 - Maceo is sad for only reasons that me & @sittingstill know, but it's not too surprising as they are clearing out that '20 UDFA class & he has had trouble throwing strikes.

JIMENEZ #113 - I wasn't doing this when Jimenez was #4, & it was a really fallow time for the system... but yeah, idk. Probably time to move on.

RAMSEY #165 - Breslow doesn't seem too into some of the Bloom later draft picks. Ramsey was a 16th round pick in '22.

JAMES #121 - I feel like I was a bit of an irrational Lyonell stan at times, but an 82 wRC+ last year isn't particularly good. He was 20 & put up a 149 wRC+ in the FCL the year before, so kind of expected him to get another shot.

DUNAND #136 - He was not there very long. The 28 y/o has 11 career MLB PAs.

CRON - Not a prospect.
 
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