An excerpt of this story appeared in Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. Go here to view the newsletter in its entirety. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Key storylines are included with every Spring Training. Here are three notable ones related to the Red So
Which starters are prepared to make the mov
In addition to losing James Paxton to the Dodgers via free agency and trading Chris Sale to the Braves, the Red Sox also added Lucas Giolito as a free agent. If Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery don’t sign deals soon, Boston will rely largely on its core of righties in their mid-20s to advance, barring an unexpectedly large addition.
The most talented member of the group is Brayan Bello, who has stated that he wants to be selected for Opening Day. Bello ended the 2018 campaign with a 4.24 ERA, pitching at times like an ace but also showing patches of inconsistency. Bello, whose nasty sinker leads to a lot of ground balls, stands to gain from the team strengthening its infield defense, which was a conspicuous weakness. The 24-year-old anticipates using his improved slider as a reliable third pitch. He is thrilled about its development.
After being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, Garrett Whitlock was a dominant rookie reliever in 2021. However, he has struggled with injuries in the last two seasons, which has made it difficult for him to transition from swingman to a full-time rotation member. Anyone who saw Whitlock at Winter Weekend could tell that he had worked out hard during the offseason and was in good health going into camp.
Whitlock’s best friend Tanner Houck was the only starter in the previous campaign. I had two problems with that.
Leave a Reply