Off Day News: 2022 Draft Revisited (6/19/25)

Its another off-day and since we're just under a month away from the 2025 MLB Draft, its time to take a look back at the 2022 group of draftees and how they're doing today.

1st Round - SS Mikey Romero

One of the reason's why the Boston Red Sox have a lack of depth at first base and catcher is former Sox GM Chaim Bloom drafting a high school shortstop in the first round three years in a row. In 2022 he took Mikey Romero out of Orange Lutheran High School. Romero looked to be living up to his billing with 15 hits in 9 games to end 2022 with the Salem Red Sox but crashed his second season. In 2023 he played just 34 games due to injury but rebounded in 2024, hitting 16 home runs between the Greenville Drive and Portland Sea Dogs. This year so far he's played in 38 games but he's hitting .250 with 7 home runs. He plays well when he's healthy and he's knocking on the door to Worcester. He's only 21 years old so he's got plenty of time to make the majors.

Currently - AA

2nd Round - SS Cutter Coffey

As mentioned before, former Sox GM Chaim Bloom kept drafting shortstops in the top fifty and 2nd round pick Cutter Coffey out of Liberty High School was no different. Coffey had just 76 hits in 98 games in 2023 and was hitting just .238 for the Greenville Drive when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last July for backup catcher Danny Jansen. He hit just .185 to end the year for the Vancouver Canadians but turned it around this year. He's hitting .278 with 5 home runs and 36 rbis so he's knocking on the door to AA. The Sox gave up a potential star for 30 games of Danny Jansen.

Currently - High A

2nd Round Compensation - OF Roman Anthony

The Red Sox got this pick as compensation for the Detroit Tigers signing Eduardo Rodriguez after the 2021 season.....and what a "trade" that was. Anthony was an 18 year old outfielder who attended the same high school as Anthony Rizzo and he started off slow for Salem, hitting .189 to end 2022 and .228 to start 2023. Then he exploded in Greenville, bashing 12 home runs and hitting .294 to earn a late call up to Portland. There he had 12 hits in 35 at-bats to end the season. In 2024 he was part of the "Goldust Trio" with Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer hitting 18 home runs and driving in 65 between Portland and Worcester, hitting .344 in Worcester particularly. He was hitting .288 with 10 home runs this year before finally making his major league debut on June 9th. Currently he's struggling hitting .121 with one home run and 5 rbis. Still, Dustin Pedroia didn't light the world on fire at the end of 2006 so judge slowly. Just the fact he's got this far is remarkable in itself.

Currently - MLB

3rd Round - LHP Dalton Rogers

Ex-Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom finally drafted a pitcher in the top 100 with pick number 99 in the third round when they chose Southern Mississippi left handed pitcher Dalton Rogers. Dalton started out strong at the beginning of 2023 by allowing just 6 earned runs in 21 innings for Salem but has been straight batting practice since. He was 2-6 with a 5.52 ERA in 17 starts for Greenville in 2023 and 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA in 2024. He did seem to figure it out this year allowing 3 runs in 20 innings to earn a call up to Portland....where he's currently 2- with a 5.92 ERA. If he's struggling in AA that's not a good a sign. 2 picks after the Sox took Rogers, the Chicago White Sox took right handed pitcher Jonathan Cannon. Cannon made his ML debut last year but is 7-17 with a 4.55 ERA combined for Chicago. Cannon's record may not be great, but at least he's in the majors. Rogers has a long way to go.

Currently - AA

4th Round - 2B Chase Meidroth

Bloom scored with his fourth round pick, San Diego University second baseman Chase Meidroth. Chase had 4 home runs in 19 games to end the 2022 season in Salem then broke out in 2023. He hit .338 with 2 home runs for Greenville to earn a call up to Portland. He hit .255 with 7 home runs to finish the season there. In 2024 he was on the fabled Worcester team with the "Goldust Trio" of Mayer, Teel and Anthony where he hit .293 with 7 home runs and 57 rbis. If it wasn't for the numbers game, he might have gotten the call to Boston in September. With the outfield and infield crowded, Meidroth was apart of the trade along with Teel to send Garrett Crochet to Boston. Crochet has become Boston's ace while Meidroth is currently hitting .269 with 2 home runs, 9 rbis and 9 steals. He's having a pretty good start to his career, but with the logjam in the infield the Sox had and desperate need for an ace, you'll make that trade 10 times out of 10.

Currently - MLB

5th Round - LHP Noah Dean

The next pitcher drafted with Old Dominion left-hander Noah Dean in the 5th round. Dean struggled in Salem in 2023 by going 2-8 with a 6.29 ERA but was 2-3 with a 3.96 ERA to begin 2024. He was batting practice in Greenville going 0-1 with a 6.38 ERA to finish the season. This year he's currently 1-2 with a 4.61 in Greenville. At least Rogers got to AA, Dean is struggling in A ball. Luckily no one else drafted after Dean in the 5th round made the majors, but it would suck if he didn't get out of A or AA in the next year or two.

Currently - High A

6th Round - RHP Alex Hoppe

Taking yet another pitcher, Bloom chose right handed pitcher Alex Hoppe out of UNC Greensboro. His ERA went up every year from 2022 (2.97 at UNC), 2023 (3.93 at Greenville) and 2024 (5.43 at Portland). This year he was 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA with Portland before getting the call to Worcester. So far with the WooSox he's 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in Worcester. Not exactly a good career trajectory, just like Wyatt Olds. Worst yet, 7 picks after the Sox took Hoppe, the San Francisco Giants pitched starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong. Hayden made his ML debut last year and is currently 2-1 with the Giants and scheduled to pitch this Saturday against the Red Sox. Bet the Sox wish they had him instead of Hoppe unless Alex turns it around.

Currently - AAA

7th Round - RHP Caleb Bolden

The Sox first real definitive miss was taking right handed pitcher Caleb Bolden out of Texas Christian University with their 7th round pick. He allowed 9 runs in 9 innings to end 2023 in Greenville and was 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA for Portland last year. This year he got rocked in his only start before going on the Injured List. He was just removed from the list five days ago so it would be unfair to judge his season, but he's already 26 and in AA. Worst yet, four picks after Bolden was chosen, the Houston Astros took AJ Blubaugh who made his ML debut on April 30th. Once again, bet the Sox wish they had Blubaugh right about now.

Currently - AA

8th Round - RHP Jonathan Brand

With their 8th round pick, the Sox took Miami Ohio Univerity right handed pitcher Jonathan Brand. He had a good season for Salem in 2023 going 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA. Last year he didn't allow an earned run in 11 innings for Greenville to get the call to Portland. He was 2-3 with a 4.67 ERA to finish the season. This year he started in Greenville and allowed just 1 run in 6 innings before coming back to Portland. He pitched so well he got a cup of coffee with Worcester. Currently he's in Portland with a 1-1 with 2.57 ERA, which is fine, but 7 picks after Brand was chosen the Giants took outfielder Wade Meckler. Meckler made his ML debut in 2023 but is hitting .260 with the Sacramento River Cats currently. Hopefully Brand can keep momentum going.

Currently - AA (formerly AAA)

9th Round - C Brooks Brannon

In the 9th round, the Sox took Randleman High School catcher Brooks Brannon. He looked strong out of the gate in 2023 when he hit 3 home runs in 9 games for Salem but last year he hit .251 with 6 home runs for the Sal Sox. This year at Greenville he's hitting .265 with 5 home runs and 30 rbis. He's only 21 years old and the Sox are devoid of catchers so they're going to hope Brannon can develop.

Currently - High A

10th Round - RHP Isaac Coffey

The Sox might have found something with their 10th round pick, right handed pitcher Isaac Coffey out of Oral Roberts University. He was 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA in 11 starts for Greenville in 2023 to earn a call-up to Portland. He was 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA to end the 2023 season. Last year he was Portland's best pitcher going 11-4 with a 3.17 ERA and just missed the call to Worcester. This year he didn't allow a run in 6 games in Portland to earn the permanent call to Worcester. Currently he's 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA but has only pitched in 5 games this year. Too early to judge with another few months left in the season. 2 picks after the Red Sox picked Coffey, the White Sox took first baseman Tim Elko who has 4 home runs in 18 games this season. With bullpen injuries and ineffectiveness, you never know if and when Coffey makes his debut.

Currently - AAA

11th Round - RHP Marques Johnson

The Sox drafted Long Beach State Univeristy right handed pitcher Marques Johnson with their 11th round pick. He was 2-2 with a 6.55 ERA in Greenville before he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in July of 2023 for Mauricio Llovera. He didn't allow a run in 18 innings for the San Jose Giants to end the season and was 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA last season. This year he's allowed 6 runs in 26 innings for the Eugene Emeralds. He's going to be 25 in July and still in A ball but at least he's proven to get A hitters out. He was called up to Richmond just yesterday. Too bad the Sox gave him up for a rental that accomplished nothing.

Currently - AA

12th Round - LHP Hayden Mullins

In the 12th round, the Sox selected Auburn University right handed pitcher Hayden Mullins. Just like Matt Litwicki in 2021, Mullins was an injury risk as he pitched in just 23 games for Auburn and didn't make his franchise debut until August of 2023. He was 3-5 with a 3.94 ERA in Greenville last year and allowed 2 earned runs in 17 innings to earn the call up to Portland this year. Currently he's 1-2 with a 2.38 ERA and it looks like he's on the right track. Just two picks after the Red Sox took Mullins, the Chicago White Sox took infielder Brooks Baldwin who's got 3 homers for the ChiSox this year. Lot of 22 draftees on this year's White Sox it seems.

Currently - AA

13th Round - SS Gavin Kilen

The Sox first non-signee was their 13th round draft pick, high school shortstop Gavin Kilen. Kilen spurned the Sox to sign with Louisville University where he hit .265 in 2023 and .330 with 9 home runs last year. He transferred to Tennessee this year and he hit .357 with 15 home runs for the Vols, recently appearing in the college world series. He looks like a star in the making and a future top pick, so good on the Sox for knowing the talent....but they drafted him 3 years too soon.

Currently - NCAA

14th Round - SS Travis Sanders

The Sox next wasted draft pick was in the 14th round when they drafted yet another high school shortstop in Travis Sanders. He chose to attend Texas Tech instead and transferred to Baylor for the 2025 season where he hit .335 with 8 home runs. He burned the Sox for Texas Tech and burned them for Baylor.....he's gonna love MLB free agency down the road.

Currently - NCAA

15th Round - LHP Nathan Landry

The Sox whiffed again in the 15th round when they chose left handed pitcher Nathan Landry out of Missouri University. He was straight batting practice, going 1-1 with a 7.54 ERA for Greenville in 2023 and was 2-1 with a 5.24 ERA for Greenville last season when he was released in August. Usually teams don't give up on guys after 2 seasons, Wyatt Olds for example was batting practice for 3 full seasons before figuring it out this year. Something else might have been up, but either way he was given the boot and wasn't pitching in the pros as of 2025.

Currently - Out of MLB

16th Round - RHP Garrett Ramsey

Another Sox swing and miss was their 16th round pick, right handed pitcher Garrett Ramsey out of Southern Mississipi University. Once again this was a weird turn of events. He was struggling for the Florida Complex in 2023 going 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA before getting a cup of coffee with Salem to end the season. Then he was released in spring training on the eve of the 2024 season. Just like with Nathan Landry, something else must have been going on to give up on a prospect THAT quickly.

Currently - Out of MLB

17th Round - OF Deundre Jones

To complete the bizarre trifecta of releases, look no further than 17th round pick Deundre Jones out of Lutheran South High School. Jones hit .191 with 2 home runs in 28 games with the Florida Complex in 2023 before he was cut in spring training on the eve of the 2024 season. Again, he played 28 games in rookie ball, something else must have been a factor to cut him so soon. Maybe GM Craig Breslow wanted to wipe the slate of any underperforming Bloom picks.

Currently - Out of MLB

18th Round - RHP Austin Erlicher

When the "draft & follow" rule was re-instituted, the Sox used it on 18th round pick Austin Erlicher out of Santa Rosa Junior College. The Sox let Austin pitch for Santa Rosa in 2023 and he got hurt at the end of the season which kept him out for most of 2024 as well. He pitched in just 2 games for Salem to end 2024 but so far has been healthy for Salem. So far he's 2-2 with a 3.69 ERA so judge slowly on this one.

Currently - Low A

19th Round - RHP Jaret Godman

Ex-Sox GM Chaim Bloom drafted Wyatt Olds in 2021 despite being terrible in his senior season at Oklahoma University. He didn't learn his lesson as he drafted right handed pitcher Jaret Godman after Godman had an ERA over 6 in his junior and senior seasons. Ironically Oklahoma won the national championship in 2022 with him. His incompetence carried over to the pros where he allowed 7 runs in 7 2/3 innings in 2023 for Greenville. He voluntarily retired in spring training 2024 and it takes a lot of smarts and balls to say "You know what, I'm just not that good". Good luck to Godman wherever he is now, at least he has self awareness.

Currently - Out of baseball

20th Round - RHP Connor Butler

With their final pick in the 20th round, the Sox selected Biola right handed pitcher Connor Butler. Biola stands for Bible Institute of Los Angeles and why the Sox wanted to draft a future youth pastor that had a 4.50 ERA his senior year at a little known Division 2 school, ask Chaim Bloom. Not surprisingly Butler pitched in 23 games between the Complex and Salem while allowing 23 runs in 2023. He was released along with a ton of others in spring training on the eve of the 2024 season. Not that 20th round picks are can't miss prospects, but at least they could have TRIED drafting someone who had a chance of making it. Nothing against Butler himself, he did his best, but what was Bloom thinking?

Currently - Out of baseball

UFA - RHP Matt Donlan

This poor bastard got a raw deal for sure. Following the 2022 draft, the Sox signed UConn catcher Matt Donlan due to his New England heritage. Between 2022 and 2024 he played in just 37 games and had just 17 hits. Matt wanted to try his luck as a pitcher and ended up blowing his arm out, requiring Tommy John surgery that's going to take him out of this year as well. Still, not much you can expect from an undrafted rookie free agent.

Currently - AA

UFA - SS Bryant Zayas

Here's a redemption story. Shortstop Bryant Zayas was recruited by North Carolina University but chose to sign with the Red Sox as an undrafted rookie free agent. He hit .242 with a home run in 32 games with the Complex in 2023 but was one of the many released during spring training in 2024. Zayas ended up committing to Lynn University, a Division 2 school in Florida and this season he hit .295 with 3 home runs in 38 games. Its a wonder why the Sox gave up on him so quickly, but kudos to him for landing on his feet and possibly getting another shot down the road.

Currently - NCAA

So far the 2022 draft has produced 2 major leaguers in Roman Anthony and Chase Meidroth with Alex Hoppe, Jonathan Brand and Isaac Coffey at least making AAA. Mikey Romero, Dalton Rogers, Caleb Bolden, Marques Johnson, Hayden Mullins and Matt Donlan are in AA with Cutter Coffey, Noah Dean and Brooks Brannon in High A. Austin Erlicher is in Low A with Nathan Landry, Garrett Ramsey, Deundre Jones, Jaret Godman and Connor Butler out of baseball. Gavin Kilen and Travis Sanders never signed and Bryant Zayas was released but are back in college with Kilen and Sanders. Still a little early to judge the younger guys that were taken out of high school like Romero, Brannon, etc but taking all those pitchers in a row and none of them have shown outstanding stuff is a bad sign. Still, it took 4 years for Hunter Dobbins to make his ML debut so any of these guys could make it next year. 2021 was the last good season for the Sox so they picked low in every round. Still, two of their guys made the majors already in just three years so it wasn't the worst draft ever.

Crochet, Mayer Stop Mariners (6/18/25)

The lack of offense reared its ugly head once again as the Boston Red Sox had just 3 hits in today's get-away game against the Seattle Mariners. The good news was that's all they needed to win this game and the series as Garrett Crochet (7-4, 2.20 ERA) continued his dominating season by holding the Mariners to just 1 run in 6 solid innings. Luis Castillo allowed just 3 hits in his 6 innings but two of them were a solo home run to Marcelo Mayer and a two run home run by Trevor Story. Sox manager Alex Cora had Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock and Arolids Chapman handle the seventh and eighth innings, but shockingly went to Greg Weissert to close the game out. Fortunately Weissert shut the door as the Sox had won 2 of 3 from Seattle and 7 out of 8 overall with a 3-1 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

                                                        Jade Greene approves of the win

Castillo got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Abraham "El" Toro flied out to left but Roman Anthony was hit with a pitch. Romy Gonzalez forced Anthony at second to end the inning. Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Dylan Moore took strike three to start. Julio Rodriguez struck out swinging but Cal Raleigh doubled to left. Jorge Polanco flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Marcelo Mayer bashed his fourth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Trevor Story struck out swinging before David Hamilton flied out to right. Kristian Campbell struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                     Mayer gets the Wally Head

The Mariners answered right back in the bottom of the second as Duran dropped a ball by Randy Arozarena for a "double" to start. Randy moved to third on a fly ball to center by Mitch Garver and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Donovan Solano and Ben Williamson stroked back to back base hits, but Miles Mastrobuoni forced Williamson at second. Moore took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                             Mariners tie it

Somehow Connor Wong got a base hit to center to start the top of the third but Duran flied out to left. El Toro forced Wong at second and Anthony grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Raleigh grounded out to third. Polanco struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez grounded out to first to start. Mayer walked and Story belted his 10th home run of the season to put Boston back on top. Hamilton took strike three and Campbell grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-1.

                                                          Home run Story

Arozarena grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth but Garver singled to center. Solano struck out swinging and Williamson flied out to left to end the inning.

Wong grounded back to the mound to begin the top of the fifth before Duran lined out to center. El Toro flied out to left to end the inning. Mastrobuoni lined out to second to open the bottom of the fifth but Moore singled to left. Rodriguez forced Moore at second then took second on a wild pitch. Raleigh struck out swinging to end the inning.

Anthony walked to start the top of the sixth but Gonzalez lined out to center. Mayer struck out swinging but Anthony stole second base. Story grounded out to short to end the inning. Crochet returned for the bottom of the sixth and Polanco struck out swinging to start. Arozarena lined out to left and Garver struck out swinging to end the inning. Crochet tossed 6 solid innings of 1 run ball allowing 6 hits while striking out 8 batters.

                                                               Crochet gets it done

Carlos Vargas came in to pitch the top of the seventh as Hamilton flied out to left to start. Campbell struck out swinging and Wong flied out to right to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with Ceddanne Rafaela now in center. Solano struck out swinging before Williamson grounded out to second. Mastrobuoni grounded out to third to end the inning.

Gabe Speier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Duran lined out to first to start. Toro flied out to right and Anthony grounded out to second to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Moore grounded out to third to start. Rodriguez struck out swinging and Raleigh grounded out to third to end the inning.

Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Gonzalez grounded out to second to start. Mayer flied out to left and Story took strike three to end the inning. The Sox had just 3 hits in the entire game. For whatever reason, Sox manager Alex Cora had Greg Weissert close out the bottom of the ninth and Polanco grounded out to second to start. Arozarena walked and Dominic Canzone pinch hit for Garver. Canzone grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won the game 3-1.

                                                         Sox win

Hero of the Night is Garrett Crochet. He got the win by allowing just 6 hits and a walk while striking out 8 in 6 innings.

                                                           Garrett Hero

The Good:

Marcelo Mayer was 1 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total runs scored.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3.

Garrett Whitlock tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Greg Weissert earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Abraham Toro was 0 for 4.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4.

David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 2 but walked and stole a base.

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 wit 2 strikeouts but hit a two run homer.

Honorable Mention:

Ceddanne Rafaela played center in the final innings.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox offense has scored 20 runs in their last 8 games and won 7 of them....that's on the pitching. With the exception of Walker Buehler yesterday, the starters have been going 6 innings or longer in every single start. FINALLY Alex Cora got his head out of his ass and let his pitchers throw. Maybe losing Justin Slaten and Brennan Bernardino falling apart woke him up to start using the starters more and bullpen less. Either way, the trio of Whitlock, Chapman and Weissert has been working lately. Crochet has been a true ace this season and it would be a shame to waste that kind of year. The problem is with Rafael Devers traded and three power hitters on the Injured List, things look bleak for the offense. The rookies are barely hitting at all and they can't rely on utility players for too long. Still, keeping runs off the board will win you more games than you'll lose. Hopefully the pitching can hold up until something can be done about the offense. The fact the Sox have turned it around a little bit made them watchable if nothing else. The win improved the Sox to 39-37, 5.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to San Francisco to play Rafael Devers & the Giants. Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 3.74 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of San Francisco. The game begins at 10:10 PM Eastern time at Oracle Park.

Mariners Rout, Blank Sox (6/17/25)

So much for the post-Rafael Devers Boston Red Sox. After winning six straight games primarily due to their pitching, everything fell apart in tonight's game against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners offense pulverized Walker Buehler (5-5, 5.95 ERA) for eight runs in just four innings to put the game away early. On top of that, the punchless Sox offense were shutout by Bryan Woo and the Mariners bullpen. Woo held the Sox to just one measly hit through seven innings and the Sox as a team struck out ten times. The feel good weekend turned into reality as the Mariners won the game 8-0 at T-Mobile Park. How many runs did the Sox get, John Cena?

Woo got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran flied out to center to start. Abraham Toro was hit with a pitch but Roman Anthony flied out to left. Carlos Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning. Buehler got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and JP Crawford grounded out to first to start. Julio Rodriguez grounded out to second and Cal Raleigh singled to right. Jorge Polanco walked but Randy Arozarena forced him at second to end the inning.

Marcelo Mayer flied out to the centerfield wall to start the top of the second before Trevor Story struck out swinging. David Hamilton grounded out to short to end the inning. The Mariners exploded in the bottom of the second as Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez got a base hit to center to begin. Dominic Canzone flied out to center and somehow Tellez swiped second. Ben Williamson walked and Cole Young doubled to center. Tellez scored easily but Williamson was thrown out at home. Crawford and Rodriguez walked to load the bases and Raleigh iced the game early with a grand slam all the way to Oregon. Polanco grounded out to second to end the inning with the Mariners up 5-0.

                                                               This one's over

Rob Refsnyder grounded out to short to start the top of the third before Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging. Duran flied out to left to end the inning. Arozarena flied out to right to start the bottom of the third before Tellez took strike three. Canzone doubled to right and Williamson took strike three to end the inning.

El Toro grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth before Anthony struck out swinging. Narvaez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Mariners finished off Buehler in the bottom of the fourth as Young got a base hit to right to start. Crawford got a base hit to right to move Young to third and promptly stole second. Rodriguez grounded out to first but Raleigh doubled to right to score both runners. That was it for Buehler who would be charged with 8 runs in just 3 1/3 innings. Zack Kelly came in and Raleigh stole third base easily. Polanco hit a sac fly to score Raleigh and Arozrena struck out swinging to end the inning with the Mariners up 8-0.

                                                   "I sucked today" - Buehler

Mayer got a base hit to right to start the top of the fifth before Story popped up to first. Hamilton walked but Refsnyder struck out swinging. Rafaela flied out to right to end the inning. Tellez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Canzone grounded out to short. Williamson grounded out to third to end the inning.

Duran grounded out to first to open the top of the sixth before El Toro grounded out to second. Anthony took strike three to end the inning. Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Young struck out swinging to start. Crawford walked and Rodriguez got a base hit to center, but Raleigh popped up to second. Polanco flied out to right to end the inning.

Narvaez walked to start the top of the seventh but Mayer grounded into a double play. Kristian Campbell pinch hit for Story and grounded out to short to end the inning. Nate Eaton came in for Duran in left with Jorge Alcala making his Sox debut in the bottom of the seventh Moore popped up to first, Tellez struck out swinging and Canzone grounded out to short to end the inning.

Miles Mastrobuoni took over for Rodriguez with Casey Lugumina in to pitch the top of the eighth. Hamilton grounded out to short, Refsnyder struck out swinging and Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. Luis Guerrero came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Williamson grounded out to second to start. Young walked but Crawford lined out to right. Mastrobuoni flied out to right to end the inning.

Andres Munoz came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Eaton lined a base hit to center to start. El Toro struck out swinging, Anthony watched strike three go by and Narvaez forced Eaton at second to end the game. The Mariners had won it 8-0.

                                                        Mariners win

Jackass of the Night is Walker Buehler. He got rocked for 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings off 8 hits and 4 walks.

                                                                Jackass Buehler

The Good:

Nate Eaton was 1 for 1 at the plate.

Marcelo Mayer was 1 for 3.

Zack Kelly tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Brennan Bernardino pitched a scoreless inning.

Jorge Alcala pitched a scoreless inning.

Luis Guerrero pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3.

Roman Anthony was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Trevor Story was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Abraham Toro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

David Hamilton was 0 for 2 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

That game was an unmitigated disaster and its uncanny how Buehler is either one of the best in the game or straight batting practice with almost no in-between. He had no command of any of his pitches early in the game and when hitters figured out all he had was his fastball, they timed it. Still, even if Buehler pitched a shutout it wouldn't have mattered since the Sox got just TWO hits in the game. Nate Eaton off the bench got one of them. The loss of Rafael Devers looms large because with Triston Casas out for the season along with Wilyer Abreu and Alex Bregman still on the Injured List, the Sox have a severe lack of offense. They can't rely on utility players like Romy Gonzalez, Toro and Refsnyder for too long before a pitching slump dooms them. The only encouraging sign was the bullpen hasn't allowed a run in the series yet so....there's that. The loss dropped the Sox to 38-37, 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow afternoon against the Mariners when Garrett Crochet (6-4, 2.24 ERA) takes on Luis Castillo of Seattle. The game begins at 4:10 PM at T-Mobile Park.

Devers Traded, Sox Blank Mariners (6/16/25)

Just 3 hours after yesterday's win over the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox made one of the most shocking trades of all time. All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants in what was clearly a salary dump. Devers and his $250 million dollar contract were sent to the Giants for 28 year old right handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, 23 year old left handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, 22 year old outfield prospect James Tibbs and 20 year old right handed pitcher Jose Bello. Harrison was immediately sent to Worcester while Zach Pendrod was designated for assignment to make room for him on the 40 man. Nate Eaton was recalled from Worcester to temporarily take Devers' spot.

Devers was hitting .272 with 15 home runs and had driven in 58 runs at the time of the trade. He had 215 career home runs and 696 rbis and was borderline hall of fame player already. He'll definitely be missed by the fans. 

So who did the Sox get in return? Jordan Hicks has been a mediocre pitcher his whole career going 16-33 with a 4.23 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and the Giants. He was 1-5 with a 6.47 ERA this season and at 28, is definitely not the guy you want in a stretch run. 

Kyle Harrison was a 3rd round pick by the Giants back in 2020 out of high school and was perfectly mediocre since he made his ML debut in 2023. Last year he was 7-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 23 starts and was 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA in 8 games this year. He's a .500 pitcher and it doesn't look like he'll be anything else moving forward. He could be the next Nick Pivetta at best.

James Tibbs was the Giants first round pick 13th overall last year out of Florida State University. He was hitting .245 with 12 home runs and 32 rbis for the Eugene Emeralds in High A this year. Only one problem....he hits lefty. The Sox have way too many lefty hitting outfielders as it is, but then again, he won't be ready for a year or two anyway. At least he's hitting better than Yophery Rodriguez, the kid they got in the Quinn Priester trade.

Jose Bello is a 20 year old Dominican kid who's allowed 4 runs in 18 innings for the rookie Giants. He might be a prospect, he might not be. Either way, he's not going to contribute to this year's team at all.

So now for the big question, why? Why do this? It all goes back to spring training when Devers wasn't happy about the Alex Bregman signing and the Sox front office telling Devers to step aside for him. Then when Triston Casas went down, they asked Devers to play first base for the first time in his career and he outright refused. Sox owner John Henry met with Devers personally in Kansas City last month and apparently that didn't go well. Rumors are the final straw was Devers not running out that grounder against Tampa Bay last week. There's two ways to look at this, the cynical way is the Sox once again traded a franchise player for virtually nothing just like Mookie Betts. This might backfire big time and send the Sox in a tailspin with Casas out for the season and Bregman & Abreu on the Injured List. The Sox traded the last man standing of the 108 win World Series Champion 2018 Red Sox that should have been a dynasty if it wasn't for John Henry's sudden penny pinching ever since. Now the other way to look at it was Devers was a malcontent that didn't want to do what was best for the team. With so many rookies playing, you don't want someone like that set an example the rest might pick up on. After all, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz both regressed in 2011 when Josh Beckett stopped giving a damn. They also just freed up the DH spot for Alex Bregman when he comes back and they're going to keep Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer in the lineup. They still have one more move to make in the outfield, but this frees up $250 million and gets rid of a malcontent....if you look at it that way. The bottom line was Devers' days were numbered when he told the front office to go pleasure themselves and Sox GM Craig Breslow showed who was the boss for better or worse. Its a shame the Red Sox self destructed the 2018 team, and that's how you go 86 years without a ring.

                                                                OUT

                                                                     IN

As for the game, the Red Sox offense were held to just 4 hits and 2 measly runs by Logan Gilbert and the Seattle Mariners. The good news was Lucas Giolito (3-1, 4.73 ERA) was up to the task, blanking the Mariners for 6 innings while allowing just 3 hits. Roman Anthony belted his first career home run in the first inning to put the Sox ahead and Abraham Toro drove in a run in the top of the third for the only offense of the game. The trio of Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert and Aroldis Chapman pitched in to slam the door on the Mariners. The Sox had won their 6th straight game by beating Seattle 2-0 at T-Mobile Park.

                                                           JJ Spaun approves of the win

The Sox wasted no time getting to Gilbert in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Abraham "El" Toro popped up to short but Roman Anthony clobbered his first career home run to put Boston on top. Carlos Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                                 1st career for Roman

Giolito got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and JP Crawford walked to start. Julio Rodriguez grounded into a double play and Cal Raleigh flied out to center to end the inning.

Marcelo Mayer grounded out to first to start the top of the second before Trevor Story struck out swinging. David Hamilton popped up to second to end the inning. Jorge Polanco struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Randy Arozarena lined out to center. Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to open the top of the third before Kristian Campbell watched strike three go by. Duran tripled into the right field corner and El Toro beat out a grounder to second to score Jarren to increase the lead. Anthony struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                          Toro drives in a run

Giolito ran into trouble in the bottom of the third as Dominic Canzone got a base hit to left to start. Ben Williamson also dropped a base hit to left and Cole Young ripped a base hit to left to load the bases with nobody out. Somehow Crawford struck out swinging, Rodriguez also went down hacking, and Raleigh also struck out swinging to end the inning. Giolito pulled the Houdini for sure.

Narvaez flied out to left to start the top of the fourth before Mayer struck out swinging. Story walked and Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning. Polanco popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Arozarena struck out swinging. Tellez hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

Duran struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Campbell took strike three. Rafaela flied out to center to end the inning. Young struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Williamson took strike three. Young struck out swinging to end the inning.

Old friend Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the top of the sixth and El Toro walked to start. Anthony flied out to left and Narvaez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Giolito returned for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth and Raleigh grounded out to second to start. Rodriguez struck out swinging and Crawford struck out swinging. Crawford struck out swinging to end the inning. Giolito utterly dominated the Mariners going 6 innings while allowing just 3 hits and a walk.

                                                               Giolito gets it done

Zach Pop came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Mayer grounded out to first to start. Story grounded out to short and Hamilton also grounded out to short to end the inning. Justin Wilson came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Polanco got a base hit inside the bag at third to start. Arozarena popped up to short and Dylan Moore pinch hit for Tellez. Polanco stole second and Moore drew a walk, but Canzone popped up to third. Williamson struck out swinging to end the inning.

Rafaela grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth before Campbell got a base hit to center. Trent Thornton came in to face Duran and Jarren flied out to center. El Toro struck out swinging to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Young walked to start. Crawford walked as well but Rodriguez lined out to center. Raleigh struck out swinging and Polanco popped up to third to end the inning.

Anthony popped up to third to start the top of the ninth but Narvaez walked. Mayer struck out swinging and Story flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox had just 4 hits in the entire game. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Arozarena struck out swinging to start. Moore went down hacking and Donovan Solano pinch hit for Canzone. Solano struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won their sixth game in a row 2-0.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of the Night is Lucas Giolito. He blanked the Mariners for 6 innings and struck out 10 batters.

                                                  Lucas Gio-Hero

The Good:

Abraham Toro was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Kristian Campbell was 1 for 3.

Justin Wilson tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 13th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Roman Anthony was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Final Thoughts:

So even though the trade was yesterday, the fallout carried over to today when the Sox front office called a press conference. Sam Kennedy looked like a total fool saying "our record the last 25 years speaks for itself" when he wasn't even around then, Larry Lucchino was. Craig Breslow offered himself as a human shield saying "I think we'll win more games than we would have otherwise." In other words, he's banking his career on the Sox winning more games without Devers than they would with him. If they go into the tank, the Sox brass will just fire him like they did Chaim Bloom. Bottom line is the Sox charge the highest prices in the league for merch, tickets and beer yet trade or let go one star after another. Getting rid of a malcontent may help the clubhouse but why would future free agents sign here if they know the club cares more about who's the boss and making money than winning rings? As for the game, good win but the offense has totally evaporated since last week's loss in Tampa. Scoring 17 runs in 6 games isn't good but the pitching has been out of this world since that Tampa game as well. The Sox have a real power outage with Devers gone along with Alex Bregman, Wilyer Abreu and Triston Casas all out. Still, the pitching held up tonight but you can't expect to win every game 2-1 or 1-0. Still, Giolito looked good for the second start in a row and the Sox pitching has been on fire. Hope it stays that way. The win improved the Sox to 38-36, 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Sox look to make it seven wins in a row and two straight against Seattle tomorrow night when Walker Buehler (5-4, 5.01 ERA) looks to continue the hot streak against Bryan Woo of Seattle. The game begins at 9:40 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.

Bello, Sox Sweep Yankees (6/15/25)

Who saw that coming? After managing conservative to the detriment of the team in April and May, suddenly Sox manager Alex Cora has let the starters off the hook. The Sox have now won 7 of their last nine games including their fifth win in a row today. Brayan Bello (3-1, 3.49 ERA) pitched his best game of the season, shutting out the New York Yankees for 7 innings. Meanwhile the Sox scratched out two runs against Yankees ace Max Fried. Trevor Story got a bloop single rbi in the bottom of the first and Rafael Devers pounded his 15th home run of the season. Brennan Bernardino ran into trouble in the top of the eighth but Garrett Whitlock got a key double play. Whitlock blew the Yankees away in the ninth inning and the Sox completed their three game sweep of the Yankees with a 2-0 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                    Indica Jane approves of the win

Bello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Trent Grisham doubled to the centerfield wall to start. Ben Rice popped up to a falling down Trevor Story. Aaron Judge was called out on a questionable strike three but Cody Bellinger walked on four pitches not even close. Jazz Chisholm Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Fried got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Volpe booted a grounder by Rob Refsnyder to start. Rafael Devers grounded out into a double play but Romy Gonzalez face planted on a scintillating triple into the right field corner. Trevor Story blooped a single over the head of Volpe to score Gonzalez to put the Sox on top. Abraham "El" Toro took strike three right down the middle to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Story drives in a run

Volpe grounded out to first to start the top of the second and Jasson Dominguez walked. JC Escarra walked but Oswald Peralza swung at strike three by his ears to end the inning. Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Ceddanne Rafaela went down hacking as well. Connor Wong lined out to right to end the inning. 

Grisham popped up to third to start the top of the third before Rice got a base hit to right. Judge struck out swinging but Bellinger singled off the glove of Bello. Bello picked off Bellinger to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Kristian Campbell walked to start. Refsnyder got a base hit to left but Devers grounded into a double play. Gonzalez walked but Story took a curveball right down the middle for strike three to end the inning.

Chisholm walked to start the top of the fourth but Volpe grounded into a double play. Dominguez struck out swinging to end the inning. El Toro got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the fourth before Duran struck out swinging. Rafaela got a base hit to right but Wong grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Escarra grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Peraza was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Grisham hit a routine grounder to second but Campbell threw himself on the ball and swam on it for an error. Rice flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Campbell grounded out to second to start. Refsnyder popped up to second but Devers bashed his 15th home run of the season to increase the lead. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                         Devers gets the Wally Head

 

Bello dominated the top of the sixth as Judge struck out swinging to start. Bellinger struck out swinging and Chisholm took strike three to end the inning with Brayan at 101 pitches. Story struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Toro took strike three. Duran grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Bello somehow returned for the top of the seventh and Volpe grounded out to short to start. Dominguez popped up to second and Escarra took strike three to end the inning. Bello tossed 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8.

                                                           Bello with the big start

Rafaela grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh before Wong struck out swinging. Campbell grounded out to third to end the inning.

David Hamilton came in to play second base with Brennan Bernardino now on the mound to start the top of the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt got a base hit to left and Grisham also got a base hit to left. DJ LeMahieu pinch hit for Rice and took strike three down the middle. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to face Judge and got him to ground into a double play to end the inning. Mark Leiter Jr came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Roman Anthony pinch hit for Refsnyder. Anthony grounded out to first but Devers walked. Mayer took strike three on the inside corner and Story struck out swinging on a pitch not even close to end the inning.

Whitlock returned to finish off the top of the ninth and Bellinger grounded out to second to start. Chisholm took strike three on the inside corner and Whitlock blew Volpe away on a 96 mph to end the game. The Sox had swept the Yankees with a 2-0 win.

                                                                   Sox win

Hero of The Night is Brayan Bello. He tossed 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8 batters.

                                                                Hero Bello

The Good:

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3.

Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.

Abraham Toro was 1 for 3.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3.

Brennan Bernardino got the first out of the eighth inning.

Garrett Whitlock earned his first save of the season with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 1.

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 1 with a strikeout.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but drove in a run.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 2 with an error but walked.

Honorable Mention:

David Hamilton played second base in the final few innings.

Final Thoughts:

Who knew when the Sox got beat by the Los Angeles Angels on June 3rd that the Sox would go on a tear? The Sox have won 8 of 10 games since including 5 of 6 against the Yankees. The key has been the pitching. The starters have finally been allowed to go 6-7 innings and throw over 100 pitches. Crochet almost had a complete game shutout and Bello was dominant today. The Yankees were off-balance the entire day and Garrett Whitlock pitched great too. Moving forward the Sox have a chance to make a comeback this season but have some tough roster decisions to make. Someone has to go when Wilyer Abreu comes back and another when Alex Bregman comes back. Still, this was a big win against a first place team to get closer in the race. The Sox are only 1/2 game out of a playoff spot and still have half the season remaining. The Sox have a big west coast trip coming up and now they have momentum going into it. The win improved the Sox to 37-36, 6.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now have a big west coast trip with their first stop in Seattle tomorrow night to play the Mariners. Lucas Giolito (2-1, 5.45 ERA) takes on Logan Gilbert of Seattle. The game begins at 9:40 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.