A lot of that is probably dependent on what happens with Jarren Duran and other outfielders in the next 24 hours.
I want it on record: I make a quip below about Zack Kelly and Jovani Moran rehabbing in Worcester and and then being touted as acquisitions to the Major League roster, which I wouldn’t be thrilled about. But please, whatever ends up happening between now and Thursday evening, let it result in Jorge Alcala playing elsewhere. It’s not a big ask! As for the minor league action, let’s get into it!
Worcester: W, 7-5 (BOX SCORE)
Jose DeLeon didn’t go far into this game against Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA), but he really didn’t have to. He was helped by some solid pitching by (sarcasm font, I hope) the two best relief arms the Red Sox are going to get in the trade deadline, Zack Kelly and Jovani Moran. Kelly pitched a clean inning and Moran got three of his seven outs via strikeouts.
This would normally have been a tough game to win given neither DeLeon or Isaiah Campbell looked all that good, but the offense came prepared on Tail Waggin’ Tuesday with more hits than you can wag a tail at… if that amount of wags is less than twelve, that is. Nine of these hits came from Worcester’s top four hitters, and Password Garcia got three knocks of his own, including his twelfth homer in Triple-A. I’ll remind you that Password did not START the season in Triple-A, either; these dozen home runs came in 49 games after being called up from Portland in May. Oh, and if you’re not sold enough on exploring him as a real option to help this team in the next 12 months, knowing Rafaela can play in the infield for any stretch of time, know this: his splits against lefties are actually BETTER than against righties; he holds a .969 OPS against them. Just food for thought!
Portland: W, 4-3 (BOX SCORE)
Hayden Mullins is having a magical 2025 down in Portland and he’s at least worth a look in Triple-A on short order. Even though he didn’t go long enough to grab the decision win in this one and walked four, he struck out eight and allowed just three hits, getting out of innings where it counts as to the Curve (Pirates AA) stranded ten men. The Sea Dogs didn’t make things easy on the 24-year-old lefty, either: it took until the seventh for Portland to get on the board, but Max Ferguson’s grand slam that scored James Tibbs, Mikey Romero and Ronaldo Hernandez had a .602 WPA for the Sea Dogs and made a three-run deficit into a one-run lead with one fell swoop.
Speaking of Ronaldo Hernandez, welcome back to the organization for the catcher! He’s the product of, frankly, a lot of bloat at the position in the roster. It’s not like our backup option in the Major Leagues is garnering much magic, and the names in front of Hernandez are aging: see here, Yasmani Grandal, Seby Zavala (you have no idea how much it hurts to say a guy a month to the day older than me is aging), even Mark Koloszvary. That’s not even acknowledging that Ronald Rosario has been quite good since his promotion, as has Brooks Brannon. It would behoove the organization to not make some moves ridding some of these guys from the ranks, or play them at other positions if they’re not worth their salt defensively, such as Worcester playing Nathan Hickey at first the majority of his starts.
Greenville, Game 1: L, 4-8 (BOX SCORE) (Started 7/13)
Blake Aita started this one a few weeks ago, and Noah Dean came in and gave up four runs in as many innings to the Dash (White Sox High-A). It’s kind of funny seeing Franklin Arias’ OPS stand at .743 following this game with the knowledge that it has actually dropped thirty points since the start of action sixteen days ago. The Drive mustered just one walk on the night but Johanfran Garcia did hit his “first” home run since being promoted. Greenville was also the victim of committing the only two fielding errors in this game.
Greenville, Game 2: W, 5-2 (BOX SCORE)
This game, albeit shorter, went a little more in Greenville’s favor. Adam Smith came out in relief after Austin Ehrlicher showed promising stuff for 60 pitches, and pitched his second good outing in “as many games” since game one actually happened two weeks ago (oooo, spooky!)
After an awesome April, Yophery Rodriguez has cooled down considerably, but he was a difference-maker in this one, hitting his fifth home run of the season smack dab in the middle of this game. Going into the “late going” in this one (also known in these seven-inning double-headers as “the fifth inning”) with a 3-1 lead certainly felt better than a tie, and it likely allowed the Drive that cushion to leave Smith in there for a second inning when he was pitching well.
Salem: W, 6-4 (BOX SCORE)
The Salem pitching staff allowed five doubles on the night to the Hillcats (Guardians A) but were emboldened by Steven Brooks striking out seven despite getting pulled an out shy of having an official start. Not that it would have mattered because Adam Bates allowed three runs, but Salem again pulled away in the seventh inning under the watch of Jay Allmer, with a Starlyn Nunez solo shot to get them within one (this is his second in two games), a Justin Gonzales fly ball that couldn’t fly deep enough for D’Angelo Ortiz to beat the tag at home, and an ensuing Yoelin Cespedes triple to clear the bases. Even on a night when Salem stranded nine, they still managed to gain the victory due to making more of their extra-base hits than Lynchburg did. It’s all situational!
Have a happy Wednesday, and trade deadline eve!