Red Sox News & Links: Red Sox Add New Arm to Bullpen
Plus, Chris Martin doesn’t appreciate your attempts to play baseball.
There are few things sillier in professional sports than a baseball “brawl.” Personally, my favorite part is when the bullpens run in like they’re a cavalry unit cresting a hill to rescue a pinned-down infantry. Run, Kenley! You must protect the honor of your set-up man! And in the case of the scuffle between the Red Sox and Brewers yesterday, things only got sillier when we heard the explanation of how it started: Chris Martin was annoyed that the Brewers successfully bunted against him in a tie game. How dare those Brewers attempt to use a legal, 150-year old baseball strategy in an effort to win a baseball game! (Sean McGuire, NESN)
Perhaps the Red Sox bullpen was just testing the mettle of its newest member. The Sox signed White Sox cast-off Brad Keller before yesterday’s game, demoting Zack Kelly in order to make room for him. Keller is expected to serve as a bulk reliever, and, reading between the lines, it sort of seems like he’s only going to be here for a short period of time while Kelly recovers from his recent three-inning stint and Isiah Campbell returns to health. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Speaking of returning from injury, it looks like the knee issue that knocked Tyler O’Neill out of Saturday’s game is nothing major. He’ll likely sit out for at least one more game, but is hoping to return tomorrow against the Orioles. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Garrett Whitlock certainly knows a thing or two about recovering from injuries, doesn’t he? He’ll attempt to do so again after receiving an internal brace in his UCL, but not for a while. He’s officially out for the year. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Losing Whitlock is a major loss, of course. But at least the organization appears to have better starting pitching depth this year, with Cooper Crisswell excelling in the big leagues while Josh Winckowski and Richard Fitts stay stretched out in AAA. And now, there’s a new name in the WooSox rotation. Zach Penrod, a 26-year-old who the Sox signed out of an independent league last year, was promoted to Worcester after dominating in AA to start the year. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Of course it’s also easier to weather starting pitching injuries when you have two guys who are Cy Young candidates at the top of your rotation. It is still early, but that’s exactly what Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are right now. (Dylan Svoboda, MLB.com)
It’s always fun when unheralded players come out of nowhere and surprise everyone, isn’t it? That’s also happening down on the farm, where Matthew Lugo — not Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, or Kyle Teel — has been the Red Sox best performing prospect. (David Laurila, FanGraphs)
