The news came after Roman Anthony’s game-winning home run, but also after the Red Sox suffered a series sweep and a rotation loss.
I’ll be frank, but maybe not brief. This weekend against Houston sucked. And we’re all scared for what the next few weeks of Red Sox pitching will look like.
If you want my own personal two cents on what to do with the James Paxton situation (you probably don’t), or if you’re Craig Breslow (even less of a chance you want my two cents, in that case), then I’ll say that Richard Fitts has been good enough to at least evaluate and see what he can do at the next level. Quinn Priester might be really good in time, but not now, in this situation; it’s possible he needs some re-tooling. You can also consider another guy with Major League experience in Jason Alexander, but your mileage may vary. You can make a giga-call-up for Portland’s Isaac Coffey or take a flyer on Chase Shugart, but see last hint, and project that you’re saying “screw it” on the year. You can pull the Brinks truck up to Rich Hill’s house.
None of these may save us from seeing Alex Cora shrug and say his favorite sentence: “ya know, the bullpen is gassed, I did what I needed to with what I had” on a weekly basis until the season is over. But, that’s not the biggest farm story of the day. So, for now, let’s get into it.
Worcester: SSPD in 5th (TBP week of 9/10) (BOX SCORE)
This game was stopped just before it became official in the top of the fifth, due to a rainstorm in Syracuse (Mets AAA), but it wasn’t looking too good. Jason Alexander had allowed four runs in as many innings, and a Bobby Dalbec long-ball accounted for the only scoring on the WooSox side of things. In fact, the only other hit was from nine-hole Tyler McDonough, the recent call-up from Portland. The game will finish at some point to be named later the week of 9/10 when the Mets and Sox face off again, but in the mean time, speaking of call-ups, we got the news we needed after Sunday’s disaster from Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. . .
News: The Big Three – Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel – have all been promoted to Triple-A Worcester. Story from Portland: https://t.co/L8fw0xs8yI
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) August 11, 2024
The “future” that everyone, myself certainly included, is all clamoring for is just one step away from Fenway. The oldest of this trio, Teel, is just 22 years old. The three – and Kristian Campbell – were certainly a unit to be feared across Double-A, and boasted the following slash-lines in 2024:
Anthony: .269/.367/.489 (15 HR, 16 SB)
Mayer: .307/.370/.450 (8 HR, 13 SB)
Teel: .298/.390/.462 (11 HR, 9 SB)
This is even more exciting when you consider that Anthony, a power hitter, at 20 years old, has even more time to refine his swing, since he’s not at a position of dire need (yet.) So, this game may look very different when it picks back up in September. You don’t need me to tell you that this September game is the least impact these callups will have, though.
Portland: W, 9-8 (BOX SCORE)
How do you like multiple hits from each of the Big Three, or the Maine attraction, in their final game at Hadlock to preserve the W in a de facto bullpen game? Anthony hit the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th off of the Altoona (Pirates AA) bullpen. And, by the way, the new shortstop of the Sea Dogs, one Kristian Campbell, who may well be the next one to ship up to Polar, is not to be forgotten either, with 2 hits of his own, including his seventh home run since being promoted from Greenville just a couple short months ago. The 22 year old from Chattanooga’s slash is .380/.484/.592., with just one fewer walk (32) than strikeouts (33) and 17 stolen bases in 49 games. Is that…. good?
Greenville: L, 0-5 (BOX SCORE)
Greenville could not put any runs on the board today, so it didn’t help that Dalton Rogers and Cooper Adams again struggled on the mound, striking out just three between the two of them in almost six innings of work while allowing nine combined hits (though just two were Cooper’s; the remainder were Rogers’.) Greenville’s two defensive errors didn’t help, either. This game could have possibly been closer if Greenville didn’t manage just three hits on the night and leave eight on the basepaths. Here’s my pun: The Drive are Dash-ing out of Winston-Salem (White Sox High-A) after going 2-4 on the week.
Salem: W, 2-1 (BOX SCORE)
Salem got just four hits themselves on the night. But luckily for them, and thanks to a seven-strikeout scoreless performance by starter Matt Duffy and continued solid bullpen work by Luis Talaveras, a two-run single by Franklin Arias (DOB: 11/19/2005, if you want to feel old) was all they needed. That single scored Freili Encarnacion, who, although he lacks power, has been playing worthy of a callup to Greenville lately. And, since a 2-1 win always requires some extra kudos on the starting pitching, let’s not understate that Duffy got through his 5 innings against Delmarva (Orioles A) in 59 pitches; pretty efficient stuff.
Happy Monday…. or at least try to have a happy Monday.