News and notes from around Red Sox Nation.
Does it count as being demoted if you’re already in the minors? Vaughn Grissom’s rehab clock officially expired, only for the Red Sox to immediately activate and optioned him to AAA Worcester, where he’s been playing for the past few weeks. Grissom’s numbers during his rehab stint have been ugly — .215/.310/.294 in 13 games with 1 homer, 11 strikeouts, and 7 walks — and David Hamilton, Nick Sogard, and Romy Gonzalez are all clearly better infield options than him at the moment. Grissom is now collecting lost seasons the way I collected pogs in 1994. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
With the way the Sox’ lineup has performed this season, though, the loss of Grissom doesn’t have much of an impact. The Red Sox biggest issue right now is clearly the subpar performance of the starting rotation. Across the statistical board, Sox pitchers are performing much worse than they did earlier in the season. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
At least one starter, Nick Pivetta, will skip his next turn in the rotation to rest his arm. Is fatigue the primary cause of the pitching staff’s struggles? (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)
Thankfully the bullpen is hanging in, led by 36-year-old Kenley Jansen. But even though Jansen doesn’t look ready to retire, he’s already starting to prepare for life after baseball by starting a record label. (James Sullivan, Boston Globe)
But despite the lackluster starting pitching, the Sox just won a huge series against a direct rival in the Kansas City Royals. Still, the series raised some important questions. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
While the Red Sox weren’t able to sweep the Royals to put themselves in postseason position, they remain firmly in the Wild Card hunt. Moreover, Sam Kennedy thinks they can still win the division. (Brian Foisy, WEEI)