News and notes from around Red Sox Nation.
For the rest of my baseball life, I will probably insist that Garrett Whitlock could’ve made it in the rotation— and likely would’ve been more valuable there — which is what I’ve been saying about Jonathan Papelbon all these years. But regardless of hypotheticals, there’s no question that he’s really damn valuable right where he is right now. And he doesn’t seem to miss starting, either, saying that he loves being the Red Sox’ “Swiss army knife.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
By fWAR, Whitlock has been the most valuable member of the bullpen and third-most valuable pitcher overall. The leader in that category is, of course, Garrett Crochet, who still doesn’t think he’s at his best. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
“Not at his best” would be an accurate way to describe Triston Casas right now, too, as the first baseman is currently slashing just .172/.243/.266 and has struck out 18 times in 18 games. But his recent numbers indicate that he might be turning things around. (Mike Cole, NESN)
Marcelo Mayer isn’t at his best down in AAA either. Though he has two homers already, he’s hitting under the Mendoza Line. But he’s getting some mentoring, particularly from Trevor Story, the guy he could end up replacing one day. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
The annual Patriots Day game on Monday sure would be a good time for Casas to break out of his slump, so let’s hope he’s a morning person. And if you’ve been wondering why the Sox play so early on Patriots Day every year, his a little history lesson. (Conor Ryan, Boston.com)