Alex Cora 'very pleased' with Bryan Mata's development, calls his stuff 'legit'
Red Sox manager Alex Cora expects the young hurler to make his major league debut by the end of the year.
“The ability is there,” Cora said. “This is where we are at now, you start talking about these kids. Bello and Mata and Whitlock and Tanner, you see it coming. At one point, (Mata) is gonna be part of this and he’s gonna help us to win a few games.”
The 23-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2021, missing the entire regular season. He made his season debut in June 2022 and pitched well between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester.
During Cora’s press conference with the media on Tuesday afternoon, he spoke highly about Mata’s stuff and what his expectations were for the Venezuelan native.
“The stuff is legit, if we can throw more strikes... with two strikes put people away, right away, he's going to be good,” said Cora. The Red Sox skipper wants Mata to focus on getting two strikes on batters and then “bury guys.”
Mata is ranked as the club’s No. 6 prospect by SoxProspects.com, will likely start the season with the WooSox. He will join a rotation that’ll potentially feature Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski, Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy.
“We’re very pleased with where he’s at in his development. His stuff is legit...,” Cora said. “Obviously, the injury slowed him down but he’s in a great spot right now. He’s throwing the ball well and I’m excited to him compete at the big league level.”
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