MLB Spring Training Notebook: Why Alex Bregman went on the road Monday, Padres sign former Red Sox infielder, Oriole banged up, Roki and more
When teams go on the road for spring training games in Florida, key veteran players don’t usually travel with the team. On Monday, new Red Sox infielder Alex Bregman told manager Alex Cora he wanted to travel with the young players and play on the road against the Orioles in Sarasota.
“We talked about it like two days ago. He’s like, ‘I want to go. I want to be around the kids,’” manager Alex Cora told reporters, including MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “Baltimore, too. ESPN (game also), so just kind of give everything to everybody, right?”
Bregman wanted to ride with the young players, including Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kristian Campbell.
Anthony was scratched from the lineup on Monday afternoon because he was sick.
Bregman was mic’d up on the ESPN broadcast and talked about why it was important for him to join his young new teammates in Sarasota.
“It has been great getting to know all these guys,” Bregman said. “Kristian and Celo and Roman, we all went out to eat. We talked baseball for a long time. They asked great questions. They’re mature beyond their years. I feel like all three of them can help us win baseball games this year.
“They’re super impressive. The biggest thing is they know what they’re good at. I feel like our player development does a really good job, here, of giving them goals to work on and things to work on in their game. To see their work ethic and to see how bad they want it on a daily basis has been impressive.”
Bregman went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in the Red Sox' 6-6 tie against the Orioles.
Former Red Sox infielder Jose Iglesias has signed a minor league deal with the Padres, per FanSided’s Robert Murray. If Iglesias plays in the bigs, he will earn $3 million with an additional $1 million in performance bonuses on the table.
The 35-year-old spent last season in Queens playing for the Mets. He appeared in 85 games where he slashed .337/.381/.448 while posting an .830 OPS.
This will mark the second time Iglesias will join the Padres organization. He spent a portion of the 2023 season playing for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate.
Fans are eagerly awaiting MLB the Show 2025 to drop on March 18, 2025. Boston added some star power to their roster in Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Alex Bregman, and the trio are in the Sox’ top six rankings.
The Red Sox' top six ranked players are Rafael Devers (86), Jarren Duran (86), Crochet (85), Bregman (82), Triston Casas (80), and Tanner Houck (80).
Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson has been diagnosed with a mild right intercostal strain, an injury he sustained last Thursday while making a jumping catch against the Blue Jays.
Baltimore is planning on slow-playing his recovery and will not be rushing the 23-year-old back into action.
“I’m very, very hopeful,” Hyde said on the likelihood of Henderson being ready for Opening Day. “But we’re going to not push a strain there, and we want to make sure that he gets it taken care of. It’s one of those sensitive areas where you don’t want anything to reoccur.”
All eyes were on Roki Sasaki’s first spring start on Tuesday night. The rookie made his Cactus League debut, firing off nasty splitters and dialing up his fastball to 99.2 mph.
Sasaki pitched three scoreless frames, striking out five, allowing a walk, and a pair of hits in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Reds.
"That's the best we've seen him," manager Dave Roberts said. "And you would expect that, given he's now really in compete mode, the adrenaline is real.
Rangers ace Jacob deGrom is healthy and ready to contribute out of the Rangers rotation this season. The righty will not be the Opening Day starter and will pitch at the backend of the rotation to open the year.
Texas has been slowly working deGrom along, who recently threw a live batting practice, tossing 25 pitches. deGrom faced Joc Pederson and Kevin Pillar, throwing 14 of his pitches for strikes.
Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy wants his ace to be healthy, and starting him out at the back end of the rotation should help.
“That’s just how it’s shaping up,” Bochy told reporters on Monday. “We decided to go ahead and give him the back end of the rotation. He's gonna get around four starts here [in Arizona]; we’ll get him up to around five innings, and he’ll slot in the back end.”
Former Royals infielder Mike Moustakas announced his retirement on Monday. He will also sign a one-day contract with Kansas City and retire a member of the Royals on May 31.
Nick Yorke focused on the Pirates and his future; ‘I could honestly care less what’s going on over there’
The Red Sox and the Pirates played each other for the first time since they completed the Nick Yorke for Quinn Priester trade.