Red Sox skipper Alex Cora on Rule 5 draft pick Justin Slaten: ‘He was somebody who is opening eyes right away’
Pitchers and catchers workouts are fully underway down at JetBlue Park and newly acquired pitcher Justin Slaten is already impressing his new manager.
“Slate, today, the stuff was really good. He threw cutters and the breaking ball and the fastball. It was fun to watch,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Thursday in Fort Myers after Slaten threw live batting practice. “He was somebody who is opening eyes right away. If we can harness the stuff in the zone, then great things are going to happen.”
The Red Sox acquired Slaten from the Mets after he was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by New York, who selected the righty from the Rangers. Boston traded minor league pitcher Ryan Ammons to the Mets to acquire Slaten right after the Rule 5 draft.
Slaten posted a 2.87 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 40 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season in the Rangers farm system.
It’s hard to project whether Slaten will make the big league roster out of camp. He will need to remain on the Red Sox’s 26-man active roster all season or he’ll need to be offered back to the Rangers, per the Rule 5 rules.
Ahead of the Rule 5 draft, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters that the right-hander was the team’s top target.
“We’re really excited about bringing him on board,” Breslow said Thursday to reporters. “It was the marriage of the data, the raw pitch characteristics, the performance, the scouting group, everyone aligned. And with this budding pitching infrastructure, we were able to get additional perspectives. When there’s alignment across all of those groups, it makes for a fairly easy decision.
“He’s a guy with huge swing-and-miss stuff and profiles as a back of the back of the bullpen-type arm. So we’re really excited to get him here and see what he can do.”
