It has been an eventful spring training for the Boston Red Sox so far. While the team still tries to figure out, among other things, how they are going to make things work in the infield, things have not gone smoothly after the first week of camp.
In particular, the Red Sox's pitching staff had a pair of health setbacks announced yesterday with Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta each having some issues. Bello is currently dealing with some forearm soreness which is always a little spooky and Nick Pivetta is reported to have been sick with COVID recently and hasn't fully recovered yet.
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Elsewhere on the site, we took a look at Nick Longhi's journey as a prospect and interviewed him to talk about some of the trials and tribulations he has had to endure. Longhi was heartbreakingly close to a big league call-up before COVID hit, but hopefully he gets an opportunity soon.
We also took a look at Tanner Houck and the versatility he can bring to the Red Sox pitching staff. From a back-end starter to a long reliever or even a closer, it seems like Houck is able to find success in any role he's given. It remains to be seen what his final role will be for 2023, or if his role will change based on the needs of the team throughout the season.
MLB News
The idea of talking about team relocation isn't usually something that comes up in spring training, but the Oakland Athletics are looking into a site in Las Vegas that could serve as their MLB home park should the team relocate to Vegas in the future. It is pretty clear at this point that the A’s ownership is focused on a potential move to Vegas and time is running out on their time in Oakland.
We also had a Hall of Fame related announcement as we now know which teams Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen decided to be on their plaques as they are inducted into Cooperstown. Rolen chose to go in as a Cardinal which is hardly surprising given how things ended for him in Philly. As for McGriff, he simply couldn't choose and decided to go in with a blank cap as to not slight any of his fanbases.
Thing remain busy in San Diego, although it isn't a signing or trade this time as Manny Machado openly discussed his plans to opt out of his contract with the Padres after the 2023 season. While its a certainty that the Padres would love to keep Manny around, he is is going to be quite expensive and they probably need to at least entertain the idea of keeping that Juan Soto guy around.
The injury bug is coming in hot and fast across the league this spring training as Lance McCullers Jr. is experiencing some soreness in his pitching arm after a bullpen session earlier in the week. This is usually the time of year where teams are overly cautious about any little injury, but with Lance's recent injury history this is still worth keeping an eye on.