Fenway Insider: January 2015

Friday, January 30, 2015

Red Sox agree to 1-year deal with RHP Alexi Ogando

(May 10, 2014 - Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America)

The Boston Red Sox have made another move to upgrade their bullpen for 2015, agreeing to a one year contract with free-agent RHP and former All-Star Alexi Ogando.

Per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the deal is worth a guaranteed $1.5 million, and is rumored to contain another $1.5 million in incentives.

The 31-year old righty appeared in 183 games over five seasons for the Texas Rangers, posting a 28-16 record alongside a 3.35 ERA, 1.185 WHIP, and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He struggled mightily in 2014, however, going 2-3 with a 6.84 ERA, while walking 5.4 batters per nine innings.

25-year old Drake Britton appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen for the Red Sox over the last two seasons, going 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, and 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Britton retired Ichiro Suzuki in his major league debut with the Red Sox back in 2013:

Ogando broke into the majors as a reliever for the Rangers in 2010, posting a 4-1 record and a 1.30 ERA in 41 2/3 innings pitched. Texas converted him to a starter in 2011, and the move paid off, as the right-hander won his first seven games with a 2.20 ERA to earn an appearance in the 2011 All-Star Game. Ogando shifted back to the bullpen in 2012 and recently has battled an elbow injury, but the 31-year-old could serve as a valuable setup man or middle reliever in Boston’s bullpen. Britton made seven appearances during two major league stints with the Red Sox in 2014 and did not allow a run in 6.2 innings pitched.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/01/reports-alexi-ogando-red-sox-agree-to-terms-on-one-year-contract/

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Red Sox trade Anthony Ranaudo to Rangers for LHP Robbie Ross Jr.

(September 3, 2014 - Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America)

MLBTradeRumors.com is reporting that the Rangers VP of Communications John Blake has announced, via Twitter, than the Rangers have acquired 25-year old right hander Anthony Ranaudo from the Boston Red Sox, in exchange for 25-year old left hander Robbie Ross Jr.

Ranaudo was drafted 39th overall in the 2010 draft, and made his debut for the Red Sox in 2014. He owned a 4-3 record with a 4.81 ERA over seven starts, but struggled with his command striking out only 0.94 batters for every walk he allowed and posting a measly 1.398 WHIP.

The tall 6'7" New Jersey native was previously listed as a Top-100 prospect by both Baseball American and Baseball Prospectus.

In his major league debut on August 1, Ranaudo retired Derek Jeter in his final season for his first major league strikeout:

Ross Jr. has appeared in 150 games over three seasons with the Rangers, and went 3-6 with a 6.20 ERA over 27 games, including 12 starts, in 2014. The southpaw excelled out of the bullpen for Texas, but struggled to transition to the rotation last year after battling the injury bug. His best season came in 2012 where appeared in 58 games going 6-0 with a 2.22 ERA and 198 ERA+.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Jonny Gomes' Red Sox video timeline

(October 29, 2013 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America)

Jonny Gomes: The Peter Gammons Interview - April 2013

Red Sox Outfielder Jonny Gomes sits down with Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons prior to the 2013 season.

Sox walk off on Gomes' two run home run - 06/18/2013
Jonny Gomes drills a two-run shot over the Green Monster in left, lifting the Red Sox to a walk-off victory at Fenway Park.

Red Sox walk off on Gomes' clutch home run - 07/03/2013

Jonny Gomes sends Luke Gregerson's pitch into the seats above the Monster to hand the Red Sox a 2-1 walk-off win over the Padres

Jonny Gomes launches 3-run home run in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series - 10/27/2013
After two quick outs, the Red Sox put two runners on to chase Lance Lynn from the game before Jonny Gomes hits a three-run homer.

Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino visit Conan O'Brien - November 2013
Shane & Jonny report that the Red Sox have replaced the high-five with the beard tug.

Boston Ink with Jonny Gomes - April 2014

Jonny Gomes tattoos Red Sox fans at the MLB Fan Cave

Jonny Gomes wears 'America' jacket to White House, presents Obama with one of his own - April 2014

While most of his teammates wore a standard business suit to the White House on Tuesday, Red Sox left fielder Jonny Gomes wore a jacket that looked like the American Flag. He also presented President Obama with his own, signed by the entire team.

Gomes ties it with a pinch-hit two-run home run - 05/25/2014
Jonny Gomes launches a pinch-hit home run to left field, scoring A.J. Pierzynski to tie the game at 3

Gomes ejected after bench clearing incident in Tampa Bay - 05/25/2014
Yunel Escobar, Sean Rodriguez and Jonny Gomes are ejected when benches clear after Escobar steals third base with a five-run lead

Gomes crushes a pinch-hit, two-run shot
Jonny Gomes launches a pinch-hit home run to center field, scoring Stephen Drew to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead.

Jonny Gomes talks about time with Red Sox - 07/31/2014

Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, who was traded to the Oakland Athletics, talks about his time in Boston, and the experience of living in the city during the 2013 season.

Pablo Sandoval excited after seeing snow for first time

Friday, January 23, 2015

Former Red Sox Jonny Gomes signs with Atlanta Braves

(Source: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)

Per ESPN, the Atlanta Braves have confirmed a deal with 34-year old outfielder and former Red Sox Jonny Gomes. The contract is worth $4 million for one season, and includes a vesting option for a second year.

Gomes finished the 2014 season with the Oakland Athletics after being traded alongside Jon Lester at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. Gomes hit .234/.329/.354 with six home runs and 32 RBI for Boston, and .234/.320/.250 with five runs batted in for Oakland.

For his career Gomes owns a .244/.335/.442 slash line with 155 home runs and 500 RBIs in 12 seasons.

One of Gomes' more memorable moments in a Boston uniform came in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series when he launched a go-ahead 3-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Red Sox sign Quintin Berry to Minor League contract with invite to Spring Training

Per MiLB.com's Twitter account, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to sign outfielder Quintin Berry to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

The 30-year old outfielder had a brief stint with Boston in 2013, where he managed five hits in eight at-bats with a home run, four runs batted in and three stolen bases. Although he made no official plate appearances during the postseason, Berry made one appearance and stole a base in each series en route to a 2013 World Series Championship with the Red Sox.

Berry did not see much action in 2014, going hitless in his only two plate appearances in ten games for the Baltimore Orioles.

In 117 career games Berry owns a .266/.337/.369 hitting line with three home runs and 33 runs batted in. He is better known for his speed, however, and has stolen 25 bases in his career.

Prospect Profile - Blake Swihart

(Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America)

Name: Blake Aubrey Swihart
Born: April 3, 1992
Height: 6'1" Weight: 175 lbs
Birthplace: Bedford, Texas
High School: V. Sue Cleveland High School - Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Drafted: Boston Red Sox: 1st Round - 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft

Blake Swihart is currently listed as the #1 prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization by SoxProspects.com, and believed by many to be the starting catcher of the future for the Red Sox despite a strong performance by rookie Christian Vazquez in 2014.

The Texas native owns a career batting line of .284/.338/.431 with 22 home runs and 159 runs batted in, and has thrown out an impressive 38% of attempted base stealers (58 of 154) in 307 MiLB games.

He began the 2014 season with the AA Portland Sea Dogs, where he hit .300/.353/.487 while launching 12 homers and driving in 55 runs.

The 22-year old switch hitter managed to post his impressive offensive numbers all while throwing out 31 of 59 attempted base stealers (47.5%) to lead the Eastern League.

It was also in AA Portland where Swihart began building a rapport with Boston's top pitching prospect, Henry Owens.

That relationship would carry over to AAA Pawtucket when both were promoted later in the season:

Swihart would appear in 18 games for Pawtucket Red Sox to finish 2015, and owned a .261/.282/.377 line with one long ball and 9 runs batted in.

"He's not afraid to take charge," said PawSox manager Kevin Boles. "Just the pace and tempo and watching him throw between innings, watching him bounce around. He's just a high-energy kid, and I like his athleticism behind the plate. Presents the ball very well. Showed coverage, gained ground when blocking. He does a lot of things well."

On September 5, Swihart plated the go-ahead run in the seventh inning against the Syracuse Chiefs to send the PawSox to the Governor's Cup Finals:

"We just have fun with it," Swihart said after the big win. "It's a good group of guys, a lot of team chemistry. Being a part of the Red Sox organization, it's win, win, win."

Pawtucket would go on to defeat the Durham Bulls for the Governor's Cup trophy.

Even with the success he's had in the early part of his career, Swihart still believes he has a long way to go.

"Overall [I need to] get a little better each year," says Swihart. "Improve on something, improve your overall game, improve how well of a teammate you are, how well of a leader I am. Just go out there and improve everywhere I can -- we'll see what happens. I've just got to go out and play like I know I can play no matter where I'm at and just focus on that at that time."

Although he feels as though he has much more to learn, Swihart has been observing Christian Vazquez's similar path to the majors very closely, and it should come as no surprise to anyone if we see Swihart in the majors sooner rather than later.