Cora optimistic on Sale, Price, Eovaldi
At Meetings, Sox manager says health key to 2020 rebound
Ian Browne
@IanMBrowneSAN DIEGO -- The Winter Meetings kicked off in eventful fashion on Monday as the World Series champion Nationals announced the return of power righty Stephen Strasburg. In the coming days, Gerrit Cole could sign an even more lucrative deal -- perhaps with the Yankees.
For the Red Sox, the key to their bounce-back hopes in 2020 isn’t likely to hinge on one of those splashy press conferences at the Winter Meetings.
Instead, it will have to do with how healthy Chris Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi are in Spring Training.
The offseason indicators are encouraging for each member of that trio, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora knows that one can’t truly gauge the health of a pitcher until they start, well, pitching again.
“Someone asked me, ‘What do you guys need to accomplish in the upcoming days [at the Winter Meetings]?’ Honestly, the thing we need we can’t get in a few days here,” said Cora. “We’ve got to wait until February and see if we’re healthy, and that’s the most important thing.”
Without question, the success of the ’20 Sox hinges on the rotation, which was a major disappointment in terms of health and performance last season after being the biggest key to the team’s championship in ’18.
Considering the fears that were generated when Sale went to see Dr. James Andrews back in August to get his left elbow examined, things are moving in a very positive direction these days.
“He’s been good,” Cora said of Sale. “Physically he’s in a good spot, he’s in a good place. He’s been very consistent with his rehab. Obviously, not sleeping that much because of the birth of the baby. But physically, he’s in a good spot. Mentally, he’s in a good spot.”
“He’s doing great,” said chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who, along with Cora, went out of his way to praise Sale for donating $1 million last week to his alma mater, Florida Gulf Coast University. “He has started a throwing program again. It’s still obviously December. This is a progression, but everything has been proceeding as hoped.”
Sale has always had an edge. But that has been amplified even more considering how disappointed the ace was with the way he pitched last season (6-11, 4.40 ERA) before the injury.
“I hate to say he’s on a mission, but obviously he wasn’t happy with the way the season went last year,” Cora said. “He was trending up when he got hurt at the end. Hopefully he can bounce back and be ready for Spring Training and be ready for the opening series.”
The fact that Sale was inconsistent and then injured made life hard enough for the Red Sox. The fact that Price was in the same boat makes it easy to understand why Boston won just 84 games and fell well short of the postseason.
Price is coming off left wrist surgery.
“David is doing good,” Cora said. “Actually, he played catch two days ago or yesterday. The feeling is different [than before surgery]. Obviously, he's been dealing with this for a while, and it's been a grind for David to go out there and perform. He feels a little bit looser with the wrist. The feel of the ball is different and there hasn't been setbacks. As of now, everything is trending the right way. The goal is for him to be ready for the opening series.”
As for Eovaldi, he was the opposite of Sale and Price -- injured in the first half of the season and healthy in the second. But he didn’t pitch well after returning.
Getting the flame-throwing righty back to how he was throwing down the stretch in ’18 is vital.
“He's healthy in the offseason,” Cora said. “He's working his craft. We know what he can do. We've seen it before.”
The rotation also has Eduardo Rodriguez coming back on the heels of a 19-win season. A fifth starter will be needed to replace free agent Rick Porcello.
It’s also possible that Bloom will subtract either Price or Eovaldi in a trade to open up more payroll flexibility.
As presently constituted, Boston’s payroll is projected at close to $220 million. The stated goal from ownership to get below the Competitive Balance Tax threshold of $208 million hasn’t changed, Bloom confirmed Monday.
“It’s still a goal. And I think certainly a realistic goal, though obviously we’re not there right now and there’s a lot of potential paths you could line up to get us there,” Bloom said. “But that kind of ties into overall, with the offseason, there’s a lot of different things that could potentially happen. But it’s still a goal.”
How the Red Sox get there remains unclear. It seems unlikely Mookie Betts will be traded this winter because it’s hard to see Boston getting anything close to a fair return considering his contract situation (entering his walk year) and salary (MLB Trade Rumors estimates he will earn $27.7 million through arbitration.
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. -- projected by MLBTR to make $11 million in his walk year -- could certainly be dealt. But moving his salary alone won’t get the club below the threshold when you consider other area on the roster that need to be filled.
This makes Price and Eovaldi players to watch as the pitching market continues to move.
Asked if he envisioned moving high-price talent this winter, Bloom said, “Hard to handicap right now. I wouldn’t want to venture a guess.”
At this juncture, it is anyone’s guess how this offseason will evolve for Bloom and the Red Sox. But the key to the season will be the health and performance of the starting rotation.
Sale has always had an edge. But that has been amplified even more considering how disappointed the ace was with the way he pitched last season (6-11, 4.40 ERA) before the injury.
“I hate to say he’s on a mission, but obviously he wasn’t happy with the way the season went last year,” Cora said. “He was trending up when he got hurt at the end. Hopefully he can bounce back and be ready for Spring Training and be ready for the opening series.”
The fact that Sale was inconsistent and then injured made life hard enough for the Red Sox. The fact that Price was in the same boat makes it easy to understand why Boston won just 84 games and fell well short of the postseason.
Price is coming off left wrist surgery.
“David is doing good,” Cora said. “Actually, he played catch two days ago or yesterday. The feeling is different [than before surgery]. Obviously, he's been dealing with this for a while, and it's been a grind for David to go out there and perform. He feels a little bit looser with the wrist. The feel of the ball is different and there hasn't been setbacks. As of now, everything is trending the right way. The goal is for him to be ready for the opening series.”
As for Eovaldi, he was the opposite of Sale and Price -- injured in the first half of the season and healthy in the second. But he didn’t pitch well after returning.
Getting the flame-throwing righty back to how he was throwing down the stretch in ’18 is vital.
“He's healthy in the offseason,” Cora said. “He's working his craft. We know what he can do. We've seen it before.”
The rotation also has Eduardo Rodriguez coming back on the heels of a 19-win season. A fifth starter will be needed to replace free agent Rick Porcello.
It’s also possible that Bloom will subtract either Price or Eovaldi in a trade to open up more payroll flexibility.
As presently constituted, Boston’s payroll is projected at close to $220 million. The stated goal from ownership to get below the Competitive Balance Tax threshold of $208 million hasn’t changed, Bloom confirmed Monday.
“It’s still a goal. And I think certainly a realistic goal, though obviously we’re not there right now and there’s a lot of potential paths you could line up to get us there,” Bloom said. “But that kind of ties into overall, with the offseason, there’s a lot of different things that could potentially happen. But it’s still a goal.”
How the Red Sox get there remains unclear. It seems unlikely that Mookie Betts will be traded this winter because it’s hard to see Boston getting anything close to a fair return considering his contract situation (entering his walk year) and salary (MLB Trade Rumors estimates he will earn $27.7 million through arbitration.
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. -- projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $11 million in his walk year -- could certainly be dealt. But moving his salary alone won’t get the club below the threshold when you consider other areas on the roster that need to be filled.
This makes Price and Eovaldi players to watch as the pitching market continues to move.
Asked if he envisioned moving high-priced talent this winter, Bloom said, “Hard to handicap right now. I wouldn’t want to venture a guess.”
At this juncture, it is anyone’s guess how this offseason will evolve for Bloom and the Red Sox. But the key to the season will be the health and performance of the starting rotation.