Notebook: Red Sox resigned to slow pace; make two selections in Rule 5 draft

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. –  The Red Sox Baseball Operations contingent packed up from the Dolphin and Swan Resort Hotel here and headed back to Boston on Thursday without having done anything major at the winter league meetings, but hopeful that will change in the coming weeks.

“I didn’t really anticipate much different, actually,’’ Dave Dombrowski said of the slow pace this past week. “That’s why I said to people who were saying, ‘you’re going to the winter meetings…a lot of stuff can happen,’ I (cautioned) ‘There’s a long time after the winter meetings before the offseason ends.’

“I just know that where we are and the couple of things we’re talking about could take a while. I don’t know how to characterize (this week): you gather a lot of information, you do that you do. We had a lot of conversations; it was busy. But you continue to move forward from here. It’s not very surprising where we are at this time.’’

With talk and movement delayed as much of the game eyed Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton, everything is behind schedule. That could, in turn, lead to a busy time between Christmas and New Year’s – a period in which the industry is ordinarily dormant.

“I don’t know if anything will happen during the time period,’’ said Dombrowski, “but I don’t think it’s going to be quiet.’’
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The Red Sox didn’t select anyone in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, but made two selections in the Triple-A phase.

The Sox first selected pitcher Andrew Ferguson from the Kansas City Royals organization.

“Ferguson is a 29-year-old righthanded pitcher who’s missed some time over the last few years with some shoulder issues,’’ said Red Sox director of pro scouting Gus Quattlelbaum. “We’ve always liked the deception. He’s got some pitchability, a split-finger that we think will play well and complement the fastball. Our scouts have liked him for years, actually, so we’re excited to get him into the organization.

“We think he might benefit from being in our shoulder program and we’re excited to see what he can do once we get him to Fort Myers. We see him as a starter. He’s always been a strike-thrower when healthy. He could eat some innings for us, so we’re really pleased with our minor league pitching depth on the starter front now that we’ve gotten him. He’s fully capable of pitching in the higher (minor league) levels for us.’’

The Sox also picked up outfielder Luke Tendler from the Texas organization.

“He’s a hitter we’ve liked from his amateur days at NC A&T,’’ said Quattlebaum. “The batted ball data for our analytics guys has always stood out for him. He’s played in some hitter-friendly venues – the California League, Frisco in the Texas League – but we’ve always had some left-handed thump that could help roll a lineup over. You’ll likely see him in Portland.’’