MLB Notebook: Scouting reports on the newest Red Sox acquisitions; are the Sox too lefthanded on the mound?

The Red Sox had made some moves this winter. They haven't been big ones, admittedly, but they have added a handful of players to their 40-man roster.

We thought this would be a good time to check in with some scouts and talent evaluators who've seen them and provide some background and projection on them.

LHP MARTIN PEREZ (signed to a one-year, $6 million deal for 2020 with a club option for $6.25 million. His 2020 contract calls for a $5.5 million and a $500,000 buyout.)

"I've seen him pitch great and I've seen him be pretty bad. That's why he's on his third team in three years. If his focus is intact and he prepares, he can be a nice back-end starter. To me, he's always underachieved -- he should be a better pitcher than he's been. One theory is that he's been hiding injuries and pitching through some (physical things). I think he used to pretty hard off the field, more as a follower than a leader. Maybe that's changed. If they've got him focused and he can prepare for starts properly, he should be fine. He's a solid No. 4 guy. He's become a better pitcher as he's gotten older and yet there are days when he doesn't command.  He could still piece things together, but he presses at times and tries to too much. Like a lot of guys, he would probably benefit from some rest every now and again. For now, he's a good complementary guy. His best pitch has probably been his slider and he has a good changeup. He started throwing a cutter last year, but it can be inconsistent. He's got a sneaky fastball, but his command of it was really hit and miss. He's got a good delivery and is pretty athletic, so repeating (his delivery) isn't an issue. If he gets back to establishing his fastball, that would go a long way toward getting him back on track. He can get a little slider-happy at times, but is prone to



overusing it and the more of them you throw, the more chances there are to hang them. I've seen the numbers with low exit-velocity and a small percentage of hard-hit balls. To me, that tells me he's been a little unlucky and maybe hasn't had good defense behind him. Overall, I think he's a good bounce-back candidate. The key will be his health. If they give some (time off) and protect him a little bit, he could be a valuable guy in the back of the rotation for them.

INF JOSE PERAZA (Signed a one-year, $3 million contract with additional incentives. This was to be Peraza's first year of salary arbitration eligibility. He has two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining and the Red Sox could potentially control him through 2022).

"He's a good bench player with a good sense of self. His offense can be streaky. If he can get on base and use his legs, he can be useful. He can play all around the infield, though I don't know how much shortstop he's played. But he absolutely gives you depth at a number of spots. At second base, he's strong enough physically now to handle the position. He was pretty flashy at short earlier in his career, but I think he's settled down and become more fundamentally sound. He has some pop. Is he an everyday player? I think he's someone who will have to compete for that in spring training and earn it.''

INF JONATHAN ARAUZ (Selected from the Houston Astros organization in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft for $100,000. He must remain on the major league roster, or the IL, for the entire season, or otherwise, be offered back to the Astros and placed on waivers).

"He s playing winter ball in Panama and I've spoken to his manager there. This kid can play defense in the big leagues right now. He doesn't have great speed but he's instinctive and gets the most out of his legs. He puts the ball in play and uses the whole field. The biggest problem he has is trying to do too much (at the plate). He's probably either a No. 2 or an 8-hole hitter -- one or the other. A comp? I don't know if I'd say Manny Lee (a middle-infielder who had a 10-year major league career from 1985-1995, mostly with Toronto), but maybe a little. Arauz is probably a little stronger with some of the same defensive skills. Like I said, he's got good baseball instincts. In reality, he's probably two years away from being an everyday player or a super-utility guy. I think he's going to hit over time. It's all about his approach and mindset. Sometimes, he falls into this lock-and-load and launch angle thing; but he's got to be a line drive, get-on-base guy to succeed. I thought it was a nice (Rule 5) pick and I was little surprised that he was still there when it came time for the Sox' pick. For now, he fills a need, cheaply. As long as when you plug him and he can catch the ball, he'll have value. He fits right into the (Chaim) Bloom playbook -- finding good value at a cheap price. I think he's best at shortstop, but he can play second, too. He's equally talented at both. He's built a little like (Omar) Vizquel before Omar matured physically. I think in time he'll be a plus baserunner; he's solid average now. I'd keep him in the middle of the infield. He'll probably overplay some balls in spring training, trying to show that he belongs, but he'll settle in after that. He'll be overmatched offensively, but as long as you know that going in, you can deal with it. The fact that rosters will expand to 26 makes it a little easier to carry him (for the season). I would guess they might wait until the end of (March) before trying to sneak him through waivers. At that time, everyone's looking to finalize their rosters and it might be tough for another club to find room for him. If Houston ends up trading (Carlos) Correa, they may want him back. I know they like him a lot. If you plugged him into the (June amateur) draft, he'd probably go in the second round, so there's value there.''

_________________________________________

A generation ago, the Red Sox were fortunate to have one lefthanded starter in their rotation.

In the 1970s, there was the iconoclastic Bill Lee, who won 51 games over three seasons between 1973-1975. In the 1980s, there was Bruce Hurst, who averaged 14 wins and a 3.97 ERA for six seasons from 1983-1988. More recently, there was Jon Lester, who averaged 15 wins and a 3.65 ERA between 2008-2013.

Most years, it seemed, the Red Sox sought to avoid having multiple lefties in their rotation. Conventional wisdom had it that having more than one lefty at a time was asking for trouble, especially given the dimensions of Fenway Park and its inviting left field wall for righthanded hitters.

That's no longer the case, however. Chalk it up to evolving thought or advanced analytics, but suddenly, the Red Sox have more recently tossed aside any apprehension about having too many lefty starters.

Last year, fully 60 percent of their rotation was lefthanded: Chris Sale, David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez, offset by just two righties: Nathan Eovaldi and Rick Porcello. And even with the expectation that the Sox will find a taker for Price in the coming weeks, for now at least, the Sox have four lefty starters on their 40-man roster with Perez having replaced Porcello, who inked a one-year deal with the New York Mets.

However temporary that quartet may be, no team in either league features as many starters as the Sox do currently. In fact, in all of the American League East, there are just 10 lefty starters projected to be part of their team's rotation -- and four of them are members of the Red Sox. Baltimore (John Means) and Toronto (Ryan Bouruki) have one each; the Rays (Blake Snell and Ryan Yarbrough) and the Yankees (J.A. Happ and James Paxton) each have two.

The Sox are aware of how unique this is, a source indicated, but weren't put off by the prospect of leaning too lefthanded with their staff, even considering the makeup of some opponents' lineups. (The Yankees, as an example, are righty-dominant with their batting order, which features Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, D.J. LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres, all of whom mash from the right side).

The Sox have data which suggests that Perez, in particular, has the necessary pitches and weapons to be more effective against righthanded-hitters than he has in the past. Over his career, righties have posted an .819 OPS against Perez, compared to lefthanded hitters at .639.

Pitch data helps the Sox analyze which sort of pitchers are more like to succeed against righty lineups, and the Sox evidently have confidence that, with some adjustments and exposure to such data, Perez can show improvement. It's thought that continued mastery of the cutter will be helpful to Perez in this area.

One talent evaluator from a National League club volunteered that the Sox could succeed with four lefties -- provided they structure things properly.

"I would think that they'll put Eovaldi in the middle (of the rotation) to break up all those lefties,'' the evaluator said. "I don't care who you are -- if you go into a four-game series and see four lefties in a row, eventually, lineups are going to adjust to that same look.''

It helps, noted the evaluator, that the four projected starters have varying repertoires and arm slots. Sale is the tallest, and often drops down with a three-quarter (or lower) arm slot, mixing fastballs, sliders and changeups. Price, once a pure power pitches, now relies more on his cutter and changeup to mix in with a two-seamer, while Rodriguez relies on a plus changeup and slider.