Red Sox Notebook: Duran shines, Houck struggles; Sox sign Santana to minor league deal

It was just a matter of coincidence, but Jarren Duran picked a good day to have another strong day at the plate.

Hours after news broke that former center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. had signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Red Sox' heir apparent at the position belted a homer and a double in a 6-3 six-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles and continued to show that he's maturing as a hitter.

Duran worked on getting stronger last season and, at the alternate training site, demonstrated more loft with his swing, driving the ball with authority. That trend continued during his stint in winter ball in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean World Series, and it hasn't stopped in spring training.

In 10 spring at-bats, Duran has two homers, two doubles and a single.

"We've been saying all along -- he's a good athlete and he's working on his craft, swing-wise, and he keeps improving.'' said manager Alex Cora.

Another young Sox prospect didn't fare as well, with Tanner Houck facing nine hitters and retiring only two while being charged with two runs on three hits and five walks.

"He was out of his delivery,'' said Cora. "He was all over the place. It's about repetitions and getting work in. You can see the stuff -- he was throwing 94-95 mph. It was a battle for him, but he got his pitches in, and now he'll move on to the next one.''

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The Sox signed veteran utility man Danny Santana to a minor league deal, giving them yet another multi-positional player who can move around the diamond. Santana, 30, is a switch-hitter.

In recent weeks, the Sox have also added two other super utility players in Marwin Gonzalez and  Kiké Hernández. 

Santana has spent seven seasons in the big leagues, playing for Minnesota, Atlanta and more recently Texas. His career slash line is .260/.299/.418. His best season -- by far -- came in 2019 when he had 28 homers and 21 stolen bases.

He's played everywhere but on the mound and behind the plate, with center field and shortstop his two more frequently played spots.

He would seem to be in a battle with Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo for the final utility spot on the bench. The fact that he can bat lefthanded could given him a bit of an edge in the competition.



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Triston Casas, the team's top prospect, hasn't appeared in any games and upon questioning, Cora revealed that the first baseman was in Boston being treated for a non-baseball-related medical situation. Cora would not reveal anything more, but an industry source said Casas would return to Fort Myers in another day or so.

"I'll leave it at that,'' said Cora. "We're hoping that everything is fine. He's in Boston right now, going through all that stuff.''

Matt Andriese turned in two perfect innings for the Red Sox against the Orioles, retiring all six hitters he faced.

Andriese was signed to serve as a swing man, able to contribute to the rotation or bullpen. That makes getting ready for the season something of a challenge, since he's preparing to help in two distinct roles, but Andriese said he's always managed it.

"I try to keep each role kind of separate,'' he said, "but kind of have the same routine and mentality about it because obviously, pitching every five days in a rotation you have more time to work. But for spring training, I'm pretty used to building up to five or six innings and then adjusting from there. Today, with two innings, I built up to 20-30 pitches early on and then you can always ease up in terms of pitch count or the amount of up-downs.

"I think that's the adjustment I've learned over the years -- to not overthink it. I just have to go out there, pitching competently in any type of situation you're in and work quick and get quick outs.''

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Injury updates: Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who has been sidelined with a sore shoulder, began his throwing program Thursday with 30 tosses... Franchy Cordero, who was on the COVID-19 related IL, was expected to join the team for workouts Thursday but didn't, with Cora saying "There's other moving parts that go with this. He's in Fort Myers, but not able to work out with the team yet.'' He likely was referring to having to clear a spot on the 40-man roster to make room for Cordero's activation... Zac Grotz (elbow) remains shut down for now, being attended to in the trainer's room... Chavis was scratched with a tight back. He's considered day-to-day... Marcus Wilson collided with another outfielder in drills Wednesday, was "banged up,'' and unavailable.