Red Sox make notable roster cuts, Opening Day roster slowly taking shape

The Red Sox are slowly finalizing their Opening Day roster with a series of cuts from big league camp this week.

Boston has assigned right-handed pitcher Michael Fulmer and catcher Seby Zavala to Triple-A Worcester on Friday. As players begin to get cut around the league, veteran players generally have an opt-out clause in their deals if they fail to make the Opening Day roster. In Fulmer’s case, he does not have that clause and will report to Worcester.

Fulmer is coming off Tommy John surgery last season and had a strong camp, allowed just one earned run (three total) in 9 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and three walks. The former 2016 American League Rookie of the Year had been in the mix for a spot in the Red Sox rotation. Richard Fitts will be the No. 4 starter when camp breaks with Sean Newcomb and Quinn Priester heavily in the mix for the No. 5 spot.

“He threw strikes. He changed speeds,” Alex Cora said of Fulmer to reporters. “He competed, which is good. He hasn’t done that at this level in a while. We’ll talk more later on, but he was good for us. I like the way he competed.”

Zavala can opt out of his deal and told reporters that he’s remained in touch with his agent.

“This is my first spring training where I was a free agent,” Zavala said about his option on Thursday. “I’ve never gone through a spring where there’s options and stuff like that. So yeah, I don’t know. Just take it one day at a time, and when they tell me what is going on, then decisions could be made or whatever.

“But until that day comes, I’m here,” he added. That day has now arrived, and Zavala will see if his agent can find him a job elsewhere in the league. If the veteran catcher stays with the organization, he will join fellow catchers Mark Kolozvary, Nathan Hickey, and Blake Sabol in Worcester.

When Zavala signed with the Red Sox this winter, he was told he would have an opportunity to win a spot on the 26-man roster.

“Talking with my agent and the front office, it was a good chance to compete to be at the big league level,” Zavala said to reporters in February. “And the pitching staff here is really good. Faced them last year early in the season, and they kind of dominated us. I just liked what I saw and thought maybe there were some things I could do to help advance this staff.”

The 31-year-old is a veteran of five big-league seasons and is an experienced player who served as the backup to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh to begin last season. He slashed .154/.214/.282 with two doubles, one home run, two RBIs, four runs scored, three walks, and 16 strikeouts in 18 games (43 plate appearances) for the Mariners before being designated for assignment on June 18. Zavala cleared waivers and spent the remainder of the season with Triple-A Tacoma.

Zavala is not known for his offensive prowess but more as a defensive specialist behind the plate. He ranked in the 87th percentile of all MLB catchers in blocks above average and the 77th percentile in framing, per Baseball Savant. This past season, he threw out three of 14 possible base stealers with Seattle and three of 32 possible base stealers with Tacoma.

While he was in camp, he was working on trying to get the most out of the Sox’ pitchers. If Zavala sticks around, the rapport he built with the pitchers in camp will allow him to build on those relationships in Worcester.

“I like to help the pitcher be the best he can that day,” Zavala said. “When they have their stuff and when they’re really rolling, it’s an easy game. The fun parts are when they don’t have their stuff; how do we get through five or six innings with one or two runs? And that’s where I take pride—in my work, knowing my pitcher, and knowing opposing hitters. Just making the pitcher the best he can be that day."

SABOL SENT DOWN

On Thursday afternoon, the Red Sox optioned Sabol to Worcester, where he will continue focus on honing his skills behind the plate. Cora said that his catcher improved his blocking and throwing but called him a “work in progress.”

“He needs to catch,” said Cora to reporters.

Boston acquired Sabol from the Giants this offseason for international bonus pool space.

The 27-year-old has 121 big league games under his belt the last two seasons. This past season, he went 10-for-32 (.313) while slashing .421/.375/.796 with two doubles, one RBI, five walks, and nine strikeouts in 11 games. He played 100 games in the Giants system in 2024, hitting .245 with 12 homers, 15 doubles, one triple, 58 RBI, 48 walks, and 11 stolen bases. Sabol has thrown out just 12.7% of base stealers (7-for-55) in the majors so far. He has a 24% caught stealing rate in the minors, according to FanGraphs.

With Zavala and Sabol cut from big league camp, the Sox will have Connor Wong and Carlos Narváez as their catching tandem.

“(Narváez) has been good. The swing is playing lately,” Cora said. “He can shoot the ball the other way. If you ask him, throughout his career, he has been going through the whole revolution. He was on top of the ball, then he was under the ball, then was striking out too much and not doing enough damage, so he started hitting the ball the other way. He’s a good one. Very smart behind the plate.”

GRISSOM DEMOTED

Vaughn Grissom worked hard this offseason doing everything the Red Sox asked of him after a forgettable first year in Boston. He gained weight, coming into camp at 221 pounds. He was going to exclusively work out at second base and compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Grissom was also optioned to Triple-A Worcester after competing with David Hamilton, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer for the starting second base job.

“When you get demoted or let go on your job, it’s not easy,” said Cora Thursday afternoon. “It’s not [a conversation] that you’re looking forward to. He did everything possible in the offseason. He killed it. He turned the double play well [when he got here]. There are a few things that we talked about that I think he can do better defensively, but just go down there and do your thing as a player.”

The 24-year-old came over in the Chris Sale trade back in Dec. 2023, had an injury-plagued first season, and has had an underwhelming spring, going 6-for-34 (.176 batting average) with two doubles, three RBI, six runs, and six strikeouts in 13 games.

The fast rise of Kristian Campbell through the minors last season and the emergence of David Hamilton this spring pushed Grissom down the depth chart. Grissom will head to Worcester for a second straight year, where he’ll serve as big league depth if someone gets hurt, and he can also rebuild his trade value with a hot start and a good first half.

“He just needs to go down there and kill it,” said Cora. “Be selfish. Do your thing, you know? Show everybody that you can be a big leaguer and not only with us, right? I think in the industry. Show them that you’re still young. You’re still a good athlete; just go right. But this is the route we are going. We haven’t yet made a decision about second base, whatever, but we’re getting close, and he’s not a part of the equation.”

WINCKOWSKI'S STRUGGLES

Josh Winckowski and hard-throwing righty Luis Guerrero were also optioned to Triple-A Worcester after inconsistent camps.

Winckowski has been one of the Red Sox' most used relievers, tossing 83 1/3 innings since 2023. He’s also made 21 starts over the last three seasons. He struggled at times, resulting in being optioned to Triple-A Worcester. This spring he’s allowed 12 runs, 15 hits (two homers) with six walks while striking out four.

“He struggled,” Cora said. “Yeah. We introduced the four-seamer the other day and a bigger slider/sweeper, kind of like (to) change planes. And he knows it. This is a guy that stuff is good, but we have to get people out, and he knows it. He was very honest with us, and we were very honest with him. And now it’s just about getting to work with the group. And at one point, he’ll contribute.”

Guerrero opened Grapefruit League play, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six in three scoreless frames. The flamethrower has since struggled to throw strikes, walking eight batters and giving up six runs in his last 2 2/3 innings.

“He was erratic,” said Cora. “He didn’t throw too many strikes, and he walked a lot of guys. He was behind the count.

“You got to get him going. The last outing in Bradenton, he was all over the place. He knows it. The good thing about him is he didn’t get upset. He’s like, ‘I got to keep working. I got to keep working. I’ll be back.’”

HENDRIKS ON NOT BEING THE CLOSER

Liam Hendriks was considered to be the Red Sox closer this season, but his performance in the spring has been inconsistent. Boston hasn’t officially announced it, but Aroldis Chapman is expected to be the team’s closer this season.

Hendriks admitted to reporters this week that he doesn’t deserve to be the Sox’ closer.

“I think it’s been pretty well proven this spring training who deserves that spot after earning it all spring, and that’s definitely not me,“ said Hendriks.

”I’ve always said I wanted to win it, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t," Hendriks said. “I’m going to go out there and give my best three outs, six outs, or whatever they need me to do.

“Things will shake out however they shake out, but if you want to talk about the guy who’s looked the best in spring training, that’s Chapman,” Hendriks added. “It’s been unbelievable. He’s been 97 to 100 mph pretty much every outing, and he’s looked crisp and has looked fantastic out there.”

RED SOX NOTES

Lower back tightness forced Trevor Story out of the Red Sox lineup on Friday night. This is the second time this spring Story has dealt with a back issue, resulting in him being a late scratch from the lineup.

Boston replaced Story from the starting lineup just 11 days ago with mild upper-back tightness. Story has been one of the Red Sox’ more productive hitters this spring, hitting .333 (13-for-39) with two homers, five doubles, eight RBI, and 12 strikeouts, with a .956 OPS.

Newcomb was impressive again in his last start of the spring on Thursday night against the Twins. The southpaw tossed 4 2/3 innings yielding one run off four hits, and struck out three. The run he allowed was unearned. 

“Coming into today, I had a little bit of everything working,” said Newcomb. “The players were swinging aggressively so I just used that to my advantage.”

Newcomb remains in the mix for the No. 5 spot in the Red Sox rotation. He will see action one more time when the Sox travel to Mexico next week. 

“I feel like I’ve done everything I can to put my name in there for a slot and everything,” he said. “It feels good to have a full spring and get pitching again. That’s all that really matters to me.”

Romy Gonzalez has been out of action dealing with an oblique issue and took swings this week. Cora is confident that he’ll be ready for Opening Day and should travel with the team to Mexico.

It took until a week before the Major League Baseball season to begin, but former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo has finally found a new team.

The Braves and Verdugo agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. He will begin the season playing for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate. Verdugo spent the entire offseason without a single MLB offer after a down season with the Yankees last season. He batted .233 with a .647 OPS. The Pirates had reportedly shown interest in Verdugo before they ultimately signed outfielder Tommy Pham.