Smith about to break barrier
Red Sox to make her first Black female on-field coach
Bianca Smith has always wanted to work in baseball. And for years she followed a path she hoped might set her up to be a major league general manager.
Instead, she’ll soon be breaking barriers on the field.
In March, Smith will begin her new role as a Red Sox minor league coach, becoming the first Black woman to serve as an on-field coach in major league history.
“I didn’t consider myself a role model before this,” Smith said Thursday. “It’s still kind of weird to think that, to be honest. That wasn’t really my intention when I took the job. But I’m happy if my story can inspire other women, other women of color, other people of color, or really anybody. I don’t want to put limits on it. If anybody is inspired by the story, then even better.”
It is the latest historic move in recent years for the Red Sox, the last major league team to field a Black player.
Alex Cora became the franchise’s first Latino manager when he was hired in 2017. He went on to lead the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins and a World Series title in his first season.
But Smith said the job for her is less about smashing a glass ceiling as it is finally getting her chance to coach full-time.
“I still have to really wrap my head around it,” she said. “Yes, I’ve been coaching for multiple years, but all of my coaching positions have always been with either a secondary duty or I had to work a second job so I could coach. So this will be the first time where I get to just focus on coaching.”
Yankees: Switch-hitting outfielder Greg Allen was acquired by the New York Yankees from San Diego on Thursday for left-hander James Reeves. The 27-year-old Allen has a .239 average with eight homers and 57 RBIS in 557 at-bats and 221 games over four seasons with Cleveland (2017-20) and San Diego (2020).
Astros: Right-hander Ryne Stanek and Houston agreed to a $1.1 million, one-year contract. Stanek spent last season with the Marlins, and he made $223,778 prorated from his $604,200 salary. He became a free agent
when he wasn’t offered a contract by Miami by the Dec. 2 deadline. Stanek has made 152 appearances in the last four seasons with the Rays and Marlins. He has a career 4.00 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 1731⁄ innings.
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No deal: Japanese star pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano failed to agree to a contract with a major league team by Thursday’s 5 p.m. deadline. A right-hander who turned 31 on Oct. 11, Sugano had been posted by the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League on Dec. 8. Sugano was 14-2 with a 1.97 ERA and three shutouts in 20 games last season.