Up to brass to control chaos
Dave Dombrowski and Alex Cora now have two Red Sox brushfires they need to put out.
One’s a ridiculous flareup.
The other’s going to require a far more delicate touch to put out, and will test Dombrowski’s experience and Cora’s communication skills.
Let’s dispense with Carson Smith first.
This isn’t about his regrettable and over-emotional glove throw episode that might have ruined the rest of his season but definitely put the Red Sox bullpen in peril.
This is about his remarks on Tuesday. Before saying he took “full responsibility” for the shoulder subluxation, he felt it necessary to add that his shoulder and arm were “tired” and that he’s “thrown a lot lately.” Really? Including his last outing, Smith made six appearances and pitched 42⁄3 innings in nine days. His workload was a bit heavier before his injury than it was earlier in the season. Overall, he made 14 appearances and pitched 141⁄3 innings.
It’s ridiculous to call that overusage. To their credit, Dombrowski and Cora dismissed the insinuation that anything other than emotional overload led to Smith’s injury.
“Pitchers are often tired during the season,” Dombrowski said in an email. “Managers do their best to balance rest with the needs of the club. I do not feel that there is any correlation between Carson being tired and his injury. It is apparent that his throwing of the glove caused the injury.”
Cora flatly contradicted Smith.
“I don’t agree with it, I don’t agree with it,” the manager said. “On a daily basis we talk to pitchers and how they feel. If they don’t think they can pitch that day, we stay away from them. It caught me by surprise. If he felt that way he should’ve told it to us or he should’ve mentioned it. There was a day in New York or Toronto, New York I think, we talked and he said he wasn’t available that day and we stayed away from him.”
Smith’s claims represent a nuisance at this point.
Swihart is a true predicament.
He wants a trade, and there’s little doubt that someone with his talent and potential needs to be an everyday player. One major league scout said yesterday, “I’d love to have him,” and envisioned Swihart as a super-utility type to play left field, first, third and catch, somebody “you can move around to keep/ get bat in lineup, would be a guy to replace defensively in tight games. His bat can/ should be in lineup on regular basis if he gets in better situation than Sox.”
The Red Sox could trade Swihart, not because they want to make him happy but because they have a need, likely in the bullpen due to Smith’s bum shoulder.
Still, the happier the Red Sox can keep Swihart, the better for everyone.
They can’t ignore him or what he wants, just as they can’t cave and do whatever he wants.
This is going to require finesse.
“In Blake’s case, understand a player’s desire to want to play more,” Dombrowski said in an email. “You are always willing to listen. Think you deal with these situations on an individual basis.”
Specifically with Swihart, how do you handle him?
“Just like any other player, he needs to stay ready to play daily — sure that he will do that,” wrote Dombrowski.
The Red Sox have not covered themselves in glory when it comes to knowing what to do with the offensively gifted catcher. He showed well in a 2015 callup and was even the starter in 2016 but once Christian Vazquez got healthy, the club couldn’t figure out how best to deploy Swihart. A stint in left field turned disastrous in 2016, and he spent most of last season recovering from injuries.
Out of options this year, he hit very well in spring training, broke camp with the Sox and has excelled only in keeping the bench nice and toasty. He has yet to start at catcher and has only made four starts, all as the DH. He’s hitting .138 with one RBI and one extra-base hit, a double, in 32 plate appearances.
There’s not much mystery why his agent told NBC Sports Boston that Swihart wants to be traded.
Swihart is likable and not a problem. As he said yesterday, “I just want to let everyone know, I’m still here, I’m focused on being here. I’m going to work my tail off to keep doing what I can do to help this team win,” but “yeah,” what his agent said is what Swihart wants.
So as long as Vazquez and Sandy Leon stay healthy, Swihart stays on the bench.
And if Cora can’t play him, he’ll at least keep talking to him.
“We talk,” Cora said. “It’s the situation he’s in, you know? Honestly, he’s part of the big league ballclub and he understands his role. His agent, I guess you know, he expressed his feelings but he’s not the only big leaguer — first of all I haven’t heard it from Blake, and second, it’s been an ongoing talk of players asking for trades or whatever throughout the year.”
Smith’s flailing goodbye will pass soon enough.
Swihart’s is just getting started.
It’s on the Red Sox to keep it under control.