Weber gunning for rotation spot
Right-hander Ryan Weber intends to secure his place in the Red Sox starting rotation through a very simplistic approach.
Weber got his first audition since the suspension of spring training in March during Saturday afternoon’s intrasquad scrimmage at Fenway Park.
“I think I can be a starter and I can go through a whole season and make 30 some-odd starts for a major league team and be effective,” said Weber.
“I plan on getting better and better and sharper and sharper. I’m learning my body now and how it’s going to react and how my pitches are going to react.
“It’s a 60-game season now. But I’m going out there every five days and feeling what my body gives me and how my pitches are going to work and how am I going to be effective that day.”
Before arriving at his second spring training with the Red Sox, Weber was a journeyman trying to find a spot on the staff, most likely in middle relief.
Weber saw his fortunes change drastically when the Red Sox traded David Price to the Dodgers in the offseason and Chris Sale elected to have Tommy John surgery.
Weber expects to be in the starting rotation when the Red Sox open the abbreviated season against the Baltimore Orioles on July 24 at Fenway Park. The Sox starting four at this point would include Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez and Weber.
“It is really about trusting my stuff and I started throwing that cutter and trusting that,” said Weber. “It’s a complimentary pitch, it’s off my sinker and it compliments that and it just adds another piece that makes me effective.
“I think that has upped my performance and having the ability to throw five pitches for strikes, that correlates going deep into games and obviously that’s what a starter does.
“My stuff plays better as a starter than a reliever and I’ve started focusing on the importance of every single pitch. Every pitch matters. I told myself that when spring training started and that’s myself now.”
The Red Sox signed Weber to a minor league contract on Dec. 20, 2018. He played in 18 games last season with three starts on separate call-ups from Pawtucket.
He finished the season 2-4 with a 5.09 ERA over 40 innings, with 29 strikeouts.
Weber broke into the major leagues with Atlanta in 2015 and had brief stays with Seattle (2017) and Tampa (2018). He is 3-9 with a 5.04 ERA in 42 games with 11 starts and 114.1 innings pitched.
Weber caught the attention of Red Sox first-year manager Ron Roenicke with three solid efforts in Fort Myers before MLB shut down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Weber was 1-0 in three appearances over nine innings and he did not give up an earned run.
“It’s hard to say with him and last year was the first time I got to see him,” said Roenicke. “I like him because he goes right after hitters and you know what you are going to get.
“He moves the ball in and out and he’s got command and he throws strikes. He’s capable of going through some really good lineups with consistency trying to get comfortable in the big leagues.”
Weber’s resume reads like a career minor league pitcher, and his stopovers read like a geography lesson. Despite all the moving around and the infrequent call-ups from Triple A, Weber never gave up hope of collecting a steady check in the bigs.
“I pitched good in the minors and when I was called up, I thought I pitched good but there were some bad games here and there,” said Weber. “I knew if I keep doing what I’m doing and what I’ve been doing and hone in and get sharper.”
On Saturday, Weber took the mound for the top of the first with Kevin Plawecki behind the plate. He got the first two batters on a liner to center and a fly to left. After giving up a single, Weber caught Michael Chavis looking to end the frame.
After a leadoff single in the top of the second, Weber caught a break when the bases were cleared on a 4-6-3 double play followed by a pop to second.
“I had a good sinker-slider combo around the plate and a good enough change up to keep the guessing,” said Weber. “The cutter was good enough to keep them off balance, especially the lefties coming in behind.”
Things went a little south from there, as Weber gave up two hits and a run in the third, then three straight base hits in a rocky fourth.