‘Not going to win every year’
Roenicke tries to keep season in perspective
Two weeks of above-average baseball have put the Red Sox in position to avoid last place.
Not that it really matters, since they’re not going to make the playoffs anyway, but a 7-5 stretch in their last 12 games have put the Sox at 19-32, three games behind the Orioles (22-29) for last in the American League East. Only the Pirates (14-34) have more losses than the Sox.
Manager Ron Roenicke isn’t particularly concerned with his team’s losing pace. He said he doesn’t enjoy looking at the standings but he’s more focused on the future.
“It’s not like it’s something new,” he said. “I enjoy winning. That’s one of the big reasons why I made the move to come over here as a bench coach in ’18. I enjoy it and I realize also that you’re not going to win every year. I think you really need to be really thankful in the years that you have like we did a couple of years ago because those don’t usually last. You look how often World Series teams have repeated – it’s been a long time. It’s very difficult.
“Hopefully we’re finding out some things about these guys which will help us for next year, we’ll fill in the pieces that we need, and hopefully be back to that competitive team.”
With Alex Cora’s suspension finished after 2020, there’s been a lot of speculation about Roenicke’s job in 2021. Roenicke said he hasn’t yet talked with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom or the Red Sox ownership group about 2021.
He expects the Sox to compete next season.
“It’s hard to say what we’ll do in the offseason,” he said. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had those conversations with Chaim. I’m not really sure what’s out there in free agency. I’m not sure.
“Our core team is good. I like our offense. I’ve liked it all year. The pitching staff, we’ve had some injuries this year which really hurt us. Hopefully we get a healthy (Eduardo Rodriguez) back next year, and Chris Sale, whenever he comes back, halfway or whatever it is, we know that piece is there. We’ll see if some of these young guys are pieces we can fill in.”
Hernandez returns from injury
One of the young guys expected to be a building block is Darwinzon Hernandez, the flame-throwing lefty who was activated from the injured list Friday.
It’s been a tough year for the 23-year-old, who caught the coronavirus in July and then missed the last three weeks with a sprained left SC joint. He’s thrown 4 M scoreless innings while striking out seven this season.
He’s expected to throw two innings at most as the season finishes up, but the organization is still split on whether he’ll be a starter or reliever in the future.
“I think we like him in the bullpen right now and fortunately with what happened to him, we weren’t able to get him into (the rotation) see what he looked like as a starter,” Roenicke said. “But I do know that there’s a lot of people here that really like him in the bullpen, I think there’s some people also that think he has a chance to start. But we know that piece in the bullpen and as of now, that’s where he’ll be.”
Arauz’s audition cut short
Rule 5 pick Jonathan Arauz, who has hit .222 with a .547 OPS in 54 at-bats this season, has fallen out of favor in Roenicke’s lineup decisions.
The Sox have committed to former first-round pick Christian Arroyo, a waiver claim last month, at second base.
“Jonathan did such a good job for us early and was swinging the bat and he played a good defense, and then I didn’t play him for quite a bit, and he kind of lost that stroke,” Roenicke said. “And that’s on me. That’s very tough on a young guy to go that long without playing and then get it right back again.
“But he’s done a nice job for us, and we have seen what we need to see in him. We have a good feeling on who he is, which was really important, and good enough that we kept him through this season and hopefully he’s with us for a long time.”
Odds and ends
Regarding Bloom’s comments to the Herald this week that the Sox are hoping to call up one more prospect this season, Roenicke said he knows who Bloom is targeting but doesn’t want to say who it is.
Chris Mazza (1-1, 5.57 ERA) will make his fifth start of the year on Saturday against the Yankees.
Rafael Devers entered Friday having reached base in 17 straight games. He’s hitting .439 with a 1.341 OPS in that stretch.
Alex Verdugo entered the weekend leading the Red Sox in WAR according to both FanGraphs (1.7) and Baseball-Reference (2.1). He leads all MLB outfielders with seven assists. And he’s in the top-10 in the American League in average (.326), OBP (.381), hits (58), doubles (15) and runs (33).
The team announced that it acquired Methuen native Jacob Wallace from the Colorado Rockies to finalize the Kevin Pillar trade. The Rockies selected the right-handed pitcher in the third round of the 2019 draft out of UConn.