Brentz realistic about future
Outfielder disappointed not to be with Red Sox; entering free agency
PAWTUCKET — There was a PawSox infielder named Gil Velazquez who nine years ago this month became the ultimate feel-good story. After spending the entire 2008 season in Triple-A, Velazquez had his contract purchased by the Red Sox on September 25 – a full three weeks after Pawtucket’s regular season ended.
In some ways, that’s the kind of hope Bryce Brentz is clinging to after a powerpacked 2017 season that saw the 28-year-old lead the International League in home runs (31) and win the TripleA Midseason Home Run Derby.
After he and his wife, Anne Marie, completed an 18-hour car ride back to his native Tennessee that undoubtedly gave him plenty of time to think about Boston’s decision not to add him to the 40-man roster for the September push, Brentz says he plans to take a day or two to unpack before picking up a bat.
Just like in the case of Velazquez in 2008, you never know. The Red Sox may not need Brentz’s services right now, but nothing has been decreed to the point where it can’t be changed.
“We’ll get into our routine just in case,” Brentz said when reached on Wednesday.
As the number of souvenir balls that Brentz deposited over International League outfield fences continued to grow, the idea of him receiving a coveted September call-up only intensified. A springtime adjustment at the plate elevated his stock to a level that in many ways trumped the prospect status that accompanied his arrival to the PawSox in 2012.
He was no longer just a tease who showed signs here or there, the result of a series of nagging injuries that always seemed to force Brentz to play catchup. His power stroke was no longer forced but more natural.
His batting eye also became more refined. Brentz hit .271 in 120 games this season, his highest average in six seasons with the PawSox.
Ultimately, the Red Sox informed Brentz that due to a dearth of 40-man roster spots, his season would not extend past Pawtucket’s regular-season finale. Ben Crockett, the club’s farm director, delivered the message.
Brentz has 34 games of Red Sox experience under his belt. If he doesn’t add to that total this season, he’ll become just the fourth International League home run champ since 2000 to not appear in a MLB game that same season.
“It’s one of those things where you prepare for the worst, but you also sit there and be realistic,” Brentz said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t fit a need for them. That was their decision and I respect it. There’s no point in making any type of argument.”
What can be stated with unbridled conviction is that Brentz put himself back on baseball’s map after a downtrodden start to the season. Selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Brentz reached a breaking point when his batting average stood .162 on May 19 along with a .286 slugging percentage. He had become a part-time player, the result of a six-week funk that came on the heels of being designated for assignment at the end of spring training and going unclaimed by every MLB team – except the one he broke into the pro ranks with.
“You’ve got to get the ball in the air. Groundballs are outs. I just wanted to be on time with my stance, but at the time I wasn’t synced up,” Brentz said. “It was a blessing to remain in the organization after getting DFA’d and still be able to talk to familiar faces rather than starting over someplace else, but I was at the point in my career where we needed to figure something out.”
During last year’s spring training, Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis approached Brentz with the idea of implementing a toe-tap approach. The plan was scrapped after two days. Fast forward to this past May, a point in the season where desperate times called for swift actions that would hopefully translate into prodigious results.
Sitting in his hotel room during Pawtucket’s road series in Buffalo in late May, the process of figuring it out mechanically started by looking at what Brentz described as a decent-sized mirror. He had been reading up on the toe tap and even cued up some footage of former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.
Brentz liked what the mir- ror was telling him. The next step was to implement the toe tap in the cage so that PawSox hitting coach Rich Gedman could offer his opinion. After a couple of swings, Gedman was sold. Just like that, the former approach – the leg kick – became ancient history.
“I basically went from being in the gutter, not knowing what my role was or if I was just another body, and they could have wiped their hands clean,” said Brentz, who blasted 27 home runs over the season’s final 15 ½ weeks. “They didn’t and that meant a lot.”
Three months after a career-reviving implementation, Brentz will still fight the urge to revert to his old stance. In a nutshell, the toe tap keeps his left foot on the ground in rhythm with the pitcher’s delivery before unleashing his powerful righthanded swing.
“(PawSox coach Bruce Crabbe) simplified it even more. He said, ‘Trust your eyes. They’ll tell you when to swing.’ Now it’s to the point where we’re managing it and continuing to commit to muscle memory,” Brentz said. “People say that power guys develop later in their career because they know they have power. Instead of just hitting the ball, we hit it as far as we can. (Manager Kevin Boles) told me all year that I was getting it and not to fight it. We were able to hold on to it for the rest of the year.
“If the season didn’t happen the way it did, you’re sitting there wondering if it’s over. Do I have to go to other avenues to get another job?” Brentz added. “Fortunately for me right now, it’s exciting. We changed some things up, but now we wait and see what happens.”
Spending the offseason refining a hitting style that clearly agrees with Brentz figures to be the easy part. Barring the unforeseen, Brentz will enter free agency for the first time in his pro career. Naturally, there’s a part of him that’s intrigued by the open market, yet what happens if the Red Sox call and dangle the possibility of bringing him back as the club’s fourth outfielder for the 2018 season?
“The connections that have been made throughout the years are special, but now I’m looking at what’s best for my family,” said Brentz, mentioning that winter ball is also within the realm of possibility. “I’m going to listen and see what we decide on after talking things over, but there’s not going to be any favorites. Everything is going to be equal. We’ll see what happens.
“With the toe tap, honestly I wish I would have started it sooner. Maybe February would have been a great idea,” Brentz said with a slight chuckle.