Taylor activated, Mazza optioned
The Red Sox aren’t expecting Josh Taylor to be the pitcher he was last season, at least right away, but they’re sure glad to have him back.
The left-handed Taylor was finally activated Monday ahead of the Red Sox’ series finale with the Yankees, and mired in unprecedented pitching struggles over the last week, his addition is sorely welcomed. Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 during intake testing in Boston before the beginning of summer camp in early July, though he was asymptomatic, and Monday’s activation was a long time coming.
“It’s awesome, kind of just coming back to see the guys,” said Taylor, who was available to pitch Monday. “I’ve had so many warm welcomes and it just felt good to be around everybody.”
Taylor was quarantined in a Boston hotel room for two weeks, keeping his arm ready by throwing a sock, before he reported to the Red Sox’ alternate training site in Pawtucket to pitch in sim games and build back up. The lefty said two weeks ago that he was ready to go, but the Red Sox wanted to be careful. Though he’s already missed more than one-third of the season, Taylor said the Red Sox handled it well.
Taylor was one of the best stories of the Red Sox’ 2019 season, coming on as a rookie and emerging as one of the best arms in the bullpen. He made 52 appearances, throwing 47L innings and producing a 3.04 ERA with 62 strikeouts, often in highleverage situations. It’s undetermined if he will take on a similar role this season with already less than 40 games remaining, but the Red Sox seem to want to bring him on slowly.
The Red Sox have been in desperate need of not only good pitching, but a reliable lefty this season. Their only lefty out of the bullpen has been newcomer Josh Osich, but with Taylor back and Darwinzon Hernandez, who was similarly productive as a rookie last year, not far behind, the Red Sox will suddenly be in much better shape this week.
“We’ll see how he is,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said of Taylor. “It’s great having him back but it’s probably a little unfair to think he’s going to be like he was last year when he came up and did so well for us. He’s still, we tried to build him up as best we could and get him as many outings as we could before we activated him but I’m hoping he pitches the same way. …
“I can’t say I really necessarily think that he’s going to do exactly the same thing. Hopefully it won’t take him long. It is good to have that piece back that you know you used in certain situations last year that worked so well.”
Taylor is certainly frustrated about what’s transpired this year after making a strong first impression last summer, but he’s looking forward. Though his manager is using a wait-and-see approach about what Taylor’s role might be, the lefty is confident in his abilities, and knows he can help a struggling staff.
“I haven’t been put in a real game scenario, but I definitely feel like I’m ready to go,” Taylor said. “I feel like my arm should be where it was last year and I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to go out and compete at the level I did last year.”