David Ortiz says Mike Fiers is “looking like a snitch.”
Retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said that Astros pitcher Mike Fiers was “looking like a snitch” for disclosing the team’s cheating scandal only after he had left the team.
“Oh, after you make your money, after you get your ring, you decide to talk about it?” Ortiz said after arriving at the Red Sox spring training complex in Fort Myers, Fla., on Thursday. “Why didn’t you talk about it during the season when it was going on? Why didn’t you say, ‘I don’t want to be part of it?’
“So you’re looking like a snitch,” said Ortiz, who works for the Red Sox under the title special assistant. “Why do you have to talk about it after? That’s my problem. Why did nobody say anything while it was going on?”
The Astros were found to violate baseball rules by using video to steal opponents signs during their World Series championship season of 2017. After Fiers blew the whistle to The Athletic this offseason, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, manager A.J. Hinch and bench coach Alex Cora — who had moved on to manage the Red Sox — all lost their jobs in the wake of the scandal.
Ortiz did defend Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has been criticized for failing to punish any players for cheating. Major League Baseball is also investigating reports that the Red Sox had a similar scheme when they won it all in 2018.
“People need to chillax and let him do his job,“Ortiz said. “Players need to let him do what he thinks is better for the game and stop putting him on the spot and telling him what to do. That’s what I think should happen.”
Ortiz was also asked whether the Red Sox can win without Mookie Betts, who was traded rather than signed to a long-term contract or allowed to leave as a free agent.
“They won without me,” Ortiz said.
Notable
Yankees right-hander Luis Severino has been shut down from throwing for the second consecutive spring training, this time because of right forearm soreness. Severino, who turned 26 on Thursday, was sidelined until the final weeks of the regular season last year.
Manager Aaron Boone said Severino has been feeling on-and-off discomfort since October and has a loose body in his right elbow that the manager said has not been an issue. Severino was scratched from his first scheduled spring training appearance last year on March 5 because of rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder, and the Yankees said April 9 he had strained his latissimus dorsi muscle.
• The Indians could have another significant pitching problem. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco felt discomfort in his right leg during a spring training workout Wednesday and is undergoing imaging tests to find out the severity of the injury and how long he’ll be sidelined. Carrasco, who made an inspiring comeback last season after being diagnosed with leukemia, got an MRI on Thursday.
• Alex Rodriguez and Matt Vasgersian will be the announcers for ESPN’S “Sunday Night Baseball” series, marking the first time since 2007 that the network is going with a two-person booth for its signature game. Jessica Mendoza had been part of the booth since 2015 but has been moved to more studio work as well as calling weeknight games.
• The Phillies won their arbitration case against Allstar catcher J.T. Realmuto, putting teams ahead of players 7-4 this year and ensuring clubs will finish with a winning record. Realmuto will get a raise from $6.05 million to $10 million instead of his $12.4 million request.