Players on new teams, partial lineups and coaches moving around. There’s plenty of baseball news to write about as we scrape our windshields and wait for pitchers and catchers to report.
Red Sox Manager John Farrell did a radio interview last week and revealed a partial lineup he’s thinking about. For spots 2-6: Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval and Mike Napoli. Assume he will fill that in by leading off Mookie Betts, with Xander Bogaerts, Rusney Castillo and Christian Vazquez the bottom three.
The Sea Dogs’ roster is far from settled but here are a few names I’d like to see atop the lineup: Matty Johnson (.377 OBP and 40 stolen bases last year in Salem), Carlos Asuaje (combined .310 average/.927 OPS in Greenville and Salem) and Henry Ramos (.327 in Portland last year before breaking his leg).
Marco Hernandez will likely be in the Portland lineup at shortstop, having been obtained Dec. 15 from the Cubs as the player to be named later in the Felix Doubront trade. Hernandez, 22, is reportedly a good fielder. He batted .270 in advanced Class A last year.
Billy McMillon is back for his second year as Sea Dogs manager, the Red Sox announced Thursday. No surprise there, unless he was promoted or someone else offered him a major league coaching job. McMillon, 42, has a career record of 387-330 in five minor league seasons. He has major league experience as a player (six seasons), and his players say they thrive playing for him. Eventually the majors will beckon.
Pitching coach Bob Kipper and hitting coach Rich Gedman will be leaving McMillon and rejoining former Sea Dogs manager Kevin Boles in Pawtucket. Kipper has moved around wherever the Red Sox have needed him since 1999. Gedman, the former Red Sox catcher, keeps elevating through the coaching ranks since rejoining the organization in 2011. He interviewed for the Boston hitting coach job this offseason.
Dave Joppie is coming back to Portland as hitting coach because of Gedman’s promotion. Joppie was Pawtucket’s hitting coach for two seasons after five years in Portland.
Pitching coach Kevin Walker is moving up to the Sea Dogs after four seasons in Salem, including two with McMillon. Walker pitched for the Padres, Giants and White Sox from 2000-05 (7-3 combined record, 4.76 ERA in 122 games).
The Sea Dogs Hot Stove Dinner on Friday is sold out. While Johnny Damon is the featured guest, other invitees are McMillon, Red Sox coach (and former Sea Dogs manager) Arnie Beyeler, and Sea Dogs catcher Matt Springs.
Speaking of sellouts, most of the reserved seats already have been sold for the Eastern League All-Star Game in Portland on July 15. About 2,300 tickets are still available for general admission seats and the left field pavilion.
Iggy Suarez, 33, was hired as the hitting coach for Boston’s short-season minor league team in Lowell, Massachusetts. Suarez played in Portland from 2006-09 and was one of the most popular Sea Dogs. He then went to the independent leagues before retiring after the 2013 season.
Catcher Ryan Lavarnway continues to bounce around, designated for assignment Friday by the Orioles after signing with them Dec. 23. After the Red Sox designated him for assignment, he was picked up by the Dodgers on Dec. 5. That briefly reunited him with former Sea Dogs teammate Tim Federowicz, before Los Angeles waived him and the Cubs signed him Dec. 19. That did not last, either, with the Orioles claiming him four days later.
Federowicz, by the way, is also no longer with the Dodgers. After 3½ years in their organization since the Red Sox dealt him (in a three-way trade for Erik Bedard), he was sent to the Padres last month in the Matt Kemp deal.
Another former Sea Dogs catcher, Dan Butler, is in baseball limbo for the moment, having been designated for assignment by the Red Sox to make room for recently re-signed reliever Craig Breslow. Butler, 30, spent parts of the 2011 and 2012 seasons in Portland, and made his major league debut last year. He could still wind up in Pawtucket on a minor league contract.
Chris Martin is in the same position as Butler, having been designated by the Colorado Rockies. Martin, who pitched parts of three seasons in Portland, was traded to Colorado after the 2013 season for utility infielder Jonathan Herrera. Martin made his major league debut with Colorado last year but is no longer on the 40-man roster.
Brandon Jacobs, 24, was once a touted outfield prospect who gave up a football scholarship to Auburn to sign with Boston ($750,000 bonus). He batted .303 with 17 home runs in Greenville in 2011 but faded. He was called up to the Sea Dogs on July 11, 2013, then was traded the next day to the White Sox for reliever Matt Thornton. Jacobs has struggled since, first in the White Sox system, then for Arizona’s Class A team last year, batting .210. He was released last month.
Red Sox pitchers and catchers report Feb. 20.
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