The Red Sox added five players – infielders Bobby Dalbec and C.J. Chatham, left-handed pitchers Kyle Hart and Yoan Aybar and outfielder Marcus Wilson – to their 40-man roster Wednesday, according to a team announcement.
The moves protect all five players from next month’s Rule 5 draft, ensuring other clubs can’t poach them from the organization. Boston made no trades or cuts before the 8 p.m. deadline to protect players and its 40-man roster now sits at 39 players.
Dalbec (No. 2), Chatham (No. 9), Wilson (No. 18), Hart (No. 28) and Aybar (No. 30) are all ranked among Boston’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com. Right-handed pitcher Eduard Bazardo (No. 26) was the only top 30 prospect to go unprotected and is now a candidate to be taken in the Rule 5 draft.
Dalbec, who has experience at both corner infield spots, is a candidate for the major league roster in 2020 while Chatham, who is blocked at shortstop by Xander Bogaerts, could shift to another position or be used as trade bait. Wilson, 23, was acquired from the Diamondbacks in the trade that sent Blake Swihart to Arizona in April. Hart, a former 19th-round pick, provides rotation depth after a solid season at Portland and Pawtucket in 2019.
Aybar is the farthest from the majors among the players added to the roster. The 22-year-old has not reached higher than High-A.
YANKEES: The Yankees have given up on Jacoby Ellsbury, cutting the oft-injured outfielder with more than $26 million left in his $153 million, seven-year contract.
Ellsbury, who has not played since 2017, was released to clear a 40-man roster spot as New York added seven players to protect them from next month’s Rule 5 draft.
Ellsbury is owed $26,285,714 by the Yankees in one of their biggest free-agent mistakes: $21,142,857 for next season plus a $5 million buyout of a $21 million team option for 2021.
New York also cut frequently injured first baseman Greg Bird and left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr., designating the pair for assignment.
Outfielder Estevan Florial was added to the major league roster along with right-handers Deivi Garcia, Luis Gil, Brooks Kriske, Luis Medina, Nick Nelson and Miguel Yajure.
Now 36, Ellsbury hit .264 with 39 homers, 198 RBI and 102 stolen bases in 520 games in six seasons with the Yankees. He spent his first seven seasons with Boston and was in All-Star in 2011, and arrived in New York with a .284 career average, 104 homers, 512 RBI and 343 steals for Boston.
Ellsbury injured an oblique muscle in his right side early during spring training in 2018, developed a bad back and had hip surgery on Aug. 6 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He experienced plantar fasciitis in his right foot during his rehab program before spring training this year.
ASTROS: Owner Jim Crane declined comment on MLB’s investigation into allegations of sign stealing.
While walking through the lobby of the luxury hotel where owners were meeting in Arlington, Texas, Crane stopped briefly when approached by reporters.
“If you want to talk about baseball, I’ll talk about baseball,” Crane said. “What else do you want to talk about?”
When someone started to ask whether he had any comment about the allegations, Crane didn’t even let that question get finished before responding, “Any other issues?”
Two sheriff’s deputies working security in the lobby then stepped in and escorted the Astros’ owner toward a flight of stairs that led upstairs to where the meetings were taking place.
MARLINS: The Miami Marlins designated left-hander Wei-Yin Chen for assignment, parting with a pitcher they owe $22 million in 2020.
Miami gave Chen an $80 million, five-year contract before the 2016 season, but he went 13-19 with a 5.10 ERA in four injury-plagued seasons. Last year Chen was demoted to the bullpen and had a 6.59 ERA in 45 games.
President of baseball operations Michael Hill said the Marlins parted with Chen to create more room for young talent on their roster.
ORLANDO: The man who helped bring an NBA team to Orlando said that he wants to bring a Major League Baseball team to the theme park mecca.
Pat Williams, a former executive with the NBA’s Orlando Magic, said that Orlando was more deserving than a half-dozen other cities that have been mentioned as homes to potential MLB expansion teams in the future. Those markets are Charlotte, North Carolina.; Las Vegas; Montreal; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver.
With a population of 2.5 million residents, metro Orlando also gets 75 million tourists each year. In addition to pro basketball, the region has professional men’s and women’s soccer teams.
Williams’ desire may be a pipedream since Florida already has two MLB teams with anemic attendance. The Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays had the worst and second-to-worst attendance of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams this season.
So Williams offered what may be an appropriate name for the team: the Dreamers. He unveiled a red baseball cap with a black “O” as the logo, as well as a website, https://orlandodreamers.com/.
Williams said he’s dipping his toe in the water to gauge interest in Orlando before making concrete plans.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has repeatedly said expansion won’t be considered until the Oakland Athletics and the Rays get new ballparks.
JAPAN: Veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra has agreed to a contract with the Yomiuri Giants.
Parra, 32, has a career .276 batting average with 88 home runs and 522 RBI over 11 seasons in the major leagues.
Parra hit .250 with eight home runs and 42 RBI in 89 games for the World Series champion Washington Nationals after spending the first 30 games of the 2019 season with the San Francisco Giants.
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