SEATTLE – While sitting in the visiting team's dugout before the Red Sox's first game of the season against the Mariners, Alex Cora provided several updates on the team's pitchers.
The Red Sox view newcomer Chase Anderson as someone who can pitch for a long time if needed.
“Probably multiple innings,” Cora said. “I think it’s possible (to keep him ready to pitch for a long time) with the guys that we have.”
“He has a good changeup, he’s also using the cutter, so he fits the plan,” the Red Sox manager explained. “We’ll use him as a pitcher who can play for a long time.”
Anderson signed a 1.25 million Major League contract with up to $500K in performance bonuses on Mar. 23, hours after the Pirates released him from his minor-league deal. Since the start of 2020, he has a 6.19 ERA over 192 innings, and pitched in the Major Leagues for five teams during that period. But he’s affordable depth, which makes him a good choice for Boston’s current spending limits.
Then there’s Naoyuki Uwasawa, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this week.
“Good split,” Cora observed. “I think we faced him twice in spring training. Early on, he was struggling with the velocity and command. There are other factors that came into play, but we feel pretty comfortable with him. Obviously, we’re trying to add as many Major League pitchers to our 40-man roster, and we do believe he’s one. It just happens that he’s not here with us”
(Uwasawa is currently working in extended spring training at the club’s Fort Myers complex.)
The Red Sox also plan to continue with a five-man rotation, at least for this 10-game trip on the west coast, but Cora left the possibility open for a potential sixth pitcher in the future.
“Not on this trip, no,” he said.
