HOUSTON -- By leaving Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, reliever Brandon Workman appears ready to exercise his opt-out clause and become a free agent if the Red Sox don¡¯t call him up.
The Red Sox have 48 hours to either call Workman up or grant him free agency.
It will be an interesting decision, considering that the veteran righty was the teams¡¯ best reliever in the 2019 season, when he went 10-1 with a 1.88 ERA and notched 16 saves while pitching in 73 games.
At the Trade Deadline last season, the Sox dealt Workman and Heath Hembree to the Phillies for starting pitcher Nick Pivetta and prospect Connor Seabold.
Pivetta has been one of the team¡¯s best starters this season, and Seabold is a pitcher the Sox are high on, ranked as Boston's No. 14 prospect, even though he is currently working his way back from an injury.
Workman, meanwhile, struggled mightily with the Phillies after the trade last season and in a short stint with the Cubs this season before he was released. Boston signed him to a Minor League contract on May 8.
In seven appearances for Worcester, Workman had a 1.29 ERA. In seven innings, he walked four and struck out 10 while holding opponents to a .130 batting average.
¡°We¡¯re very pleased with the way he¡¯s throwing the ball,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°He¡¯s been throwing his cutter a little bit better. Velocity is OK, his breaking ball has been great. But as of now, that¡¯s all I have. He¡¯s going to opt out. I think we¡¯ve got two days to make a decision. We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±
Will the Red Sox give Workman a chance to regain his footing with his original team? Cora didn¡¯t rule it out.
¡°I mean, there¡¯s a lot of stuff on the table,¡± Cora said. ¡°Right now, we¡¯ve got a 26-man roster, and he¡¯s not part of it.¡±
Colten Brewer gave up four runs over one inning in his only appearance this season on Monday, and he is certainly a candidate to be optioned back to Triple-A.
Renfroe trying to stay hot in June
After a strong May in which Hunter Renfroe slashed .319/.333/.604 with six homers and 15 RBIs, the right-handed hitter looks to stay near that pace in June.
Renfroe cites some mechanical adjustments that have led to his bounce-back from a rough 2020 and an inconsistent first month of ¡¯21. By quieting his hands, Renfroe is more direct to the baseball. These adjustments allow him to be less pull-happy.
¡°Coming into this Spring Training, I wanted to make sure I wanted to stay middle of the field and did what I could as far as taking my hits when I could,¡± said Renfroe. ¡°I went through spring really working on it hard, made sure I was staying on the baseball. It kind of paid off this spring. Obviously, I got a little confidence in it and continued staying up the middle of the field.¡±
Renfroe is still pulling the pitches he is supposed to, and hitting some of them a very long way, such as the one he mashed a projected 419 feet against the Astros on Monday.
It all comes down to the hands.
¡°Calming the hands down, calming the little hitch I have. It¡¯s kind of a hitch I¡¯ve always had,¡± said Renfroe. ¡°It¡¯s kind of mentally, I don¡¯t know, I just do it. I don¡¯t know why I do it. I just do it. Trying to calm the hands down. Trying to be more direct to it. Trying not to have a big sweepy swing. That¡¯s the biggest part of it. I¡¯m not trying to hit a homer with every swing. I¡¯m trying to make good hard contact towards the middle of the field, and wherever the ball goes, it goes.¡±
Dalbec still searching
For the second straight day, Danny Santana played first base for the Red Sox instead of rookie Bobby Dalbec against a righty starter. Dalbec is hitting .146 with one homer against righties this season compared to .314 with four homers against lefties.
With lefty Framber Valdez pitching for the Astros on Wednesday, Dalbec will be back in the lineup. However, Cora added that he also plans on starting the slugger in Thursday¡¯s series finale against righty Jake Odorizzi.
¡°Right now, obviously, he¡¯s been scuffling -- he¡¯s been chasing pitches out of the zone,¡± said Cora. ¡°I just feel like there are certain matchups we¡¯ve got to try to avoid. We¡¯ve got to protect him. But talking to [hitting coaches] Timmy [Hyers] and Peter [Fatse], we¡¯re trying to help him out as much as possible and put him in situations to be successful.¡±