It looks like the Red Sox won’t be able to escape Bryce Harper when they head to the City of Brotherly Love this weekend.
Defying odds and shattering timetables, the Philadelphia Phillies star got clearance to play again on Monday, just 159 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall. The two-time National League MVP will make his season debut on Tuesday night.
Harper will rejoin the lineup as the designated hitter first. He served in that role for the majority of 2022, playing through a partial tear in his UCL for almost the entire season in order to help the Phillies end their postseason drought (2011) and win their first pennant since 2009.
The 30-year-old slugger has faced the Red Sox 22 times before, and hasn’t hit them very well in the past (16 hits, including five doubles and four homers, and 28 strikeouts), but he’s very comfortable in his home ballpark: since signing his record-breaking contract with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season, he’s hit .281 with a .978 OPS in 229 regular-season games at Citizens Bank Park.
In addition to the seven-time All-Star, the Red Sox will have to contend with a slew of familiar faces: Kyle Schwarber, Matt Strahm, and Craig Kimbrel are all in red pinstripes now, thanks to none other than Dave Dombrowski. After the Red Sox opted not to pursue Schwarber following their own postseason run in 2021, he landed in Philly and ended up leading the NL with 46 home runs last year.
In 2022, Red Sox pitchers issued 526 walks, ninth-most in the majors, and significantly worse than league average (486). Their batters drew 478 walks, putting them just below the 482-walk league average.
As such, the front office spent the offseason prioritizing stingier pitchers and patient hitters, and signed Masataka Yoshida, Justin Turner, Corey Kluber, and Chris Martin.
After the first month of the season, the lineup is nearly a quarter of the way towards last year’s walk total; their 105 walks through May 1 is tied for seventh-most in the majors, third in the American League, and second in the division.
Five of the 12 Red Sox batters who appeared in 17 or more games in April drew double-digit walks. Justin Turner (14 BB, 16 K)) and Masataka Yoshida (12 BB, 11 K) have been as advertised from a plate discipline standpoint, but it’s actually Triston Casas leading the roster, with 16 walks in 25 games.
Unfortunately, the new and improved pitching staff they assembled on paper hasn’t quite materialized on the mound.
Martin had a minuscule 2.8% walk rate between 2018-22, and has only issued two walks in eight appearances this season, tied for second-lowest on the pitching staff (Brennan Bernardino hasn’t issued a walk in his five appearances). He spent time on the injured list in April, which is in no way his fault, but did deprive the bullpen of his effectiveness, and forced them to use less meticulous options.
More concerning is Kluber, who entered the season with the lowest career BB9 among active pitchers, then had two 4-walk games between Opening Day and May 1. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, that’s as many 4-walk games as he had between May 2017 and the end of last season.
Kenley Jansen is feeling much better and is available for Tuesday night’s game, Alex Cora announced, but added that he doesn’t think they’ll go to him. “We just have to be careful, but he’s trending in the right direction,” Cora said. “Having that ninth-inning guy is very important… it’s a lot easier to manage a game with an established closer.”
Cora also confirmed that James Paxton will make another rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Friday.
After several rough rehab games, Paxton looked solid in his most recent start on Sunday, going 5 ⅓ innings (90 pitches), striking out eight, and only allowing two hits and a walk. It was a promising improvement but his manager says he’s still not ready to be activated.
“He’s getting close, but mechanics-wise, he doesn’t feel he’s there yet,” Cora said. “He can give up 10 (runs) in five innings, you know, it’s just a matter of health and if he’s sound mechanically. We thought the last one was good, he feels there’s a few things that he can do better.”
Paxton’s injured list stint expires next week, so what then?
“We don’t want to rush people into the big stage, so we’ll be patient,” the manager said, adding that the Red Sox have “been talking about different situations” for the veteran pitcher, who has only ever worked as a starter, but would rejoin a major league team that’s already overflowing with starting pitching.
Garrett Whitlock (right elbow ulnar neuritis) had another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday afternoon, but Cora says the right-hander “feels good.”
Joely Rodriguez made his first rehab appearance in Fort Myers on Tuesday afternoon.
With their victory on Monday night, the Red Sox overtook the Yankees in the standings. In the American League East, a 16-14 record is good for fourth; in the AL Central or West, it would be second or third, respectively.
Meanwhile, former Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who has 19 home runs in 73 career games against the Red Sox, exercised his opt-out from the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
Former Red Sox relievers Jake Diekman and Frank German were designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.