On Friday afternoon, a promising new member of the Red Sox organization got a taste of what his future holds.
It only made him want for more.
“I am so hungry to be out here one day,” Kyle Teel said as he stood by Fenway Park’s home dugout. “It’s finally coming true.”
“I’m so excited to get going and ready to get to work.”
The Red Sox selected Teel as the 14th overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, and officially signed him on Friday; his $4 million bonus is about $660K under slot value.
After getting the deal done, Teel took batting practice with the team while his family and agent, Scott Boras, looked on. At least one of his hits reached the top of the Green Monster, another landed deep in the visiting bullpen.
That, too, was an exciting development for the young slugger. He’d played in a high school prospects exhibition game at Fenway in 2019, but said he wasn’t a home-run hitter “at all” back then.
Boras is known for representing some of the game’s greatest talents. In the 1990s, he added another young catcher on his client roster who went on to be one of the greatest players and leaders in Red Sox history.
Teel is already drawing comparisons to said player, and will get to learn from him as he makes his way in the organization: longtime team captain and current coach Jason Varitek.
“Shook his hand, yeah it was awesome to finally meet him,” Teel said. “He’s a guy I look up to, and I’m excited to get to work with him.”
Boras joked that Does their agent see a similarity between the two?
“I do, in their perseverance,” Boras said. “Their idea of wanting to be a big leaguer and doing whatever it takes to be one.”
“I told Tek today, he’s a
The son of a college softball player and former minor league catcher, Teel already has a reputation for being a hard worker who’s devoted to improving his craft. In his third and final season at the University of Virginia, he hit .407 with a 1.130 OPS, and 105 hits (including 25 doubles and 13 homers) in 65 games. He finished his college career as the most decorated backstop in the program’s history.
“It’s been a fun ride,” Teel said. “I’m just trying to enjoy every minute of it, take in every moment, and have fun while doing it.”
Trevor Story began his rehab assignment with Double-A Portland on Friday night, and did so with a bang. His 3-run homer in the bottom of the fifth doubled the Sea Dogs’ lead to 6-0.
Story will serve as the Sea Dogs’ designated hitter on Saturday, then play at shortstop again on Sunday “if he feels good,” Alex Cora said.
Corey Kluber is also with Portland this weekend, and pitched two innings on Friday night. He threw 35 pitches (22 strikes), gave up one hit, and struck out one.
John Schreiber is back with the team, and is expected to be activated at some point between Sunday and Tuesday.
“He’s important. The way he was throwing the ball right before the injury, he was locked in, throwing a lock of strikes, getting people out, so it will be refreshing to get him back,” Cora said.
Chris Sale threw a bullpen on Friday afternoon. “That was really good,” his manager said. He’ll throw another one on Sunday or Monday, and could progress to a facing hitters after that, but the team is going to be careful about rushing his progress.
“He looked good, very comfortable,” Cora added. “Obviously, we’ve been through this before, so we just gotta be patient.”
Garrett Whitlock (elbow) played catch on Friday, and is “feeling a lot better,” his manager said, and Tanner Houck will pitch off a mound next week for the first time since having surgery to repair the facial fracture he sustained during a start against the Yankees in June. Though Houck’s injury isn’t arm-related, the Red Sox plan to build him up along the same guidelines: three bullpens and two live sessions before beginning a rehab assignment.
Reese McGuire will “most likely” go on a rehab assignment on Tuesday.
Friday marked the anniversary of Pumpsie Green’s Major League debut in 1959. The Red Sox were the last team to field a Black player, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.