Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell stated today at the team’s Spring Training facility that he expects the veteran lefty to begin the 2017 season on the disabled list as he recovers from an elbow injury.
“I think at this point, yeah, it’d be hard to see him ready to go at the start of the season,” Farrell told reporters in Fort Myers, Fla., via the Boston Herald. “You know, we really won’t have any kind of idea until he gets on the mound the first time. And right now I don’t know when that’s going to be.”
Price had the sore left elbow examined earlier this month by noted Tommy John surgeon Dr. James Andrews, but came back with the prognosis of rest instead of surgery. Price threw into a net this weekend, and played toss with another teammate on Monday and Tuesday, but there is no timeline set on when he will attempt to throw off of flat ground or a mound.
Price had not yet faced any Grapefruit League batters in Spring Training prior to the injury, so it was pretty evident that he would likely need some time on the DL in order to get ramped up to face MLB-level hitting this year.
In other Red Sox news breaking during the blizzard, the team announced its first set of cuts for the spring.
Pitchers Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, and Brandon Workman were all cut and assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket’s minor league camp. OF Junior Lake, 3B Rafael Devers, and C Jordan Procyshen were also cut and will be reassigned in the near future.
Owens has been downright atrocious in Spring Training this season, and his 15.95 ERA has led to him potentially considering a change in his mechanics to help with his lack of control and consistency.
Johnson is coming off a lost 2016 season that saw him take a break from pitching to deal with anxiety issues. Johnson did progress back to Pawtucket by the end of last year, and will be working to possibly crack the Red Sox roster at some point during this season.
Workman is back with the Sox after missing part of 2015 and all of 2016 after Tommy John surgery, and has been effective in the bullpen this spring, but the team clearly wants him to continue to get consistent work in order for him to make a full comeback back to the majors.
Lake was signed to a minor-league deal in the offseason as insurance for Boston’s young and exciting outfield. He should be an everyday starter with the PawSox this season.
Devers is one of the Red Sox’ top prospects, and is projected to be the long-term solution at third base. He has never played above the Single-A level, and struggled in the spring facing MLB pitching, but the team clearly wanted him to get some exposure before sending him back to the minors to continue developing.
Procyshen is a low-level prospect that could develop into a backup catcher in the majors, and will likely spend the year in Double-A Portland with Devers.
If you want MORE coverage of your team, check out Red Sox Beat Podcast here on CLNS Radio! The latest episode is below and check us out on ITUNES as well!
