Pitchers and catchers report on February 11th for the Boston Red Sox 2020 Spring Training but that doesn’t mean every free agent has a home just yet.
The Pawtucket Red Sox have a number of 2019 Players that have either found homes elsewhere or remain free agents as of post.
Teddy Stankiewicz
One of the surprising free agents is Teddy Stankiewicz. The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher posted a solid 2019 campaign in Pawtucket posting a 3.85 ERA in 24 outings, 23 starts, being one of the most reliable pitchers for Billy McMillion. The former 2013 2nd round pick had worked his way up the Red Sox Organization rather nicely but a path to the big leagues with Boston wasn’t exactly paved for Stankiewicz.
Deserving of a Major League Spring Training invite in 2020.
Bryce Brentz
Brentz has been around for a long time at this point with 2019 being his second stint in the Red Sox organization. Brentz a former 2010 Compensation A pick by Boston is now 30-years-old and is coming off a rough 2019 season with the PawSox.
Brentz hit .216 in 310 at-bats and his home run total was down to 17 compared to his peak in 2017 when he belted 31 home runs for Pawtucket while having a .271 batting average. Overall it is tough to say where Brentz will end up, he left the organization in 2018 for Pittsburgh but had an injury-plagued season before coming back home to Boston.
Gorkys Hernandez
The former San Francisco Giant outfielder came to the Red Sox Organization as an MLB veteran who could provide Boston with major league depth out of Pawtucket.
Hernandez, 32-years-old, had been an everyday player for a few years with the Giants but had a very rough 2019 in Triple-A Pawtucket. Gorkys hit .219 in 430 at-bats while hitting 16 home runs and driving in 53 RBIs. Gorkys certainly had bright patches with Pawtucket and he eventually was granted a shot by Boston with a September call-up.
With Boston, he played in 20-games hitting .143 in 49 at-bats.
Chris Owings
Owings was always described as a “real pro” by his coaching staff in Pawtucket after signing as a free agent in June. The former Arizona Diamondback utility man hit .325 for Pawtucket while hitting 11 home runs and driving in 34 RBIs in just 44 games.
His hot run earned him a call-up to Boston where he struggled hitting .156 in 26 games. Overall Owings has 646 big league games under his belt and is a few years removed from a handful of solid seasons in Arizona.
The 28-year-old’s defensive versatility should earn him a look by a bigger league team in 2020.
Oscar Hernandez and Juan Centeno
Hernandez, 26-years-old, hit a measly .2019 in 148 at-bats for Pawtucket in 2019. The former Tampa Bay Ray was supposed to be Major League depth for Boston having 22 games of big-league experience with Arizona.
Boston can find big-league depth elsewhere and a better candidate was actually apart of the 2019 PawSox team. That better candidate is Juan Centeno.
Centeno, like Hernandez, is a free agent who happens to have big-league experience. Centeno, unlike Hernandez, saw major league action with Boston in 2019 while also playing in Pawtucket. Centeno, 30-years-old, signed as a minor league free agent with Boston prior to the 2019 season and ended up hitting .248 for Pawtucket in 266 at-bats. In his time with Boston, he appeared in 7 games going 2-for-15 at the plate.
Both Centeno and Hernandez provide solid defensive assets.
Jenrry Mejia
Mejia who was suspended from baseball for PED usage was a train wreck in 2019 for Pawtucket. The former New York Mets closer posted a 6.38 ERA in 42 outings for Pawtucket and blew 6 save opportunities out of 13 attempts with a 2-7 record. Overall the 30-year-old still posted solid velocity but wasn’t very effective on the mound.
Other Free Agent Notes
Jake Romanski, Deiner Lopez, Tony Renda, Erasmo Ramirez, Jeremy Bleich, and Dan Runzler are all still free agents as well.
Other Notes: Mike Miller remains a free agent. Miller, 30-years-old, was a long-time member of the PawSox spending parts of five seasons at McCoy. After being released and then signed by the Rochester Red Wings Miller batted .238 in 84 at-bats.
New Home for Josh A. Smith and Jordan Weems
Two former PawSox landed on their feet already this off-season. Both are pitchers with Josh A. Smith signing a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite for the Miami Marlins and Jordan Weems signing a similar deal with the Oakland Athletics.
Smith, 32-years-old, split the 2019 season between Pawtucket and Boston. With Boston, he posted a 5.81 ERA in 31 innings pitched and in Pawtucket a 5.48 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched. Smith came to Boston after being released by the Seattle Mariners in April of 2018.
As for Weems, the 27-year-old split spent the bulk of the 2019 season in Double-A Portland having thrown just 11.2 innings for Pawtucket. The hard-throwing lefty posted a combined 4.37 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched in 2019.
