August 15, 2023 at 1:00 PM
Minor Notes: Major league movements; Bonaci, Coffey, Alcantara promoted
Major league returners
A trio of major leaguers returned from the injured list over the past week, which has created ripple effects across the minor leagues.
Trevor Story returned from the 60-day on Wednesday, which forced the organization to designate Yu Chang for assignment, who was outrighted to Worcester. Chris Sale's activation from the 60-day came on Friday, pushing Brandon Walter out west to Worcester. The final piece for this week, Garrett Whitlock, was activated on Sunday and Kyle Barraclough's four-day major league stint ended as he was optioned to Worcester as well. A fourth isn't far behind, as Tanner Houck is on a rehab assignment and is slated to re-join the major league club soon.
Bullpen shuffle
Chaim Bloom has been tinkering with the bullpen over the past week over and above getting a pair of arms, which has led to two pitchers departing the organization. Richard Bleier, who was designated for assignment August 7, was released two days later. The 36-year-old pitched to a 5.28 ERA over 30 2/3 innings in Boston, striking out 16 batters.
He was replaced on the active roster by Dinelson Lamet, who was signed as a minor league free agent in June. He was up with the big club for just two days, throwing a pair of innings in one appearance and allowing three runs. He was designated for assignment amid a flurry of moves on Wednesday and cleared waivers, getting outrighted to Worcester. He opted for free agency.
Barraclough and Walter came up to replace Lamet, along with Nick Robertson, who was optioned to Triple-A. Robertson got his first call-up August 6 after being acquired from the Dodgers and recorded a pair of appearances.
Shortstop promotions
There was a mini chain promotion for shortstops in August, with a trio of players moving upward. Brainer Bonaci is at the highest level among the call-ups, moving north to Portland from Greenville, while he was followed by Cutter Coffey from Salem and Marvin Alcantara from the FCL.
Bonaci was a strong hitter in Greenville, with a .301/.353/.473 slash line over 302 plate appearances, and he has gotten off to a solid start at Double-A, as he's hit 7 for 20 over five games with the Sea Dogs. Bonaci is ranked No. 12 by SoxProspects and has been moving up the rankings this year. His replacement, Coffey, is slotted at No. 30 in the rankings and was hitting .226/.341/.348 with Salem across 367 plate appearances. He's started off 2 for 12 with Greenville. Alcantara is making his full-season debut. He hit .240/.347/.307 with the FCL Red Sox and is ranked No. 28 by SoxProspects.
Playoff update
The Triple-A season doesn't end until September 24, but the Red Sox are 24-14 in the second half, tied with Lehigh Valley for the second-half International League lead. The two squads are 1.5 games ahead of Durham, Jacksonville and St. Paul.
Portland also has more than a month left in its season and trails the Northeast Division's first-half winner, Somerset, by 2.5 games, with a 19-20 record. Binghamton is between them at two games back and would earn the playoff spot if Somerset wins the division.
Greenville, which has already clinched a playoff spot by virtue of winning the first half of the South Division, sits at 20-22. The Drive's season ends September 10, and the team will then face the second-half division winner.
Salem's season will conclude September 10. The Red Sox are at 18-24, nine games back in the North Division.
The FCL season ends August 22 and the Red Sox are in the thick of the playoff chase. They're two games back of the Pirates and are a half-game up on the Phillies in the wild card race. The Red Sox have seven games left, including Tuesday's contest.
The DSL squads, Red and Blue, have been eliminated from the division, which has been clinched by Pirates Gold. They're also eliminated from the wild card race.
Players of the Week
Wilyer Abreu, OF, Worcester Red Sox
6 G, 22 AB, 13 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 7 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 4 K, .591/.625/1.500
A six-homer week will almost always win player of the week. Wilyer Abreu (pictured, top) doubled up everyone else in that category while also pacing the organization in hits. He was one of two hitters, along with Kyle Teel, to hit the .500 batting average and .600 on-base percentage plateaus, while his 1.500 slugging percentage was almost double that of second place. His skills were on display with above-average raw power, though his hit tool still needs refining as he has some swing-and-miss in his game, evidenced by the four strikeouts to one walk.
1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K
There were some strong pitching performances system-wide this week, but Yordanny Monegro (pictured, bottom) stands out as a standout performer. He was tied with a pair of DSL arms in Jesus Garcia and Jose Ramirez in innings without surrendering a run, but neither could match his 11 punchouts, while only four starters pitched more than five innings across one outing. He was second in the organization in strikeouts and paired it with just three baserunners. Signed for $35,000 out of the Dominican Republic in February 2020, Monegro has used his fastball/curveball combination to success, but he needs to improve his command and control as he continues to rise up the minor leagues.
Photo Credit: Wilyer Abreu and Yordanny Monegro by Kelly O'Connor