June 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Minor Notes: Donation Drive begins; Jordan promoted to Worcester
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Jordan promoted to Worcester; Encarnacion and Azocar moving up too
After a scorching month of May, Blaze Jordan was promoted to Worcester. Jordan hit .390/.490/.671 with more walks than strikeouts in May, and he was the Eastern League Player of the Week for May 19-25. A third-round pick in 2020, Jordan amassed 759 plate appearances with the Sea Dogs over parts of three seasons. Christopher Smith of MassLive was the first to report the promotion.
SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield reported that Freili Encarnacion would also be promoted. He will join Franklin Arias in the Greenville infield. Encarnacion showed impressive power in a tough Salem ballpark, batting .303/.363/.566 with 10 home runs in 45 games. He signed for $1.1 million in 2022 but failed to produce results in his first three years in the system. He looks revitalized in 2025 and will look to keep building back his prospect status with the Drive.
Lower in the minors Enddy Azocar (pictured, right) was promoted to Salem from the FCL. Azocar was a standout in spring training, and the results carried over to the FCL where he had a 1.006 OPS in 14 games. He went 3 for 15 in his first week with Salem.
DSL season kicks off
Opening day for the Dominican Summer League was on Monday, with Boston again sporting two teams in the league. Game recaps for the DSL Red Sox Red and DSL Red Sox Blue are available in Tuesday's Cup of Coffee. Full rosters for all affiliates are available on our Rosters page. The top position player to watch is shortstop Dorian Soto, and on the pitching side, Sadbiel Delzine is an arm with high upside. Ben Badler of Baseball America has Delzine listed as one of his 20 DSL pitchers to watch ($).
MLB also announced that the DSL will have a new playoff format in 2025.
Red Sox churn the bottom of the roster
The major league squad saw a flurry of moves over the last week. Sean Newcomb, who went 0-4 with a 3.95 ERA, was traded to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations after being designated for assignment. Also leaving the roster were Zack Kelly and Nick Sogard who were optioned to Worcester, and Blake Sabol who was designated for assignment. Taking their place in Boston were Luis Guerrero, Nate Eaton, and Nick Burdi who were all added from the WooSox. Eaton was subsequently sent back down to Worcester after Romy González was activated off the injured list. The utility player had been out since May 10 with a left quad contusion.
Pitchers hit the injured list
The injury bug caught up to almost all levels of the organization last week. In the majors, Justin Slaten (right shoulder inflammation) and Liam Hendriks (right hip inflammation) were placed on the 15-day injured list. Jeremy Wu-Yelland and Juan Valera were placed on the seven-day injured list for Portland and Greenville, respectively. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported that Valera has elbow soreness.
Pitching reinforcements
It was not all bad news on the pitching front, as Boston received good news on three important depth pieces. Richard Fitts was activated off the 15-day injured list as he rejoined the big league rotation. Boston activated Zach Penrod from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Worcester. Penrod missed the first two months of the season with a left elbow sprain. Chris Murphy, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2024, started a rehab assignment with Greenville. Murphy was added to the 40-man roster in 2022.
Shea Sprague was added to Greenville from Salem. The 22-year-old from Hanover, Mass. had a 3.86 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings in Low-A.
Will Turner got placed in the FCL on a rehab assignment. Turner began the 2025 season on the 60-day injured list with a broken hamate bone.
The Red Sox signed Jorge Juan to a minor league contract and assigned him to Portland. The 26-year-old right-hander spent six seasons in the Athletics organization before joining Atlanta in 2024. With Atlanta's Double-A affiliate in 2024, he had a 5.11 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 28 walks in 37 innings. He has a fastball that hits the high 90s, but it comes with subpar control and command.
Links
Last Thursday, Keith Law of The Athletic posted his updated ranking of the top 50 prospects in baseball. The link, which requires a paid subscription, has some interesting rankings for Red Sox fans. Roman Anthony was the top prospect on the list, but not far behind him was Franklin Arias at number eight. Jhostynxon Garcia also made the list at number 46. Law is bullish on Arias's power potential which contributes to the high ranking.
Luke Scotchie of Boston.com caught up with Jhostynxon Garcia and discussed Garcia's journey from a stressful 2019 signing period to 2025 fan-favorite and Jeopardy! clue.
Where are they now?
- In news that may be relevant to the Red Sox, Dominic Smith opted out of his minor-league deal with the Yankees. The first baseman hit .317/.389/.622 in Triple-A in May.
- Matthew Lugo was pulled in the middle of a Triple-A game with the Angels. Fans thought it may have been disciplinary as a catchable fly ball dropped in front of him the previous inning, but reports are that he will be back up to join the big league club.
Players of the Week for May 26 - June 1
Brooks Brannon, C/DH, Greenville Drive
5 G, 21 AB, 11 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 9 R, 0 SB, 0 BB, 3 K, .524/.524/1.048
Brannon continues to build momentum after an up-and-down start to his career. Injuries limited him in 2023 and 2024, but he was a 2024 Arizona Fall League Fall Star and he has continued that success into 2025. The offensive outburst pushed his line for May up to .325/.349/.550, and the 21-year-old was named the Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Month in April. The defensive accolades may be the most notable, as the ability to stick behind the plate would significantly increase his prospect status. He has plus-plus raw power with some of the best exit velocities in the system. A high strikeout rate has been consistent across his career in the minors, but it dropped from 32.9% in April to 24.1% in May.
David Sandlin, RHP, Portland Sea Dogs
1 G, 1-0, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
It was a complete-game shutout for Sandlin (pictured, left) in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday. In his previous outing, Sandlin came out of the bullpen for the first time in his career, and fans speculated this was the beginning of his transition to the bullpen. Sandlin has some of the best stuff in the system, but the results have not materialized thus far. In his previous seven starts, he had a 5.23 ERA over 31 innings. But between his five shutout innings of relief on May 23 and his shutout on the 29th, his ERA has dropped to 3.77. Portland's season has been heavily affected by weather and postponements, and it looks like his relief appearance was just a one-off on a week when the team had two doubleheaders scheduled.
Photo Credit: Enddy Azocar and David Sandlin by Kelly O'Connor