Red Sox Hurler Proving Haters Right, Potentially Pushing Himself Off Roster

It might be time to demote this right-hander

Scott Neville | Mar 18, 2023

Red Sox Hurler Proving Haters Right, Potentially Pushing Himself Off Roster /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox placed a concerning amount of confidence in a pair of underperforming right-handed relievers this offseason, spearheaded by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

Those two hurlers were Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort. All offseason, surprise cuts occurred while these two stayed on the 40-man roster. Players such as Matt Barnes, Eric Hosmer, Darwinson Hernandez and Connor Seabold were released over the likes of Brasier and Ort.

While Brasier has looked okay so far -- nothing special but nothing alarming -- Ort has looked as bad as his biggest haters projected this spring training.

The 31-year-old has posted an 11.81 ERA with four strikeouts, four walks and a .393 batting average against in 5 1/3 innings pitched this spring.

Ort already has allowed four home runs in five games. He's also allowed 16 of 32 batters faced to reach base.

Now, Grapefruit League performances are far from indicative of regular season play but Ort has no pedigree to stand on.

Last season, Ort posted a 6.35 ERA with a 27-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .302 batting average against in 28 1/3 innings during his rookie campaign.

The right-hander touched 100 mph once last season and sits in the upper 90s with his fastball. Outside of that, nobody can seem to figure out what the Red Sox see in him. That ability alone would hold more value if he was 21 years old not 31. It's a little late for him to harness his fireball to become a high-leverage option -- or even a serviceable major-league player.

The Red Sox have some intriguing young options to fill out the back of the bullpen, such as right-handers Zack Kelly and Wyatt Mills. For Boston's sake, it would make sense to give either of these two the Opening Day nod over Ort.

Bloom to his credit, did completely revamp the bullpen for the better. However, his attachment to Ort and Brasier has created a disconnect between the front office and the fans. For once, I think the fans actually have the better argument versus the people who make baseball rosters for a living.

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Published Mar 18, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu