Under-The-Radar Red Sox Pitcher ‘Opening Eyes’ Early At Spring Training

Justin Slaten is already impressing in spring training for the Red Sox.Could he be Boston’s next Rule 5 Draft success story?”Slide, the stuff was really good today. He threw cutters and breaking balls and fastballs. It was fun to watch,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Thursday in Fort Myers after Slaten took live batting practice at JetBlue Park. “He was someone who opened eyes immediately. If we can take advantage of the things in this area, great things will happen.”The Red Sox acquired Slate in a trade with the Mets that offseason after New York took him from the Texas Rangers in the Rule 5 draft. The 26-year-old posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.073 WHIP in 40 appearances (59 2/3 innings) between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock last season. He struck out 13 batters in nine innings, showing skill against missing bats.Obviously, it is difficult to predict how he will fare at the major league level, where he must remain on the Red Sox’s 26-man active roster for the entire season or be offered back to his original club (per the Rule 5 draft). He never gave up on The Show, and the 2019 third-round pick struggled at times before his departure in 2023.Red Sox baseball manager Craig Breslow, however, was optimistic after adding Slaten in the trade that sent minor league lefty Ryan Ammons to the Mets and cash The righty has a real chance to be part of Boston’s bullpen, as Garrett Whitlock did after the Red Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft before the 2021 season.”It was kind of a data match, raw pitch characteristics, performance, research group , all of it.” , Breslow told reporters in December about the Slaten acquisition. “With this developing sales infrastructure, we got more prospects and once all the groups are lined up, the decision is quite simple. He’s a guy with huge hits, profiles like the back of a pencil, so we’re really excited to get him here and see what he can do.Of course, it’s often difficult to list Rule 5 picks for an entire season. And that could be especially true for the Red Sox, who also have to figure out what to do with right-hander Bryan Mata, a touted power hitter who has battled injuries in recent years and is now out of league opportunities.“You know the challenges. I think the roster has flexibility to make moves, but at the end of the day, if you have good stuff and you hit, you obviously have a chance, Cora said of both Slaten and Mata on Thursday. break down Boston’s Opening Day roster. “That’s a decision we have to make at the end of (spring training), but they’re very talented.””So, I think the next five, six weeks will determine what we do, but I think the only challenge is the flexibility of the roster,” added the captain. “If we have to carry two, we carry (and) because they earned it; not because we gave it to them.”All of this means that Slate, like Mata, is an interesting arm to watch as the Red Sox round out their 2024 bullpen. It may be unfair to expect Whitlock-like success, but Breslow’s n-law would certainly have a feather in it if Slaten had a strong spring and breaks camp with Boston at the end of March..