Alex Cora and Craig Breslow went into a meeting as we are about to tell you the story of the new pitch that Johan Oviedo worked on during this Spring Training. The Boston Red Sox front office is about to set its roster for Opening Day in Cincinnati.
Oviedo is expected to win the final spot in the team’s rotation. He allowed six runs on six hits and two walks in 3.1 innings during his last start of Spring Training.
«The fastball was probably the onbly pitch that wasn’t there the entire game», Oviedo said after his performance on Monday. «Breaking pitchers were feeling pretty good today. I am just trying not to think about it (his rotation spot). Because it’s (something) that I can’t control. I had a really good games at the begining of the spring. This one probably was the tough one. There is not to much things that we can do to prove. It’s up to them.»
The right-hander is expected to start the third game in Cincinnati, right after Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray.
Johan Oviedo has been working on adding a new pitch to his repertoire during this Spring Training. He now has a cutter in his mix, in addition to his slider, fastball, and curveball.
«The cutter and the four seamer seems kinda, like, feels the same right now,» Oviedo said. «We just find a new way to add a new pitch. At the same time we not want to destroy one that is already good.»
Alex Cora said that Andrew Bailey is taking care of that.
«That’s what Spring Training is for: try new things,» he said. «You definetly wanna give, uh, a good impression to your new team. But I feel like I don’t have to prove that. My plan right now it’s to get ready.»
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«It’s just another weapon,» said Johan Oviedo, who mentioned that he started working on this during the spring. «You just try to add another weapon to your pocket, in case you need it. I feel like this is the time for doing it. Today is the best day I had with the cutter so far. But at the same time the fastball wasn’t.»
Foto: @RedSox
