Fort Report: Mata injures hamstring; Anthony and Teel make spring debuts

With exhibition games already underway, the SoxProspects.com team is back with the first Fort Report of the spring. Following Monday's walk-off win over the Phillies at JetBlue Park, the Red Sox are 3-1 in Grapefruit League play and 4-1 on the spring overall after defeating Northeastern University last Friday. Because Opening Day is still more than a month away, there are still plenty of important decisions that need to be made in the coming weeks. Having said that, here is a rundown of some key things that have happened since Boston held its first full squad workout eight days ago:

Bryan Mata (pictured, left), who is competing for a spot in the Sox' Opening Day bullpen, has been shut down from throwing due to a right hamstring strain. The right-hander sustained the injury during a fielding drill last week and will be sidelined for the time being, per manager Alex Cora.

Mata, 24, was once heralded as the premier pitching prospect in the organization but has dealt with a plethora of injuries since being added to Boston's 40-man roster in November 2020. The native Venezuelan is now out of minor-league options, meaning he must make the Red Sox' 26-man roster out of spring training or he will otherwise be exposed to waivers. To that end, he is in the same predicament as fellow righty Justin Slaten, who was acquired from the Mets following December's Rule 5 Draft.

Sunday's win over the Twins at JetBlue Park provided Red Sox fans with a potential glimpse of the future, as top prospects Roman Anthony (pictured, bottom right) and Kyle Teel both appeared in a major league spring training game for the first time in their respective careers.

Anthony, Boston's starting center fielder, went 0-for-1 with two walks, a run scored, and a strikeout out of the nine-hole. Teel, meanwhile, replaced starting designated hitter Masataka Yoshida in the bottom of the sixth inning and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Veteran reliever Joely Rodrigue was re-signed to a minor-league contract late last week. The 32-year-old lefty received an invite to major-league camp after posting a 6.55 ERA (4.71 FIP) with 14 strikeouts to six walks in 11 relief appearances (11 innings) for the Red Sox as part of an injury-riddled 2023 campaign.

In addition to Rodriguez, the Sox also have southpaws Jorge Benitez, Cam Booser, Lucas Luetge, and Helcris Olivarez in camp as non-roster invitees. At present, Boston is relatively thin when it comes to left-handed relief options. Brennan Bernardino appears to be a lock to make the team after standing out last season, but the same cannot be said for the likes of Joe Jacques, Chris Murphy, or Brandon Walter.

On the topic of injured relievers, the Red Sox signed three-time All-Star and reigning American League Comeback Player of the Year Liam Hendriks to a two-year, $10 million contract last Tuesday. The deal includes a mutual option for 2026.

Hendriks, who recently turned 35, underwent Tommy John surgery last August and is therefore not a lock to pitch this season. As the right-hander explained to reporters in Fort Myers, however, his goal is to return to a major-league mound around the July 30 trade deadline.

Last Saturday, the Red Sox traded reliever John Schreiber to the Royals for pitching prospect David Sandlin. A former 11th-round draft selection of Kansas City coming out of the University of Oklahoma in 2022, Sandlin debuted at No. 13 in our organizational prospect rankings. You can read the 23-year-old righty's scouting report in its entirety by clicking here.

On episode No. 305 of the SoxProspects Podcast, Ian Cundall and Chris Clegg discuss the acquisition of Sandlin as well as the signings of Hendriks and fellow rehabber Michael Fulmer. They also go through what they believe the top pitching prospects in the system need to do in order to take a step forward in their development. You can listen to the episode in its entirety by clicking here.

Shane Drohan, who the Red Sox lost to the White Sox in December's Rule 5 Draft, underwent nerve-decompression surgery on his left shoulder last Thursday. The 25-year-old southpaw is expected to begin a throwing program after the end of spring training, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

After a whirlwind 2023 that saw him resume his professional baseball career, Noah Song is back with the Red Sox in Fort Myers and is vying for a spot with Double-A Portland or Triple-A Worcester to begin the 2024 season. As he recently explained to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, the 26-year-old Naval Academy product has been working to make up for lost time and development this spring.

In case you missed it, Ian went really in-depth in analyzing how the Red Sox' draft strategy has affected their ability to develop homegrown pitching as of late. It's an insightful read that is well worth your time.

Also, our annual top 60 countdown is ongoing and you can follow along on our X/Twitter feed (@SoxProspects). 

Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the list, with current ranking in parentheses, of the 31 minor-leaguers who have been featured through the first five games of the spring:

Pitchers: Brendan Cellucci, Theo Denlinger, Jordan DiValerio, Zach Fogell, Gabriel Jackson, Nathan Landry, CJ Liu (56), Zach Penrod (39), Cody Scroggins, Dylan Spacke, Nate Tellier, Brian Van Belle, and Ryan Zeferjahn (54),

Position players: Roman Anthony (1), Alex Binelas, Kristian Campbell (47), Allan Castro (15), Juan Chacon, Nick Decker, Max Ferguson, Blaze Jordan (20), Niko Kavadas, Christian Koss, Matthew Lugo (55), Elih Marrero, Tyler McDonough (43), Tyler Miller, Eddinson Paulino (18), Phillip Sikes, Karson Simas, and Kyle Teel (3).