Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and Christian Vazquez all shined at points this spring, but they’re now headed back to the minors for some additional development.
De La Rosa and Webster — who were acquired from the Dodgers during last August’s megadeal — have been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, while Vazquez has been optioned to Double-A Portland.
De La Rosa turned heads early on this spring, before eventually struggling in his last two outings. The 24-year-old showed off his electric stuff, which drew the attention of Pedro Martinez and others, and it looks as though he will soon find himself in the majors, even if he needs a bit more seasoning down on the farm to begin the year.
Webster is in a similar situation, although he might be a bit further along than De La Rosa. Webster consistently displayed a fastball in the high 90s, and his command was much better than most anticipated. The 23-year-old righty struck out 14 hitters and walked just one in 11 innings.
Vazquez, meanwhile, brought a whole new element to Boston’s catching situation. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Lavarnway and David Ross might be the three known horses in the backstop race, but Vazquez emerged as an intriguing prospect because of his dynamic arm behind the dish. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Vazquez carve out a productive big league career because of the cannon he possesses. The 22-year-old’s offfense is still a work in progress, though, hence the decision to send him to Portland.
All in all, it was a solid camp for these three guys. You can bet that manager John Farrell and the rest of the team’s coaching staff took notice.
With the moves, the Red Sox now have 48 players in big league camp. That includes 34 players from the 40-man roster, one on 60-day disabled list and 13 non-roster invitees.
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