Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves is already making headlines at spring training, and it’s not for good reasons.
Aceves had a head-scratching day Sunday, a session that earned him a lecture from new Sox manager John Farrell. According to multiple reports, Aceves had some issues with his live batting practice session. In live BP, pitchers actually pitch to batters, allowing both to simulate game situations. However, Aceves was just lobbing the ball in when facing Jarrod Saltalamacchia on Sunday.
That led Farrell to speak up and say something to Aceves. Shortly after, new pitching coach Juan Nieves made a trip to the mound and had a conversation in Spanish with the enigmatic hurler. After that conversation, Aceves decided to start doing the drill the right way, although he reportedly threw a few more lob balls as well.
After the session, Farrell pulled Aceves aside to discuss the situation.
“He didn’t go through the drill as intended, and we’ve addressed it,” Farrell said, according to The Boston Globe. “His session on the mound didn’t go as intended. He’s healthy, and it’s been addressed.”
Farrell didn’t resolve the exact specifics of the conversation, but he did preach the importance of buying into the team-first attitude the Sox are trying to promote.
“There are 25 individuals on this team, but there are certain things that are going to be accepted, and I think those are normal in any kind of clubhouse, or team setting,” Farrell said, according to ESPN.com. “If someone strays out of that, that’s our job, or my job, to make it clear on what’s expected.”
Aceves is no stranger to conflict with the Red Sox. He butted heads on multiple occasions with Bobby Valentine in the ex-manager’s one-year stint with the club, and the pitcher was suspended last season for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
