Two Under-The-Radar Red Sox Pitchers Catch Alex Cora’s Eye At Spring Training

The Boston Red Sox have over 20 non-roster invitees at spring training and a host of other young players trying to carve out a role on the big league team.

It’s an extremely important time for them to make an impression any way they can on the Red Sox brass.

So have any of them caught the eye of Red Sox manager Alex Cora during the early stages of spring training? Pitchers Jorge Benitez and Justin Slaten are two that have stood out so far to Cora.

“Benitez, the lefty, he’s got good (expletive),” Cora told reporters, per team-provided video.

Cora said Benitez has been on the Red Sox’s radar well before this offseason when they signed the 24-year-old to a minor league contract in late November.

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Benitez has no experience pitching in the major leagues, getting as high as Double-A in Seattle’s farm system last season. Benitez showed promise at that level by posting a 2.14 ERA and striking out 74 batters in 59 innings. He also held opponents to a .190 batting average.

“This is a guy that’s been on our radar for a while,” Cora said. “He’s been really good with Seattle. He was out there in the Rule 5 two years ago and nobody picked him up. But if you look at the numbers that matter, he was dominant and last year he did a good job.”

Cora already said Slaten is “opening eyes” down in Fort Myers so it’s not a surprise the skipper mentioned the 26-year-old again.

The Red Sox acquired the 6-foot-4, 222-pound right-handed reliever this offseason in a trade with the New York Mets, who beat Boston to the punch of taking him from the Texas Rangers in the Rule 5 draft.

Slaten, who the Rangers selected No. 86 overall in 2019, will have to remain on the Red Sox’s active roster this season due to Rule 5 draft rules. After struggles early in his career, Slaten turned in a strong 2023 season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. He posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.073 WHIP in 59 2/3 innings while striking out a whopping 13 batters per nine innings.

The swing-and-miss potential of Slaten is a massive asset along with a mid-90s fastball, which is something Cora believes the Red Sox bullpen needs since he said it had “no velo” last year.

“Velocity, movement,” Cora said of what has jumped out about Slaten. “Obviously we’ve got to make sure he throws that over the heart of the plate. But so far, so good. Big boy with good stuff. I think if you look around, we’re a little bit bigger in that department this year. A lot of big bodies, a lot of big dudes with nasty stuff. So, we’ve just got to make sure we throw that nasty stuff over the heart of the plate and take our chances.”