Pedro Martinez Names Red Sox Pitchers He Plans To Work With In Spring Training
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The Boston Red Sox will have no shortage of elite coaching talent this winter.
The pandemic has hindered access to players over the last few years, but Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez appears poised to return to spring training after a brief hiatus as a special instructor, a role he's assumed in the past.
I asked Martinez if there was anyone, in particular, he would like to work with when he gets to spring training.
"No, no one individually but I know that there are some guys that have more needs than others," Martinez said Friday. "Like I know Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Sale and those guys, they have a really good understanding of their bodies and how they go about their business.
"But guys like (Brayan) Bello and the rest of the staff, some of the young guys that we brought up, will probably need a lot of help. I don't know how willing the older pitchers that we have in the rotation are to exchange their knowledge with the young players. But I will be like that link in between the veterans and the young starting pitchers or aspiring starting pitchers to get them close, to get them to understand, to work together to learn from all of us together.
"I'm the old goat. The rest of the guys are established guys that will probably help the young nucleus that we have. And I'm hoping to just be a link between the two sides and hopefully build a structure that they can all learn and feed off each other."
It sounds like Martinez will direct his focus toward Bello, Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski, Connor Seabold and the rest of the young guns competing for roles on the 2023 roster.
The other interesting note from his answer was that he made it seem as though the return of Eovaldi, an impending free agent, sound like a foregone conclusion. It's more than likely wishful thinking as opposed to inside knowledge of any kind, but the three-time Cy Young winner clearly is a fan of Eovaldi coming back next season.
The sixth annual Pedro Martinez Foundation Gala will be held on Nov. 11 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with celebrities such as former Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek and San Diego Padres superstar Juan Soto scheduled to be in attendance. To find out more about the event and/or purchase tickets, click here.
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