Things are happening, guys! Things! Are! Happening!
Count me among those who came into yesterday afternoon thinking that while taking a buy-low flier on Luis Castillo would be fun, the odds of the team taking on the remainder of his contract—$24 million next season, plus the possibility of a $25 million option vesting for 2028—were close to nil. Thanks to whatever magic beans Chris Getz sent to Jerry Dipoto to coerce him into taking back Seranthony Domínguez and his contract, though, it’s a brave
new world, one in which the Sox at least have enough upside in their rotation to dream on, whether it may be actualized or not.
According to James Fegan, Castillo will be making his Sox debut sometime in Boston this week, with Erick Fedde officially moving to the bullpen to make room for him in the rotation. Meanwhile, Duncan Davitt is up in the show to take Domínguez’s place in the pen for at least a day or two, until Castillo can get in uniform.
Davitt has one appearance in The Show under his belt, a single inning against Kansas City back on April 10. He’s got an ugly 6.22 ERA over 59 ⅓ innings in Charlotte, albeit one flanked by a much more palatable 64/25 K/BB ratio.
Castillo is on the other side of his prime and having a down season, but it’s nonetheless not an exaggeration to say that this might be the biggest deadline buy for the Sox in nearly 20 years. Since the deal that sent Jake Peavy to the South Side in 2009, the team’s most significant in-season acquisition is … accidentally taking on Alex Rios’ underwater contract? Pre-retirement Kevin Youkilis? Twelve starts of Francisco Liriano? The time they traded a likely Hall of Fame candidate for James Shields? The time they traded for the best reliever on the market so Tony La Russa could use him in the eighth inning and eighth inning only?
Yeah, we’re treading some new ground here. One person who’s not treading new ground, however, is Sox starter Anthony Kay, whose meager 21 career innings against the Tampa Bay Rays are still the most he’s got against any single franchise. Today is his second appearance of the year against the Rays, though it’s his first start, as he lasted just 2 ⅔ innings on April 16 after working behind Jordan Leasure as an opener.
That game, you might have tried to forget, ended with Domínguez and Lucas Sims blowing the game in spectacular fashion, dropping the Sox to 6-13 on the season. Fortunately, Kay has demonstrated a bit more mettle as of late, running a solid 3.80 ERA in July in a hair less than five innings per appearance.
Anyway, since that blown save in April, the two best teams in the American League by record? They’re going to toe-to-toe at Tropicana Field again today, and this is the lineup that one of them is sending out there in the rubber match:
That lineup has since been adjusted to reflect Braden Montgomery’s late removal from the lineup, not for a trade, but for what Fegan called a “superficial skin infection.” Everson Pereira is now starting in right field for the Pale Hose as he works his way back into post-IL game shape.
Here’s what Kevin Cash is sending out there to try to fend off the Yankees in the AL East:
The Sox ought to be fairly familiar with Griffin Jax, who made more than 250 relief appearances for the Twins between 2022-25 before making a moderately successful return to the rotation with Tampa Bay this season. Andrew Benintendi in particular has seen some positive results, with a .971 OPS in 14 career trips to the plate against the righthander.
First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. CT from our intrepid EIC’s backyard on the Florida gulf coast, with standard broadcasts on CHSN (TV) and ESPN 1000 AM (radio). We’ll see you there!
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