Oh man, the 2020 season. There were a shocking number of players who played for the Red Sox in the 2020 season, particularly since it was just a 60 game season. Some key pitchers were unable to contribute due to injuries or other health issues. Boston had to try to patch together a pitching staff, which proved difficult. The Red Sox finished in last place, with a record of 24-36. Among the players who DID appear on a cardboard were such short-term guys like Yairo Munoz, Jonathan Lucroy, Zack Godley, Josh Osich and Austin Brice.
DYLAN COVEY
Covey spent three seasons with the White Sox as a starting pitcher before 2020. He had a rather atrocious record of 6-29 with an unsightly 6.54 ERA in 63 games (45 games started). In 250.1 innings pitched, he struck out 173 and walked 114. Covey was originally drafted by the Athletics, but was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft in 2016. After the 2019 season, Covey was non-tendered and the Rays picked him up, but he never pitched for them. The Red Sox acquired him in July, ahead of the season. Covey pitched in eight games with the Red Sox, all in relief. He finished two games and threw 14 innings. He did not have a record and he struck out eleven batters while walking just two. Unfortunately, he also gave up eleven earned runs and had a 7.07 ERA. He has not pitched since, but apparently recently signed a contract with the Dodgers in hopes of resurrecting his career.
DEIVY GRULLON
Grullon was a fairly highly-regarded Phillies prospect before Boston acquired him in 2020. In 2019, he hit .283/.354/.496 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs in Triple-A. He was not very good defensively though, which made him somewhat expendable. He did see his first Major League action in 2019, but played in just four games, getting one hit in nine at-bats. Grullon was selected off of waivers by the Red Sox from Philadelphia in September. He played in just one game with the Red Sox, getting four plate appearances. He walked and singled, driving in a run. His line was .333/.500/.333. To date, that is the last time he has appeared in the Majors. He has jumped from organization to organization since, shuffling between the Reds, Rays, Mets and White Sox. He spent the 2022 season in the Red Sox organization, hitting .250 in 20 games. He is still just 26, so he could make it back some day. Grullon does have minor league cards in the Red Sox organization.
MATT HALL
There were raves about Hall's stuff after he was acquired by the Red Sox. It was thought that he was a good, low-risk acquisition. Unfortunately, things did not work out well. Hall was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 draft by the Tigers. Boston acquired him in a trade for minor league catcher Jhon Nunez. Hall struck out 106 batters in just 86.2 innings in the minors in 2019 and struck out 27 in 23.1 innings for the Tigers. Hall ended up pitching in just four games with the Red Sox in 2020, starting one game as an opener. He threw 8.2 innings, striking out nine, but walking ten. He had a record of 0-3 and a deplorable 18.69 ERA. He stayed in the Red Sox organization and had a 7.36 ERA in 28 games in the minors for Boston in 2021. He was released late in the season. Hall pitched in the Giants system in 2022. He has not appeared in the Majors since 2020. He does have cards with the Red Sox minor league organization in 2021.
MIKE KICKHAM
Kickham appeared in six games with the Red Sox in his first Major League appearances since 2014. He was originally drafted by the Giants in 2010 and moved fairly quickly through their minor league system, making his Major League debut with 12 games in 2013. He had a 10.16 ERA and a record of 0-3. The next season, he appeared in just two games, with a 22.50 ERA. He then began an odyssey that took him through the minor league systems of the Cubs, Mariners, Rangers, back to the Giants and then to the Marlins, before winding up with the Red Sox in 2020. Kickham appeared in six games with the Red Sox, starting two and closing two. He pitched 14 innings, striking out 17, while walking five. But he gave up 12 earned runs and had an ERA of 7.71. He was granted free agency and signed with the Dodgers in 2021. He appeared in just one game with the Dodgers in 2021 and has not pitched since.
ROBINSON LEYER
Originally an undrafted international free agent, Leyer spent several seasons in the White Sox organization with middling results. He then moved to the Reds and Mariners system before the Red Sox acquired him in June of 2019. He was primarily a reliever by this point in his career. Leyer made his Major League debut with the Red Sox in 2020, pitching in six games. He started one game as an opener. Leyer pitched in just 4.2 innings, striking out nine, but walking eight and giving up eleven earned runs. He had an ERA of 21.21 and a record of 0-0. He moved on to the Twins organization in 2021, but has not pitched since then. Leyer has just a handful of cards issued and no Major League cards. He has none with the Red Sox organization.
CHRIS MAZZA
Well, this is a first. Not only does Mazza not have any Boston Red Sox cards (or any Major League cards for that matter), but I cannot even find a scan of any of the three minor league cards he does have. Mazza was drafted in the 27th round by the Twins in 2011. After a few years in the Twins organization, he was released and caught on with the Marlins organization. He then went to the Mariners and was picked up by the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft in 2018. He spent the 2019 season with the Mets, pitching in nine games with a 5.51 ERA. The Red Sox picked him up off of waivers from the Mets in December and he spent most of the 2020 season in the Red Sox rotation. Mazza pitched in nine games, making six starts and pitching 30 innings. He struck out 29 batters while walking 15 and giving up 16 earned runs. He had a record of 1-2 with a 4.80 ERA. He was impressive enough to be traded to the Rays after the season in a deal with prospects Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard. Mazza appeared in 16 games with the Rays over the next two seasons.
CESAR PUELLO
Outfielder Puello was once a highly-regarded prospect in the Mets organization. He spent the first several years of his career in the Mets system before starting a long journey that took him through the Yankees, Rangers, Angels, Rays, Diamondbacks, Giants and Marlins systems before joining the Red Sox in 2020. He appeared in the Majors with the Angels, Rays and Marlins. 2019 was his first extended look in the Majors as he appeared in 12 games with the Angels and 32 with the Marlins, hitting .248/.356/.384 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Puello appeared in five games with the Red Sox, hitting .375/.500/.375 in eleven plate appearances. Puello had two assists and two double plays in the outfield. During the 2021 season, he returned to the Mets, but did not play in 2022.
RON ROENICKE
After Red Sox manager Alex Cora was suspended for the entire 2020 season due to his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal in 2017, bench coach Roenicke was tabbed to manage the Red Sox. Roenicke had been the Brewers manager from 2011 to 2015, leading the team to a first-place finish in 2011, winning the division series against the Diamondbacks, but being eliminated by the Cardinals in the NLCS. He was unable to replicate that success though. Roenicke had an eight-year career in the Majors with the Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, Giants, Phillies and Reds. He hit .238/.353/.338 with 17 home runs and 113 RBIs. His best season was 1986 with the Phillies when he hit .247/.381/.356 with five home runs and 42 RBIs while playing left and center field. Roenicke was relieved of his managerial duties when Alex Cora returned from his suspension in 2021.
JEFFREY SPRINGS
The southpaw Springs was originally drafted in the 30th round by the Rangers in 2015. Despite this, he moved quickly through the minors and made his Major League debut in 2018, appearing in 18 games. He had a 3.38 ERA in 32 innings pitched. He had a 6.40 ERA in 2019 in 32.1 innings pitched. The Rangers traded Springs to the Red Sox in January of 2020 for former top prospect Sam Travis. Springs pitched in 18 games with the Red Sox in 2020, finishing eight. He had a record of 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. He notched 28 strikeouts against just seven walks though, numbers that were intriguing enough that the Rays wanted him included in the deal with Chris Mazza for Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard. Since then, Springs has blossomed into an impressive pitcher. He had a 3.43 ERA as a reliever in 2021, striking out 63 in 44.2 innings. In 2022, he had a record of 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA, striking out 144 and walking 31 in 135.1 innings pitched. He looks to be an important member of the Rays rotation moving forward.
ROBERT STOCK
Originally drafted as a catcher by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2009 draft, Stock eventually transitioned to the mound. Stock moved around quite a bit before making his Major League debut with the Padres in 2018. He spent time in the organizations of the Astros, Pirates, Reds and Phillies as well. Stock had a successful 2018 season with the Padres, appearing in 32 games and pitching to a 2.50 ERA in 39.2 innings. He was not as successful in 2019 though and found his way to Boston just before the 2020 season. Stock pitched in ten games with the Red Sox, all in relief and finishing four games. He pitched 13.1 innings with a 4.73 ERA and a record of 0-1. He struck out 14 and walked ten. Since then, he appeared in a couple games with the Cubs and Mets and recently signed a minor league deal with the Brewers.
DOMINGO TAPIA
Tapia was signed by the Mets as an international free agent and spent several seasons in their organization, looking like a future reliever. After the 2016 season, he signed on with the Reds for a couple seasons. Boston signed him as a minor league free agent prior to 2019 and he spent the entire season in the minors, pitching to a 5.18 ERA in 66 innings over 44 games. He struck out 52 and walked 32 while saving two games. Tapia made his Major League debut in 2020 with Boston, pitching 4.1 innings over five games. He struck out four and walked two and had an ERA of 2.08. Impressive enough numbers that the Mariners claimed him on waivers after the season. He pitched in two games with the Mariners in 2021 before being sold to the Royals. In Kansas City, he pitched in 32 games with a 2.84 ERA and a 4-1 record. He struck out 25 and walked 14 in 31.2 innings. He pitched in eleven games with the A's in 2022, but had an ERA of 8.47. He signed a deal with the Padres for 2023. Tapia has minor league cards with the Red Sox organization from 2019.
ANDREW TRIGGS
Yet another pitcher with a long journey that led him to Boston in 2020, Triggs was originally drafted by the Royals in 2012. He then hopped to the Orioles and then the Athletics before making his Major League debut in 2016. Triggs spent the next three seasons in Oakland trying to break through as a starting pitcher. In 50 games (29 starts), he had a record of 9-8 with a 4.53 ERA in 163 innings pitched, striking out 148 and walking 50. Triggs started the 2020 season with the Giants, but pitched in just one game, giving up three earned runs in just one-third of an inning. The Giants waived him and the Red Sox brought him in. Triggs pitched in four games with the Red Sox, making two starts and pitching eight innings. He struck out seven and walked three in eight innings and had a 4.50 ERA and a record of 0-1. Triggs has not appeared in the Majors since.
PHILLIPS VALDEZ
Dominican-born right-hander Valdez was one of Boston's best rookies in 2020. Originally signed to a deal with the Indians, Valdez also pitched in the Nationals system before making his Major League debut with the Rangers in 2019. He appeared in eleven games that year with a 3.94 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 16 innings, parlaying that performance into a minor league deal with the Red Sox in 2020. Valdez appeared in 24 games with the Red Sox, pitching 30.1 innings and had a 1-1 record and a 3.26 ERA. All of his games were in relief, and he finished five games. Valdez struck out 30 and walked 16. He continued to pitch for the Red Sox in 2021 and 2022 and will be showcased again in those posts later.
There are a LOT of pitchers in this post. The only position players were Deivy Grullon and Cesar Puello, and neither of them played in more than a few games. In fact, that is mostly true of the pitchers too. Phillips Valdez easily appeared in the most games, with Jeffrey Springs a distant second. Springs has been able to have the best Major League career, by quite a large margin. If I had to pick just one of these players to appear on a card though, it would have to be Valdez. He was easily the most impressive of the players. In fact, he was good enough that I kept expecting him to appear in either Topps Total or Heritage the next year. He never did though. And thus, he will be another multi-year player in these posts.
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