Some New York Yankees fans may be annoyed with Brian Cashman for starting the team with 5-7, but one cash-saving trade he made in the off-season looks good so far.
The 35-year-old Adam Ottavino – who traded Cashman to the Boston Red Sox on January 25, along with right-hand minor Frank German, in exchange for a player to be named later or in cash – has struggled this season.
Early in the season, Ottavino had a chance to be the team’s closest, but Matt Barnes – who has not allowed in seven innings this season and is 1-0 with two saves – has actually taken the job since joining the team returns he contracted the coronavirus at the end of March.
Nevertheless, Boston hopes Ottavino can still be a major relief, but the early results are worrying.
Ottavino, whose Yankees tenure ended on a sour note, allowed all four earned runs and seven hits in 3² / ₃ overs. In five appearances, Ottavino (1-1, 9.82 ERA) allowed runs in three of those outings, and he walked five and hit three.
The Red Sox’s impressive nine-game winning streak was halted in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins, and Ottavino was the culprit and suffered the loss.
He entered the match in the ninth and immediately handed over a single to Luis Arraez and hit Jorge Polanco to take the lead before handing over the match winner to Max Kepler.
Ottavino – who signed a $ 27 million three-year deal with the Yankees in 2019 – had a good first year as a late runner-up for the Bombers, finishing 6-5 with a 1.90 ERA. But he struggled in September of that season and was terrible against the Astros in the ALCS.
The 2020 season was a nightmare for the right-handers, finishing in 24 games with an ERA of 5.89 – though much of it was due to one terrible outing against the Blue Jays in Buffalo.