With the non-waiver trade deadline arriving a week from Tuesday, the Red Sox have sent their people to all corners of the Major League Baseball globe.
For instance, Dave Dombrowski's special assistant/right-hand man Frank Wren could be found in Minnesota checking out the Twins and Royals this weekend checking out possible relief help. His boss didn't have to go as far.
Dombrowski was one of those in attendance watching Mike Fiers shut down the Red Sox en route to a 5-0 Tigers win over Boston in Detroit. As auditions go, it was a pretty good one. (For a complete recap of the Red Sox' loss, click here.)
During the game, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted out that the Red Sox (and others) were "evaluating" Fiers, a starting pitcher who went for the championship ride in Houston with Alex Cora a season ago.
Fiers is on a one-year, $6 million deal, although he has one more season of arbitration eligibility. The 33-year-old has bounced back from a terrible year with the Astros to become the Tigers go-to guy, totaling a 3.49 ERA in 19 starts.
This time around the righty starter offered an excellent example of what he could do for a contender, not allowing a run over 6 1/3 innings, continuing to get key strikeouts with sneaky, 90 mph fastballs. (All six of his punchouts came on the pitch.)
"Fastball up, spin down," Cora told reporters regarding Fiers. "He comes from a pitching staff that, that's what they teach over there. Honestly, I saw him last year. For everything we talk about, the big boys, whatever, there was a point in time there where he was the most valued pitcher. For a month and a half he carried that pitching staff. They were a little banged up and he came in and did a good job. That's what he does. He has enough up in the zone and he can expand. Today he had that breaking ball, threw it for strikes and we were not disciplined enough early in the game. We were chasing pitches up. He did an outstanding job."
Fiers wouldn't seem a priority for the Red Sox, especially considering what they got from their own guy Saturday night. While the physical condition of Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright, along with the uncertainty of Drew Pomeranz, should lead Dombrowski to dip his toes in the starting pitching market, he does have Brian Johnson.
The lefty once again balanced off his 88 mph fastball with a biting curveball, which he threw just 10 fewer times than the heater (35-25). As a starter, Johnson carries a 2.22 ERA, having held the Tigers to two unearned runs over five innings, striking out five and not walking a batter.
"Yeah BJ can pitch," Cora told reporters. "He does a good job with what he has, going up in the zone throwing the breaking ball, expanding down and in against righties. It might be a comfortable at-bat but it's actually not. What you see is not what you get as far as up in the zone. You set your sights up and that pitch is higher than what you think it is, just like Mike (Fiers). We're very happy the way he's throwing the ball. We're comfortable with him and we'll keep rolling with him."
The Red Sox defense failed them Saturday, with Rafael Devers making another error (his 20th) at a most inopportune time. The third baseman's poor throw on the slow-footed Victor Martinez's two-out grounder paved the way for Detroit's only two runs against Johnson.
The Sox did, however, get another sparkling defensive play from Mookie Betts.
Hitting the ball in Mookie's direction? Not advised. pic.twitter.com/zEKgeRMkPn
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) July 21, 2018
