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FORT MYERS, FLA. – In two spring trainings with the Twins, Marwin Gonzalez hit one home run at Hammond Stadium. He found that missing power stroke, from both sides of the plate, on Thursday.
Gonzalez, who signed with the Red Sox as a free agent last month, gave the Red Sox an early lead with a first-inning home run, then slugged a long three-run home run off former teammate Devin Smeltzer in the fifth inning, leading Boston to a 5-4, eight-inning victory over the Twins.
Rookie Alex Kirilloff provided Minnesota s only run until the final inning, crushing a 410-foot home run over the center field fence, his first of the spring, off starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the second inning.
Yankees’ Cole and his dad looking forward to return of fans
Spring Training roundup: Gerrit Cole pitched well for the Yankees on Thursday, and the Red Sox edged the Twins in Fort Meyers.
By The Associated Press
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Gerrit Cole is looking forward to having his father at Yankee Stadium on opening day to watch him pitch in person in pinstripes for the first time.
Mark Cole grew up a Yankees fan in Syracuse, New York, but his son’s first season after signing a $324 million, nine-year contract was played in empty ballparks because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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There’s nothing better than a tight division race, and if there’s one area in which the majority of the American League Central clubs are most similar, it s their bullpens.
In 2020, Cleveland (fifth), Minnesota (sixth), Chicago (seventh) and Kansas City (eighth) all finished in the top two-thirds in the AL in bullpen ERA. The White Sox made a big splash over the offseason to improve their relief corps, adding right-hander Liam Hendriks. Meanwhile, Alex Colomé went from the White Sox to the Twins, and the Indians are hoping that James Karinchak will be ready to take over for former closer Brad Hand.
MLB Trade Rumors
Jake Odorizzi is the clear top free agent left on the board. Oftentimes, when a player’s market drags to this extent, there’s continued speculation about a return to his prior team. There’s been some of that with regard to Odorizzi and the Twins, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey all but ruled out the possibility in an appearance on MLB Now with Brian Kenney yesterday (video link).
“We look at our team as primarily put together here,” Falvey candidly replied when asked about a reunion with Odorizzi. “We know Jake contributed exceptionally well for us over the last few seasons, and certainly we wish him well. For us, our focus is on the players who are internally in camp at this point. We feel really good about the pitching we have already.”