Some startling news today. Jason Wood, the president of baseball for the agency CSE, was fired for allegedly filming ballplayers in the shower at his home in St. Louis. Multiple players, including Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, have stayed with Wood during the off-season. Other players associated with Wood include Jake Odorizzi, Riley Pint, David Phelps, Joey Wentz, and Matt Reynolds.
Wood has specialized in aggressively signing amateur players across the Midwest, according to Yahoo Sports.
CSE acquired Wood’s original firm, Arland Sports, last April after which Wood became head of its baseball division. The Major League Baseball Players Association confirmed an investigation is underway according to FanRag Sports.
Now some other news and notes for Red Sox fans:
- Red Sox baseball president Dave Dombrowski has been called “Dealer Dave” for his many high-profile signings over the years. When it comes to getting the Sox a deal for slugger J.D. Martinez, however, some are wondering why Dombrowski appears gun shy. Over at WEEI.com, Rob Bradford makes the case for going beyond the five year commitment that the Sox have reportedly already offered.
- Michael Chavis, the Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player the Year for 2017, hopes this will be the year he makes it to the big leagues. Chavis, 22, slashed .282/.347/.563 with 31 home runs and 94 RBIs last season in 126 games at High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. He says he’s received a good sign from the heavens that he may have a spot on the field at Fenway in 2018.
- Jason Groome tops the new Red Sox prospects list at Baseball Prospectus. Chavis was second followed by Bryan Mata. Groome and Chavis also held the top two spots on a similar recent list from Baseball America, though they went with Tanner Houck for third place, then Mata in the four-spot.
- This Tuesday marked the 65th anniversary of Ted Williams‘ call to active duty by the US Marines. Williams had already played four seasons with the Sox (1939-42) before missing the next three for service to his country. In Korea, the future Hall of Famer flew 39 missions and even survived a crash-landing after taking on enemy fire. Williams returned to baseball in 1946 and picked up where he left off with six straight All-Star seasons, continuing his streak of three consecutive All-Star selections before the war. In all, the Splendid Splinter would be recognized at the Mid-Summer Classic in 17 of his 19 MLB seasons.
- Tuesday also marked a somber anniversary in the life of Red Sox Hall of Famer Tony Canigliaro. It was on that day in 1982 that Conigliaro suffered a massive heart attack in Boston while returning from an interview for a broadcasting job. A subsequent stroke left Tony C in a vegetative state for eight years before he succumbed in 1990 at age 45.
- The Sox have avoided arbitration with pitchers Steven Wright and Carson Smith. It’s been reported they will earn $1.1 million and $850,000 next season, respectively.