BOSTON — Yandy Diaz thought he had reason to be angry.
Rays’ third baseman had seen Nick Pivetta, the Red Sox starter, give him a peek after the second of his two doubles and “thought he might be in a bit of a slump.” So when a pitch came up in Diaz’s third at bat and he heard Pivetta say some bad words, he was ready for action.
Diaz yelled something back and took a few steps toward the hill. Several players on both sides came out of the dugouts, but nothing else came of it. Pivetta gestured and told Diaz that he was actually yelling at himself.
“I thought it was against me at first, but when I turned around and asked him what he said, he said it wasn’t against me,” Diaz said through team interpreter Manny Navarro. “But I was already a little heated, so it escalated a little bit.”
A similar incident happened during Pivetta’s final start in Toronto and resulted in both benches being empty. Asked about Tuesday’s incident, Pivetta said: “It’s not worth commenting, to be honest.”
Added infielder from Pirates
The Rays added another infielder on Tuesday, claiming that Yu Chang had been given waivers by the Pirates.
Chang, 26, is a righthanded batter who plays first, second and third base and was previously with Cleveland. He’s out of options, so he has to join the Major League team, probably on Friday in Cincinnati.
The Rays will then have to make room on their active roster, with the potential – barring injury or any other move – that one of their young infielders, such as Vidal Brujan, would be eliminated.
“Good defender, can play anywhere in the infield,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “He has a lot of at bats in the Major League between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.”
Over parts of four seasons in the majors, Chang, a native of Taiwan, has a career average of .204 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI’s in 149 games. In 89 games last year with Cleveland, he hit .228 with nine homeruns and 39 RBIs.
To make way on the 40-man roster, the Rays shifted Brandon Lowe to the 60-day injured list. That delays his potential return from a low-back release to July 15, though he probably wouldn’t be ready sooner anyway.
Back in the Bullpen, Part 2
Lefty Brooks Raley was also delighted to be rejoining the team after missing the four-day series in Toronto due to not being vaccinated. “A little time off, some time with the family and then happy to be back,” he said. As for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, what cost him about $93,000 in wages for the four days missed? “I still think it’s a personal decision that every player has to make,” he said. “As long as that’s a choice we’re entitled to, that’s the option I’ve gone for over the past year.”
Miscellaneous
Josh Fleming, who worked more than five innings on Monday, was given the option to move to Triple-A to make way for Jeffrey Springs to get off the family’s emergency medical list, but he will remain with the team on the taxi crew. … The Sox bring up top pitching prospect Brayan Bello and his 98 mph fastball, starting Wednesday. … … First baseman Ji-Man Choi, somewhat surprisingly, didn’t start against righthanded Pivetta; Cash said it was just a day off. … Cash said there is no update yet on Luis Patino, whose latest rehab start was cut short due to a blister on the right middle finger.
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