Veteran Yankees scout Matt Hyde followed Rice and Schlittler throughout high school and championed them when they became draft-eligible in college. Rice signed for $125,000 as a 12th-round pick in 2021. Schlittler went in the seventh round a year later out of Northeastern and signed for $205,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt Hyde is why I\u2019m standing here,\u201d Schlittler said the day before he shut down the Red Sox<\/a> in Game 1. \u201cHe believed in me.\u201d<\/p>\n Get 108 Stitches<\/p>\n Receive the Globe’s best reporting and commentary on the Red Sox every weekday.<\/p>\n Ray Fagnant, who scouts New England for the Red Sox, recommended both players, but the team passed.<\/p>\n The Sox had 13 area scouts at the beginning of this season and three people listed as \u201cAcquisition Specialist, amateur scouting.\u201d The Yankees have 21 area scouts and seven other scouts who are crosscheckers. The Dodgers have 19 area scouts and nine crosscheckers.<\/p>\n Dante Ricciardi, a well-respected scout who covered Florida for the Red Sox, left the organization to join the Dodgers last fall.<\/p>\n Schlittler posted a photo of Yankees fans celebrating on his Instagram after dominating the Sox. \u201cI know this city got my back,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Left unsaid: Boston didn\u2019t. He\u2019s not wrong. The Sox selected four pitchers in the 2022 draft<\/a> before Schlittler was picked, and they missed on the one who pitched two miles from Fenway Park. It looks bad now and will look even worse when Schlittler wins the Cy Young Award.<\/p>\n A few other observations on the Red Sox:<\/p>\n \u25aa There is no doubt Major League Baseball and the owners will lock out the players when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. That means all communication between teams and players will cease.<\/p>\n That gives the Sox just under two months to work with Roman Anthony and his agents on a plan to get him fully healthy for 2027. Otherwise, it could be months before they speak again.<\/p>\n Once the lockout starts<\/a>, players will lose access to team facilities and the athletic trainers and therapists who know them best.<\/p>\n Anthony\u2019s health and his frustration with the situation need to be addressed well before the lockout.<\/p>\n \u25aa Adley Rutschman was 1 for 8 with three strikeouts in the two games against the Yankees. When Game 2 ended, Rutschman was one of the few players not in the clubhouse when reporters were allowed in.<\/p>\n He made a brief appearance after midnight, took some clothing from his locker, and disappeared behind the scenes again before anyone could ask for comment.<\/p>\n Rutschman is a three-time All-Star who is under contract through next season. You\u2019d expect a player of his status to show some accountability and leadership in that situation.<\/p>\n Willson Contreras, Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Caleb Durbin, and Wilyer Abreu were among the players who did.<\/p>\n Rutschman posted a .688 OPS in 32 games for the Sox after being acquired for a package that included fellow catcher Carlos Narv\u00e1ez and three well-regarded prospects. He is under contract through next season.<\/p>\n \u25aa Another interesting postgame moment after Game 2 was Garrett Whitlock wondering aloud if the Red Sox would pick up his $8.25 million option for next season.<\/p>\n \u201cI really have no idea what they\u2019re thinking,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess I\u2019ll find out soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitlock had a 1.72 ERA over 54 appearances this season. It would seem like an easy decision to bring him back. Whitlock is the second-longest-tenured player on the roster, behind another righthander, Tanner Houck.<\/p>\n Among the several odd pitching decisions Chad Tracy made<\/a> in the Wild Card Series was bringing Whitlock back for the seventh inning of Game 2 after he faced six hitters in the sixth. The Sox were trailing, 8-2, at the time.<\/p>\n \u25aa Aroldis Chapman entered Game 2 in the eighth inning with the Sox down, 9-2. He struck out Cody Bellinger, Luis Garcia Jr., and Spencer Jones, all swinging. Counting that game, Chapman pitched four times between Sept. 7-30 and wasn\u2019t on the injured list.<\/p>\n Chapman\u2019s 76 career postseason strikeouts are third by a reliever behind Mariano Rivera (110) and Kenley Jansen (94).<\/p>\n His take on the season?<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more offense,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cThis was a good team, but we need to score more runs. Hopefully we make some moves.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman turns 39 in February. He is under contract for $13 million for next season. That could climb from $13.1 million to $14 million depending on how he fares in awards voting.<\/p>\n \u25aa Johnny Pesky will be posthumously inducted into the Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame<\/a> on Oct. 24 in Eastlake, Ohio.<\/p>\n John Paveskovich \u2014 he legally switched to Pesky in 1947 \u2014 was born in 1919 to Croatian immigrants who settled in Oregon. He was part of the Red Sox organization as a player, coach, manager, broadcaster, and special assistant from 1940 until his death in 2012.<\/p>\n The Hall of Fame class also includes former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich.<\/p>\n