The search for the next Boston Red Sox manager has been quiet until now.
The team’s new chief baseball officer, Chaim Bloom, has tried to keep the process under wraps, but ESPN Deportes reported Friday that Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta will be interviewed for the position.
It is unclear if Urueta is the first external candidate to interview, but he is the first whose name has leaked publicly.
An industry source confirmed to the Boston Herald that Urueta is a “definite manager candidate” and expects to be a solid option for the Red Sox in their search to replace Alex Cora.
Like Cora, Urueta speaks Spanish and English. And like Cora, he has the potential to be a groundbreaking hire given there’s never before been a Colombian-born manager in Major League Baseball.
An industry source called the 39-year-old Urueta a “great guy” who is “very bright,” having made his way through the coaching ranks in fairly quick order.
He signed as a player in 1998 and lasted four seasons in the Diamondbacks organization, then played another minor league season with the Cardinals before playing professionally in Italy for four years.
He was a minor league instructor, coach and manager with the Diamondbacks until 2017, when Arizona Manager Torey Lovullo added Urueta to his coaching staff.
After the 2019 season, Lovullo announced at his end-of-year press conference that Urueta would become the bench coach in 2020.
“I feel like it’s my responsibility to bring along staff members and teach them, tutor them, mentor them, and allow them to grow,” Lovullo told reporters at the time. “And I just felt like the growth aspect for (Urueta) was really enticing for me. And I think he’s loaded with potential. And I didn’t want to keep him in the position that he was in without allowing him to reach his full potential.”
Lovullo also said Urueta has a “tremendous personality” and “deals with people very well.”
Also similar to Cora, Urueta has some manager and general manager experience in the winter leagues.
RAFAEL DEVERS became the latest member of the Red Sox to proclaim the organization’s innocence in regards to illegal sign stealing, telling Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe that the league’s investigation will turn up nothing.
“We didn’t cheat,” Devers told Grossfeld. “We have a lot of talent. We don’t need to cheat, and we became champs without cheating.
“They can continue investigating, but that’s why they haven’t found anything, because we didn’t cheat,” he added.
Major League Baseball is investigating the Red Sox after a report from The Athletic cited multiple sources who claimed Boston improperly used a video replay room to steal opponents’ signs during the 2018 season. The inquiry came on the heels of the league’s lengthy investigation into similar practices by the Astros in 2017, which resulted in three managers – Boston’s Alex Cora, Houston’s A.J. Hinch and the Mets’ Carlos Beltran – losing their jobs.
Members of the Red Sox organization have publicly claimed the league’s investigation won’t find illegal activity, with owners John Henry and Tom Werner asking fans to “reserve judgment” before a ruling is reached and designated hitter J.D. Martinez adamantly denying any wrongdoing.
“I’m excited for the investigation to get over with,” Martinez said at the team’s Winter Weekend event on Jan. 18. “Just so they can see that there was nothing going on here.”
Results of the investigation are expected to be announced in the near future, potentially before pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training on Feb. 12. If the league finds the Red Sox violated any rules, potential penalties could include suspensions, fines and the loss of draft picks.
PIRATES: Left-handers Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin agreed to minor-league contracts, along with catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charlie Tilson, and all four will report to big league spring training.
Pittsburgh also agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract with utilityman JT Riddle, who became a free agent when Miami failed to offer a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline.
Holland, 3, is 78-78 with a 4.54 ERA in 11 seasons. He split time between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs last year, going 2-5 with a 6.08 ERA.
Erlin, 29, is 13-20 with a 4.57 ERA in 106 appearances with the San Diego Padres. He began his career as a starter but spent the last two seasons working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.
ORIOLES: Baltimore claimed former Red Sox and Sea Dogs reliever Travis Lakins off waivers from the Cubs and designated infielder Stevie Wilkerson for assignment to open a spot for Lakins on the 40-man roster.
METS: Matt Adams agreed to a minor league contract, hoping to earn a job as a backup.
Adams, 31, is primarily a first baseman but also has played the outfield. He batted .226 with 20 homers and 56 RBI in 333 plate appearances last year for the World Series champion Washington Nationals.
CURTIS GRANDERSON, a three-time All-Star outfielder, announced his retirement, after 16 seasons in the major leagues.
Granderson was an All-Star for the Detroit Tigers in 2009, and for the New York Yankees in 2011 and 2012. He also played for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Dodgers, Mets and Marlins.
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