The Boston Red Sox have had enough. On Thursday they made a drastic change to their pitching staff. The Arizona Diamondbacks made a big switch at catcher as well.
Juan Nieves was fired from his post as the team's pitching coach, according to the official Red Sox Twitter account. Boston's team ERA (4.86) and starting rotation ERA (5.54) both rank 29th in the MLB and the latter ranked last for quite a while before the Colorado Rockies' rotation stumbled below theirs.
The lone bright spot for the Red Sox was their bullpen, which ranks 16th in ERA (3.82), and that's not much to get excited over.
Justin Masterson's bad outing last night was perhaps the last straw for the Red Sox. The right-hander surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and six walks in just 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The rotation was pitching better over the past week than they have for much of the season, but it clearly wasn't enough.
"Before Thursday's announcement, no one in the Sox organization had publicly expressed dissatisfaction with Nieves' work with the club," writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. "However, the decision to fire Nieves comes two days after majority owner John W. Henry met with manager John Farrell and addressed the team."
The team has yet to name a replacement as manager John Farrell is likely exploring his options.
In Arizona, the Diamondbacks have made a similar move in the catching department. According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, sources say veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who was released by the Miami Marlins earlier this week after they failed to find a trade partner, is "close to finalizing an agreement" with the D-Backs.
The 30-year-old was released after he was batting just .069/.182/.207 with three runs scored, one home run and one RBI in nine games (33 plate appearances). He still has over $14 million remaining on his three-year, $21 million contract he signed with Miami prior to last season.
Arizona likely sees Saltalamacchia as an upgrade over current starter Tuffy Gosewisch, who has failed to impress since taking over at the beginning of the 2015 season. He's batting just .208/.250/.208 with five runs scored and five RBIs in 20 games.
The deal is expected to be completed once Saltalamacchia clears waivers.
UPDATE: Saltalamacchia has reached a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, according to Crasnick.
