Sox have 12 prospects in winter ball

11/18/2005
BOSTON -- When you're a developing prospect, there is often no such thing as an offseason. With that in mind, the Red Sox have 12 Minor Leaguers playing winter ball.
What's the benefit of that?
"Aside from more at-bats, innings, etc., it usually offers the player a chance to face better competition and test themselves in a competitive environment," said Ben Cherington, director of player development for the Red Sox.
Highlighting the list for the Red Sox is Hanley Ramirez, the five-tool prospect who has received his fair share of hype the past several years. Ramirez is playing for Licey of the Dominican Republic.
Through action on Nov. 12, Ramirez, a shortstop, was hitting .250 with four doubles, one triple, no homers and three RBIs in 68 at-bats.
After spending last season at Double-A Portland, Ramirez is likely to open 2005 with Triple-A Pawtucket.
"Hanley is getting the opportunity to play with Licey and continue to face good pitching," said Cherington. "The most important thing at this point in his development is to continue to get AB's against good pitching."
Speedy utilityman Alejandro Machado, who progressed so nicely at Triple-A Pawtucket in 2005 that the Red Sox had him on their postseason roster during the American League Division Series, is playing for Caracas of the Venezuelan League.
He got off to a slow start this winter, hitting .225 with seven RBIs in 40 at-bats and two stolen bases.
"Macho will get a chance to play multiple positions with Caracas," said Cherington. "He is a versatile player, and we feel the more expertise he can gain at a variety of positions, the better chance he has to contribute on our Major League team."
Knuckleballer Charlie Zink, who also pitched in the Arizona Fall League, will soon join Machado in Caracas.
"Whereas, in general, we have fairly strict workload limits for our young pitchers, Charlie actually benefits from pitching a little bit more, given his style," said Cherington.
Anibal Sanchez, the hard-throwing right-hander who is one of the best pitching prospects in the organization, is in Venezuela as well, working out of the bullpen for Magallanes.
"As per our agreement with Magallanes, Anibal will be used in a structured relief role," said Cherington. "This is not because we want Anibal to be a reliever but rather to control his workload. Continued improvement of his fastball command is an important goal for Anibal this winter."
In his first three games, Sanchez was 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA.
As for the less-heralded Sox prospects playing in Venezuela, lefty Mike Bumatay is pitching for Aragua, catcher Edgar Martinez is with Pastora and right-hander Harvey Garcia is at Caracas.
Shortstop Raul Nieves, who's playing for the Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico, got off to a slow start at the plate, managing no hits in his first eight at-bats, with two runs scored. Right-hander Luis Mendoza is in Mexico, pitching for Navajoa.

Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/