When Chad Tracy was managing the WooSox in Triple-A, he often got to be the one to deliver the best news of a player's career: They were going to the big leagues.
Since being called up himself to the big chair in Boston, however, Tracy has found those conversations in the majors are often much more difficult.
Earlier this week when the Red Sox called up hard-throwing right-hander Tyron Guerrero from Triple-A, Tracy had to break the news to righty Zack Kelly that he was being optioned. Tracy had a similar conversation with Tyler Samaniego on Saturday night after the rookie left-hander was sent down so veteran lefty Danny Coulombe could be activated off the injured list.
“I actually thought about that yesterday, typically if you're calling someone in you're probably giving them bad news now,†Tracy said. “Where in Worcester 90% of the time it was good news.â€
Purely from a performance perspective, neither Kelly or Samaniego deserved to be optioned. Kelly has posted a 3.31 ERA in 17 MLB appearances this season, and Samaniego has been one of Boston's best relievers full stop, putting up a 1.04 ERA in his first 18 big league outings.
But because they had minor league options remaining and those who might have otherwise been candidates for a demotion did not, they were the odd men out.
Tracy acknowledged that fact and said he made sure he let Kelly and Samaniego know too.
“I was very honest with both of those guys about how well they've done and to stay focused on what they're doing because there are spots where optionable relievers, sometimes it's just a case of that's the case and it's not necessarily anything you did wrong, but you're trying as an organization you've got to keep valuable resources and keep everything in line,†Tracy said. “And those guys will help us again, I told them both that.â€
