Wade Boggs announces he is cancer-free; Pedro Martínez is upset with Jason Varitek’s firing
On Friday, the Red Sox celebrated the 125th anniversary of the franchise’s first home game, a 12-4 win over the Philadelphia Athletics that was played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds. Fenway Park would not open until April 20, 1912.
As part of the team’s celebration, each of the living players who have had their jersey numbers retired by the team was in attendance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the team’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The group included Carl Yastrzemski (No. 8), Jim Rice (No. 14), Wade Boggs (No. 26), Carlton Fisk (No. 27), David Ortiz (No. 34), and Pedro Martínez (No. 45).
While the group was assembled to mark the Sox’s anniversary, Boggs took the opportunity to share with reporters, via the Associated Press/ESPN, that he is now cancer-free, roughly two years after his initial diagnosis (prostate cancer).
I’m a cancer survivor now. Prostate cancer is null and void. Thank God.
Boggs, who spent 11 of his 18 seasons in Boston, also reiterated that he had never wanted to leave the franchise when he reached free agency after the 1992 season.
“I think the one thing that’s lost in translation is that Mrs. [Jean] Yawkey had offered me a seven-year deal to stay with the Red Sox for substantial money. And then, coincidentally, her dying, and the offer was taken off the table. And I had to find employment elsewhere. …. But no, I never wanted to leave Boston. My heart’s always been in Boston, and they know it. And everyone from the ground up knows it, that Boston is the special place in my heart.”
Meanwhile, Boggs wasn’t the only member of the group to speak with reporters. Martínez, in particular, made some pointed comments to The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey about how disappointed he is with the club’s handling of Jason Varitek (who he also noted he has not spoken to since the firing):
“They’re going to let me know, there’s got to be a reason because Tek means so much to this city. To me, Tek is a legend here, and I’m not going to go into details because I don’t know. If I knew, I’d tell you straight up, too. I’d tell you why (he was reassigned), but I don’t know. But it’s very unfortunate that I don’t get to see my batterymate out there, giving me a hug or probably receiving the baseball from me when I threw it today.”
Boston fired manager Alex Cora and six other coaches roughly two weeks ago. The club insists that they “reassigned” Varitek to another role within the organization rather than firing him, but there has been no clarification to date on what his role now entails.
Louisville’s Tague Davis sets ACC home run record
J.D. Drew’s 1997 season for the Florida State Seminoles stands as one of the greatest single-season performances in college baseball history. The heralded outfielder slashed .455/.604/.961 on the season with 31 HR, 100 RBI, 32 SB, 84 BB, and just 37 SO. He was the first player to ever finish a season in the 30/30 club (31 HR, 32 SB) and just the third to have 100-plus hits (106), runs (110), and RBI (100) in a single campaign. Drew’s 31 homers set an ACC single-season record.
Brock Wilken matched Drew’s home run mark in 2023 while playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The third baseman hit .345/.506/.807 on the year.
Tague Davis, a sophomore first baseman for the Louisville Cardinals, broke the record on Friday against the Miami Hurricanes. The 20-year-old hit a pair of home runs — a three-run shot in the fourth inning to tie the record, then a two-run homer in the 11th inning to break it — in the Cardinals’ 16-9 win in extra innings (Louisville scored nine times in the 11th).
Through 51 games, Davis is hitting .364/.453/.879 with a school-record 89 RBI.
Davis, who should be eligible for the MLB Draft in 2027, went undrafted out of high school, where his father, Ben, had also played. Ben Davis was the 2nd overall selection in the 1995 Draft by the Padres. Davis debuted in San Diego late in the 1998 season and hit .237/.306/.366 (78 OPS+) with 38 HR and 204 RBI in 1,698 PA (486 G) over parts of seven seasons in the big leagues.
Rays prospect throws 10th no-hitter of 2026
Tampa Bay used its 8th-round pick in last summer’s draft to select Aidan Cremarosa out of California State Univ. at Fresno, and the 22-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to his pro career at Class-A Charleston. The right-hander made just his sixth pro start on Friday and pitched a no-hitter against the Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta’s Class-A affiliate). Cremarosa allowed one walk and struck out 11, throwing 101 pitches.
The outing marked the first no-hitter by a RiverDogs pitcher since 2018.
Cremarosa's no-hitter is at least the 10th of 2026:
USC Aiken right-hander Ben Shepherd shut down Mars Hill on Jan. 30. The outing was not only the Pacers’ opening game to the Division II season, but Shepherd’s collegiate debut. He struck out five and walked one.
Seven Vanderbilt University pitchers — Connor Hamilton, Brennan Seiber, Adria Casolba, Nate Schlote, Alex Kranzler, Nate Teague, and Tristan Bristow — combined to throw seven no-hit innings in a run-rule-shortened game over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 11.
Three Elon University pitchers — Aidan Stieglitz, Mike Staiano, and RJ Latkowski — combined to no-hit Fairfield (CT) on Feb. 28.
Three Florida State Seminoles pitchers — Cooper Whited, Brodie Purcell, and Cole Stokes — combined to no-hit Bethune-Cookman in a seven-inning run-rule-shortened game on March 17. The trio combined to strike out nine and walk three.
Alabama Crimson Tide right-hander Tyler Fay pitched a no-hitter on March 21 against the Univ. of Florida Gators, striking out 13 and walking two while throwing 132 pitches.
Springfield College (MA) right-hander Josh Mayo no-hit Emerson College on March 29 in a Division III matchup. Mayo needed just 89 pitches to complete the seven-inning game (the second of a doubleheader), striking out 10 and walking two.
In the NPB, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters left-hander Haruki Hosono struck out 12 and walked one, throwing 128 pitches, while no-hitting the Chiba Lotte Marines on March 30.
Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp lefty Braxton Garrett struck out six over eight no-hit frames against the Gwinnett Striplers, but lost the game 2-0 (two hit batters, a wild pitch, and a throwing error allowed the runs to score) on April 21.
Arkansas State right-hander Ckyler Tengler no-hit Little Rock on May 5, striking out 9 and walking none on 93 pitches.
Tigers’ Triple-A manager fired over inappropriate text
Detroit dismissed Triple-A manager Gabe Álvarez on Tuesday, stating only that he had violated a club policy without providing any further details. The vagueness of the Tigers’ announcement led to plenty of wild speculation online that Álvarez’s firing had something to do with gambling.
Álvarez released a statement on Wednesday about the decision, which ESPN obtained. In it, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the 52-year-old admits that the whole incident centered around “an inappropriate text message” that he had sent to a female colleague, which “he intended as a lighthearted joke”. Álvarez attempted to apologize shortly after sending the message, knowing that it “could be taken the wrong way”. The message was shared with the club’s HR department on Monday. He was fired the next morning.
As Passan notes, this is not the first incident coming out of the organization in recent years. The Athletic has reported on at least nine individuals within Ilitch Sports and Entertainment (the group that owns and runs the Tigers and the NHL’s Red Wings) who have been terminated in the last two years for inappropriate actions towards women.
Padres prospect self-deports after arrest
As part of its international amateur free agent class in 2024, the Padres signed right-hander Humberto Cruz out of Mexico with a $750,000 signing bonus. Between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Cruz made 16 starts with the club’s Arizona Rookie League and Class-A affiliates, posting a 0-7 record and 7.20 ERA in 40.0 IP with 18 BB and 37 SO. He underwent Tommy John surgery late last August and was going to miss the whole 2026 season.
Cruz’s minor league career is now on an indefinite hold, according to details reported by Alex Riggins at The San Diego Union-Tribune. The 19-year-old was arrested in October near a border town in Arizona while transporting undocumented illegal immigrants. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for accepting money to provide the transportation. Per Riggins, Cruz was upfront with federal agents following the arrest, advising them that he had responded to a social media post offering “easy money” for just driving people (reportedly $1,000 per person).
Cruz was initially sentenced to just 30 days in an Arizona jail (with credit for time served) and waived any rights to appeal, after which he was almost certainly facing deportation. The Padres officially placed him on the restricted list on March 13. Cruz, evidently, self-deported in advance of that decision and released a lengthy statement through the Padres to apologize for his actions.
Giants trade Patrick Bailey to Cleveland
Entering play on Sunday, the Giants (15-23) were tied with the Mets for the worst record in the majors. San Francisco’s league-worst offense — the fewest runs scored (120), fewest homers (24, tied w/ Milwaukee), and second-lowest OPS (.642) — has been a crucial factor in the club’s dysmal start to the season.
In an effort to shake the club out of its troubling start and “send a message to the clubhouse”, the Giants agreed to trade catcher Patrick Bailey to the Guardians on Sunday for minor league left-hander Matt Wilkinson and the 29th-overall pick in this summer’s draft (also known as the first pick of Competitive Balance Round A; only the comp-round picks are allowed to be traded).
The 26-year-old Bailey (he’ll turn 27 in late May) was the 13th-overall pick by the Giants in the 2020 Draft out of North Carolina State Univ. He finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023, before winning the Gold Glove Award in each of the last two seasons. Despite the obvious defensive value Bailey provides behind the plate, he’s done little at it. In 1,342 career PA (383 G), Bailey is just a .224/.282/.329 (74 OPS+) hitter with 52 2B, 22 HR, and 154 RBI. Bailey was hitting .146/.213/.183 in 89 PA this season and losing playing time to Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac.
Adding Bailey is something of a curious move for the Guardians, who have struggled offensively despite entering Sunday atop the AL Central with a 21-19 record. His acquisition pushes Bo Naylor, who was hitting .143/.200/.238 in 90 PA, off the roster and back to Triple-A, while leaving Cleveland with two defensive-focused catchers in Bailey and Austin Hedges.
Wilkinson — who at 6’1” and 250 pounds is nicknamed “Tugboat” — has a 1.59 ERA in 28.1 IP (6 starts) with 9 BB and 36 SO this season at Double-A Akron. The 23-year-old also had a pair of scoreless appearances for Team Canada during the World Baseball Classic. He’s posted solid results over four seasons in the minor leagues, but neither MLB Pipeline nor Baseball America had him ranked among Cleveland’s Top 30 prospects.