Red Sox make four roster cuts (including Noah Song), narrow bullpen competition for Opening Day

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox made four roster cuts Tuesday morning, trimming down the pool of competitors to make the Opening Day bullpen as the final week of camp begins.

Boston re-assigned pitchers Seth Martinez, Wyatt Olds, T.J. Sikkema and Noah Song to minor league camp in the club’s third batch of roster cuts so far this spring. All four will be candidates to begin the year at Triple-A Worcester. None will make the Opening Day roster.

Both Martinez (a long-relief option with major league experience) and Song (the former top prospect who at 28 is still looking to debut after having his career interrupted by Naval service) were thought to be candidates for the Opening Day bullpen. Song, after a three-game cameo for the WooSox last fall at the end of a long return from Tommy John surgery, impressed in camp, logging a 1.13 ERA and striking out nine batters in eight innings.

The Red Sox want him to put emphasis on a specific pitch when he begins this season in the minors, most likely back with Worcester.

“I think the cutter is a pitch that they talk about during the meeting. Just getting it involved,” Cora said. “But overall he was a good one.”

Martinez allowed damage (7.27 ERA) but was in the mix because of his 117 games in the big leagues.

The message to Martinez?

“Just get back to being consistent in the strike zone,” Cora said. “He knows it. He talk about it. Like there were some flashes of him throwing the ball well, but as he said, he didn’t show the consistency that you need to make it to the big leagues. And he’ll go down there and do his job. And at one point in season, like we tell all these guys, just be ready because we will need guys.”

Tuesday’s moves are good news for the remaining group of candidates, which includes Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson, righties Kyle Keller and Tayron Guerrero and left-hander Tyler Samaniego. The Red Sox are thought to be assessing one open spot at the back end of their eight-man bullpen with Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten and newcomer Danny Coulombe (if ready) locked into spots and Zack Kelly and Jovani Morán the heavy favorites to claim two more.

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Watson, Keller and Guerrero appear to be the top three choices for the final spot, barring a last-minute external addition. Samaniego could make the team if Coulombe, who arrived last week and hasn’t pitched in a game yet, isn’t ready for Opening Day.

The Red Sox still have 54 players in camp, including 13 non-roster invitees. Before Opening Day next Thursday in Cincinnati, they’ll have to narrow that list down to 26 players, though six 40-man players (Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Patrick Sandoval, Triston Casas, Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler) are injured list candidates and a couple of non-roster invitees (including Brendan Rodgers) are sidelined, too. Boston has 22 active pitchers left in camp, including Crawford and Sandoval.

Olds, 26, was Boston’s seventh-round pick back in 2021 and pitched in seven spring games. Sikkema, a lefty, was a minor league signee over the winter, like Martinez, and pitched five Grapefruit League innings.

When Cora was asked about the final bullpen spots coming into focus, he pointed to how they need to see where they are at with Coulombe. He’s expected to pitch Thursday.

“So we’ll see where he’s at physically and whether he’s going to be ready to start the season with us,” Cora said. “Probably yes, the way he’s been able to bounce back and then we go from there. So there’s probably one or two decisions we have to make. … It’s getting close. I have a pretty good idea of where we’re at.”

He said he talked with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow about it this morning.

“I think by the end of the weekend we should have a great idea of what we’re going to do,” Cora said.

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