Staten Island pitcher Anthony Varvaro off to strong start with Red Sox
Staten Island pitcher Anthony Varvaro off to strong start with Red Sox, Curtis High School product Anthony Varvaro is among the locks for the Boston Red Sox bullpen this season, reports Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com.
In a story entitled -- "Boston Red Sox bullpen candidates: Who is Anthony Varvaro?" -- the case is made that the 30-year-old veteran right-hander and West Brighton resident is a welcome addition to the team's developing bullpen.
Varavaro has yet to allow a run in three spring training innings, working a scoreless fifth inning against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
"We were somewhat surprised a guy of his performance was available," manager John Farrell said over the weekend in Fort Myers, Fla. "He's been very good against left-handed hitters and getting an understanding to his role a year ago, he was almost used as a left-handed reliever because of his success against left-handed hitters.
"He's got good stuff, he's performed above average the last two years at the major-league level. He became quickly attractive to us.''
Boston landed Varvaro from the Atlanta Braves in a December trade.
Varvaro had a 2.63 earned run average with 13 walks in 55 innings in 61 appearances for Atlanta last season. He held left-handed batters to a .149 average.
MassLive.com reported that of the 46 hits Varvaro allowed in 2014, 22 were ground ball hits, 18 were line drives, one bunt and just five were fly balls (three home runs).
"He's got a little bit of a natural cut that can keep guys from getting extended out of the plate, and when you combine it with his two offspeed pitches, curveball and changeup, so he's able to pitch to extremes with velocity and location to left-handers," Farrell said of Varvaro.
In a story entitled -- "Boston Red Sox bullpen candidates: Who is Anthony Varvaro?" -- the case is made that the 30-year-old veteran right-hander and West Brighton resident is a welcome addition to the team's developing bullpen.
Varavaro has yet to allow a run in three spring training innings, working a scoreless fifth inning against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
"We were somewhat surprised a guy of his performance was available," manager John Farrell said over the weekend in Fort Myers, Fla. "He's been very good against left-handed hitters and getting an understanding to his role a year ago, he was almost used as a left-handed reliever because of his success against left-handed hitters.
"He's got good stuff, he's performed above average the last two years at the major-league level. He became quickly attractive to us.''
Boston landed Varvaro from the Atlanta Braves in a December trade.
Varvaro had a 2.63 earned run average with 13 walks in 55 innings in 61 appearances for Atlanta last season. He held left-handed batters to a .149 average.
MassLive.com reported that of the 46 hits Varvaro allowed in 2014, 22 were ground ball hits, 18 were line drives, one bunt and just five were fly balls (three home runs).
"He's got a little bit of a natural cut that can keep guys from getting extended out of the plate, and when you combine it with his two offspeed pitches, curveball and changeup, so he's able to pitch to extremes with velocity and location to left-handers," Farrell said of Varvaro.
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