I don’t think this counts as an official announcement yet, but here’s Magglio Ordonez on Twitter this afternoon:
Cerca del retiro!
— Magglio Ordonez (@Mordonez30) March 26, 2012
Literally, that’s “close to retirement,” but do you really tweet that if you’re not gonna do it?
Earlier this spring we learned that Ordonez wouldn’t accept a minor league deal and would only play for a guaranteed roster spot and paycheck. That wasn’t forthcoming, so this looks like the end of the road.
Red Sox
RF Mookie Betts
LF Andrew Benintendi
DH J.D. Martinez
SS Xander Bogaerts
3B Rafael Devers
1B Steve Pearce
2B Brock Holt
C Christian Vázquez
CF Jackie Bradley, Jr.
With Eduardo Núñez banged up, Devers gets another start. Devers has hit well when he’s had an opportunity to play this postseason, registering five hits (all singles) with a pair of walks and a pair of RBI. Pearce gets a start against a right-handed starter. He normally kills lefties but ripped a solo homer off of righty Joe Smith in Game 3. Holt gets the start at second base, looking for his first hit of the ALCS.
Astros
3B Alex Bregman
CF George Springer
DH José Altuve
2B Marwin González
1B Yuli Gurriel
RF Josh Reddick
SS Carlos Correa
C Martín Maldonado
LF Tony Kemp
Bregman, not Springer, is now hitting leadoff for the Astros. It’s not that Springer has been bad; it’s just that Bregman has been an on-base machine. He has drawn a walk in every postseason game this year, including three in Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS. Morton will be making his first appearance of the 2018 postseason. He was money down the stretch for the Astros last year en route to a championship.
