Springs is competing for one of the open spots in Boston's rotation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Interested observers can add Springs to the list of candidates to potentially fill the empty spots at the back end of Boston's rotation. The left-hander dominated Red Sox hitters at times during Friday's intrasquad game, leaving manager Ron Roenicke impressed. "He's in that mix for sure," the manager said Friday. "I don't want to put the names of the other guys. There are four or five guys who can be in that role. We'll see how they pitch, and we know the history they have so we'll make the decision on those two things." As of now, in light of the uncertainty about Eduardo Rodriguez (illness) and Collin McHugh (elbow), the rotation shapes up as Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez and Ryan Weber as the top three. The Red Sox may name permanent starters to the Nos. 4 and 5 spots, or use guys like Springs and Chris Mazza as versatile multi-inning options that can serve as starters, openers or multi-inning bulk pitchers. Roenicke mentioned additional pitchers that could get bulk use every fourth and fifth spot through the rotation, including Colten Brewer, Matt Hall, Kyle Hart, Brian Johnson and Mike Shawaryn.