March 16 Notes: LeBron Becomes Red Sox Owner; Extension Candidates; Houck’s Start

The big news of the day came from Los Angeles, as Laker star LeBron James will become part-owner of the Boston Red Sox along with Maverick Carter. They become the first two black partners in Fenway Sports Group history.

James is definitely a bandwagon fan, as he has been seen supporting the Yankees, Indians, and Dodgers in the past. I’m not sure that this means anything at all for the team on the field (except maybe having some more money to spend), but it’s still one of the greatest athletes ever joining Boston’s ownership group.

Any Extension Candidates?

There was some talk this winter about Chaim Bloom possibly working on an extension for Rafael Devers after the organization locked up Xander Bogaerts, but Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com said on Twitter that it “doesn’t sound like [the] Red Sox have made much progress in talks with obvious extension candidates”.

There are still a couple of weeks left before the season gets going but Devers is still under contract for another three seasons.

Tanner Houck Struggles

Tanner Houck made his debut last season and is competing for the fifth rotation spot with Nick Pivetta. It’s safe to say that Pivetta has a leg up on him right now because he has performed better this spring.

Houck got the start on Tuesday and only went 2.2 innings, giving up three earned runs and walking four batters. That’s not the stat line you want in just 2.2 innings of work when Opening Day is a couple of weeks away. So far, Pivetta has a 7.36 ERA in Spring Training.

(Photo: Amy Sancetta/AP)