BOSTON -- Maybe you don't know much about Zack Stewart, the pitcher the Red Sox acquired from Chicago in the Kevin Youkilis trade, but John Farrell does.
Stewart made his major-league debut under Farrell in Toronto last year, pitching three games for the Jays before being dealt to the White Sox with Jason Frasor for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahan. (Strange note: It's been less than a year, but none of the players involved in the trade are still with the teams they were dealt to. Stewart's with the Red Sox, Frasor was traded back to Toronto in January, and both Jackson and Teahan signed as free agents with the Nationals.) Stewart's career numbers aren't much -- 3-8 record, 5.92 ERA in 31 games (12 as a starter) -- and Farrell's scouting report to Comcast SportsNet's Jessica Moran is . . . well, you decide.
"He's a pitcher with three effective pitches -- sinker, slider, changeup," said Farrell, the ex-Red Sox pitching coach who's now the Blue Jays manager. "A very good athlete who repeats his delivery and will throw a lot of strikes; and he's got the ability and the versatility to either pitch out of the bullpen or spot start on occasion."
Speaking of a ballplayer's "versatility" is roughly on par with speaking of a blind date's "good personality", so take that for what it's worth. One thing Farrell was positive about, though, was Stewart's makeup.
"When he came to us last year and made his debut, he handled the emotion or the adrenaline of it, or the major-league environment, in a positive way," Farrell said. "The game didn't seem to speed up on him. So I would anticipate that coming in here, when that opportunity arises, that he would handle the adrenaline rush in a good way."
Stewart's in Pawtucket, serving as organizational pitching depth.