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Ex-Yankees 1st-rounder among non-roster invitees to Red Sox spring training

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Ex-Yankees 1st-rounder among non-roster invitees to Red Sox spring training


Come February a former New York Yankees first-round draft pick, will get a chance to prove himself to their longtime rivals.

Left-hander T.J. Sikkema, 27, is one of seven non-roster invitees to Red Sox spring training, the club announced Tuesday.

Catcher Jason Delay, infielder Vinny Capra, lefty Alec Gamboa, and right-handers Osvaldo Berrios, Hobie Harris and Devin Sweet round out the group.

The Yankees drafted Sikkema 38th overall in the ‘19 draft. He was one of three minor league pitchers they dealt to the Kansas City Royals for former Red Sox star Andrew Benintendi at the ‘22 MLB trade deadline.

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Sikkema spent the last two years in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Last year he reached Triple-A for the first time, and pitched to a 3.47 ERA over five games (four starts) with nine earned runs allowed over 23.1 innings, following the late-August promotion.

While the Red Sox had a top-ranked farm system last year, their catching depth is notoriously thin. Delay, 30, has 134 games of big-league experience with the 2022-24 Pittsburgh Pirates, including 131 behind the dish, a career .231/.333/.400 line in the majors. He spent last season with the Double-A and Triple-A levels of the Atlanta Braves organization.

Capra, 29, appeared in 47 major league games last season, 24 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 23 with the Chicago White Sox. Since his debut with the ‘22 Toronto Blue Jays, he has played 67 big-league games over the last four years.

Though a lifetime .133/.181/.188 hitter in the majors, Capra brings defensive versatility to the table. In just 58 fielding games, he has already covered third base, second, shortstop, left and right field, and made three pitching appearances.

Gamboa, 28, comes to the Red Sox after a season split between the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets and the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball League. He was the Dodgers’ ninth-round pick in ‘19, and owns a 4.23 ERA over 131 career minor league games, including 41 starts.

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Berrios is one of several former St. Louis Cardinals who will be in Red Sox camp next month. The Puerto Rico native split last season between Cardinals’ Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. Working primarily in relief, he logged a 5.12 ERA and struck out 62 over 58 innings (40 games, four starts).

Harris’ name will likely be familiar to Red Sox fans, as he spent all of last season in Triple-A Worcester. The 32-year-old righty posted a 4.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 31 relief appearances and one start. He also has 16 games of major league experience, from his time with the ‘23 Washington Nationals.

Like Sikkema, Harris is a former Yankees draft pick; they selected him in the 31st round in 2015.

The Red Sox signed Sweet to a minor league deal last month. He has seven games of big-league experience between the ‘23 Seattle Mariners and then-Oakland Athletics. He spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, with whom he posted a 5.08 ERA over 46 games, including two starts, and struck out 49 batters in 51.1 innings.

Tumbling from top spot

Entering last spring training, the Red Sox earned the top spot in Baseball America’s farm system rankings for the first time since the publication began their assessments in 1984.

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“The Red Sox have returned to the top of the farm system rankings, even after dealing four prospects to the White Sox to bring Garrett Crochet to Boston,” Baseball America’s explanation stated. “No other organization can match the trio of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, and Boston’s pitching depth has improved as well.”

The publication’s annual Prospect Handbook ranks the Red Sox 14th.

Chalk some of that up to the aforementioned trio making their respective big-league debuts and progressing out of prospect eligibility. Players like Anthony don’t exactly grow on trees.

Other top prospects, like slugging outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, have since been traded away. (Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has made a staggering 49 trades since taking the reins in November ’23.)

At present, most of Boston’s current top prospects are in the lower levels of the farm system. Three of the organization’s top five on MLB Pipeline are expected to debut in 2027 or later; the exceptions are lefties Payton Tolle (No. 2) and Connelly Early (No.4), who both debuted late last season but remain prospect-eligible.

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Boston, MA

Ariana Grande fan gets better tickets to TD Garden concert in Boston after resolving StubHub issue

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Ariana Grande fan gets better tickets to TD Garden concert in Boston after resolving StubHub issue


Ariana Grande is coming to Boston next week and one of her biggest fans in Massachusetts will be there after resolving a ticket issue with StubHub.

Kelsie Duest of Hopedale had two front row balcony seats to Grande’s show on July 23 at TD Garden. Her brother bought them for her on StubHub last year. Her mother said it cost nearly $1,400 for the pair.

But about a month later, Sharon Duest checked her Apple Wallet and noticed the tickets were invalid. She said StubHub offered them a choice, take a refund or different tickets.

Kelsie Duest has two seats to Ariana Grande’s show on July 23 at TD Garden in Boston.

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Duest ended up accepting the tickets that were offered, only to learn they were obstructed view seats behind the stage and Kelsie wouldn’t be able to see Grande during parts of the concert.

Concerned that her daughter, who has Down syndrome, would miss out on the experience of seeing Grande on stage, Duest tried calling and emailing Stubhub hoping to get better seats.

“We didn’t want anything for free. We just wanted just the tickets that we had,” she told WBZ-TV.

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With the concert coming up soon, the Duests reached out to the I-Team’s Call for Action for help, who contacted StubHub.

“We’re so sorry about the issues Sharon experienced with their ticket order, especially given how meaningful this concert is to Kelsie,” a company spokesperson said in an email.

“We understand how disappointing and stressful that situation was. Our Customer Care team worked with them to resolve the issue and ultimately secured upgraded replacement tickets in a section in front of where the original seats were located, allowing them to attend the show with an improved view.”

Kelsie and her mom now have club seats closer to the stage than the tickets they originally purchased.

“I know we couldn’t have done this without you guys. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Sharon Duest said.

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A good rule of thumb with electronic tickets is to always check on them to confirm that they remain valid up until the event. You should also keep good records in case you need a refund or a replacement. 



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ICE Boston arrests Barbados national during targeted operations in Attleboro

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ICE Boston arrests Barbados national during targeted operations in Attleboro


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Boston said Friday that it arrested a Barbados national during targeted operations in Attleboro.

ICE Boston said Irijah Jabarri Stowe Marshall is “a criminal illegal alien.”

According to officials, his criminal history includes a pending charge for failing to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts.

He was also previously convicted of attempted rape and aggravated sexual contact, ICE Boston said.

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Man who allegedly shot at Boston Police officers arrested after foot chase in Dorchester

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Man who allegedly shot at Boston Police officers arrested after foot chase in Dorchester


A 20-year-old Boston man is facing a series of charges after prosecutors say he shot at Boston Police officers during an attempted stop in Dorchester before leading them on a foot chase through neighborhood backyards.

Rasiel Carbuccia was arraigned in Dorchester District Court Thursday on a list of charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying without a license and possession of a large capacity firearm, stemming from the Wednesday night incident near Devon and Laredo streets.

Opened fire with ghost gun, prosecutors say

According to prosecutors, Boston Police officers attempted to stop Carbuccia when he pulled out a gun and began shooting, striking a Boston police cruiser before fleeing the scene.

Investigators said Carbuccia ran through backyards and hopped fences before he was taken into custody. Officers did not fire their weapons during the encounter.

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Prosecutors said investigators later recovered the firearm along the path where Carbuccia had been running.

“It was determined that the firearm was a ghost gun, and it did not possess a serial number,” Suffolk County prosecutor Jacqueline Martinelli said in court.

Union says “everyone should be outraged”

Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said the shooting is part of what he believes is a troubling trend of violence this summer and renewed his call for more officers on Boston streets.

“Everybody should be outraged. Bullets flying in the city’s streets at uniformed police officers. How can we possibly convince the general public that they’re safe to walk around their own neighborhoods?” Calderone said.

Rasiel Carbuccia allegedly opened fire on Boston Police officers in Dorchester. 

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“We have teenagers pulling firearms and stealing mopeds from others in broad daylight. We have shots being fired at police officers in uniform, officers being attacked, people being shot daily that we can’t solve the crimes,” he added.

No one was injured in the shooting, but Calderone said the outcome could have been much worse.

“Thank goodness, neither officer or a pedestrian, an innocent child or somebody in the middle of the evening did not get killed last night. Just as thankful, at least they caught him. They recovered the weapon,” he said.

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After the arraignment, Carbuccia’s attorney declined to discuss the case in detail but indicated mental health issues could become part of the proceedings.

“Ultimately as you guys know this is a process that has to play out and he’s presumed innocent and there’s going to be a number of things that are going to come out in respect to mental health and potentially the investigation, I don’t really have much more to say beyond that,” attorney Bob White told reporters.

According to prosecutors, Carbuccia had two open assault cases and an active warrant at the time of his arrest.

He’s being held in jail without bail and is scheduled to return to court later this month for a dangerousness hearing.

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