FAYETTEVILLE — Pitcher Caleb Bolden is in the transfer portal, Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn confirmed.
Bolden, a junior right-hander from Texarkana, Texas, made 10 starts this season with seven relief appearances.
Van Horn said he didn’t want to talk about the specifics of why Bolden is transferring, but added, “It’s all good, though.”
Bolden’s last appearance came against NJIT in the NCAA Tournament opener when he pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed 2 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks with 1 strikeout in the Razorbacks’ 13-8 win.
Bolden was left off Arkansas’ roster for the super regional against North Carolina State because he was “a little sore” in his arm, Van Horn said.
“I guess he had some soreness [against NJIT] and maybe he should have told us about it,” Van Horn said after the super regional opener.
Bolden was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 44 innings.
Other Razorbacks who have gone into the transfer portal, according to D1Baseball, are pitchers Blake Adams, Jacob Burton and Nate Wohlgemuth, and catcher Cason Tollett.
Pallette might play in '22
Redshirt freshman pitcher Peyton Pallette might not need surgery and could begin a throwing program in a few weeks, Van Horn said Wednesday.
In a video conference with reporters, Van Horn said medical specialists have been unable to find a ligament tear in the right-hander’s pitching elbow.
Pallette, who opened the year in the starting rotation, came out of a relief appearance in a 4-3 win over No. 9 Florida on May 21 that clinched the SEC championship after throwing 24 pitches with pain in his right arm.
“As of right now, Pallette, there’s no tear,” Van Horn said. “We finally got the results and he’s rehabbing and he’s going to start throwing in a couple of weeks if he goes pain free, which he’s pain free now. We’re hoping, got our fingers crossed that he’s going to be OK.”
The concern with the way Pallette left the game pointing to his elbow was that he tore a ligament that would require reconstructive Tommy John surgery.
Van Horn mentioned that Pallette, a 6-1, 175-pounder from Benton, could be a top starter next spring, but he’s not out of the woods from an injury standpoint.
“We’re not holding our breath on that,” Van Horn said. “We’re just wanting to wait and see how this goes. We’re extremely happy on what’s gone on from the very first day he hurt himself until now because it didn’t look good.”
Van Horn said the initial MRI did not reveal a tear.
“They go back and do a dye thing where they put dye in there and it’ll usually run to the tear,” he said. “They did it, they sent those off to two different groups that are big-time specialists in that area [and] they didn’t see a tear.
“That doesn’t mean there’s not one in there. So rehab and start to throw and if he gets through the end of summer [and] fall with no pain, then he may be good to go. So we’re excited about that.”
Team USA
Arkansas sophomore second baseman Robert Moore and freshman pitcher Jaxon Wiggins will play for USA Baseball’s national collegiate squad this summer, but the format will be different than usual, Van Horn said.
Instead of Team USA facing teams from foreign countries, there will be games with the American players going against each other.
There will be two teams with 24 players on each roster. They will play an 11-game schedule between July 2-15 in Danville, Va.; Burlington, N.C.; Cary, N.C.; Greenville, Tenn.; Johnson City, Tenn.; Bristol, Va.; Elizabethton, Tenn.; Kingsport, Tenn.; Pulaski, Va.; Princeton, W.Va.; and Bluefield, W.Va.
Van Horn said after USA Baseball games are finished, Moore and Wiggins will join several teammates who are playing summer ball around the country.
New offices
The Arkansas coaching staff will begin preparations for a move into the $27 million Hunt Family Baseball Development Center some time this summer, possibly in July.
The 49,000-square-foot center beyond right field will house an expanded locker room, a team meeting room, a strength and conditioning center, a training room, nutrition center, a development lab, a batting tunnel, the Norm DeBriyn Champions Lobby, coaches offices and viewing decks.
“Hopefully we’re going to move over to the new building in about three weeks,” Van Horn said. “I don’t want to move in there at all until [construction crews] are 100% out. Construction is already going on, at least teardown, in our area. Not our offices but around all the suites. They’re redoing all the suites. Every one of them. Our offices are going to turn into suites. When they get done over there, we will move over there. We’re excited to get there.”
Rehab updates
Arkansas pitchers Issac Bracken, Tyler Cacciatori and Nick Griffin are all recovering from surgeries, so summer ball is not uppermost on their agendas.
“They’re all in town working out,” Van Horn said.
Griffin, a 6-4 lefty from Monticello, and Cacciatori, a 6-6 right-hander from Sheridan, were true freshmen in 2021. Bracken is a 6-foot right-hander and graduate transfer from Northern Colorado.
“You talk about Nick Griffin with Tommy John, it’ll be a year in the fall, so we’re hoping he’ll be able to pitch for us in ’22,” Van Horn said. “He’s been here working hard. Bracken, I think he’ll be ready to roll. Cacciatori, he had a couple of things, but he’s here working and he’s not throwing yet.”
Not only a catcher
Van Horn said he could not comment yet on Michael Turner, a Kent State graduate who announced on Tuesday that he planned to finish his career with the Razorbacks.
Turner, a 6-2, 205-pounder from Warren, Ohio, was listed as a catcher with the Golden Flashes, but he has started games at first base, third base and catcher.
“I know that he’s not just a catcher,” Van Horn said without mentioning Turner by name. “He plays positions, too.”
Have to earn it
Junior-college transfer Charlie Welch became a valued pinch-hitter who late in the season excelled as a designated hitter. He batted .388 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI in just 67 at-bats.
While Welch is listed as a catcher, he might start at first base or DH next season, though Van Horn said playing time is never guaranteed.
“I think he just has to prove to us where he needs to play,” Van Horn said. “We can definitely see him hitting, obviously, and we are expecting him back.
“He’s like everyone else. It’s a new year. You’ve got to come in and earn everything again. That’s what our program is all about and I think kids appreciate that. Obviously, if you have experience and you’ve been there, done that, you’re usually going to do it again.
“You know we didn’t hit a lot in some games, and Charlie seemed to continue to hit. So we plan on him being right in the middle of things next year.”