The Red Sox got former Rule 5 Draft pick Angel Bastardo back from the Blue Jays on Wednesday, per announcements from both clubs. The 23-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment last week after failing to make Toronto’s Opening Day roster and was offered back to Boston for $50,000 upon clearing waivers.
Bastardo was left off the Red Sox’ 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery that June. That decision made him available to other clubs in that winter’s Rule 5 Draft, and the Blue Jays plucked him with the sixth overall pick (and paid Boston $100,000), knowing full well that he would be sidelined for the foreseeable future while rehabbing.
Upon switching organizations for the first time in his professional career, Bastardo spent all of 2025 on Toronto’s 60-day injured list as he continued to rehab. While he accrued a year’s worth of big league pay and service time, he was still bound by Rule 5 restrictions and therefore needed to spend at least 90 days on the Blue Jays’ active roster heading into 2026.
In his return to the mound this spring, Bastardo showed some signs of rust after a long layoff, allowing four earned runs on five hits, seven walks, and five strikeouts over 7 2/3 Grapefruit League innings (all out of the bullpen). Stuff-wise, the 6-foot-1 righty featured a mid-90s fastball that topped out at 97-98 mph and complemented it with a changeup, slider, and curveball.
Despite the intriguing arsenal, the Blue Jays determined they would be unable to carry Bastardo on their roster to open the season and elected to designate him for assignment when finalizing things last Wednesday. Another team could have claimed him off waivers or traded for him, but they would have been subject to the same Rule 5 stipulations and likely decided against it because of that.
With that being said, the Red Sox do not need to commit a 40-man roster spot to Bastardo, who returns to the organization he originally signed with for $35,000 as an international free agent in July 2018. The native Venezuelan reached the upper-minors for the first time in 2023 and returned to Double-A Portland out of camp in 2024. He posted a 5.36 ERA with 53 strikeouts to 21 walks in 10 starts (45 1/3 innings) for the Sea Dogs before blowing out his elbow and going under the knife that June. At that time, he was ranked by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 27 prospect.
Bastardo, who turns 24 in June, will now report to Fort Myers for extended spring training before any next steps are determined, according to a team source. From there, he will presumably join one of Boston’s upper-level affiliates (like Portland or perhaps even Triple-A Worcester) in the weeks ahead.
In related news, fellow Venezuelan right-hander Jedixson Paez, who was selected by the White Sox in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, was designated for assignment on Wednesday. Paez made Chicago’s Opening Day roster out of spring training but — having never pitched above the High-A level — surrendered six earned runs in three relief outings spanning three innings for the South Siders.
Paez could be claimed off waivers or acquired via trade by another team within the next week. If not, like Bastardo, the 22-year-old might soon find himself back within the Red Sox organization.
(Picture of Angel Bastardo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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