Category: Sports

Red Sox lineup: Kiké Hernández dropped down to seventh for Game 2 against Yankees, J.D. Martinez scratched due to sore left wrist

For the first time this season, Kiké Hernández will not be batting leadoff for the Red Sox while still being in the starting lineup.

Hernández has been dropped down to the seven-hole and will start in center field for Saturday night’s game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The switch-hitting Danny Santana will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Hernández’s place.

“Danny’s swinging the bat well, though he’s not getting on base,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his lineup decision. “He hit a ball hard in Houston. He hit a ball hard yesterday. He brings speed to the equation. Just felt like today, with this matchup, it was good to put Danny there. Hopefully we can exploit a few things from their starter and be more aggressive on the base paths.”

J.D. Martinez was originally going to DH and bat third, but has since been scratched from the lineup due to a sore left wrist that he jammed on a slide into second base on Friday night. The slugger will be available to pinch hit later in the game if needed, per Cora.

Coming into play Saturday, Hernández is carrying with him a .228/.284/.383 slash line to go along with eight doubles, one triple, five home runs, 12 RBI, 26 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 38 strikeouts through his first 43 games of the season. This includes four pinch-hit appearances in which he replaced the No. 2, No. 8, and No. 9 hitters.

After missing nearly two weeks with a right hamstring strain and being activated from the injured list on May 17, the 29-year-old initially got off to a hot start with hits in four of his first six games back in action.

Since the Red Sox left Philadelphia, though, Hernández has cooled off significantly as he is currently in the midst of a 1-for-25 (.040) skid over his last seven games played dating back to May 25. He did not play in Thursday’s game against the Astros or Friday’s game against the Yankees.

What is surprising about the right-handed hitter’s recent struggles is that he has still proven to be effective when leading off a game (.289/.308/.395 in 39 plate appearances) or an inning (.275/.315/.522 in 73 plate appearances).

Still, the rather low on-base percentage Hernández has put up to this point without a doubt sticks out here.

Among 27 big-league leadoff hitters who have accrued at least 100 plate appearances thus far, Hernández ranks 20th in walk percentage (6.5%), ninth in strikeout percentage (20.8%), 25th in on-base percentage (.298), 21st in OPS (.700), 23rd in weighted on-base average (.305), and 23rd in wRC+ (91), per FanGraphs.

Prior to joining the Red Sox on a two-year, $14 million deal over the winter, the native of Puerto Rico batted out of the seven-hole in a grand total of 126 games between the Astros, Marlins, and Dodgers from 2014-2020.

In those 126 games, Hernández hit .200/.287/.335 with 16 homers and 48 RBI over 443 total plate appearances.

“Sometimes you got to breath,” Cora said of dropping Hernández down in the lineup. “Hitting him seventh, he’ll probably see the pitcher for one inning where he can see it from a different perspective and get feedback from the other hitters, and he can get going.”

Saturday’s contest in the Bronx will mark just Hernández’s third career game at Yankee Stadium, and his first since September 2016 when he was with the Dodgers.

Santana, meanwhile, will be batting leadoff for the third game in a row and the fourth time this season overall. The versatile 30-year-old is slashing .125/.222/.375 with two home runs and three RBI over his first 11 games as a member of the Red Sox.

What is Cora looking for out of the leadoff spot moving forward?

“We want somebody that can get on base,” he said. “Or somebody that can drive the ball. We want to set the tempo, and right now — we had that through stretches — but we haven’t been consistent.”

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Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up alongside Santana, Hernández, and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who will be looking to bounce back from a rough month of May in his first start of June.

Right-hander Jameson Taillon will be getting the start for the Yankees. A handful of Red Sox hitters have faced him before, including Santana and Hunter Renfroe.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Kiké Hernández: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

César Puello opts out of minor-league deal with Red Sox, signs minors pact with Mets

The Red Sox have lost some upper-level minor-league outfield depth, as outfielder Cesar Puello signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Saturday, according to Newsday’s Tim Healey.

Puello, 30, triggered the June 1 opt-out clause in his minor-league deal with the Red Sox earlier this week and was subsequently granted his release on Thursday.

The right-handed hitter struggled in his first season with Triple-A Worcester, slashing .158/.370/.184 (78 wRC+) to go along with one double, no home runs, seven RBI, six runs scored, eight walks, eight strikeouts, and six stolen bases over 15 games and 54 plate appearances.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison, Puello was also having trouble getting consistent playing time with the WooSox. Releasing him also allowed the Red Sox to promote fellow outfielder Johan Mieses from Double-A Portland to Worcester.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Puello originally inked a minor-league pact with Boston in February 2020. The 6-foot-2, 217 pounder appeared in five games for the club last September after spending the majority of the summer at the alternate training site. He was later designated and outrighted by the Sox in October before re-upping on another minors deal in December.

Before joining the Red Sox, Puello spent parts of two big-league seasons (2017, 2019) with the Angels, Rays, and Marlins.

Puello originally signed with the Mets as an international free agent out of the Dominican back in 2007 and spent the first nine years of his professional career with the organization he is now returning to. He will report to Triple-A Syracuse.

(Picture of Cesar Puello: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers mashes 3-run homer, Marwin Gonzalez enjoys 2-hit night as Red Sox open series against Yankees with 5-2 win

It would appear that Rafael Devers has gotten his fastball back.

After struggling with the heater in Houston this week, Devers got this weekend’s series against the Yankees started with a bang at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

With two outs and runners at first and second in the top of the first, the 24-year-old greeted Yankees starter Michael King by crushing an 0-2, 96 mph fastball at the top of the zone to deep right field for a three-run home run.

Devers’ team-leading 15th homer of the season traveled 429 feet off the left-handed hitter’s bat and had an exit velocity of 112.4 mph, which would turn out to be the second hardest-hit ball of the night. It also gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead.

Gonzalez breaks out of slump with two-hit night

To his credit, King settled in for New York after a rough first inning. The Rhode Island native strung together four consecutive scoreless frames before allowing a one-out single to Xander Bogaerts in the sixth. That resulted in the Yankees turning to left-hander Lucas Luetge.

Hunter Renfroe greeted Luetge by advancing Bogaerts to second on a single, while Hunter Renfroe — who came into Friday’s contest in the midst of a 1-for-24 skid — scored both runners by lacing a two-run double down the left field line.

The Sox went ahead 5-0 on Gonzalez’s first hit since May 22, and the switch-hitter also reached base again on a one-out double later on in the ninth.

Eovaldi tosses six solid innings, but scuffles towards the end

Nathan Eovaldi made his 12th start of the season for the Red Sox on Friday, matched up against one of his former teams at a ballpark he knows quite well.

Over six innings of work, the veteran right-hander yielded two runs — only one of which was earned — on eight hits and zero walks to go along with seven strikeouts on the night.

Both runs Eovaldi surrendered came in his final frame of action, with Aaron Judge getting his side on the board with a two-out solo home run to the short porch and Gio Urshela scoring on a Marwin Gonzalez fielding AND throwing error later in the inning.

For how impressive he was in the beginning, Eovaldi gave up four of his eight hits in the sixth. Still, six quality innings is six quality innings.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 87 (59 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler’s next start should come against the Astros back at Fenway Park on Wednesday.

Strikeouts galore from the Red Sox bullpen

In relief of Eovaldi, right-handed reliever Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for the bottom half of the seventh inning.

Sawamura needed all of 12 pitches to punch out Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, and D.J. LeMahieu in order, and he also picked up two more strikeouts in a scoreless bottom of the eighth as well to pave the way for Matt Barnes.

Barnes, making his 24th appearance of the season, dominated to the tune of a three-strikeout inning in which he secured his 13th save of the year while also preserving a 5-2, series-opening victory for the Red Sox.

With the win, their second straight, the Sox improve to 34-23 on the season and move to a game back of the Rays for first place in the American League East

Next up: Rodriguez vs. Taillon

A struggling Eduardo Rodriguez will take the hill for the Red Sox against the Yankees on Saturday night. He will be opposed by right-hander Jameson Taillon.

Rodriguez is coming off the worst month of his career. In six May starts, the left-hander went 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA and .957 OPS against over 29 2/3 innings pitched. The Sox went 1-5 in those six starts.

Saturday will mark Rodriguez’s first outing at Yankee Stadium since August 2, 2019.

Tallion, meanwhile, carries with him a 5.10 ERA through his first 10 starts (47 2/3 innings) in a Yankees uniform. The 29-year-old has only made one prior start against the Red Sox, which came when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in April 2017.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Red Sox acquire right-handers Luis De La Rosa and Grant Gambrell from Royals as players to be named later to complete three-team Andrew Benintendi trade; Freddy Valdez also acquired from Mets

In addition to acquiring outfield prospect Freddy Valdez as the player to be named later from the Mets in the three-team Andrew Benintendi trade, the Red Sox have also received right-handed pitching prospects Luis De La Rosa and Grant Gambrell as the two players to be named later from the Mets, according to The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.

De La Rosa, who turns 19 next month, was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic for approximately $147,500 by Kansas City in July 2018.

While he is not listed at the top of many prospect boards, De La Rosa did impress in his professional debut in 2019.

In 12 outings (11 starts) in the Dominican Summer League, the lanky 6-foot-1, 170 pound righty posted a 2.33 ERA and 1.92 xFIP to go along with seven walks and 52 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings of work en route to being named the Dominican Royals 1 Pitcher of the Year.

According to his Baseball America scouting report from when he first signed with the Royals three years ago, De La Rosa — a former shortstop — “has an array of positive projection indicators, with some of that projection already starting to bear out.” As of that writing, the young hurler was working with a fastball, a slider, and an “advanced changeup for his age.”

A native of Santo Domingo, De La Rosa will become Rule 5 eligible for the first time in December 2022.

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Gambrell, meanwhile, was originally selected by the Royals in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Oregon State University. He later signed with the club for $647,500.

The 23-year-old came into the 2021 campaign regarded by FanGraphs as the No. 21 prospect in Kansas City’s farm system even after not pitching at all the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the minor-league season.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Gambrell’s FanGraphs scouting report goes as follows (courtesy of Eric Longenhagen):

“At his best, Gambrell sits in the mid-90s with a plus breaking ball (there might be two, but if so, they’ve run together in my looks) and a tailing, mid-80s changeup that he uses in some clever ways, including as a means to jam righties. His stuff has been inconsistent and he missed considerable time with injury during college, which creates some relief risk. We’re talking about a pitcher who only worked about four innings per outing during his sophomore year, and struggled when the Royals asked him to work as a starter and blow way past his previous single-year innings total after they drafted him in 2019. 

“But Gambrell was sitting 94-96 during 2021 spring action and looked to me to be in much better shape than the last time I saw him. The 2020 layoff means the innings increase piece of Gambrell’s developmental track still feels harrowing, but he has a power-pitcher’s repertoire and a chance to really blow up this year because he came to camp with a totally different body.”

Opening the 2021 season with High-A Quad Cities, Gambrell produced a 4.37 ERA and 4.06 xFIP to go along with seven walks and 28 strikeouts through his first five starts (22 2/3 innings pitched) of the year.

Upon his integration into the Red Sox organization, it seems likely that Gambrell would report to High-A Greenville. We will have to wait and see on that.

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The three-team trade between the Red Sox, Royals, and Mets, which was initially agreed to back on February 10, has now been made completely official.

Here are the full returns for all three teams:

Red Sox get: OF Franchy Cordero (from KC), RHPs Luis De La Rosa and Grant Gambrell (from KC), RHP Josh Winckowski (from NYM), and OF Freddy Valdez (from NYM)

Royals get: OF Andrew Benintendi (from BOS)

Mets get: OF Khalil Lee (from BOS via KC)

What a journey it has been.

(Picture of Andrew Benintendi: Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)

Red Sox acquire outfield prospect Freddy Valdez as player to be named later from Mets in three-team Andrew Benintendi trade; 2 players from Royals expected to be announced soon

The Red Sox are acquiring outfield prospect Freddy Valdez from the Mets as one of the players to be named later in the three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Royals back in February, according to The Athletic’s Chad Jennings.

Valdez, 19, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 17 prospect in the Mets’ farm system, ranking fifth among outfielders in the organization.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 222 pounds, the right-handed hitter was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by New York for $1.4 million at the start of the 2018 international signing period.

In his first full season of pro ball, Valdez posted a.274/.367/.448 slash line to go along with 16 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 39 RBI, 40 runs scored, 31 walks, 49 strikeouts, and six stolen bases over 60 total games and 270 plate appearances between the Dominican Summer League Mets and Gulf Coast League Mets (57 games in the DSL, 3 in the GCL) in 2019. He was named the club’s DSL Player of the Year for his efforts.

After not playing at all in 2020 with the minor-league season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Valdez did participate in the Mets’ fall instructional league, where he put his raw power and strength on full display.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, the young outfielder “flexed his plus-plus raw power by driving a pitch about 450 feet down the left-field line” during batting practice one time.

Besides that, BA does note that ” the speed of instructional league play was too fast for Valdez, who was one of the younger players in camp.” The rest of his report goes as follows:

“He doesn’t chase out of the zone as much as other hitters his age but struggled to wait on his pitch and do damage. Valdez is a power-over-hit corner outfielder, with below-average hitting ability. His physical, mature body will keep him locked in right field, where he has below-average defensive instincts and a strong arm that is mitigated by a long arm action and slow release.”

Valdez, who does not turn 20 until early December, has seen most of his playing time (49 games) as a professional to this point come in right field with one game in left field mixed in there as well.

Since he signed with the Mets nearly three years ago, Valdez has risen from the organization’s 28th-ranked prospect in 2019, to the organization’s 18th-ranked prospect in 2020, to the organization’s 17th-ranked prospect in 2021.

Although it’s unclear which minor-league level Valdez will start at with the Red Sox, he is under team control through at least 2022, at which point he can become Rule 5 eligible for the first time if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by November of that year.

Valdez is just one of three players to be named later the Red Sox acquired from both the Mets and Royals as part of the trade that sent Benintendi to Kansas City over the winter.

In addition to receiving outfielder Franchy Cordero from the Royals and pitching prospect Josh Winckowski from the Mets, the Sox also acquired one player to be named later from the Mets (Valdez) and two players to be named later from the Royals.

According to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, the two players from the Royals are expected to be announced later Friday night. So stay tuned for that.

(Picture of Andrew Benintendi: Ron Vesley/Getty Images)

Red Sox to honor Dustin Pedroia before June 25 game against Yankees at Fenway Park

More than five months after he retired, Dustin Pedroia will finally be honored by the Red Sox during pregame ceremonies leading up to the opening game of a three-game weekend series against the Yankees at Fenway Park on Friday, June 25.

First pitch of that game is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time.

Pedroia, who announced his retirement from baseball back on February 1, spent all 14 years of his major-league career and all 17 years of his professional career with the Red Sox organization.

Boston selected the second baseman in the second round of the 2004 amateur draft out of Arizona State University. He went on to play 1,512 games in a Red Sox uniform, which ranks 11th all-time in franchise history.

Over those 1,512 games from 2006-2019, Pedroia recorded 1,805 hits, scored 922 runs, hit 140 home runs, collected 725 RBI, and stole 138 bases while slashing .299/.365/.439.

In that same time frame, the 37-year-old won three World Series titles, four Gold Glove awards, and one Silver Slugger award. He was also selected to four American League All-Star teams and earned AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 and AL Most Valuable Player honors in 2008.

With that sort of resume to his name, Pedroia was undoubtedly on a Hall of Fame track while establisihing himself as one of — if not the best second baseman in Red Sox history.

Unfortunately, injuries ultimately did the California native in during the latter stages of his career.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, Pedroia was forced to call it a career on account of playing just nine total games from 2018-2020 due to a recurring left knee injury that required a partial knee replacement in December 2020.

That procedure, Pedroia’s fifth knee surgery since October 2017 and sixth in all, resulted in him not being able to continue to play the game he was extremely passionate about.

“I don’t have any regrets. And that’s what I’m proud of,” Pedroia said during his retirement Zoom call. “Could it have ended better and I finished my career the right way? Yeah, of course. But there was a reason why I was the first one dressed at 5:30 for a 7 o’clock game. … The biggest thing in my mind was, ‘This could be my last game. You don’t know.’ And that’s the way I approached it from Little League on. I played every game like it was my last one. I had the best time playing.”

(Picture of Dustin Pedroia: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

New Podding the Red Sox episode: The Providence Jorunal’s Bill Koch joins the show

On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Bill Koch, who covers the Red Sox for The Providence Journal.

Among the topics Bill and I discussed were how his New England roots shaped his interest in sports journalism, what led him to covering the Red Sox for The Providence Journal, how he goes about writing and tweeting about the Red Sox, his thoughts on Boston’s season thus far, what Alex Cora will have to deal with in the Bronx this weekend, his prediction for what Chaim Bloom will do before next month’s trade deadline, when Jarren Duran could be making his major-league debut, and much more!

The episode is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.

Thank you to Bill for taking some time out of his busy in-season schedule to have a conversation with me.

You can follow Bill on Twitter (@BillKoch25) by clicking here. You can check out his work for the Providence Journal by clicking here.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!

(Picture of Fenway Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Martín Pérez tosses 7 2/3 scoreless innings, Christian Arroyo crushes 3-run homer as Red Sox salvage series against Astros with 5-1 win

Powered by Martin Perez’s strongest showing of the season to date, the Red Sox were able to avoid a four-game sweep and salvage their series against the Astros with a 5-1 victory at Minute Maid Park on Thursday.

Perez, making his 11th start of the season, pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in his Red Sox career.

Over 7 2/3 impressive frames of work, the veteran left-hander kept the Astros off the board while scattering just six hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts on the afternoon.

Five of the six hits Perez gave up were singles. The only extra-base hit was snuffed out right away when he yielded a two-out double to Aledmys Diaz and immediately picked him off trying to steal third base.

The fifth inning presented a little bit more trouble for Perez when he put on two of the first three hitters he faced in the frame. Nevertheless, the southpaw got Myles Straw to pop out to the infield before inducing an inning-ending grounder off the bat of Garrett Stubbs. Bobby Dalbec made a nice diving play on the ball and Perez did a quality job of getting over to first base in time.

From there, Perez held things in check. But a one-out single and two-out walk — his first free pass of the contest — in the bottom of the eighth would mark the end of his outing.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 82 (59 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler improved to 4-2 on the year while lowering his ERA down to 3.09. His next start should come against this same Astros team back at Fenway Park next Tuesday.

In relief of Perez, Adam Ottavino got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen and needed all of five pitches to record the final out of the inning.

With a five-run lead going into the last of the ninth, the Sox were able to go to Brandon Workman to close this one out on the same they promoted him from Triple-A Worcester.

Workman served up a solo homer to Yuli Gurriel, but was otherwise up to the challenge of preserving a 5-1 win for his side.

Red Sox offense wakes up

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in the form of Astros right-hander Jake Odorizzi.

Unlike the first three games of this series, the Boston bats were actually able to take advantage of early scoring opportunities.

That being the case because with no outs and runners on first and second in the top of the second, a resurgent Christian Arroyo crushed his first home run of the season on a hanging cutter from Odorizzi.

Arroyo’s three-run shot traveled 339 feet over the left field fence and had an exit velocity of 93.2 mph off the bat. It also cleared the bases and gave the Red Sox a 3-0 advantage early on.

Fast forward to the seventh, and the Sox found themselves in a nearly-identical situation.

With no outs and runners at second and third, Xander Bogaerts put an end to one of the worst offensive skids of his career (0-for-his-last-24) by lacing a two-run double off Astros reliever Cristian Javier. He also singled in the ninth to finish the day with his first multi-hit game since May 21.

Bogaerts’ seventh-inning two-base hit put the Red Sox up 5-0 and, as previously mentioned, 5-1 would go on to be Thursday’s final score.

By breaking out of a three-game losing streak, the Sox improve to 33-23 on the season (17-10) on the season to get back to 10 games over .500. They remain two games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Alex Cora ejected

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the sixth inning. He was tossed by home plate umpire Lance Barrett after Kevin Plawecki struck out looking on a questionable third called strike.

Cora has now been ejected two times this season, with Thursday marking his first ejection since April 15. Bench coach Will Venable took over managerial responsibilities for the remainder of the ballgame.

Next up: Big weekend series in the Bronx

The Red Sox will depart Houston for New York, where they will open up a three-game weekend series against the 31-26 Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will get the ball for Boston in the opener, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Michael King for New York.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Thaddeus Ward undergoes Tommy John surgery

Red Sox pitching prospect Thaddeus Ward underwent Tommy John surgery on Thursday, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Florida.

Ward, 24, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 10 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks fourth among pitchers in the organization.

The right-hander opened the 2021 minor-league season with Double-A Portland, where he allowed five runs on 11 hits, five walks, and 11 strikeouts over his first two starts and eight innings pitched prior to being placed on the injured list due to a forearm strain.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Ward “visited multiple doctors in recent weeks before surgery was recommended.”

Selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the 2018 amateur draft out of the University of Central Florida, Ward emerged as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects thanks in part to posting a 2.14 ERA over 25 starts (126 1/3 innings) between Low-A Greenville and High-A Salem during his first full professional season in 2019.

While he did not pitch in 2020 on account of the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the minor-league season, the Florida native did receive an invite to big-league spring training this year before getting reassigned to minor-league camp in early March.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 193 pounds, Ward — who works with a sinker, cutter, slider, changeup, and curveball — will miss the rest of the 2021 campaign and likely the majority of 2022 as well considering the typical timetable for pitchers to come back from Tommy John surgery is anywhere between 12-15 months.

Ward undergoing Tommy John is the latest instance of the Red Sox’ minor-league pitching depth taking a major hit so far this year.

Bryan Mata, the top pitching prospect in the system, underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Tanner Houck, the No. 3 pitching prospect in the system, has been on the injured list with a flexor muscle strain.

Connor Seabold, the No. 5 pitching prospect in the system, has been on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Eduard Bazardo, the 27th-ranked prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline, has been on the injured list with a lat strain.

For the Red Sox, the silver lining with Ward is that they likely won’t need to add the young righty to their 40-man roster in November even though he will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time this winter.

(Picture of Thaddeus Ward: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Brandon Workman from Triple-A Worcester, designate Colten Brewer for assignment

The Red Sox have selected the contract of Brandon Workman from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Astros.

In order to make room for Workman on both the 26-man and 40-man roster, fellow reliever Colten Brewer was optioned to Worcester following Wednesday’s game before being designated for assignment on Thursday.

Workman, 32, triggered the June 1 opt-out clause in his minor-league contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday, which in turn gave the club 48 hours to either promote or release him to pursue other opportunities.

The right-hander initially inked a minor-league pact with Boston last month shortly after getting released by the Cubs in late April. He posted a 1.29 ERA and a 2.75 xFIP to go along with four walks and 10 strikeouts over seven relief appearances spanning 7 2/3 innings pitched with the WooSox.

After mulling over their options these past two days, the Sox ultimately decided to bring back a familiar face in Workman, who spent the first six years of his major-league career and first 11 years of his professional career with Boston.

2019 was undoubtedly Workman’s best year in a Red Sox uniform, as he put up a miniscule 1.88 ERA over 73 outings in the process of emerging as Boston’s closer.

The 2020 campaign, however, was a different story. The former second-round pick out of the University of Texas was dealt from the Sox to the Phillies in late August as part of a four-player trade and never really got things going in Philadelphia (6.92 ERA in 13 innings).

It took until February for Workman to land a one-year deal with the Cubs. But, as previously mentioned, he was designated for assignment and eventually released by Chicago after just 10 April appearances.

Workman’s second go-around in free agency did not last nearly as long as the first with the Sox signing the veteran hurler to a minor-league deal on May 6.

With his promotion to the big-leagues, Workman now joins a Red Sox bullpen mix that includes the likes of Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino, Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, Phillips Valdez, Hirokazu Sawamura, Matt Andriese, and Garrett Whitlock. He will retain his No. 44.

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Brewer, meanwhile, was designated for assignment in order to make room for Workman on Boston’s 40-man roster.

The 28-year-old was originally acquired by the Red Sox in a November 2018 trade with the Padres and has produced a 4.98 ERA and 5.20 FIP in 70 appearances (four starts) over the last three seasons.

After the right-hander was shelled for four runs in his 2021 debut at Minute Maid Park on Monday, the Sox must have felt like Workman was an upgrade over Brewer — at least for the time being.

Boston will now have seven days to either trade, release, or waive Brewer. He could be outrighted to the WooSox if he winds up clearing waivers.

(Picture of Brandon Workman: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)