Tag: ovis portes

Red Sox trade breakout pitching prospect Ovis Portes to Reds for bullpen help

The Red Sox parted ways with a promising young pitching prospect to upgrade their bullpen depth in a trade with the Reds on Tuesday afternoon.

In exchange for reliever Lucas Sims, who is eligible for free agency this winter, Boston dealt right-hander Ovis Portes to Cincinnati, per a club announcement. Injured left-hander Brandon Walter was also designated for assignment to make room for Sims on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster.

Portes was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking 10th among pitchers in the organization. The 19-year-old hurler broke onto the scene this season after posting a 2.12 ERA (3.12 FIP) with 41 strikeouts to 19 walks in 11 appearances (five starts) spanning 34 innings between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem.

A native of Antigua and Barbuda, Portes originally signed with the Red Sox for $25,000 as an international free agent in March 2022. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League that June and repeated the level last year, though he was limited to just four outings in which he put up underwhelming results.

Portes broke camp this past spring with the rookie-level FCL Red Sox and strung together four straight scoreless appearances (13 innings) before earning a promotion to Salem in early June. He then pitched to a 3.43 ERA (3.64 FIP) with 25 strikeouts to 15 walks in seven outings (five starts) and 21 innings for Boston’s Carolina League affiliate. Opposing hitters batted .213 against him.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 167 pounds, Portes throws from a three-quarters arm slot. The projectable righty has been sitting between 94-96 mph and topping out at 98 mph with his four-seam fastball this season while also mixing in a low-80s slider and mid-80s changeup, per his Baseball America scouting report.

Portes, who does not turn 20 until December, has been assigned to the Reds’ Low-A affiliate in Daytona, Fla. It remains to be seen if Cincinnati plans on developing Portes as a starter or reliever, but he nonetheless possesses intriguing potential at this stage in his career.

(Picture of Ovis Portes: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox promote pitching prospect Ovis Portes to Low-A Salem

The Red Sox have promoted 19-year-old pitching prospect Ovis Portes from the Florida Complex League to Low-A Salem, per the club’s MiLB.com transactions log.

Portes will get the start on the mound for Salem in Tuesday night’s series opener against the Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers affiliate). First pitch from Carilion Clinic Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time.

Portes has gotten his first season stateside off to a terrific start as evidenced by the fact that he did not allow a run in four relief appearances for the FCL Red Sox. Instead, the young right-hander allowed just five hits and four walks to go along with 16 strikeouts over 13 scoreless innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .119 batting average.

To that end, it comes as no surprise that Portes was named Boston’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for May. The Antigua and Barbuda native originally signed with the Red Sox for $25,000 as an international free agent coming out of the city of St. John’s in March 2022. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League that June and repeated the level last year, though he appeared in only four games.

Listed at a projectable 6-foot-4 and 167 pounds, Portes operates with a 95-96 mph fastball that has reached 98 mph, a “disappearing” 77-81 mph slider that “really seems to baffle hitters,” and a sparingly-used 83-85 mph changeup, according to recent reports from Baseball America’s Dylan White, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and SoxProspects.com’s Ian Cundall.

Portes, who does not turn 20 until December, still has plenty of room to grow from both a physical and developmental point of view. He is not currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system but that will change when the site updates its rankings later this week.

In other roster-related news out of Salem, righty Blake Wehunt was officially promoted to High-A Greenville while catcher Brooks Brannon was activated from the 60-day injured list after completing a rehab assignment in the FCL.

Brannon, Boston’s 46th-ranked prospect according to SoxProspects.com, is batting cleanup and starting behind the plate for Salem on Tuesday night.

(Picture of Ovis Portes: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)