Tag: roster moves

Red Sox bring back Wyatt Mills on two-year minor-league deal

The Red Sox brought back injured reliever Wyatt Mills on a minor-league contract last week, per the club’s transactions log. It is a two-year deal that will cover the 2024 and 2025 seasons, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Mills, who turns 29 in January, was non-tendered by Boston earlier this month after not pitching at all this past season. The right-hander was originally acquired from the Royals for relief prospect Jacob Wallace last December and was expected to compete for a spot in the Sox’ Opening Day bullpen out of spring training.

After allowing just one earned run and striking out 10 over six innings his first four appearances of the spring, Mills was shelled for four runs on four hits, one walk, and two hit batsman in the sixth inning of a 16-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Blue Jays in Dunedin on March 13. He was then shut down to to an elbow issue and opened the season on the injured list.

Despite trying to rehab the injury, Mills ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery in early July. As a result, he will miss most — if not all — of the 2024 season, but the structure of his new contract allows the Red Sox to oversee his rehab and the potential benefits that come with it once he is presumably healthy in 2025.

Mills, a former third-round draft pick of the Mariners out of Gonzaga in 2017, first broke in with Seattle in May 2021 and was then traded to Kansas City last June. Between the two stops, the Washington state native owns a 6.21 ERA (but much more encouraging 3.84 FIP) with 37 strikeouts to 20 walks in 38 relief appearances (42 innings) at the big-league level.

As MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith noted earlier this summer, the Red Sox were intrigued by Mills because of how his profile mirrors that of fellow side-winder John Schreiber. Like Schreiber, Mills throws from a lower arm angle and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a sinker. He had also been planning on adding a changeup to his arsenal before going under the knife.

While proceeding with his rehab moving forward, Mills will remain in the Red Sox organization without occupying a spot on the club’s 40-man roster.

(Picture of Wyatt Mills: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox add top pitching prospects Wikelman Gonzalez, Luis Perales to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 deadline

The Red Sox added two of their top pitching prospects to the 40-man roster on Tuesday in order to protect them from being available in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Boston selected the contracts of right-handers Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales, bringing its 40-man roster up to 39 players. Even with that one vacant spot, the club somewhat surprisingly decided against adding another eligible top pitching prospect in left-hander Shane Drohan.

Gonzalez, 21, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 8 prospect in the Sox’ farm system, which ranks second among pitchers in the organization behind only Perales. The Venezuelan-born righty split the 2023 season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland, posting a 3.96 ERA and 3.33 FIP with 168 strikeouts to 70 walks in 25 starts spanning 111 1/3 innings of work.

After closing out the 2022 campaign in Greenville, Gonzalez returned to the Drive this spring but struggled out of the gate by allowing 15 earned runs over 8 2/3 innings in his first four starts of the year. He then turned a corner as the calendar flipped from April to May, forging a 3.48 ERA across his next 11 outings (54 1/3 innings) before earning a promotion to Portland on July 14.

In his first start with the Sea Dogs on July 16, Gonzalez fanned nine of the 23 batters he faced over six scoreless innings on the road against the Reading Fightin Phils. Six days later, he struck out 10 more while being responsible for the first six innings of a combined no-hitter against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Hadlock Field.

All told, Gonzalez produced a 2.42 ERA and 3.07 FIP with 63 strikeouts to 28 walks in his final 10 starts (48 1/3 innings) of the season for Portland. He put up those numbers while holding opposing hitters to a miniscule .162 batting average against.

Recognized as Boston’s 2023 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in September, Gonzalez led all qualified Red Sox minor-leaguers in strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings (13.58), strikeout rate (35.2 percent), and batting average against (.189). On the flip side of that, though, the 6-foot, 167-pounder also posted a suboptimal 14.7 percent walk rate.

Gonzalez originally signed with the Red Sox for $250,000 as an international free agent coming out of Maracay in July 2018. He now throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 94-96 mph fastball that tops out at 97 mph, a 75-79 mph curveball that features 11-to-5 break, an 84-88 mph changeup, and an 84-88 mph curveball, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Perales, Boston’s No. 7 overall prospect according to Baseball America, also split the 2023 season between two levels. The 20-year-old righty broke camp this spring with Low-A Salem and pitched to a 3.21 ERA (3.16 FIP) with 71 strikeouts to 28 walks in 13 starts (53 1/3 innings) for the Red Sox. He then made the jump to Greenville at the same time Gonzalez moved up to Portland during the All-Star break in July.

In eight starts for the Drive, Perales posted a 4.95 ERA (6.07 FIP) to go along with 44 strikeouts to 22 walks over 36 1/3 innings in which opponents batted .275 against him. Altogether, Perales finished the year with a 3.91 ERA (4.34 FIP) and 115 strikeouts to 50 walks across 21 total starts (89 2/3 innings) between Salem and Greenville.

Like Gonzalez, Perales also hails from Venezuela. The Guacara native signed with Boston for $75,000 as an international free agent in July 2019 and has now put himself in a position where he can be viewed as arguably the No. 1 pitching prospect in the organization.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, Perales throws from a high three-quarters arm slot and works with five different pitches: a 94-96 mph fastball that can reach 99 mph, an 88-91 mph cutter that features short, horizontal break, an 81-85 mph slider, and an 85-87 mph changeup, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report. In similar fashion to Gonzalez, much of Perales’ development moving forward hinges on if he can improve his control/command of the strike zone.

Gonzalez, who turns 22 in March, is projected to return to Portland for the start of the 2024 minor-league season. Perales, who turns 21 in April, is expected to return to Greenville next spring.

Drohan, meanwhile, looked like a sure bet to join Gonzalez and Perales on Boston’s 40-man roster just a few months ago. The 24-year-old lefty got off to a fantastic start this season, putting up a 1.32 ERA (2.42 FIP) with 36 strikeouts to nine walks in six starts (34 innings) for Portland before receiving a promotion to Triple-A Worcester in mid-May.

With the WooSox, though, Drohan struggled mightily to the tune of a 6.47 ERA (6.55 FIP) and 93 strikeouts to 63 walks over 21 outings (19 starts) spanning 89 innings. It did not help that his both his stuff and command faded as the year progressed and that obviously created some question marks regarding his upside.

Drohan, the No. 3 pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system behind Perales and Gonzalez, was selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the COVID-shortened 2020 draft out of Florida State. The Fort Lauderdale native signed with the club for $600,000.

Now that he has been left unprotected, Drohan — who turns 25 in January — could be scooped up by another team for $100,000 in December’s Rule 5 Draft. That club would then need to carry the 6-foot-3, 195-pound southpaw on their active roster for the entirety of the 2024 season (barring an injury) or would otherwise have to place him on outright waivers and then offer him back to the Red Sox for $50,000 should he clear.

The Red Sox, of course, lost three pitchers in last year’s Rule 5 Draft as Thad Ward (Nationals), Noah Song (Phillies), and Andrew Politi (Orioles) were all nabbed by other teams. Of those three, though, Ward was the only one to not be offered back to Boston at any point this past season.

(Picture of Wikelman Gonzalez: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox sign veteran righty Dinelson Lamet to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent right-hander Dinelson Lamet to a minor-league contract, per the club’s transactions log. Lamet will report to Triple-A Worcester in the coming days.

Lamet became a free agent after being designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Rockies last week. The 30-year-old hurler had struggled to an 11.57 ERA and 6.57 FIP with 31 strikeouts to 22 walks in 16 appearances (four starts) and 25 2/3 innings pitched this season before being removed from Colorado’s 40-man roster.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Lamet first broke in with the Padres and 2017 and pitched to a 4.57 ERA in 21 starts as a rookie. He then missed the entirety of the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and produced a 4.07 ERA in 14 starts after returning from the procedure during the latter half of the 2019 campaign.

The COVID-shortened 2020 season served as a breakout year for Lamet, who went 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 93 to 20 in 12 starts (69 innings) for the Padres. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting that year behind the likes of the Reds’ Trevor Bauer, the Cubs’ Yu Darvish, and the Mets’ Jacob deGrom.

Unfortunately, Lamet has been unable to find that same level of success over the last three seasons. He worked as both a starter and reliever in 2021 and was then traded to the Brewers last August after posting a 9.49 ERA in 13 appearances out of the Padres’ bullpen.

Lamet’s stay in Milwaukee was short-lived, however, as he was designated for assignment and traded to Colorado within days of joining the Brewers. He then forged a 4.05 ERA with 29 punchouts to 10 walks in 19 relief appearances for the Rockies, who brought him back on a one-year, $5 million arbitration agreement in November.

Despite the solid second half last year, Lamet got off to a rough start this season, walking 16.4 percent of the 134 batters he faced while getting hit hard in the process. According to Baseball Savant, Lamet currently ranks in the fifth percentile of all big-league pitchers in average exit velocity, the first percentile in hard-hit rate, the first percentile in walk rate, and the second percentile in chase rate. He also spent most of May on the injured list with lower back stiffness.

While the peripherals and injury concerns are undoubtedly discouraging, the Red Sox still elected to take a flier on Lamet, who turns 31 next month. The 6-foot-3, 228-pound righty has thrown four different pitches this season: a mid-80s slider, a mid-90s sinker, a mid-90s four-seam fastball, and a sparingly-used changeup.

Lamet figures to provide Boston with immediate rotation depth. At present, the Red Sox are down to just four major-league starters with both Tanner Houck (facial fracture) and Chris Sale (shoulder) on the injured list. As a result, the club has been forced to have bullpen games every five days. With the WooSox, Lamet will join the likes of fellow veterans Jake Faria and Kyle Barraclough and rookie Brandon Walter as possible spot start candidates if the occasion arises.

(Picture of Dinelson Lamet: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Red Sox acquire righty reliever Andrés Núñez in minor trade with Royals

The Red Sox swung a minor trade on Monday, acquiring right-hander Andres Nunez from the Royals for cash considerations, per the club’s transactions log.

Nunez has spent the entire season with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, Neb. and is expected to report to the WooSox in the coming days, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Nunez, 27, was originally selected by the Royals in the 29th round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Florida International University. The Southwest Ranches native signed with Kansas City for $75,000 and has appeared in 163 minor-league games (one start) since making his professional debut that June.

After earning Omaha Pitcher of the Year honors in 2022, Nunez received his first-ever invite to major-league spring training back in January. He returned to the Storm Chasers for the start of the 2023 campaign and pitched to a 6.66 ERA (4.53 FIP) with 20 strikeouts to 14 walks over 21 relief appearances spanning 24 1/3 innings of work.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Nunez operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a mid-80s sweeping slider, a low-90s sinker, and a mid-80s changeup. For his career at the Triple-A level, he owns a lifetime 4.86 ERA in 92 outings (109 1/3 innings) dating back to the start of the 2021 season.

Nunez, who turns 28 in September, figures to provide the Red Sox with additional bullpen depth at Triple-A Worcester moving forward. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. have made an effort to address this area throughout the season, most notably claiming journeymen Brennan Bernardino and Justin Garza off waivers in April. Boston also acquired righty Tayler Scott from the Dodgers for cash considerations last week and have since assigned him to the WooSox.

(Picture of Andres Nunez: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote catching prospect Stephen Scott to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have promoted catching prospect Stephen Scott from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Scott, 26, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 35 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The left-handed hitter batted .248/.369/.448 (124 wRC+) with five doubles, one triple, six home runs, 22 RBIs, 23 runs scored, four stolen bases, 24 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 37 games (149 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs this season.

Among qualified Eastern League hitters coming into play on Friday, Scott ranks 22nd in on-base percentage, 24th in slugging percentage, 24th in OPS (.817), 20th in isolated power (.200), 23rd in wRC+, and 15th in walk rate (16.1 percent), according to FanGraphs.

Defensively, Scott logged 257 innings at catcher for Portland while splitting time behind the plate with Nathan Hickey and Elih Marrero. In those 257 innings, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound backstop allowed six passed balls and threw out 61 would-be base stealers.

A native of North Carolina, Scott was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 10th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt. At the time he signed with Boston for just $50,000 that July, Scott was primarily viewed as a first baseman/corner outfielder, but he began catching full-time last year and has not really looked back since.

In Worcester, Scott will join Caleb Hamilton and Ronaldo Hernandez in helping fill the void left behind by veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro, who exercised the opt-out in his minor-league contract with Boston last week and was granted his release from the organization this past Saturday.

(Picture of Stephen Scott: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox to call up left-hander Joe Jacques from Triple-A Worcester, per report

UPDATE: The Red Sox did indeed select Jacques’ from Worcester on Friday. They cleared a spot on the 26-man roster for him by optioning Enmanuel Valdez and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list.

The Red Sox are promoting left-hander Joe Jacques from Triple-A Worcester, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

Jacques, 28, will be active for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. The Red Sox will need to create openings on both their 26- and 40-man rosters in order to accommodate the addition of Jacques.

As noted by Smith, Boston is also expected to activate outfielder Adam Duvall from the 60-day injured list on Friday, meaning the club will need to add him back to the 40-man roster as well.

To that end, the Red Sox already opened a spot on their 40-man roster by designating Matt Dermody for assignment following Thursday night’s 10-3 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe recently speculated that they could create another 40-man spot by transferring pitching prospect Bryan Mata — who has been on the minor-league injured list since May 10 — to the 60-day injured list. That, of course, would start Mata’s service time clock.

Jacques, meanwhile, was originally selected by the Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Manhattan College. The New Jersey native spent the first five years of his professional career in the Pittsburgh organization before being plucked by the Red Sox in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December.

In 23 appearances (one start) for the WooSox this season, Jacques has posted a 3.58 ERA and 5.00 FIP with 24 strikeouts to nine walks across 27 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound sidearmer relies primarily on a sinker and slider combination.

Dermody, who last pitched for Worcester on Wednesday, is in line to make his major-league debut if he gets into a game with the Red Sox this weekend. He would become the second pitcher and fourth player to accomplish that feat for Boston this season, joining fellow lefty Chris Murphy, second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, and outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

(Picture of Joe Jacques: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox designate Matt Dermody for assignment

The Red Sox have designated left-hander Matt Dermody for assignment, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) following Thursday night’s 10-3 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field.

The move to designate Dermody for assignment presumably clears a spot on both the 26- and 40-man roster for outfielder Adam Duvall, who is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing the last two months with a fractured left wrist.

Dermody had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester and made the first start of his major-league career on Thursday. The 32-year-old southpaw became the ninth different pitcher to start a game for Boston this season and allowed three earned runs on four hits (two Jose Ramirez home runs), one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with one strikeout over four innings of work. He finished with 76 pitches (45 strikes) and was charged with the losing decision.

A veteran of four big-league seasons with the Blue Jays (2016-2017) and Cubs (2020, 2022), Dermody originally signed a minors pact with Boston back in January. The Iowa product posted a 4.50 ERA (4.05 FIP) with 47 strikeouts to nine walks across nine appearances (8 starts) and 44 innings for the WooSox to begin the 2023 campaign.

With Chris Sale sidelined by left shoulder inflammation, the Red Sox found themselves short a starter heading into this week’s series in Cleveland. They elected to go with Dermody, who had not pitched for Worcester since May 28, in Thursday’s finale, but that decision was met with plenty of criticism.

Well before joining the Red Sox organization, Dermody posted — and later deleted — a homophobic tweet in June 2021 that read: “PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

According to MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox confronted Dermody about the tweet after they learned of its existence during spring training. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told McAdam that the club gave some thought to releasing Dermody at that time, but chose not to do so after discussing the matter with the lefty.

Now, the Red Sox will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Dermody, who has the ability to reject an outright assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency since he has previously been outrighted in his career.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

Red Sox officially call up Matt Dermody, option Chris Murphy to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have officially selected the contract of left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Guardians. In a corresponding move, fellow lefty Chris Murphy was optioned to Worcester following Wednesday’s 5-2 loss at Progressive Field.

Dermody, who will wear the No. 67, will make the first start of his major-league career on Thursday night. The 32-year-old hurler originally signed a minor-league contract with Boston in January and has posted a 4.50 ERA (4.06 FIP) with 47 strikeouts to nine walks in nine appearances (eight starts) spanning 44 innings of work for the WooSox.

Prior to joining the Red Sox organization over the winter, Dermody had spent parts of four seasons in the big-leagues. The Iowa product forged a 5.33 ERA in 28 relief appearances for the Blue Jays from 2016-2017 and appeared in two games with the Cubs from 2020-2022.

Dermody’s promotion has been met with a heavy amount of criticism after it was revealed that the southpaw posted — and eventually deleted — a homophobic tweet in 2021.

On June 26, 2021, Dermody tweeted: “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, manager Alex Cora was asked on Thursday if he is OK with the Red Sox giving Dermody a start given the circumstances and that it is Pride Month.

“He’s going to pitch and he’s here,” Cora said of Dermody. “Obviously as an organization, we made this decision as an organization. We’ve done a lot of stuff to educate our players on the subject. I don’t know how many organizations … do it with their employees and their players as far as like educating them about being inclusive and obviously accepting everybody in the clubhouse and your work environment.

“Obviously not too many people agree with the tweet of Matt. I’m not here to tell him what to say or what to do,” added Cora. “But one thing is for sure, when you put this uniform (on), what we want is for people to be inclusive. I think the clubhouse is a reflection of the world if you think about it. We’ve got people from different races, different beliefs, not only religious beliefs but politics. My job as a leader of the group in here is to maintain that clubhouse as close as possible respecting everybody’s thoughts. I think at the end of the day, what I want is for them to get along together and respect each other. And obviously compete for the same thing that I want to compete for, which is winning a World Series.”

Murphy, meanwhile, made his major-league debut out of the bullpen on Wednesday night. The 25-year-old pitched well, scattering two hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of relief in which he induced seven swings-and-misses.

While the Red Sox needed to option Murphy to create a spot on the 26-man roster for Dermody, they already had an opening on the 40-man roster after designating outfielder Raimel Tapia for assignment on Monday.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox to call up top pitching prospect Chris Murphy, per report

The Red Sox are calling up top pitching prospect Chris Murphy from Triple-A Worcester, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. To make room for Murphy on the active roster, right-handed reliever Kaleb Ort was optioned back to Worcester following Monday’s 4-1 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park.

Murphy, who is celebrating his 25th birthday on Monday, will be active and available out of the bullpen for Tuesday’s series opener against the Guardians in Cleveland. Depending on how things play out, the left-hander could get the start in Thursday’s series finale at Progressive Field since the Red Sox have not yet named a starter for that contest.

In 10 outings (9 starts) for the WooSox this season, Murphy has posted a 7.71 ERA and 5.56 FIP with 42 strikeouts to 25 walks in 39 2/3 innings of work. His last appearance came out of the bullpen, as he struck out three and did not issue a walk over three scoreless, one-hit frames in an 8-6 loss to the Louisville Bats on June 1.

Among 87 International League pitchers who have accrued at least 30 innings to this point in the year, Murphy ranks 21st in strikeouts per nine innings (9.53), 77th in walks per nine innings (5.67), 37th in strikeout rate (21.6 percent), 70th in walk rate (12.9 percent), 27th in swinging-strike rate (12.1 percent), 78th in batting average against (.309), 84th in WHIP (1.91), 82nd in ERA, 61st in FIP, and 52nd in xFIP (5.33), per FanGraphs.

A native of California, Murphy was originally selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of San Diego. He signed with Boston for $200,000 and was added to the club’s 40-man roster last November in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Murphy throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 91-96 mph four-seam fastball, an 84-89 mph slider, an 83-85 mph changeup, and a 73-76 mph curveball.

Despite the struggles he has endured with Worcester this season, Murphy is still regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks fourth among pitchers in the organization. MLB Pipeline, on the other hand, places the southpaw 14th on its list.

Assuming he gets into a game this week, Murphy will become the third player to make their major-league debut with the Red Sox this season, joining second baseman Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Masataka Yoshida. He is also in line to become the 22nd different non-position player pitcher to be used by the club so far this year.

Ort, meanwhile, was initially recalled from Worcester over the weekend and appeared in each of Boston’s last two games against Tampa Bay. The 31-year-old righty pitched well, striking out three in two perfect innings on Sunday and tossing a scoreless ninth inning on Monday.

On the 2023 campaign as a whole, Ort has forged a 5.87 ERA and 5.31 FIP with 16 strikeouts to seven walks over 14 appearances (15 1/3 innings) for the Red Sox. With the WooSox, he has put up a 2.45 ERA and 5.29 FIP with nine punchouts to six walks in eight outings spanning 7 1/3 innings of relief.

 (Picture of Chris Murphy: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox place Corey Kluber on paternity list, recall Ryan Sherriff from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening a three-game series against the Reds at Fenway Park on Tuesday night, the Red Sox made a pair of roster moves pertaining to their bullpen.

Boston placed right-hander Corey Kluber on the paternity list and recalled left-hander Ryan Sherriff from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced.

Kluber and his wife, Amanda, recently welcomed the birth of their fourth child. The 37-year-old must now remain on the paternity list for at least 24 hours, but no more than 72 hours. In other words, he is eligible to be reinstated on Wednesday at the earliest and by Friday at the latest.

Signed to a one-year, $10 million deal back in January, Kluber was Boston’s Opening Day starter to begin the 2023 season. But the veteran righty struggled to a 6.26 ERA (6.60 FIP) with 34 strikeouts to 18 walks in his first nine starts (41 2/3 innings) for the club.

Taking those difficulties into consideration, Kluber was removed from the starting rotation and demoted to the bullpen last week ahead of Garrett Whitlock’s return from the injured list. He has yet to pitch in relief for the Sox, which is something he has not done in a regular season game since 2013.

Sheriff, meanwhile, is back with the Red Sox for the second time this season after initially having his contract selected from Worcester earlier this month. The 33-year-old southpaw made two appearances on back-to-back days against the Mariners on May 16 and 17, marking his first big-league action since 2021. He tossed a scoreless frame in each of those games and recorded one strikeout.

With the WooSox this year, Sherriff has forged a 2.79 ERA and 3.57 FIP with 21 strikeouts to nine walks over 18 outings spanning 19 1/3 innings of work. He joins Joely Rodriguez as the only other lefty available to manager Alex Cora out of the Red Sox bullpen for the time being.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)