Tag: stephen gonsalves

Former Red Sox left-hander Stephen Gonsalves signs minor-league deal with Cubs

The Cubs have signed former Red Sox left-hander Stephen Gonsalves to a minor-league contract for the 2022 season, per MLB.com. It’s unclear if the deal includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Gonsalves, 27, had spent the last two seasons in the Red Sox organization after originally being claimed off waivers from the Mets last July.

After spending the summer at the Sox’ alternate training site, Gonsalves re-upped with the club on another minor-league pact over the winter and opened the 2021 campaign at Triple-A Worcester.

In 22 appearances (10 starts) for the WooSox, the lanky lefty posted a 4.68 ERA and 4.70 xFIP to go along with 103 walks to 52 strikeouts over 73 innings of work.

When the Red Sox were navigating through a COVID-19 outbreak at the major-league level beginning in late August, Gonsalves had his contract selected from Triple-A on Aug. 31.

The California native appeared in three games for Boston, allowing two earned runs on two hits, two walks, and four punchouts across 4 1/3 innings pitched. That’s good for an ERA of 4.15.

Shortly after getting called up, Gonsalves was returned to Worcester on September 13 and closed out the year with the WooSox. He officially become a minor-league free agent in early November.

A former fourth-round draft pick and top prospect of the Twins, Gonsalves certainly is intriguing. The 6-foot-5, 218 pound southpaw operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.

Not to set to turn 28 until next July, Gonsalves is now on his fourth team (Twins, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs) since being drafted by Minnesota in 2013. He has logged 685 career innings in the minors.

(Picture of Stephen Gonsalves: Richard T. Gagnon/Getty Images)

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Red Sox roster moves: Hirokazu Sawamura, Austin Davis activated; Brad Peacock, Stephen Gonsalves returned to Triple-A Worcester

Before opening up a pivotal three-game series against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Monday, the Red Sox made a series of roster moves.

First off, right-handed reliever Hirokazu Sawamura was activated from the COVID-19 related injured list, while left-handed reliever Austin Davis was activated from the paternity leave list.

Secondly, right-hander Brad Peacock and left-hander Stephen Gonsalves were both returned to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Sawamura and Davis on the major-league roster.

The Red Sox made these transactions official earlier Monday night. They also reinstated righty Eduard Bazardo from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Worcester.

Sawamura rejoins the Sox after initially testing positive for COVID-19 while the club was in Tampa Bay in the final days of August. At that time, he was the fifth player on the team to return positive results since their outbreak began in Cleveland on Aug. 27.

Upon his quarantine period coming to an end, the 33-year-old — who is vaccinated against coronavirus — traveled with the Red Sox to Chicago for their weekend series against the White Sox and even threw a bullpen session at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday.

On Monday, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that Boston would be making Sawamura available to reporters ahead of the series opener against Seattle, indicating that he would indeed be activated.

In his first season with the Red Sox, Sawamura has posted a 3.09 ERA and 5.35 FIP to go along with 54 strikeouts to 29 walks over 50 relief appearances spanning 46 2/3 innings of work. The Japanese hurler last pitched in a game on August 28, as he did not require a rehab assignment.

Davis, on the other hand, returns to the Red Sox bullpen after being placed on paternity leave over the weekend.

Acquired from the Pirates in exchange for Michael Chavis ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, the 28-year-old southpaw has put up a 4.61 ERA, but much more respectable 3.38 FIP, with 14 strikeouts to six walks in 14 outings (13 2/3 innings pitched) since making his Boston debut on July 31.

In activating Davis, the Sox gain yet another left-handed bullpen option alongside the likes of Darwinzon Hernandez, Josh Taylor, and Martin Perez, who is expected to be reinstated from the COVID IL himself on Tuesday.

With Sawamura and Davis back in the fold, the Red Sox returned another pair of hurlers to Worcester in the form of Peacock and Gonsalves.

Peacock had just been sent back to the WooSox on Saturday when Connor Seabold was called up to make his major-league debut, but remained on Boston’s taxi squad before having his contract selected once again on Sunday after Phillips Valdez was placed on the COVID-19 related injured list on account of a positive test.

That being said, it’s safe to assume that the 33-year-old righty will remain with the Red Sox in Seattle as part of the taxi squad in the event that they need to add another pitcher for the final leg of this road trip.

Gonsalves, meanwhile, had his contract selected from Worcester on August 31 — when both Taylor and Sawamura were added to the COVID-related IL.

The 27-year-old lefty made his Red Sox debut that very same day and appeared in three games for the club, allowing a total of two earned runs on two hits, two walks, one hit batsman, and four strikeouts over 4 1/3 total innings in that stretch.

(Picture of Hirokazu Sawamura: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Red Sox rally comes up short in 8-5 loss to Rays as team’s COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow

The road trip from hell rolled on for the Red Sox at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

In addition to having two more players — Hirokazu Sawamura and Xander Bogaerts — testing positive for COVID-19, the Sox committed two errors and fell to the Rays by a final score of 8-5, marking their third consecutive loss.

Matched up against Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough to begin things on Tuesday, Bogaerts actually got the Red Sox on the board first, as he followed up a two-out double from J.D. Martinez by ripping an RBI single to right field to give his side an early 1-0 lead.

Bogaerts was, however, removed from this contest in the middle of the second inning after his latest test came back positive, and it all started to go downhill for Boston from there.

That being the case because Brad Peacock, who was just acquired from the Indians on Mondy, got somewhat roughed up for five runs — all of which were earned — on two hits, two walks, one hit batsman, and zero strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings of work in his first start with the Red Sox.

After needing just seven pitches to get through a scoreless bottom of the first, Peacock served up a solo home run to Randy Arozarena with one out in the second inning, thus allowing the Rays to even things up at one run apiece.

The veteran right-hander did manage to get out of the second, but ran into some more trouble in the bottom half of the third when he issued a leadoff walk to Kevin Kiermaier and plunked Francisco Mejia.

A mental mistake and poor throw from Alex Verdugo on a fly ball to center field off the bat of Brandon Lowe allowed both of those runners to advance an additional 90 feet, and Peacock promptly loaded the bases with one out by walking Nelson Cruz.

Rookie sensation Wander Franco broke the 1-1 stalemate and brought in two of those runners on a hard-hit single to right field that was corralled by Hunter Renfroe, but Renfroe’s throw back to the infield got past Bobby Dalbec, which subsequently allowed both Kiermaier and Mejia to score as opposed to just Kiermaier. Dalbec was charged with a fielding error as the Rays went up on the Sox, 3-1.

Franco’s go-ahead hit also marked the end of the line for Peacock, who got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora while leaving runners at second and third base with one out in the third. The 33-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 48 — 25 of which were strikes.

In relief of Peacock, left-hander Stephen Gonsalves, just selected from Triple-A Worcester, officially closed the book on Peackock’s night by allowing both runners he inherited to score on a wild pitch and Austin Meadows RBI single.

Gonsalves then plunked Arozarena to put runners at first and second, and Yandy Diaz took full advantage of that by blooping a softly-hit, 73.7 mph two-run double in between Yairo Munoz and Renfroe in right field.

Kiermaier proceeded to strike out on a foul tip to end the inning, but the damage had already been down since the Red Sox suddenly found themselves in a 7-1 hole.

To his credit, Gonsalves — in what was his first major-league outing in nearly three years — tossed two additional scoreless frames to keep the deficit at six runs through the end of the fifth.

Kyle Schwarber trimmed that deficit to five runs at 7-2 by crushing his 28th homer of the season off Yarbrough to lead off the top of the sixth, but Tampa Bay responded by getting that (unearned) run back off Phillips Valdez on an HBP, Dalbec fielding error, and sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame.

Valdez managed to keep the Rays off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings, while Rafael Devers pushed across another run as he collected his 97th RBI of the year in the top half of the eighth.

Devers’ run-scoring single made it an 8-3 game in the eighth. In the ninth, after Schwarber and Martinez made things interesting with a pair of run-scoring singles, it came down to Devers.

Matched up against Rays closer Andrew Kittredge, Devers came up to the plate representing the tying run with two outs and runners at first and second. He fanned on four pitches to cut the rally short as 8-5 would go on to be Tuesday’s final score.

With the loss, the Red Sox fall to 75-59 on the season while dropping 10 full games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East. Boston began the month of August trailing Tampa Bay by just 1/2 a game for the top spot in the division.

Tuesday’s defeat also wraps up a disappointing August in which the Sox went 12-16, marking the first time this season they finished a month with a losing record.

Next up: Sale vs. Rasmussen to begin September

The Red Sox will turn to ace left-hander Chris Sale on Wednesday night as they look to put an end to this three-game skid and start the month of September on a positive note. Rosters on Wednesday will expand from 26 players to 28 players for the remainder of the season.

Wednesday will mark Sale’s fourth start of the season since returning from Tommy John surgery on August 14. It also represents his toughest test thus far considering the opponent he will be going up against.

The Rays, meanwhile, will send right-hander Drew Rasmussen to the hill as they go for yet another series victory over their division rivals.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Red Sox activate Hunter Renfroe, select Brad Peacock and Stephen Gonsalves; Josh Taylor and Hirokazu Sawamura placed on COVID-19 related injured list

Before taking on the Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night, the Red Sox made yet another flurry of roster moves as they continue to battle against a COVID-19 outbreak.

First off, relievers Josh Taylor and Hirokazu Sawamura were placed on the COVID-19 related injured lists, while right-hander Raynel Espinal was returned to Triple-A Worcester.

Secondly, right-hander Brad Peacock and left-hander Stephen Gonsalves were both selected to the major-league roster, while outfielder Hunter Renfroe was activated from the bereavement/family medical emergency list.

The Red Sox announced all of these moves earlier Tuesday evening.

Taylor and Sawamura become the fifth and sixth Sox players to be placed on the COVID-19 related injured list since last Friday, as they join the likes of Enrique Hernandez, Christian Arroyo, Matt Barnes, and Martin Perez.

Hernandez tested positive for the virus on Friday, while Arroyo — who was initially identified as a close contact of Hernandez’s — tested positive for the virus on Sunday. Both Hernandez and Arroyo, as well as strength and conditioning coach Kiyoshi Momose, who tested positive on Sunday, remain quarantined in Cleveland.

Barnes and Perez, meanwhile, both tested positive for COVID-19 in St. Petersburg on Monday, as did quality control coach Ramon Vazquez.

Because of those two being placed on the COVID-related IL, Taylor — as well as first base coach Tom Goodwin — was identified as a close contact and has been placed into a mandatory quarantine at the team hotel. Sawamura, on the other hand, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.

Per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, “Sawamura, Barnes, Pérez, Vázquez, Goodwin and Taylor will be forced to stay in St. Petersburg until they are cleared.”

Espinal, who was selected to Boston’s 40-man roster in the wake of Barnes and Perez going on the COVID IL, was returned to Worcester after making his major-league debut in Monday’s 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

The 29-year-old right-hander allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk over two innings of relief on Monday night. He will remain with the Red Sox as part of their taxi squad.

Turning to the additions the Sox made to their big-league roster now, Renfroe was activated from the bereavement list after leaving the team on Thursday following the death of his father.

Renfroe, also 29, was able to clear the necessary COVID-19 protocols and is starting in right field and batting leadoff in Tuesday’s contest against the Rays.

Peacock, just acquired from the Indians for cash considerations on Monday, will make his first career start for the Red Sox on Tuesday. The 33-year-old righty had posted a 7.68 ERA across 11 appearances (10 starts) and 34 innings pitched at Triple-A Columbus this season, but had been pitching better in the month of August.

Finally, we arrive at Gonsalves, who — like Espinal on Monday — was added to the Sox’ 40-man roster for the first time this year on Tuesday.

Originally claimed off waivers from the Mets last July, Gonsalves was once regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball during his time with the Twins organization.

Through 17 appearances (10 starts) with the WooSox this season, the 27-year-old left-hander has put up a 4.97 ERA and 4.96 xFIP to go along with 92 strikeouts to 50 walks over 67 total innings of work.

Gonsalves will wear the No. 78 with Boston, while Peacock will wear the No. 44.

Following Tuesday’s series of transactions, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster now sits at 37 players.

(Picture of Hunter Renfroe: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox invite nine minor-leaguers to major-league spring training

In case you missed it, the Red Sox added nine non-roster invitees to their spring training roster on Tuesday afternoon. Those nine players?

C Roldani Baldwin
C Jhonny Pereda
1B Josh Ockimey
OF Cesar Puello
LHP Stephen Gonsalves
RHP Kevin McCarthy
RHP Seth Blair
RHP Raynel Espinal
RHP Caleb Simpson

Besides McCarthy, all players listed here spent the 2020 season with the Red Sox organization in some capacity.

The likes of Pereda, Ockimey, Puello, Gonsalves, Blair, and Simpson spent time at the club’s alternate training site in Pawtucket, while the likes of Baldwin and Espinal did not.

Puello was the only one who saw major-league time with the Sox last year, as the 29-year-old appeared in five games for Boston in September and went 3-for-8 (.375) at the plate with one run scored while also recording a pair of outfield assists in limited action.

McCarthy, meanwhile, yielded three earned runs over five appearances and six innings of work for the Royals this past season, his fifth in the majors. The 28-year-old inked a minor-league pact with Boston last month after being outrighted from Kansas City’s 40-man roster in October.

Another pitcher listed here with big-league experience is Gonsalves, a former top prospect of the Twins organization. The former fourth-round draft pick appeared in seven contests (four starts) for Minnesota in 2018, posting a 6.57 ERA and 5.71 FIP over 24 2/3 innings pitched.

Still just 26 years old, Gonsalves was claimed off waivers by the Mets last fall before again being claimed off waivers by the Sox over the summer.

Some within the organization still believe the left-hander has plenty of upside, which was made evident by his impressive performance at the alternate site as well as the club re-signing him to a minor-league deal in November.

“Gonsalves is a guy that can make an impact next year if we bring him back,” Worcester Red Sox pitching coach Paul Abbott said in October. “His velo went from 89-90 mph — and he already had a highly rated fastball that had some carry — the velo jumped up to 94-96 mph. He got better as we went along and I know he was close to getting an opportunity because they brought him up there.”

—

With the additions of these nine players, the Red Sox currently have 49 players on their 2021 spring training roster as February draws closer. That number of players is likely to change between now and then, though, since chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. still have plenty of time for roster shuffling if they so choose.

Red Sox re-sign Josh Ockimey, 8 others to minor-league contracts

The Red Sox made their first (minor) splash of the offseason on Tuesday, as the club re-signed nine minor-league free agent to minor-league contracts for the 2021 season, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and SoxProspects’ Chris Hatfield.

Those nine minor-leaguers, as indicated in the above tweet from Hatfield, are right-handers Seth Blair, Raynel Espinal, and Caleb Simpson, left-hander Stephen Gonsalves, catchers Jhonny Pereda and Roldani Baldwin, first baseman Josh Ockimey, first baseman/outfielder Joey Meneses, and outfielder Johan Mieses.

Five of these nine players were at one point or another part of the Sox’ 60-man player pool this past season, and therefore spent some time at the alternate training site in Pawtucket.

Ockimey and Baldwin, meanwhile, are the only two listed here who have been with the Red Sox since before the 2019 Rule 5 Draft last December.

Speaking of Ockimey, the recently-turned 25-year-old slugger may just be the most notable name here, at least among Red Sox fans, despite having yet to make his major-league debut.

The former fifth-round draft selection out of Philadelphia has been with Boston since 2014. Most recently, he clubbed 25 home runs and collected 57 RBI over 122 games (468 plate appearances) for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2019.

Power has never been the problem for Ockimey, as he has crushed 14 or more homers in each of the last four seasons, excluding 2020, of course. Despite being such a threat at the plate, the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing first baseman has yet to get a shot at the next level.

The Red Sox, led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, clearly like Ockimey enough to keep him around as depth at a fairly important position, but do they value him enough to eventually purchase his contract and see what he can do in the majors?

All signs point to no on that front thus far, but it should be somewhat interesting to watch Ockimey next spring considering the light tower power he is capable of providing at any given moment.

Could Red Sox Welcome Soon-To-Be Free Agent Stephen Gonsalves Back in 2021?

Excluding position players, 27 different pitchers took the mound for the Red Sox in 2020. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was not one of them.

The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers by Boston from the Mets early in the season and was subsequently optioned to the club’s alternate training site in Pawtucket, where he remained on the Sox’ 40-man roster up until August 19.

At that point, Gonsalves was designated for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for veteran right-hander Andrew Triggs.

A week went by and Gonsalves went unclaimed, which resulted in his being outrighted to Pawtucket.

As he spent the final few weeks of his 2020 campaign working out at McCoy Stadium, the San Diego native was actually very impressive, which is important when you consider the fact that he will become a minor-league free agent this winter. Worcester Red Sox pitching coach Paul Abbott made that much clear when speaking with reporters via Zoom last week.

“Gonsalves is a guy that can make an impact next year if we bring him back,” Abbott said. “I know he’s a minor-league free agent. His velo went from 89-90 mph — and he already had a highly rated fastball that had some carry — the velo jumped up to 94-96 mph. He got better as we went along and I know he was close to getting an opportunity because they brought him up there.”

A former fourth-round pick of the Twins out of high school in 2013, Gonsalves only has seven major-league outings under his belt. In those seven appearances, four of which were starts, towards the end of the 2018 season, the one-time University of San Diego commit posted a 6.57 ERA and .822 OPS against over 24 2/3 innings pitched.

At the start of the 2019 campaign, Gonsalves suffered an elbow strain in April and a stress reaction to that same elbow in May, which resulted in the former top prospect accruing just 13 innings of work across three minor-league levels last year prior to ultimately getting designated by Minnesota in November.

Since joining the Red Sox organization over the summer, Gonsalves obviously has not had the chance to showcase himself in any real, meaningful games. But, as Abbott mentioned, an uptick in the 6-foot-5 southpaw’s fastball velocity could mesh well with his other three pitches — changeup, slider, curveball — moving forward.

With that being said, in addition to how highly Abbott spoke of him, Gonsalves may be someone the Red Sox look to bring back early on in free agency this offseason.

Assuming he is brought back by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. on a minor-league deal, Gonsalves could prove to be an interesting hurler to monitor during spring training next year given the fact he has experience as both a starter and reliever.

Red Sox Release R.J. Alvarez, Outright Stephen Gonsalves and Mike Shawaryn in Slew of Roster Moves

Before taking on the Blue Jays on Wednesday, the Red Sox made a series of roster moves, releasing right-hander R.J. Alvarez, outrighting left-hander Stephen Gonsalves to the alternate training site in Pawtucket, and outrighting right-hander Mike Shawaryn and removing him from the 60-man player pool.

There is a lot to digest there, so let’s start with Alvarez.

The 29-year-old initially signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox last December and was eventually added to the club’s player pool as a non-roster invitee last month. Because of that, Alvarez was assigned to the Sox’ alternate training site in Pawtucket, where he was limited to just working live batting practice sessions or simulated games and was likely viewed as emergency depth out of the bullpen prior to his release.

As for Gonsalves, the 26-year-old cleared waivers after getting designated for assignment last Wednesday.

A former fourth-round draft pick of the Twins in 2013, Gonsalves was claimed off waivers by Boston from the Mets on July 25 and was subsequently added to the player pool that same day.

Although he is no longer on the Sox’ 40-man roster, the San Diego native is still part of Boston’s player pool, so he will remain in Pawtucket and continue to get work in at McCoy Stadium.

Finally, we arrive at the only homegrown player here in Shawaryn.

The New Jersey native, who turns 26 next month, was drafted by Boston in the fifth round of the 2016 amateur draft out of the University of Maryland and made his major-league debut with the Sox last June.

In 14 appearances out of the bullpen in 2019, Shawaryn posted a 9.74 ERA and .987 OPS against over 20 1/3 innings of work.

Coming off that rather disappointing rookie campaign, the righty was added to the Red Sox’ player pool in June and assigned to the alternate training site in July prior to getting designated in August. That move was made by Boston in order to make on the 40-man roster for infielder Christian Arryou, who has since been DFA’d and outrighted as well.

Unlike Arroyo and Gonsalves, though, Shawaryn’s 2020 season, if you want to call it that, has essentially come to a close as he has been removed from the Sox’ player pool altogether and will presumably head back home.

With these transactions made, the Red Sox’ player pool is at full capacity at 60, but they do have one open 40-man roster spot.

Red Sox Claim Right-Hander Andrew Triggs off Waivers From Giants, Designate Left-Hander Stephen Gonsalves for Assignment

The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Andrew Triggs off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. In order to make room for Triggs on the 40-man roster, left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was designated for assignment. The club made this transaction official earlier Wednesday.

Triggs, 31, was designated by San Francisco last Wednesday, 10 days after he yielded three earned runs on three hits and three walks in just 1/3 of an inning in his 2020 debut on August 2.

Prior to the 2020 season, Triggs, a three-time draftee out of the University of Southern California, made 45 appearances (27 starts) for the Oakland Athletics from 2016 through 2018.

In those 45 outings over the course of three seasons with the A’s, the Tennessee native posted a 4.53 ERA and 4.12 FIP over 163 total innings pitched.

Obviously capable of both pitching out of the rotation and bullpen based off his track record, Triggs owns a lifetime 4.28 ERA and .693 OPS against as a starter, and a lifetime 6.39 ERA and .839 OPS against as a reliever.

Last season, Triggs made just three appearances with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas before getting released in August. That in turn led him to sign a minor-league deal with the Giants in January, but his tenure there clearly did not last all that long given Wednesday’s news.

Per Statcast, Triggs is a three-pitch pitcher, as he primarily works from a three-quarters arm slot and has a sinker, slider, and curveball in his arsenal.

With this roster move made, Triggs is now on the Sox’ 40-man roster and has been optioned to the club’s alternate training site in Pawtucket.

Gonsalves, meanwhile, was removed from Boston’s 40-man roster nearly four weeks after he was originally claimed off waivers from the Mets. The 26-year-old had been working out at McCoy Stadium, and he will likely clear waivers unless he piques another club’s interest.

Red Sox Claim Right-Hander Robert Stock off Waivers From Phillies

While dropping their second straight to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox made a roster move in claiming right-hander Robert Stock off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.

As the above tweet mentions, Stock has been optioned to the Sox’ alternate training site in Pawtucket.

Now the 40th player on Boston’s 40-man roster, Stock was designated for assignment by Philadelphia on Thursday.

The 30-year-old hurler out of the University of Southern California has 42 career major-league relief appearances under his belt since making his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in June 2018.

Between those 42 outings with the Phils and Pads, Stock owns a career 4.11 ERA and 3.67 FIP over 50 1/3 total innings of work. Granted, he surrendered 12 earned runs in just 10 2/3 innings pitched last year.

A former second-round selection of St. Louis back in the 2009 draft, Stock has spent time in the Cardinals, Astros, Pirates, Reds, Padres, and Phillies organizations. In other words, he’s been around.

Per his Statcast page, the 6-foot-1, 214 lb. righty works with a high-velocity four-seam fastball, a slider, a changeup, and a sinker.

The addition of Stock for the Red Sox comes less than 24 hours after the club claimed left-hander Stephen Gonsalves off waivers from the Mets.

If the Sox intend to add Stock to their player pool, which is currently at its full capacity, another player who is currently in the pool will have to be removed.