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Rockies To Acquire Brennan Bernardino

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The Red Sox have traded left-hander Brennan Bernardino to the Rockies for a minor leaguer, reports Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster. That minor league is Braiden Ward, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

Bernardino, 34 in January, has pitched between 50 and 52 innings for Boston in each of the past three seasons. He has a 3.46 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate over 153 1/3 innings during that time. An indie ball find by the Mariners back in 2022, Bernardino has carved out a role as a solid middle reliever, though his average sinker dipped from 91.4 mph in ’24 to 90.7 mph this past season. That modest velo dip was accompanied by more problematic downturns for his strikeout rate (24.8% in ’24, 19.6% in ’25) and walk rate (9.7% in ’24, 11.6% in ’25).

Colorado can control Bernardino for another four years. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.1MM in arbitration this season. He’s a Super Two player, so he’d be due three more raises after that if the Rox keep through his entire six-year window of control.

The 26-year-old Ward was the Rockies’ 16th-round pick in 2021. He hit .290/.395/.391 in 368 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ward fanned at just a 16.6% clip and walked 9.5% of the time he stepped into the batter’s box. He’s a center fielder with plus speed who’s also seen time at second base. Ward will be eligible to be selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft, though the Red Sox are presumably confident he won’t be taken.

White Sox Acquire Chris Murphy

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The Red Sox have traded left-hander Chris Murphy to the White Sox, according to announcements from both clubs. Catching prospect Ronny Hernandez headed to the Red Sox in return. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that Murphy was headed to Chicago. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reported it would be for a catcher. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe specified that Hernandez would be that catcher.

Murphy, 28 in June, made his big league debut as a long reliever with Boston in 2023. He logged 47 2/3 innings over 20 appearances, allowing 4.91 earned runs per nine. His 23.1% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate were all pretty close to league averages. He couldn’t carry that over in 2024, as he required Tommy John surgery in April of that year.

He was on the injured list until midway through the 2025 season. He logged another 34 2/3 innings in the big leagues this year with a 3.12 ERA. His 20.3% strikeout rate was down a bit and his 13.5% walk rate was a notable jump, though perhaps some post-surgery rust was at play. His ground ball rate climbed to 54.3%.

Boston had a bit of a roster crunch today and needed to make some cuts. Both Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Winckowski were designated for assignment today and flipping Murphy also opens up a spot. They also traded lefty Brennan Bernardino to the Rockies.

For the White Sox, they are rebuilding and have more ability to see if Murphy finds another gear in 2026 and moving forward. He still has an option, meaning they could keep him in the majors or minors or shuttle him back and forth throughout the next season. He came up as a starter, so it’s possible they could try stretching him back out, or they could keep him in a relief role. He has a bit more than two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and can still be controlled for another four seasons, maybe even five if he spends a long time on optional assignment.

For Boston, they clear out a roster spot and add some non-roster catching depth. Hernandez, 21, was an international signing out of Venezuela. He hasn’t yet climbed higher than the Single-A level. In his 1,060 minor league plate appearances, he has a 13.9% walk rate, 17.9% strikeout rate, .275/.379/.379 line and 115 wRC+. FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on their list of top White Sox prospects back in April. He’s a long-term flier for Boston.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Red Sox Designate Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Winckowski For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced that first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has been designated for assignment. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the move shortly before the official announcement. That opens a 40-man spot for Tristan Gray, who has been acquired from the Rays. The Sox are also designating right-hander Josh Winckowski for assignment, reports Ari Alexander of 7 News. That will open another 40-man spot, presumably for Boston to add someone ahead of today’s Rule 5 protection deadline.

The moves are effectively early non-tenders. Friday afternoon is the deadline for teams to decide whether or not to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players. But as mentioned, today is the deadline for adding players to the 40-man in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. By cutting these two players now, the Sox have made space for adding Gray and someone else in the coming hours.

Nathaniel Lowe | Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY SportsIt’s not a surprise that Boston isn’t bringing Lowe back. He was a midseason desperation addition. The Sox lost Triston Casas to injury early in the season, leaving a hole at first base. They had been patching that over with guys like Romy González and Abraham Toro. Lowe became available in August when the Nationals released him. He has a good overall track record but was having a bad season. The Sox were able to grab him for essentially nothing to bolster their first base group down the stretch.

The Sox also could have kept Lowe for 2026 via arbitration but it never seemed likely they would do so. He qualified for Super Two status going into 2023, giving him four arb passes instead of the usual three. He had already raised his salary to $10.3MM in 2025. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $13.5MM salary in 2026, which will be his age-30 season. The Sox presumably had no intention of paying that after Lowe hit .228/.307/.381 for a 91 wRC+ this year. They have Casas potentially coming back in 2026 and they could also pursue external additions.

Technically, Boston has some time to try to trade Lowe but other teams presumably aren’t keen on him at that $13.5MM price point either. He will likely stay in DFA limbo until Friday and then be non-tendered, becoming a free agent.

Once he’s officially on the open market, he will be an interesting bounceback candidate. As mentioned, his 2025 season wasn’t good, but he was a solid everyday first baseman for the Rangers for many years. From 2021 to 2024, he got into at least 140 games in four straight seasons, including at least 157 in the first three. He launched between 16 and 27 home runs in each of those. He also had a walk rate of 12.5% or higher in three of the four. He had a combined .274/.359/.432 slash line and 124 wRC+ for that span. FanGraphs credited him with 10.8 wins above replacement.

That strong performance helped the Rangers win the 2023 World Series and also pushed Lowe’s salary up into eight-figure territory. Those factors combined with his down year to make him a clear non-tender candidate.

Based on his track record, some club should give Lowe a big deal at some point, though at a lesser price point than his projected arbitration salary. He will jump into a first base market that has already seen Josh Naylor come off the board. Pete Alonso, Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arráez and others are still out there, while Christian Walker and Willson Contreras are potential trade candidates.

Winckowski, 28 in June, has spent the past few years working in a swing role for the Sox. He has logged 242 1/3 innings over 21 starts and 100 relief appearances, allowing 4.20 earned runs per nine. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his his 8.3% walk rate is around average and his 51.6% ground ball rate quite strong.

He only logged 11 2/3 innings in the majors in 2025. He spent most of the first half on optional assignment in the minors. In June, the Sox called him up and put him on the big league 60-day injured list due to a a flexor strain in his right elbow. That allowed them to open a 40-man roster spot. Winckowski stayed on the IL for the rest of the year, collecting service time along the way. The IL goes away five days after the World Series, so he retook a 40-man spot at that time.

His current health status is unknown but he was going to be on the roster bubble regardless. He exhausted his final option season in 2025. He also pushed his service time just over the three-year mark, therefore qualifying for arbitration. He is projected for a salary of $800K next year. That’s barely above the league minimum, which will be $780K next year. But for a guy who was hurt for most of 2025 and can’t be easily sent to the minors anymore, the Sox aren’t keen to pay him at that level.

While he’s in DFA limbo, they could try to trade him elsewhere. He can be controlled for another three seasons and is relatively cheap. But it’s also possible he gets non-tendered alongside Lowe on Friday and ends up a free agent.

Photos courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Kevin Jairaj, Eric Canha, Imagn Images

Red Sox Trade Luis Guerrero To Rays

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The Red Sox and Rays have swapped right-hander Luis Guerrero and infielder Tristan Gray, per announcements from both clubs. Boston recently designated Guerrero for assignment and passed him through waivers unclaimed. The Red Sox designated first baseman Nate Lowe for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Gray.

Tampa Bay could have just claimed Guerrero off waivers but seemingly didn’t want to commit a 40-man roster spot to the hard-throwing but command-challenged righty. The 25-year-old has posted a strong 2.63 ERA in 27 1/3 innings for the Red Sox over the past two seasons and averages a potent 96.9 mph on his heater. However, he ended the season on the injured list due to an elbow issue and has regularly displayed alarming command (or lack thereof) both in the majors and upper minors.

Guerrero has walked nearly 15% of his major league opponents against a tepid 17.6% strikeout rate. He carries a 3.89 ERA in three Triple-A seasons but has walked or plunked a colossal 17.4% of his Triple-A opponents. That includes a walk rate just under 19% in 2025.

At times, Guerrero has posted gaudy strikeout and swinging-strike rates. The velocity is impressive, and he has a pair of minor league options remaining. That makes him an intriguing roll of the dice for Tampa Bay, but his health and troubling lack of command make him more of a project than a sure thing — small-sample major league ERA notwithstanding.

Guerrero would hardly be the first live-armed prospect to land in Tampa Bay and flourish, of course, and there ought to be ample opportunity in Kevin Cash’s bullpen. The Rays declined their $11MM club option on longtime closer Pete Fairbanks, making him a free agent. Holdovers include Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, Bryan Baker and Mason Montgomery, but there’s plenty of innings for Guerrero (and others) to claim if he can impress in spring training or in the early portion of the Triple-A season.

As for Gray, he’s a 29-year-old with limited MLB experience across parts of three seasons. He tallied 86 plate appearances with the Rays in 2025 and hit .231/.282/.410 with three homers and five doubles. Gray walked at a 7% clip and fanned at a 22.1% rate in his 30 games with Tampa Bay. He split the bulk of his season between the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, slashing .270/.333/.472 in 282 turns at the plate.

Gray is a left-handed hitter with considerable experience at all four infield positions. He’s played more second, short and third than first base but still has 938 innings even as a first baseman. He also has a minor league option remaining. He’ll go on Boston’s 40-man roster as a depth piece who can be stashed in Triple-A Worcester, though he’s not a lock to make it through the offseason on the 40-man roster. Guerrero will be in camp with the Rays as a non-roster invitee and head to Triple-A Durham if he doesn’t make the club next spring.

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo first reported that Guerrero had been traded to Tampa Bay.

Red Sox Interested In Bo Bichette, Kyle Schwarber

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With holes to fill in the lineup, the Red Sox are exploring two of the bigger free agent bats on the market.  WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that “the Red Sox have shown interest in” Bo Bichette, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the club has likewise “checked in on Kyle Schwarber.”

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s recently commented that Boston is looking to add extra pop to its lineup, and either player would certainly fit in this regard.  Schwarber is an elite power bat coming off a career year, hitting 56 homers and slashing .240/.365/.563 over 724 plate appearances for the Phillies.  Bichette rebounded from an injury-shortened down year in 2024 to hit .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers over 628 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this sesason.

The injury bug did bite again for Bichette, as a knee sprain kept Bichette sidelined for most of September and most of the Jays’ playoff run until he was able to return in the World Series, but he still did plenty to re-establish himself as one of the preeminent infield bats in the sport.  MLB Trade Rumors ranked Bichette second on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the shortstop to land an eight-year, $208MM contract.

Schwarber ranked ninth on the list with a five-year, $135MM projection.  Schwarber is entering his age-33 season and is basically a full-time designated hitter, but while teams have traditionally been wary of committing major dollars to such aging and defensively limited players, Schwarber’s numbers are so outsized that he’ll very likely command a lengthy contract.  There is also a sense that his market could be driven upwards by the Phillies, who have been very open about their desire to re-sign the slugger.

The Red Sox are very familiar with Schwarber, as he posted big numbers and quickly became a clubhouse favorite after Boston acquired him from the Nationals at the 2021 trade deadline.  Schwarber was just a rental pickup as he entered free agency that winter and signed his four-year, $79MM deal with Philadelphia.  On paper, Schwarber might not be an entirely ideal fit for the Sox since he’ll monopolize the DH spot and add another left-handed bat to an already lefty-leaning lineup, but these could be relatively minor concerns given the upside of Schwarber’s offense.

Bichette is a right-handed hitter, but his defensive fit is an open question, as whether or not Bichette remains at shortstop will be one of the key subplots of his free agency.  Bichette’s defense has been a question mark for years, and such public metrics as Defensive Runs Saved (-12) and Outs Above Average (-13) hated his glovework in 2025.

In the early days of the offseason, suitors “haven’t been scared off of Bichette at shortstop,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes, and it isn’t yet known if Bichette and his reps at Vayner Sports are marketing him strictly as a shortstop, or if Bichette is open to a position change.  He did make his big league debut at second base during the World Series, in a nod to the physical limitations of his PCL sprain.

As it relates to the Red Sox, Trevor Story is lined up as the team’s shortstop.  Story’s own defensive metrics were well below average in 2025, marking a surprising decline for a player who has been a very strong defensive shortstop for much of his career.  Breslow has said that Story will play shortstop next year, but since Story has shown a willingness to play other positions in the past (he was Boston’s regular second baseman when healthy in 2022), it is possible some shifting could go on within the Sox infield.  The simpler solution would be to just slot Bichette at second base alongside Story at shortstop, or Bichette could potentially factor into Boston’s third base picture.

The Sox have a prominent free agent infielder of their own in Alex Bregman, who MLBTR projects for a six-year, $160MM contract.  This puts Bregman as less expensive than Bichette and only a bit pricier than Schwarber.  Beyond just the cost of pure dollars, the Sox would need to give up draft pick compensation for signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent like Bichette or Schwarber, whereas Bregman could be re-signed for just money.  Bregman is also a known commodity for the organization, and he made a big impact both on and off the field in his one season in Boston.

That said, Bichette is also almost four years younger than Bregman and five years to the day younger than Schwarber.  Top prospect Marcelo Mayer made his MLB debut in 2025 and seems poised to take on a more regular role somewhere in Boston’s infield, so Mayer could conceivably take over Bregman’s old spot at third base while Bichette plays second or shortstop.  With Triston Casas rumored to be a trade candidate, first base has also been mentioned as target area for Boston, with names like Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, and Munetaka Murakami floated as speculative candidates to join the Sox.

Red Sox Likely To Tender Contract To Tanner Houck

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The Red Sox are planning to tender a contract to right-hander Tanner Houck, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The club has until Friday evening to change its mind but it seems they are planning to keep Houck on the roster.

Friday at 7pm Central is the deadline for clubs to decide whether or not to tender contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. Teams and players don’t need to decide on a salary by that date. They have until January 8th to file salary figures. But the team needs to make a decision by Friday as to whether they are committed to paying the player or not. If the player is still on the roster beyond the deadline, the team will have to eventually pay him something, with various outcomes still possible at that point. A non-tender on Friday allows the team to walk away without paying anything.

Houck is arguably a borderline case on account of his health. He just had Tommy John surgery in August. He will likely miss the entire 2026 season. He can be retained via arbitration through 2027, at which point he is slated for free agency.

With 2026 likely to be a recovery year for Houck, the decision is more about 2027. The Sox could pay him for the 2026 season, hoping that the investment pays off in the following year. That’s something that teams often do in free agency. Pitchers recovering from surgery often sign two-year pacts, with the signing team knowing that they are probably only going to get meaningful return on investment in the second year, while the player banks a bit of cash while recovering.

The Sox themselves did this last offseason, as they signed Patrick Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25MM deal. The lefty didn’t pitch for the Sox in 2025 but they will hopefully get something out of him next year. Other pitchers got similar deals recently. Shane Bieber got $26MM from the Guardians last winter, for instance, with an opt-out halfway through. A year earlier, Tyler Mahle got $22MM from the Rangers, with no opt-out. The Brewers gave Brandon Woodruff two years and $17.5MM when he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

Investing in Houck will cost less than that. He made $3.95MM in 2025, his first of three arbitration seasons. He only made nine starts in 2025 due to his arm issues but players going through arb usually see their salaries hold fairly steady when they miss significant time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Houck for the same $3.95MM salary in 2026. If he stays on the roster and is tendered a contract for 2027 as well, he would likely end up in the same range again.

Essentially, tendering Houck a contract for the next two years will probably cost the Red Sox about $8MM total. They could also walk away after 2026 if he experiences some sort of setback, cutting their losses. The roughly $8MM would be less than half of what they paid to Sandoval and the guarantees of those other aforementioned deals. Houck doesn’t have the same track record as those guys but has shown plenty of potential, particularly in 2024 when he logged 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 earned run average, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 55.9% ground ball rate.

If the Sox were to non-tender Houck, it would probably suggest that they don’t expect him to fully return to that level in 2027, though there also could be other contributing factors. There’s no injured list in the offseason, so the Sox do have to keep Houck on the roster throughout the winter. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to a 40-man roster to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The Sox currently have a full 40-man and need to open some spots, assuming they want to add a few guys. Cotillo mentions the possibility of a lockout disrupting 2027, which could prevent the Sox from benefiting from Houck’s eventual return. However, front office still have to plan as though the season will be played, as there’s no certainty around the labor dispute right now.

The Sox currently have Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello under club control through at least 2030. Other than that, there’s not a ton of certainty. Kutter Crawford has posted decent results and should be in the mix. He’s under club control through 2028. The aforementioned Sandoval is signed for just one more year. Guys like Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Kyle Harrison are in the mix but still aren’t proven big leaguers. The Sox plan to add to the rotation this offseason but haven’t done so yet.

Even if a pitching staff looks good on paper, injuries are always inevitable, so it’s anyone’s guess what the depth will look like by the time Houck is back on a big league mound. He has also had some success as a reliever, so perhaps there’s a scenario where he gets pushed to the bullpen, especially if there are workload concerns in the coming years. Time will tell how it plays out but it appears the Sox would like the payoff to be with Houck pitching in Boston.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Dustin May “Fully Back To Normal” After Elbow Injury

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Free agent right-hander Dustin May says that he is “fully back to normal” and that his elbow feels great, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive. May went on the injured list on September 9 with right elbow neuritis and did not pitch for the rest of the regular season or during the Wild Card Series.

May split the year between the Dodgers and the Red Sox, with a 4.96 ERA in 132 1/3 innings across 25 appearances (23 starts) along with a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 9.6% walk rate. He made 19 appearances (18 starts) with the Dodgers through July 31, recording a 4.85 ERA in 104 innings, although he did post a slightly above average groundball rate at 43.8%. That production declined after he was traded to the Red Sox. In six appearances (five starts) in Boston, May posted a 5.40 ERA in 28 1/3 innings and saw a slight uptick in walks while striking out just 19.5% of hitters. His expected metrics, including a 6.26 xERA and a 5.39 FIP following the trade, were in line with that performance.

Injuries have unfortunately been a theme of May’s career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and only made six starts upon his return in 2022. He then made just nine starts in 2023 while he dealt with a right forearm strain, although he did post a solid 2.63 ERA in 48 innings in those starts. The next year, he suffered an injury to his esophagus which required surgery, causing him to miss the entire season. His 132 1/3 innings in 2025 were actually a career high. Before that, May had maxed out at 56 innings in 2020. Though the esophagus tear was obviously not baseball-related, it’s clear the injuries have taken a toll on May’s raw stuff. His sinker, which he used 33.6% of the time in 2025, fell to 94.5 mph after sitting at 96.6 mph in 2023. His four-seamer and cutter saw similar declines in velocity. While his sweeper was a plus pitch with above-average break, all three of his fastballs were negatives according to Statcast’s run value metric.

Still, May has enough of a big-league track record to garner interest as a free agent this offseason. He has a 3.86 ERA in 324 career innings along with a 46.6% groundball rate, a 21.9% strikeout rate, and an 8.3% walk rate. The groundball rate will be intriguing for teams in need of back-end depth, while the strikeout and walk rates are serviceable. He earned $2.135MM in his final year of arbitration in 2025 and will pitch most of next year at age 28.

Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images

Latest On Red Sox’ Pursuits

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The Red Sox are considering adding a high-leverage reliever to bolster their bullpen, according to reporting from Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic. That aligns with recent reporting from Sammon that the Sox are interesting in Devin Williams. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acknowledged this possibility, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, but maintained that the rotation is a bigger priority.

“We can do a better job of preventing other teams from scoring. There are a bunch of different ways to do that. We’ll be open-minded about all of them,” said Breslow. “The most straightforward is building out a better starting rotation. I’ve talked a bunch about that. Another way is to continue to improve our infield defense, and another is to make sure that when our starters hand the ball to our relievers, any leads that we have we’re preserving. So, I think we’ll look at it from all angles, but I think our priority remains starting pitching and position players.”

The Sox had one of the best bullpens in baseball in 2025. Their collective 3.41 earned run average was second only to the Padres. A lot of that was thanks to Aroldis Chapman being almost unhittable but they also got good results from guys like Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert and Brennan Bernardino, who are all slated to be back in 2025. Per The Athletic, the idea would be to add to an area of the roster that is already a strength to create a super bullpen, while keeping Chapman in the closer’s role.

That is one way they could go but Breslow has been pretty open about his desire to target a front-of-rotation arm and a middle-of-the-order bat. As with any baseball executive, it’s possible there’s some gamesmanship at play, but the rotation and the lineup are logical targets for Boston. Their rotation has a clearcut ace in Garrett Crochet but the other options are either uninspiring or unproven. The lineup has a lot of talent but they lost Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman in the past few months, so adding another bopper makes sense.

A baseball offseason can be unpredictable, so it’s understandable that Breslow would be open to pivoting as things change, but it’s probably fair to expect bullpen to be a lesser priority. Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez, Michael King and Brandon Woodruff are some of the notable starters out there in free agency. MacKenzie Gore, Sonny Gray and Brady Singer could be available on the trade market. Bregman, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Munetaka Murakami and Eugenio Suárez are some of the big free agent bats, with Taylor Ward and Adolis García some of the speculative trade candidates.

If the Sox eventually decide they do want to make a splash on the bullpen, they likely wouldn’t go after Edwin Díaz, with Chapman already in the closer’s role. Other notable free agent relievers include Williams, Ryan Helsley, Brad Keller, Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Kyle Finnegan, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez and Pete Fairbanks. Some of the notable trade candidates include JoJo Romero, Jose A. Ferrer and Victor Vodnik.

RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of $180MM next year, with a competitive balance tax number of $216MM. They finished last year with a $207MM payroll and $245MM CBT number. Assuming they plan on spending at a similar level in 2026, they have a little more than $20MM in wiggle room but it’s possible their postseason finish in 2025 prompts them to take things up a notch.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Red Sox Outright Luis Guerrero

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Red Sox right-hander Luis Guerrero, who was designated for assignment last week, went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. He lacks the service time or prior outright needed to elect free agency, so he’ll remain with the organization as non-roster depth.

Guerrero, 25, has pitched 27 1/3 innings of relief for Boston over the past two seasons. He sports a sharp 2.63 ERA in that time and sits 96.9 mph with his heater, perhaps making it a bit surprising that he went unclaimed at first glance. However, Guerrero went on the injured list with an elbow sprain back in June and never returned — though he never required any type of surgery to address the injury. The Sox moved him to the 60-day IL in August. Guerrero also has poor command, walking nearly 15% of his opponents against just a 17.6% strikeout rate in the majors.

The hard-throwing Guerrero’s minor league numbers are more alarming. He has a respectable enough 3.89 ERA in parts of three Triple-A seasons but saw that mark jump to 4.39 in 2025. He’s walked or plunked an untenable 17.4% of his opponents at the top minor league level, and in 2025 walked nearly 19% of the minor league hitters he faced in 31 innings.

Guerrero has, at times, posted gaudy strikeout and swinging-strike rates. The velocity is impressive, and he has a pair of minor league options remaining. That all makes him a nice depth piece whom the Sox are surely glad to retain, but he’ll need to further refine his well below-average command if he’s to carve out a steady role in a major league bullpen. Assuming his elbow is healed, he’ll be in big league camp with the Sox and hope to pitch his way back into the mix for a 40-man roster spot.

Reds, Red Sox Have Expressed Interest In Devin Williams

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The Red Sox and Reds are among roughly a dozen teams that have expressed early interest in free agent reliever Devin Williams, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported last night that the Dodgers had also shown interest, while Fish on First’s Kevin Barral linked the Marlins to Williams a few weeks ago.

Williams was one of the three to five best relievers in MLB throughout his time with the Brewers. He pitched to a 1.83 earned run average over parts of six seasons in Milwaukee. That included three straight sub-2.00 ERA showings between 2022-24. Among relievers with 100+ innings over that stretch, Williams trailed only Edwin Díaz and Félix Bautista with a 39.5% strikeout rate. The only real concern were the back fractures that cost him the first half of the ’24 season.

Milwaukee traded Williams to the Yankees before his final year of arbitration. He had the worst season of his career in the Bronx. Williams turned in a 4.79 ERA over 62 innings. He started the year poorly enough that he lost the closer role in April. Williams reclaimed it in June when Luke Weaver went on the injured list but scuffled again in July. The Yankees acquired David Bednar at the deadline to push Williams into a setup role for the remainder of the season.

While it was clearly an uneven season, there’s still reason to expect a return to form. Williams fanned an excellent 34.7% of batters faced while getting swinging strikes nearly 17% of the time. Those aren’t quite at the same level as his Milwaukee days, but they’re still top 15 marks in MLB. His 94.1 MPH average four-seam fastball speed was in line with his career levels. Williams continues to get ridiculous movement on the changeup/screwball that has been his signature pitch. Opposing hitters had a lofty .339 average on balls in play when runners were on base. Some teams could chalk that up as poor sequencing luck and continue to project Williams as a top 10 reliever moving forward.

The poor season meant the Yankees weren’t willing to risk Williams accepting a $22.025MM qualifying offer to return to the Bronx. MLBTR ranked his earning potential second among relievers behind Díaz, predicting that the strong peripherals would lead a club to offer him a four-year, $68MM deal. That’d require a team to overlook the unsightly ERA, though, so it’s certainly not out of the question that he’s forced to settle for a shorter-term contract. Robert Suarez, Kyle Finnegan and Pete Fairbanks are among other closers available on the free agent market.

Sammon heard from a few scouts who were divided between Williams and Suarez as the second-best free agent reliever after Díaz. It could lead clubs to have differing opinions on his market value. If Williams were to command a four-year deal, for instance, it’d be quite surprising if the Reds win the bidding. Cincinnati has spent in that range for mid-tier hitters but rarely spends big on relievers. Their two-year, $16MM deal for Emilio Pagán is their biggest signing of a pure reliever in the past decade. They did go to two years and $26MM for Nick Martinez, but he could step into the rotation as needed. Cincinnati could use a closer with Pagán returning to free agency, but they’d probably be a realistic suitor for Williams only if he takes a pillow contract.

The Red Sox also haven’t made many long-term bullpen investments, but they’re better positioned to offer a multi-year term at eight figure salaries. They signed Kenley Jansen for two years and $32MM a few seasons ago. They’ve given Aroldis Chapman successive $10.75MM and $13MM deals for 2025-26. Chapman will remain the closer, but Williams doesn’t seem wedded to getting a ninth-inning opportunity, so Boston could target him as their top right-handed setup arm.

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