Red Sox CEO: No Consideration Of Moving On From Breslow
Last night’s loss to the Rays was the Red Sox’ fourth straight, dropping them to 27-39 — last in the American League East, second-worst in the American League as a whole, and fourth-worst in all of MLB. The Sox are one of the most disappointing teams in the game this year, if not the most, but that doesn’t seem to have given ownership any second thoughts about its baseball operations leadership. Just a couple days after Tim Healey of the Boston Globe reported that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow‘s job was secure, Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy removed any remaining shred of doubt by publicly confirming as much. Asked on WEEI’s Greg Hill show about Breslow’s status, Kennedy told the hosts that a change “is not even on the table” (as relayed by MassLive’s Christopher Smith).
Breslow, 46 in August, is in his third season as Boston’s chief baseball officer. The team never disclosed the precise length of his first contract as the team’s baseball operations head, nor has it been reported. There have been no indications that the 2026 season is the last on Breslow’s contract. Presumably, his deal runs through at least the 2027 season.
The Red Sox, of course, have already begun to show some signs of frustration. Manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff were fired in late April after a 10-17 start. Triple-A manager Chad Tracy replaced him for the remainder of the season but is holding the title of “interim” manager. The Sox are 17-22 since the change — a nominal improvement but still well shy of expectations for a team that won 89 games last year and spent $130MM to sign Ranger Suarez this offseason while also acquiring Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Caleb Durbin and several others via trade.
Though the season is on the verge of spiraling past them, it seems the Sox aren’t bringing about any further sweeping changes in the organization — at least for now. They’ve reportedly been on the hunt for a right-handed bat on the trade market, though deals of any real magnitude are rare this time of year. Boston famously bucked that trend with last year’s mid-June blockbuster sending Rafael Devers to San Francisco, but it’s typically hard to find clubs willing to part with notable veteran talent at this juncture. That’s particularly true with a slightly later (Aug. 3) trade deadline this year.
The extent to which the Red Sox are able to climb out of this rut could well determine whether Breslow carries on following the season. Generally speaking, it’s common for teams to first make a change in the dugout and then, if the tide still doesn’t turn, look to the front office for further reshaping. For now, Kennedy’s comments signal that Breslow isn’t on the hot seat. That topic will probably be revisited in the offseason, but there are more than three months of games to influence his status in the meantime.
Red Sox “Shopping” Connor Wong In Trade Talks
Rival teams have shown interest in Boston’s catching trio of Connor Wong, Carlos Narvaez, and Mickey Gasper, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports. It seems like Wong may be viewed the most expendable of the group, as McCaffrey writes that “the Red Sox are shopping Wong in particular.”
The 2024 season was seemingly a breakout for Wong, who hit .280/.333/.425 with 13 homers over 487 plate appearances. Last year, however, Wong stumbled to a .190/.262/.238 slash line over 188 PA. His playing time was reduced first by a pinkie finger fracture that cost him a month of action early in the season, and then as Wong struggled following his IL activation, Narvaez emerged as Boston’s preferred option behind the plate.
The situation has flipped to some extent in 2026, as Wong has rebounded to hit a respectable .264/.338/.375 over 82 PA, while Narvez is hitting only .214/.290/.313 over 125 PA. Gasper wasn’t called up from Triple-A until May 7, but over the last month has also gotten a good chunk of playing time both as a catcher and a DH, as Gasper is batting .306/.353/.387 in 69 PA.
Most teams only carry two catchers on their 26-man roster, though Gasper has hit well enough to earn himself more of a look on an offensively-challenged Red Sox team. The other wrinkle is that Narvaez is clearly the best defensive catcher of the group, which may be why Wong could be the relative odd man out, if the Sox prefer Gasper’s bat and Narvaez’s glove as the preferred catching combination. Gasper and Narvaez are also both pre-arbitration players, though Wong isn’t exactly expensive — he is earning $1.375MM in 2026 in the first of his three arb years.
With former big leaguers Jason Delay and Matt Thaiss both at Triple-A, the Red Sox may feel they have enough catching depth to move Wong elsewhere if the right offer emerges. Given that catcher is a traditionally thin position around the game, it isn’t surprising that Boston is getting calls on its backstops, even if it relatively rare to see a starting-level catcher dealt in-season.
The first week of June is also a little early for trades of true consequence, as clubs generally wait until much closer to the trade deadline for such moves. The amount of parity in the American League has also made trade talks more difficult to parse, as Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow alluded to when speaking with McCaffrey and other reporters yesterday.
“[We’re] having a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions, and I think it’s been kind of true industry-wide,” Breslow said. “But there are a lot of teams that probably feel pretty similar to us, which is to say that they have confidence in their rosters, they know they’re not playing as well as they’re capable of, and really, nobody is kind of putting the postseason out of reach. So there are a bunch of teams that are in it right now and are thinking along the same lines as we are.”
While the Red Sox have a 27-35 record, they are also only 3.5 games behind the 31-32 Rangers for the last AL wild card slot. To this end, Boston has been looking to add to its roster, with right-handed hitting a particular desire for the club. Wong is a right-handed hitter with roughly even splits for his career, though 2026 has been a reverse-splits year, with Wong enjoying far more success against right-handed pitchers than against southpaws.
If the Sox do fall out of the race and decide to sell, the team would have plenty of trade chips available, particularly from its relief corps. McCaffrey notes that the Red Sox have gotten calls on Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, and Justin Slaten, but the club currently has “no interest in dealing anyone from that bullpen trio.” That stance is understandable given how Boston’s pen has helped carry the team this season, so even in a strength-for-strength scenario, the Red Sox might not want to deplete the bullpen to address another need.
Chapman and Whitlock are technically both in the final years of their contracts, but with some level of additional control. The $13MM mutual option for Chapman’s 2027 season vests into a guaranteed salary if he pitches only 40 innings, and he has already logged 19 2/3 frames. The Red Sox hold an $8.75MM club option (with a $1MM buyout) on Whitlock for 2027, and a $10.5MM club option ($100K buyout) on his services for 2028. Slaten would probably be the toughest to pry away in a trade due to his affordability, as the right-hander doesn’t reach arbitration eligibility until this winter.
Red Sox Option Brayan Bello To Triple-A
June 5th: The Sox have officially selected La Sorsa, optioned Bello and transferred Crochet to the 60-day IL.
June 4th: The Red Sox are optioning right-hander Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, reports Dan Roche of WBZ. Boston will add recently acquired lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa to the active roster for tomorrow’s series opener in The Bronx.
Bello was knocked around again this afternoon, giving up eight runs over five innings to take the loss against the Orioles. He’s now sitting on a 6.34 earned run average over 61 frames on the season. He’s striking hitters out at a career-low 15.6% rate. Bello has a career-worst average exit velocity allowed while giving up a lofty 1.48 home runs per nine innings.
The primary issue is that Bello has had no answers for left-handed batters. They carried a .323/.384/.554 line with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 147 plate appearances into today’s start. He hasn’t been good against right-handed hitters either, but the numbers against lefties are completely untenable. That was also an issue for Bello early in his career.
Boston has tried to work around that by using a left-handed opener in front of Bello on four occasions. He has pitched very well in those outings, but the opener (Jovani Morán or Tyler Samaniego) has allowed at least one run in each. The Sox have gone 1-3 in those games despite Bello having a combined 0.71 ERA across 25 1/3 innings.
The 27-year-old righty was asked about the stark difference between his performance as a bulk arm versus starts. He was clearly unhappy with the question.
“First of all, just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” he said in Spanish via the team’s interpreter (link via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic). “I’ve always been a starter, and when I’ve been successful as a starter, no one asks your question (about) whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games. So, just starting from there, just stop that talk, because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it. It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. It’s just, having a bad season. I know that I can turn it around.”
Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente, a native Spanish speaker on the Boston beat, directly translated Bello’s comments a little more firmly:
“First of all, just stop talking about this bullpen-starter crap because when I’m pitching well as a starter, nobody talks about it. Now that I’m having a bad season as a starter, everybody wants to talk crap about it. The first thing is that we should stop talking about it and focus on the good things. Yes, I’m having a bad season as a starter, but I believe things are going to get better.”
In any case, the Sox probably would’ve proceeded with the demotion based on Bello’s performance alone. He’s in the third season of a $55MM extension signed in Spring Training 2024. Bello posted a 4.49 ERA that year and had a career season in 2025. He turned in a 3.35 mark across 166 2/3 innings, albeit with a drop in strikeouts that has only heightened this year. Bello is playing on a $6MM salary and guaranteed $44.5MM from 2027-29 (including a buyout on a 2030 club option).
Pitchers must spend at least 15 days on an optional assignment unless they’re recalled to replace an injured player. Boston can carry an extra reliever until his next scheduled start on Tuesday. Rookie southpaw Jake Bennett, who made his first two career starts earlier in the season, seems the likeliest candidate to come up. He owns a 1.60 ERA with plus strikeout and walk marks in Triple-A.
The Red Sox still need to create a 40-man roster spot to select La Sorsa’s contract. Garrett Crochet could move to the 60-day injured list, assuming he won’t be back from his low-grade lat strain within the next three weeks. A transfer would backdate to his initial April 26 placement.
Red Sox Exploring Trade Market For Right-Handed Bats
Yesterday’s loss dropped the Red Sox to nine games under .500 — last place in the American League East. There’s a host of reasons for the team’s struggles to date, but a punchless offense is near the top of the list. Despite being in the division cellar and fourth from the bottom overall in the American League, Boston doesn’t appear to be entertaining the idea of a summer sell-off yet. To the contrary, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Sox have been searching the trade market for a right-handed bat and have even signaled a willingness to take on some salary.
As noted, the Red Sox’ offense has been one of the worst in the sport. They’re last in the American League with 243 runs scored and sit 28th in all of MLB in that regard. Boston’s team-wide .248 batting average actually ranks sixth in baseball, but Sox hitters rank 14th in on-base percentage (.319) and 24th in slugging percentage (.380). Their 46 home runs are the second-fewest in the game, and their 8% walk rate is fifth from the bottom.
That the Sox are apparently focusing their search on a right-handed bat is both notable and, at first glance anyhow, a bit counterintuitive. They’ve been far better against left-handed pitching (.271/.339/.401) than against righties (.240/.312/.373). However, their production against left-handed pitching has been rather top-heavy. Willson Contreras has been one of the best hitters in baseball when it comes to southpaw mashing. Ceddanne Rafaela has been terrific as well. The Sox’ best hitter against lefties, improbably, has been lefty-swinging Wilyer Abreu.
Most of the remaining hitters beyond that trio have struggled. Right-handed bats like Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have all been well below average against lefties. Andruw Monasterio has been about average. Carlos Narvaez has hit them well in a small sample of 23 plate appearances; fellow catcher Connor Wong has provided no value in the same sample (.150/.227/.150). Even among their most productive bats versus lefties, both Abreu (.475) and Rafaela (.469) have achieved their success thanks largely to sky-high BABIPs they won’t sustain. Rafaela has fanned in 35% of his plate appearances against lefties. Contreras is the only player on the roster who has provided clearly above-average production that looks sustainable.
There aren’t typically many players available this time of the year, and that’s even truer in 2026 than most years, given how tightly packed the American League standings are. The game’s likeliest seller, the Rockies, doesn’t have much in the way of productive righty bats that figure to be available. Catcher Hunter Goodman is their only righty with above-average production right now, but his 34% strikeout rate (46.5% versus lefties) is a red flag. Plus, he’s controllable for three years beyond the current season.
There are still some names who could potentially be available in the early stages of the summer. The Angels are in the AL cellar again but have enjoyed unexpectedly strong production from former Yankees top prospect Oswald Peraza. Outfielder Jo Adell isn’t hitting righties at all but is torching left-handed opponents. The Angels, however, rarely make conventional sell-side trades despite the fact that it’s been more than a decade since they were genuine contenders.
The Giants, Royals and Tigers are tied for the game’s third-worst record. Detroit, in particular, entered the season expecting to contend. They’re not likely to be ready to wave any white flags, particularly with Tarik Skubal inching closer to a return and with wins in each of their past three games.
The Giants probably aren’t ready to punt on the season just yet and don’t have great options available to market anyhow. Casey Schmitt is in the midst of a breakout but is controllable through 2029. Heliot Ramos is also controlled through ’29 and is having something of a down season. It’d be amusing to see the Red Sox and Giants line up on a second trade involving a notable veteran signed to a weighty long-term deal just one year after the Rafael Devers trade, but neither Matt Chapman nor Willy Adames seems likely to be a fit — even if the Sox are open to taking on some cash. Neither veteran is producing anywhere close to his typical levels, and both have full no-trade clauses. Chapman is owed $100MM over four years beyond the current season, while Adames is owed $140MM from 2027-31.
The Royals’ offense has similarly been one of the worst in baseball. They’re not moving Bobby Witt Jr., of course, and the only other right-handed bat that’s provided any real offense this year is outfielder Lane Thomas. He’s a free-agent signing on a one-year deal and thus can’t be traded without his consent for another 10 days (after June 15). He’s hit poorly against righties but thrived against lefties, which is par for the course for the 30-year-old veteran.
Given the lack of obvious sellers, the Red Sox might be better served trying to line up on a prototypical “baseball trade” between two contenders dealing from positions of strength. Both the Pirates and Padres are known to be looking for bullpen help already, for instance. Boston ranks second in the majors with a 3.03 ERA from its relief corps. There’s obvious risk in trading from that group, but there will be more bullpen arms available later this summer than there will right-handed bats, so the Sox could always look to replenish the ‘pen later on if they feel it’s necessary.
Boston’s payroll at the moment is just under $200MM, but they’re carrying enough luxury-tax obligations to put them right on the cusp of the second penalty tier. A trade that adds any salary of note would push them firmly into the second tier, though the penalty at that point is only a slight hike in tax rate. They’d have about $20MM of AAV they could add to the books before incurring an additional rate hike and seeing their top pick in next year’s draft dropped by 10 spots. That’s the penalty at which more teams tend to balk. Of course, if the Sox were to deal from their bullpen, it’s possible they’d be shipping out some major league salary, which would alter the math.
June trades of any significance are rare in modern baseball, but we’ve seen a handful in recent years. It’s not likely that the Sox pull off a second June swap of note for a second straight year, but the fact that they’re even angling to do so is a notable indication of how they view themselves and their playoff hopes at the moment.
Red Sox Acquire Joe La Sorsa
6:41pm: Boston announced the trade but has yet to reveal the corresponding move.
5:20pm: The Pirates are going to trade left-hander Joe La Sorsa to the Red Sox, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. The Bucs will get cash in return, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. It was reported a few days ago that the southpaw was triggering an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal. Alexander says that La Sorsa will be with the Sox in New York tomorrow as they kick off a series against the Yankees. Boston will need to open a 40-man roster spot for La Sorsa.
La Sorsa, 28, will be appearing in his fourth straight major league season once he gets into a game with the Sox. From 2023 to 2025, he pitched for the Rays, Nationals and Reds, posting a 5.21 earned run average in 57 innings.
He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in the offseason and has been pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis. He has thrown 26 innings with a 3.46 ERA. His 21.2% strikeout rate is around average while his 5.8% walk rate and 47.9% ground ball rate a few ticks better than par.
The lefty triggered an upward mobility clause in his deal at the end of spring training. The way such clauses work is that the player must be offered to the 29 others teams in the league. If any of them want to give the player a roster spot, the signing team has to either trade him or give him a roster spot themselves. If they all pass, he will stay with the signing team. La Sorsa stayed with the Bucs in late March, suggesting all clubs passed on him at that time. In this case, the Sox have signed up.
Boston has three lefties in the bullpen, though Aroldis Chapman is the closer. That leaves Jovani Morán and Danny Coulombe as the lefty options for situations before the ninth inning. Coulombe spent about three weeks on the injured list due to cervical spasms and has a 6.55 ERA around that IL stint. Morán has a much better 3.19 ERA but has gotten some help from a fortunate .197 batting average on balls in play and 85.2% strand rate. La Sorsa will give the Sox another option in the southpaw relief corps.
The Sox don’t have a lot of flexibility in their current bullpen mix. Of their eight relief arms, only Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert are optionable, but those are two of their two setup arms. La Sorsa himself is optionable but, as mentioned, he is expected to be with the big league club in the Bronx tomorrow. Perhaps Coulombe will be designated for assignment, as that would open up a spot on both the active and 40-man rosters for La Sorsa. Other options for that kind of move would be Tyron Guerrero and Ryan Watson, who both have ERAs north of 5.00 at the moment.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Red Sox Select Tommy Kahnle
11:18am: Boston has officially selected Kahnle’s contract from Triple-A Worcester. Lefty Tyler Samaniego was optioned to Worcester to open an active roster spot. Infielder Trevor Story, who underwent surgery for a hernia last month, moves to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot.
9:20am: The Red Sox are planning to select the contract of veteran right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle from Triple-A Worcester, reports Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. He’s expected to be available out of the bullpen today. Boston will need to open a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Kahnle, though that can be achieved without designating anyone for assignment; Garrett Crochet stands as an obvious 60-day IL candidate. He’s already been on the shelf for 40 days and was recently diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain that’ll prolong his absence.
Kahnle, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in free agency. He didn’t land a big league opportunity when triggering an upward mobility clause at the beginning of May but was reportedly planning to test free agency if the Red Sox didn’t select him to the roster after he triggered a June 1 opt-out clause. The Sox had until today to make a decision on that clause, and they’ll apparently bring the veteran changeup specialist to the big league bullpen.
In 19 1/3 innings with the WooSox this season, Kahnle has pitched to a pristine 1.40 earned run average. He’s set down 25.3% of his opponents on strikes, though his 13.3% walk rate is an obvious red flag. Kahnle hasn’t yielded much in the way of hard contact — 88 mph average exit velocity, 38% hard-hit rate, only one barrel allowed — but he’s also benefited from not allowing a single home run this season. That’s not sustainable for any pitcher, but the Sox have seen enough to bring him to the majors all the same.
Kahnle is averaging 93 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A this season. That’d be a career-low mark for him, shy of both his lifetime 95.8 mph and last year’s 93.5 mph average. His fastball is a secondary pitch for him anyhow, though; Kahnle leans on his changeup more heavily than any pitcher in the game. He famously threw 61 consecutive changeups with the Yankees during the 2024 postseason and, true to form, has thrown his changeup at a whopping 63.4% clip in Worcester this season.
Though Kahnle had a down season by his standards in Detroit last year (4.43 ERA, 18.7 K%, 11.1 BB%), he has a long track record as an effective late-inning reliever. From 2016-24, he pitched 271 1/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball between the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers. He’s had several injuries along the way — hence the fairly low innings total over that lengthy span — but he’s pitched at least 45 innings (majors and minors combined) in each of the past three seasons and is on track to do so again in 2026. Kahnle’s work from 2022-24 was particularly impressive: 96 innings, 2.44 ERA, 31 holds, four saves, 27.7% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate.
The Red Sox don’t necessarily need relief help. The Boston bullpen’s 3.08 ERA on the season is the third-best mark in the entire sport, narrowly trailing the Mariners (3.01) and Braves (2.99). That number is skewed a bit by Brayan Bello‘s work as a bulk arm behind openers (0.71 ERA, 25 innings), but the group has nonetheless been strong on the whole. That said, the Sox did place Garrett Whitlock (3.20 ERA) on the injured list late last month, and they’ve received shaky performances from journeymen Tyron Guerrero and Danny Coulombe — neither of whom can be optioned. That lack of options could potentially expose them to some roster risk to accommodate Kahnle, which would preserve the Crochet move for the next time the Sox need a 40-man spot.
Garrett Crochet Diagnosed With Low-Grade Lat Strain
Garrett Crochet has been diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told the Boston beat after tonight’s loss to Baltimore (relayed by Christopher Smith of MassLive). Last year’s AL Cy Young runner-up went for an MRI after reporting lingering shoulder tightness over the weekend.
A low-grade strain is relatively encouraging news all things considered, though it’ll obviously delay Crochet’s return to action. Tracy said he’ll resume a throwing program once he’s asymptomatic. The two-time All-Star has been out of action since April 26 due to shoulder inflammation. He has been limited to six starts on the season and carries a 6.30 ERA, mostly due to a nightmare outing against the Twins on April 13.
Crochet has been on the 15-day injured list but stands as a candidate for a 60-day IL transfer if the Sox need a 40-man roster spot. That’d backdate to his original IL date, so 38 days have already elapsed. It’s unlikely he’ll be ready for MLB action within the next three weeks even if this proves a brief shutdown.
The Sox have five starters on the injured list. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval all began the season on the IL; Johan Oviedo joined them there after one appearance. Tracy told reporters (including Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald) that Sandoval will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester this week. Crawford, meanwhile, is being pulled back slightly after yet another bout of forearm tightness. Neither player has pitched in an MLB game since 2024, with Sandoval still awaiting his team debut.
Meanwhile, shortstop Trevor Story discussed his rehab process from last week’s sports hernia surgery with Ian Browne of MLB.com. The veteran infielder floated an 8-12 week recovery timeline, a little longer than the initial 6-10 week estimate. Marcelo Mayer has moved to shortstop since the injury, leaving second base to utility types Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard.
Garrett Crochet To Undergo Tests After “Very Minor” Injury Setback
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is dealing with lingering soreness in his lat area, and as a result Crochet’s throwing progression has been halted. The left-hander told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters that he is “going to get some imaging on it just to make sure we have the full picture.”
Crochet downplayed the seriousness of the situation, saying “it feels like a very minor setback. It sucks to even call it a setback because it doesn’t feel like it even deserves that title. But I won’t be making the live [batting practice] on Tuesday, which sucks.”
More will be known once the test results are in, and if Crochet has indeed avoided any sort of structural issue. Still, even a brief shutdown in his throwing progression will extend what has already been more than a month-long stint on the injured list. Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 25 due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
As Crochet noted, he had been slated to toss a live batting practice session on Tuesday. This planned multi-inning appearance would’ve been Crochet’s second outing against live hitters, following a one-inning simulated session last Tuesday. In the aftermath of that outing, however, Crochet said he felt “just felt a little stretch…in the lat” while throwing, and when the discomfort didn’t subside, the decision was made to shut him down for further examination.
Though Crochet had advanced to facing live hitters, he felt “like I was still a little far off from a rehab start, so it was very, very early in the build-up process.” So even if everything had gone smoothly, Crochet still likely would’ve been sidelined until at least the third week of June, when factoring in time for more BP sessions and probably a couple of minor league rehab starts. It now looks like July 1 may be a more realistic target date for a return, assuming he is able to resume throwing reasonably soon.
After finishing as the runner-up in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2025, Crochet’s second season in Boston has basically been a wash due to this IL stint and the 6.30 ERA he posted over his first six starts. That ungainly ERA was somewhat inflated by one particularly disastrous outing, as Crochet was charged with 10 earned runs over 1 2/3 innings against the Twins on April 13.
There’s still plenty of time for Crochet to get back onto the field and get back to his old form, though timing is paramount given Boston’s disappointing 25-33 record. The Red Sox will have to consider selling at the trade deadline if they can’t get on track, and getting back into contention will be more difficult the longer Crochet is absent. Though Boston’s struggling offense has been the larger problem than the still-solid rotation, obviously the Sox will be much better off with Crochet on the mound.
Tommy Kahnle To Test Free Agency If Not Promoted By Red Sox
With a June 1 opt-out date looming, veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle is expected to look for a new team if he isn’t added to Boston’s roster, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. This is the second time Boston has faced a roster decision with the right-hander, who triggered an upward mobility clause on May 1, but ultimately remained in the minors with the organization.
Kahnle has been excellent at Triple-A this year. The 36-year-old has allowed just three earned runs across 19 1/3 innings. He’s ripped off 14 consecutive scoreless outings. Kahnle is striking out more than a batter per inning with Worcester, though he does have a 13.3% walk rate.
No club jumped in to add Kahnle at the end of April, but maybe he’ll garner more interest after posting 11 zeroes in May. Boston could face a tougher choice this time. “I know there are dates coming up,” interim manager Chad Tracy said, relayed by Cotillo. “Our front office, they’re always aware of that. We’re well-aware of who he is, what he’s done and his performance down there.”
Kahnle has pitched for five teams in his 11-year MLB career. The righty spent last season in the Tigers’ bullpen. He posted a 4.43 ERA across 66 appearances. With left-hander Alex Lange getting hurt in the spring and right-hander Jason Foley falling short of a roster spot, Kahnle began the year as Detroit’s primary closer. He picked up nine saves, easily a career-high mark. Will Vest eventually emerged as manager A.J. Hinch’s preferred choice in the ninth inning.
An elite changeup has been Kahnle’s primary pitch in recent years. The offering posted a +4 Run Value this past season. Kahnle’s changeup had the fifth-highest Run Value in the league in 2024. The veteran is throwing the pitch at a 63.4% clip with the WooSox, which is actually a bit low for him. Kahnle has thrown the changeup at least 72% of the time in four straight years. He’s sitting 93 mph on the four-seamer, which is down slightly from 2025 (93.5 mph).
As Cotillo notes, lefty Tyler Samaniego and righty Greg Weissert would be potential candidates to head back to the minors if Kahnle is given a roster spot. Samaniego was crushed for four earned runs on six hits as an opener on Friday. Weissert has pitched better in May, but a rough start has his ERA sitting at 4.43. Right-hander Ryan Watson has been generally ineffective (5.35 ERA, 7.02 xERA), but since he’s a Rule 5 pick, Boston would risk losing him if he’s taken off the roster. The Red Sox relievers have pitched well as a unit. The bullpen ranks fifth in xFIP and seventh in SIERA.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
Red Sox Place Garrett Whitlock On Injured List
The Red Sox announced that right-hander Garrett Whitlock has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 25th, with left knee inflammation. Left-hander Tyler Samaniego was recalled to take his spot on the roster.
It’s unclear how much time Whitlock will miss but it’s an unfortunate blow to the Sox. Whitlock has been one of their better leverage arms recently. He racked up 24 holds and a save last year. He has already added another nine holds this season. Combining the 2025 and 2026 campaigns, he has thrown 91 2/3 innings with a 2.45 earned run average. His 8% walk rate and 43.4% ground ball rate in that time are pretty close to par while his 31% strikeout rate is well above average.
The injury is also frustrating due to the way it happened. The Sox and Twins were playing through some rain on Sunday and Whitlock slipped on a wet mound, causing some knee soreness. It seems Whitlock and the club spent the past few days monitoring the knee before deciding to put him on the shelf. Since he hasn’t pitched since then, they have backdated the IL placement by the three-day maximum. If Whitlock’s knee feels better quickly, he could be back in less than two weeks.
The Sox have Aroldis Chapman in the closer role but other arms will have to step in to take over Whitlock’s leverage innings while he’s out. Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert could be some of the options there. Weissert has a 3.80 ERA in 21 1/3 innings for the Sox this year. His 22.3% strikeout rate is around par but his 7.4% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate are a few ticks better than average. Slaten spent time on the IL and only has 8 2/3 innings pitched on the year with a 4.15 ERA but a huge 32.4% strikeout rate.
Ideally, Whitlock’s absence will be minimal but any setback for the club looms large at the moment. The Sox are out to a rough 23-31 start, putting them only three games up on the last-place Angels in the American League standings. What is working in Boston’s favor is that many other A.L. clubs are also scuffling, so Boston is only three games back of a Wild Card spot.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images