The Red Sox announced Thursday evening that they’ve acquired right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez from the Brewers in exchange for cash and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester. Milwaukee designated Gutierrez for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Boston transferred injured shortstop Trevor Story from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Story underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week. The Sox also announced that lefty Joe Jacques was optioned to Worcester following today’s game.
The 28-year-old Gutierrez originally signed with the Reds on a hefty $4.75MM bonus (plus a 100% tax on that bonus) in 2016 after defecting from his native Cuba. He profiled as one of Cincinnati’s top pitching prospects for a few years before making his MLB debut in 2021. The 6’1″, 205-pound righty pitched 150 2/3 innings for the Reds from 2021-22, turning in a 5.44 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate that were both worse than league-average.
Despite those struggles, Gutierrez would likely have received a longer look with the Reds — had he remained healthy. His elbow had other ideas, as a torn ulnar collateral ligament in ’22 led to Tommy John surgery. Gutierrez returned to the mound to toss a handful of minor league innings last September but didn’t get back to the big leagues. He was removed from Cincinnati’s 40-man roster and became a free agent following the season. After a few showcases for big league scouts, he signed a minor league deal with the Marlins.
It’s been a whirlwind three weeks for Gutierrez, who was selected to the Marlins’ 40-man roster and pitched four innings of long relief to help spare their taxed bullpen. That four-inning appearance meant he’d be unavailable for several days, so the Fish designated him for assignment to clear space for another fresh arm in the ’pen. Miami surely hoped to be able to pass Gutierrez through waivers and keep him as a depth option, but the Brewers scooped him up off waivers on April 5. He was rocked for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his lone Triple-A start with Milwaukee, who designated Gutierrez themselves in order to bring fellow righty Tobias Myers up to the MLB roster.
Now with his third team in a span of three weeks, Gutierrez will hope to get into a groove in Worcester and pitch his way into a big league opportunity. The Red Sox lost Lucas Giolito for the season before Opening Day, and they’ve more recently placed Garrett Whitlock (oblique strain) and Nick Pivetta (flexor strain) on the injured list. That leaves the Sox with a rotation including Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Cooper Criswell. Veteran Chase Anderson is on hand as a long man in the ’pen and could move into the rotation following Whitlock’s IL placement just yesterday. Gutierrez joins lefty Brandon Walter and righty Naoyuki Uwasawa as a rotation depth option on the 40-man roster.
Each time I see the Reds’ red/white jerseys, I immediately think of Coca Cola
Clip – When I see those jerseys, I think of Ty Cobb.
Atlanta reminds me of Dr Pepper colors and the Atlanta Coca Cola plant at the same time
Reds city connects look like Coke Zero cans
@Yankee Clipper
Cold take: City connect jerseys’ are junk and should be discontinued but won’t because there is always someone willing to spend money on it.
Old – You’ll never see me in a yellow and baby blue Sox jersey, that’s for sure.
But there are plenty worse examples of MLB greed that annoy me more.
For instance, the Red Sox centerfield camera has zoomed out more this year for games at Fenway.
Why?
Because they’ve added a bunch more advertising going out further on the Fenway backstop, and of course the Sox receive more money by showing more backstop ads during every plate appearance.
I knew this was coming. When they first started with the one or two ads behind home plate, I said just watch them expand the advertising to every inch of every wall. It’s happening, slowly but surely, just like the boards on NHL rinks.
And I guarantee the corporate patches on MLB uniforms will expand as well, someday MLB player uniforms will look like Nascar drivers.
The greed is sickening, and a big reason why players are receiving outrageous contracts.
What I wish is that the Sox would stick to this basic scheme when it comes to uniforms:
Home: the red jerseys with white pants
Away: the navy blue jerseys with gray pants
Alternate 1: the St. Patrick’s Day green alternates
Alternate 2: both home/road jerseys but with the American flag worked into the lettering – to be worn on patriotic holidays like Patriots Day, Bunker Hill Day, July 4,
Agreed. The only City Connect jersey that is even remotely tolerable is probably Miami and that is just because their regular uniforms have been garbage since they stopped being Florida Marlins in 2012.
Now I will too forever and always.
Every city connect uniform except the pirates and m’s and reds are absolute trash in my opinion
The dumpster dives continue
Thomar – Now that the offseason is over, the Sox have no choice but to dumpster dive because they did nothing to acquire adequate depth during the offseason.
As everyone has pointed out, last offseason was the worst in the history of the franchise. That’s what happens when you have an inexperienced head of baseball ops and a greedy cheapskate absentee owner.
Inexperience is irrelevant. He’s just a puppet.
Tang – The inexperience is a big reason why Breslow was willing to take the job, and why he got it.
Once he gains the experience, in about 4 years he will probably be gone when his contract is up. He will go somewhere where he does have some authority.
25 other teams would have signed this guy to a minor league contract if he hit waivers.
Agreed Icon. Yesterday the Yankees claimed Taylor Trammel and the comments were relatively positive. Every team shops around for any any possible talent they can find. Why do Red Sox fans always have to whine about it?
Wah wah wah all Fever Pitch Guy does is cry all the time. Get a real life instead of hating on the Sox.
They really need to do something about these “hot potato” transactions. It doesn’t do anyone any good for these guys to be jerked around from 3-4 different organizations over a couple of months. It doesn’t really apply here since a trade was involved, but Gutierrez is the type of player I am talking about. I think they need to establish a 30 day period where a player must remain on the 40 man roster after a waiver claim or else he goes back to the original team. Either that or they could make a player’s full major league salary 100% guaranteed if they are DFA’d by a claiming team. This whole claiming and then trying to sneak them through waivers as cheap depth is a little ridiculous.
hiflew – Totally agree! It’s roster manipulation at it’s worst.
I like your 100% guaranteed full year’s salary option better, sending him back to his original team really doesn’t hurt the team that had acquired him.
I only brought that up to stop the practice of claiming and then immediately outrighting a guy. Just a way to get cheap depth. If anyone deserves to outright a player to the minors, it should be his original team.
Sending him back to the original team would then force another move to make room for him. It would just make the problem worse. Player A gets waived. A 2nd team claims him, and then tries to put him thru waivers. A 3rd team claims him. Maybe they have a roster opening, maybe they have a need, but instead, he gets sent back to team 1, who didn’t have a place for him, and doesn’t want him back. Team 1 now has to waive another player to make room for him, who they liked better, and now the process begins again!?
I agree. They are treating these guys as literal garbage, swapped in and out, up and down. I’d be fine with a player needing to stay X number of days in an organization, and the up/down should be reserved for DL and call-ups.
People act like it’s smart, all teams are doing it taking a random guy, leaving him out to take a beating in a game, then getting rid of him. Nothing ground breaking.
They should at least get a week or two of pay and service time.
It’s sucks for the player, but those stipulations would have a lot of guys unemployed. The players don’t want to fix it, because they don’t want to give up anything. Plus the union is only worried about the top 10% anyways.
This is marginball. Teams are always looking for ways to improve around it. My Orioles have a lot of home grown #1s, but also get contributions from waiver claims, rule 5, cash trades.
Nos – This is one reason why I don’t foresee the rosters expanding again anytime soon.
Why expand them when teams are essentially already using 40+ players a season with all the additions and subtractions?
My only question here is how does it help the player not get bounced around, if he goes back to his previous team? He’s still relocating, isn’t he?
On second thought, 1 more question..how does it help said previous team if they then have to open a roster spot to bring the guy back? Or does he stay off the 40 man and is simply minor league depth..?
You know what? I’ve been crapping on the front office all offseason, but this is a move I’ll take. He’s got upside, and it didn’t cost a player. He’s pre-arb right now.
Bass – When you have a 7.52 ERA since 2022, there has to be upside because you can’t go any further down.
This will work out better than Dinelson Lamet did… Not that that’s a high bar.
Bass – But will it work out better than Bearclaw?
Will Cora get so fed up with the constant shuffling of unproven pitchers that he will just say screw it, like he did last year? And remember in the offseason he specifically said the Red Sox will provide proven solid pitchers on the roster, not the constant throwing crap against the wall to see what sticks.
and most I’m Importanlly he is cheap
Upside what r u talking about this guy pitches batting practice he’s terrible
I misread that as “Red Sox Aquire Vladimir Guerrero.” Phew!
Would rather have guerrero
I would think it would help if a team that aquired a dfa’ed could get an option that way if he needed to be sent down he could.
Free Bauer!!!! Mlb trade rumors posted accusations about an innocent man… will they post an article about his accuser being charged with felonies?
This article isn’t about you, Trevor
Cute
Simp
Who cares.
bauer is free, it’s just no team wants to have an immature, misogynist, bully on their team and rightly so.
Bauer is none of those things
Hmm let’s see
1. Immature – throws ball over fence because Tito takes him out of the game. Check
2. Misogynist – likes to beat on women during sex. Check
3. Bully – harasses and encourages others to harass women online. Double check.
So are you saying Lindsey Hill and these other broads are misogynists too? Cuz they like to be beaten during sex, as evidenced by their own text messages.
Even ignoring the obvious here, Bauer is and always has been a pr*ck. Even since his UCLA days. He is full of himself.
OK, and? Lots of players are/were like that. Closer to home, my Padres rode a MAJOR a-hole to the 1998 NL pennant in Kevin Brown.
Nobody wants Trevor Bauer
We’re saying they should.
We? I’m saying they should not.
I’m sorry you feel that way.
He and the entirety of the league feels that way. You, apparently, are the one that refuses to accept that fact
I’m sorry they feel that way.
I hope Breslow looks back on the start of this season when going into the next off-season and actually addressed large talent gaps in the roster through free agency.
How different this situation is if they signed Gray and Montgomery (or any two top tier arms) and actually tackled the SP issue.
You make it sound as if gray or montgomery would actually want to sign with boston…its good to want things..
In general, FA sign with the team that pays then the most. Gray’s contact in St. Louis is a steal, and no one was apparently close to Montgomery’s ask so yeah I’m sure they could have made it work.
Unsure of the gray situation but he signed very early so if his contract is that cheap then he likley wanted to be in st louis ..so probably no chance on him..with regard to montgomery the reporting at the time had him specifically not wanting to play for boston due lack of a chance to win..regardless of money. These guys are human just like us and i cant speak for anyone else but i can tell you for sure money albeit a strong one is not the only motivating factor for me..and i assume others as well.
Things change when the agent explains that unless he actually wants to work for a living in the future, his current career probably ends at 38 yrs old, so make it while he can.
Lol i get that ..but the two guys in question are both getting 25 mil per..so working for a living at 38 doesnt or shouldnt apply…and fwiw the mlb min is 740k ..if a guy reaches free agency to feild legit offers and can legitimately play that long as well as having a halfway competent financial advisor..money should not be a concern if retiring at 38 or sooner in many cases
You are assuming all of this is because breslow didn’t do his job? You are missing the thousand pound gorilla in the room.
Tang it – Devers?
For a second I thought it said Vladimir Guerrero
Sweet: just when I thought I was the only one making purchases on Facebook Marketplace. Just what we need another injury prone piece to this puzzle.
Guy’s getting more gig work in 2024 than most Americans.
Traded for a neck tattoo to be named later.
Sox will use him to throw four innings whilst trailing 8 t0 1, then DFA him after the game. Recall a few of those instances last year. Plus we are already announcing TBD starters in APRIL!
I’m pretty unclear on all the roster rules. Both Miami and Milwaukee DFA’d him, and in both cases he had to pass through waivers. Yet, somehow the Sox “optioned” him to Wooster.
Where did the option come from, and why didn’t either of the other teams use an option instead of DFA?
the option was there. The other teams needed the 40 man spot. Whether in the majors or minors, he would have still taken up a spot, unless removed from the roster thru a DFA. Boston had a 40 open. Even in the minors, he is still on Boston’s 40 man.
Thanks!
Well it’s nice to know someone upstairs is paying attention but what we really need is a permanent SS who can field. I know they’re not a dime a dozen but the David Hamilton experiment is a big FAIL. You can’t piece-meal SS from April – September.
Another tomato can….
“Surprise Surprise “
Another bargain-basement pick up by our scholarly leader Buyslow! How pathetic this organization has become!
It’s a balancing act that Breslow must learn. Roster construction starts with all-stars, then quality complimentary players and farm system players with talent and then inexpensive depth and the more talented the depth the better the team.
Breslow came up short on all-star talent despite having plenty of money to get two all-star pitchers. Breslow came up short acquiring complimentary players to go with his best player with the exception of Tyler O’Neill. Breslow inherited a very talent group of young outfielders and SPs who got their feet wet last year and a few years before. The inexpensive depth has not gone well just like with Bloom. Gutierrez is just one guy amongst many who could provide depth or not. Let’s hope he does.
After a small sample of 21 games the team breaks into 3 levels of performance. Those excelling, those that are league average and those well below league average. Obviously things can change but if Breslow is paying attention he should be identifying the holes for next year.
Guys playing like stars include:
Tyler O’Neill, Tristan Casas, legitimate all-star candidates
Wong, McGuire and Refsnyder – Very hot but likely unsustainable
Guys who are above league but seem to have a decent upside
Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers both could end up all-stars or stay around league average but clearly belong on the roster going forward
Abreu and Rafaela are still very early in their careers and their hot and cold streaks on offense are huge Abreu is up and Rafaela down but that could turn on a dime. It the end they need the full year to adjust or not adjust to being in the major leagues.
So Breslow core hitters for the future are:
OF – O’Neill if they can resign him
OF – Duran
OF – Possibly Abreu or Rafaela or both
DH – Devers
1B – Casas
C – Either or both until Teel is ready
2B – Possible Grissom, he’s in the same boat with Abreu and Rafaela.
3B – Is desperately needed
SS – is desperately needed since Story is not reliable
Despite being a 66 win team in 2024 the distance to winning 90 wins or more isn’t that great if an ACE is found to lead the pitching staff and the new coaching staff continues to develop the young talented pitchers. The bull pen has an excellent anchor in Hendriks so the coaches need to improve the quality of relievers stretching between the starters and Hendriks. 90 is a possibility in 2025 but Breslow must do a lot more right and ownership needs to care about winning again.
Wonderful, more dumpster diving, that is all the Sox do any more. This is not an indictment of Gutierrez just a statement on the Sox mindset.