Red Sox Select Robert Stock, Place Josh Winckowski On 60-Day IL

The Red Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of Robert Stock. Right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned to the minors to make room on the active roster, as was previously reported by Ian Browne of MLB.com. Making room for Stock on the 40-man roster is right-hander Josh Winckowski, who was recalled to the majors and placed on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow.

Stock, 35, joins the Red Sox bullpen for the second time this year. He previously threw two innings for the club in an appearance earlier this year but was outrighted off the 40-man roster shortly thereafter. A second-round pick by the Cardinals all the way back in 2009, Stock didn’t debut in the majors until 2018 as a member of the Padres. He turned in a dominant showing during his first year in the majors, with a 2.50 ERA and 2.71 FIP across 39 2/3 innings of work, but has never reached those heights since. He bounced between San Diego, Boston, Chicago, and Queens over the next three seasons but didn’t get much in the way of results with a 7.36 ERA (5.50 FIP) in 33 frames between 2019 and 2021.

Following the 2021 season, Stock departed affiliated ball to pitch as a starter for the KBO League’s Doosan Bears in 2022. He posted a 3.60 ERA in 165 innings of work but did not remain in Asia beyond that season, instead returning to North America to pitch for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. Stock finally returned to affiliated ball with the Red Sox on a minor league deal this year, where he’s pitched to a 3.09 ERA in 55 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A in addition to his brief stint in the majors. Now he’ll once again be tasked with helping fill the gaps in the Red Sox pitching staff, and perhaps can provide some length for the club out of the bullpen.

Making room for Stock on the active roster is Criswell, a right-hander with a similar ability to pitch in a variety of roles. After spending parts of three seasons with the Angels and Rays early in his career, Stock arrived in Boston last year settled into a swing role with the big league club that saw him pitch to a solid 4.08 ERA (104 ERA+) with a 4.15 FIP in 99 1/3 innings last year. Those frames were split between the bullpen and rotation, with 18 of his 26 MLB appearances last year being starts. Things haven’t gone as well for Criswell this year, however as he’s struggled badly in six innings with eight runs (five earned) allowed and as many walks (two) as he has strikeouts. He’ll head to Triple-A where the Red Sox will try to help him get right so he can contribute to the pitching staff later in the season.

Meanwhile, Stock will take the 40-man roster spot of Winckowski. The right-hander debuted with the Red Sox back in 2022 as a back-end starter but since then has been a very effective multi-inning reliever, with a 3.51 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 172 innings since the start of the 2023 campaign. That includes a 3.86 ERA in six outings for the big league club earlier this year, but he’s been at Triple-A for over a month now. Winckowski last appeared in a Triple-A game on May 11 and had been on the shelf in the minors with elbow inflammation, but the club clearly does not expect him back any time soon as he’ll now not be eligible to return from the shelf until early August.