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.
Elbow strain? That doesn’t sound good
His stock is risen again!
Dumpster fire came early this season
I don’t get the Criswell move at all, and it’s like he is on someone’s 💩 list!
It’s because the starters keep getting shelled early, creates the need for fresh arms when the bullpen is tasked with throwing 6 or 7 innings per game
Rsox – correct. Most teams have 1 or 2 bullpen spots that rotate somewhat frequently if starters exit early and bullpens get over used. That is the reason pitchers having minor league options makes them more valuable than pitchers / players who do not have them. Without options, a players needs to clear waivers to be sent back to the minors. Just because a player is sent to AAA does not mean he is bad, it simply means a team needs a fresh arm or someone who can fill a different position of need.
Rsox – It also means Criswell can’t get recalled by the Red Sox for at least 10 days, unless there’s an injury.
MLB really needs to make a change to that policy, perhaps move it to 20 days. Teams already have a bloated 13-man pitching staff, being able to shuffle even more pitchers in and out from the minors should not be allowed.
Interesting. 23 articles on this website saying the Padres absolutely would be trading Cease in the offseason and even a few during the season and not one about Machado’s historic 350th HR before age 32. Only 11 guys alive have done it and 8 are in the HOF. Other others are Pujols, Cabrera, and Arod. .
I guess it is a TRADE rumors site. Should we all only come here in the offseason and in July?
Or when a player gets caught juicing and ends up on the naughty list. Plenty of chatter for those instances.
This site really doesn’t celebrate milestones, it’s a shame that would be a nice article to read about the player’s journey. They really only acknowledge when a former player or coach passes away or the Hall of Fame candidates on that year’s ballot.
lol at counting the articles ! You sure they all said “absolutely would be” ? I don’t remember that part.
Ha ha. The poor Padres. The world is such an unfair place for them.
BTW. Congrats Manny ! 350 is a lot.
Sounds like Unsolved Mysteries to me.
His stuff is Untouchable.
Thank goodness. The 35yo mexican league retreat is here to save the season!!!
I would literally rather have anyone from the farm system, ANYONE!
Let’s forget about Cora for a minute, is there any reason that Breslow can’t be fired today?
The ship is completely rudderless….
never a good sign when the description of a player’s career includes the phrase “bounced between”
I actually thought the RedSox would be in the World Series this year from the AL. If they have to rely on Robert Stock to start games then their season is over. Isn’t there anyone else they could have used instead?
Stock isn’t going to “start games”. He’s going to maybe pitch an inning then get sent back down.
Read much?
Pedro’s to old and Tiante is RIP….. Stock it is …
Stock is here to give the Sox some length in case Dobbins gets hit hard tonight. A live ,fresh arm for an overworked bullpen. Can we get through the first couple innings without being in the hole several runs? Nice to see Story come through,even if his bases clearing double went off of the 3rd basemans glove. It was scorched.
cdc – I’ve mentioned all season Story is a very streaky hitter and a solid defender, releasing him is not gonna happen. And sure enough he’s on one of his hot streaks right now, batting .320 with a .913 OPS over his last 7 games. And during that time he’s driven in 9 runs, most of which were huge contributions to a win.
Dobbins said he would rather retire than play for the Yankees.(Boston Herald)Wow. Strong talk rook. Let’s hope he can back up his words. I don’t hate that he said it,but you better be able to pitch your butt off tonight. Rookie, Yankee Stadium, Sunday Night Baseball, series on the line. He better be ready to hear it from Yank fans right from the start. The more I think about it,the more I like it. Lets go !!!
FPG
Where you at? What do you have to say about the rookies bravado? I’m sure ESPN will have plenty to say about the comments.
Adds some juice to the game. He better get out of the first inning unscathed or it could be a long night for Sox Nation.
He fared better than Rodon and the boys had his back tonight…but fpg will find a way to trash them even in victory
PHJ
Well Judge handled him in the 1st , but Dobbins settled in and did a respectable job. Excellent win to take the series. Can we get out of the 1st inning without giving up any runs? It’s imperative Sox starters give them some length and quality. Has Story found his bat ? He’s batting .320 in June.
cdc – I’m with the majority of people who like it but feel he shouldn’t have made the comments public. It reminded me of Judge and the “NY, NY” incident at Fenway a years back.
Never, ever give reasons to motivate the opponent.
Seems like his Dad is behind the hatred, he was drafted twice by the Yanks and when he finally signed with them they traded him shortly after.
FPG
Judge is a beast. A behemoth. I believe I heard the ESPN announcers say he is batting over .500 against rookie pitchers this season. That’s absurd. Though if he really wants to be a Yankee legend,he better win a World Series ring. Cannot misplay line drives.
FPG …thats not true.. but here we go making things up again..or you must have dobbins confused with fitts..dobbins was drafted out of Texas tech by the red Sox in 2021 so could not have been traded by the Yankees. That said fitts was drafted by and traded by the Yankees in the verdugo deal.