Red Sox Designate Jorge Alcala For Assignment

The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala for assignment. Fellow righty reliever Isaiah Campbell was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his spot on the roster.

Boston acquired Alcala in a mid-June trade with the Twins — a deal sending minor league infielder Andy Lugo back to Minnesota. Alcala was an obvious change-of-scenery candidate at the time. The hard-throwing righty had run out of opportunities in Minnesota after allowing 24 runs in 24 1/3 innings (8.88 ERA). That marked Alcala’s second ERA north of 6.00 in a span of three seasons with the Twins. He posted solid run-prevention numbers in 2024 but was far too prone to both walks and homers.

Alcala’s time with the Red Sox looked better, at least on the surface. His 3.31 ERA is a clearly solid mark, but there were plenty of troubling trends under the hood. As was the case throughout his time in Minnesota, Alcala proved susceptible to free passes and the long ball. He walked 10.5% of the batters he faced with Boston and tossed three wild pitches. He was also tagged for four homers in just 16 1/3 frames (2.20 HR/9).

The recent results for Alcala, who turned 30 late last month, were too rough for Sox brass to overlook. He’s lasted a combined 3 1/3 innings over his past five appearances and been shelled for six runs (five earned) on eight hits (four homers) and four walks in that time. He allowed three runs, including a pair of home runs, in one-third of an inning yesterday in what proved to be his final appearance with the Sox.

Alcala will now head to either outright or release waivers within the next five days. He’s very likely to clear in either case. He’s earning $1.5MM this year and still has about $435K of that sum yet to be paid out. He’s out of minor league options, so an acquiring team would need to plug him right into the big league bullpen. Between that lack of options, his remaining salary and his recent struggles, it’s doubtful any team would claim him. Alcala has more than five years of big league service time, so even if the Red Sox outright him to Worcester, he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency while retaining the remainder of that guaranteed money.