Today: The Red Sox have sent Burdi outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to his MLB.com transaction tracker. Burdi can choose to reject the outright assignment and elect free agency instead, but it is not yet clear if he plans to do so.
August 11, 6:58PM: Burdi’s DFA and Moran’s selection were officially announced. The Red Sox also added recently-claimed catcher Ali Sanchez to the active roster, and optioned infielder David Hamilton and left-hander Chris Murphy to Triple-A.
August 11, 11:20AM: The Red Sox have designated right-hander Nick Burdi for assignment, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. In a corresponding move, Boston is set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Jovani Moran from Triple-A Worcester, Cotillo adds.
Burdi himself indirectly indicated on social media that a move had been made, tweeting: “Thank you Red Sox for letting me put on a big league uniform again. Will see what the next chapter brings!”
The 32-year-old Burdi pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings for the Sox earlier this season before heading to the injured list due to a foot injury that ultimately moved him to the 60-day IL. He was reinstated earlier this month but optioned to Worcester rather than added back to the active roster. Burdi has been excellent in Triple-A, logging a 1.88 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate in 24 innings.
Despite that success both in limited MLB action and in the upper minors, he’ll now head to waivers within the next five days. That’s the only course of action for Boston now that the trade deadline has passed. Every other club will have the chance to claim Burdi, with waiver priority based on the reverse order of MLB-wide standings.
A former second-round pick (No. 46 overall by the Twins in 2014), Burdi was a standout closer at Louisville whose triple-digit heat made him a potential impact reliever in the majors. Injuries have repeatedly derailed his career, however. He’s had a pair of Tommy John surgeries and also undergone thoracic outlet surgery.
Burdi has made brief appearances in parts of six major league seasons but has only 30 1/3 MLB frames under his belt, during which he’s posted a 5.34 ERA. With so many injuries under his belt — plus the lost minor league season in 2020 — Burdi has only pitched 207 1/3 professional innings (majors/minors combined) since being drafted back in ’14. His fastball, which used to average better than 98 mph, is sitting 95.7 mph in Triple-A this season.
Burdi’s spot on the roster will go to another former Twin. Moran, 28, was acquired from Minnesota in the December swap that sent catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper to the Twin Cities. He missed the first two-plus months of the season while finishing off the rehab from Tommy John surgery but has pitched well since returning to the mound in June. Moran has pitched 18 1/3 Triple-A innings and delivered a solid 3.44 earned run average. More encouraging is a massive 35.1% strikeout rate against a tiny 4.1% walk rate.
Moran was excellent for the 2022 Twins, turning in a 2.21 ERA with a 32.9% strikeout rate in 40 2/3 innings — albeit with an ugly 11% walk rate. His numbers tanked in 2023, however, as Moran posted an ERA north of 5.00 and walked nearly 15% of his opponents in a nearly identical sample of innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery after the season.
At his best, Moran has regularly missed bats at high levels but also issued walks too frequently. He’s primarily a two-pitch reliever who sits 93-94 mph with his four-seamer and couples it with a changeup he throws nearly as often as the heater. If the Sox can get Moran back on track, he’d be controllable for another five seasons, though there’s a ways to go before that’s any sort of real consideration. He has one minor league option year remaining, and that option hasn’t been used so far in 2025, as Moran hasn’t been on the 40-man roster yet. If he’s sent back down for 20 or more days at any point from here on, he’d be out of options next season.
Bye bye Burdi?
The Burd is the word! He’s going to find a job pretty quickly I’d think. Maybe even with the Yankees again the way they’re season is going.
Yes, he can have Devin’s spot.
Devin should be DFA’d or sent down to Triple A. Get him away from Boone, maybe then y’all can stop losing games.
@Acoss1331
Why? He’s pitching pretty good.
30.7% K-rate, 9.9% BB-rate, His GB% is right around his career average. 3.02 SIERA, Stuff+ at 114.
Old York,
Not sure if you’ve seen Devin pitch the last month or so. He’s been god-awful in that time, absolutely has no idea what to do on that mound. Dude looks lost.
@Acoss1331
FB velocity is down a bit Regarding this changeup, the spin direction deviation (-15°) in 2025 compared to 0° in 2024 could indicate a slight mechanical change affecting deception.
Send him to me for a few days and I’ll have him pitching properly again. I’ve fixed many pitchers in the past and know I can fix him. Call my agent to book an appointment.
Have Williams learn the Frisbee slider.There have been many pitchers and hitters that don’t like the constant attention of New York or Boston.They like the more relaxing San Diego or Milwaukee.
Old York,
Pretty sure Yankees fans will pay for his ticket to get him out of New York lol
@Acoss1331
That would be a mistake but Yankee fans aren’t the sharpest tool in the toolbox.
Acoss-Everybodys’ heard
Why why Burdi?
Totally shocked he went unclaimed truthfully. Great arm if he could ever stay healthy. A big if, and ask.
Why? Above avergage K%, average BB%, 3.16 SIERA, Stuff+ 102, heavy GB pitcher. What’s not to like?
He doesn’t fit Cora’s demographic
Angels should grab him if he’s healthy.
Nick Burdi is NEVER healthy.
He throws 100 miles per hour on every pitch. That’s why.
Article states his fastball is sitting at 95 this year. Explain?
That must be the slow radar gun.
Injuries.
This transaction has Cora’s odor all over it.
Yep- Varitek should be the HC next year and let Cora walk
You realize cora is in the running for al manager of the year right currently 4th according to the sports books
bregman did more for that clubhouse than cora ever has
Who’s lst, Bum Goon?
Releasing a 32yo oft-injured pitcher who has never pitched 10 innings in an MLB season not sitting well with you?
I think the question in many minds is why not at least burn his arm in the pen to give other guys a break before jettisoning him.
He was effective in the small sample pre-injury, and, had returned to health pitching well in AAA.
It is fine to (eventually) let him go, but they could’ve used him to give other arms a break a bit first at least. It’s not like he wasn’t being effective.
Come home to MN
While it’s extremely unlikely, I hope he falls through waivers to the Dodgers.
He fits their needs with quality innings, and the injury risk won’t deter them
What the heck Breslow? Burdi can still toss big league stuff- don’t we already have enough LHers on the roster?
Teams don’t like Burdi for some reason. Not sure what it is. Despite debuting with Pittsburgh in 2018, Burdi has not pitched more than 9.2 innings in a season with any team.
Big medical bills?
Suit: I could not figure out this move. His numbers in both AAA and Boston were far better than Jovani. I get he is injury prone, but unless he is currently injured he seemed like a strange person to dump.
Uncle: Agreed. We can’t see anything wrong with the numbers. However, other teams have also released him with good numbers. So, I’m guessing teams don’t like something that doesn’t show up in the typical numbers like his fastball is too straight or something.
Burdi had a spectacular K rate in the minors, but a 3.75 BB rate to go with it. His current ZiPS projection at this point (they do as good a job guessing what a pitcher is capable of as I do) comes to a 10.15 K/9, 5.11 BB/9, and 4.60 ERA in the majors. That’s higher than I would have guessed, but a guy who walks 3.75 BB/9 in AAA is going to walk more in the majors – and it is hard to pitch around a walk rate of 5+.
I’m not sure Moran is any better, though.
Wait- Thanks for the stats. I figured there was more to it. I get that he is injury prone, but wonder how he would do given the opportunity to spend an extended period in the majors. Hopefully he gets a chance.
Yeah, I’d like to see him get another chance too. He cleared waivers, so he could return.
Decent numbers at AAA, but it appears his arm and joints are faulty. Someone will claim him and they use their own MRI machine next time he breaks down.
How many lefties does the Sox bullpen need?
How many LHRP does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Apparently 5 though i wonder if Murphy gets sent down, then it would be 4
If they were to play their cards right, they could get up to 6 with Moran and Bernardino…
Campbell and Hicks are the weak links in the pen, in my opinion.
Hicks isn’t going anywhere as they aren’t going to eat the remaining 2 years and $25 million he is owed to release him. Campbell is just roster filler.
I think Hicks will be fine next season going to camp as a reliever rather than a starter
Yeah, I know, they’ll keep hoping that Hicks finds his control in a relief role. Guess I might as well keep hoping as well.
As you say, Campbell is replaceable. Looking forward to Sandlin in that role before the end of the season.
With Hicks calling out the catcher for his runs given up, I would be happy to see him gone. I was rooting for him, but not anymore.
Hicks better start impressing after blaming the catcher for his runs. That is not the way to get support from the team.
I don’t know if that comment came across right… It sounded to me more like, “I’m afraid to throw sliders.” Which is understandable, given how hard his sliders (and sweepers) have been pounded the last few years.
I’d like to see him try a sinker/fastball/splitter mix. All hard stuff but with different movements. He has had a lot more success with those over the years than he has with a slider of any type.
I just did not like the way he worded it. He could have just said he needed to work on his pitch selection rather than say anything about the catcher. It is always easy to point the finger at someone else.
For sure, it was not well said.
Rsox – They just announced Ali will actually force someone off the active roster, so we shall see.
And remember how Cora said Toro is the emergency catcher? Toro himself said he was never told that ….. yep Cora the Great Communicator. who gets off on withholding information. SSDD.
Hamilton is probably going back to Worcester, which leaves Romy has the only backup Infielder. Claiming a Catcher without minor league options was a silly move by Breslow
If Sanchez plays well, and Narvaez gets healthy, I could see them sending Wong down. Seems he still has one option remaining?
Rsox – I can’t believe MLB allows 72 hours before someone needs to be removed from the active …. that’s crazy.
It’s possible Narvaez didn’t respond well to yesterday’s catching and has been placed on the IL …. or Wong gets optioned. We shall see before tonight’s game.
I wonder if Bregman gets booed, I know Red Sox fans boo whenever a Red Sox player rejects a contract and signs elsewhere.
This will be the third time in less than 2 weeks Correa plays against the Red Sox in a series.
Rsox – You were right, Hamilton and Murphy sent down.
I guess Wong is considered an emergency infielder.
Huh? 1. MLB rules will not allow the Sox to use Moran to replace anything but a pitcher.
2. When did Bregman sign elsewhere?
He means will Astros fans boo Bregman like Sox Fans have been known to boo their former players.
On that one, i don’t think Astros fans will boo him like that but i guess you never know. Looking forward to Kevin Millar joining the broadcast this series
I am missing something, where did it say Moran would replace a position other than pitcher?
It didn’t. Moran replaced Murphy, Sanchez replaced Hamilton
Sorry, I meant to be responding to Ketch. I was not sure what he meant when he was talking about Moran replacing someone other than the pitcher.
What Cora meant to say is “dude looks like he could be a catcher” after seeing him in the weight room.
Toro did some catching in the minors. Considering he is listed by the team as the third-string catcher, I fully expect he knows he may have to play there in an emergency. The rest is just made up nonsense.
Dumb move IMO. Other guys were candidates to be DFA. How many lefties do you need. Can Burdi hit…..bye bye Toro
Is there any reason to expect from Burdi than from Moran?
Not really, Burdi has lost three ticks off his fastball. Moran is looking like he is in top form – guess we’ll see soon enough whether or not that is just a AAA illusion.
And yet somehow David Hamilton still had a roster spot
MLB only allows 13 pitchers on thr active roster (except for days with double headers). They can’t DFA Hamilton and use his roster spot to activate Moran.
I’m surprised at the fascination level with Burdi and his 5 IP this year. His DFA is likely influenced by his horrific health history and propensity for long IL stays.
Ali Sanchez replaced Hamilton.
Moran replaced Murphy.
Ketch – We were talking about Ali Sanchez, nobody had been removed for him until now.
Probably most remembered for that heart breaking injury. He looked like he could’ve been a back end closer.
I hope health will allow him to give it another shot.
I can never remember which Burdi was a Pirate.
Evidently it was this one.
Yes.And they should give him another shot.
I was hoping he would get more of a shot with the Sox. His AAA numbers this year were really impressive.
A Burdi and a Berti in one day? Sounds like a decent day on the golf course.
And all that’s left is what the little Burdi left on the rock. (special thanks to Mike Krukow)
Burdi doesn’t move the needle either way, a AAAA pitcher.
It was reported he accepted the assignment yesterday at noon, how is it unclear today?