The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-hander José De León. They had a 40-man vacancy due to Ali Sánchez being outrighted last week. Left-hander Chris Murphy has been optioned to open an active roster spot.
De León, 33, is going to start today’s game for the Red Sox. Lucas Giolito was lined up to potentially take the ball today. He probably would have done so if they still needed to clinch a playoff spot. However, now that the Sox have a spot secured, it appears they will hold Giolito back so that he’s available for the Wild Card series.
Instead, they will give the ball to De León. Despite his age and former status as a top prospect, his major league track record is still limited. He debuted back in 2016 and has appeared in six different big league seasons but has thrown just 65 1/3 innings with a 7.44 earned run average. Injuries have been a major storyline in his career. His 2023 season was cut short by Tommy John surgery, the second of his career.
Due to that surgery, he missed the entire 2024 season, at least in terms of affiliated ball. He played some winter ball in Puerto Rico in 2024-25, demonstrating enough health for the Sox to give him a minor league deal heading into 2025. He made 22 appearances for the WooSox this year, 13 of them being starts, logging 75 1/3 innings overall with a 6.93 ERA. His 14.4% walk rate was quite poor but he struck out 24.6% of batters faced.
His last appearance was September 20th, just over a week ago, when he logged 4 1/3 innings, walking four but striking out eight. Presumably, the Sox will throw him out there to soak up as many innings as he can, so that they can save Giolito and some of their relievers for the Wild Card round. There is an off-day tomorrow, so the relievers don’t need to be sealed in bubble wrap, but it makes sense for the club to focus on their workloads and make sure they’re all fresh for Tuesday.
De León is out of options and may end up getting bumped off the roster shortly. It’s been suggested by some members of the Boston media that the club may want to have Sánchez on the postseason roster as a third catcher, which would free up manager Alex Cora to be more aggressive in removing his catchers for pinch-hitters or pinch-runners. Since De León is likely up for a one-day mop-up assignment, he may end up the sacrificial lamb for that move.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
Guess we know who’s starting today xD
Hoping Boston loses today. as the 6th seed is more advantageous than being 5th.
No name garbage pitcher thrown out there today. Could have put the Spaceman out there today
Why not you? Oh wait, you played shortstop… is that you, Nomar?
Coach’s son pitches and plays shortstop.
Maybe…..but at least I am still here….You…? you are supposed to be Steinbrenner – guess you’re dead Georgie or Hankie?
Bring up a guy who’s 0-9 with a 6.93 ERA? This move reeks of Cora.
Alex Cora is not in charge of these kind of moves. You just attack him because it’s your hobby.
Your version of Alex Cora starts Lucas Giolito today because “it’s his turn in the rotation.”
That’s not the Alex Cora we have in the dugout no matter what the guys on the radio say.
pretty sure OP is just being silly with it
Meow that could be, and it’s not a problem at all. My opinion is no better than his. But I’ll go ahead and throw mine out there anyway.
I can respect that ✊
Let….You don’t really believe that nonsense do you?..
The reason it is De Leon is 1) if the Red Sox loose and Cleveland wins, the matchup in the playoffs is better, 2) De Leon WILL be released after today, so the 40-man spot can be used on a free agent, trade acquisition, Rule 5 minor leaguer!
The move today is good for what amounts to a disposable player. It sounds harsh, but that is the reality for the team. It is great for the player, because he gets another opportunity in the MLB! If he pitches well enough, some other team may pick him up for next year.
It would not have mattered if De Leon had thrown a 9 inning no-hitter today. The regular season is complete, and he is a 33 year old journey man. The Red Sox have an abundance of #3-5 starters for 2026. They will try to add a #2 or #3, higher end starter, but the following are under team control for 2026:
Garrett Crochett
Bryan Bello
Patrick Sandoval
Kutter Crawford
Hunter Dobbins
Kyle Harrison
Connelly Early
Payton Tolle
Richard Fitts
Luis Perales
Cooper Criswell
All have various amounts of success at the MLB level except Persles who was hitting 100 mph in his return from TJ at Worcester last week with multiple plus secondaries. There would be no room even at Worcester for a 33 year old De Leon.
That list does not even include:
Shane Drohan
Tyler Uberstine
…who are likely to be 40-man adds in November.
@4WSsince04
it matters to Deleon.
My original post:
“…. It is great for the player, because he gets another opportunity in the MLB! If he pitches well enough, some other team may pick him up for next year.”
Obviously, it matters to De Leon, and I said as much!
So..based on the results..still feel the same?
0-9 6.93 ERA oh please- why not Uberstine?
Because they probably didn’t want to start his clock for one start and also because he was moved to the “Development List” after his last start which implies there is something they want him to work on which might not be a good thing at the MLB level
Umm..did you watch the game?..the guy they called up.did great
Off to NY !!
Gary – Here’s hoping your hat makes it through the week ;O)
All I need is Tuesday and Wednesday. I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in the young guy Thursday.
Gary – That’s gonna be a fascinating decision, who starts Game 3.
Realistically the final game of a postseason series is all hands on deck, so whomever starts will have a really short leash if they struggle. But I wouldn’t assume Early gets the start over Giolito. I think Early will assume the role Houck assumed in the 2021 postseason when he pitched 7 solid innings in relief against the Yanks and Tampa.
Great game by him, now we are onto NY!
We need to drop two players to get to 26 for the Wild Card series. De Leon is obviously one of them. We will likely be keeping all 14 position players since the Yankees will be starting two LHP. Eaton and Sogard will likely start in RF and 2b. With 12 pitchers, choice likely comes down to leaving off Harrison, Matz or Tolle. I think Kelly stays to matchup with RH hitters.
Craig – I think it’s gonna be Harrison. He’s the #5 SP, which obviously isn’t needed. And he sucked in his last game.
One of those can’t miss top prospects… goes to show you if you have that pedigree, regardless of it translates to the pros, the league will give you every opportunity
Crochet vs Fried, Boston vs New York.
October baseball doesn’t get any better than that. Runs should be at a premium. Neither club is great defensively,and which team plays mistake free will come out on top. Aaron Judge might be the best player in MLB, but he hasn’t yet become a Yankee legend. He has mostly struggled in the postseason. Cannot be up there with the Mantles,Jeters,Jacksons,and ects,ects, without the ring. Not this year.
Sox in 2. ……
You bring a great point. Can the Red Sox play error free baseball for two games?
GRW
They have to if they are going to win. Can the Yankees??? Also not a great defensive squad. Cannot give them extra atbats,free outs. Damn shame Anthony is not healthy.Would have really enjoyed seeing him perform in New York in this atmosphere. Whatever happened to to our ‘big 3’ rookies….. Get game 1 and I like Bellos history against New York… Look for Romy Gonzales to make his mark in this series.