Red Sox Select Alec Gamboa

The Red Sox announced they have selected the contract of left-hander Alec Gamboa from Triple-A Worcester. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com first reported that Gamboa was on a flight to Detroit and likely to be added after exercising an upward mobility clause. He takes the active roster spot of fellow lefty Danny Coulombe, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to cervical spasms, retroactive to May 2nd. To open a 40-man spot, lefty Patrick Sandoval has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Gamboa will take the mound as a 29-year-old rookie when he’s first plugged into a game. The 2019 Dodgers ninth-rounder spent years climbing the ranks in L.A.’s system but never reached the majors. The Dodgers granted him his release last year in order to sign with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, and Gamboa wound up making 19 starts with a 3.58 ERA in 108 innings in that overseas run. He fanned just under one quarter of his opponents, issued walks at a 10.3% clip and recorded a 55.2% ground-ball rate. Both his ERA and FIP were about 20% better than league average in South Korea’s hitter-friendly environment.

That showing prompted the Sox to bring Gamboa aboard on a minor league deal. He only pitched two spring innings and has tossed 13 frames in Worcester. The 6.23 ERA he’s turned in thus far isn’t going to generate much excitement, but Gamboa has a nice 25.4% strikeout rate with a solid 8.5% walk rate and a huge 57.9% grounder rate. He’s been plagued by a mammoth .405 average on balls in play that’s sure to regress closer to the .290 league average.

This move will keep the Sox with an even split in their bullpen for now. They have been operating with four lefties and four righties. Coming into today, the southpaws were Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Morán, Tyler Samaniego and Coulombe. It’s unclear how long Coulombe is expected to be out but Gamboa will slot in for him.

Presumably, Gamboa has a full slate of options, since this is his first major league call-up. Sometimes, a player coming to North America from overseas will get language in his contract stating that he can’t be sent to the minors without his consent, though it’s unlikely that a minor league contract would have such a provision. Samaniego has options if the Sox need a fresh arm at some point.

As for Sandoval, he still hasn’t pitched in the majors since June of 2024. He underwent surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament that month and has been in recovery mode ever since. The Angels non-tendered him at the end of that year, which led to the Sox signing him to a two-year deal worth $18.25MM.

Boston knew that they likely wouldn’t get much from Sandoval in 2025 but presumably hoped he would be back on the mound by now. He began a rehab assignment a few weeks ago but that was shut down after just two outings due to some biceps soreness.

His current timeline is unclear but this transaction rules out any chance of him returning in the next few weeks. His 60-day count is retroactive to his season-opening placement on the 15-day IL but that still means he’s ineligible for reinstatement until late May.

Boston’s rotation was supposed to be a strength but injuries have really impacted them. In addition to Sandoval, they have Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo and Tanner Houck on the IL. Ranger Suárez hasn’t been placed on the IL but did depart his most recent start with a hamstring strain. For now, assuming Suárez avoids the IL, he is surrounded by Brayan Bello, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and Jake Bennett in the rotation. Bello has a 9.12 ERA and would probably be in the minors if not for all these injuries. Unless he gets back on track soon, he could be in an awkward spot as guys come off the IL.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images