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Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox Aiming To Activate James Paxton Next Week

By Mark Polishuk | May 6, 2023 at 4:36pm CDT

James Paxton is on the verge of his first Major League game in over two years, as Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that Paxton will join the team this week.  Paxton won’t start during Boston’s upcoming two-game series with the Braves, which indicates that he’ll pitch at some point during the three-game series between the Cardinals and Red Sox from May 12-14.

Paxton underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2021 as a member of the Mariners, but the Red Sox made something of a speculative move by signing the left-hander to a free agent deal during the 2021-22 offseason.  That contract contained a pair of club options (each worth $13MM) for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but also a $4MM player option Paxton could exercise if the Sox declined those club options.  With Paxton missing the entire 2022 campaign due to both his TJ rehab and then a lat tear, Boston indeed declined its club options, and Paxton triggered his $4MM option to ultimately make his deal a two-year, $10MM pact overall.

If those past injuries weren’t enough, Paxton also had a Game 1 hamstring strain during Spring Training that delayed his ramp-up period to the point that another 15-day IL stint was required to begin the 2023 season.  Pitching in six games at Triple-A Worcester during his rehab, Paxton has a 6.23 ERA over 21 2/3 innings, largely due to one disastrous outing (the only relief appearance of his six games) that saw him tagged for seven runs in two-thirds of an inning on April 19.  In his last two rehab starts, Paxton allowed only two runs over 10 1/3 total innings, and he topped the 90-pitch threshold in both games.

The Red Sox don’t play on either Monday or Thursday, and they also have off-days on May 18, 25, and 29th.  This gives the club some flexibility in how they arrange their pitching staff when Paxton returns, and Garrett Whitlock is also expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list this week.  Cora said the Sox are considering the possibility of a six-man rotation to accommodate a full rotation, though the preponderance of upcoming off-days could lead to some extended time between starts if the Red Sox did try a larger rotation.

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Boston Red Sox James Paxton

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Red Sox Acquire Zack Littell, Select Him Onto MLB Roster

By Darragh McDonald | May 6, 2023 at 3:09pm CDT

TODAY: As expected, the Red Sox selected Littell’s contract and he is now part of their active roster. In corresponding moves, Ort was optioned to Triple-A and Adam Duvall was shifted to the 60-day injured list. Duvall was placed on the 10-day IL just under four weeks ago due to a fractured wrist, and since it will still be a couple of weeks before Duvall is even able to start swinging, his move to the 60-day IL opens up a 40-man roster spot for Boston.

MAY 5, 11:38pm: Littell’s contract with the Rangers contained an upward mobility clause requiring the Rangers to trade him or promote him to the majors if another club was willing to add him to the MLB roster, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Red Sox expressed a willingness to do so, leading to the trade. While Littell was initially assigned to Triple-A Worcester, he’s expected to be formally promoted to the major league roster shortly.

5:30pm: The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Zack Littell from the Rangers, reports Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, with cash considerations going the other way. Littell wasn’t on the club’s 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be necessary.

Littell, 27, was with the Giants the past two years but was outrighted off their roster at the end of last season and elected free agency. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in the winter and had been pitching well in Triple-A. Through 12 innings for the Round Rock Express, he had a 2.25 ERA, striking out 33.3% of opponents against a tiny walk rate of 4.2%.

That’s a stronger performance than he’s managed in the big leagues recently. With San Francisco in 2021 and 2022, he tossed 106 innings with a 3.82 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. It seems the Red Sox were encouraged enough by the small sample improvements to take a shot on him, while the Rangers were seemingly content to let him go and pocket some cash.

Littell is out of options, meaning that he’d have to stick in the big leagues if he gets back there, or else be designated for assignment. But in the event he does back to the bigs and sticks, he could be retained for future seasons. He came into this season with three years and 67 days of service time, meaning he could get to the four-year mark in 2023 if called up soon. Even in that case, he’d have a couple more arb years before getting to the six-year mark and automatic free agency, though a delayed call-up could push that back.

The Sox have dealt with a handful of injuries to their relief corps this year, as Zack Kelly, Joely Rodríguez and Wyatt Mills are all on the injured list. Right-hander Kutter Crawford joined them today when the Sox put him on the IL with a left hamstring strain, recalling righty Kaleb Ort to take his place. Littell will give the club a bit of extra non-roster depth and try to work his way back to the majors.

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Boston Red Sox Texas Rangers Transactions Adam Duvall Kaleb Ort Kutter Crawford Zack Littell

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MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: White Sox Struggles, Red Sox Options, Managers On The Hot Seat

By Simon Hampton | May 3, 2023 at 11:57pm CDT

Episode 5 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • The state of the White Sox, and why they find themselves in a deep hole in the AL Central after one month of the season (3:20)
  • If they opt to sell at the deadline, who could they look to move and who might be off limits? (8:10)
  • Whether the Cardinals could look to trade Tommy Edman as Masyn Winn nears the big leagues (18:35)
  • Options for the Red Sox to improve their roster over the next few months (21:54)
  • Plus, are there any managers on the hot seat at this early stage of the season? (25:41)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The state of the Twins, Bryan Reynolds’ extension and Madison Bumgarner’s future – listen here
  • Free agent power rankings, Shohei Ohtani’s next contract and Aaron Nola or Julio Urias in free agency? Listen here
  • Rays, top prospect debuts, Angels, trade deadline, Gary Sanchez, Francisco Alvarez – listen here
  • Early trade deadline preview, Jake Cronenworth extension and the Padres, Marlins trade ideas, Cardinals rotation, Dodgers – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

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Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox MLB Trade Rumors Podcast St. Louis Cardinals Masyn Winn Tommy Edman

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The Trade That Started The Current Era Of White Sox Baseball

By Darragh McDonald | May 2, 2023 at 8:53pm CDT

At the end of the 2016 season, the White Sox found themselves at a remove from recent success. They hadn’t posted a winning record since 2012 and hadn’t made the postseason since 2008. There was some talent on the roster but it was decided that it was time to hit the reset button. After much speculation, they gave a clear indication that they were going into a rebuild in December of 2016 when they traded left-hander Chris Sale to the Red Sox for prospects Yoán Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz.

Sale was already well established as one of the better pitchers in the game. At the time of the trade, he had thrown 1110 innings with an even ERA of 3.00, striking out 27.9% of batters faced while walking just 5.8% and getting grounders at a solid 43.8% clip. The White Sox had signed him to an extension going into 2013, a deal that ran through 2017 but with two affordable club options after that. Flipping an excellent pitcher with three affordable years of control left little doubt that a significant teardown was beginning.

The trade worked out very well for the Red Sox, as they would make the postseason in two of those three years with Sale, including winning the World Series in 2018. They then signed him to another extension going into 2019, which is a separate matter. Injuries have largely prevented him from providing much value on that deal, but the trade still looks like a success. They gave up some future talent but saw Sale post a 2.90 ERA in 2017 and then a 2.11 in 2018 as they hoisted their fourth title in a span of 15 years after an 86-year drought.

For the Pale Hose, this was the first of several future-focused moves they would make around that time. The day after the Sale deal, they traded outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals for young pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning. In July of 2017, they would send lefty José Quintana across town to the Cubs for a package headlined by prospects Dylan Cease and Eloy Jiménez. Many of the players involved in these deals would go on to form the core of the club as it returned to contention, alongside homegrown players like Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr..

The return on Sale needed to be huge, given his immense talent and three remaining years of cheap control. Indeed, the White Sox secured an incredibly significant prospect package, highlighted by Moncada. A high profile youngster out of Cuba, he signed with the Red Sox in March of 2015 for a $31.5MM bonus. This was back before the hard spending cap on international amateurs was put in place, but the Sox did have to pay a 100% tax because they had already exceeded their bonus pool figure, meaning they shelled out $63MM to get Moncada into the system.

He then played incredibly well in Single-A in 2015, hitting .278/.380/.438 for a wRC+ of 135. In 2016, he shot through High-A and Double-A and even made an eight-game debut in the majors. He struggled in that first taste of the show but was still just 21 years old at the time of the trade and was considered one of the top prospects in the league. Baseball America ranked him the #3 prospect in baseball going into 2016 and #2 in 2017.

Prospects with such high rankings are rarely traded, so it was a significant haul for the White Sox. The Red Sox likely have few regrets since Sale helped them to another title, but that wasn’t all Chicago got in return. Kopech was a notable prospect in his own right, having been selected in the first round of the 2014 draft. He had shown good form in the lower levels of the minors and was also on BA’s top 100 list, coming in at #89 in 2016 and was eventually placed #32 going into 2017. Basabe was a bit behind those two but was still an intriguing player, ranked Boston’s #9 prospect in 2016 and then Chicago’s #8 prospect going into 2017. Diaz was the least notable of the bunch but still cracked BA’s list of top White Sox farmhands after the deal, getting the #26 spot.

Moncada would scuffle a bit in his first two seasons in Chicago. Over 2017 and 2018, he walked in 10.9% of his trips to the plate but also struck out in 33% of them. He did hit 25 combined home runs over those two years but his .234/.321/.403 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 99, a hair below league average. In 2019, he finally broke out and showed why he had been so touted as a prospect. He launched 25 more homers that year and slashed .315/.367/.548 for a wRC+ of 139. He was also graded well for his third base defense and stole 10 bases, leading to a tally of 5.5 wins above replacement from FanGraphs, making him one of the top 20 position players that year. 2020 was set to be his final year of club control, but the White Sox decided they believed in the breakout and committed to Moncada. The two sides agreed in March of 2020 to a $70MM extension that runs through 2024 and has a club option for 2025.

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag since that deal was inked. Moncada slumped a bit in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but the club went 35-25 and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2008. He was back on form in 2021, hitting just 14 home runs but walking at an excellent 13.6% rate. His .263/.375/.412 line translated to a 120 wRC+ and he continued to get good grades for his glovework, leading to a 4.0 fWAR season. The Sox went 93-69 and topped the American League Central, making the postseason in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.

2022 was a frustrating season for both player and team. Moncada made trips to the injured list for an oblique strain, a right hamstring strain and then a left hamstring strain. He got into just 104 games and didn’t play up to his usual standard when on the field. He was one of many injuries that held the club back, as they finished 81-81 and failed to extend their postseason run into a third year. He roared out of the gates here in 2023, hitting .308/.325/.564 in nine games, but he’s been on the injured list for a few weeks now due to a protruding disc in his back that’s touching a nerve.

Though he’s been inconsistent, Moncada has shown the capacity to be an excellent player when everything is clicking and he’s been a key part of the club’s recent success. It’s hard to say the same for Kopech, however, as various circumstances have prevented him from reaching the heights that had previously been imagined for him. By the time the 2018 season rolled around, Kopech was considered by BA to be the #11 prospect in the league. That year, he thrived in Triple-A, posting a 3.70 ERA over 24 starts while striking out 31.3% of batters faced. He got called up to the majors in August but made just four starts before requiring Tommy John surgery, which wiped out the remainder of that season as well as his 2019. He then opted out of the 2020 pandemic season, returning to the club in 2021. Since he had missed two whole seasons, he was kept in relief that year. He fared well in that role, registering a 3.50 ERA in 69 1/3 innings, striking out 36.1% of batters faced.

He had built up a decent innings total that would allow him to return to the rotation in 2022, but the reins weren’t completely off. He made trips to the injured list for a knee strain and shoulder inflammation, tossing 119 1/3 innings on the year. He finished with a 3.54 ERA but a diminished 21.3% strikeout rate. A .223 batting average on balls in play likely helped him skate by, with his 4.50 FIP and 4.73 SIERA showing a bit less enthusiasm. He’s struggled out of the gates early here in 2023, with a 7.01 ERA after five starts.

As for the other two players in the deal, Basabe topped out at Double-A in the White Sox’ system before getting designated for assignment in 2020. He was then traded to the Giants, who gave him a nine-game MLB stint that year before outrighting him in the winter. He returned to the White Sox on a minor league deal last year but was released after a rough showing in just nine Triple-A games. Diaz pitched in the lower levels of the system in 2017 but injuries prevented him from getting into any official action after that. His transactions tracker indicates he was officially released in 2021.

It’s too early to completely close the book on the trade from Chicago’s perspective. Moncada is still under contract through 2024 and there’s the option for 2025. Kopech can still be retained via arbitration through 2025. There’s still time for things to change, but as of right now, the deal looks like a sort of microcosm of the club’s rebuild on the whole. There have been some good moments but it hasn’t quite been the runaway success that was envisioned. Moncada has had some good years but has been inconsistent and held back by injuries. Kopech has shown flashes of his talent but hasn’t really put it all together yet.

That semi-successful return in the deal has coincided with a semi-successful stretch of contention for the club, who made the playoffs twice recently but now seem at risk of seeing it fall apart. Their 8-21 record has them in a hole that they will have to crawl out of soon or else they’ll have to consider another selloff like the one they started over six years ago.

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Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox MLBTR Originals Transaction Retrospection Chris Sale Luis Alexander Basabe Michael Kopech Victor Diaz Yoan Moncada

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Zack Kelly Undergoes Nerve Procedure, Could Return This Season

By Anthony Franco | May 2, 2023 at 8:15pm CDT

Red Sox right-hander Zack Kelly underwent an ulnar nerve transposition revision in his throwing elbow, the club announced. The Sox had announced a few weeks ago that Kelly would require surgery, though the procedure didn’t take place until today.

While Boston didn’t provide a recovery timetable, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports the team isn’t ruling out a return in September. That the 28-year-old reliever could potentially make it back to an MLB mound this season counts as good news considering Kelly’s injury initially seemed disastrous. He was visibly distraught when he sustained it on a pitch during an April 12 outing in Tampa Bay. The general concern was he’d suffered some form of ligament damage, but an MRI instead revealed it was a nerve issue.

Fortunate as it is Kelly won’t require Tommy John surgery, he’s still in line for an extended absence. The Sox have already placed him on the 60-day injured list. He’ll be paid at the MLB minimum rate while he recovers.

In other Boston pitching news, righty Garrett Whitlock went for a medical evaluation today. Whitlock himself is on the injured list due to ulnar neuritis, though his issue seems far less serious than Kelly’s. Jen McCaffrey of the Athletic reports that Whitlock avoided any new symptoms during today’s examination (Twitter link). According to McCaffrey, he’s been cleared to begin throwing from 45 feet.

Whitlock will be out until at least the second week of May. It’s not clear if or how long beyond the minimal stint he’ll require on the shelf, though it’s a relief he’s throwing within five days of his IL placement. Manager Alex Cora has already told reporters the Sox will keep Whitlock in the rotation — where he’s pitched this year after bouncing between starting and relief last season — whenever he’s ready to return.

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Boston Red Sox Garrett Whitlock Zack Kelly

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Red Sox Notes: Whitlock, Rotation, Casas

By Steve Adams | May 1, 2023 at 10:48am CDT

Despite a series of injuries to Garrett Whitlock and a history of success in the bullpen, the Red Sox are planning to keep the 26-year-old righty in the rotation once he returns from the injured list, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Manager Alex Cora plainly stated multiple times this weekend that the organization views Whitlock as a starter, and he pushed back on the notion that pitching on consecutive days, being ready to throw nearly everyday, warming up and sitting down without getting into a game (i.e. all the rigors that come with being a relief pitcher) would help Whitlock remain healthier.

Whitlock has a career 4.75 ERA in 55 innings as a starter compared to a 2.24 mark in 112 2/3 frames as a reliever, but he’s not yet had a lengthy audition in the rotation. Part of that is due to health issues — he had Tommy John surgery in 2020, missed time this year recovering from hip surgery, and is now with ulnar neuritis in his right arm — but the Sox remain committed to giving him an opportunity to work as a member of the starting staff.

Turning a lineup over has proven difficult for Whitlock to this point in his young career. Opponents have batted .275/.313/.363 against him the first time around as a starter, but that jumps to .272/.313/.533 on the second trip and .300/.364/.700 on the third time through (albeit, in a sample of just 22 plate appearances).

The Boston rotation currently consists of Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello. Houck, who’s also hoping to establish himself as a viable long-term rotation piece for the Sox, is the only member of that group with an ERA south of 5.00. Sale, Kluber and Bello are all north of six earned runs per nine frames in their limited 2023 work thus far. Given those struggles and the fact that Kluber (signed through ’23) and Sale (signed through ’24) are relatively short-term pieces, it makes sense to see whether Whitlock, who is signed through 2026 with a pair of club options thereafter, can eventually find his footing in a rotation setting.

One potential arm on the mend is lefty James Paxton, who could impact the starting staff sooner than later. The veteran southpaw hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since April 2021 thanks to Tommy John surgery, a significant lat strain and a more minor hamstring strain, but he’s made five rehab appearances and was particularly sharp his last time out, with 5 1/3 shutout frames and an 8-to-1 K/BB ratio. It’s a stark contrast from an April 19 rehab appearance against the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, where Paxton was tattooed for seven runs while only recording two outs.

MLB.com notes that Paxton will be reevaluated today to determine whether another rehab start is necessary. He’s coming up on the end of his 30-day minor league rehab window next week but would have time to make one more Triple-A outing if the organization deems it best for him.

In the lineup, the Sox have seen struggles from another hopeful long-term piece: first baseman Triston Casas, who’s hitting just .133/.283/.293 through his first 92 trips to the plate. The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey writes that the team expects to stick with Casas at the MLB level for now, rather than sending him to Triple-A Worcester for any kind of reset. McCaffrey notes that manager Alex Cora cited Casas’ pitch recognition as a plus, despite the rocky average. Casas’ issues haven’t been chasing pitches off the plate so much as fouling off the in-zone pitches he needs to be punishing, Cora observed.

Casas currently has a 30.5% chase rate on pitches off the plate, which clocks in just shy of the 31.5% MLB average. He’s been more passive in the zone, however, with his 62.8% swing rate on pitches over the plate checking in five percentage points south of average. He’s averaging a hearty 90.7 mph off the bat when does put the ball in play and has three homers on the year, but Casas has also fanned in more than 29% of his plate appearances.

The Sox aren’t teeming with alternatives, however, particularly with Bobby Dalbec sporting a near-40% strikeout rate in Triple-A since his demotion. Veteran Justin Turner has started six games at first base for the Sox this season, so he’d presumably be in line for more work there if the team eventually decides that a minor league breather would be best for Casas.

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Boston Red Sox Garrett Whitlock James Paxton Triston Casas

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Latest On Kenley Jansen

By Nick Deeds | April 30, 2023 at 9:17am CDT

  • The Red Sox expect to be without their closer for the next few days, as veteran Kenley Jansen noted to reporters (including Alex Speier of The Boston Globe) that he will be unavailable until at least Tuesday after pitching through back spasms in last night’s blown save against the Guardians. John Schreiber and Josh Winckowski have worked the late innings alongside Jansen in the early going this season, but with Chris Martin likely coming off the injured list today, the 36-year-old veteran may get the ninth inning while Jansen is down.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Notes Tampa Bay Rays Joey Ortiz Kenley Jansen Kyle Stowers Taj Bradley

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Red Sox Likely To Activate Chris Martin From 15-Day IL On Sunday

By Mark Polishuk | April 29, 2023 at 8:15pm CDT

Chris Martin looks to be on the verge of a return to the Red Sox bullpen, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) that the reliever will likely be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game with the Guardians.  The corresponding move has already been made, as the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams reports that right-hander Kaleb Ort has been optioned to Triple-A.

The Sox retroactively placed Martin on the 15-day IL back on April 13, so he’ll return to the field in just slightly more than the minimum 15 days.  Right shoulder inflammation sidelined Martin, but an MRI revealed no structure damage, and it seems as though Martin’s discomfort subsided in relatively quick fashion.  It’s possible he might have been back exactly after 15 days, were it not for a stomach bug that delayed his appearance in a Triple-A rehab outing.  Martin finally took the hill on Friday, and assuming that he doesn’t report any setbacks prior to tomorrow’s game, the Red Sox will reinstate the veteran righty.

Martin signed a two-year, $17.5MM free agent deal with the Sox in December, after posting strong numbers with four different teams (the Rangers, Braves, Cubs, and Dodger) from 2019-22.  With a 2.57 ERA over his first seven innings with Boston, Martin looked to be continuing that trend, though he had an uncharacteristically low two strikeouts over those seven frames.

Ort has struggled to a 7.30 ERA over 12 1/3 relief innings this season, including a rough performance on April 25 that saw him allow five runs (four earned) over just one-third of an inning against the Orioles.  Inserting Martin in Ort’s place will certainly help Boston’s relief corps, and Martin’s experience in high-leverage situations will be particularly useful if there’s any uncertainty over Kenley Jansen’s health status.  Jansen battled some back stiffness during today’s game, as the closer blew his first save of the season and labored through 29 pitches during his inning of work.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Chris Martin Kaleb Ort Kenley Jansen

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Red Sox Place Garrett Whitlock On IL With Ulnar Neuritis

By Darragh McDonald | April 28, 2023 at 2:02pm CDT

The Red Sox announced today that right-hander Garrett Whitlock has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow ulnar neuritis. Fellow righty Brayan Bello was recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

The club didn’t provide any more information about Whitlock’s injury, so the severity isn’t publicly known at this time. It’s possible that they are still doing more testing, as ulnar neuritis comes with a wide range of possible outcomes. The ulnar nerve is commonly known as the “funny bone” due to the tingling sensation it causes when agitated. Neuritis is the medical term for when there is inflammation of the nerve.

It’s too early to draw conclusions but the diagnosis is nonetheless concerning. Rays left-hander Jeffrey Springs was recently diagnosed with ulnar neuritis and just a few days later was reported to require Tommy John surgery. That’s not to say that Whitlock is inevitably headed down the same path, as Blue Jays right-hander Jordan Romano was diagnosed with the same ailment in April of 2021 but was back after just 10 days.

Whitlock already had Tommy John surgery back in 2019 but said he isn’t concerned he’s headed down that path again. He told reporters, including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, he felt some tingling recently but doesn’t think it’s at all similar to his torn UCL from years ago. He’s hasn’t had an MRI yet.

That’s surely encouraging, but Whitlock and the Red Sox will be in wait-and-see mode until it can be discovered exactly which part of the spectrum his injury is on. He’s attempting to make the transition to full-time starting this year after working primarily in relief for the past two seasons. He began the year on the injured list after being delayed in spring by last year’s hip surgery. He’s only made three starts on the year so far because of that, registering a 6.19 ERA in that small sample.

He posted a 1.96 ERA out of the bullpen in 2021 after being plucked from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. That instilled enough confidence in the club that they signed him to an $18.75MM extension through 2026 with two club options after that. They then tried to stretch him out last year but injuries eventually pushed him back into the bullpen.

Whitlock was scheduled to start tomorrow’s game but that will now presumably fall to Bello, who just started for the big league club on Sunday. The young prospect is seen as a future building block of the rotation but has posted a 9.82 ERA in his two starts so far this year. Both Bello and Whitlock began the year on the IL and the club briefly ran out a six-man rotation when they returned but Bello was sent down earlier this week. He’d normally have to stay down for 15 days after being optioned but an exception is made when another player goes on the IL.

It’s possible that it could be another short stay in the rotation for Bello alongside Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber. Lefty James Paxton has been on the IL all year but has made four rehab starts already as he tries to get back into game shape. He’s only made six major league starts since the end of 2019, with Tommy John surgery wiping out most of his 2021. He was working his way back to the mound in 2022 when he suffered a lat strain that killed his chances. His subsequent attempt at a return this spring was set back by a hamstring injury.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Brayan Bello Garrett Whitlock

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Red Sox Claim Justin Garza

By Steve Adams | April 28, 2023 at 1:20pm CDT

The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Justin Garza off waivers from the Angels, per an announcement from both clubs. The Red Sox had an open spot on the 40-man roster so a corresponding transaction isn’t necessary. Garza has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Garza, 29, was designated for assignment a week ago when the Halos selected the contracts of Chad Wallach and Austin Warren. He didn’t pitch for the Angels at the MLB level this season but opened the year with their Triple-A club, where he tossed 8 1/3 innings with four runs allowed on six hits and four walks. Garza’s stay with the Angels organization was rather brief. The Guardians outrighted him off the 40-man roster back in November, at which point he elected free agency and signed a split Major League contract with the Angels, thus placing him on their 40-man roster.

In 2022, Garza made his big league debut with the Guardians, pitching to a 4.71 ERA with a roughly average 22.7% strikeout rate against a bleak 14.1% walk rate. Garza sits at 95 mph with his heater and has missed bats at a high level in Triple-A (29.2% strikeout rate), but command has been an issue for him even in the minors (12.2% walk rate).

The Sox rank 13th in the Majors with a 3.58 ERA from their bullpen, though it’s a decidedly top-heavy unit. Kenley Jansen, Josh Winckowski, John Schreiber and Kutter Crawford have all gotten out to excellent starts, but the rest of the group has been severely lacking. Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort, in particular, have been hit hard. Offseason signee Chris Martin, meanwhile, is on the injured list and Zack Kelly’s season is in jeopardy due to elbow surgery. Garza will give the Sox some depth with good life on his fastball, but for now he’ll head to Worcester and look to refine his command while awaiting an opportunity.

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Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Angels Transactions Justin Garza

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