Cubs, Padres Interested In Lucas Giolito
Right-hander Lucas Giolito remains a free agent a few weeks into the 2026 season. A report from Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic today says the Cubs and Padres are showing interest in the the righty.
Giolito, 31, has been the most notable unsigned free agent for a while now. Max Scherzer and Zack Littell signed in mid-March, leaving Giolito as the last standing member of the MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Free Agents from the beginning of the offseason.
He recently spoke about his experience with Rob Bradford of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. He said he had some talks with a few teams but ultimately didn’t make much progress, seemingly due to disagreements about his salary. “I just want to play for close to what my value is,” Giolito told Bradford. “Everything is based on these models now. Everyone uses projection and models. My agency (CAA) does the same thing. When you look at models and projections (for value), it’s like ‘alright cool, give me something that’s relatively close to that.’ Let’s go and get it. I’m ready to go.”
Giolito is coming off a good season in terms of surface-level numbers. He tossed 145 innings for the Red Sox with a 3.41 earned run average. If teams have skepticism about that, it could be because his .273 batting average on balls in play and 76.7% strand rate were both to the lucky side. His 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate were actually subpar. ERA estimators like his 4.17 FIP and 4.65 SIERA felt his ERA was lucky by about a full run.
That continued a bit of a downward trend for him. He was a borderline ace from 2019 to 2021 but saw diminished results after that. His ERA was just under 5.00 in 2022 and 2023. He then missed 2024 while recovering from surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. It’s not known what type of salary Giolito would consider fair but it seems he hasn’t received an offer he would consider to be appropriate. He signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal with the Red Sox ahead of 2024, prior to that surgery.
In his recent comments, the righty added that he has been throwing about 75 pitches on his own in order to stay close to game ready. That’s a similar situation to Patrick Corbin. The Jays signed Corbin in response to some injuries. Corbin had been getting himself stretched out and only needed one minor league start before joining the big league club, even though he missed spring training.
For the Cubs and Padres, it’s understandable that they would look to what’s available, given their recent injuries. The Chicago rotation suffered one big blow recently, as Cade Horton‘s season has been ended by UCL surgery. They also placed Matthew Boyd on the injured list with a much more minor issue, a strained biceps. They are still waiting for Justin Steele, who is recovering from last year’s UCL surgery.
They currently have a rotation group consisting of Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad and Colin Rea. Assad has options and started the season in the minors while Rea started in the bullpen. Both got moved up the depth chart when Horton and Boyd got hurt. If Giolito were added into the mix, Assad could again be optioned and/or Rea could get nudged back to a relief role. Boyd getting healthy fairly quickly could also impact the decision making.
On the financial side of things, both RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts have the Cubs narrowly above the competitive balance tax. The report from The Athletic says the Cubs are planning to pay the tax this year, so they shouldn’t have to worry about nudging their number up a bit.
For the Padres, their rotation depth has been an ongoing issue for years and 2026 is no exception. Over the weekend, Nick Pivetta exited a start due to elbow tightness. Joe Musgrove is still not back from his 2024 Tommy John surgery. Griffin Canning is still working his way back from last year’s Achilles injury. Matt Waldron required a minor procedure during spring training and began the season on the injured list.
Unless Pivetta’s issue proves to be minor, the Friars have a rotation mix of Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez. Both Waldron and Canning have begun rehab assignments and could be activated soon but that won’t necessarily solve everything since Buehler and Márquez have each posted lackluster results so far. JP Sears is on the 40-man roster but it would be nice to keep him in Triple-A as depth. Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie are in the system on minor league deals but Gonzales has a 7.90 ERA through three Triple-A starts while McKenzie has a 13.50 ERA at that level so far this year.
Adding Giolito could make sense from a baseball perspective but the report from The Athletic notes that the ongoing sale process might be a snag. The Seidler family is actively trying to sell the franchise. Even if they get an agreement fairly soon, it would still have to be approved by the league. The current owners may be hesitant to add more money to the books while that process is ongoing.
It’s also possible that other clubs could jump into the mix. The Astros have lost three rotation members to the IL in recent days and could feel compelled to add another arm. The Orioles just lost Zach Eflin to UCL surgery. The Reds have Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo on the IL at the moment. Other injuries are sure to pop up as well.
Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images
Pavin Smith To Undergo Elbow Surgery
Diamondbacks first baseman Pavin Smith will undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his injured left elbow, reports the team’s radio broadcaster Chris Garagiola. The team already transferred Smith to the 60-day injured list this afternoon when they needed a 40-man roster spot for third catcher Aramis Garcia.
That IL move ruled Smith out through the end of May. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to return at that point. The initial diagnosis had merely been inflammation. Smith’s elbow had been a nagging issue throughout Spring Training. He had a cortisone shot when he went on the injured list at the end of March, but that apparently wasn’t enough to treat the issue.
Tyler Locklear is also recovering from offseason surgeries on his elbow and shoulder. That pressed Carlos Santana into everyday first base work, for which he’s ill suited in his age-40 season. Santana himself went down with an adductor strain a little over a week ago.
Utility infielder Ildemaro Vargas has been pressed into the primary job at a position he’d barely played in his career. To his credit, Vargas has begun the season on an absolute tear, but he’s a lifetime .253/.294/.365 hitter in more than 1300 plate appearances. This clearly isn’t an ideal setup. Luken Baker and rookie Jose Fernandez are also in the mix, though the D-Backs have needed Fernandez for primary DH work.
Although the position player injuries are piling up, the Snakes did provide some promising news on the health front this week. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Amarillo tomorrow, the minor league team announced. Position players can spend up to 20 days on a rehab stint. Barring setbacks, Gurriel will be back with the MLB club within the next two to three weeks.
It’s a quick turnaround for a player who tore the ACL in his right knee in September. That required surgery and initially came with a 9-10 month recovery timeline that seemed it’d sideline him until close to the All-Star Break. Gurriel instead looks like he’ll be back around the end of April. The D-Backs figure to mix in a decent amount of DH time in addition to his work in left field. They can use help at both positions considering Jordan Lawlar will be out into June with a broken wrist. Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa are splitting the left field reps for the time being.
Josh Sborz’s Deal With Rangers Has Upward Mobility Clause
10:51pm: Curvelo exited tonight’s appearance against the A’s with an apparent arm injury after throwing a pitch several feet off the plate. The team has yet to provide any updates but an injured list stint seems highly likely.
10:25pm: The Rangers may have an upcoming roster decision. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports that Josh Sborz’s minor league contract contains an assignment clause that goes into effect tomorrow. Texas will need to make him available to every other team. If another club is willing to carry him on the MLB roster, the Rangers would either need to call him up themselves or let him go.
Sborz has spent the past six seasons in the Texas organization. The Rangers non-tendered him at the end of the 2025 campaign after he missed the entire season rehabbing shoulder surgery. They brought him back on a minor league contract over the offseason. Sborz did not break camp but has had a strong first few weeks at Triple-A Round Rock.
The 32-year-old reliever has worked seven innings of one-run ball in the minors. Sborz has recorded eight strikeouts against four walks while hitting a batter. His fastball was in the 94-95 mph range during tonight’s Triple-A appearance, in which he fired a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts. Sborz has used the heater around half the time while mixing a curveball and slider as his secondary offerings.
Sborz’s performance has been inconsistent throughout his big league career. He has a near-5.00 earned run average over 154 appearances, but he has an above-average 27.7% strikeout rate. Sborz was also a pivotal late-game weapon for Bruce Bochy during the 2023 World Series run, firing 12 innings of one-run ball en route to the only championship in franchise history.
If no other team is willing to carve out a bullpen spot for Sborz, he’ll remain in Triple-A with Texas. That’d be the easiest outcome for the Rangers. If another club expresses interest and they don’t want to lose him, they’d need to create active and 40-man roster space. The former wouldn’t be difficult, as they could option Luis Curvelo back to Triple-A.
The Rangers’ 40-man roster is at capacity. Cody Freeman and Cody Bradford are on the injured list and the only candidates for a move to the 60-day IL, which would keep them out of MLB action until the final week of May.
Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News provided updates on both players over the weekend. Freeman is beginning baseball activities after suffering a lower back injury at the beginning of camp. Bradford, who is working back from elbow surgery, made a Triple-A rehab start a couple weeks ago but encountered some general soreness. The Rangers aren’t especially concerned but have halted his rehab work for an indeterminate period so as not to push him too quickly.
Martín Pérez Elects Free Agency
Veteran left-hander Martín Pérez elected free agency, relays Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. He cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment by the Braves on Sunday.
Pérez made three appearances in an Atlanta uniform. He got decent results, allowing just five runs across 14 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old southpaw only struck out six of the 53 batters he faced with a well below-average 7.2% swinging strike percentage. The Braves opted not to continue running him out as their fifth starter. They’re carrying a nine-man bullpen for the time being — a luxury partially afforded by a day off on Thursday — but will need a fifth starter or bullpen game early next week.
Spencer Strider is set to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. He’ll make at least three minor league appearances. The Braves could recall Didier Fuentes or turn to José Suarez to lead a bullpen game in the Pérez spot.
It’s possible the Braves look to bring Pérez back on a minor league deal. They don’t have much in the way of upper minors rotation experience. If Pérez is unable to find a big league contract as a free agent, he could be best served returning to an organization with which he’s already familiar.
Padres Place Nick Pivetta On Injured List
The Padres placed starter Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 13, with elbow inflammation. Reliever Alek Jacob is up from Triple-A El Paso to take the open spot on the pitching staff.
Pivetta left Sunday’s win over Colorado after three perfect innings due to elbow stiffness. Manager Craig Stammen told reporters (including Annie Heilbrunn of The San Diego Union-Tribune) that the team is awaiting imaging results. That’ll eventually shed some light on his injury and a recovery timeline.
For now, Pivetta joins Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning on the injured list. Musgrove has yet to throw from a mound. Canning is on a rehab assignment but will probably need close to the full 30 days in his return from last season’s Achilles tear.
Matt Waldron also began the season on the injured list, but he’s likely to return this week. The out-of-options knuckleballer will replace Pivetta in the starting five, Stammen said (relayed by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). Michael King will go tonight, with Randy Vásquez and Walker Buehler theoretically on schedule for the next two days. Germán Márquez would be on track for Friday’s series opener against the Angels. Pivetta’s spot would come back around on Saturday. The Padres could keep Waldron on the injured list until then if they want an extra reliever in the interim.
Pivetta’s health is the big picture concern. He’s coming off a sixth place finish in NL Cy Young balloting. That earned him the Opening Day nod this season. Pivetta has recorded 24 strikeouts over his first 16 innings, allowing a 4.50 earned run average. In addition to his evident importance to the San Diego staff, he’s one of the better potential free agent pitchers in next winter’s class. Pivetta can opt out of the remaining two years and $32MM on his contract, which would be an easy call if he’s healthy.
Rays Sign Michael Grove, Transfer Ryan Pepiot To 60-Day IL
The Rays announced that they have signed right-hander Michael Grove to a big league deal and placed him on the 15-day injured list. He is still recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery. To open a 40-man spot for him, right-hander Ryan Pepiot was transferred to the 60-day IL. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
It’s unclear what’s going on with Pepiot but this appears to represent at least a minor setback. He started the season on the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his right hip. As of April 4th, he was throwing bullpen sessions and reinstatement was expected right around now. This move to the 60-day injured list means he can’t be came off the IL until late May.
With Pepiot out, the Tampa rotation has consisted of Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Steven Matz, Nick Martinez and Joe Boyle. They lost Boyle to the injured list a few days ago due to a right elbow strain. Jesse Scholtens was recalled and will take the ball tomorrow. Whether he sticks around or that’s just a spot start remains to be seen. The Rays also have Joe Rock on optional assignment while Yoendrys Gómez is pitching multiple innings out of the big league bullpen. Prospect Brody Hopkins is in Triple-A but has walked 20.3% of batters faced this year.
Getting Pepiot back into that mix would have helped but it doesn’t appear that’s happening anytime soon. More information will likely be revealed about his status shortly but the Rays will have to proceed without him for at least another six weeks or so.
The one benefit to Pepiot being delayed is that it effectively opened up a 40-man roster spot, which the Rays have used to scoop up Grove. As mentioned, he is recovering from shoulder surgery, which he underwent in March of last year.
A second-round pick from 2018, Grove had some intriguing results in the upper minors and the majors, around injuries. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 100 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.40 earned run average. His 29.4% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate were both strong figures.
He also threw 149 1/3 major league innings in that span. The 5.48 ERA in the big leagues doesn’t look nice but there’s more encouragement when looking under the hood. His 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate were actually decent numbers. His .325 batting average on balls in play and 63.9% strand rate were both to the unfortunate side. His 4.35 FIP and 3.85 SIERA felt he would have fared better if his luck were more neutral.
Grove spent 2025 on the injured list and crossed three years of major league service time. He would have been eligible for arbitration for 2026 but would not have earned a big raise after missing a full season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for $800K, a bit above this year’s $780K minimum. The Dodgers outrighted him off the roster at season’s end, effectively an early non-tender.
For the Rays, Grove is a wild card after a lengthy absence due to that surgery. If he can get healthy, his service time count is at three years and 31 days. He is therefore controllable for this season and at least two more. He also has an option remaining. That means the Rays could shuttle him between Triple-A and the majors. If he spent a notable amount of time on optional assignment, he might not get to four years of service this year, which would delay his path to free agency.
That would be a secondary concern. Before that could be something worth thinking about, he’ll need to get his shoulder right and then start posting good results. His current recovery timeline isn’t clear.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images
Astros To Sign Brandon Bielak To Minor League Deal
The Astros are going to sign right-hander Brandon Bielak to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. Alexander adds that the Gaeta Sports Management client will report to Triple-A Sugar Land.
Bielak, now 30, pitched in the majors from 2020 to 2024. Most of that was with the Astros, though he also pitched for the Athletics. He was mostly a starter in the minors but worked both out of the rotation and the bullpen in the big leagues. He made 76 appearances, 21 of those being starts. He logged 204 innings over that five-year span, allowing 4.63 earned runs per nine. His 17.5% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate were below average but his 44.6% ground ball rate was a few ticks better than par.
Per Statcast, he mixed in seven different pitches in that time, throwing a four-seamer, sinker, changeup, sweeper, curveball, slider and cutter. The fastballs averaged in the mid-90s earlier in his career but dropped a few ticks over time. His four-seamer averaged 94 miles per hour in 2021 but crept down to 91.9 mph by 2024.
Late in 2024, he was outrighted off the Athletics’ roster. He became a free agent and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks for 2025, though it turned into a lost season for him. He only made two minor league appearances before he landed on the minor league injured list. He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in May.
Back in November, Alexander relayed that Bielak was recovered from that surgery and was hoping for a role as a starter. He signed with Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican League in March but that league’s season doesn’t begin until Thursday. For guys with big league experience signing in Mexico, it’s common for the deals to have clauses that allow them to leave if they get an offer in affiliated ball.
The Houston pitching staff has been beset by a number of injuries recently. Both Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have been sidelined by shoulder strains. Tatsuya Imai hit the injured list due to arm fatigue. Cody Bolton hasn’t hit the injured list but departed his most recent start due to back tightness. Those injuries are on top of them being without Ronel Blanco, Brandon Walter and Hayden Wesneski, who all underwent surgery last year.
For now, the Astros have Mike Burrows and Lance McCullers Jr. in two rotation spots. Colton Gordon is starting today, though it’s unclear if that’s a spot start or if he’ll stick around. Bolton could make another start if his back is okay. Spencer Arrighetti is with the big league club on the taxi squad, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Manger Joe Espada says he’ll start tomorrow or Thursday, per Rome. Ryan Weiss, J.P. France and Christian Roa have been working long relief and could chip in here and there. Miguel Ullola and Jason Alexander are on optional assignment.
It’s quite a jumbled mess and the Astros will try their best to keep it together before their season slips away from them. Bielak will give them a bit more non-roster depth, alongside Peter Lambert in that department.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Phillies Trade Griff McGarry To Dodgers
4:15pm: The Phillies will receive $500K in pool space, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. That’s the same amount the Dodgers got from the Twins in the Anthony Banda trade, so they have effectively traded Banda for McGarry.
2:52pm: The Dodgers have acquired minor league right-hander Griff McGarry from the Phillies in exchange for international bonus pool space, the teams announced Tuesday. (The Phillies’ announcement adds that they’ll also receive a player to be named later or cash.) He wasn’t on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and thus won’t require Los Angeles to make a corresponding 40-man roster move.
McGarry once ranked as one of the more promising prospects in Philadelphia’s system, sitting third among Baseball America’s rankings ahead of the 2023 season. His standing slipped after a a pair of down showings in 2023-24, but the Nats scooped him up in December’s Rule 5 Draft following a rebound campaign in 2025. Washington wound up returning McGarry to the Phillies at the end of spring training, and he’ll now head to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Back in 2022, McGarry’s age-23 season, he pitched 87 1/3 innings across three levels and notched a 3.71 ERA with a huge 35.7% strikeout rate but a concerning 14.6% walk rate. He was rocked for a 6.00 ERA in 17 minor league starts the following season, then turned in a 4.55 ERA in 30 minor league relief appearances in 2024. McGarry had fallen almost entirely off the Phillies’ prospect map, but he bounced back with 83 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball in a return to a rotation role in Triple-A last year.
McGarry walked more than 18% of his opponents in 2023 and saw that number spike all the way to 24% in 2024. Last year’s 13.9% walk rate is still far too high, but it’s a big step in the right direction relative to 2023-24, and he paired it with a huge 35.1% strikeout rate. The 6’2″ righty isn’t an especially hard thrower, sitting 93.9 mph with his four-seamer in ’25 and a hair better in this year’s small sample (94.3 mph). McGarry is a two-pitch right-hander, coupling that four-seamer with a slider that rests at 82-83 mph each year. He’s worked out of the bullpen again in 2026, allowing four runs in four Triple-A frames and walking more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four).
Suffice it to say, McGarry is a pure change of scenery candidate and development project for the Dodgers. He’s long intrigued scouts with a fastball and slider that both grade as plus pitches and generate whiffs in droves, but McGarry’s command is nowhere close to average. The most recent scouting reports on him at FanGraphs, Baseball America, MLB.com and other outlets peg him with 30-grade command (on the 20-80 scale). There’s potential for a big relief arm in the plausible range of outcomes, even if it’s on the low-probability end of the spectrum, and it didn’t cost the Dodgers much to roll the dice on the soon-to-be 27-year-old righty.
It’s not yet clear how much international pool space is going back to the Phillies, but bonus pool allotments have to be traded in increments of $250K (unless it’s the remainder of a pool that’s currently at less than $250K total). In all likelihood, the Phils are adding one or two slots, giving them a bit of extra spending capacity to bring in some teenage talent on the international amateur market.
To be clear, no actual money is changing hands in the swap. The league places a hard cap on the amount each club can spend on international amateurs, but any team can acquire up to 60% of its original pool space in trades with other teams.
The Dodgers and Phillies both opened the 2026 international free agent period (which began in January) with a $6.679MM pool. Los Angeles spent about $3.265MM of that sum on day one of the period, per MLB.com. The Phillies spent about $4.85MM, with a hefty $4MM of that sum going to Venezuelan outfielder Francisco Renteria.
D-backs Announce Several Roster Moves
The Diamondbacks announced a slate of roster moves Tuesday. Catcher Gabriel Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 11) due to an oblique strain. Fellow catcher Aramis Garcia has had his contract selected from Triple-A and will take Moreno’s spot on the roster, serving as a complement to veteran James McCann and 26-year-old Adrian Del Castillo. Arizona moved first baseman/designated hitter Pavin Smith from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot for Garcia. The Snakes also reinstated right-hander Merrill Kelly from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Taylor Rashi to Triple-A Reno.
Moreno missed the past three games after what was originally termed as a back issue. The Diamondbacks haven’t provided a timetable, but historically speaking, it’s common for even low-grade oblique strains to sideline a player for close to a month. The former top prospect is one of baseball’s more complete catchers, combining elite defense with above-average offense in each season of his still-young big league career. He was out to a fine start in 2026, hitting .275/.333/.400 in 45 turns at the plate.
With Moreno sidelined, the D-backs can use the lefty-hitting Del Castillo against right-handed pitching and the righty-swinging McCann versus southpaws. Garcia provides a viable third catching option on the roster and also has some experience at first base. He’s probably relegated to third catcher status in this setup, with Del Castillo the most obvious beneficiary on paper. He hasn’t gotten a consistent look in the majors, thanks largely to Moreno’s presence, but Del Castillo is a .276/.322/.439 hitter in 239 big league plate appearances and touts a .292/.381/.535 line in parts of four seasons (712 plate appearances) in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Garcia, 33, has played sparingly in parts of six major league seasons — including a two-game cup of coffee in Arizona last year. He’s a lifetime .208/.245/.321 hitter in 331 plate appearances. He’s never logged more than 115 plate appearances in a given major league season but is a career .240/.316/.436 hitter in just under 1400 Triple-A plate appearances.
Kelly’s return from the injured list was expected. The team moved righty Brandon Pfaadt to the bullpen yesterday to clear a spot in the rotation, where Kelly will join Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryne Nelson and offseason signee Michael Soroka. The 37-year-old Kelly also signed with Arizona this winter, returning to the D-backs on a two-year, $40MM deal after closing out the 2025 season in Texas following a deadline trade that netted three pitching prospects from the Rangers (Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt, David Hagaman).
Kelly will make his first start of the season for the Snakes tonight against the Orioles. He was slowed by back discomfort early in spring training and was thus limited to only two starts during exhibition play in the Cactus League. Kelly tossed five shutout frames for Triple-A Reno in what wound up being his only rehab outing. He might be on something of a pitch/workload limit in his season debut as he continues to build up, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s back to his workhorse ways atop manager Torey Lovullo’s rotation.
Red Sox Select Jack Anderson
3:24pm: These moves have now all been officially announced by the team.
1:05pm: Samaniego will be optioned to open an active roster spot, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. To open 40-man space, right-hander Johan Oviedo will be transferred to the 60-day injured list, also per Cotillo. Oviedo was recently diagnosed with a flexor strain and will be shut down for six weeks. If he’s healthy at that point, he’ll have to ramp back up. That whole process will be longer than 60 days, so it’s not a surprise that he is bound for the 60-day IL.
7:11am: The Red Sox are promoting right-hander Jack Anderson, according to Ari Alexander of 7News. Anderson is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Red Sox will need to clear a spot for him before the move can be made official. The righty is now in line to make his MLB debut when he gets into a game with Boston.
Anderson, 26, was a 16th-round pick by the Tigers back in 2021. He was plucked from that organization by the Red Sox during the minor league phase of the 2024 Rule 5 draft and has been in his new organization for over a year now. Anderson was utilized as a pure reliever during his time with the Tigers, but since joining the Red Sox he’s gotten some looks out of the rotation. After posting a 3.58 ERA in 75 1/3 innings at Double-A last year while being primarily used as a multi-inning reliever, Anderson finished the year with two starts at Triple-A where he posted a lackluster 5.59 ERA but struck out an impressive 29.7% of his opponents.
This spring, Anderson appeared in the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Great Britain. He struck out three and walked none in three innings of one-run ball in his lone start for them. That came against Team Mexico and a stacked lineup that featured the likes of Jarren Duran, Randy Arozarena, Jonathan Aranda and Alejandro Kirk. Anderson’s impressive showing wasn’t enough to win Great Britain the game or help them advance out of the pool stage, but he’s continued to look good since returning to Triple-A.
In his first two starts of the year at the level, he’s posted a 3.72 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work while punching out 22.5% of his opponents. Taken together, Anderson’s last five starts (between Triple-A and the WBC) have looked rather solid. He’s pitched to a 4.43 ERA while striking out 26.1% of his opponents. He’s topped out at 77 pitches in those outings (76 this year), so he seems better suited for a multi-inning relief role in the majors, but his ability to rack up strikeouts at a solid clip should make him an interesting addition to the big league pitching staff in Boston.
Anderson’s call-up comes on the heels of a disastrous start from ace Garrett Crochet where he lasted just 1 2/3 innings before departing the game. That left Jovani Moran, Tyler Samaniego, and Ryan Watson to each handle two-plus innings of work, depleting the bullpen of long relief talent. Barring a surprise injury for Crochet, it seems reasonable to expect that Anderson will be joining the roster in place of one of those long relief arms. Samaniego is the only one of that trio who can be optioned to the minors. Zack Kelly and Greg Weissert are the only other Red Sox relievers with options remaining, and while neither pitched yesterday both have struggled in the early going this year.