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Hunter Dobbins

Red Sox Acquire Steven Matz

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July 31st: The trade has been officially announced by the Red Sox. Righty Hunter Dobbins has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Dobbins suffered a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month.

July 30: The Red Sox and Cardinals have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Steven Matz to Boston, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan is headed to the Cards in return, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.  The deal will become official once both sides sign off on the medicals of the players involved.

Matz is a pure rental for the Sox, as the veteran southpaw’s four-year, $44MM contract is up at season’s end.  St. Louis inked Matz to that free agent deal on the heels of his successful 2021 season as a starter with the Blue Jays, but Matz has only started 36 of his 84 career games with the Cards.  Injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered his time in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to move Matz into more of a swingman role, and he came essentially a full-time reliever this year (save for two spot starts in April).

While Matz didn’t live up to the expectations of his contract, he pitched pretty well in both 2023 and during this season, as the southpaw has a 3.44 ERA over 55 frames in 2025.  Typically a good control pitcher, Matz has taken it a step further with an elite 4.0% walk rate this season, and his 5.3% barrel rate is also excellent.  This ability to limit mistakes and keep the ball on the ground (44.3% grounder rate) has helped balance out more ordinary strikeout and hard-contact rates.

Left-handed batters have only a .442 OPS against Matz this season, while righty hitters have a much more productive .814 OPS.  The gap in splits will be somewhat hard for manager Alex Cora to work around since Matz has so much value as a multi-inning reliever, yet that same durability will help out a Boston pen that has logged a lot of innings bailing out its shaky rotation.  It’s possible the Sox could even turn to Matz again as a part-time starter, though the Red Sox are expected to land more significant starting help prior to tomorrow’s deadline.

Matz is now the fifth left-hander in Boston’s pen, along with Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, and Chris Murphy.  This depth could give the Sox some flexibility in swinging a trade to a team in need of relief help, with Boston then addressing another need in return.

Chaim Bloom was Boston’s chief baseball officer back when Jordan was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft, and now that Bloom will be taking over at the Cards’ president of baseball operations starting next season, this familiarity undoubtedly helped pave the way for tonight’s trade.  Jordan ranks 17th on MLB Pipeline’s list of Boston’s best prospect, and MLB Pipeline had the corner infielder 24th in their ranking.

Jordan struggled at the Double-A level in both 2023 and 2024 before hitting well this season, and earning his first promotion to Triple-A.  This transition went more smoothly, as Jordan has hit .289/.333/.476 over 177 plate appearances with Worcester while seeing a lot of time at both corner infield slots (primarily third base).  Scouts feel first base is his better position, so Jordan’s future potential will hinge on how well he can keep developing at the plate.  His production in 2025 is a step in the right direction, as the 22-year-old has been much better at turning his raw power into results.

This is the second big bullpen trade of the day for the Cardinals, after Ryan Helsley was shipped to the Mets.  Both deals have brought more young talent into the St. Louis pipeline, which seemed to be the organization’s stated goal heading into last offseason, yet Bloom and current PBO John Mozeliak chose to retain almost all of the Cards’ veteran talent.  In Matz’s case, he wasn’t generating much trade interest given his $12MM salary and his rough 2024 production, so at least Matz’s bounce-back year rebuilt some of his value.

As for future trades, Phil Maton and JoJo Romero have both been rumored to be generating interesting, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see St. Louis move at least one or both relievers before the deadline.  While the Cards are in sell mode, the Red Sox are pushing for at least a wild card slot and hope to make a run at the AL East title, with pitching known to be Boston’s primary target.

Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

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Hunter Dobbins’ 2025 season is over, as the Red Sox placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list due to a right ACL tear.  Right-hander Richard Fitts was called up from Triple-A to take Dobbins’ spot on the active roster.

Dobbins was only just activated from the 15-day IL yesterday, as the rookie right-hander had been out of action since June 20 due to what ended up being a minor elbow strain.  His return start was cut short in the second inning, when he hurt his right leg while covering first base on a Chandler Simpson grounder.  MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported earlier today that Dobbins was believed to have “a significant knee injury…potentially with ACL damage,” and unfortunately the worst-case scenario has proven to be true.

This is the second time Dobbins has torn his right ACL, as he told the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey and other reporters that he sustained the same injury while playing high school football.  Between that previous ACL tear and a Tommy John surgery during his college days at Texas Tech, Dobbins has a lot unwelcome experience in managing long-term injuries, and he’ll now face another extended absence.  His recovery process will keep him sidelined for at least the start of the 2026 season, though a more definite timeline may be difficult to establish for now given Dobbins’ past knee issues.

An eighth-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2021 draft, Dobbins steadily climbed the ranks of Boston’s farm system and made his MLB debut this past April, as injuries thinned out the Red Sox rotation and opened the door for the 25-year-old.  The Sox moved him up and down between Boston and Triple-A Worcester a few times in April before recalling him in early May for an extended stint in the bigs, as Dobbins had done plenty to impress the organization.

Dobbins has a 4.13 ERA and 17.6% strikeout rate over his first 61 innings and 13 games — 11 of them starts — in the majors.  While he isn’t missing many bats, Dobbins is doing a good job of keeping the ball on the ground (48.4% grounder rate) and keeping opponents from free passes (6.6% walk rate).  Dobbins has relied mostly on his 95.5mph fastball as his primary pitch, but his heater has helped set up batters for slider and curveball, which have significantly higher whiff rates.

Essentially the only minor silver lining for Dobbins is that he’ll continue to accumulate big league service time while on Boston’s injured list.  The Sox will shift him to the 60-day IL as soon as 40-man roster space is required.

Injuries have impacted Boston’s starting depth this year, as Kutter Crawford was also recently lost for the season due to wrist surgery.  Tanner Houck has missed two months due to a flexor pronator strain but is on a Triple-A rehab assignment right now and is expected back soon.  Fitts has pitched pretty well over parts of two big league seasons and is the best bet to fill in for Dobbins right now.  Kyle Harrison is likely the top rotation depth option at Triple-A, as the former Giants top prospect has yet to make his Red Sox debut since being acquired in the Rafael Devers trade.

The All-Star break will give the Sox some extra time to figure out their rotation picture, yet the more obvious answer might be to add a new pitcher prior to the trade deadline.  Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said even prior to yesterday’s game that the Sox were going to explore the market for both starting and relief pitching options in advance of the deadline, and that need has only grown greater in the wake of Dobbins’ injury.  Boston’s ongoing eight-game winning streak has revived the club’s playoff chances, and put the Sox more firmly into buying territory as the deadline approaches.

Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day Injured List

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7:45PM: Dobbins didn’t receive an MRI, as he downplayed the seriousness of the elbow strain when speaking with reporters (including the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey).  “Just some tightness that we’ve been grinding through for a little bit.  It hasn’t been bouncing back how we would like, so [we’re] just trying to give it a couple for weeks,” Dobbins said, noting that his elbow soreness increased in his last start and didn’t get better in the subsequent days.  Regardless, Dobbins said he expects to resume throwing bullpen sessions in “a couple of days.”

3:34PM: The Red Sox announced that right-hander Hunter Dobbins has been placed on the club’s 15-day injured list due to right elbow strain.  Righty Richard Fitts was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

The placement is retroactive to June 21, a day after Dobbins allowed four earned runs on five walks and four hits over a four-inning start against the Giants.  It is fair to guess that Dobbins’ elbow issue impacted his performance, as he was throwing with less velocity than usual and his control was uncharacteristically off — the rookie had issued just 11 walks over his previous 55 1/3 innings and 11 games prior to Friday’s struggles.

Multiple injuries in Boston’s rotation opened the door for Dobbins to make his MLB debut this season, and (Friday’s start notwithstanding) he has made a solid showing for himself in his first taste of the majors.  Dobbins has a 4.10 ERA over 59 1/3 frames, with an above-average 47.1% grounder rate and 6.5% walk rate, though he doesn’t miss many bats with a modest 17.3% strikeout rate.

An eighth-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2021 draft, Dobbins would likely have been selected earlier had his junior year at Texas Tech not been wiped out by a Tommy John surgery.  That past procedure adds a bit of extra weight to another elbow-related injury for Dobbins, though the severity of the strain isn’t yet known.

Fitts has made five starts for the Sox this year and will at least the short-term replacement for Dobbins in the rotation.  Tanner Houck is on a Triple-A rehab assignment but is expected to make at least two more minor league appearances before returning from the injured list, so Fitts will have to hold down the fort until Houck is ready.  That might also roughly line up with a potential return date for Dobbins, though one would imagine that even a minor elbow sprain would keep him out beyond the minimum 15 days just for precautionary reasons.

Red Sox Notes: Duran, Casas, Dobbins

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The Padres’ reported interest in Jarren Duran has drawn plenty of attention, but Sean McAdam of MassLive.com downplays the potential fit between the two clubs. McAdam writes that he, too, has heard the Friars have checked in on Duran, but the Sox aren’t shopping the 2024 All-Star. With a crowded outfield mix and uber-prospect Roman Anthony seemingly ready for an MLB look, the Sox aren’t turning interested parties away when they inquire about Duran, but there’s an understandably high asking price.

With regard to the Padres specifically, McAdam touches on some of the difficulties regarding the fit that Darragh McDonald and I discussed on this week’s episode of the MLBTR Podcast. The Red Sox are likely to want immediate MLB help at either the infield corners or in the starting rotation, and San Diego is lacking in those areas. Their top two starters, Dylan Cease and Michael King, are free agents at season’s end. They don’t have any high-end, MLB-ready pitching prospects around which to build a deal, nor do they have the type of controllable corner infield help Boston would covet. The Padres’ infield is composed of expensive veterans, all of whom except Luis Arraez are on long-term deals; Arraez, a free agent at season’s end, isn’t going to get the ball rolling in talks when Duran is controlled through 2028.

The Padres do have two of MLB’s very best prospects in shortstop Leo De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas, but both are teenagers who are years from being ready for the majors. They’re also widely viewed as untouchable in trades, or close to it. As such, even if the Red Sox got to the point where they were serious about shopping Duran around, it seems likely that another outfield-needy team would be able to put together a more compelling package to sway the Sox.

Short-term help at the corner infield wouldn’t be a need at Fenway Park if the Sox had a healthy Triston Casas who was hitting as he did in 2023-24, when he batted a combined .256/.357/.480 (126 wRC+) with 37 homers in 745 plate appearances. Casas struggled for much of this season’s first three weeks, however, and suffered a season-ending knee injury when he’d begun to show signs of breaking out of that slump (.261/.414/.522 in eight games leading up to the injury).

Casas chatted with Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic about the injury, his timeline for a recovery and both the physical and mental difficulties of going through a rehab process that’ll span 10 or more months. An exact timeline hasn’t yet been established, but Casas said no doctors have told him to expect a yearlong absence to this point. He’s working toward a goal of being ready for next year’s spring training. For now, he’s still on crutches for at least two more weeks.

Casas calls the ruptured patellar tendon the biggest physical challenge he’s had to overcome in his career but noted that last year’s rib cage fractures may have been more mentally taxing. With that injury, he felt strong but had to simply wait to allow his ribs to heal before being cleared to swing at full strength, whereas he has more measured checkpoints and benchmarks in his rehab with the current injury. He added that former Red Sox right-hander Garrett Richards, who also suffered a ruptured patellar tendon late in his career, has reached out and been a valuable mentor as he navigates the early stages of his rehab. Sox fans, in particular, will want to check out McCaffrey’s piece for several thoughtful quotes from Casas about the injury, his rehab and his general outlook as he sets off on a long road to recovery.

Turning to the starting pitching group, the Sox optioned Richard Fitts earlier this week. Chris Cotillo of MassLive was among those to relay that Hunter Dobbins will draw into the rotation now. Various pitching injuries have thrust Dobbins to the majors this year and he has managed to perform decently in his first big league action. He has logged 44 1/3 innings this year over seven starts and two relief appearances, having allowed 4.06 earned runs per nine. His 19.6% strikeout rate is a bit low but he has only walked 5.6% of batters faced while getting grounders on 44.3% of balls in play.

Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have the other four rotation spots for now. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Chris Murphy are all on the injured list and could rejoin the rotation mix at some point. Sandoval, who had UCL surgery last year, tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he has thrown six bullpens but still isn’t close to facing live hitters. Crawford is on the IL due to knee discomfort but is now also dealing with wrist pain, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. Houck is on the shelf due to a flexor pronator strain and is still at the playing catch stage, per Smith. Murphy had Tommy John surgery in April of last year and his current status is unclear.

Red Sox Place Walker Buehler On Injured List

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5:40pm: The Red Sox have now made it official. Buehler goes on the IL with right shoulder bursitis, while Dobbins has been recalled.

4:35pm: The Red Sox are placing right-hander Walker Buehler on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, manager Alex Cora announced (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). The club is hopeful that it’ll only be a minimum stint for the right-hander, who’d been slated to start tomorrow. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported earlier in the day that righty Hunter Dobbins is expected to get tomorrow’s start. He made his big league debut last month and has looked sharp through two MLB starts.

Buehler signed a one-year, $21.05MM deal with the Red Sox in the offseason, matching the value of the qualifying offer which the Dodgers neglected to put forth when he reached the open market. It was a relatively sizable bet on a pitcher who looked lost for much of the 2024 season — his first full year back from Tommy John surgery — before some short but memorable postseason heroics for Los Angeles.

So far, Buehler’s tenure with the Red Sox has produced pedestrian results. He’s sitting on a 4.28 ERA with better strikeout and walk rates than he had in 2024 but also a career-low 93.5 mph average fastball. And while his 20.7% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate are indeed improvements on last year’s marks (18.6 K%, 8.1 BB%), that strikeout rate is a far cry from his peak 29.2% when he was pitching like a bona fide ace and Cy Young contender.

Buehler heads to the injured list just days after Boston finally got right-hander Lucas Giolito healthy and into a regular season game. Giolito required UCL surgery last spring and missed all of the 2024 season and the first month of 2025 as a result. The Sox have also been without Kutter Crawford (knee) all year and have only received two starts from Brayan Bello.

Even with all the injuries, Red Sox starters rank 14th in the majors with a solid 3.91 ERA. Ideally, Buehler will rejoin the starting staff in a couple weeks, but if he requires a bit of a lengthier stay, Dobbins has looked up to the task of filling in. The 2021 eighth-rounder pitched 125 2/3 innings of 2.61 ERA ball between Double-A and Triple-A last year. In 11 major league frames this season, he’s held opponents to three earned runs (2.45 ERA) on 11 hits and a pair of walks with 11 strikeouts. In Dobbins’ most recent Triple-A start, he held the Mets’ top affiliate to a run four hits and two walks with three punchouts across six innings.

Michael Fulmer Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Fulmer cleared waivers and was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster, but MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith writes that Fulmer has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept the outright assignment.

APRIL 18: The Red Sox announced that they have designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment. That opens a roster spot for righty Hunter Dobbins, who has been recalled to the big league club. The Sox also reinstated third baseman Alex Bregman from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard.

Fulmer, 32, was just selected to Boston’s roster a few days ago. On Monday, starter Tanner Houck was obliterated by the Rays, allowing 11 earned in in 2 1/3 innings. Fulmer came in and tossed 2 2/3, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two. He hasn’t pitched since then but the Sox needed to make room for Dobbins, who is making a spot start tonight, which has bumped Fulmer off the roster.

It may end up being a pretty unceremonious end to a fairly long pairing between the Sox and Fulmer. He underwent UCL revision surgery late in October of 2023 and was going to miss the entire 2024 season. He then signed a two-year minor league deal with the Red Sox, to cover his recovery and potential return in 2025.

The Red Sox stretched him out as a starter this year, an interesting choice as he had been working in relief prior to signing with them. He had a 0.79 ERA in the spring and then a 3.09 ERA in three minor league outings before coming to the big leagues for his aforementioned mop-up outing on Monday.

It’s a pretty small sample and tough to draw many conclusions from it. Now that he’s been sent into DFA limbo, the Sox will have a week to either trade him or pass him through waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours so any trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Prior to his lengthy layoff, Fulmer had some interesting career highlights. He won American League Rookie of the Year in 2016, tossing 159 innings for the Tigers with a 3.06 ERA. His results dipped a bit in the following years and then he missed 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned and found some success in a move to the bullpen, with a 2.97 ERA in 2021.  But that ERA jumped to 3.39 in 2022 and 4.42 the year after, before he required another trip to the surgeon’s table.

Perhaps Fulmer will find some interest based on that track record. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Red Sox Activate Liam Hendriks

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TODAY: The Red Sox officially announced Hendriks’ reinstatement from the injured list, and Dobbins was indeed optioned to Triple-A.

APRIL 18: Liam Hendriks looks to be in line for his Red Sox debut this weekend. Manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Ian Browne of MLB.com) that there’s a “good chance” the veteran reliever will be activated from the 15-day injured list tomorrow. Chris Cotillo of MassLive observes that righty Hunter Dobbins is preparing to head back to Triple-A Worcester after being recalled this afternoon. It seems he’ll be optioned in the corresponding move.

Hendriks has not pitched in an MLB regular season game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2023. That ended his time with the White Sox, as Chicago bought out a $15MM club option with Hendriks set to miss most or all of the ’24 season. The Red Sox added Hendriks on a backloaded two-year deal with a $10MM guarantee. He made $2MM to finish his rehab last year and is playing on a $6MM salary this season (plus a $2MM buyout on a ’26 mutual option).

The three-time All-Star tried to make it back last September. Hendriks made six minor league rehab appearances, but the Sox backed off his progression when he felt some arm discomfort. He struggled over seven Spring Training outings and landed back on the injured list with elbow inflammation to begin the season. Hendriks was shut down for a few days and received a cortisone shot, but there wasn’t any kind of structural damage. He started a rehab stint last Thursday.

Hendriks has worked three scoreless innings in as many appearances between the top two minor league levels. He has fanned five while issuing two walks. His fastball averaged 94 MPH during his Triple-A work. It’s a nice rebound from the rocky exhibition play, when he allowed seven runs over 6 1/3 frames.

Entering camp, Hendriks seemed the favorite to replace Kenley Jansen as Boston’s closer. Aroldis Chapman had a much better Spring Training to take hold of the ninth inning. Chapman is 4-4 in save opportunities and has only allowed one run over 7 1/3 frames, so he’ll remain the closer. Hendriks will join Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock as setup options from the right side.

Red Sox Promote Hunter Dobbins

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10:18AM: The Red Sox have officially announced Dobbins’ call-up.  Manager Alex Cora indicated to reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that Dobbins might be the starter in the second game of the doubleheader.

7:49AM: The Red Sox will be calling up right-hander Hunter Dobbins from Triple-A Worcester, according to Chris Henrique of the Boston Sports Journal.  Dobbins will be Boston’s 27th man for its doubleheader with the Cardinals today, and since he was already added to the 40-man roster last November, no corresponding transactions are required.

If Dobbins gets some action in either of the two games, it will mark the 25-year-old’s Major League debut.  The Red Sox selected Dobbins in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, even though he had undergone a Tommy John surgery that year while pitching for Texas Tech.  The surgery rehab delayed Dobbins’ pro debut until 2022, but the results have been solid since the righty has gotten back onto the mound.

Over 311 career innings in the minors, Dobbins has a 3.88 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, and 7.94% walk rate.  Only 24 1/3 of those innings have come at the Triple-A level, and he was expected to get more seasoning in Worcester as the 2025 season develops.  Dobbins has started 61 of his 63 career games, though he’ll likely work out of the pen today as a fresh arm for the Sox to utilize over the twin bill.

Baseball America ranks Dobbins as the 11th-best prospect in Boston’s farm system, and MLB Pipeline isn’t far behind with a #13 ranking.  Dobbins’ five-pitch arsenal includes a fastball that can touch 98mph and a splinker that he started using last season — as BA’s scouting report puts it, “he doesn’t have a single killer pitch to generate a ton of whiffs, but he steers clear of barrels.”  Dobbins allowed only two homers over his 125 2/3 combined innings of Double-A and Triple-A ball in 2024, though he has already surpassed that total in his lone Triple-A appearance this year, as he was tagged for three homers and five earned runs in a 3 2/3-inning relief outing on April 1.

Red Sox To Select Hunter Dobbins, Jhostynxon Garcia

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The Red Sox are adding a pair of players to their 40-man roster ahead of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline. Right-hander Hunter Dobbins is having his contract selected, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier adds that Boston will also select outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia. Those are the only two players the Sox are adding, per Speier. They’ll need to open a pair of 40-man spots in order to make them official.

Boston selected Dobbins, now 25, with their eighth-round pick in 2021. He started 21 Double-A games and another four in Triple-A this past season, logging a combined 3.08 ERA with a 22.9% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. Dobbins was the organization’s minor league starting pitcher of the season and ended the year ranked 26th among the team’s farmhands, per Baseball America. He’s 93-94 mph with his heater on average and pairs the pitch with a slider, splitter and curveball.

The 21-year-old Garcia (first name pronounced yos-TIN-son) split this past season between Low-A, High-A and Double-A. He laid waste to pitchers at the former levels (.258/.365/.517, five homers in 104 plate appearances in Low-A; .311/.371/.627, 16 homers in 229 plate appearances in High-A) before posting more modest results at the most advanced of his three stops (.263/.320/.386, two homes in 126 plate appearances).

Garcia is a power-over-hit prospect who’s played center field but seems likelier to settle into a corner. He walked in just 7.2% of his plate appearances this season against a 21.7% strikeout rate. That marks an improvement over the 30.4% strikeout rate he logged in 2022 and the 25.5% mark he posted in 2023, but the increased contact has come at the expense of his formerly plus walk rates.

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