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Luis Guerrero

Red Sox Trade Luis Guerrero To Rays

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The Red Sox and Rays have swapped right-hander Luis Guerrero and infielder Tristan Gray, per announcements from both clubs. Boston recently designated Guerrero for assignment and passed him through waivers unclaimed. The Red Sox designated first baseman Nate Lowe for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Gray.

Tampa Bay could have just claimed Guerrero off waivers but seemingly didn’t want to commit a 40-man roster spot to the hard-throwing but command-challenged righty. The 25-year-old has posted a strong 2.63 ERA in 27 1/3 innings for the Red Sox over the past two seasons and averages a potent 96.9 mph on his heater. However, he ended the season on the injured list due to an elbow issue and has regularly displayed alarming command (or lack thereof) both in the majors and upper minors.

Guerrero has walked nearly 15% of his major league opponents against a tepid 17.6% strikeout rate. He carries a 3.89 ERA in three Triple-A seasons but has walked or plunked a colossal 17.4% of his Triple-A opponents. That includes a walk rate just under 19% in 2025.

At times, Guerrero has posted gaudy strikeout and swinging-strike rates. The velocity is impressive, and he has a pair of minor league options remaining. That makes him an intriguing roll of the dice for Tampa Bay, but his health and troubling lack of command make him more of a project than a sure thing — small-sample major league ERA notwithstanding.

Guerrero would hardly be the first live-armed prospect to land in Tampa Bay and flourish, of course, and there ought to be ample opportunity in Kevin Cash’s bullpen. The Rays declined their $11MM club option on longtime closer Pete Fairbanks, making him a free agent. Holdovers include Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, Bryan Baker and Mason Montgomery, but there’s plenty of innings for Guerrero (and others) to claim if he can impress in spring training or in the early portion of the Triple-A season.

As for Gray, he’s a 29-year-old with limited MLB experience across parts of three seasons. He tallied 86 plate appearances with the Rays in 2025 and hit .231/.282/.410 with three homers and five doubles. Gray walked at a 7% clip and fanned at a 22.1% rate in his 30 games with Tampa Bay. He split the bulk of his season between the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, slashing .270/.333/.472 in 282 turns at the plate.

Gray is a left-handed hitter with considerable experience at all four infield positions. He’s played more second, short and third than first base but still has 938 innings even as a first baseman. He also has a minor league option remaining. He’ll go on Boston’s 40-man roster as a depth piece who can be stashed in Triple-A Worcester, though he’s not a lock to make it through the offseason on the 40-man roster. Guerrero will be in camp with the Rays as a non-roster invitee and head to Triple-A Durham if he doesn’t make the club next spring.

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo first reported that Guerrero had been traded to Tampa Bay.

Red Sox Outright Luis Guerrero

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Red Sox right-hander Luis Guerrero, who was designated for assignment last week, went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. He lacks the service time or prior outright needed to elect free agency, so he’ll remain with the organization as non-roster depth.

Guerrero, 25, has pitched 27 1/3 innings of relief for Boston over the past two seasons. He sports a sharp 2.63 ERA in that time and sits 96.9 mph with his heater, perhaps making it a bit surprising that he went unclaimed at first glance. However, Guerrero went on the injured list with an elbow sprain back in June and never returned — though he never required any type of surgery to address the injury. The Sox moved him to the 60-day IL in August. Guerrero also has poor command, walking nearly 15% of his opponents against just a 17.6% strikeout rate in the majors.

The hard-throwing Guerrero’s minor league numbers are more alarming. He has a respectable enough 3.89 ERA in parts of three Triple-A seasons but saw that mark jump to 4.39 in 2025. He’s walked or plunked an untenable 17.4% of his opponents at the top minor league level, and in 2025 walked nearly 19% of the minor league hitters he faced in 31 innings.

Guerrero has, at times, posted gaudy strikeout and swinging-strike rates. The velocity is impressive, and he has a pair of minor league options remaining. That all makes him a nice depth piece whom the Sox are surely glad to retain, but he’ll need to further refine his well below-average command if he’s to carve out a steady role in a major league bullpen. Assuming his elbow is healed, he’ll be in big league camp with the Sox and hope to pitch his way back into the mix for a 40-man roster spot.

Red Sox Designate Luis Guerrero For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced that right-hander Luis Guerrero has been designated for assignment. The Sox had several players who needed to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list and needed to open a 40-man spot.

Many teams in the league face roster crunches at this time of year. The 60-day IL goes away five days after the World Series and doesn’t come back until spring training. When players are reinstated from the 60-day IL, they need to retake spots on the 40-man roster. Some players will reach free agency, which opens some space, but teams often end up needing to open spots. This move gets the Sox to 40 for now, but they will probably want to open more spots later. They will likely want to add players ahead of this month’s Rule 5 deadline, in addition to signing free agents throughout the winter.

Guerrero, 25, was a 17th-round pick in the 2021 draft. Exclusively a reliever, he worked his way up the minor league ladder. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in September of last year. He has mostly been kept in the minors.

Between last year and this year, he has thrown 27 1/3 big league innings with a 2.63 earned run average. His 44.4% ground ball rate is decent but his 17.6% strikeout rate and 14.8% walk rate are poor figures. His ERA is being held down by a tiny .205 batting average on balls in play. His 3.51 FIP and 5.28 SIERA suggest he’s been quite fortunate in this small sample. His fastball averages in the upper 90s while he also throws a slider and a changeup.

In the minors, he has occasionally shown good strikeout stuff but also with poor control. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed 147 2/3 innings on the farm with a 2.93 ERA. He walked 13.4% of batters faced but also punched them out at a 32.1% clip. In 2025, his minor league results backed up. He tossed 26 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.39 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 14.7% walk rate.

He was placed on the major league injured list in late June due to a right elbow sprain. He was transferred to the 60-day IL. He finished the season there, though he did pitch in the minors on a rehab assignment before the season was done.

Presumably, his tough year contributed to him getting nudged off the roster. The Sox will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks will have to take place in the next five days. Guerrero is coming off a tough year but still has options and has shown flashes of potential in the minors.

Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images

Red Sox Transfer Luis Guerrero To 60-Day IL, Reinstate Nick Burdi

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The Red Sox announced some minor injury-related transactions today involving three right-handed relievers. Nick Burdi, who was on the 60-day IL with a foot contusion, has been reinstated and optioned to Triple-A Worcester. To make room on the 40-man roster, Luis Guerrero, who was on the 15-day IL with a sprained elbow, was transferred to the 60-day IL. In addition, Zack Kelly (oblique strain) has been reinstated from the 15-day IL and optioned to the minors.

Burdi, 32, was a second-round pick by the the Twins back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut until 2018 as a member of the Pirates. He struck out an impressive 38.3% of his opponents from 2018 to 2020, but did so in just 12 1/3 innings of work total as he was dogged by a series of elbow problems. He missed the entire 2021 season before re-emerging at the big league level with the Cubs in 2023, for whom he made just three appearances before he was sidelined once again due to appendicitis. He later pitched for the Yankees but battled hip issues before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox this past season and having his contract selected in May. He’s spent most of his time as a member of the 40-man roster on the 60-day injured list due to a contusion of his right foot, however.

That laundry list of injury woes has left Burdi to total just 30 1/3 innings of work total for his career, which spans more than a decade in professional baseball and parts of six big league seasons. He’s struggled to a lackluster 5.34 ERA in that time as well, although it’s worth noting that his 31.2% strikeout rate and 3.84 FIP both indicate he’s pitched better than those lackluster results would imply. His strikeout rate is down to 23.1% in Boston this year, but he’s posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings across four appearances. He’ll head back to the minor leagues and serve as non-roster depth for the club going forward.

Making room for Burdi on the 40-man roster is Guerrero, a rookie who made his big league debut last year. He’s made 22 appearances while shuttling between Triple-A and the majors since then, and has generally pitched quite well with a 2.63 ERA and 3.49 FIP in 27 1/3 innings of work despite a lackluster 17.6% strikeout rate. Guerrero was shelved in late June due to an elbow sprain, but the injury appears to be serious enough that he’ll need to miss at least another month. He’ll now be ineligible to return to the majors until August 27 at the absolute earliest, but given the nature of elbow injuries it wouldn’t be a shock if Guerrero ends up being out for longer than that or even potentially not pitching again this year. No timeline for his return to action has been provided by the Red Sox at this point.

As for Kelly, the 30-year-old is in his fourth season as a member of the Boston relief corps. He’s struggled with his results this year, posting a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings of work, though a 3.63 FIP and 24.3% strikeout rate both offer at least some reason for optimism about his ability to turn things around now that he’s healthy and back to pitching. Of course, he’ll first need to prove himself at the Triple-A level given that the club’s middle relief mix is currently occupied by pieces like Jorge Alcala, Jordan Hicks, and the newly-acquired Steven Matz.

Red Sox Reinstate Chris Murphy, Place Luis Guerrero On 15-Day IL

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The Red Sox announced that left-hander Chris Murphy has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, as Murphy is ready to return to action after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024.  In corresponding moves, Boston placed right-hander Luis Guerrero on the 15-day IL due to a right elbow sprain, and righty Justin Slaten was shifted from the 15-day IL to the 60-day.

Murphy hasn’t pitched in a big league game since September 2023, and his total MLB resume consists of only 20 appearances and 47 2/3 innings during his 2023 rookie campaign.  The southpaw’s 3.88 SIERA was over a run lower than his 4.91 ERA, as Murphy’s 23.1% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate were both solid, and he didn’t have great batted-ball luck in the form of a .321 BABIP.

With his recovery period now complete, Murphy will get another crack at the bigs and give the Sox another left-handed relief option.  Aroldis Chapman has taken over closing duties, and the Sox have been using Justin Wilson and Brennan Bernardino in lefty depth roles.  Murphy figures to get plenty of opportunity in providing innings and a fresh arm within a pen that has performed respectably well in covering for a rotation that largely struggled.

Friday’s 9-0 loss to the Blue Jays wasn’t a banner night for Boston’s pen, as Bernardino was charged with four runs over an inning of work, and Guerrero allowed two runs in just a third of an inning.  Guerrero’s elbow strain developed in the aftermath of yesterday’s outing, and MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith writes that for now, the injury isn’t considered serious enough to merit an MRI for further examination.

Guerrero got his big league career off to a very nice start when he tossed 10 scoreless innings over nine relief appearances in 2024, and it wasn’t until his fourth outing of 2025 that the righty finally surrendered his first earned run.  Things have been shakier since, as Guerrero has a 4.15 ERA over his 17 1/3 frames and has more walks (14) than strikeouts (10).  A tiny .188 BABIP has helped Guerrero manage okay bottom-line results despite those rough peripherals, but the larger concern for the moment is his elbow health.

Shoulder inflammation has kept Slaten out of action since late May, and his IL stint will now stretch until at least the end of July.  The move to the 60-day IL isn’t really a surprise since Slaten only started throwing this weekend, so he’ll need some time to properly ramp up before returning to the relief corps.  Speaking of minuscule BABIPs, Slaten’s .188 mark is the chief reason behind his 3.47 ERA in 23 1/3 innings this season, but the hard-throwing right-hander has also done an excellent job of limiting hard contact.

Red Sox Place Justin Slaten On IL, DFA Blake Sabol

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The Red Sox announced a flurry of roster moves this morning. Right-hander Justin Slaten was placed on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, and was replaced on the roster by right-hander Luis Guerrero. Meanwhile, Boston selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton. Infielder Nick Sogard was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room on the active roster, while catcher Blake Sabol was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot. The additions of Eaton and Guerrero were previously reported last night.

Slaten, 27, has emerged as a crucial piece of the Red Sox bullpen over the past two years. Plucked from the Rangers in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, the right-hander has posted a 3.09 ERA with an even stronger 2.77 FIP across 78 2/3 innings of work. That’s been enough to make him one of the top set-up men on the roster in both of his years with the Red Sox, serving in a high-leverage role setting up closer Kenley Jansen last year and Aroldis Chapman this season. Impressive as those results have been, however, Slaten’s taken a bit of a step back this year. His strikeout rate has dipped to 17.8%, his walk rate has jumped to 7.8%, and he’s shaved nearly ten points off his ground ball rate relative to last year.

Perhaps today’s placement on the injured list offers some level of explanation for that step backwards in production. The right-hander told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) that he’s just dealing with some “fatigue” in his shoulder and hopes to be back in action after only a minimum stint. Losing a key piece of the bullpen is never a good thing, but if a two-week trip to the shelf can help Slaten get back to the dominant form he flashed in 2024 that could be well worth it for the club.

As for Sabol, the 27-year-old is a fellow alumnus of the Rule 5 draft. Selected by the Giants in the 2022 installment of the draft, Sabol hit .243/.313/.392 (95 wRC+) in 121 games with the Giants between the 2023 and ’24 seasons while splitting time between catching and the outfield. Unfortunately, Sabol did not show enough offensive potential to serve as a regular outfield option nor enough growth defensively behind the plate to be rostered as a regular catcher in the eyes of San Francisco. That led the club to designate him for assignment back in January, and he was traded to the Red Sox shortly thereafter.

Sabol has largely been a depth option for the Red Sox this year, and has only appeared in eight games with the big league club with a -14 wRC+ in that extremely limited opportunity. The Red Sox will have one week to trade Sabol or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Boston will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues to use as non-roster depth going forward. Connor Wong and Carlos Narvaez have settled in as the club’s primary catching tandem, and depth options like Yasmani Grandal and Seby Zavala remain in the fold at the minor league level.

Red Sox To Select Nate Eaton

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The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton ahead of their game against Atlanta tomorrow, according to a report from Chris Henrique of Boston Sports Journal. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo adds that the Red Sox are expected to recall right-hander Luis Guerrero tomorrow. The club’s 40-man and active rosters are both at capacity, meaning additional corresponding moves will be necessary to complete those transactions before tomorrow’s game.

Eaton, 28, made his big league debut with the Royals back in 2022 and posted solid numbers for the club across 44 games with a .264/.331/.387 slash line in 122 trips to the plate. The performance was enough to earn him a role on the 2023 club, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to maintain the previous year’s league average production in year two. His slash line collapsed to just .075/.125/.075 in 56 plate appearances, and that was all she wrote for Eaton’s big league career until now. He spent all of last year at Triple-A Omaha with the Royals but didn’t get called up to the majors, and this past offseason he signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. He’s hitting a solid but unspectacular .277/.364/.446 (117 wRC+) in 225 plate appearances for Triple-A Worcester so far this year.

It’s not the most exciting profile, and it certainly won’t sate Red Sox fans who have been calling for the promotion of star outfield prospect Roman Anthony since Opening Day. With that said, Cotillo made the observation in the aftermath of today’s reporting regarding Eaton that Boston is likely to face a number of left-handed starting pitchers in the near future during series against the Angels and Yankees; given that the Red Sox have previously cited Anthony’s work against left-handed pitching as one area where they hope to see growth from the budding star, it’s not hard to see why the club might prefer an extra right-handed bat in the mix rather than bringing another lefty bat like Anthony into the fold, at least in the short term.

Turning back to Eaton, the 28-year-old offers another right-handed bat for a heavily left-handed Red Sox lineup and can bring versatility to the table. He’s played all three outfield spots and third base in the majors, with additional cameos at both second base and shortstop during his time with the WooSox. He’s also a threat on the basepaths, having swiped 27 bags in 31 attempts for Triple-A Omaha last year. It’s unclear what the corresponding move for Eaton’s addition to the roster will wind up being, and as such it’s hard to predict where exactly the Red Sox plan to use him in the coming days. If an outfielder like Rob Refsnyder or Ceddanne Rafaela is headed for the injured list, it would make sense for Eaton to get most of his reps on the grass. Meanwhile, if he subs in for a player like Nick Sogard or Abraham Toro, perhaps he’ll see most of his time bouncing around the infield.

As for Guerrero, Cotillo notes that the right-hander is not yet eligible to be recalled back to the big league roster unless it’s to replace an injured player, which suggests at least one member of Boston’s pitching staff is headed to the injured list. Whoever he may end up replacing, Guerrero has long looked ready for an extended opportunity in the majors. Since making his big league debut in 2024, the right-hander has pitched to a 0.59 ERA with a 2.42 FIP and a 22.8% strikeout rate. Those are excellent numbers, but they’ve come in just a 15 1/3 inning sample size in the majors with less encouraging results at Triple-A. Even so, given his success in short bursts at the big league level there’s little harm in giving Guerrero a longer look given the recent struggles of more established arms like the recently-injured Liam Hendriks.

Red Sox Designate Sean Newcomb For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve designated left-hander Sean Newcomb for assignment. The move makes room on the active roster for right-hander Luis Guerrero to be recalled from Triple-A.

Newcomb, 32 next month, is a former first-round pick who was selected 15th overall by the Angels back in 2014. He was swapped to Atlanta in the Andrelton Simmons trade prior to his MLB debut and spent parts of six seasons with the Braves from 2017 to 2022. During that time, he pitched to a league average 4.25 ERA in 144 appearances (57 starts) with a near-matching 4.27 FIP. That overall number doesn’t tell the full story, however, as Newcomb was actually an above-average pitcher (110 ERA+) over his first three years in the majors. Things took a turn for the worse after that, however, and by the end of the 2022 season he had been cut by the Braves and had a 7.45 ERA with a 5.57 FIP over his 73 2/3 innings of work in the majors from 2020 to 2022. He spent the following two seasons in Oakland with a roughly average 4.32 ERA despite shoddy peripherals that were more or less in line with his numbers during his previous struggles.

Newcomb’s future was filled with uncertainty entering Spring Training this winter. He had signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the winter, but the club had a loaded pitching staff and Newcomb hadn’t exactly shown much at the big league level in recent years. Fortunately for the soon to be 32-year-old, the Red Sox suffered a number of injuries throughout the spring. That, in conjunction with an impressive Spring Training, was enough to get Newcomb an opportunity to break camp not just with Boston, but as a member of the starting rotation while players like Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello began the season on the IL.

Newcomb’s five starts with Boston over the season’s first month were something of a mixed bag. The southpaw completed the fifth inning just once in those outings and surrendered a 4.43 ERA overall, but his peripherals looked quite strong as he struck out 25.7% of his opponents while walking 10.5%. He got bumped from the club’s rotation as other pitchers started to get healthy, but remained on the roster as a long relief option and excelled in that role as well, with a 3.06 ERA and 3.81 FIP in 17 2/3 innings of work across six relief outings.

In all, the lefty finishes his time with the Red Sox with a 3.83 ERA and 3.28 FIP across 40 innings of work. It’s a solid track record, and it would hardly be a surprise to see a pitching-needy club scoop the southpaw up either via trade or the waiver wire in the coming days given his previous pedigree and more recent success in the majors this year. The Red Sox will have one week to either trade Newcomb or attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he clear waivers, they could attempt to outright him to the minors as non-roster depth but he would have the opportunity to reject that assignment.

As for Guerrero, the right-hander has yet to give up an earned run in 14 innings of work at the major league level across the past two seasons. He’s rode the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors frequently for the Red Sox in recent years due to the fact that he has options remaining, but has yet to get an extended audition at the big league level. It’s possible his opportunity is now, although it must be noted that the Red Sox have a number of hurlers on the injured list whose activation will eventually require someone to be sent down to the minors or otherwise removed from the roster.

Red Sox Designate Rich Hill For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced Friday that they’ve designated left-hander Rich Hill for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Luis Guerrero, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Worcester.

Hill, 44, returned to the majors after sitting out the first two-thirds of the season. He’d said dating back to early in the offseason that he planned to wait until midway through the 2024 campaign before pursuing a return, taking the downtime to be with his family and, ideally, then being fresher for the finish to the current season. Hill began the 2023 season as a solid innings eater at the back of the Pirates’ rotation but faded considerably following a trade to the Padres.

Last month, Hill showcased for big league clubs and drew a wide array of scouts. He said at the time he felt he was ready to throw five innings and jump right onto a big league mound. The grizzled southpaw signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox — incredibly, his eighth career free-agent deal with Boston — and was indeed up in the majors after just one Triple-A appearance, wherein he tossed a pair of shutout innings.

The Sox didn’t plug Hill into the rotation, instead opting to use him in the bullpen. His first two outings could scarcely have gone better. He tossed 2 2/3 perfect innings, fanning three opponents. Over his next two appearances, Hill was tagged for a combined two runs on a homer and three walks. He fanned another two batters along the way. Overall, Hill pitched just 3 2/3 innings during his latest Red Sox run, logging a 4.91 ERA with five strikeouts and three walks.

Now that Hill has been designated, he’ll head to waivers. He’d be ineligible for a new club’s playoff roster if he’s claimed, though it’s at least somewhat feasible that a postseason contender seeking some pitching depth could still make a low-risk pickup and plug him into one of the final spots on its staff. If not, Hill can head to Worcester to continue pitching in Triple-A or again become a free agent. It’s not entirely clear whether he’ll aim to continue pitching, and with his 45th birthday coming next March, it’s fair to wonder how long he intends to keep going. At the very least, Hill fanned one-third of the batters he faced during this brief Red Sox run (five of 15), so there’s some reason to believe he could still have a bit left in the tank.

Guerrero, 24, has had a nice season in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.31 with a huge 33.1% strikeout rate but also a bloated 13.4% walk rate in 54 1/3 innings. MLB.com ranks him 28th among Sox farmhands, touting a fastball that sits 96-98 mph and reaches 100 mph at times. He complements that pitch with a splitter and slider. Guerrero throws hard and misses bats in bunches, but like so many young flamethrowers, his effectiveness is undercut at times by shaky command. This year’s 13.4% walk rate for Guerrero is an exact match for his career rate across all minor league levels combined.

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