Robert Stock

The Red Sox announced today that right-hander Robert Stock cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A. He was designated for assignment by the club earlier this week.

It’s the second time the 35-year-old has been outrighted to the minors by Boston this year. He previously threw two innings for the club in an appearance earlier this year and was outrighted off the 40-man roster shortly thereafter. It was a similar story this time around, as he spent just two days on the roster and made a single appearance before being cut from the club’s roster.

Drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2009 draft, Stock didn’t make his big league debut until he was with San Diego in 2018. Stock was nothing short of excellent in his first taste of the majors with a 2.50 ERA and 2.71 FIP across 39 2/3 frames. Unfortunately, he’s never come close to that in the majors in the years since. While pitching for the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs, and Mets from 2019 to 2021, he surrendered a 7.36 ERA and 5.50 FIP in 33 innings of work. Following the 2021 season, Stock departed affiliated ball to pitch as a starter for the KBO League’s Doosan Bears throughout the 2022 campaign.

That stop in South Korea went fairly well for Stock, as he posted a 3.60 ERA in 165 innings of work. Even that solid figure pales in comparison to the top imported arms in the KBO league, though, so it wasn’t exactly a shock when he didn’t return to the Bears for 2023. Instead, he wound up pitching for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (along with a brief stint in the Brewers’ minor league system) in 2023 and ’24 before he settled back in with the Red Sox at Triple-A Worcester this year. He’s posted a 3.09 ERA for the WooSox in 55 1/3 innings of work across 12 appearances last year, nine of which have been starts.

Those strong results at Triple-A obviously haven’t translated to results at the big league level, where Stock has surrendered three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work this year while walking four batters and striking out just one. Lackluster as Stock’s results have been at the big league level, however, there’s always a place for a versatile veteran capable of eating innings out of either the rotation or bullpen as necessary on a club’s minor league depth chart. Given that, it’s hardly shocking that the Red Sox decided to outright the right-hander to the minors and keep him in the fold as an emergency depth option who they can call back up to the majors when they need an extra arm to provide some length out of the bullpen or an emergency starter. Until that happens or the 2025 campaign comes to a close, Stock figures to remain a member of the Triple-A pitching staff who provides non-roster depth for Boston going forward.

Right-hander Robert Stock has been outrighted to Triple-A Worcester, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

Players have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have at least three years of major league service time or a previous career outright. Stock meets the latter criterion but it’s not clear if he will exercise his right. He could return to the open market or stick with the Sox as non-roster depth.

He just had a very brief stay on Boston’s roster, his first time in the big leagues in years. He wasn’t in the majors at any point during the 2022-2024 seasons but he put up some good numbers in Mexico last year. That led the Sox to give him a minor league deal. They played a doubleheader on Sunday with one game going to extra innings.

They added Stock on Monday to give the bullpen a fresh arm. That night, the Sox found themselves losing 5-1 to the Blue Jays after seven innings, so Stock was sent in to mop up the final two frames. He gave up three hits and issued one walk, leading to one run as the Sox lost 6-2. He was designated for assignment the next day.

The Sox ended up going to extras on Wednesday and Thursday as well. They don’t have another off-day until the 17th and then play another ten straight after that. Perhaps they may need a fresh arm in the bullpen again soon but they also might be able to strengthen the staff with Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello, who are both currently on rehab assignments and almost ready to rejoin the big league club. That could push Richard Fitts or Sean Newcomb from the rotation into a long relief role.

Stock now has 74 2/3 innings in the majors, most of that coming from 2018 to 2021. Overall, he has a 4.70 earned run average, 22.5% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 49.3% ground ball rate. He pitched in Korea in 2022 then split 2023 between the minors and Indy Ball. Last year, he had a 3.38 ERA over 19 starts for Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican League. He then remained in Mexico for the winter ball season to put up a 1.60 ERA for Naranjeros de Hermosillo, which led to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images

The Red Sox and right-hander Robert Stock have agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Naranjeros de Hermosillo, the Mexican winter ball team Stock had been playing for, had previously announced that Stock was leaving to conduct physical exams with the Sox.

Stock, 35, has a bit of major league experience. From 2018 to 2021, he tossed 72 2/3 innings over four seasons, suiting up for the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs and Mets. He allowed 4.71 earned runs per nine. His 23.1% strikeout rate was around average and his 49.8% ground ball rate was strong, but he also gave out walks at a high rate of 12.2%. His fastball averaged 96-98 miles per hour in that time.

He hasn’t been in the majors for a few years now but has performed well in other places. He spent 2022 in Korea, posting a 3.60 ERA over 29 starts for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. That was enough to get him another shot in affiliated ball, as he signed a minor league deal with the Brewers for 2023. But he had an 8.22 ERA in 23 innings and was in Indy Ball by June.

For 2024, he signed with the Tecos de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He made 19 starts and tossed 98 2/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA. As mentioned, he has been playing winter ball with the Naranjeros, posting great numbers there. He tossed 84 1/3 innings over 14 starts for them with a 1.60 ERA.

For the Sox, there’s no harm in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal to see how he looks in camp. He was a reliever for most of his career but has been starting in more recent years, so he should be able to provide the club with non-roster depth in both areas.

Boston projects to have a rotation of Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Walker Buehler, with Lucas Giolito returning from his elbow surgery at some point this year as well. There’s lots of talent in there but also plenty of question marks. In the bullpen, they lost Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin to free agency, though they have signed free agents Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson. They are also set to get Liam Hendriks and Garrett Whitlock back from extended absences due to elbow surgeries.