The Boston Red Sox will have a new look when they take the field against the Houston Astros on Monday evening.
Sure, ace Garrett Crochet will be on the mound, and the regular starting lineup will look like it usually does as third baseman Alex Bregman makes his first visit to Houston as a visitor. But there will be a new bullpen arm and a new catcher, and a veteran pitcher had to pay the price.
Though the roster moves have not been finalized, there’s enough change that’s been revealed to warrant a breakdown.
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have designated right-handed pitcher Nick Burdi for assignment. Burdi, a six-year big-league veteran who has dealt with a host of injuries over the last two seasons, pitched 5 1/3 innings in Boston this year, without allowing an earned run.
Boston had to open up a spot on the 40-man roster to make room for the arrival of Jovani Morán, who Cotillo also reported had been called up from Triple-A Worcester. Morán had been in Triple-A for most of the season after arriving in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Twins, pitching to a 3.81 ERA in 18 appearances across three levels of the minors this year.
Morán, who missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, owns a 4.15 ERA in parts of three big-league campaigns.
Here’s where things get tricky: According to Cotillo, catcher Ali Sánchez will also be added to the active roster ahead of the Astros series. Sánchez was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox before this weekend’s series against the San Diego Padres, and he has no minor league options, so this needed to happen for him to stay in the Red Sox organization.
That means for Morán and Sánchez to be added by gametime, two players will have to be removed from the active roster. One would think the Red Sox would get rid of a position player and a pitcher, since they’re bringing in one of each.
The pitchers who could be optioned to Triple-A are Chris Murphy and Isaiah Campbell. The position players who could be optioned are second baseman David Hamilton and catcher Connor Wong. Sending Wong down would classify as the most newsworthy decision, and it also might be the wisest, since most teams prefer never to carry three primary catchers.
There’s more information to follow, but for now, the Red Sox have already revealed some interesting priorities.
