In the hours following a 10-game homestand during which the Red Sox placed two members of their starting rotation on the injured list, the club made a depth trade, acquiring Vladimir Gutierrez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations.
In order to add the right-hander to the 40-man roster and option him to Triple-A, the Red Sox moved Trevor Story to the 60-day injured list. The transaction was mere formality at this point, as the shortstop is already done for the year following shoulder surgery last Friday.
Though Gutierrez, 28, will start in the minors, he brings previous big-league experience to the table. After defecting from his native Cuba, he signed with the Reds in 2016. He debuted with the Cincinnati team in 2021, making 22 starts totaling 114 innings with a 4.74 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 1.412 WHIP, 88 strikeouts. He pitched another 10 games for the ’22 Reds, including eight starts, then missed the remainder of the season and all of ’23 due to Tommy John surgery. (He pitched in the minors last September.)
The Red Sox will be Gutierrez’s third organization in the last three weeks. After becoming a free agent last November, he signed a minor-league deal with the Miami Marlins. He made a single four-inning relief appearance for the Major League team, but was designated for assignment to clear roster space, and the Brewers snatched him up on waivers. He made one Triple-A start for Milwaukee before they, too, DFA’ed him.
Gutierrez will be an interesting project for the Red Sox’s revamped pitching development department and big-league pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who’s worked wonders. Despite losing Nick Pivetta (mild flexor strain) and Garrett Whitlock (oblique strain) to the IL, the Red Sox rotation has been the best in the game. They entered Friday leading the Majors in ERA (1.82), WHIP (0.99), opponent average (.203), and ranked fifth in walks and strikeouts. Boston boasts three pitchers with sub-2.00 ERAs over four or more starts; there are only four such pitchers in the entire National League. According to the Red Sox media relations, 90 pitchers have made four or more starts this season; Kutter Crawford (0.42 ERA) is the only one who’s posted a sub-1.00 ERA.
Overall, the pitching staff has been one of the best in the American League. Their 5.7% extra-base hit rate is unparalleled, and they’re tied for third in walk rate (6.9%), rank fourth in strikeout rate (24.6%), and tied for fifth in home run rate (2.2%).
The Red Sox optioned left-hander Joe Jacques back to Worcester following Thursday’s 5-4 series finale loss to the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed one earned run on three hits and struck out two over 1 2/3 innings in the 5-4 series finale loss. On Friday, he was designated for assignment in order to add Cam Booser to the 40-man roster for this weekend’s series in Pittsburgh.
Booser, 31, pitched in four games for the WooSox before getting the call, and posted eye-popping strikeout numbers. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while punching out 15 batters in 6 2/3 innings.
The Majors have been a long time coming for the 31-year-old southpaw, who will wear No. 71. According to the club’s media relations, he’ll be the oldest player to make their Major League debut with the Red Sox since right-hander Tommy Fine almost exactly 77 years ago, on Apr. 26, 1947.